I was so keenly aware of her closeness. Soon the longing I’d had for her—one I denied even existed—came rushing through me like a flood. No matter how much I hated to admit it, whether she was Ingrid or Camilla, she still had the same effect on me now as she had done when I had first laid eyes on her. She always managed to leave me breathless. She drew me in like no other woman had ever done before. With her standing so close, looking the exact same way she did ten years ago, no matter how much I hated to admit it, I knew that I would always love Camilla.
Before I could keep myself from doing it, I grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed my lips against hers. Warning signals immediately began flaring up inside me. She’s not Camilla. She’s Ingrid. She’s a vampire, a monster, a creature you’re sworn to rid this planet of. You’re in hawk headquarters. Think of what you stand to lose should you be seen doing this. None of it mattered. I pushed against her with all the strength in me, claiming for myself what I’d been deprived of since she left me—her touch, her kiss, her form uniquely contoured to fit mine.
She responded with abandon, making it easy for me to tell that she wanted this too. It wasn’t until her fangs cut my lower lip that I found myself jerking away from her. We were both stunned as I wiped the trace of blood from my lip.
“You still love me, don’t you?” she asked. She said it in a way that was devoid of any hint of triumph. She spoke wistfully.
“I think I always will,” I admitted, hating myself for the affection I still held toward her, for the sense of overprotectiveness I always felt for her. However, I knew who meant more to me than her. Sofia. “Don’t think for one moment, Ingrid, that my love for Camilla erases the fact that I think you’re using my daughter for whatever sick things you’ve got planned. If you ever hurt Sofia again, make no mistake about it, I will kill you myself.”
Her eyes began to brim with tears as she nodded. “I understand. I just…” she hesitated. “I don’t know how to be a good mother, Aiden. I want to be that for her, but I don’t know how. I want to change. I truly want to make amends with her if only to get back in your good graces, because I love you, Aiden. I will always love you.”
I couldn’t tell if it was genuine or if she was just putting on an amazing act. At that point, however, I really couldn’t think straight enough to care if it was true.
I was fully aware of the consequences when I took her to my suite and made love to her, but I really didn’t care. I held her in my arms and gave in to my desperate need for the woman I had loved, to fill the emptiness that she had left inside me when she had abandoned me and our daughter.
That night, like so many others before her disappearance, I found that I was once again putty in the hands of Camilla Claremont.
It wasn’t until the morning after, waking up with her lovely form cradled in my arms that it sank into me that Camilla was long gone and that it was Ingrid Maslen instead who now held my deepest affections in the palm of her hand.
Aiden, what have you done?
CHAPTER 14: GREGOR
Upon my return to The Shade, only one word could describe me: haunted. Every part of me wished that I had never left the island. I wished that I never went along with Lucas’ plan to take Sofia to The Oasis. I knew that I had made a mistake the moment I had stepped into the Maslens’ infamous Egyptian tombs. The Shade was my kingdom and I never should’ve left it. Now, after the destruction of The Oasis and the fall of the Maslens, I realized that things would never again be the same.
I shuddered whenever I thought about everything that had happened since my son, Derek, woke up from his four-hundred-year state of sleep. I never thought that I could ever feel as much hatred and resentment toward my own flesh and blood as I had felt for Derek when he had taken over The Shade and dethroned me as king of the island. Now, being back at the island, I had no choice but to ruin him.
I wanted my throne back. No matter what those fools belonging to the Elite thought, I was the rightful ruler of The Shade. Derek never should’ve taken that place from me.
Standing in the middle of the dome, I could feel my blood boiling as I stared at my son, sitting where I should’ve been seated. I would go as far as declaring war on him if it meant regaining my rightful place.
“Ever since that little vixen of yours arrived at The Shade, you’ve turned this kingdom upside down on her behalf.” I asked, relishing how Derek’s face tensed at the statement. Clearly, he was in turmoil. Never before had something like this happened at The Shade. When I was king, my subjects never had reason to doubt my loyalty. Now that the slightest bit of doubt was being cast on Derek, I had every intention of capitalizing on it.
“Sofia has nothing to do with the choices I made regarding The Shade,” he defended, the hint of affection that showed in his voice when he mentioned her name was easily detectable.
“Isn’t she the reason you stopped the culling and asked Eli to organize a way to tap into the blood banks? This move puts The Shade in danger of being discovered, does it not?”
“The same way you put The Shade in danger when you started abducting teenagers to turn into your slaves. Only with this measure, we don’t have to destroy any lives.” Derek was losing patience and it was obvious.
I smiled inwardly. I wanted his temper to blow up. I wanted to see him crumble and make a fool of himself. However, like I always found myself in danger of doing, I had once again underestimated my own son. Before I could think of another accusation to throw at him, he stood up and scoped the round hall.