by K. L. Kreig
She thought about how if it hadn’t been for Kate’s dreams of her and Dev’s heroic efforts to save her, Sarah simply knew she would have become another statistic. Another tragedy. Another lost soul.
And she thought back to how she’d come to this place. A sanctuary. Her salvation. A shelter that Kate and her mate, Devon Fallinsworth, Midwest Regent Vampire Lord, had created after Dev rescued the first set of kidnapped women from Xavier’s clutches, which included Sarah.
Kate had been her rock, getting her through every single tough day. Analise had been a breath of fresh air, making her constantly laugh with her quick wit. And the last couple of months, she’d finally found a purpose in staying. To help others.
Sarah had gotten to know most everyone at the shelter pretty well, even the vampires that lived here, and she quickly discovered, just like humans, there were good and evil vampires. And everyone here was innately good.
Since Dev never left Kate unprotected, and Manny was her guardian shadow, Sarah had gotten to know him quite well. He was funny and kind and flirty. He made her feel normal and she’d needed normal these past several months.
She’d only seen Ren a handful of times and while she could admit she found him very attractive, he was more like an older brother. Teasing him was her favorite pastime and she’d even begun calling him ‘pretty boy’ just to get under his skin.
And Thane was quiet, but extremely considerate; going out of his way to help her get anything she needed from town. He frequently accompanied her when she needed to escape the house and go for a walk outdoors. With the boy-next-door good looks and quiet charm, she found him appealing, but he was fast becoming a very good friend and she thoroughly enjoyed his company.
The only vampire she didn’t really care for was Giselle. But Giselle also tried very hard to get people not to like her for some reason. A reason she’d really like to figure out, so she’d made it her mission to be extra nice to her. Kate had warned her away, saying Giselle was like a ‘twisted M&M.’ She had a hard outer shell, but instead of mouthwatering chocolate on the inside, she was filled with sour toxic candy. That was a pretty harsh analogy, even for Kate, but they’d also had a less than stellar beginning to their still rocky relationship. While the hard outer shell may be true, Sarah knew it was only a protective measure and what lay underneath was someone who wanted love and companionship, just like every other being on the planet.
As she’d slowly gotten to know everyone who’d been responsible for her rescue, she came to see them as normal. Sure, they had extraordinary abilities. Sure, blood was their main sustenance. Sure, they lived a hell of a lot longer than a human.
But they also had normal lives and normal families and normal businesses. They had hopes and dreams and aspirations, just like humans. And their worries may be greater than the average human, but if there were anyone she’d want protecting the world from evilness like the rogues that held her prisoner, it would be the Vampire Lords and those that worked under them. They were scary and dangerous and a force to be reckoned with, but she felt ridiculously safe.
So yes, after being kidnapped, drugged and almost raped by the stuff that horror movies are made of, she shouldn’t have wanted to stay here. But she did.
And the truth of it was, she belonged here. She was one of them, even if she didn’t really have any true vampire powers. She’d learned that since she was born of a vampire, but was never blooded the three required times to activate her vampiric powers, she was just simply a regular human being. And she’d finally come to learn her very realistic dreams actually had a name in the vampire community.
Sarah was a dreamwalker, as were her two sisters, Kate and Analise. Sisters she didn’t even know about until just a few short weeks ago when her appendix burst and only Analise’s blood was a unique match to save her. Well, there were two others, but Kate was on her honeymoon at the time, and the only other one was her biological vampire father, Xavier, whom everyone wanted dead. Including her.
But upon his death, that would also mean that she was free to leave the shelter and return home, the threat eliminated. That would mean leaving her sisters and her new friends. And that would mean probably never seeing the enigmatic Romaric Dietrich again.
Not that he wants to see you, silly girl.
