Page 6

S tephan’s clenched jaw popped and began to throb, his eyes becoming mere slits as he continued to glare at Edwin Ebersole, owner of Ebersole Construction. The man looked so smug, as if he had won something. Ivan Alessandrin—renowned interior decorator and owner of Alessan Recreations and Design, and the only other person in the room—appeared as irritated as he was.

Stephan grabbed the ludicrous contract Ebersole had thrown at him and ripped it in half. The vampire sputtered in shock at his actions.

Relaxing his jaw, Stephan calmly placed his folded hands on top of the conference table. His voice was cold and hard as he spoke. “You must think I’m an amateur, Mr. Ebersole. I’ll tell you now, you’re very mistaken. You’re also seriously misinformed if you think you have any right to demand anything from me.”

“I have every right! It’s my land,” Ebersole sneered.

“Yes, it is your land. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be working with you at all. Your reputation is rather tarnished, Mr. Ebersole. The minute you wouldn’t sell, I should have explored other land options in Bram for my resort. I realize now I was being stubborn. No piece of land is worth dealing with your ignorance.”

“You should watch your tongue, child.”

Stephan lunged across the table, seized the larger man by his dress shirt, dragging him forward until their faces were inches apart.

With a hiss, he flashed his small fangs as he released a taste of his raw energy. “Listen here, you annoying twit. I don’t care what you think of me. We signed a contract! If you think I’m going to alter it just to gain access to additional land, land that’s size pales in comparison to that allotted in the first contract, you are insane. Be warned now, my patience for bullshit only goes so far! As does it for those who waste my time.”

Ebersole’s eyes were wide, and his arrogance had disappeared. Apparently, the man wasn’t used to others calling him out.

“Now, listen very, very closely. You have two options.” Giving Ebersole a chilling smile, Stephan released him and casually sat back in his chair. “Option number one—you can continue to be a pain in my ass, which will force me to make up for my losses by suing you into oblivion, while at the same time, starting a hostile takeover of your company. An action, I assure you, will end with you living in squalor on the streets.”

He allowed his words to sink in before continuing. “Option number two—you stop contesting the damn contract we’ve all already agreed on, and we move peacefully forward with your wealth and my sanity intact. ”

Ebersole jerked back, and his face reddened. “Y-you can’t talk to me this way! How dare you threaten me! I won’t stand for being talked down to by a child! You’ll regret this!”

Stephan let out a harsh laugh. “You keep telling yourself that. As I have no intention of spending another moment here listening to your idiocy, I’m heading out.” He stood and smoothed down his jacket. “Oh, and be aware, I don’t make idle threats. If you need proof, I suggest taking a look at what happened to Sando Corp.”

Ignoring Ebersole’s babblings and protests, he turned to Ivan. His irritation washed away. “I apologize, Mr. Alessandrin, for any inconvenience this may have caused. Not to mention the impropriety of my emotional display.”

Ivan chuckled. “As I mentioned before, call me Ivan. And you have nothing to apologize for.” The man curled his lips in disgust as his gaze flitted over to Ebersole. The twit was now on his phone, ranting to who Stephan could only assume was his lawyer.

“We both know who is at fault. Not to mention, you maintained more control than I would have, considering the situation. However, I wouldn’t mind meeting privately at a later date to discuss some design changes for the resort, as I have a few. Lunch maybe?”

“As long as it’s on a weekend,” Stephan beamed.

“Ah, yes, I forgot about your obligations as a student.” Ivan rubbed his chin. “A weekend it is then.”

S helves packed with books of all shapes and sizes were built into the walls of the multi-leveled library, stretching all the way to the high, vaulted ceilings. On every level, there were desks, tables, chairs, and couches placed about.

Despite the expansive collection of books, the one lying on the desk in front of Jayden hadn’t come from the library. It had been bought just recently. As, surprise!—he couldn’t read any of the books on the shelves.

Sighing, Jayden scowled down at the schoolbook. Ugh, how long would he have to deal with this? Well…immortal schooling spanned from ages four to twenty-five. There was elementary school, middle school, high school, and secondary education, which meant he had…oh, by the Gods, years. It would go on for years! Stephan himself was only in secondary education—even if he did own and run a variety of companies.

Jayden wrinkled his brow—was Stephan planning to go to university? Did he even need to?

Whatever! At his level, Jayden had at least fifteen to twenty fucking more years of this torturous hell.

Reading and writing were the top contenders in what was causing his misery. Jayden hadn’t learned a damn thing so far. Though…the fact that he’d already gone through six tutors probably hadn’t helped.

Jayden, of course, had nothing to do with them fleeing. It wasn’t like he threatened them. No, no, he would never do something like that. Jayden snickered.

His new tutor, Mr. Kaze, clucked his tongue.

Hey look, the vampire had finally figured out he wasn’t paying attention. And it had only taken him, what, thirty minutes to notice?

Jayden wanted to stab him, but he wouldn’t. Maybe…

He rolled his eyes. Damn these homicidal tendencies , he thought sarcastically. Tutor number seven would not be lasting long.

