Cruen stared at the thing he'd created, had stolen, had harbored. He wanted to feel sorry for it-for her-but all he felt was appreciation for the beauty of suffering.

The Order would think him cruel-a butcher, a sadist. They wouldn't recognize the artistry at work. But then, they never had. It was well and good to be rid of them. As a whole, the ruling ten thought the Breeding Males were animals, uncontrollable and better left extinct. But to Cruen they were works of art-the perfect extension of Pureblood vampire. And with his assistance, guidance, and a thick leash to control their every movement, they would replace the Order as the ruling class.

He moved closer to the cage. It was one of many in the secret laboratory he'd had built over seven centuries ago in the Sacri Monti-the Sacred Mountains of Italy. It was where he'd created the first Breeding Male, and the second and the third, and where he'd raised his own five balas-his Beasts.

"Please..."

Cruen smiled at her as she writhed in her cage, her skin glistening with sweat. For so many years, he had not believed in her existence. The rumors were strong, yes, but he knew-as their creator-that females rarely survived after their sixth year of life. It was an anomaly in their genetic structure he hadn't been able to correct. But he would. With this female, and the Boston geneticist by his side, he would fix the problem.

She looked up at him then, her pale lavender eyes peeking out from yards and yards of wet blond hair. She was begging for relief.

"It won't be long now," Cruen said with a gentle voice. "His body will please you and his seed will calm you."

Her head dropped forward and she whimpered, her hands covering her core.

Cruen nodded, smiled with the deepest of pleasure. She was the elusive diamond, priceless, and she would be the mother, the dam-the queen of a new class, a new order.

Vampire royalty.

The Breeding Female and the Breeding Male: a union of purest blood. And Cruen would be their adviser, the mind behind their actions, just as he was their creator-their god.

All that remained was turning paven into predator, and Lucian Roman was nearly united with his prey.