Shadow Kissed

Chapter One

Haven’t read the Prologue yet?

Start here!

Chapter One - Brent

“Kassidy?” My voice came out a stuttered whisper, to where even I was barely able to hear my words.

I felt like my heart could have stopped beating, if I was still alive, at the sound of my sweet Kassidy’s terrified shriek as I reached out to try and comfort her. But I should have known better than to have startled her.

As soon as I had reached her building, I was drowning in the waves of terror that she was projecting as they crashed into me. Her heart was beating frantically, like that of a hummingbird’s wings with their constant motion.

The sight of tears in her wide and wild eyes as she turned to face me, the relief evident on her stricken face, had me pulling her in close.

“You weren’t here,” she cried into the crook of my neck. “I waited for you, but you weren’t here.”

When her voice cracked, I swear my heart cracked with it.

“I’m sorry, my love. I got delayed. But I’m here now. What is it? What has you scared?”

I knew it did little to help ease the fear that had already culminated in her fragile body, but it was the only reassurance I could offer her.

She looked like a lost child as she rocked back and forth on the bed. My heart sank as I looked at her. I recognized the fear that had overtaken her.

I’ve seen it before.

“The shadows,” she whispered as her eyes darted around the room. It was as if she were afraid they could hear her. And they probably could.

Looking back, I glanced around the room.

“The shadows are back?” It had to be nothing.

Please let it be nothing.

But I knew the chances of that were slim to none. It left me wondering why she hadn’t said anything before that moment. There had been plenty of opportunities, as we usually texted several times a day.

Kassidy nodded and bit her lip.

“You weren’t here. You’re usually here by nightfall.”

It wasn’t an accusation, but I couldn’t help but feel the knife slash my heart as I realized night must have snuck up on her while she waited for me. Usually the room was as bright as a runway at night, too bright and blinding for even a single shadow to make its way into her fortress of light.

Knowing she had been too scared to even get up from her bed to turn on the lights only made me feel more guilty about being late.

Unfortunately, I had more obligations than just Kassidy Sinclair’s wellbeing. Otherwise, I would vow to never leave her side again. She saw me as her knight, even though I have told her she would do well to not trust me. But no matter how much I tried to convince her I could be just as much a monster as whatever she was afraid might be hiding in the shadows, she doesn’t believe me.

Or, maybe it’s that she doesn’t care.

Either way, I’m screwed.

Because everything I’ve ever told her is a lie.

Except the part where I’m the monster she should be afraid of.

I’m too weak to leave her though. There is something about her. A pull, a draw. The whisper of mine whenever my gaze finds her.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” I try to sooth her the best I can, but as my eyes roam through her room and I look beyond her window into the world beyond, I know it will never be enough. And I wonder what she would do if she knew my dark secrets. Including the fact that all her fears are my fault.

That he’ll never leave her in peace as long as I refuse to leave her side.

I’m a selfish bastard, and I wish she would end things with me because I’ll never be able to be the one to walk away. Despite the fact I’m hurting her.

But she doesn’t know that. So she won’t ever leave me either.

With a heavy sigh I pull away from her.

“It’s alright, Kassidy. I’m just going to get the lights on, my love.”

The whimper that escapes her throat is enough to make me want to throw myself into the sunlight and sacrifice myself for her.

Except we have already established I’m a selfish asshole.

I gently shush her and stand, with her still clinging desperately to my arm, practically wrapped around me like an octopus, as I lean over to the nightstand near her bed and flick the light on. But that only seems to make things worse, for the shadows are now invading the small room.

There’s a groan fighting to be released deep from within my body as Kassidy’s whimpers intensify. I was hurting her, but I didn’t care, not as long as she continued to love me and I got to be with her.

It almost made me feel like I was worse than him for his intentional quest to drive the poor woman mad.

His stalking of her, it allowed him to punish us both. Even though I was the only one who was doing anything wrong.

Connor was my Master, the ruler of the vampires in this territory. And I had defied him.

Worse, I lied about defying him. Over and over again.

And he knew it.

