Blood Driven: The Shattered, #2

By A.C. Sneyd

High school. Danger. Love.

Aimee was turned against her will. Now she must learn how to survive as a new born vampire - preferably without killing anyone.

Zane, the elder vampire, steps up to the challenge to teach her, but self-control doesn't come easily to her.

Then Leo, her maker, sets his sights on her oldest friend, Erica. He's only doing it to make her jealous (as if!), but Erica is falling dangerously under his spell.

And Richard is still acting weird around her. True, she almost killed him when she was first turned, but she didn't mean to. Can't a boy learn to forgive and forget?

Worst of all, someone isn't content with Aimee being half-dead. Someone wants Aimee dead dead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.C. Sneyd
• Release date: Dec 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201754365

A.C. Sneyd

Mother and daughter writing duo. YA fantasy. Love triangles. Magic. A writing duo comprised of long-time published romance author Cathy and her YA novelist daughter, Alice, they've banded together to create exciting young adult stories that centre around strong women characters overcoming life’s challenges, often set in fantasy-essque settings or inspired by fantasy worlds. Cathy lives in the middle of native New Zealand bush and, when she isn’t writing, you can find her drinking tea, mucking about in her vege garden, or chasing after her escaped chickens. (Free range eggs sometimes means going on nature walks to find the latest nesting spot!) Alice spends an inordinate amount of time at her mother’s house and when she is not writing, you can find her chasing waves at the local surf beaches, drawing, dancing and sometimes helping to recapture her mother’s escaped chickens. Cathy and Alice love spending time writing together, and Alice only bosses her mother around occasionally. Writing is a means of expressing themselves, and they consider themselves extremely blessed to get along so well and to have each other to motivate, to bounce ideas off, and to push boundaries in their writing.   Sign up to our newsletter at https://BookHip.com/GJLZRA and receive a FREE copy of The Boy Who Could Fly – the prequel to the exciting new Marlowe Phoenix series, soon to be released.

Book preview

Chapter One

All I could hear was his heartbeat, the blood pounding through his veins, calling to me.

My eyes focused on the telltale leap at his throat, where the blood ran close to the skin.  So, so close.  Just one little nick with my teeth and his blood would trickle out and fill my mouth with warmth and life.  Just one little bite is all it would take.  He would barely feel any pain.  

I opened my mouth and licked the points of my fangs. 

His eyes widened and he stumbled backwards and fell.  His arm scratched along the gravel path and a tiny drop of blood oozed out onto his skin. 

The smell of it hit me with the force of a sledgehammer, suddenly making me frantic.  

I had to drink.  Now.

Richard, I cooed hoarsely, willing him to get closer to me.  Closer, so I could taste the richness that ran through his veins.  Richard, come to me.  My throat felt so dry.

The look of horror on his face should have stopped me, but I had no control over my desperate need.  In the back of my mind was the knowledge that I was doing evil, but the voice of sense, of loyalty, of humanity was drowned out by the pounding of his blood in my ears and my need to drink.

He got to his knees and was violently sick into a rosebush, heaving over and over until there was nothing left in his stomach to bring up.  

The sour stench of his vomit crept into my nostrils, making me gag.  But overriding my disgust was my need for his blood.

I felt a hand on my arm.  Zane.  Leave him be, Aimee.

I shook him off.  He was cold, like I was.  His blood did not pound in his veins or run rich with life through his body.  It would not satisfy my need.  I wanted nothing from him.  Leave me alone.  I need him.

Richard staggered right up to me, fighting the compulsion all the way.  Dirt smeared his hands, and a smear of vomit streaked his chin.  When he reached me, he dropped to his knees, his head bent in defeat.  Aimee, no, he cried, as I lifted him to his feet and brushed the hair gently away from his neck. The pink fabric of my prom dress swished around my calves, as smooth and soft as the skin on his neck.  Remember who you are.  He writhed in my grip, but he could not summon the strength to escape my grasp. 

Zane put one finger under my chin, tilted my head up and forced me to lock eyes with him.  You will not touch him.  In his face I read compassion—and a will that was far stronger than my own.  

Reluctantly, my thirst still clawing at my throat, I uncurled my fingers and let Richard go.  He wavered on his feet for a moment and then stood in front of me, his arms clasped around his stomach.  You called me for help, he whispered, his face sick with betrayal.  I came because I thought you needed me.

