by Mason, Renea
Now, I stood outside my house, half-swathed in gauze and confused as hell. I shouldn’t even be here, shouldn’t be breathing the damn air. The bullet had nicked my heart and shredded my insides. No one recovered from that.
No one human, anyway.
My entire life, my father had told me fantastical stories about my mother. Things I’d always believed to be nothing more than fairy tales. After all, vampires didn’t exist. I figured it was all one giant metaphor, a way for him to cope with my mother’s abandonment. He’d hated the “bloodsucking bitch,” as he’d often called her. I certainly never believed she drank blood. I’d always assumed he was referring to how she’d drained his bank account before taking off. My father had always been a tad eccentric—it’d been easier to think of his stories as nothing more than the ravings of a man driven mad by his ex.
Clearly, I’d assumed wrong, evidenced by the fact that here I stood, a so-called medical marvel.
I slipped my hand into my jacket pocket and grazed the crumpled bullet. I’d pocketed it after the extraction, unable to leave it behind. It meant something to me now for some reason. Proof I hadn’t lost my mind, perhaps?
“I’m still alive,” I whispered, my breath fogging in the chilled night air.
Still alive.
But why? And how?
For the first time since his death, I missed my father. And not because I longed for his comfort, but because he had the answers I needed. Sadly, he’d taken those to his grave years ago. All that remained were his belongings, stashed in my basement, thrown into storage soon after his funeral. The thought of rummaging through all those dusty boxes didn’t appeal to me, but what choice did I have?
“Pippa?” an aged voice rose in the darkness. “Pippa, is that you?”
I groaned at the sound of my neighbor’s voice. I so didn’t want to deal with this right now.
“Pippa! I can’t believe it. They’ve been showing your face on the news all evening. They said you were dead!”
Annnnnd that’s what I didn’t want to deal with. The police had warned me about this when I left the station, that the news had been covering my death all night. Pippa Williams, professional bounty hunter, gunned down in the middle of the street while possibly apprehending a man who’d skipped bail.
That was the story they’d gone with—I hadn’t bothered to correct them. Honestly, I wasn’t sure the police could handle the truth. Hell, I wasn’t sure I could handle the truth.
“Pippa!” A wrinkled hand came down on my shoulder.
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. Patience wasn’t exactly one of my virtues. I just wanted to dive into my father’s belongings and figure out who—or rather what—the hell I was.
“Hello, Mrs. Lee,” I muttered.
“Pippa, dear. My God, are you all right? The news said someone shot you! I’ve always said that job of yours was dangerous.”
I winced, then opened my eyes to find an aged face, blotted with liver spots, staring back at me. Her once sparkling blue eyes were now a faded grey, worn out by time. But deep down, I saw the compassion and warmth within. She meant well, I knew that. But some days, she was a hard pill to swallow.
“I’m perfectly fine,” I assured her with a weak smile. “The police told me the news stations would issue a retraction soon.”
“Oh, thank the Lord. When I heard what happened to you…” Her voice drifted off as her gaze dropped. “Is that a bandage?”
I glanced down and winced at the sight of the white gauze poking out above my jacket. I might have survived being shot, but the wound hadn’t entirely healed by the time I’d left the station. Every step was a new lesson in pain, every breath a torment. But hey, at least I was alive.
“You’re hurt,” Mrs. Lee pressed.
I shrugged, not entirely sure how to respond. I hadn’t yet found the time to consider what I’d tell people yet. My night had been slightly jam-packed with something as trivial as returning from the dead. Sure, the police had questioned me, but I’d mostly just sat there, staring, unable to comprehend anything. They’d finally released me when they realized they weren’t going to get anything helpful out of me.
I mean, what the hell was I supposed to say? Yes, officer, a freaking vampire shot me. Let’s say that again for the people in the back who missed it. A. Freaking. Vampire.
Even worse, that self-proclaimed vampire said I was one, too. Or rather, half-vampire.
And yup, I’d laughed in the bastard’s face. But who was laughing now? Not me, with my freshly-minted bullet hole.
Blinking back unbidden tears, I strode toward my front door. “Nice seeing you again, Mrs. Lee.”
“Pippa, wait!”
I shook my head, then quickly unlocked my door and slipped inside. Rehashing tonight’s events was the last thing I wanted to do. With a long sigh, I leaned against the door until it clicked shut. Silence and darkness welcomed me. I used to find them comforting, but now it raised the little hairs on my arms. I’d had enough darkness for one lifetime, and the silence sent a shiver down my spine.
I squeezed my eyes shut and reminded myself, “You’re still alive. This isn’t hell. This is real.”
