By Blood & Benevolence: Bend-Bite-Shift, #5

By Olivia Hardin

Viktor has battled the darkness his entire vampire existence. His wife and the life they made together manage to keep him from the brink of despair, but it's always near the surface.

A strange and dark encounter at a party unleashes his repressed past, overwhelming him with memories of his cruel maker and lost love. His sanity is challenged when a mysterious dhampir arrives on his doorstep with information that will cause him to question everything he thought he knew.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Olivia Hardin
• Release date: Mar 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524207144

Olivia Hardin

When Olivia Hardin began having strange movie-like dreams in her teens, she had no choice but to begin putting them to paper. Before long the writing bug had her and she knew she wanted to be a published author. Several rejections plus a little bit of life later, and she was temporarily “cured” of the urge to write. That is until she met a group of talented and fabulous writers who gave her the direction and encouragement she needed to get lost in the words again. Olivia’s attended three different universities over the years and toyed with majors in Computer Technology, English, History and Geology. Then one day she heard the term road scholar and she knew that was what she wanted to be. Now she “studies” anything and everything just for the joy of learning.  She's also an insatiable crafter who only completes about 1 out of 5 projects, a jogger who hates to run, and she’s sometimes accused of being artistic. A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband, Danny and their puppy, Bonnie.

Book preview

Chapter 1

A LAYER OF SMOKE LINGERED above the heads of the standing occupants in the room. Viktor flicked his gaze from one face to the next as the people milled about, chattering, laughing and drinking. Most of them also had cigarettes and cigars. A few of the old-timers even wooden pipes. The smoke couldn’t bother him.

He rolled his tongue across his teeth and took a deep breath, leaning back in his booth. His finger trailed the rim on his glass of bourbon. He wished he could feel the effects of the stuff— the warm buzz that came with the exquisite taste of liquor.

It amazed him that he could even remember that feeling as it had been many years since he became a vampire. If old habits died hard, he supposed so did the memory of them.

He felt a little tingle in his chest and his sixth sense urged him to turn to his left. Joya flashed him a smile and a wink. He inclined his dark head and tipped his glass to her.

She was the reason they came to these parties. He met her when she was still on the stage, performing the classics with a crew out of France. She agreed to give up acting and let him carry her off to Belgium, but she couldn’t give up the night life.

Viktor wasn’t much for social settings. He preferred to stay home tinkering with his plants and seedlings, reading a good book, or watching movies in the theater room. But Joya’s electric grin and musical laughter reminded him why this was such a small price to pay for her happiness.

Another drink, sir? A young woman asked as he caught sight of her from the corner of his eye. When he looked at her fully he saw that she wasn’t just young, she was very likely underage. He shook his head and forced his eyes away.

Dressed provocatively, her pubescent breasts were squeezed to the point of overflowing in a too-tight top. Thin black leggings covered a minimal amount of skin under a very short skirt.

What the hell kind of party is this? He wondered, searching for Joya amongst the crowd.

Downing the last of his drink, he stood and elbowed his way through the crowd to find his wife. He saw her flaming red hair far across the room, the curls around her face jiggling back and forth as she danced with a short blonde gal. He raised an arm to get her attention and came into contact with someone’s head.

Hey! the man shouted, slapping at Viktor’s hand with scowling blue eyes. What the hell?

Narrowing his eyes until they