Behind me I heard Leo laugh, a sharp, thin whip of sound that set my teeth on edge.  Leo, the vampire who had just turned me. Against my will. "She's a new-made vampire and she's thirsty.  She does need you.  He turned to Zane.  Let her have him."

I turned on Leo then, snarling, and he shrank back away into the shadows.  I had never wished to become what he was. He had caused me enough grief today to last me a lifetime.  A vampire's lifetime.

You will forget what has happened tonight, Zane said, locking Richard's eyes with his.  His words curled around me like the lick of a flame. He powers of persuasion were strong, even for a vampire.

I felt Richard shudder at the force behind Zane's words, but he did not give way. His strength had been forged from tragedy and despair and it was hard and bitter enough to withstand even Zane’s commands. What have you done to her?

Zane put one hand on Richard's shoulder, a gesture meant to comfort and reassure him.  She will not hurt you.

Richard wiped the smear of sick off his face with his sleeve and slowly backed away out of Zane’s reach.  You cannot make me forget.  His voice was hoarse.  Not this.

A frown creased Zane's face, making him look old and weary for a brief moment, as if he had lived too long and seen too much. Then his face cleared and he was back to his usual self, his brown eyes glittering in a pale face as smooth and unblemished as porcelain, and his glossy dark hair flopping over his eyes. It seems not.  That is a...complication I did not expect.

Richard was still staring at me in horror.  I will tell everyone what I have seen.  I swear it.  I will call the police and the FBI and the New York Times...and...everyone.  By now, his voice had taken on a hysterical edge.  The whole world will know you are a freak, and you will be taken away and locked up where you can't hurt anyone again.

You can try telling the world, but no one will believe you.  Zane's voice sounded full of pity, and almost sorrowful.  Still, it is not safe for you here now.  Go.

Richard hesitated for a moment, his eyes meeting mine with a beseeching look.  I stared back and smiled and licked my lips without thinking. The points were sharp against my tongue.

At the sight of my teeth, he ran.  Away from me.  Away from Leo and Zane. Back to the ballroom, to the lights, to the music, to the people, to safety.  Back to the world that was no longer mine.

My thirst still seethed within me, a hunger that had to be sated or it would drive me mad.

I turned in the direction of the ballroom where my high school prom was raging.  There were people there.  Lots of people.  Their heartbeats were fainter, more indistinct than Richard's had been, but they were still audible, pounding in my ears with a delicious promise of blood.

Zane grabbed by the wrist.  No, Aimee.  Not that way.

I tried to shake him off, but he was stronger than I was.  Let me go.  I wanted blood, and I wanted it now.

Let her go, Leo whined from somewhere behind me.  She's mine.  I made her.  She has to feed.  

Are you mad?  Zane's dark eyes glowed bright with fury and he spat his words at Leo as if they were poison.  She's new.  She has no control.  There will be a riot and half a dozen of them will be dead before she realizes what she is doing.

Leo kicked a stone and it skittered away into the darkness.  The noise was as loud as a pistol shot in my ears.  His boyish face was sulky in the moonlight, and the light reflected off his blonde hair, making it almost glow. What does it matter?  They're only humans.

Zane growled at him then, a sound of menace that penetrated even my blood-starved brain.  Help me take her somewhere safe to feed, or I swear by my Maker, I will take a samurai sword to your neck so you can never make such a mistake again.

Leo stumbled over and took my other arm then, reluctantly, as if he half feared I would turn on him and savage him.  If he had had a pulse, I would have done so without hesitating. But he was cold, just like Zane was. He had nothing I wanted.

Together they frog marched me away from the noise and the music, away from the closest source of nourishment that would take away the burning need inside me. I could have broken away from Leo’s weak hold, but Zane’s grip was firm. There was no way I could break free from that.

I wept tears of precious blood as I felt the human heartbeats recede into the distance.  Traces of others came and went, but Zane and Leo continued to propel me forward until I was pushed unceremoniously into the back of Leo's car.  

Drive, Zane ordered, as he clambered in next to me, one cold hand gripping my wrist.

Leo turned around and glared at him.  "You drive.  I want to sit in the back with her.  She's mine. I made her."