If that were even possible. I mean, what exactly was real? Returning from the dead? Wondering if you were something other than human? This was insane. What if it was all some construct in my head? Some delusional fantasy I’d created after I’d died. A fake reality, of sorts. What was crazier: believing I was some sort of vampire hybrid, or that I’d lost my mind and was trapped in a dissociated state? What if I really was dead?
No, I couldn’t think like that. If I stumbled down that rabbit hole, I’d never claw my way free. The only way to maintain my sanity was to treat this world as reality. My entire life, my father had claimed vampires existed, long before I’d ever died. That had to mean something.
Shaking off those thoughts, I pushed off the door and scrambled around the house, taking the time to turn on every single lamp. The light was far more comforting than darkness—it kept the madness at bay. And right now, I needed that more than anything.
What I didn’t need were the endless phone calls. The damned phone hadn’t stopped ringing since I stepped inside.
“Are you going to answer that?” an unfamiliar voice asked.
I screamed and whirled around, my hand jumping to my perforated chest.
Okay, I could have sworn this room had been empty when I’d turned on all the lights. I would have noticed someone sitting in my recliner.
“Who the hell are you?” I demanded, panting for breath. “And how did you get in here?”
With a smirk, my intruder leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs—a power pose if ever I saw one. Then he brought his hands up to his chest and steepled his fingers. Amusement danced in his cold eyes as he assessed me. “So, you’re her then. The half-vampire.”
For crying out loud, would this night never end? “Look, I’ve had a rough night, so if you don’t mind…” I gestured toward the door.
He pushed to his feet and slowly strode toward me. “You don’t appear to be anything special.”
“And you are?” I snapped. My mouth had a talent for landing me in trouble. My father had always cautioned me to think before speaking, but I’d never mastered that particular talent. ’Course, I’d never put much effort into it, either.
His gaze climbed the length of my body. “A little short for my liking. Too skinny. And far too mousy. But I suppose you’re the one.”
The one? Seriously? “Listen, I’m not into roleplaying, and I don’t like the vibe you’re giving off, so if you don’t mind, how about you leave before I call the cops.”
He gave a full-throated laugh. It wasn’t the sound that stopped me dead, but rather the sight of his gleaming fangs.
“You’re…one of…them?” I stammered.
“I like to think of myself as the king of them, actually. But you can call me Calder.”
Crap on a cracker, seriously? I stared u
p at him, my heart slowly rising into my throat. As a bounty hunter, I’d dealt with my share of evil. Murderers, rapists, thieves, you name it. But this so-called king gave me the creeps. He possessed a presence about him, a malevolent air that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“I wanted to make sure you received my message this evening.” He reached for the collar of my jacket and pushed it down, exposing the gauze and my bruised flesh. “Ah, there it is. Excellent.”
Anger slammed into me, hard and fast. “Wait, you ordered someone to shoot me?”
“Had to make sure you understood the gravity of the situation. And the truth. Hard to convince someone they’re part vampire if they don’t believe in that sort of thing.”
Read the rest of Immortal Devotion by Gwen Knight - https://books2read.com/immortaldevotion
Also by Renea Mason
| CONTEMPORARY| REVERSE HAREM | SUSPENSE | EROTIC | ROMANCE |
MULTI-AWARD-WINNING EROTIC ROMANCE
2016 Audie Award Winner
The COMPLETE Good Doctor Trilogy
eBook | Print | Audiobook
Curing Doctor Vincent - Book #1
Surviving Doctor Vincent - Book #2
Loving Doctor Vincent - Book #3
Tasting Paris (Short Story) - Book #2.5
CURING DOCTOR VINCENT
Elaine Watkins, Public Relations Advisor, is surprised when she receives a summons from the very attractive and enigmatic Dr. Xavier Vincent. She worships the talented physician and company icon responsible for developing the cure that saved her sister’s life and isn’t immune to his charm. Even though puzzled by his request, she is excited and eager to get started on his latest project.
But Dr. Vincent has other ideas. Instead of discussing cures, drugs and marketing strategies, he asks Elaine to join him in Paris to indulge his unique sexual appetites.
Torn between gratitude for saving her sister, her attraction for the powerful man and compromising her pre-conceived notions of sexuality, she must decide if it’s easier to feed his desires or walk away. Until she devises a plan of her own.
