Page 1 of Bite of Sin

Prologue

Zan

Seven years old

“We should leave.” Pax gave me a push forward. “Dad is going to be so mad if he finds out we’re here.”

Viggo grabbed my arm to keep me from stumbling into the wall before shooting his twin a glare. “Don’t be so scared, Pax. We come down here all the time.”

Pax’s frown was a mirror of his twin’s as they stared at each other. Since I’d known them my whole life, I was one of the few who could tell them apart even though they were identical in almost every way. On the outside, anyway. Their personalities were the exact opposite. Where Pax was quiet and a rule follower, Viggo was reckless and outspoken. They were my best friends by choice, and my brothers by blood. Only on our father’s side, since Pax and Viggo had a different mother.

All three of us froze when a door slammed somewhere in the maze of halls. We were underground, and it was as large as the mansion above us. Whenever we were bored, we’d sneak down here, even though our father forbade it. But we never were allowed to leave the property grounds because of the war happening. A war that had been going on since before I was born. I could count on one hand how many times I’d been past the high walls.

“Let’s go back upstairs,” Pax urged, worry in his voice.

“Don’t you want to know what’s happening?” I asked as I began walking again. “Everyone was running around this morning. No one ever tells us anything. If we want to know, we can just listen to their meetings, like we always do.”

“Because we’re kids,” Pax muttered.

Viggo shook his head. “There are kids fighting outside the walls. We should be out there too.”

Pax and Viggo were three years older than me, and we’d heard rumors that ten-year-olds were helping however they could, to make sure our side won. Viggo wanted to join them, but our father made it clear that the three of us wouldn’t see the bloodshed until we were ready.

“We’ll just see where Dad is, and then we’ll go back upstairs,” I soothed Pax, nodding to the office door.

Pax sighed in defeat and slowly followed me to the vent that we’d used before. Viggo crouched down and quickly undid the screws that we’d left loose last time. I kept watch, making sure we were alone until he slid the grate to the side and crawled inside. Pax grumbled under his breath before getting to his knees and following his twin. Peering down the hall one last time, I awkwardly scooted into the vent tunnel, grabbed the grate, and set it against the opening. The hallway was dark, and with whatever was going on, no one would notice. At least I hoped they wouldn’t.

We moved on our hands and knees, going slow to keep quiet. This was the third time we’d traveled through the vents, and we’d already memorized the way to the office where our dad held important meetings. Soon the narrow space opened wider, and my heart began pounding when muffled screams filled the air. We were close enough to know it was coming from the office. Viggo scooted to the side, nearly lying on his side to make room for me and Pax.

My shoulders were squished against Pax’s as we all crammed into the space so we could peer through the vent slats. My stomach dropped when I finally looked into the office. The lights were on, giving us a clear view of the large desk. Music was playing, helping conceal us even more. Pax sucked in a breath as all of us lay there frozen.

Our father was standing on the side of the desk with no shirt on and his jeans unbuttoned. A woman was sprawled on the desk, her legs wrapped around his waist. This wasn’t the first time we’d seen sex happening. Even if our father wanted to protect us from the war, the things we’d seen in this house were sometimes just as bad.

“Amaros,” the woman pleaded my dad’s name. “It hurts.”

He stopped moving, watching the tears fall down her face with a blank expression. He moved so fast it took me a moment to realize that he’d wrapped his hand around her throat. My blood turned to ice in my veins as my heart beat faster. Pax shifted, his wide eyes going to me. He wanted to leave, but none of us moved.

“We’re celebrating,” my dad stated in a deadly voice, bringing my attention back to the desk. “Today is a special day. Don’t you want to keep me happy?”

“Yes, of course,” the woman choked out.

“Then be good while I eat.”

Pity for the woman filled me as I watched my dad’s face carefully. He opened his mouth, and when his fangs appeared, a piercing scream filled the air as the woman tried escaping his hold. He lowered himself onto her and moved his hand from her throat before he sank his fangs into her. She writhed while screaming and crying, her feeble attempts to get away growing weaker as he sucked, and soon, her head slumped onto the desk. He didn’t stop feeding, and memories flooded through me as I watched the woman take her last breaths.

It was on my fifth birthday when my father first fed on a human in front of me. He wanted me to see what I would become. The vampire who would rule, with Pax and Viggo by my side, once he stepped down.

“When you become a man, you’ll turn,” my father said with blood dripping down his chin. “You will carry on everything I’ve worked for, Zan. Failing is not an option.”

Once he was satisfied, he pushed the woman’s body away from him and pulled his jeans back up. He wiped the blood off his lips as he strode out of the office, none of us moving a muscle until the door slammed shut behind him.

“Come on,” Pax whispered, wiggling to move backward.

Since there wasn’t a meeting happening, I moved to follow. We wanted to hear what was happening with the war, not witness this. We crawled through the vent, and once we got to a fork, I paused, hearing a faint noise. Instead of going toward the exit, I turned my head the other direction as the noise got louder. It almost sounded like a woman crying. But not from pain. The cries sounded heartbreaking.

Without thinking about it, I turned, going in the opposite direction. Pax and Viggo were whisper-yelling at me to stop, but I ignored them as I kept going, squeezing my shoulders tighter as the opening narrowed more. Quiet thumps from behind me proved that my brothers were following me as I went toward the noise.

After a few minutes, we were deep in the vent system, and I hesitated, hoping I wasn’t getting us lost. Dad would not take it well if he found us down here. The cries were now echoing around us, and I stopped in front of a vent where the cries were the loudest. The space was tight, and Pax and Viggo stayed behind me as I peered through the slats.

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