by Ginna Moran
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Other Series by Ginna Moran
About Ginna Moran
Rebel Dhampir
THE ROYALE VAMPIRE HEIRS, BOOK TWO
by
GINNA MORAN
Copyright © 2019 by Ginna Moran
All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
ISBN 978-1-951314-19-4 (soft cover)
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover design by Silver Starlight Designs
Cover images copyright Depositphotos
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Beverly Hills, CA 90210, USA
www.sunnypalmspress.com
www.GinnaMoran.com
To Jazmin,
Without you, this book would’ve been written faster. But thank you for fueling my imagination. Keep being YOU. ;)
Chapter 1
Gift to Humanity
THE SCENT OF BLOOD PULLS me from the blood hunger paralyzing my body. I lost track of time in this dark room, but I’m nearly certain I’ve been in here forever. Without windows to the outside world, there is no way of telling. All I know is that I keep falling in and out of sleep...or consciousness. I can no longer tell the difference. I expect to close my eyes and never wake up, but my body just keeps surviving.
I shouldn’t expect death to be so easy.
I am half vampire after all.
Hunger doesn’t kill those starved of blood, but it does turn them wild, feral. Untamable. And I’m on the verge of losing the human part of myself.
“Gwen,” a soft voice whispers. “Wake up. I don’t have a lot of time.”
Snapping my eyes open, I stare at the silhouette of a female vampire. Her dark hair spills around her shoulders as she leans over, looking down on me. Silver flashes in her eyes, and she takes an automatic step away. It’s now that I realize her eyes weren’t flashing at me. My eyes were flashing at her, and I could see the reflection.
“Stay back,” I say. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m so hungry. It’s taking everything in me not to rip your throat out, and I don’t want Corona to punish me.”
The woman shifts on her feet. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was nervous. “That’s why I’m here.”
I jerk upright. “Please, you don’t have to. I haven’t done anything wrong. One of the staff members let me out of the cage.”
“You misunderstand, Ms. Royale,” the woman whispers so quietly that only I’d be able to hear her. “I’m not here to hurt you. I was sent to feed you. Now, please. Try not to attack me. Bronx warned me how aggressive you get when you’re hungry.”
The sound of Bronx’s name on her lips sends my heart crashing around my ribcage. The woman doesn’t let me ask any questions as she bites her arm, the scent of her blood overpowering everything. It wasn’t the scent of blood that stirred my consciousness. It was just her. I’m that hungry.
Sitting down beside me, the woman extends her bleeding arm to me. I lock my fingers around her wrist without hesitation, bringing the syrupy smelling bite mark to my lips and suck. Her free hand slides across my shoulders, and she combs my messy hair without making a single sound. Not like all the vampires I’ve ever drunk from before.
“I need you to listen very carefully, Ms. Royale,” the woman says. “The sun will rise shortly, so you don’t have a lot of time. Upon my brother’s request, I have mind manipulated one of the staff members to retrieve you to escort you outside. It will be up to you to get past the daylight security. Head north to the far side of the estate. You’ll know you’re in the right place if you see the orchards.”
I don’t know how I get my mouth to cooperate, but I manage to ease my lips away from the woman’s arm. “Is this some kind of test? What does Corona expect for me to do?”
She frowns. “Corona is away until dusk.”
I flare my nostrils, my stomach still all sorts of angry that I resist snatching her arm back to drink more of her blood. “But you said your brother.”
“Bronx,” she says, sighing. “I suppose you wouldn’t understand, considering the infrastructures of covens. Bronx is my biological brother from before we transitioned and were separated.”
“Oh.” He never mentioned having a sister. But why would he have? Laredo, my old blood source, claimed that most vampires forget about their human lives.
“You can ask him all about it when you get out of here,” she says. “I have to go. If I’m caught with you, I’ll be sentenced to death for treason.”
The woman vanishes without so much as a goodbye, shutting and locking the door behind her. I stare at the crack of light seeping in from the space under the door until my eyes water. My mind whirls with a dozen thoughts. I knew my guys said they’d come for me, but I did not expect it to be like this. I thought they’d come blasting in this place, killing everyone in sight. Why they haven’t? I hope to find out.
Getting up from the cot, I stand and stretch, my body aching from hunger and not being used for so long. I’ve never been this inactive in my life, and my muscles scream at me that I better pull my shit together.
I do a couple of floor stretches to loosen up, but my muscles remain tight with nerves. I have no idea what to expect from the daylight security. I can’t imagine they’ll just let me go. It’s never that easy. Humans working for vampires take their jobs seriously. They wouldn’t risk breaking their contracts and facing their final donations. I wouldn’t want them too, either. Despite what the elder Blood Rebels think, I’m not a traitor to humanity. Fuckers.
