Prologue

"Science has proven that a human can die of a broken heart, also known as stress cardiomyopathy. I think I could be the first human to witness the phenomena happening to a member of the supernatural race. Unfortunately, I probably have a snowball's chance in hell of living long enough myself to see him actually die." ~Willis

The body hit the ground with a thud, joining the others in the blood-drenched cemetery Cain had created in the Area 51 compound's cafeteria. Why the cafeteria? Well, he wasn't a complete animal. He did at least eat his meals at a table like a civilized person.

Cain stepped over several bodies and took a seat, looking out over the carnage. Perhaps he'd gone a little overboard. The place did sort of resemble a messy toddler's room after they had thrown a fit. Oh well. Cain didn't need these fools anymore. They were nothing more than juice boxes taking up space. Most were human scientists that served no purpose, hybrids that had gone mad, or weak vampires that weren't worthy of the gift. He'd killed them all indiscriminately. The only ones remaining were some supernaturals tasked with guarding the compound, Willis, and Sam, the vampire lawyer.

"Sam," Cain muttered. "What a dumb name for a vampire." Cain decided the man would have to die simply on principle. No respectable vampire could be named Sam. Cain had originally planned to use the man when dealing with the human government, but what did that matter now?

Cain thought back to the last phone call he'd received from the ever-pleasant Colonel Mark Douglas.

"What the hell is going on in that nightmare you call a lab?" Douglas's rage practically reached through the phone. "You didn't think we'd monitor you? We've got satellites and drones all over the place. Do you know what we're seeing, Cain?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell me," Cain said dryly. "What's the point of asking?"

Colonel Douglas ignored his words and continued his rant. "You've got vampires running around like wild boar, killing humans without discretion. We've got governors from surrounding states calling, wanting to know if there are multiple serial killers or some sort of virus that's turning people into psychopaths. What the hell are we supposed to tell them, Cain?"

"Tell them there's a plague of hungry vampires on the loose, and the human population has become an all-you-can-eat buffet."

"You have exactly twelve hours to get your monsters under control," Douglas threatened.

Cain couldn't help but laugh. "Do you hear yourself, Colonel?" he spat the man's title. "What did you think would happen when you made a deal with the King of Monsters? Did you really think you could control us? Control me ? You're a fool, just like the rest of the human race."

The Colonel started cursing Cain, and there were a bunch of other words and threats, but Cain's attention had been averted to the vampire walking toward him. If he was surprised at the littered dead bodies, he didn't show it.

Cain let Douglas continue his rant while he lifted his brow at the newcomer.

"I've got news that I think will interest you."

Cain thought his name was Constantine, but he couldn't remember for sure. They all ran together. He nodded for Constan-whoever to get on with it.

"There's rumor of a sprite who can open portals and travel through them as fast as the fae can flash. As luck would have it, I wound up in the same tavern as her, and we had a chat. She would like an audience with you."

Cain didn't respond. Douglas was still going off at the mouth through the phone. Constantine continued speaking.

"She mentioned that one of her specialties was returning lost things." The vampire wisely didn't mention Alice as Cain's so-called ‘lost thing.'

There was no way this female sprite could possibly get Alice back for him. Or at least he wasn't about to allow himself to hope such a thing was possible. But that didn't mean he wasn't intrigued.

"Colonel Douglas." Cain returned his attention to the phone. "I am unconcerned about what you want or what you attempt to do. You made a deal with a supernatural being more powerful than you and the government you represent. It is only a matter of time before we overthrow you and take control. By all means, give it your best shot." He ended the phone call and then addressed the vamp. "Contact information?"

Constantine held out a piece of paper. "Her number."

Cain took it and motioned for the vampire to take his leave. "Go, have your fill. The humans and any supernatural who gets in your way are fair game."

An excited gleam filled the male's eyes as he turned and headed from the room.

That had been at least six hours ago. The hunger in Cain had grown to a frenzy, and he knew he had to satiate it before he allowed himself out in public. During that time, he'd contemplated whether he should even bother calling the sprite. Simply put, he didn't give a shit anymore. Why should he? He'd lived all this time thinking that dominating the humans, controlling the other supernaturals, and being king of a vast domain would be enough. Until Alice.

