Shattered Restraint Read online

  Shattered

  Restraint

  ~~~

  Cassandra Lawson

  Copyright ©2015 Cassandra Lawson

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Image © Can Stock Photo Inc./andersonrise

  Proofreading by Kendra’s Editing and Book Services

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events are creations of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by federal law enforcement agencies and is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Also by Cassandra Lawson

  Psy-Vamp Series

  Vampires and Vixens (Book 1)

  Safe Hex With a Vampire (Book 2)

  Vampires Prefer Blondes (Book 3)

  The Vampire Will See You Now (Book 4)

  Wanton with a Vampire (Book 5)

  Moon Virus Series

  Raven’s Blood (Book 1)

  Embrace the Heat (Book 2)

  Seducing Death (Book 3)

  Acknowledgments

  There are many wonderful people who support me with each book, and I honestly could not do it without them. First of all, I want to thank all of the fans who keep me going with their words of encouragement. I love hearing from all of you. I also owe a great deal to my fantastic beta readers Amber, Kari, Levenia and Ria. You ladies rock!

  I would also like to thank Kendra Gaither for her invaluable proofreading and editing skills. Thank you, Lydia at HEA Book Tours for expertly handling the details of my blog tour. These two wonderful ladies make it much easier for me to spend my time writing new books. I also want to thank the bloggers who work so hard to get the word out about my books. I know you are all inundated with tons of emails each day, and I truly appreciate your tireless efforts to help authors and readers.

  Table of Contents

  Also by Cassandra Lawson

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  Chapter one

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  About The Author

  Prologue

  Chest puffed out with pride, Danny walked alongside his dad. This was the first time he’d been allowed to hunt. At four years old, Danny knew why his dad had really brought him along. Danny’s mother was in another one of her strange moods. She’d gotten out of bed that morning and wandered off, leaving the door wide open. There was no one else to watch Danny that day, and they needed the meat. For the next five days, his dad was assigned to work the fields, which meant Danny would probably be working the fields too.

  Not for the first time, Danny wondered why his mom acted so strange.

  “Is Mom sick?” Danny asked.

  His dad stopped walking and looked down at him. “She just gets confused sometimes, Dane,” he said before ruffling Danny’s hair.

  Danny’s dad was the only one who called him Dane. His name was Daniel, but no one had ever called him that. Everyone called him Danny, except his dad, who said Dane was a strong name—one a man could be proud of. Danny’s mom said it made him sound like a killer.

  “It’s scary when she gets confused,” Danny admitted. More times than he could count, he’d been left at home alone because his mom had forgotten he was there. That’s why Raven came by to check on him. It was kind of embarrassing to have her know his own mom didn’t remember him.

  “I’m glad you took me with you,” Danny said, grinning up at his dad.

  “Me too,” his dad said. “We need to be quiet now, or we’ll scare away the rabbits.”

  Danny did his best to be silent. They made some noise because of his dad’s prominent limp. His dad was older with coarse grey hair and wrinkled skin. They hunted for rabbits because his dad liked meat, and they didn’t get much in their rations.

  A rustling noise in the distance had Danny’s heart racing with excitement. It sounded too big to be a rabbit, so Danny thought maybe they’d get lucky and catch a deer. If they brought back a deer, they’d have meat to share with their friends.

  “We’ve got to hide you,” his dad said in an urgent whisper as he pushed Danny toward the thick brush before covering him with leaves. “Don’t make a sound,” he warned. “No matter what happens, Dane, I need you to stay quiet. Someone has to take care of your mom.”

  “What is it?” Danny asked, his voice shaking.

  “Vampires,” his dad responded. “We’re not far from one of the guard details, so other humans will be here soon to help us. I’ll fight the vampires off until help gets here, but you have to stay quiet.”

  Danny nodded, tears already forming in his eyes. He’d never seen a vampire, but they’d all been warned that if you could hear a vampire, it was close enough to catch you. They were fast, strong, and completely without mercy. Now, his dad was going to fight them alone.

  Once Danny was buried in the leaves, his dad pulled out a vial of cow urine and poured it all over the leaves on top of Danny. “It’ll mask your smell,” he explained before drawing his knife and facing the direction of the vampires.

  “Use your bow!” Danny said urgently.

  “Quiet, Dane!” his dad hissed. “I’ll have a better chance with the knife.”

  Then the vampires moved out of the woods.