I was his. Not just his subject, but his mate.

Yet I sought out the companionship of another.

Of a human.

And he made sure that I always remembered there would be hell to pay for my continued betrayal.

“I need to get the light on, love.” My voice came out rougher than I intended as my frustrations grew. But they weren’t at the sweet thing clinging to me. They were with the man who made it his mission to break her. And with myself, who refused to let her go.

Silently, I berated myself for not thinking of flipping the switch next to the door as soon as I had arrived. But I only had one thought, and that was to get to Kassidy and to keep her safe.

Even though I knew Connor would never actually hurt her. He was happy to slowly drive her mad.

“Baby, look at me.” I crouched down as I lowered her to the bed. She needed to listen to me. “There is nothing to be afraid of, my love. No one is going to get you. The shadows, it’s just the light. Nothing can get to you. I won’t allow it.”

But she just shook her head as I tried to reason with her.

“No. No, you don’t understand!” Her voice was shrill and I knew it was a losing battle. “There is something there, in the shadows. I know it sounds crazy, Brent. But when I’m home, when I’m here…” Her voice trailed off.

I knew what she would say anyway. It was always the same. Not that I needed her to tell me the shadows only hunted her when I was there, or on my way there. Of course she had noticed there was nothing to be fearful of when she was at work or out with her friends.

A part of her had to have known there was some correlation between myself and the shadows. But she wouldn’t let herself dwell on that.

Perhaps we were both in denial.

Because there was only one way this could end, and it was in blood.

***

I slipped from Kassidy’s apartment building just before dawn. I could feel him watching me. He was always watching me when I was with her.

I wish I was able to explain it to her, and let her know she wasn’t crazy. Nor was she actually in any danger. Because no matter how angry he was, I knew Connor wouldn’t actually hurt her. And she didn’t know my secret, so she wasn’t a threat to our kind, so he had no grounds to kill her.

But I couldn’t tell her, because then that would betray our ways, as only human mates are allowed to share our secrets. Connor would have the right to kill me if I told a human about vampires, not to mention then he would be able to kill Kassidy. Betraying our kind to the humans was punishable by death. So was disobeying my Master, and I was well beyond disobedience and far into the land of betrayal. And we both knew it.

Part of me wondered why he continued to let me live. Even though I hadn’t betrayed us to Kassidy, I had disobeyed my Master.

Not just disobeyed, but betrayed him in ways worse than telling a human about vampires.

If he would just kill me, Kassidy would be left alone.

“You don’t need to slink in the shadows with me, Connor.” My tone is sharp despite speaking so lowly.

In the blink of an eye he was there, matching my stride as we strolled through the nearly deserted streets back to our sanctuary.

“I thought we talked about this.” His voice is low, and I try to decipher the feels emanating from him.

I hate the fact I’ve hurt him, and I wish I could go back in time and never walk into Schweetz & Brewz, the coffee shop Kassidy owned and worked at several nights a week. But that’s not something that’s within my power.

Nor is being able to explain to Connor why I can’t leave her.

If I told him that what I felt for her was akin to what I felt for him, it would break his undead heart. Even though I knew if I were to mark her as my mate would protect her from Connor’s wrath, I’d never do that to him.

I love him too much.

But obviously not enough to not continue on with Kassidy.

I was so screwed, no matter what I did or didn’t do.

Someone was going to get hurt. I just wish it would be me, so I could spare them both any pain or suffering.

Because there wasn't even any way to deny where I had been. He was there; he saw us. I knew that as soon as Kassidy told me the shadows were back.

I knew we would get caught. Or, rather that I would get caught.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Connor.” The defeat in my voice was obvious to even me.

When I had taken a few steps and realized he was no longer matching my pace, I paused and braced myself as I glanced back. The stricken look on his face told me all I needed to know.

And in that moment, for the first time in my very long life, I wished for death.

I had hurt not just my Master, but my mate. He was my everything, yet I continued to betray him.

To see him struggle for words broke me. I watched my golden god stare at me with those stormy gray eyes as they pierced me right down to the soul I wasn’t even sure I still had.