For a brief moment in time, Cain had been blessed with a taste of the sweetest ambrosia. He'd experienced the look of adoration in a woman's eyes—eyes that at the time only saw him. It didn't matter that Alice had left him. He knew she'd felt the emotions between them. Her mate would have to live with that knowledge for the rest of their lives. The only thing that took her from him was the damn supernatural bond, which Cain had no chance against. Nothing trumped a mate bond between wolves, especially a gypsy healer and her mate. The only way he'd have been able to keep Alice was if her mate had been killed before they met. Even if he'd kept Alice for years, decades, Cain would have had to have kept her completely secluded to stop the chance of her meeting her true mate. Impossible .

But like trying to hold smoke, she slipped from his grasp. She was gone. He'd thought his ambition to rule with the hybrids would be enough to overcome the feelings he had for Alice. Every day was harder than the one before. Her blood had satiated his hunger. But now the hunger had returned even stronger than before. And after drinking from the first human in the compound, Cain had lost control. Willis had barricaded himself in his lab. Sam had made himself scarce. But neither would live much longer.

Cain pulled the piece of paper from his pocket and set it on the table. Blood lingering on his fingers smeared on the paper, leaving a red streak. Cain picked up his phone and dialed the number. He paused, his thumb hovering over the call button on the screen. He considered the reasons he had for contacting this, no doubt, psychotic sprite. His muddled brain could only come up with one—Alice. The vamp breathed a heavy sigh. Why the hell not?

He hit the button and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" The woman's voice was smooth and young sounding, though Cain knew she was probably quite old.

"What is it you want?" Cain asked without preamble.

"Ahh." She hummed. "The vampire king himself. Isn't this an honor?"

"I don't have time to play games." That was a lie. All Cain had was time. "You want to speak with me, then speak."

"What I have to discuss will require a face-to-face interaction. I can be outside your gates in a few moments if that works for you."

The so-called portals. "Fine." He ended the call.

Five minutes later, Cain ushered the sprite into the compound. She introduced herself as Celise. They looked out over an open space where his remaining hybrids slept. Unsure if they would be sane, Cain had yet to order Willis to awaken them. The king was getting sick of dealing with psychopathic toddlers.

"I think we can help one another." Celise leaned back in her chair. She wore a canvas bag slung across her body, big enough to hold a substantial amount of things, including a large book.

Cain's brow lifted, and he held his hands out briefly. "How so?"

"There's been a rumor of a woman, a gypsy healer to be exact, that was in your care. I understand she has been taken from you." Cain wanted to hiss at the sprite, but he held silent. "I believe I have a way that you can get her back."

Cain shook his head. "Even if I could, she wouldn't want to be with me. And I don't want a woman who is with me against her will." Perhaps that made him sound weak, but after once having Alice through her own choice, he would accept nothing less.

Cain watched the sprite tap her chin, thinking. While she considered his words, he narrowed his eyes on her. "What is it you want, or perhaps need, from me?"

Her lips turned up in a smile. "Smart man."

"I wasn't born yesterday, and these aren't my first negotiations. Get on with it."

The sprite stuck her hand into her large bag and pulled out an ancient book.

Cain's eyes narrowed. "I, too, have heard rumors—rumors that someone had gotten their hands on the Book of the Dead. It appears they are true."

She nodded. "It is more powerful than anyone could have imagined."

But at what cost? Since when was there ever a cost I wouldn't pay?

As if reading his thoughts, the sprite said, "It's powerful, but requires … certain things, as all powerful spells do." She laid the book on the table and ran a hand across it like a lover, reverently touching the object of her affection. "The spells in the Nushtonia require blood."

"Naturally." Cain nodded. "Dark magic means blood magic." He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. "And I can only assume by your presence here that the blood required is more than mere human. You must need the blood of a vampire to make your book go."

She shook her head. "Not just any vampire—the king of vampires. Your blood carries the power of all your species." Cain saw the desire in the sprite's eyes. She sounded like a junkie bargaining for her next fix.

"Well, since I no longer desire Alice's return, what can you offer me?" Cain flicked his tongue against one of the sharp incisors, wondering what sprite blood would taste like and if it would give him any sort of enhanced strength like the blood of other supernaturals did.

Celise held up her hand. "I can see the wheels turning in your twisted mind. Do not even think of attacking me. I have the protection of the Nushtonia ." She patted the book. "It's bonded to me. I promise, it would not go well for you."

