Alexandria struggled in his hold, trying to escape, although she knew she was helpless in his grasp. He bent closer to her neck, and his breath, hot and foul, touched her skin.

“Don’t. Oh, God, don’t,” Alexandria whispered, her voice failing her. If he released her, she would fall, her knees buckling, but he held her still as he bent even closer.

“Your God has abandoned you,” he whispered. And his teeth closed over her throat, puncturing deeply, a pain so intense that everything swirled blackly. He dragged her into his arms and feasted, gulping at the rich blood. She was small, and he nearly crushed her in his arms as he drank. She could feel the fangs hooked in her body, connecting them in some dark, ugly way. Her body felt weak and sluggish; her heart stuttered and labored as he continued to drain her. Her lashes swept down, and even as she told herself she had to live to fight for Josh, black dots whirled and danced before her eyes, and she slumped helplessly against the vampire’s wiry frame.

He lifted his head, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. “And now you must drink to live.” His teeth tore open his own wrist, and he pressed it to her lips, watching as his tainted blood dripped into her mouth.

Alexandria had enough life left in her to try to avoid ingesting the hideous liquid. She tried to turn her head, to close her mouth, but the vampire held her easily and forced the poisonous drink beyond her lips, his hand stroking her throat until she swallowed convulsively. But he did not replace most of what he had taken, deliberately keeping her weak, wanting her more amenable to his bidding.

Paul Yohenstria dropped his victim beside her brother and lifted his face triumphantly to the dark, moonless night. He had found her. Her blood was hot and sweet and her body young and supple. She would provide what he needed to bring his emotions back, to make him feel again. He roared his triumph to the heavens, shook his fist to defy God.

He had chosen to lose his soul, and what did it matter after all? He had found this special one, and she could bring him back.

Her weak, instinctive movements away from him brought his attention back to her. Alexandria crawled to Joshua’s side and gathered him protectively to her. The vampire snarled jealously. Many would want her, but she was his. He would not share her with anyone. The moment the transformation was complete, and she came to depend on him, came to him of her own free will, he would dispose of the brat. He reached down, caught the boy by his shirtfront, and pulled him away from her.

Alexandria managed to sit up, but everything was spinning, making it almost impossible to get her bearings. But she knew unerringly where Josh was. And she know she would never allow him to share this fate. If this murderous creature could actually make them like him, death was the better alternative.

Without warning she launched herself forward. Her arms outstretched, she caught Joshua close to her, and her momentum carried them over the edge of the cliff. The wind rushed up at them; salt spray stung and cleansed. The waves reached high to welcome them to their watery graves, smashing like thunder on the jagged rocks just below the surface.

Talons caught at her, wings beat furiously, and hot, fetid breath heralded the arrival of her enemy. Alexandria cried out as the nails bit deeply into her and the creature carried them away from their only salvation. She could not bring herself to drop Joshua. There might be a chance, a moment when their captor was not watching, for her to help Josh escape. She buried her face in his blond curls and closed her eyes, whispering that she was sorry she wasn’t strong enough to allow him the mercy of death while she still lived. Tears burned in her throat, and she felt tainted by the evil in the monster, knowing he lived inside her now, forever binding them together.

The place he took them was dark and dank, a cave cut deeply into the cliffs, surrounded by water. There was no visible way to escape. He tossed their drained bodies contemptuously on the wet sand at the cavern’s mouth and paced restlessly back and forth, trying to control his anger at her rebellion.

“You will never do such a thing again or I will make that child suffer hell unlike anything you have ever imagined. Do I make myself clear?” he demanded, towering over her.

Alexandria tried to sit up. Her body felt battered, and she was weak from loss of blood. “What is this place?”

“My lair. The hunter cannot track me, surrounded as I am by water. His senses are confused by the sea.” Paul Yohenstria laughed harshly. “He has defeated many of my kind, but he cannot find me.”

She looked cautiously around. As far out as she could see, there was only the rough ocean waves. The cliffs loomed above, barren, slick, steep, and impossible to scale. He had them trapped as surely as if he had placed them in jail. And it was cold, icy cold. She was shaking with it. Mist was falling lightly, and she tried to cover Joshua’s body with her own to protect him.

But the tide was coming in, and the sand and pebbles they were lying on were already awash in salty water. “We can’t stay here. The tide is coming in. We’ll drown.” It was an effort to speak. She cradled Joshua’s head in her lap. He seemed oblivious to what was happening to him, and for that she was grateful.

“The cave winds upward into the mountain. The farther back one goes, the dryer it is.” He cocked his head to one side and regarded her with his bloodshot eyes. “You will have a slightly uncomfortable day, my dear. I do not trust you enough yet to allow you near me while I sleep, yet I cannot leave you to run around on your own. I do not think there is a way for you to escape, but you are far more clever than I gave you credit for. You leave me no choice but to chain you inside the cave. It will be wet, but I am certain you will endure.”

“Why are you doing this? What do you hope to accomplish? Why don’t you just kill me outright?” she demanded.

“I have no intention of allowing you to die. Far from it. You will become like me, powerful and insatiable in all our appetites. We will rule together, be invincible. No one will ever be able to stop us.”

“But don’t I have to come to you of my own free will?” she protested hastily. There was no way she was going to accept his life. There could be no way unless he used force. There was no reason powerful enough to make her do as he wished. But even as she thought it, she felt Joshua stir in her arms.

The vampire looked down at her. “Oh, you will, my dear. Eventually you will beg for my attention. I guarantee that you will.” He reached down and hooked her under one arm, dragging her to her feet.

Even as she swayed in the rush of wind and salt spray, Alexandria held on to Joshua with every bit of strength she possessed.

Paul shook his head. “For a human, you are stronger than you should be. Your mind is very resistant to control orpersuasion. An interesting problem. But do not try my patience too far, my dear. I can be quite cruel when provoked.”

Alexandria felt a hysterical sob welling up, choking her. If this was showing patience, if this was not an example of his cruelty, she didn’t want to consider what he was capable of doing. “Someone will miss those three women. They’ll find their bodies. They’ll find Henry.”

“Who is Henry?” he asked suspiciously, jealousy contorting his features.

“You should know. You killed him.”

“The silly old man? He got in my way. Besides, I sensed you in the restaurant, defying me, and needed to get your attention. The old man and the boy belonged to you. They served my purpose.”

“Is that why you killed him? Because you knew I cared for him?” Alexandria’s horror was deepening, even as her insides were burning from the tainted blood. She felt as if someone was taking a blowtorch to her internal organs, and her heart ached for dear, sweet Henry.