“You promised. You promised me, Brent.” The hurt on his face was evident, but I could tell the moment it morphed into something else.

His gray eyes turned black and his fangs slid down as he let out a growl of frustration.

“I’ve given you everything. EVERYTHING. And you can’t… I…” Connor turned and punched a sign post on the side of the road with such force it snapped and skidded down the street. “Fuck.”

It took me a couple seconds to realize I was no longer standing where I had stopped, and instead Connor had his hand wrapped around my throat and my back was pressed against the side of a building. Dust and flecks of concrete rained down into my dark hair that was much shorter than Connor’s blonde shoulder length locks.

My eyes widened. It was the first time Connor has ever shown any hints of violence toward me.

Not that I didn’t deserve it in this instance. I deserved it and so much more, and we both knew it.

The low rumbling growl in my ear made my blood sing, because this man was mine, despite all I had done to him, and my body recognized him as such.

“You promised me, and you’ve betrayed that trust, Brent.” He leaned down and I could feel his nose graze the skin of my neck as he slid his face lower. “Over and over, after you told me you would end things with the human. But you didn’t and I’ve let you get away with it. God help me, I have let you make a fool of me.”

The sting from his fangs as they pierced the soft flesh in my neck made me cry out. But not from fear or pain.

I loved this man, my Master. And I was his, always, no matter what.

Until I faced my final death, I would love him and be his.

No matter what he thinks, I wish things were different. I don’t want to hurt him.

His teeth dig in a little more, putting more pressure on the wound he created as he lapped at the trickling blood.

I let out a soft whimper and felt my body relax against him.

“You. Are. Mine.” The words were a soft whisper. They were gentle and I swear I heard his voice crack. “Don’t make me do something we will both regret, my love.”

Hearing the tremor in his voice gripped me in a way I didn’t think possible.

Of course, he was right. I did belong to him, whether I liked it or not.

And I liked it, I liked it very much.

It wasn’t that I wanted to choose Kassidy over him.

The grip he had on my throat tightened, but it wasn’t as though I had breath for him to stop or try and squeeze out of me. But it was absolutely his way to show his dominance, that he was the one in control.

“I’m sorry, Master.” I wasn’t one to grovel, not even to him. But I wasn’t that much of an asshole that I couldn’t admit when I was wrong and express that I didn’t want to make him upset or angry.

How every modern of me, a man not afraid to say he was sorry.

Not that I was a man anymore and hadn’t been for almost a century.

“Are you going to end it this time?” He didn’t even try to hide the threat in his voice. But I didn’t know if it was me or Kassidy who would be on the receiving end of his wrath, if I were to defy him again.

But I couldn’t make that promise to him, and we both knew it.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated as my eyes slipped shut.

I didn’t know what I expected to happen next, but it certainly wasn’t for his lips to crash into mine, hungry and biting with his fangs still extended.

His tongue forced its way into my mouth and I let out a soft moan as I brought my hands up and gripped his shoulders to keep myself upright.

I would do anything he asked or demanded of me. I would flay myself open for this man.

But I couldn’t find the strength to leave one lowly human behind.

I also couldn’t explain to my mate, my Master, that the reason was because I was certain she was also destined to be my mate. Even though it should be impossible. There was no way I could be bound to two different people. It just didn’t happen.

Yet there I was, getting caught up in my mate while he demanded I never saw the woman I knew was supposed to be mine.

“You will obey me.”

It wasn’t a request.

As I stared into Connor’s eyes and watched them get darker, I knew if something didn’t happen soon, he would kill one or both of us.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and pulled him back to me. While I knew I wouldn’t be able to distract him with a kiss, I hoped it would buy me some time to figure out how the fuck I was going to save Kassidy and keep both of their hearts from breaking.

The brush of Connor’s thumb across my cheek almost startled me out of the kiss.

My eyes flew open and he pulled back, our eyes locked onto each other.

I watched as he took his hand from my face to his mouth and licked the tip of his thumb, licking away the tear he had wiped away.

Fuck.

I was so screwed.