Reviled (The Master and His Soul Seer Pet): A New Adult College Vampire Romance
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REVILED: THE MASTER AND HIS SOUL SEER PET
BOOK 2
By Marian Tee
This is a love story between an innocent girl and a jaded man, a pet and her Master, a soul seer who has yet to realize she’s meant to save the world…and a powerful vampire who has yet to understand his heart still beats.
18-year-old Zari Baltimore has her first taste of heartbreak upon finding out that her Master, the powerful and gorgeous vampire Alexandru, has long been in love with someone else.
Wishing for distraction, Zari tries to keep her mind off her unrequited love by playing truant at La Scala Legaturia, a training ground for strengthening bonds between Masters and pets. But it doesn’t work.
She also tries to spend more time with Lord Erou, hoping it would make her Master jealous as well, but it doesn’t work either.
Then Zari has another vision – of her fighting for her life against a demon – and suddenly, she’s got more distraction than she bargained for.
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The Master and His Soul Seer Pet: New Adult College Vampire Romance
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REVILED: THE MASTER AND HIS SOUL SEER PET
BOOK 2
By Marian Tee
Copyright 2014 by Streak Digital Publishing
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Author’s Note
Each book in this series is written as a standalone mystery. This way, you can start with any book in the series and not feel lost.
In every book, each chapter will begin with either a flashback or flash-forward scene. The actual story, however, takes place in present time.
Chapter One
“You have to be serious.” Her voice was a mixture of embarrassment and frustration. “You can’t possibly spend the whole day with me.”
Alexandru only raised a brow. “Why not?”
“B-because you have duties,” she sputtered. “That’s why.”
He traced her lips, something he liked to do because he knew how sensitive they were. At her shiver, he murmured, “The only duty I care about is what you want me to do for you.”
She shivered even more, knowing that so many women would have sold their souls just to have someone like Alexandru say that to them. And yet those words were for her, the one who didn’t deserve him.
*****
ZARI
Although the walls of La Scala Legaturia were behind us, this part of the land still belonged to the school. A dense forest made treacherous by its poisonous plants, it was one of LSL’s first lines of defense. Humans like me could so easily die just passing through it, but all of us there knew the forest wasn’t to blame in this case.
The dead man on the ground was unkempt, his clothes frayed at the edges, his shoes worn. The flesh on one side of his neck had been ripped apart, but this was no vampire’s doing. It was worse. The bite marks, the way the flesh had been torn – no, this was done by another human. It meant this man had to suffer prolonged agony. No death made quick and painless by a vampire’s razor-sharp fangs. Instead, his last few minutes on this earth had been made excruciating by dull human teeth.
The crowd par
ted on the other side, Sir Richard, our school’s headmaster, coming forward with a worried frown on his rounded face.
I quickly stepped back, hiding behind other students. Sir Richard was one of the few persons who knew what I was. Like other students, I was human, tasked to master the ways of becoming an ideal pet to my Master. But unlike other students, I was also a soul seer, possibly the last one left in this world. Being a soul seer meant seeing the past and the future, a skill that some otherworlders or non-humans wouldn’t hesitate to kill for.
LSL was to be my temporary sanctuary, a way to keep my identity secret. One of the few rules that my Master had asked me to follow was to never get involved in anything that could expose what I was. Going to a crime scene? That would definitely qualify.
“Who are the suspects?” Sir Richard asked as he crouched down to inspect the corpse more closely.
I moved further away, not wanting him to catch my scent. If he knew I was here, he would surely tell my Master about it.
“Two students, sir,” the enforcer replied. Enforcers worked like vampire police, tasked to solve crimes involving otherworlders. “A Miranda Donnelly and the other one is Rhapsody Norwood.”
The first name I easily recognized. Miranda was often referred to as the school’s Madonna. An ideal human pet, in many ways, was like a geisha, trained to serve and please her Master and find honor in her ability to do so. Miranda, who was in her last year of training, certainly excelled at that. Demure and soft-spoken, graceful and gracious, she was said to make even vampires’ hearts skip a beat – and that was saying a lot when most vampires didn’t have hearts to speak of.
“Miranda?” Sir Richard repeated, visibly surprised.
“It’s been confirmed, sir. Several students saw her leaving through the school’s exit closest to the forest.”
The headmaster straightened up with a shake of his head. “That doesn’t make sense.” After telling another enforcer to cover the body and have it autopsied, he asked, “What about Lady Rhapsody?” His gaze strayed, and following his line of sight, I realized that most of the students in the crowd were looking at the same person, too.
The girl was tall and slender, with black hair and incredibly fair skin. She would probably be beautiful if she smiled, but right now her face was so pale and expressionless it was like looking at a ghost.
Murmurs rose from the crowd. It made me wince because they weren’t being exactly quiet or discreet about what they were saying.
It’s the new girl.
I’ve always thought she was weird.
That Miranda came out here is just coincidence, I’m sure. She could never have done something like this. But that girl?
She’s the killer. I’m sure of it.
Rhapsody started walking away, and the murmurs grew louder, as if they all wanted her to hear it. I found myself following her.
When she was past the gates of the school, she suddenly turned around, making me jump in surprise.
“Why are you following me?” I had expected her to hiss, shout, or maybe even cry. But instead her voice was calm. Soft. Soothing. Like her name.
