by Rhys Rowlyn
Shadowed Pain
Daughters of the Vieux Carré Book Six
Rhys Rowlyn
Copyright © 2021 by Rhys Rowlyn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
1. Tristan
2. Zoey
3. Tristan
4. Zoey
5. Tristan
6. Zoey
7. Tristan
8. Tristan
9. Zoey
10. Tristan
11. Tristan
12. Zoey
13. Zoey
14. Tristan
Also by Rhys Rowlyn
About Rhys Rowlyn
Tristan
What are those strange sounds?
Who are the people talking?
I’m in a wooden crate. Was I in a crate when I fell asleep?
I lift my hands and try to take the lid off but find it nailed shut. Strange…
I push with both my hands, and wood splinters everywhere as I spring out of the box only to have two men jump on me.
“What the bloody… hfffll?” I sputter as something cold is shoved in my mouth. I feel blood flow through my system, so I stop moving, confused.
“He’s not moving. Maybe he’s not crazy,” a woman says from off to the side.
Bram’s laughter resonates above my head. “Rebecca, we’re not crazy when we awaken, just starved and disoriented.” Bram must be one of the ones holding me down.
“Let’s give him another bag before we let him up. No sense in taking any chances,” a strange voice says. I don’t recognize his accent. I twist my head, trying to see over my shoulder, but their grip tightens and I’m slammed down again.
The woman approaches me cautiously and takes the thing from my mouth, then quickly replaces it. “I don’t see how Cassie does this. She even enjoys it.” She shuffles back, and my eyes meet her wide bright-blue ones.
“Well, it’s fun seeing how they’ll wake up. Besides, I’ve been watching them sleep for over a hundred years. It’s nice to see them animated.” Another woman’s voice comes from behind me, and I twist my neck to try to catch sight of her but can’t.
“Ah, love, we agreed you’d stay downstairs until we got him calm. In your condition, we can’t have anything happening.” Bram speaks to the woman softly and lovingly. Who is she, and what is wrong with her?
“I heard the noise and couldn’t resist. You know how much I enjoy these wake-up sessions. So which one did we get?” the new woman asks.
“One of the gingers,” the man with the strange accent replies.
I growl, hating to be called a ginger. I can’t see what this fellow looks like, but he better watch it or I’ll show him how fierce a ginger can be.
“It’s Tristan.” Bram squeezes my shoulder. “Are you good? Can we let you up?”
I nod, and they release me. Standing, I turn toward Bram. “Why did you attack me?”
“We weren’t attacking you. We were simply trying to get blood in you before you could make a horrible mistake.” Bram puts his arm around a blonde woman’s waist, and she lays her head on his shoulder.
Furrowing my brow, I look around at everyone in the room. There is Bram and his woman, the other woman, and the man with the strange accent. “I fed last night. Why would I need blood so badly? And where’s the donor? All you did was shove something in my mouth.”
“Dude, you may want to sit down. We have a lot to tell ya.” The girl sticking the bags in my mouth waggles her eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest. She’s brave now that I’m up and talking. “Oh, and I’m Rebecca. It’s nice to meet you.”
I nod, glancing around the room, and everyone is smiling indulgently at me. I’m trying to figure things out and can usually read a room, but my mind is foggy and I can’t seem to clear it.
“Yeah, mate, you may want to have a seat for this.” The man with the accent motions toward one of the chairs against the wall. “I’m Giles, by the way.” He holds out his hand, and I shake it, nodding.
“I’m Cassie.” The blonde waves at me, grinning.
I sit and watch as Bram takes a seat across from me and carefully arranges Cassie on his lap. “Bram, what the bloody hell is going on?”
“First off, last night was over three hundred years ago.” He sits back, draping his arm over the woman’s shoulders. “We were placed under a curse by the women Gabriel found to help us cross the ocean.”
“What do you mean it’s been three hundred years?” Surely he’s not serious. There is no possible way three hundred years have passed.
“You’ve been asleep for three hundred years in that box.” Cassie points over her shoulder with her thumb and jumps when Bram pinches her arse. “What? I’m just clarifying.”
I look back at the crate I ripped apart and try to wrap my mind around the fact I have missed three hundred years. It’s insane. What they’re saying cannot be true. I look at Bram and he nods, then I notice the odd clothing they are wearing and how mine are nothing but rags. I feel my face and encounter a long beard.
I feel light-headed and can’t take a deep breath. I grab my chest, sitting back in the chair.
“Here, take some more blood.” Rebecca holds one of those strange bags in front of my face.
I look at the bag full of dark liquid in front of me, then back at Rebecca, not sure what she wants me to do.
Bram nods encouragingly. “It’s how we eat now. Just pop it on your fangs, and they will do the rest.”
I take the bag and do as he says. I feel the blood hit my system, and my hunger goes away. I remove the bag from my mouth and examine it. There is a large O+ in dark lettering on the front. “How does this work? Where does it come from?”
“We own a lab downtown, and it comes from human donors,” Cassie explains.
