Stolen Innocence

23

It had been three days since Indigo was murdered. Those three days, Kayden hadn't visited his grave, which was hidden at the back of the garden between two rose bushes, but he decided that Indigo deserved all of his friends to speak to him, even if he wasn't there.

Kayden knelt in front of the grave, a shallow patch of dirt with small sprouts of grass already bursting open on top of it. They hadn't put in a real headstone, nor did they plan to, but Darius ordered a small plaque that would be delivered to them in the next couple of weeks.

"Hey, Indigo," Kayden said in a soft voice, placing his hand on the dirt patch, granules of the material sticking to his skin. "I miss you. It's been three days, and I'm sure you've already found a way to irritate all of the beings in the afterlife. We all knew your soul never had a chance of going to Hell, so there's no chance to find your soul and reconnect it with a body, and I don't want to take your freedom in the afterlife away from you anyway, so I'm happy you're not in Hell.

"Darius told me yesterday about how terrible your life was before you went to live with him. He said you were terrified of vampires and hated being around them, but you didn't even consider that fear when you snuck through the portal to help save me. In the end, you saved me from running away with Roman, it was seeing you, my best friend, that knocked my mind into focus and made me realize that I was back with the people I love and that Roman had me under some control. I'll always be thankful to you for that."

Kayden held a white flower in his palm, some kind of peony, he believed, and laid it down on the mass of dirt. "Rest easy, Indigo," he whispered, standing up and walking into the house.

It was just past six in the morning, and for the third day in a row, Kayden had woken up in the basement, laying in front of Roman's cell. He hadn't told anyone that he was sleepwalking to the vampire, because it scared him to think about, let alone seeing what the demons thought about it.

Kayden walked to the fridge and pulled out a bag of blood, grateful for Paxton, as the prideful demon kept drawing blood from Roman so Kayden didn't have to drink directly from his neck.

He dumped the blood back into a cup, the unfamiliar feel of his fangs growing and piercing his bottom lip. Kayden wished there was some way to will them away, because he hated that they popped out whenever he smelled Roman's blood, especially since he didn't even drink from Roman. It was just annoying and let marks on his lips.

"Good morning," came a soft voice.

Kayden turned and saw Venus walking into the kitchen, yawning and stretching.

"Why are you up so early?" Kayden asked, glaring at the vampire and pulling his cup closer to himself.

Venus shrugged. "I'm always up early," he said, sitting at the counter. "It's in our nature."

"Not our nature," Kayden growled, grinding his back teeth together. "We're not the same."

"We're both vampires who were human at one point or another," Venus deadpanned. "So, yes, we share a similar nature."

Kayden drank the blood, hating how much he liked the flavor. "Did you want to be turned?" he asked, making eye contact with Venus once he finished drinking. "Because I didn't want to."

"I was dying," Venus said, looking out the window. "I don't know what I wanted. But, I don't regret being saved."

"I wouldn't call it being saved," Kayden mumbled. "How did you break out of his control?"

"He let me go. He'd taught me how to hunt and knew I wanted to travel, so he allowed me to be free and broke the control he had over me."

Kayden saw a hint of hurt in Venus' eyes. "Why?" he asked.

"I wasn't his soulmate," Venus said in a flat voice. "He wanted me for sex and trained me, but everyone gets bored eventually. He let me go, and I found Darius, so in a way I'm happy he let me leave because otherwise I wouldn't have the supernatural family I have now."

Kayden smiled at the love that filled Venus' pink eyes. "How are they all doing?"

Once Indigo died, Darius figured that the others would want to mourn with him, so he and Alastor collected the rest of his supernaturals from California and kept them in the guest rooms.

"Alvis is the worst... he's passed out twice from dehydration, and by the time Darius manages to get any water in him, he's already lost it to his tears again," Venus said, hanging his head. "They used to hate each other, with them being different types of shifters, but they became close after time. They loved each other."

"He loved you too," Kayden said, remembering what Indigo begged him to say. "He asked me to tell you that he didn't hate you."

Venus' eyes welled up with tears. "Really?"

Kayden nodded as Venus broke down. They were soon joined by Darius, who must of sensed his vampire's distress and rushed out to see what was wrong.

"Come on," Darius said, scooping Venus up and carrying him away to their borrowed room.

Once Kayden was alone, he washed out his cup and went back to his and Simon's room, finding the demon still asleep. He tried to stay quiet and climb into bed, but Simon woke up anyway.

"Good morning," Simon said, before tilting his head. "Where did you go?"

"Bathroom," Kayden lied, making Simon shake his head.

Simon reached up and wiped Kayden's cheek. "There was blood on your cheek, Kayden," he said, sympathizing with how much the fledgling hated drinking blood.

"I went to visit Indigo and then I got hungry," Kayden said, hoping that Simon wouldn't see the fear in his eyes and realize that he didn't wake up in the bed with him.

"You look afraid," Simon said, sitting up and revealing his chest as the blankets fell off of him.

Kayden's eyes were locked on Simon's bare skin. He'd never felt lustful toward his soulmate, but for some reason he couldn't get that strange desire out of his mind. He pushed the thoughts away and sighed, knowing that Simon would keep asking until he gave an answer about the fear in his eyes.

"I... I keep waking up really early," Kayden said, biting his inner cheek. "And I'm not waking up in bed."

Simon furrowed his eyebrows. "Where do you wake up?" he asked, surprised when Kayden boldly climbed into his lap.

"In the basement," he murmured, leaning forward so their chests were pressed together. "Always in the same spot. I'm always right outside the door to his cell, grabbing the lock like I'm trying to open it... I can't stop this desire my body has to get to him and obey him even though my brain knows I don't want to be near him."

Simon rubbed his back, moving his hands underneath Kayden's shirt to touch his bare back. "It's okay, you're still turning completely," he tried to reassure, kissing Kayden's head through his mop of blond hair. "Even though he doesn't have control of your mind, your subconscious wants him because he turned you, so it's guiding you to him."

"How do I stop it?" Kayden asked, sitting up in Simon's lap and looking at him intently. "I can't wake up to anyone else dying because of me."

Simon sighed. "I don't know," he said, watching Kayden's face crumple. "I mean, look at Venus! It took him a long time but he doesn't rely on or want to belong to Roman now! I think it's a matter of time, and if it's really hurting you that you keep waking up there, I can lock that door so you can't get to him."

Kayden shook his head. "No, if that happens then I'm scared I'll attack someone to get it," he said, taking a deep, irritated breath. "And I'm still tired."

"Why?"

"Because I woke up on a cement floor!" Kayden exclaimed, grabbing the blanket and pulling it over his back while he stretched himself out on Simon's body. "Stop giving me that confused look. I'm being affectionate, so appreciate me. Maybe it's my new vampire side that's really clingy."

Simon chuckled. "Maybe," he said, leaving his hands under Kayden's shirt as he traced tiny patterns all over his back. "I like this side to you."

Kayden huffed. "Me too."