All Chapters of A TASTE FOR BLOOD : Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
72 chapters
SOMETHING MORE THAN A VAMPIRE
South Wing HallwayThe corridor shook. Hard.Wall lamps flickered. Two paintings crashed to the floor.Guards sprinted, weapon raised, voices trembling.“He’s coming up the east hall!”“Block the south wing—we can't let me take the the girl!”“No! FALL BACK—he’s heading straight for—”A deafening BOOM cut them off. Stone buckled outward, dust filling the air.Footsteps echoed. Heavy. Predatory. Growing closer.The guards formed a shaky line, shields raised.Then he appeared.Diego.Chains dragged behind him like metal serpents. Blood streaked his arms. Claws clicked against stone. His eyes—crimson embers burning—locked on them.He didn’t stop. He didn’t slow. He didn’t blink.He spoke, guttural, strangled:“Move.”No one moved.So Diego did.A guard swung first. Diego vanished in a blur; the air snapped. The guard hit the floor, dead before the sound of his crushed throat reached the others.Two more lunged. Diego shoved one through a door—CRASH—and pinned the second to the wall with
LINES DRAWN IN BLOOD
South Wing HallwayFor a moment, no one moved.Not Dominic.Not Rhett.Not Diego.Not even Leo, who stood frozen with Claire clinging to Diego’s neck like the last safe place in the world.The mansion held its breath.Then—Claire whimpered softly.The tiny, broken sound shot through Diego like lightning.His claws retracted just enough not to cut her. His glowing eyes snapped toward the threat:Rhett.The hunter stiffened.Every instinct screamed:That thing is not a pureblood.It’s worse.It shouldn’t exist.He raised his blade higher.Dominic’s smile widened.“Careful, Kael.If you point that at him…” —he nodded toward Diego—“…you sign your own death warrant.”Rhett didn’t blink.“I’m not here for him.”His blade angled toward Dominic.“I’m here for you.”Diego snarled—the sound shaking the entire hall.Leo stepped forward urgently.“Rhett, wait—Diego isn’t the enemy—”Rhett didn’t take his eyes off Dominic.“He’s an enemy.Just not the one I kill first.”Dominic tutted softly.“H
THE SHOCK BENEATH THE EARTH
Deep Cave It had been seven days.Seven days since Lewis carved the deal into his shoulder.Seven days since the child was stolen.Seven days since Lucian vowed to wipe out the Monaghan bloodline.Inside the cold cave, Lucian worked in silence.Steel rang with every stroke as he sharpened a long, curved silver blade—the same blade he once wielded beside a man he now hated.He strapped on a silver-lined gauntlet.Checked wooden stakes.Secured the throwing knives on his thigh.His face was grim.Determined.Grieving.“This time,” he muttered, sliding a blade into its sheath,“none of you walk away alive.”He turned toward the exit—BOOOOOOOM!!!The cave floor lurched violently. Stones rained down like hail. Dust filled the air.Lucian grabbed the wall, eyes widening.“What the—?”Another tremor blasted the underground tunnels—deeper, heavier, older, like something buried for centuries had just awakened.The cavern HOWLED.Not wind.Not beasts.Vampires.Hundreds.Their shrieks echoed
THE CHILD IN THE CROSSFIRE
The hallway vibrated with raw, living power.Lucian lowered his sword, breath catching as he stared at Diego—at the claws, the gold-red veins pulsing under his skin, the monstrous aura burning off him like wildfire.Claire clung to Diego’s shoulders, tiny fingers trembling against his neck.Lucian whispered, voice cracking:“…What have they done to you?”Diego bared his teeth, pulling her closer.“Stay away from her.”Rhett stepped forward—not recklessly, but cautiously, blade angled low.“Diego… listen. No one’s here to hurt her.”Dominic smiled.A slow, dangerous smile.Exactly what he wanted.---Lewis — The One Waiting for the ExplosionAcross the shattered hall, Lewis stood with one hand against the wall, the other behind his back, fingers twitching with contained magic.He wasn’t merely watching.He was waiting.“Go on,” he murmured.“Say the wrong thing.”His eyes gleamed with sick delight.“Give him a reason to snap.”---Dominic’s Final ManipulationDominic moved forward, voi
THE NIGHT THAT SPLITS IN TWO
The Chase That Shakes the MansionLeo ran.Not just ran—flew through the corridors, Claire’s tiny arms locked around his neck, her sobs burning hot against his skin.Behind them—behind everything—came the sound:THUD.CRACK.WRAAAAAAAAAHHH—!!Diego wasn’t chasing them.He was hunting them.Marble exploded under his claws as he burst through a wall, molten-gold eyes blazing like two miniature suns.“CLAAAAAIRE!!”His roar shook dust from the ceiling and rattled every bone in Leo’s body.Leo didn’t look back.He couldn’t.He skidded around a corner—slid under a collapsing chandelier—leapt over a shattered banister—every breath a scream inside his lungs.But Diego didn’t dodge obstacles.He destroyed everything in his path.He came through walls.Through stone.Through the flesh of any vampire foolish enough to cross his path.Leo gasped for air.Claire screamed again——and Diego’s answering roar shook paintings from their frames.Leo whispered, voice cracking:“Hold on, Claire… I w
WHEN MONSTERS AND MEN COLLIDE
The shredded doorway hung from one hinge.Dust swirled.Splinters floated through the air like snow.And Diego stepped inside.Slowly.Predator-slow.Gold veins pulsed beneath his skin like living fire. His breathing was ragged—too deep, too fast—his mind breaking under Dominic’s manipulations and the terror he thought Claire was feeling.Leo pressed Claire tighter against his chest.“Diego—listen to me—”But Diego wasn’t listening.He only heard her heartbeat.Her sobs.Her fear.Fear he believed Leo caused.Claire stretched a trembling hand toward him.“Uncle..L-Liam… please stop…”Diego’s claws twitched.His pupils narrowed to slits.A distorted whisper leaked from his throat:“I’m sorry…but I won’t let them take you again.”---The Hunters Arrive Too LateBOOM.The far wall exploded as Rhett and Lucian burst through the debris, dust rolling off their shoulders.Rhett skidded to a stop, assessing the glowing aura around Diego.“Energy levels are critical,” he muttered, jaw tight.
