Chapter 3 Blood Training

The first thing Kade Ye did after I said "Teach me how to kill them" was throw me into a swimming pool. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I crashed into the cold water in his oversized shirt. I flailed. I had never learned to swim. The wolves never let the slave use their pool. I was choking, sinking. Strong cold hands grabbed my waist and pulled me up. Kade's face was inches from mine, wet. His black shirt was plastered to his chest. "You can't swim," he said calmly, holding me afloat easily. "Wolves can swim. Vampires can't. But hybrids? Let's see what you are." "I said teach me to fight, not to drown me!" I coughed, clinging to his shoulders. My shirt was transparent now. I realized it and tried to cover myself. He didn't look. His violet eyes stayed on my face. "Lesson one," he said, ignoring my embarrassment. "Your wolf side is afraid of water. Your vampire side hates it. If you panic, you die. If you control both, you breathe." He let go. I sank again. Panic shot through me. I kicked wildly. Water filled my mouth. The growl inside me roared - _NO!_ And then... my feet touched the bottom. I stood up. The pool was only four feet deep. He had thrown me into the shallow end. I glared at him, wiping water from my eyes. My silver-white hair was stuck to my face. I must have looked like a drowned cat. Kade Ye actually laughed. A short, surprised laugh. "You are very easy to tease, little princess." "I am not little!" I shouted, splashing him. "I'm nineteen!" "Nineteen years as a slave. Zero years as a princess. You are a baby vampire. A baby wolf. You don't know how to use your claws, your fangs, your nose, your ears. Marcus made sure of that." He stepped out of the pool in one smooth motion. Water didn't even drip off him. He offered me a large black towel. I wrapped myself in it, shivering. Not from cold. Vampires don't get cold easily. From anger. "So teach me then. Stop laughing." His smile faded. He became the King again. "Fine. Come here." He led me to a huge glass room attached to the mansion. I realized we were not in a normal house. We were on the top floor of a skyscraper in Lujiazui - the richest part of Shanghai. One whole floor was his. The pool was on the roof. The training room was all mirrors and steel. "Your senses," he said. "Close your eyes." I did. "What do you smell?" "Water... your cologne... blood..." I sniffed. "There's blood downstairs. A lot." "Three floors down, my clan is having dinner. Blood bags. Your nose is working. Good. What do you hear?" I listened. At first, only the rain. Then... more. "I hear... heartbeats. Many. Downstairs. And... on the street, 20 floors below, a woman arguing with her boyfriend. And... a dog barking two blocks away. And..." "And?" "And... wolves. Far away. Howling. They're still looking for me." Kade nodded. "Ethan Wolf and his hunters are searching every street. They have your scent from the collar. But they cannot enter vampire territory without starting a war. You are safe here. For now." I opened my eyes. "How long do I have before they try anyway?" "Tomorrow is the full moon banquet. Marcus promised you to Gunnar. If you don't show up, he loses face. He will come for you tomorrow night whether it means war or not. So you have 24 hours to learn to not die." 24 hours. "First, fangs," Kade said. He walked behind me, and in the mirror I saw us - him tall, pale, powerful, me small, wet, wrapped in a towel, eyes red with a silver ring. "Call them out." "I don't know how." "You did it in the basement when you were angry. Do it again. Think of Ethan stepping on your hand." I thought of Ethan. Of his shoe. Of being called a pet for nineteen years. Heat flooded my face. My fangs slid out with a soft _click_. Long, sharp. "Good. Now retract." I tried. Nothing happened. "You have to want it. Like a cat with claws." I focused. Thought of being normal. Slowly, they slid back in. "Again. Out. In. Out. In. Faster." For ten minutes I did it like an exercise. Out, in, out, in, until my jaw ached. "Now claws," Kade said. "Same thing. Think of scratching Ethan's smug face off." I laughed despite myself. Then I growled. And my nails grew - black, long, sharp as knives. "Good girl." The words made my stomach flip strangely. No one had ever called me good. "Now both at once. Fangs and claws. And eyes." I did it. In the mirror, I looked terrifying. Red eyes, fangs, claws. But also... beautiful. Powerful. Not a slave. Kade stepped closer behind me. He was so close his chest almost touched my back. I could feel his coldness. "Now the hard part. The wolf." "I don't want the wolf," I whispered. "The wolves were cruel to me." "The wolf is not them. The wolf is you. Your father's blood is cruel, but your wolf is yours. If you reject it, you will never be whole. And a half-powered hybrid cannot beat Marcus Wolf. Call it." "How?" "Howl." "What?" "Howl, Lin Yue. Like you did last night." "I can't howl in an apartment!" He smiled in the mirror, his fangs showing. "This building is soundproof. No human can hear us. The wolves outside? They already know you're here. Let them hear what you have become." I hesitated. Then I closed my eyes. I thought of the moon I saw through the vent. I thought of running. Of freedom. Of the wind in my hair for the first time. A sound started in my chest. Low at first. Then louder. It wasn't a human sound. It was not a vampire hiss. It was a howl. A clear, high, silver howl that made the mirrors vibrate. My body changed. White fur sprouted on my arms - then vanished. My ears became pointed. My teeth became all sharp, not just fangs. For a second, in the mirror, I saw a white wolf with red eyes. Then I was back, panting, on my knees, sweating. Kade knelt with me. He looked almost... proud. "You did it. First shift. Most wolves take years. You did it in one day." I was exhausted. "Am I... am I a monster?" "You are a Queen," he said firmly. He lifted me up, bridal style, again. I was too tired to protest. He carried me out of the training room, back to the bedroom. He placed me on the bed and pulled the blanket over my wet towel. "Sleep. You need blood to recover. When you wake up, you will drink properly for the first time. Not blood bags. Real feeding training." "Will it hurt?" I asked, sleepy. "No. It will feel good. Too good." His eyes lingered on my neck. On my scar. I felt my pulse under his gaze. He turned to leave, but I grabbed his cold hand. "Kade... why are you helping me? Really? Because of my mother?" He looked down at our hands. My small tan hand in his pale large one. "Your mother was my first love. I failed her. I will not fail her daughter," he said quietly. "And also..." He leaned down. His face was close to mine. So close I could see the tiny flecks of silver in his violet eyes. "...in 200 years, no one's blood has ever smelled as sweet as yours does. Your hybrid blood... it calls to me. It's driving my whole clan crazy downstairs. They all want a taste. But only I get to taste. Because you are mine. Remember that." My heart hammered. Before I could answer, the whole building suddenly shook. A loud BANG from downstairs. Alarms. Kade's head snapped toward the door, his eyes flashing blood red. "What was that?" I whispered. His fangs slid out fully. His expression turned murderous. "The wolves. Marcus didn't wait for tomorrow. He came now. He brought the entire pack to my door to take you back." A second bang, louder. And then Ethan's voice, amplified, shouting from the street 60 floors below, but we could hear it clearly with vampire ears: "LENA! LITTLE BLOOD PET! FATHER SAYS IF YOU DON'T COME OUT IN TEN MINUTES, WE WILL BURN THIS VAMPIRE BUILDING TO THE GROUND WITH ALL YOUR NEW BOYFRIENDS INSIDE! YOU BELONG TO US!" Kade looked at me. I looked at him, terrified, but also angry. My new claws came out on their own. He held out his hand to me again. "Do you want to hide, little princess? Or do you want to go downstairs and show your family what their slave has become?" Outside, the wolves howled, a hundred voices. But inside me, my wolf and my vampire both snarled back, ready to fight. I took his hand.