My mouth drops open, and I stare at her with wide eyes. “Humans know about us?”
Rebecca leans against the back of Bram’s chair. “No, the lab is a research facility where we do research on blood diseases. I just started working there. We finance it and have a system worked out to get the blood for us. Our needs have greatly increased, and it caused some eyebrows to be raised, so I started working there to handle some of the questions. We take blood from donors that are infected with things. Hospitals and such don’t want it to give to their patients, but disease doesn’t hurt us.”
I’m looking at her in amazement, not understanding half of what she’s saying. I have no idea what a research facility is, or how they take the blood out of humans, or basically anything she said. The door crashes open, and I about jump out of my skin as a small dark-skinned man runs in.
“Cassie, I know you’re pregnant, but you could still call!”
Did he say pregnant? She’s a vampire. There’s no way Cassie can be pregnant.
“Chi, you know the day they’re waking up, so get off my back and come over already.” She rolls her eyes, waving the man off.
“So, who is it?” He prances over with his hand on his hip, pursing his lips. “Oh look, it’s a redhead. My, isn’t he something? I hope you’re going to cut off that nasty beard and trim that raggedy hair.”
I touch my hair self-consciously before narrowing my eyes at the man. Who the hell is he?
“Chi, back off. He just woke up. Poor fellow hasn’t been told everything yet.” Rebecca loops her arm through his and pulls him
away from me.
I grab my head between my hands, gripping my hair. “Why is everyone so strange? Please explain what is happening.”
“I’ll start at the beginning. Remember Gabriel giving Simone some coins to obtain supplies?” Bram waits to continue until I nod. “She didn’t use the money for supplies but instead retained a witch to cast a spell and curse us.”
I simply stare at him, comprehending what he’s saying but not knowing how to react. Where did these women find a witch powerful enough to cast such a spell? Growing up in Wales, I had heard of such witches but thought they were of druidic backgrounds. I had no idea they had traveled to the New World.
Scrubbing my face with my hands, I sit back and inhale a deep breath. I wish I could have a stiff drink about right now. “All right, give it to me. Tell me everything.”
“The witch placed us under a curse, and it put us into a deep sleep. She used Giselle’s blood, so when the women offered their sacrifice, it did something with the magic and caused mate bonds to form. Each woman basically bound us to one of their descendants, so now we are waking up to having mates.” Bram hugs Cassie to him and kisses her shoulder. “We’re beginning to suspect the witch who cast the curse knew this was going to happen. You know I’m a strong believer in fate. I think the witch was the three sisters’ instrument.”
Bram is a Viking through and through and has always held onto his belief in his gods, but in this instance, I agree with him. If by some strange twist this curse caused us to have mates, then it had to be fate.
“Cnych.” Rubbing the back of my neck, I stand and pace the room. “So how do we find our mates? And you’re saying they are descendants of the women we were partnered with for the voyage? What if they’re like those crazy bitches? None of them were pleasant, except Giselle and maybe Amy. Celeste was a conniving con artist. She was also a thief. I caught her stealing from one of the sailors. Thank heavens I stopped her and had her put it back before she was caught. Can you imagine how awful that would have been?”
“They all had their faults, but so far, the descendants have been nothing but our perfect matches.” Bram lifts Cassie off his lap and stands, offering me his hand. “I know you have many questions, and I will answer them all, but for now, let’s get you cleaned up and in some new clothes. Wait until we introduce you to modern plumbing. It’s going to blow you away.”
I stand and pull him into a half hug, slapping his back. “I am glad to have you here to help me. If it’s all right with your lady, we’re going to have to grab a pint and see the local alehouse.”
“Whoa there a minute,” Rebecca pushes against my chest with her finger, glaring first at me and then at Bram. “We can’t drink anything but blood, how are you planning on grabbing a pint?”
“Just a figure of speech, but I do miss having a pint or two or three.” I laugh, nudging Bram’s shoulder and he winks at the girl still glaring at us.
“Things have definitely changed, but I think we may be able to find a place to let loose.” Bram squeezes my shoulder, grinning down at me.
“Aw, baby, you in Nawlins. Letting loose is what we do.” Chi twirls his hands in the air and does a strange little dance.
I frown at him, not knowing what to say, but everyone else laughs as we leave the room so they can show me this wondrous indoor plumbing.
Zoey
“Zoey, you’re just being paranoid. Nothing is going to happen.” My father, Shane, hands me a cup of coffee and sits across from me at the kitchen table. “We’ve taken every precaution. No one can find us.”
“I know, but I have this itchy feeling I can’t get rid of.” Since I was a child, I’ve always called these feelings I get, when I know something is going to happen, itchy. The reason my father is being so casual about my itchiness is nothing usually comes of it—or nothing major anyway—and he’s right. We’ve taken every precaution.
“Maybe you need a boyfriend. I know I’m your dad and should be happy you’re not a wild child, but I do wish you would be happy. You don’t even have friends.” He glances at me over his coffee cup, taking a sip.
“Yeah I do.” I mean, I sort of do. It’s not that I don’t want friends. It’s just easier not to have them.