  Danny could barely see what was happening around him, and he was having trouble processing what he did see. There were no words spoken by the vampires; no warnings or threats were made. The two male vampires who emerged from the trees wore clothing that looked like it was ready to fall apart, and their hair hung in dirty clump
s around gaunt faces. Both lunged at his dad so quickly his dad stumbled back and nearly fell to the ground.

  Recovering with surprising speed for someone his age, Danny’s dad plunged the hunting knife into the chest of one of the vampires. The injured vampire let out a hoarse, guttural scream and collapsed with the knife still in its chest. When his dad tried to pull the knife out, it wouldn’t budge. The second vampire hit his dad hard in the chest, knocking him down. His dad tried to grab one of the arrows to fight the vampire off, but he was too slow.

  Danny wasn’t sure how he managed to hold back his own screams as the vampire’s fangs neared his dad’s neck. Rather than just sinking into the flesh like Danny had expected, the vampire tore at his dad’s throat. The only sound his dad made was a short gurgling sound as the vampire lapped at the blood. His dad’s legs twitched for just a moment before becoming utterly still.

  Danny heard the shouts in the distance, which meant help was coming . . . just moments too late.

  “This way!” Danny recognized Raven’s voice a moment before she burst through the trees and plunged one of the sharp sticks she fought with through the vampire’s heart from behind. The vampire sat up, looking almost confused, before it collapsed forward. Raven caught the vampire’s shoulder and pushed it to the side so it wouldn’t fall on Danny’s dad. Then she turned her attention to the other vampire lying on the ground with the knife in its heart. That one was still moving, and it almost managed to get the knife out. Before the vampire had time to react, Raven plunged her other stick into its heart. The vampire only moved for a second before becoming completely still.

  Others from Danny’s settlement arrived, out of breath from trying to keep up with Raven, who, as a wood nymph, moved much faster than humans.

  “Danny!” Raven shouted desperately as she looked around.

  Lying there under the leaves, he wanted to call out to her and tell her he was okay, but he couldn’t. Shock held him mute.

  “Where could he be?” asked one of the men Danny didn’t recognize.

  “Maybe there were more vampires, and they carried him off,” another suggested.

  It was the fear Danny saw in Raven’s eyes that allowed him to finally react. He still couldn’t speak, but he managed to drag himself from the leaves and stumble toward her. His eyes strayed to his dad’s body, and he trembled as sobs wracked his body.

  Raven scooped him up in her arms and held him close. “It’ll be okay,” she told him.

  “I should have helped him,” Danny croaked.

  “There was nothing you could have done against two vampires,” Raven assured him in a comforting voice.

  “I hate vampires. Someday, I’m going to kill them all,” he said, his voice full of as much power as a four year old boy could manage.

  Chapter one

  Twenty-four years later

  Roger stared out the window at the pitiful remnants of the empire he’d been meant to inherit. Conjuring the memory from the back of his mind, he pictured the well-manicured lawns and fountains. Quaint cobblestone pathways once wound their way through this section with its luxuriously decorated cottages. In the middle of it all was what remained of the large stone building that stood as the center of their empire.

  His father ruled over the blood whores like a king—no, like a god! Their very lives had been at the mercy of his father, and Roger shared in that power with his father for a short time. That was until his father’s empire had been stolen from him.

  Fate was a bitch.

  Somehow, the blood whores ran this country now. Although, it wasn’t technically a country anymore. What had once been a world power wasn’t recognized as anything more than a very large piece of vampire-infested land.

  Opening his eyes again, he shook his head. The stone building had survived the rebellion because most of it hadn’t burned. That was the building Roger stood in now. It was nothing like it had once been. The interior no longer held priceless works of art or lush carpets. The hard stone floors were cold in the winter, even with the generator heating the building. Outside was even worse. The beautiful cottages were no more. They’d built new cottages, which were scarcely more than shacks to house his less important followers. They’d also reinforced the walls surrounding the compound, giving the place a cold feel.

  Glancing at the mirror, Roger examined his own fangs. It was somewhat ironic that he’d willingly become one of the creatures he hated. Well, not exactly the same. Roger had been infected with a newer version of the Moon virus. In his youth, vampires had been romanticized in books and movies where they were portrayed as beautiful. That’s probably the reason he was a little disappointed that he’d changed so little. He’d always been average in every way, from his brown hair and eyes to his unremarkable features. Except for the fangs, his outward appearance hadn’t changed.