Sighing, she decided to take a quick bath and then readied for bed, but not wanting the sting of rejection by Romaric Dietrich in her dreams too, she settled in with the latest romance novel Kate had given her. Not having been a fan of either romance or vampire novels before, it bordered on obsession now. She couldn’t devour them fast enough. After finishing a story, she always had more questions for Kate and Analise, which their mates patiently debunked. Sarah and Manny had laughed more than once about the ridiculous vampire world authors created. But at least it was something entertaining to pass the time.
In the last week alone, she’d read three full-length novels. Of course, that had nothing to do with the fact she was trying to keep her mind off the magnetic vampire who’d weaved his way into every one of her waking and sleeping moments.
Turning on her reading lamp, she had only a quarter of the book left. The heroine was missing and the hero just arrived to save her, but the villain had her in his evil clutches.
It sounded eerily similar to the world she now found herself immersed in.
Chapter 2
Rom
Emotional agony. That place where despair and pain and hopelessness boil together in a toxic concoction, which threatens to suck you under with its poisonous vapors.
That’s where Rom was. Although he was tethered to earth, his mind and soul felt adrift. He was a goddamned mess and had been for the last five days. Ever since he’d laid eyes on her.
Sarah Hill.
Her name rolled off his tongue like the smoothest, finest of silk. He’d had to use every ounce of his stalwart willpower to keep from jumping across that table and disappearing with her until he could figure out this fucking mess.
Sitting in his living room, Rom stared at the lush green forest ripe with wildlife outside his thick, bulletproof glass windows. It was drizzling again, as it generally did in northern Washington. Just the way he liked it. It was the perfect complement to his usually somber mood.
He owned almost two thousand secluded, wooded acres close to the Canadian border, which was where he’d called home since he became Regent Lord of the West close to three hundred years ago now. He monitored every single inch of it with top of the line security and a staff whose sole job it was to handle trespassers, which were frequent, given the propensity of humans to hunt animals and fowl.
As the West Regent Vampire Lord, he had weighty obligations. Ones he’d been woefully neglecting for the last several days. Being in this position of power was never something Rom had aspired to, especially given his complicated history. However, as the population of the Northern Americas grew several hundred years ago, it became too great for one Vampire Lord to handle and three hundred years earlier, the country was split into three Regents. Dev had practically coerced Rom to take the responsibility and Rom initially declined, but was forced to take the role when he saw the other pool of pathetically inexperienced candidates, whom he easily overpowered.
But since he’d taken on this role, he’d never once shirked his responsibilities. Not one day. Until now. And those under his command didn’t know what to make of Rom’s current state of mind. Circo, his lieutenant, had checked on him several times, but he’d sent him away and last time threatened to decapitate him if he bothered Rom again. Circo’s flat response had been that he’d be back in a few hours. Guess it Circo’s sorry ass he was putting on the line.
His mind wandered back to Sarah. How could she possibly be his Moira? His Fate? His Destiny?
She couldn’t. Plain and simple. Every vampire had only one Moira and his had been callously ripped from him before they’d even had a chance to bond. Somehow fate was fucking with him yet again and he had to wonder what he’d done so wron
g to be dealt such a blow. It was the same question he’d asked every single day of his lonely life since he’d lost Seraphina.
Losing her had emotionally annihilated him. No one would believe he’d been a rather easy-going vampire before those two weeks that’d changed his life so very, very long ago. It had taken him hundreds of years to regain any semblance of humanity, to master the art of appropriate emotion in the appropriate situations, when he felt none, and to this day, it was still challenging for him to genuinely care about those close to him.
But seeing Sarah flared something deep within his soul. It was just an ember, but it was there nonetheless. He felt a spark of … something he couldn’t even dare put a name to yet for fear of jinxing it.
He cared for Damian, Devon and Circo in his own twisted way, but it still wasn’t the same as it could have been had his heart not been ripped out five hundred, sixty years ago. They were loyal friends that had been through thick and thin and yet … yet he’d kept this a secret from them all.
