Stolen Innocence

21

Kayden's heart throbbed against his chest when the visiting vampire named Venus ran over to the demons standing in the entryway to the living room. He recognized them and knew they were the ones that hurt him.

The ones who forced Roman's hand and the reason he had to become a vampire.

One of them, the one that Kayden recognized as Simon, charged toward them, but was stopped by one of the other demons.

"Don't let them take me," Kayden pleaded, clinging on to Roman as tight as he could. "Please don't let them take me."

Roman rubbed his back. "Can't you see? He doesn't want to leave," he spat, looking directly at Simon. "If you cared, you'd respect his wishes."

"You turned him," Simon whispered, eyes locked on his soulmate. "You bastard!"

Kayden gasped in fear when Simon yelled. He recognized Simon and knew that he was his soulmate; he was the one Roman claimed to have abused him.

"I'm protecting him from you, demon," Roman snarled, still caressing Kayden's back and neck to keep him relaxed.

"You've brainwashed him," Paxton said, standing beside Simon in hopes to attack and protect Kayden. "You've changed him into a soulless animal, just like you!"

Roman chuckled. "I've enlightened him!" he said, standing up and backing away as he was cornered by the demons. "He knows how evil you demons are. How unwilling you are to save one who isn't a demon's soulmate..."

"I had no choice," Alastor snarled, stepping to the front of the group. "Give him up, Roman. I will kill you if you don't!"

Roman scoffed. "You're a fool, Alastor," he said, openly touching Kayden on his neck to make Simon snarl but not risk attacking out of fear of hurting his soulmate. "If I die, he dies. You know that, demon. Plus, he needs me. He will only grow weaker without my blood. Any other blood won't suffice and it will take him a long time to adjust and he'll be sick and miserable."

"We'll take them both," Alastor said, glowering at the vampire whom he hated with a burning passion.

He approached Roman and ripped Kayden out of his grasp, ignoring the screams and cries of the newly turned fledgling as he struggled to get back to Roman. Once Alastor handed Kayden to Paxton, because Simon was too stressed and broken seeing his screaming soulmate struggled to get back to his enemy, Alastor branded Roman.

"I'll take him back through a portal," Alastor said, grabbing Roman's shoulder. "Pax, you take Kayden and come with us. Simon, you're with us as well."

Simon nodded, his eyes locked on Kayden as he cried and struggled in Paxton's grasp.

"Make him sleep, Simon," Paxton said, knowing that seeing Kayden relaxed would in turn calm Simon down.

"Fine," Simon responded, wincing as Kayden's struggling got worse when he approached the fledgling. He gripped Kayden's neck and began to use his powers to make a haze fall over Kayden's mind and eventually lulled him into a sleep.

Roman's eyes were fixed on Kayden as he fell asleep, hating that he was relaxed in a demon's grip.

Alastor opened a portal and had his tiny group follow him to his palace in Hell. Once there, he ordered a demon in the palace to fetch him a metallic bracelet that he used on other supernaturals to limit their powers, which he locked on Roman's wrist.

"He'll stay in the dungeon," Paxton said as they walked through another portal to their mansion.

They'd never had to use the dungeon in their mansion, but they kept it just in case.