Dominion Read Free Page A

man with dreadlocks walked down, a bull terrier on a chain lead. The dog darted out at people only to be reined back in by its owner with a sharp tug which left the animal rearing up on its hind legs.
    As Sebastian approached, the dog fel l back against its owner’s ankles, trembling as he walked by. Animals often sensed his unnatural state long before humans even caught a glimmer that something paranormal had passed near.
    He would need to go home and talk to her. This shouldn’t change anything between them, not after everything they’d been through. He knew she loved him. Marriage was a silly, inconsequential human idea anyway.
    Except he ’d been married once before and, unlike Serenity’s n egative view on the institution, he’d liked being married. He liked the idea of them being joined in the eyes of the law. In particular, he liked that Elizabeth would be contained within their union. At the moment, Serenity still shared Jackson’s surname and the fact left a bitter taste in his mouth. When he’d tried to broach the subject with Serenity, she’d shrugged off his concerns, saying it was only a name and the one she’d had the whole of her adult life. Perhaps he was old - fashioned, but—
    Sebastian’s line of thought cut off and his mind lurched. Where one minute he’d been walking down the promenade toward Santa Monica Pier, he now stood on a narrow street, the small apartments of the area either side of him, their shutters pulled down, their front doors practically open ing onto the street. Overhead, the moon had travelled higher into the sky. Like its daytime counterpart, Sebastian could easily estimate the passage of time via the position of the moon . H ours had vanished compared to the position only moments before.
    Ahead, a dog ran down the street, away from him. The animal’s ears were flattened to its head, claws skittering on the tarmac in its effort to get away. Sebastian frowned. Could it be the same one he’d passed on the beach?
    He suddenly became aware of the sensation flooding through his body and the overwhelming scent of fresh blood on the night air. He glanced down and stumbled back in surprise.
    A body lay crumpled at his feet. T hick ropes of dreadlock s hid the man’s face and nec k, but he didn’t need to see the puncture wounds to know what had killed him. The man’s blood buzzed through Sebastian’s veins, lighting his senses afire. Like a transplant recipient receiving a donor’s organ, he felt some lingering connection with the man—as though the blood cells themselves had some kind of imprinted memory.
    Sebastian realized he was standing in the middle of a built-up, residential area with a dead body on the ground before him. He looked left and then right, trying to see if anyone else was around, if he might have been seen. Although he woul d easily evade immediate capture, the last thing he wanted was a sketch artist’s image of his face being circulated by the police around this area. Now settled with his family, he rarely killed close to home. He couldn’t risk the cops knocking on his door.
    All remained quiet around him and he calculated that it must now be the early hours of the morning.
    Not allowing himself time to think, he lifted the body into his arm s. He needed to get out of the city .
    To keep away from the roads, he leapt onto the small balcony of a secon d floor apartment and then up to the roof. He jumped from roof to roof, taking huge leaps and soaring through the air, the corpse held against his torso. Wind tore hi s dark hair back from his face. H is muscles burned with the sort of energy only a fresh feed could bring.
    Sebastian ran through the city, leaving the tall buildings and freew ays far behind. He headed out to the Angeles forest, knowing he could go deep enough to bury the body and limit the chances of it ever being found.
    As he ran, his mind turned over the sudden turn of events. What the hell had happened? One moment , he was walking ,