Risky move . If the book was damaged or destroyed, Celise would suffer the same fate.

"I can give you the magic that will allow your vamps to travel through portals." Her words sped up in her eagerness. "Just think of all the damage they could inflict, being able to travel miles in the blink of an eye."

He glanced at the book and then back up at her. "Okay, and what spell do you want to cast that would require my blood?"

Celise traced the edges of the Nushtonia , staring at it briefly before looking up at him. She appeared to be weighing how much she should tell him. "I need the power of hell at my back. At the moment, I can call only minor demons. I want more."

Cain coughed. "You want to open the gates of hell?" To say that would be a ballsy move would be an understatement. He'd known the sprite must've been crazy, but wow, he hadn't expected complete off-the-wall bonkers-ness.

Celise held up a hand. "The book will allow me to control them," she said, a hint of defiance in her voice. Then her lips turned up in a smile.

Cain frowned. "What else? There's something you aren't telling me."

She shook her head. "I need to cast another spell, too, but it will have nothing to do with you. And it will not affect you. At least it won't be bad for you."

"And I'm just supposed to agree, not knowing what you have planned?"

She shrugged. "I give you my word as a sprite. No harm will come to you."

Cain scoffed. He wasn't planning on being around all that much longer, so he really didn't care too much what effect the spell might have. The sprite was more correct than she knew. The spell wouldn't affect him. But what about his hybrids?

"What's your end game, Celise?"

She clenched her fists. "Revenge upon the one who took what was mine and to retrieve the things that have been taken." Hate and anger permeated her words as her voice came out through gritted teeth.

Cain tilted his head. "Who wronged you?"

She didn't answer right away, but then she seemed to decide that it wouldn't hurt to answer him. "Perizada."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, wow. She does seem to get around. I don't think there's a dark supernatural out there that doesn't want a piece of her flesh."

"I want a piece of her flesh, but not the whole thing. I don't want to kill her. Before, I thought I did, but then I realized that death would be a gift for one as old as her. Part of the curse of being a supernatural is our long lives. It's a form of torture that humans can never understand."

Cain's eyes widened as he suddenly realized who this sprite was. "Your four sisters were killed in the fae cold fire."

Biting her lip, Celise nodded.

"If long life is such torture, why would you rob them of their afterlife?"

"They didn't die of their own free will."

Once again, Cain had to laugh. "Do any of us die of our own free will? Even if we take our own life, it's not necessarily what we truly want. Something has driven us to it."

"They didn't deserve to die. Not like that," she argued. "I want them back, and I want Peri to pay for what she's done."

"And how will you make her pay?"

She shook her head. "That's a matter I shall keep to myself, for now."

Cain blew out a breath. "So my blood for the ability to open portals for my hybrids?" He considered what she'd said. It was true that his creations could do so much more damage. Fane and his band of merry do-gooders would have a tough time keeping up with the speed at which the hybrids turned humans.

Celise spread her palms. "That's the deal."

"What do I need to do?"

She motioned to the book. "Simply let your blood drip onto the book. Nothing more."

"And the spell for the portals?" he pressed.

"I will put the spell on you, and you can pass it through your blood to them. They can pass it to the others through the sharing of blood."

"Seems simple enough." Again, what the hell did he care? He knew Fane was hunting him, and Cain would let him come.

Cain bit into his hand and held it over the book, letting the crimson drops fall onto the cover. Immediately, the blood was absorbed like a sponge. Before Cain could pull his hand back, Celise grabbed it and placed her hand over the place where the blood flowed. She muttered some sort of guttural language, and Cain felt his hand grow very cold, as if he'd shoved it into a bucket of ice. Seconds later, his hand burned like it was engulfed in flames. When she released him, she smiled.

"Now, all you need to do is share your blood. To create the portal, your minions must simply think of where they want to go and say the word opravrel ."

" Opravrel ," Cain repeated the word as he thought of the gates of the compound. To his right, a huge whirling circle swirled, and a hole appeared. He could see the gates on the other side. His eyes widened. A part of him hadn't expected it to work. Then the portal disappeared.

"It will close on its own if you don't hold the thought in your mind or if you don't go through it in a few seconds after you open it." She put the book back in her large cross-body bag and then pushed the chair away from the table. "Our business is done. If you change your mind about your female, you've got my number."

