Nexus (Malefic Bloodlines Book 3)

Prologue

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1924

Red. Screaming. Darkness. Laughter.

Blood. Tears. Crying.

Rage. Bliss.

Power.

“Beg for your life,” I instructed, keeping the tip of my blade poised at the woman’s throat.

She was young, probably a student. Her tears had a scent to them I couldn’t identify before I awoke in this form. I could taste them on the air, along with the blood that pumped greedily through her veins.

I wanted to own it, to devour every drop until there was nothing left to feed her miserable heart. It would belong to me, just as everything in this wretched world would. Those who thought they’d known fear would face the consequences of their ignorance.

Another scent assaulted me, alerting me to her presence. The beautiful woman that found me in an alley, covered in blood and carving my mark into my victim.

Her allure remained, but it was quickly fading. I saw it in her eyes when I woke and fed on three humans. I ripped one of their heads clean off in my quest for his blood and when I was sated, her fear was evident.

She’d created something stronger than her, which was her intention in order to rid this city of her enemies. She would do well to keep me out of that category because I desired nothing less than her pain. I would settle into my seat of power beside her, but I didn’t know if it would be enough.

Nothing was ever enough.

Maybe I would make her beg too. With those pretty pink lips and her dark eyes staring up at me while she sat on her knees, I’d love nothing more.

Whatever this future held, I knew this obsession with her would fade eventually. I’d ride it out for the time being, but I wanted her blood. I wanted her screams, her tears, and the bliss that came with reducing a person to nothing.

None of them mattered. None of them ever had. I wasn’t capable of that sort of affection.

Nobody would ever come before me or even remotely close. I was about to make a name for myself that would never be forgotten.

San Francisco would be mine and when it was, I wouldn’t share that power with a single soul.