None of them had any idea he’d lost his Moira, as that’d happened well before they knew each other. It was still too painful to talk about, let alone think about, yet that’s all he’d done in the last one hundred and twenty hours. He couldn’t even escape it in sleep. Embarrassingly, he’d even had to flee Dev’s before they could discuss Geoffrey and that was not at all like him, but he had to get his fucked up head on straight first.
He was a rock. He was swift, decisive and always calm. He was a problem solver, but he had to admit this one stumped him. If his friends could see him now … well, that’s why he’d had to get the hell out of there before he slipped and shared something he wasn’t yet ready to. Making the excuse that an emergency came up, he begged his leave and flashed back home, assuring them he’d reschedule soon. Which he had yet to do.
He’d vacillated between memories of Seraphina and the realness of Sarah. The similarities between them were uncanny. But was he simply twisting faded memories into his own version of reality? He’d spent days trying to convince himself he’d merely overreacted with Sarah, but he knew that to be untrue. His cock violently ached for her and the lure of her blood was nearly unbearable even thousands of miles away. Adjusting his perpetual hard on, he let his mind drift once again to his agonizing past.
1 June, 1452
Tonight was Romaric’s fifth visit with Seraphina and he hoped it would be his last before she finally agreed to be his. He’d spotted her in a village north of Esme’s home. Esme was a regular and generous donor, but he frequently looked for fresh flesh and new blood. A vampire had to keep his options open, after all. It would do him no good to lead a human female into believing she had a ‘forever’ kind of chance with him and he’d seen too much longing in Esme’s eyes, so he’d promptly left her bed and scouted other possibilities.
He couldn’t believe his luck when he’d spotted Seraphina walking down a dark dirt road, alone. As he approached quietly from behind, his initial thought was ‘foolish female’ and although he’d intended no harm, as he didn’t kill his donors, there were surely others that would readily take advantage of such a young, beautiful, vulnerable girl.
But one look in her golden brown eyes would change everything. He’d found his Moira, his Destiny, and her name was Seraphina. At a mere eighty-years old, he couldn’t believe his luck at finding his Moira so young in life. He hadn’t even come into his full vampiric powers yet, for that didn’t happen until age one hundred. The few vampires he knew back in his homeland hadn’t found their Moira’s until hundreds of years into their lives.
While the physical attraction with your Moira was strong, almost irresistible, it wasn’t always easy to convince her to bond, leaving behind her family and life as she knew it. ‘Twas the challenge he’d faced with Seraphina. As the eldest in a family of nine children, her mother and father relied heavily upon her. Seraphina was waffling in her decision. He’d convinced her ties didn’t need to be cut immediately. They’d transition into their life gradually, but that, in no uncertain terms, she was to be with him. To bond with him and be his in every way.
He thirsted for both her body and blood and tonight he would have both. She was to meet him this eve on the outskirts of her village, shortly before dark. He was loath to let her wander alone, but she’d refused him to meet at her home. Hiding his vampiric skills was crucial in order to blend with humans, which meant no flashing, so he was forced to wait on the outskirts. But a fool he was not. He knew where she lived and kept a watchful eye.
Several minutes past dusk now, he was getting anxious when he spotted her in the distance. It had been a rather warm day, but as the sun set, the temperature cooled and his Moira wasn’t properly dressed wearing only a thin, flimsy blouse. He would make sure she was properly clothed and fed when she became his.
Rushing them into the woods, Romaric peeled off the long sleeve wool shirt he’d worn specifically with Seraphina in mind and slipped it over her head. She was petite and it swallowed her whole, coming nearly to her knees. Once they were enough distance away for his comfort, he backed her up against a large oak tree. The leaves and foliage would provide them well enough coverage, while his keen hearing would sense any interlopers.
“Hello,” he whispered against her lips. Lips he’d only had the pleasure of kissing twice, for she’d refused until three nights past. Last eve he’d enjoyed a most realistic erotic dream starring Seraphina, who was expertly riding his cock, as he directed her movements with his hands. How he longed for that dream to be real.