Cain shook his head and didn't bother to stand. "I think this concludes our business. Good luck with your revenge, reviving your dead sisters, and world domination with the demons."

He said it so dryly that Celise seemed briefly confused, and her face scrunched up. Then she shrugged and opened a portal. The sprite waved over her shoulder and walked through it. It closed a second later.

Cain wasted no time. He sprang up and marched to Willis's lab. The ridiculous fool thought a lock and some tables and chairs would keep out the vampire king. When he reached the door, Cain simply shoved it with both hands. There was a loud crash, and the door flew inward. Furniture sailed in all directions. Willis was cowering on the opposite side, his eyes wide and his mouth wide open.

"I need you to draw up several vials of my blood and give it to the hybrids." He motioned to the room containing his sleeping creations.

"We've already given them your blood," Willis stuttered.

"I know that, you walking ribeye," Cain said dryly. "We need to do it again."

The vampire walked over, opened a drawer, grabbed a handful of syringes and needles, and then tossed them on the table. He sat down, resting his arm beside them. "Get on with it."

Willis walked slowly over, his eyes full of skepticism. But when he saw Cain wasn't going to lunge at him and take a bite, the scientist picked up the first syringe and went about doing as Cain had asked.

Minutes later, there were ten full syringes of blood with needles attached. "Come with me. We're going to give them my blood and then wake them up."

"And w-what if they're crazy?" Willis's voice rose an octave.

"I'll open a portal and shove them through it."

"A portal? I didn't know you could do that."

The scientist grew bolder the longer he was in Cain's presence and wasn't killed. That would be rectified soon.

One by one, they injected the thirty hybrids with Cain's blood. Then Willis took out the IV's that administered the drugs keeping them asleep. When the first few awoke and didn't immediately attack anyone, Cain was encouraged.

He sat on the edge of a table, watching his creations come alive, so to speak. They looked around, confused, but as soon as they met Cain's eyes and he told them to sit down, they obeyed.

"They're not crazy." Willis's voice sounded relieved

"So it seems. Now, listen up." Cain explained to the group the ability that he'd given them. They looked skeptical, but then he had one of them do as Celise had instructed. Sure enough, a portal opened. Cain told him to close it, and it disappeared. "Your task is to go get vampires and hybrids and bring them back here. I want to speak to them directly. Your blood will give them the ability to use the portal. But I want to be the one to pass on this information. Is that clear?"

The hybrids nodded in unison like a group of programmed robots.

Cain listed off the cities where most of the vampires and hybrids had gone. Then he sent these new creations through the portals in groups of three or four. He'd share his vision with as many as he could before his time on this earth was over. At some point, one of the most ambitious, older vampires would take up the mantle of king. It was the nature of his kind to need a leader. Much like wolves, without a leader, complete chaos would reign among the vampire ranks.

Once all the hybrids were gone, Cain turned his eyes on Willis. "You've served me well."

"Thank you," the scientist said slowly. He began to back away, his natural prey instincts kicking in as he recognized the predator before him.

Cain didn't step forward to get into a position to attack. He didn't have to. With his hybrid speed, thanks to Alice's blood, it was over in the blink of an eye. Cain moved so quickly Willis didn't even see him. He grabbed the male by the throat and tilted it sideways. Without a word—because what was the point in speaking to your food before you ate it—Cain sank his teeth into Willis's neck and drank deeply.

After he'd drained the scientist dry, Cain dropped him, as he had all the others. The vampire let his head fall back and took a deep breath. Then, with a sound that was eerie even to him, he called out, "Sam, you can't hide from me. But please try. I love a good hunt."

The man who'd been angry about being turned into a vampire wouldn't have to endure his fate for much longer. Cain wondered if the lawyer would be any good at hide and seek. The vamp king decided he'd purposefully prolong the hunt. It would give him something to do until the hybrids brought back others for him to instruct.

"Should I count to a thousand, Sam?" Cain shouted as he strolled from the room. It wouldn't be much longer, and Cain would be free of the unwanted emotions that refused to leave him in peace. Damn Alice, and damn the wolf who took her from him. Damn them both to hell and eternal torture. Maybe he'd see them there and get to gloat for all eternity. He sighed. For the first time since he'd acquired the throne, Cain didn't want it. "I'm done being king," he whispered as he searched for his final prey.