“You seem to be immune to seduction. Even untrained, your mind is surprisingly hard to manipulate. I’ve tried and failed with you before. See, you have this natural wall in place. I’m sure, once Damien properly fed a few times, and actually put forth some genuine effort, he wiggled his way through those cracks, because they’re easy to find. I needed more time, more privacy, and a proper feeding to break through. Prepare to feel the true, dominating, painful strength of a Morpheous,” he says against my ear. “Or enjoy every fucking second of it. Your choice.”

My heartbeat won’t lower, because the knives keep making it pick up every time they stab, as though he fully prepared to keep it beating too fast.

Damien. He can seduce me and do freaky things in my head, as well as to my body. Damien has more power over me than this, and I’ve fought him back before. Back when he didn’t feed much…

The pain acts like a stimulant, halting any thoughts, and tears start leaking from my eyes when I start seeing visions of him undoing my clothes. The knives stab me again when I try to lower my heartbeat.

“This is going to be the most fun I’ve had in centuries,” he says around his laughter.

The phantom knives stab me harder the next time, as the images of him undressing me continue.

He jerks my head to the side, running his nose along my cheek, as the knives draw another scream out of me in a way not even Idun managed to do.

Strings whir through the air, but I feel a phantom barrier blocking them from reaching me no matter how hard I strain.

“I’m prepared for that as well, tricky gypsy girl. Now that I know all your tricks, I know how to be the perfect counter measure,” he assures me with a lot of pride. “I’m an alpha, sweetheart. Surely you know what that word means by now.”

As the knives sting me again, forcing my heartbeat way up, I cry out in even more pain, feeling too much of it with such an active heartbeat.

He gives me no reprieve between stabs, and smiles against my ear, as he tells me, “I can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about.”

Another scream tears free from my throat, as Dorian Gray manipulates my senses. The pain from thousands of blades that feel like they’re piercing my skin from the inside-out only intensifies the faster my heart beats in response.

I can’t…I can’t make it stop. I can’t.

It only hurts worse and worse, and tears spring from my eyes, as I struggle to call for my threads once again, desperately trying to rip the head off the snake so all the illusions stop.

“I’m rather tired of the screaming now. Maybe you should be choking,” Dorian says with sadistic amusement.

The taste of iron and copper fill my mouth, or at least it feels like it does.

“You like vampires so much that one can only assume you’d be okay with choking on blood. Right?” he asks, laughing as my mind struggles to separate illusion from reality.

“Damien is believed to be the strongest, but I’ve spent a great deal of years mastering the art of manipulating all five senses,” he boasts, just as another wave of blades stab me.

I can’t even scream this time, because I’m gagging for every breath against the mouthfuls of blood that are drowning me.

Clawing at my throat and gasping for a breath, fighting through the excruciating pain, as my heartbeat ratchets up, making each strike twice as miserable, I begin to panic.

But not even my panic draws forth my monster. It’s the first time I’ve ever started panicking without the liberating relief of a faint.

My heartbeat is too fast and refuses to drop even a little.

I can’t see what’s really going on, because in my head, we’re in a roomful of mirrors. Dorian is now at the of the hallway, while I strip out of my clothes, baring my body for him.

No!

“That’s a good girl,” he tells me.

My mind screams for relief, as I watch myself spread my legs in invitation, grinning at the devil I’d never really accept with such ease.

“I’ll let my monster loose on you and see how resilient your lovely little body really is,” Dorian whispers in my ear and in the illusion, giving the words a surrounding-echo effect.

This time, it feels like he’s added two thousand blades, and my heart rushes to a rhythm that leaves me more vulnerable, exposed, and powerless than I’ve ever felt in my life.

“Please, no,” I manage to beg, only to choke on twice the amount of blood in the next painful, barely catchable breath.

Chapter 2

VANCE

“I’ve already told you what you have to do in order for me to take you on as a beta,” Damien tells Talbot Lane, his new shadow, who seems to be popping up too frequently. “For now, I have an alpha meeting to attend. Idun is doing all she can to regain our attention, and this is just yet another stunt of hers we have to deal with.”

Impromptu fucking alpha meetings? Idun is looking desperate by this point.

She’s done all she could to lure us back into watching Idun TV, and since that hasn’t worked, now she’s resorted to this.

Talbot takes a calming breath, bowing as if he’s conceding. For now. He’s certainly too persistent to give up. He almost stares after Damien longingly, as the deviant walks hastily toward us, genuinely incensed about this meeting.

I’m incensed about the fact I have a pressing weight on my shoulders, as though I’m forgetting something important. A desire to return to Violet claws at my mind, and I blame it on the fact I was seconds away from being able to enjoy her again.

Before Idun TV ruined our day.

This morning started out so promising. All four of us had Violet in our clutches, and she was really considering taking all four of us. Then the bloody wolf and vampire got her all to themselves, because of the screaming omegas, who heard Idun’s threat.

“I’ll be calling an alpha meeting with the Heads of all Houses to discuss reinstating trial-by-combat. Any alphas not in attendance will forfeit their right for input and will willingly sacrifice no less than thirty omegas in penalty. It’s within my right to request the Van Helsings uphold our laws, no matter how old they may be. To me, the law is still relevant. We’re monsters. We’re not mere mortals. I think it’s time we remember our roots, instead of catering to a greedy world that’s forgotten how to be humble. Trial by combat is just one of the many great reasons monsters are better than men. We settle our scores with the fairest, simplest survival rules—survival of the fittest.”

Fucking cunning bitch. She’ll build her armies quickly enough with that speech. After centuries of living in hiding for fear of persecution for their many war crimes, shifters have gotten harder, more ruthless, and far more vindictive. Meanwhile, their ruthless, vindictive alpha left them to rot on their own, showing weakness for the first time. The strongest will always return to the flock, because they love the violence. They will fight until the death—always.

“Instead of alphas duking it out over House disputes, why not let our betas have their chance at last? We’ll give you your voice with the combat trials. It won’t be for personal conflicts. It’ll be for your House!”

She sounded on a roll, and just kept giving her scripted, sinisterly motivational speech. She’s always done this—used the fiercest, loudest people to push her agenda. Catering to bloodthirsty betas is her specialty.