Intertwined

Aden sighed. Poor Mary A

Sadly, things weren’t going to improve for either of them anytime soon. Tomorrow was Halloween. A holiday he’d once enjoyed, since it was the one night of the year that weirdness was actually encouraged. Admired, even. This time, however, Halloween marked the night of—he shuddered—the Vampire Ball. He was finally going to meet Vlad the Impaler. Aden thought having his entire body waxed might have been preferable.

“Did you guys hear about Tucker?” Mary A

“No.” Aden kicked a pebble with the toe of his boot. “Did something happen?”

“He disappeared from the hospital this morning. He was in his room one minute and gone the next, but no one saw him leave.”

“Okay, that’s freaky. Same thing happened to a boy w-who lived at the D and M with me and Aden,” Sha

Sha

Therapy. Ugh. His new doctor, the one he now saw because Eve had taken him back in time and he’d changed the future, was…strange. Monotonous, seemingly uncaring and all business. Aden halfway feared the man was going to try and lock him up for a while, just to observe him through those dead, emotionless eyes. He was treading very carefully right now.

“Sha

Dread beat through Aden as Sha

“What’s going on?” Aden asked.

“I wish Tucker and Ozzie were the worst of it,” Victoria said. “Dmi—another vampire and I found Mr. Applewood, the baseball coach, and his wife, last night. Chewed up.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, her ring glittering in the sunlight. “No one knows yet, but when they’re discovered, the police will think there’s a pack of wild animals on the loose.”

“So it has begun,” Riley said gravely. He carried two backpacks, his own and Mary A

“Goblins?” Aden asked, recalling what they’d told him about the fearsome flesh-eaters. They liked their victims living and fresh. He, too, shifted the two backpacks he carried—his and Victoria’s—to one side.

Victoria nodded. “I suspect so.”

His stomach rolled. “We’ve got to stop them.”

“I agree,” Riley said. “But the only way to do that is to find where they’re sleeping during the day and kill them while they’re vulnerable.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Mary A

Riley opened his mouth to reply, probably to protest and command her away from the actual fighting, but thought the better of it.

“We’ll need weapons,” Aden said. “We’ll also need time. Time I don’t have, because of chores and watchful eyes at the ranch. But I don’t want you guys going without me.” He might not have possessed superstrength like Victoria or superspeed like Riley, but he was not without skills. Plus, he would place Victoria’s life before his own, ensuring her safety. Riley, he suspected, would do the same for Mary A

“I can obtain the weapons,” Riley said. “And I will summon my brothers. They will help.”

“You have brothers?” Mary A

He nodded. “Four by blood, raised by Vlad like me, and many by circumstance.”

“Wow.”

Aden heard the uncertainty in her voice and wondered what she was thinking.

“They will like you,” Riley promised. “Do not worry.”

Ah. Now he understood. He looked to Victoria, whose hair was braided in a crown around her head, giving her a regal appearance. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Two older sisters. Lauren and Stephanie. And I’m sorry to tell you this, but they will not like you. I tell you only to warn you, since you will be meeting them tomorrow. You are human and they consider humans a food source, nothing more. Already they question my…preoccupation with you.”

“You don’t have to explain,” he said. He’d been despised his entire life. Adding a few names to the list of people who hated him wasn’t a big deal. “You’re the only one I care about.”

Suddenly Victoria threw her arms around him, kissing him hard and deep. He spun her around, despite his surprise, holding her close, kissing her back with everything he had. For that single moment, he was able to forget his troubles, the future. Victoria, too. Laughing, more carefree than he’d ever seen her, she allowed her head to fall back, watching the trees spin above her.

“You’re always astounding me,” she said. “In all the years of my life, no one has managed to shock me even once, yet you have time and time again. I expected you to run from danger. You didn’t. I expected you to hate me for what I am. You don’t. I expected you to be hurt by my family’s prejudice. You aren’t.”

He stilled and gazed down at her, this beautiful girl of his dreams. “Because I, well…” He cleared his throat. He wouldn’t admit that he loved her, not with witnesses. “I told you. You’re the only one I care about.”

Her lids fell to half-mast as she planted another kiss, this one swift but soft, on his lips. “I have a surprise for you. It’s under your bed.”

“What—”

“No. Do not ask, for I will not tell you.” Reluctantly, she moved from his embrace and clasped his hand. “I hope you like it, though.”

A gift from her? “I know I will.” Now, he couldn’t wait to get home.

Riley, he saw, had Mary A

“Come on, you two,” Aden called.

At first they ignored him. Then Mary A

The princess in question gasped, stiffened. “Shut up!”

“My bad,” Riley muttered.

That reminded him…“So who is Dmitri to you?” he asked Victoria as they all jumped back into motion.

Riley’s attention whipped to Victoria, eyes narrowed. Gone was his relaxed demeanor.

There was no color in her cheeks, and she stumbled over her own feet. “Aden,” she began.

“It’s time,” Riley said. “He needs to know.”

Oh, no, Elijah suddenly moaned. Oh, Aden. I’m so sorry. I just heard her answer. She’s going to tell you, but please don’t react right away. All right?

Aden stiffened.

Victoria gulped. “Dmitri is my…betrothed.”

Betrothed. Took him a moment to recall the meaning of the word. When he did, he stopped. Betrothed—engaged. He’d thought himself stiff before, but now his muscles clamped down on his bones with so much force, his entire body shook.

“I didn’t choose him,” she rushed out. “My father did. I want nothing to do with him. I hate him. You have to believe that.”

“But you will marry him?”

Her gaze fell to the ground. A moment passed. She nodded once. “I ca

“What about your sisters?”

“They are promised to others.”

Filled with fury, he gripped her upper arms. “Why didn’t you tell me?” If she had, he would have fought the urge to love her. Or fought Dmitri when he’d had the chance.