  “Why did you agree to be infected with the new virus?” he asked the young vampire in the room.

  The vampire looked startled, which made sense. Roger didn’t make a habit of talking to the lower-level guards.

  “It was the only way to kill the vampires who threaten us,” the young vampire said after some thought. “Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices for the greater good.”

  Roger nodded. “Very good.”

  This vampire was one of the fools who followed him. The boy was a zealot who believed the blood whores were evil killers, and that he was somehow different because he had not been infected with the original form of the virus. It worked to Roger’s advantage to keep most of his followers believing the lie. Since they could just as easily find out the truth, Roger never fully trusted any of them.

  “What’s your name?” Roger asked the vampire, earning him another startled look.

  “Abram,” he said.

  “I’d like a word alone with Craig, Abram,” he told the younger vampire.

  The vampire looked relieved and hurried out of the room. Roger loved the way he inspired both loyalty and fear among his followers. It was arousing—yet strangely lonely. That was an emotion he hadn’t experienced before the death of his cousin. Roger wouldn’t say he’d loved his cousin, but there was a strange comfort in having a close relative nearby. Now, he had few people he could count on. A couple of his guards had been with him since the beginning, and he at least trusted their loyalty. Craig might be the closest thing he had to a friend, and that was truly sad.

  Craig said nothing, merely waited for Roger to begin the conversation. The man was the only scientist and doctor they had left—something they needed to remedy soon. Standing before Roger, Craig looked around to avoid making eye-contact. Craig was a chubby little man who sweated when he was nervous, and he was almost always nervous. He was also still human, despite Roger’s urgings. Craig had been taking a special solution made with nymph blood to stay young, but nymph blood was no longer readily available to them. Roger had embraced his future and become a vampire. Craig was delaying this change, and that was something Roger couldn’t allow much longer. Aside from the fact that he couldn’t afford to have Craig die, eventually, he would go insane from lack of nymph blood. Withdrawals from the serum were severe and inevitable.

  “Update me on our efforts to control the undead vampires,” Roger prompted him.

  Craig swallowed hard and fidgeted. “Things are going better than I expected. As you know, we’re perilously low on nymph blood, which was the main ingredient in the serum used to control the undead.”

  “Don’t waste my time telling me things I already know,” Roger snapped because he hated when Craig got long-winded with his explanations. Soon, the room would reek of the man’s perspiration.

  “Of course,” Craig said, and Roger wondered if he was imagining the annoyance in the scientist’s voice. “I’ve been experimenting by giving them different amounts of blood. There have been differences in responsiveness based on the amount of blood we give them, so I started experimenting with how much we give them before their heart stops.”

  “We don’t g
ive them any blood,” Roger said, glaring at Craig. “That’s why their hearts stop.”

  Craig shook his head. “That’s what we originally believed, but it seems we were wrong. Denying them blood altogether results in too much damage to the brain for them to follow orders well. If we give them just enough to keep their hearts beating for a few days, and then wean them, they’re more biddable after their heart stops.”

  Roger considered that for a moment. While it made little sense to him, it was a relief to have a solution to the problem of controlling the undead. “You’ve done well, Craig.”

  Craig flinched and looked away. “Thank you,” he said, sounding much less pleased with his own efforts than he should.

  “What’s bothering you?” Roger asked.

  “I’m just glad these experiments are over,” Craig admitted. “Denying them blood feels too much like torture. They beg for it.”

  Hearing it described that way made Roger regret his lack of involvement with the experiments. He’d assumed they’d be boring, “Take the rest of the afternoon off,” Roger said with a patient smile. “On your way out, send Jeff in. He should be just down the hall.”

  Craig nodded and trudged out of the room.

  It was only a few minutes before Jeff stalked into the room, looking somewhat worn out. Jeff had grown up on the old island settlement, and Roger admired the human’s vicious nature. When they’d begun infecting some of the guard with the Moon virus, Jeff had been among the first Roger had offered it to, but he’d refused. Roger was disappointed, but he wouldn’t force his trusted guard. It was still a pity he’d probably only live another decade or so.

  “You wanted to see me?” Jeff asked, staring at Roger with dead eyes. Roger suspected Jeff had committed enough atrocities in his life to kill that spark of humanity most possessed.

  “I need you to put together a team to fetch a human for me,” Roger began. “Have them wait by the road that runs between the blood whore settlement and their business district. Make sure they’re armed with tranquilizer guns.”

  “You looking for one in particular, or will any human do?” he asked.