Dad arches a brow at me, tilting his head. “Who? They never come around here.”
“Well, there’s Zeke and Kane.” I smirk, shrugging my shoulders.
“Your boss and a bouncer at the bar.” He barks out a laugh, shaking his head.
I sit up straighter in my chair and lean toward him. “Well, what about Joey and her new friend, Tara?”
“When was the last time you talked to them?” He sits back with a grin and crosses his arms over his chest.
“We’ve been kinda busy. Life has been crazy lately.” I wave my hand, taking a sip of my coffee.
“Uh-huh, all I’m saying is you’re young and should be enjoying yourself.” Dad reaches out and takes my hand, meeting my gaze. “I know we need to be cautious, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t live.”
“What about you? You stay around here for the most part, and who are your friends?” Dipping my chin, I raise my brows. No sense in letting him off the hook.
“You’ll be happy to know I have finally decided to get myself out there. I have a date tonight with a lady I met at the store. We are going out to dinner and then we’ll listen to some jazz.” He smirks, rising from his chair to put his cup in the sink.
My mouth drops. I can’t believe he’s going on a date. This is so big—I mean super big. I’m so happy for him. “Oh wow, Dad! That’s awesome. Who is she?”
“Her name is Sara, and she helps run a homeless shelter here in town. She seems really nice. We’ve been talking on the phone for some time.” His neck and face are flushed, and he won’t meet my gaze.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I jump up to grab his arm and hug it to me.
“I didn’t know how you would react, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to actually go through with a date.” He leans over and kisses the top of my head. “Does this mean you’re okay with me going on a date?”
“I think it’s good. It’s been ten years since Mom, and it’ll be good for you.” My father has grieved my mother for so long and wears a sadness around him. I’ll never forget the day he realized she had died. He tried to hide how bad he hurt, but he forgot I could feel his pain.
“Thanks, darlin’, now isn’t it time for you to get to work?” Patting my hand, he moves away from me.
“Oh, yeah.” I gather my things, and as I’m walking to the door, I turn to face him. “Just be careful tonight.”
“I will, now off you go. Have a good night.” Dad waves me out the door. I blow him a kiss and leave.
We own the building beside the bar I work at, so my commute takes all of five minutes. I run down the stairs and almost collide into my boss, Zeke.
He grabs my shoulders, steadying me. “Whoa there, tornado. What’s the rush?”
“I’m running late for work, and my boss is a real ass.” I shove his shoulder, and he grins at me.
“That’s what I heard too.” He laughs, hugging me to his side, and we walk out together. “Are you all right closing tonight?”
“Yeah, it’s no problem.” I never mind working extra or helping Zeke out.
“Kane’s working tonight, so he’ll be around until you lock up.” Zeke opens the back door to the bar and we enter. “I’m sorry I had to throw this on you last minute, but this meeting came up, and I can’t miss it.”
“It’s all good. You’ll just have to make it up to me.”
“Consider it a deal.” He winks at me, lifting a corner of his mouth. “Now go relieve Chloe before she has a fit.”
Innocent flirting is all Zeke and I do. He’s hot, and I do mean super hot, but he’s also my boss. I decided long ago to keep him in the friend zone. When I say he’ll have to make it up, it means an evening off or a bonus, but I have to admit I sometimes do fantasize that we could be more. Shaking my head, I put
my stuff away in the back room and head to the front.
I sidle up next to Chloe, the day bartender, and bump her hip. “How’s it going?”
“Not too bad. I see Kane’s going to be here tonight. You think you might need some help?” She motions with her head at the guy at the door who sometimes helps with security.
“Damn, he’s looking hot tonight. If you want to hang around, you know I’m not going to turn you down. Has it been busy this afternoon?” I glance over at Kane, smiling and nodding as I set up my station and get ready for my night of slinging drinks.
“Not bad, just a few stragglers, but it’s Friday so I would imagine it’ll pick up soon. It’s almost shift change at the police station down the street, so hot cops, plus Kane. Yeah, I can stay for a while.” She lightly slaps my ass with a towel, grinning.
Most of our customers or either whiskey or beer drinkers, but every now and again, some girls wander in. That’s becoming more frequent on the weekends since we have so many hot guys here.
“Hey, Zoey, Chloe. How are you girls tonight?” Kane leans against the bar, flashing a million-watt smile, and for a second, I wonder where I am.
Mentally shaking myself, I grin back. “I’m good and you?”
“Can’t complain. There’s been some trouble in town, so you two need to be careful.” He tilts his head in Chloe’s direction. “Chloe, are you about to go home, or are you staying for a while?”
“I thought I’d help Zoey out since Zeke won’t be here tonight, but what’s going on? I haven’t heard anything,” Chloe asks, frowning.
“Some of the guys at the station told me there’s been some folks come up missing. There aren’t any leads, and I just wanted to give y’all a heads-up.” He straightens, pushing off the bar.
“Oh wow, yeah, thanks.” Chloe’s eyes widen, and she looks slightly pale.