Zane slammed the door shut and locked it, cutting me off from the world outside.  I didn't like being enclosed in this metal box, away from the pulses of the living.  Especially not when I was so ravenously hungry.  I lashed out with my feet and elbows, desperate to escape.

Once again Zane forced me to look into his eyes.  Calm yourself, Aimee.  Control yourself.  You will feed soon.  Then he turned back to Leo, his handsome face contorted into a furious scowl.  Shut up, you fool, and drive.

Leo opened his mouth to protest, but another look from Zane silenced him. He shut up and drove.

Within minutes we had come to a stop in one of the shabbier districts of town: an area full of drinking barns, seedy nightclubs, shuttered storefronts and not much else.  

The sounds of life hit me again when Zane opened the car door and I scrambled past him in my anxiety to get out.  Standing there in the middle of the night, I sniffed the air with a long, slow breath.  The scent of blood was all around me, and I turned in a slow circle as I deliberated where to begin the hunt for my prey.

Leo tugged me forward.  I bared my teeth at him but allowed him to lead me into an alley.  Wait, he hissed at me as I made for the open door of one of the nightclubs.  Stay here.

I snarled at him but did as he asked.  

My patience was rewarded a few minutes later when a young woman stumbled out of the club and into the alley.

Mmmm.  She was slightly plump, and her cheeks were a bright pink.  I licked my lips at the sight of her.  Plenty of blood in her.

Come here, baby, Leo crooned, almost too softly to be heard.  

She came, tottering on her high heels.  Waves of alcohol-laden breath washed over me as she passed by.

Leo took her in his arms.

Hello, sweetie, she said, lifting dazed eyes to his.  Do I know you?

He smiled at her.  No.  And then bent his head and bit her sharply on the neck.

The smell of fresh blood was more than I could bear.  Before he could even taste her, I dragged him off her and started to suck ravenously on her neck, the warm, rich blood flooding my mouth.

Before I had drunk my fill, Zane was at my elbow, commanding me to stop.

Reluctantly, I let go of her.  He licked the wound on her neck with his tongue, murmured a few words in her ear and gave her a gentle push.

She wobbled a bit, gave me a confused look, and then stumbled off down the alley.

I watched her go with a greedy eye and ran my tongue over my incisors to suck out the last drop of blood.  I was still ravenous, though my hunger had lost the desperate edge that had been driving me to the brink of insanity.

Five more victims were waylaid in the alley, bitten and sent on their way before I was, at last, sated.  I took barely a mouthful of the last, a middle-aged man in a fancy suit and striped shirt, before I pushed him away, my blood lust now gone.

Leo showed me how to close his wound with my saliva, and to persuade him with a whisper that he had merely bumped into me while he was walking along.  It worked like magic.  My last victim mumbled out a drunken apology before stumbling off into the dark streets.

I watched him go, swallowed by the night.  Now that I was no longer under the spell of my dreadful hunger, I suddenly felt sick.  Utterly, horribly, vilely sick.

I fell to my knees in the alley, sobbing with horror and disgust.  I willed myself to retch but could not manage to throw up more than a trace of watery saliva.

My mouth felt unclean with the thick, metallic taste of blood still lingering on my lips.  I spat on to the ground and wiped my mouth over and over again with the back of my hand, as if I could wipe away all remaining traces of blood.

What had I become?  What had I done to all those people who had done nothing worse than step into a dark alley at night where I was waiting for them?  Had I killed them?  Turned them into vampires like I was?  The thought sent another wave of horror coursing through me.

Zane put one hand on my shoulder, sensing my fear and revulsion.  You didn't take enough from any one donor to harm them.  We made sure of that.  The worst they'll have is a mild headache in the morning, and they would have that even without your help. Alcohol makes humans so much more suggestible to vampires, and easier to control.  He gave me a rueful look. Though you’ll be sharing their headache in the morning, I’m afraid. Blood infused with alcohol gives us vampires quite the buzz, but we pay for it the next day just as humans do.

I ignored his warning. But I fed from them.  The words disgusted me so violently I could barely spit them out.  I took their blood.  I drank it.  Like an animal.

Leo laughed, but here was no humor in it.  Only derision for the poor, weak creatures we had so easily preyed upon. The sound of it grated over my