Slowly, Jayden turned his head and made eye contact. While his face was blank, he knew the effect his eyes had on people.

The corners of his lips twitched as the man cleared his throat nervously. Gee, wonder what he’s thinking. Jayden dropped the shield he had fought hard to build—a shield that, unfortunately, only worked when there were few others around.

“Young man, you need to pay attention.” The words were barely audible over the man’s inner thoughts.

Thoughts that were louder than normal. Liam had warned him of the initial side effects of strengthening your mental walls, but said it would lessen over time.

“The kid’s a freak—not to mention an idiot. How the hell did he end up staying with Stephan Everwood? I wouldn’t have even taken the job if Mr. Everwood wasn’t such a fine piece of ass…”

Jayden narrowed his eyes, a look that had Mr. Kaze scrunching his eyebrows.

“What now? I should have listened to the rumors about him. By the Gods, his eyes are creepy. It’s like staring into death. Now, Stephan’s eyes, I would love to see them staring up at me…in fear.”

He tensed, his heart speeding up as the man’s thoughts darkened.

“I just need to get Stephan alone, maybe tell him we need to discuss Jayden’s progress…but the man’s always so professional… That ’s easy to fix. I could always just slip him something, tie him down, and ? —”

The world before him flashed red as rage heated his veins. Without thinking about the possible consequences, Jayden shot up and slammed the man’s head down.

The wood cracked when the man’s face collided with it. As blood dripped onto the splintered surface, Jayden took control. He slid his hand down, wrapping it around the back of the man’s neck.

Baring his fangs, he hissed, “I should kill you.” Shuddering, he let out a chilling laugh. “Do you feel it? Do you feel me inside? Can’t move, can you?”

Pulling back a bit, Jayden allowed the man to speak—just a taste of freedom.

Mr. Kaze gasped. “L-let. M-me. Go.”

“Hmm, why should I? It’s only a matter of time before you hurt someone. Killing you now will save me the trouble of having to track you down later.”

“Won’t,” the man croaked.

“Yeah, see, I would believe you, but I’m in your head,” Jayden purred. “The only thing holding you back is that you haven’t found the one. Your perfect victim.”

As Kaze began to whimper and plead, for the first time ever, Jayden found himself struggling against what his urges wanted him to do.

The man hadn’t hurt anyone—yet. Killing him would go against what little morals he had. All of his ‘victims’ had been guilty. Kaze’s crimes were only thoughts, but he could feel the man’s dark urges rising. The bastard wanted to rape and murder.

Could Jayden really wait until the man hurt someone? It was only a matter of time. Did morals hold any worth if they allowed an innocent to die?

His grip around Kaze’s neck tightened—Jayden should kill him. Why the hell was he even debating it? The man needed to die. He needed…

“Fuck!” Jayden growled, jerking away and releasing his neck

Kaze slid to the floor like a rag doll. Wisely, the man said nothing as he awkwardly side-eyed him, which was all he could do, lying as he was.

Pointing, Jayden roared, “I should kill you!” His chest heaved and his hands clenched and unclenched as he glared at him. “I should kill you…” Jayden murmured, weakly this time.

Why couldn’t he? Why? Dammit!

Jayden pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling almost dizzy as his rage began to dissipate. Blanking his expression, Jayden pulled away from the simmering hatred inside him.

“I should kill you, but…I won’t.” He crouched down and got close to Kaze’s face. “Know this, if you hurt anyone, your life is over. I will find you. And I will kill you. Painfully .”

After straightening up, Jayden rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Oh, and stay the fuck away from Stephan. You come anywhere near him, whether you touch him or not, you die.” Releasing his hold over Kaze, he hissed, “Now get the fuck out!”

L iam knew that waiting outside the library doors would most likely prove to be an eventful endeavor. He wasn’t one to pry, however…

He rolled his eyes at the outright lie—okay, he was one to pry. But his reasons were always honorable. Well, at the very least, Liam had always had a reason for doing so.

Considering Jayden’s flair for inflicting pain, Liam felt it was very reasonable for him to spy on the boy during his lessons. Not to mention, he had to clean up the messes the young man made.

Liam smirked—for some reason, being threatened made people cranky.

The doors to the library suddenly slammed open, a very terrified, frantic, and bleeding tutor ran out. Before the fleeing man got far, Liam seized him by the arm.

Well, that was new. Jayden had actually drawn blood. The question was…why?

With the man in such a panic, Liam easily slipped inside his mind. What he found had him tsking in disgust.

The part of himself that slept deep inside, he called to it. Closing his eyes, he ignored Kaze’s whimpers and struggles as warmth spread through him.

Liam shivered. The darkness inside him was stretching out, pushing forward, filling him. As if he were welcoming home a beloved friend, Liam embraced it.

His eyes opened lazily. He knew the blue in them had drowned away in a sea of inky blackness, as he had felt the change.

Liam slowly licked his lips. “Well, well. It seems we have a lot to discuss, Mr. Kaze,” he drawled.