“Hello back.” Her breaths were labored, like she’d run a mile to get to him. Maybe she had. Maybe she was as desperate for him as he was for her.
“Are you feeling well? You’re warm.”
“Yes I am well. I rushed and your shirt is rather heavy.”
He was thankful. Medical care was scarce and humans died regularly and easily from vile diseases. He was staying far away from Europe these days, as the stink of death due to Black Plague was toxic.
He easily lifted her slight frame and her legs wrapped firmly around his waist. This brought her mouth level with his. As leverage, he rested her back against the rough bark, hoping his shirt protected her fair skin. He took her mouth in a gentle, soft kiss. Taking her face between his hands, he deepened it and they both groaned their mutual desire.
He couldn’t help how his body responded to her breathy moans. Hips thrusting of their own accord, his hard shaft was surely digging into her center. She put her small hands on his shoulders and when he hoped she’d pull him closer, she pushed him away instead.
“Romaric, stop. Please.”
Resting his forehead on hers, he spoke softly, “What’s wrong Seraphina?”
“I am not ready. I am sorry, Romaric.” She was young, only sixteen. He could smell her arousal, so there was no hiding the fact she wanted him, but her body and mind were at war.
“Seraphina …” He inwardly groaned. While he didn’t want to put pressure upon her, he wasn’t sure how long he could keep from taking her. His patience was worn thin. She was his and he wanted her with him.
“I thought I would be ready this eve. Meet me night after morrow at my home. Meet Father. Then I’ll come with you.”
Two more long, godforsaken days. He had to feed. It’d been too long already, but he could wait two more days. The thought of another woman’s essence in his veins was repugnant.
“Yes,” he reluctantly agreed before taking her lips again. She pulled back all too soon.
“I need to return. Hirum and Clara have fallen ill and mother needs my help.”
He selfishly wished he were her priority instead. “I will walk you.”
As he left her at the outskirts, watching her walk away, he’d already begun to count down the hours until he’d bring her to his home. To his bed. He’d meet her family day after morrow for evening meal and then she would be his. No more excuses.
Two days passed like ten, and as Romaric neared Seraphina’s meager family home
, he sensed a life-altering change.
Walking through the small village, the putrid stench of death hung thickly and almost visibly in the air. He burst into her home, uncaring whether he was a trespasser. A young female, whom he assumed was her mother, sat at a small wooden table, crying uncontrollably.
“Where’s Seraphina?” he growled. A sick, panicky feeling built in the pit of his stomach.
She seemed unable to focus on him, twisted in her own grief instead. It took two more tries before she finally responded. And when she did, it tried his razor thin patience even more.
“Who are you?”
“I am Romaric. Now. Where. Is. Seraphina?” If he had to repeat himself again, fuck his manners. He would ransack the goddamned house in search of her.
She stared at him with glassy, bloodshot eyes. “She’s gone. Dead. She fell ill night before last and passed this morning. Three of my babies are now dead and two more are ill.”
His heart died. Or maybe it bled out inside his empty chest. Either way it didn’t matter. It was gone, along with his mate. Correction, he could never call her his mate, for they had not bonded. She was never his and now never would be.
Even through his unimaginable grief, Romaric had enough sense not to show his true self to these humans. After he’d discovered they’d already buried Seraphina’s body, and he’d never get a final chance to look upon her beautiful pixie face, he turned and left without a word. Without explanation. He’d later learn that a deadly strain of influenza killed almost half of her small village in a matter of weeks.
When he returned home, Romaric roared his unholy wrath so loudly those within one-hundred miles heard his certain agony. Stories would be told for centuries to come in both human and vampire communities, passed down from generation to generation, about the unearthly sounds heard that cool summer evening.
Until this past week, Romaric had not fully reminisced on those painful events since her death and now he couldn’t stop. It only served to remind him of his one colossal failure. Had he simply taken what was his, without waiting for her acquiescence, they’d be together this day. He would be a completely different male.
