Stolen Innocence

17

"S-Simon?" Kayden called as he woke up in a daze.

Every part of his body throbbed and he couldn't see anything. The room was cloaked in darkness and the only sense that offered Kayden any knowledge of where was his sense of touch, which revealed that his arms were bound above his head and there was something soft beneath him.

In the darkness of the room, Kayden managed to make out the shadow of a wardrobe and assumed he was in some kind of bedroom. He remembered being grabbed and knocked out, so it was safe to assume he wasn't at the mansion.

Nevertheless, he continued to call for Simon in a scratchy voice, his entire being begging the demon to somehow be playing some big trick on him.

"Simon?" he called again, his voice broken and high pitched. "Help."

A squeaky sound caught Kayden's attention and he saw a light coming through from a doorway. He saw a figure out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't make anything out in the darkness.

"I've always preferred the darkness," a familiar voice said. "It's relaxing for the body."

Kayden groaned. "Let me go, vampire," he said, sounding much more confident than he'd expected to. "I want no part of your argument with the demons."

"Seems like you've grown thicker skin since the last time I saw you," Roman said, leaving the lights off.

Kayden stayed quiet so he could hear where Roman was, and a weight at the end of the bed he was bound on showed him how close the vampire was. He didn't know why Roman wanted to capture him or what he planned on doing, but Kayden didn't care; he just wanted to find a way out of the binds and get away from Roman.

"I can sense what you are thinking," Roman purred, rubbing his hand on Kayden's knee. "Soon I'll be able to see your thoughts, little one."

"Get your musty hands off of me," Kayden snapped, kicking his feet out since they weren't tied like his hands were.

Roman laughed deeply, the menacing sound almost forcing Kayden to stop squirming, but he forced himself to keep from being afraid.

"I can smell your fear," Roman whispered, holding Kayden's legs down and leaning forward so his lips were by the human's ear. "And it smells delicious."

"That sounds like some weird kink shit that I'm not into," Kayden said, moving and trying to shake the vampire off of himself, but to no avail.

Roman growled and sat on Kayden's thighs and placing one hand on either side of his head so he was towering over him. "It's not. I love the smell of fear... the scent of my victims."

"So you're going to kill me to make a point?" Kayden asked, trying to push away the fear in his gut.

"No," Roman whispered, laying down on Kayden completely so their chests were pressed together. "I'm going to punish those demons and make you mine at the same time."

Kayden narrowed his eyes. "Why do you hate them? What did they do to you that makes you hate me?"

Roman touched Kayden's cheek, only his red eyes glowing in the room. "I don't hate you. No, you're an innocent, young human who deserves better than a murderous demon." He continued to stroke over various places on Kayden's face, avoiding his lips since Kayden tried to bite him when he stroked over his lips the first time. "Supernaturals get soulmates... demons get to choose whether they have them or not, like your friend Darius. He chose not to. I had one, a couple hundred years ago, and he was perfect. Looked a lot like you."

Kayden furrowed his eyebrows.

"I pretended to be a human while getting to know him... he lived with me in a time when humans were against the idea of gay relationships, but I vowed to protect him. When I revealed who I really was to my soulmate, he was terrified and ran away. I called on Alastor to help me, to find my soulmate, but when we did, it was too late."

Kayden didn't know where the story was going, or what it had to do with him, but he remained quiet and listened.

"It was too late," Roman repeated in a soft voice, his throat growing tight. "My little soulmate was so afraid that he'd tried to kill himself, but he panicked last minute and missed the artery that would end his life, so he was in my arms and was slowly dying in my grasp. It was either death or make him immortal, but I was not a Master Vampire at the time, so I did not have the power to change him into a vampire. I begged Alastor to take his soul make him half demon to save his life."

Kayden knew what he was going to say and his heart dropped.

"Alastor refused," Roman whispered. "He refused to help me because vampires and demons don't work together, and he was unwilling to make an exception to save my soulmate. My soulmate died because Alastor didn't want a lasting connection with vampires, and he refused to take accountability."

"You can't blame him," Kayden whispered. "I've read the books. Demons and vampires can't interchangeably make soulmates who aren't theirs immortal because then the person is drawn to whoever changed them, whether or not their soulmate isn't the same type of supernatural. That's why it takes time for adjustment, so they grow reconnected to their soulmate and not the person who changed them, same as when a Master Vampire shifts them."

Roman snarled. "You think I prefer my soulmate dead as opposed to being attracted to demons?" he asked, eyes dark and angry.

"Yes!" Kayden said, tears in his eyes. "I feel for you, honestly, but it has torn vampires and demons apart in the past when their soulmate was shifted by someone else! Their soulmate's only focus becomes who shifted them, and if they're a different form, they go ignored and often try to kill who shifted their soulmate!"

Roman wrapped his hand around Kayden's neck. "If that's true, I can't wait to see Simon tear himself apart."

"What?" Kayden whispered. "What are you going to do with me?"

"I'm going to make you belong to me," Roman growled, touching Kayden's neck. "And you will then only crave me. It will tear your soulmate apart, and I'll have a soulmate of my own to cherish."

Kayden cried out, trying to shake Roman off of him. "I'll never be able to replace the one you lost!" he said, trying to convince Roman to leave him alone. "Please, don't do this! I don't want to be a vampire!"

"Too bad," Roman growled. "Your foolish demons sealed your fate for you, little one. I hate to steal your innocence from you, to invade and control your tender human mind, but they must be punished for their actions. No one hurts and makes a fool of me without consequence."

Kayden felt warm breath on his neck, and he knew it belonged to Roman. He tried to plead, but Roman covered his mouth and snarled, and Kayden fell silent in terror.

"You'll only be asleep for a few days, your body processing the shift," Roman whispered, sounding much kinder than he had before, pressing a soft kiss to Kayden's neck. "And I'll take good care of you, little one."

Kayden screamed as he felt Roman's teeth pierce his skin, and then his vision went dark.

•••

:)

Things are about to be sad and intense for a while so have fun reading !