I return to the cot and sit down, crossing my legs. Closing my eyes, I focus on the sounds of the house. I’m not the only human locked in a room. I’ve heard at least three other people—all men—and they sound a million times more miserable than me. I bet they’re in cages or chained to a wall. Probably on the cusp of dying. I’ve seen such conditions a dozen times before, and without having to know much about Corona, I can tell he’s a true monster and the type of vampire that deserves a stake through the heart.
The thuds of footsteps draw my attention from my thoughts of Corona and to the hallway outside. By the sounds of the heavy clomping, the woman vampire wasn’t lying. Someone is coming.
I stand up and move near the door, pressing my back to the wall. I don’t have a weapon, so I need to be close to the door in case whoever comes in my direction turns out to be a threat. At least it’s not another vampire. That’s the only thing
I’m certain of by the noise the person creates.
Fisting my hands, I prepare to fight. A key jingles, and the shadow of a figure blocks out the light pouring in from under the door. It creaks open, but no one enters my room. The person remains in the hallway without speaking.
I turn my body and lean toward the doorway to peek out. A man stands there, his eyes glassy, his face expressionless. It’s eerie to see him under mind manipulation. I had expected him to be normal, but he’s a total puppet under the female vampire’s influence.
“Follow me.”
I startle at the sound of the man’s voice cutting through the air. He sounds as creepy as he looks. I don’t get much of a chance to think about it, because he swivels on his feet and starts striding down the hallway without even looking to see if I follow.
I do.
Chasing after him, I stay close on his heels, glancing around me every few feet as I try to concentrate on my surroundings. A soft groan sounds from a closed door, and I can’t stop myself from trying to open it.
“Hey, wait,” I say to the guy. “I need you to open this door.”
The man continues down the hallway without responding.
Ah, hell.
Racing ahead, I stand in front of him with my palms raised. “Stop.”
He doesn’t. He plows into me, pushing me back. I fall, the force of his body knocking me flat on my ass. I screech as his boot steps right between my legs, nearly kicking my vagina, and I can’t stop my hand from swinging out and punching him right in the junk.
He yelps and trips, colliding into me to knock me onto my back. I knew that a person could break from mind manipulation, but I never really knew how to do it. I guess a dick punch is an effective method. Unfortunately, it’s a little too effective, because the man thrashes and grabs me by the hair. He rolls off of me and drags me to my feet, locking me to him.
“Stop fighting, and I won’t hurt you,” he says, shaking me.
I do as he says, going slack in his arms. “You’re already hurting me.”
“What are you doing out of your room? Do you want the both of us to be killed?” he asks, shoving me in the direction we came from.
I swallow my desire to punch him in the junk again. “Hey, asshole. You’re the one who let me out.”
His eyes widen. “What?”
I take advantage of his sudden confusion and jerk my knee up, hitting it into his stomach. He heaves a breath and bends forward. I break away from him and thrust my fist down into his back. He drops to his knees. The set of keys flies from his hand, and I rush to snatch them off the ground.
The man’s quick to get back to his feet, and he charges me. “You bitch! You better get back in your room before I alert security.”
I spin out of his way. “Yeah-fucking-right. I’m leaving.”
“The hell you are.”
The man reaches for a weapon on his belt, and I jump at him, risking closing the space. Knocking him off his feet again, I ram my hand into his chest to pin him in place while I swing my arm and punch him so hard in the throat that his face reddens.
And then he blacks out.
I swipe the dagger from his belt and scoop up the keys. Voices murmur from the nearest door, and I scramble to shove a key in the lock. It takes four different attempts to get the door open, but I can’t just leave whoever is inside the room here.
Three men turn their wide eyes to me. None of them react as I bolt into the room and to them. Silence fills the air, and I concentrate on listening to my surroundings as I mess with the cuffs on their ankles, finally finding the key to free them. A part of me knows I should just leave them. I’m better off alone in my escape especially since I broke the person who was supposed to guide me out’s mind manipulation, but the part of me that was raised to help people wins. I can’t just leave these prisoners here. They don’t deserve such a fate.
“You’re Gwen,” one of the guys says. “The dhampir.”
“You know me?” I ask and then shake my head. “Actually, never mind. We don’t have time for this. Come on.”
I offer my hand out to the man, and he gets to his feet and helps the other two guys up. One man can barely walk, his sallow skin sagging on his too-thin body. He looks like he’s been here a long time, just taken care enough to be kept alive.
“Can you guys carry him?” I ask, peering over my shoulder. “I’ll protect us.”
“Yeah,” the two men say in unison.
“All right. Let’s go. The sun should be up any minute if it’s not already,” I say.
I stroll to the door and peer out, nearly losing my shit as the staff member tries to grab me from his place against the wall. I was too distracted by the guys that I didn’t hear him get up. Locking his fingers to my wrist, he drags me forward, looking hell-bent on causing me as much pain as I inflicted on him.