“Make no mistake, Elaine, I am a king. Kings command and conquer. They are brutal and uncompromising. You don’t want a king. Face it, you came here expecting a saint.” —Dr. Xavier Vincent
* * *
| CONTEMPORARY | REVERSE HAREM | PARANORMAL| MYSTERY | SUSPENSE | EROTIC | ROMANCE |
MULTI-AWARD-WINNING PARANORMAL ROMANCE
The Symphony of Light Series
eBook | Print | Audiobook
Symphony of Light and Winter - Book #1
Impostors’ Kiss (Short Story) - Book #2
Between the Waters - Book #3
Nocturnal Seduction - Book # 4
Trinity of Light - Book #5
Shards of Fallen Stars - Book #6 (Coming Soon…)
SYMPHONY OF LIGHT AND WINTER
Love never dies, but sometimes it plays dead.
For Linden Hill, life was predictable—go to work, an occasional drink with friends, and repeat—until one unexpected night when she finds herself face-to-face with her past—all six-foot-five-inches of sex-god perfection she once knew as Cyril. The problem? He died. Or so she thought.
But Linden's long-lost love isn't welcoming her with open arms. Fueled by suspicion and doubt, their turbulent re-acquaintance drives Cyril to desperate acts. The chance at renewing their love is jeopardized, pulling Linden into his war with supernatural rivals hell-bent on his destruction.
Defeating the enemy seems easy compared to surviving each other. With hunger threatening to consume them, and love begging to endure, can Linden learn to accept who she must become to save them both?
* * *
| PARANORMAL | ROMANCE | MYSTERY | COMEDY |
THE LIE, THE WITCH, AND THE WARLOCK
Who wouldn’t love to be immortal, beautiful, and as powerful as the warlock king?
Eudora Spence, that’s who.
In his final act, the warlock king gifted all of his powers to his one true love, but hadn’t the breath to explain how it would change her forever. Since mating with mortals is forbidden, he never revealed he was anything other than a human man.
After Julian’s death, Eudora finds herself alone and immortal in a world that rejects her. Possessing Julian’s magic makes her too powerful to be destroyed by conventional means and there are only a handful of beings capable of bringing forth her demise. Seeing her as a risk, the governing council collared her to suppress her magic and tasked her with tending the library of rare magical tomes.
Five years have passed with no end in sight, until the day she meets the new king, a vampire named Marcus Valentine. He’s handsome, irksome, and exactly what she needs—someone powerful enough to kill her.
IMMORTAL AWAKENING
When Lillie Preston and her best friend, Colin, took their band on the road, they knew things would be challenging, but Lillie’s newfound thirst for blood came as a bit of a surprise.
After an attack leaves Lillie with more questions than answers, she and Colin scour vampire clubs, goth raves, and fetish parties only to realize real vampires would never set foot in such places.
With a change in strategy, they make the fortunate acquaintance of Baron McCaffrey, Vampire Lord of the Underworld, who’s more than happy to oblige Lillie’s curiosity, but in the end, she finds the truth does anything but set her free.
WICKED DEVOTION - Coming Oct. 2019
* * *
| CONTEMPORARY | ROMANCE | NON-FICTION |
CLAIRE - A Short Story
Claire’s upcoming fiftieth birthday is not a welcome milestone. Beyond feeling the weight of time, she’s become a victim of her own success.
Erik, Claire’s husband, who sees her waning confidence, decides to make her birthday a celebration of their love. With three simple gifts, he gives her more than she ever knew to wish for.
THE AUDIOBOOK BOOK: An Audiobook Production Guide for Indie Authors & Narrators
The Audie Award-Winning team of Renea Mason, Noah Michael Levine, and Erin deWard share their experiences and ideas on indie audiobook narration, publication, production, and marketing.
This self-help and reference guide for authors and narrators promotes collaboration, communication, understanding, and encouragement as foundations for approaching or refining a career in the fastest growing sector of the publishing industry—audiobooks.
* * *
Be sure to check Renea’s website for additional new and upcoming releases, news and special content - ReneaMason.com.
About the Author
"Sexy, fun and so creative it makes my head spin! I'd read the damn phone book if Renea Mason wrote it."
-NYT and USA TODAY Bestselling author ROBYN PETERMAN
Multi-award-winning and bestselling author Renea Mason writes romances that challenge the concept of conventional love. Whether it be contemporary or paranormal, the author of the 2016 Audie Award-Winning, Curing Doctor Vincent, prides herself on bringing readers unique storylines, memorable characters, and top-notch audiobook performances in her tales of love, lust, and mystery.
When Renea isn't crafting sensual stories or masquerading as a corporate wizard, she spends time in the Laurel Mountains of Western Pennsylvania with her beyond-supportive husband, two wonderful sons and three loving but needy cats.
She loves connecting with readers. You can find her on all major social media platforms.
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Thank you so much for reading!
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