THE MAN WHO WALKS WITHOUT A SHADOW
The figure stepped fully into the room.Tall.Elegantly dressed.His presence bending the air itself, as if the mansion exhaled in fear.No footsteps.No heartbeat.No scent.Just… silence.Rhett’s grip tightened on his blade.Lucian steadied his stance.Leo shielded Claire again, pulling her slightly behind him.And Diego—still on his knees—went rigid, instincts screaming.The Unknown Man smiled faintly.“Relax,” he murmured. “If I wished to kill you… you would already be gone.”No one relaxed.---His gaze drifted over the group like a cold breeze.“Rhett Kael,” he said without looking at him, “still hiding guilt behind discipline.”Rhett flinched.Lucian stiffened.“Lucian Hale,” the man continued, “still trying to balance revenge with righteousness. A foolish line to walk.”Lucian’s jaw clenched.Finally, his eyes settled on Diego.“Ah. The hybrid.”He crouched, bringing his face level with Diego’s.Up close, the Unknown Man’s eyes were wrong.Empty.Bottomless.Too old.“Do you k
THE CHILD WHO CALMS THE MONSTER
The shockwave tore through the mansion.Walls split.Ceilings groaned.Old paintings fell like dead leaves from a dying tree.Dominic crashed into a pillar with a snarl.Eamon slid back—just one step, but enough for his smirk to fade slightly.Rhett grabbed the broken doorframe to stay upright.Lucian shielded his face from flying debris.Leo hit the floor, wrapping himself around Claire to keep her protected.Diego stood at the center of the destruction.Barefoot.Bleeding.Shaking.Every breath he took glowed faintly gold.His eyes were blazing, molten and wrong.He wasn’t fully Diego anymore.Not fully monster either.Something in between.Something the world had never seen.Claire reached toward him, sobbing.“Uncle Liam—!”But his eyes didn’t recognize her.They didn’t recognize anyone.---Dominic’s RageDominic pushed himself upright, wiping blood from his lip.“You little—”He stopped.Because Diego turned toward him.Not with anger.With hatred.Not manipulated hatred.Not co
THE BLAST THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
The crimson light swallowed the hallway.A scream—Leo’s.A roar—Diego’s.A sharp intake of breath—Claire’s.Then—BOOOOOM!!!The blast detonated, consuming everything in a violent wave of destructive force.Stone cracked.Torchlight shattered.Shadows burned white.And when the light finally faded—Silence.A thick fog of dust and smoke rolled through the ruined corridor.---Leo Didn’t MoveHe lay curled around Claire, back arched, arms locked tight.Smoke drifted from him.His clothes were shredded.His skin was scorched.He wasn’t breathing.Claire shook him weakly, tears dripping onto his cheek.“Uncle Leo…? Uncle Leo… please…”He didn’t answer.He didn’t even twitch.---Diego SnapsA single sound tore through the quiet.A breath.A trembling, choking breath——from Diego.He stared at Leo’s unmoving body.At the burned imprint of Dominic’s attack scorching the ground.At Claire sobbing into Leo’s chest.And something inside Diego…broke.Not the way Dominic wanted.Not the way ev
GOLDEN FURY
The hallway glowed gold from Diego’s burning aura.Claire’s trembling whisper drifted through the smoke:“Uncle… Liam…”The name was soft.Small.Barely a breath.But it hit Diego like a spear through the chest.His entire body jolted.Golden cracks flickered violently across his skin.The heat around him wavered.His claws shook.His lips parted—“...Claire…”A sound—fragile, broken—escaped him.And the killing aura around his body flickered… then destabilized entirely.The ground beneath him trembled.He dropped to one knee, clutching his head.The sovereign rage didn’t vanish—It fought him.And he fought back.For her.---Behind Claire, Leo still lay motionless on the cracked stone.His body was burned, clothing torn, smoke drifting from him.Rhett kept Claire close.Claire looked past them, eyes filling with tears when she saw Leo’s still form.“Uncle Leo… please…”She crawled to him, ignoring Rhett’s call.She placed her tiny hands on his face.“Wake up…”---A Pulse—Faint, But