Without thinking, I jab my hand out and stab him with the knife I stole from him. He grunts and throws himself away from me, hitting his back on the wall. Blood seeps through his white shirt. My heart slides to my feet. I’ve never hurt another human so badly before.
“Gwen, hurry,” the man from the locked room says. “He’s a traitor and doesn’t deserve your sympathy.”
I blink a few times, the man’s words digging into me. “You’re a rebel?”
He brings his index finger to his lips and smiles. “Call me Augie.”
“Is that why you were imprisoned?” I ask. I can’t help it. A small part of me fears that this guy is a Blood Rebel, who also knew who I was, because of the fact that I’ve been deemed a traitor to humanity. If he knows that I am, he’ll kill me.
Waving his arm, he motions down the hallway. “No, but I’ll explain. Later.”
I lead us in the direction he points, trying to ignore the groans of the guy I just stabbed as he drops to the floor with a thud behind us. The hallway curves left to meet with a set of concrete stairs. Nerves bunch my stomach, and I stop and take a breath. It’s at least two flights up, and I have no idea what to expect.
“At the top of the stairs will be a guard,” Augie says from behind me. “He might be waiting for us.”
“I think that dude was the guard,” I say, pointing my thumb behind me.
Augie tightens his mouth. “Just be prepared.”
Fumbling with the keys, I take a moment to unlock the door. It clicks open, and silence greets us. Cool air wafts in from another hallway, and I inhale a long breath. I had no idea how musty and stale the basement air was until now.
I stick my head out and glance around. “It’s emp—”
A vampire materializes in front of me, twisting my arm to knock the dagger away. He flashes his fangs with a growl. My fear instincts ignite in my chest, going off like crazy, and I kick my leg up, aiming for the guy’s balls, but I’m too slow.
He hooks his fingers around my leg and hoists me up, dangling me upside down. My shirt rolls up, exposing my bra. He spins me around with a smile that digs into my skin. Fucking creep. The action is enough to set me off, and I swing my body, managing to surprise the vampire by hooking my leg over his shoulder. I risk getting bitten right in the thigh, but he freezes and inhales a breath at my closeness.
He hums in his throat. “You smell deli—”
Jerking my arm out, I hook it around his leg and pull myself closer. I’m not sure whether or not I’m about to make a huge mistake, but I link my fingers to the waist of his pants and tug them as hard as I can.
He shivers, making a strange noise in his throat. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” I ask, my face flushing.
“Corona will be displeased if—”
Tilting my head, I sink my teeth into his thigh, biting him so hard that blood pours from the wound. And damn my mouth. I’m still so hungry that instead of ripping his flesh away, my lips mold onto his leg and I suck.
And shit, I wish I didn’t. The vampire grips me tighter, getting turned on by my closeness and I can feel his boner graze my
boobs. It’s enough to get me to release him and throw myself back. I thud on the ground, the wind escaping my lungs. The vampire steps closer, his eyes flashing crazy silver with both hunger and desire.
“That was quite the experience, Gwen,” he whispers, saying my name. “Allow me to help you up. Corona won’t return until tonight. Perhaps you’d like to join me until then?”
“Uh...”
The vampire concentrates so hard on me that he doesn’t see Augie come up behind him. The man stabs the vampire through the back with my discarded dagger. The vampire releases a roar, swinging around. He’s too fast for the man, and the vampire thrusts Augie against the wall, bending his neck.
I hop to my feet. “Wait.”
The sound of my voice makes the vampire hesitate.
“Don’t hurt him. He’s only trying to protect me. He doesn’t know...how much I like vampires,” I say, keeping my voice low. “You can deal with him later. I don’t feel like waiting for you.”
The vampire drops Augie and turns to me. “Is that so?”
I comb my hair from my neck and expose my throat. “Don’t you know what I am?”
His jaw twitches. “Just what I’ve been told. That you’re supposedly a dhampir.”
“Which means watching you try to bite someone else...makes me incredibly jealous,” I say in my sweetest voice. This guy is way easier to manipulate than I expect. He gobbles up every bit of my attention and charm.
The vampire hums under his breath. “We can’t have that now, can we?”
I curl and uncurl my finger at him, getting him to come closer. Trailing my hand up his stomach, I stop at the blood spot staining his chest through his shirt. He licks his lips, watching me as I bring my hand to my mouth to glide my tongue over his blood now staining the tip of my finger.
“No, we can’t,” I say, biting my lip.
The vampire reaches up and pushes my blond hair from my shoulder, exposing my neck to him. My heart picks up speed. The vampire looks at me exactly how Laredo always had after I bit him, like it’s taking everything in him not just to bite back.
