Connecting with an Altered — Charlie Richards

Agreeing to do his fellow vampire enforcer a favor, Nereo Belmonte heads to Stone Ridge, Colorado. He thought the task sounded simple enough—search the minds of four men who'd been experimented on and see if he can restore their memories. To his surprise, when Nereo walks into the room, he finds himself drawn to the blood of one of them—Warren Berger. With a vested interest in the job, Nereo worries the mental fog he encounters may never clear, leaving Warren's mind in danger of returning to the experiments' original programming. Warren knows his name. He knows his duty—follow Doctor Winoan's orders. Everything else is immaterial. Except, when Winoan orders him to kill a man, he hears a noise that makes him question that—a snarling hiss that sounds like an order to stop. To Warren's surprise, something deep within his psyche responds, and he obeys, as does his three team members. The odd presence in his mind decides that the speaker—a cheetah, which turns into a man—is their new leader. Warren doesn't understand what's going on, but he has no choice but to obey. Upon meeting Nereo, that voice in Warren's head purrs with delight. Warren agrees—he wants the man. While peering into Nereo's red-irised gaze, odd images flood his mind, clouding him with confusion and distrust. Can Warren learn to trust Nereo, allowing him to help, before those who worked with his old boss finds a way to counter his internal voice's control and steal him back?