Her question had me shrugging awkwardly. “I’m not exactly sure why,” I confessed honestly.
She blinked at my answer.
I offered my hand. “I’m Zari, by the way.”
She took it. “Everyone knows who you are.”
I grimaced, knowing it wasn’t because I was near-perfect like the Madonna. Rather, it was because my Master was Alexandru, the greatest hunter among vampires, and someone, despite having lived hundreds of years, who had never acquired a pet…until I came along, that was.
She cocked her head to the side. “You don’t seem to think I’m the killer.”
I thought about it seriously. “No. I don’t.”
“Then do you think she’s the killer?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure about that. I just…” I looked at her, really looked at her, trying to see her as a soul seer. “I just know you’re not the killer,” I finished.
“You are…odd.”
I tried, I really tried to stop myself from grinning, but I couldn’t help it.
Rhapsody’s lips twitched ever so slightly, no doubt having realized the irony of her words as well.
We started walking again, heading to the dorms. All students were required to board, the school being the safest place for pets to feed their Masters. There were also times when injured vampires came here to drink from unclaimed pets, but it was up to us to offer or refuse them blood.
“So…you just transferred here?”
She nodded. “Last week.”
“And you didn’t have a hard time catching up with the lessons?” I couldn’t help but be envious. Right now, I had one of the lowest grades among first-years. A perfect pet naturally adored her Master. Most times, I was lucky if I didn’t naturally abhor the things I had to do as a pet.
Rhapsody shook her head at my question. “Before coming here, I was already being home-schooled about being a proper pet,” she said simply.
“Oh. I didn’t know that was possible.”
“My Master’s very powerful,” Rhapsody said matter-of-factly. “Most of the things are possible for him.”
*****
ALEXANDRU
How could she say something like that so easily? His pet’s thoughts came to Alexandru loud and clear, which meant she was very close by.
My Master’s very powerful.
Alexandru’s brow arched in surprise at the thought.
Blech.
He smirked. Now that was more like his pet.
No matter what, I don’t think I can say it like that. I really can’t.
Alexandru mentally shook his head. Of course she couldn’t. While she made an adorable pet in many ways, she was also quite the little liar, the kind who would rather jump off a cliff than say something nice about him – even if it was what she thought.
Suddenly feeling impatient to see her, Alexandru used a burst of speed to get where Zari was. In LSL, there was no need to pretend he was not who he was – a vampire so ancient and powerful that even otherworlders shook in their boots at the sight of him.
He landed noiselessly just a few feet behind Zari and her new friend, the girl with the anonymous Master. Stealth did not come naturally to otherworlders, but for Alexandru it was a skill he had honed in the centuries he had hunted down vampires and other creatures that had gone rogue and lost themselves in the frenzy of bloodlust.
For a moment, he remained where he was, savoring the chance to look his fill of his pet. She was small and slim, coltishly so, the gentle curve of her dainty breasts only made noticeable by the tightness of her school jacket. But her legs were incredibly long, and her short black skirt made them even shapelier.
Unlike most pets who strove hard to be womanly, his pet didn’t appear to care about mastering the art of ladylike walking. Instead she walked briskly, her shoulders square, her back straight, and her long blonde hair swaying almost in rhythm with her hands, which she couldn’t seem to keep still against her sides.
An unusual pet, and not just because she was a soul seer. Dangerous, too, because she was beginning to mean too much to him, and he didn’t want that.
Ahead of him, his pet was peppering the new girl with questions – and all of it had to do with homeschooling. His eyes narrowed. He had a feeling he knew where this was going—
“So…” Zari’s tone was calculating. “Does LSL offer homeschooling, too?”
The new girl nodded. “Your Master only has to request it.”
“I see.”
“Why do you ask?”
“My Master travels all the time.”
The other student nodded understandingly. “Naturally. He’s a hunter. But wouldn’t you be in the way if you traveled with him?”
The astute question was his cue to intrude. If allowed to continue, his little pet might end up revealing something about herself, something that could set all the demo
ns in the world after her.
And that, he would never allow.
In a blink, he was directly behind them, and before his pet could answer, he had already bent down to whisper in her ear, “Hello, pet.”
The whispered words, combined with the mesmerizingly familiar voice, had Zari jumping. She whirled around and jumped another step back at the sight of Alexandru. What was he doing here?
Her Master’s voice was the soul of innocence as he asked, “Did I surprise you?” He was as beautiful as ever, with his jet-black hair looking slightly wind-tousled and a wicked gleam making his green eyes brighter. He had on his usual all-black attire, which meant he had come to LSL directly from a hunt.
Beside Zari, Rhapsody curtsied, prompting her to curtsy as well. She always, always forgot to do that.
“Lord Alexandru,” Rhapsody murmured.
Alexandru bowed. “Lady Rhapsody.” At his words, he saw his pet’s eyes widen, as if surprised that he knew the other girl’s name.
“If you would excuse me, milord,” Rhapsody said and at his nod, she turned to Zari. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Lady Zari. I look forward to furthering our acquaintance.”
“Umm…sure. Me, too.” Her sudden formality impressed, intimidated, and confused Zari.
When the other student left, Alexandru said dryly, “Is it shocking that not all girls say ‘see ya’ when leaving?”
She made a face. “I don’t always say that.”
Instead of answering, he simply opened his arms. As he expected, she didn’t fly to him right away. He knew his little pet well, after all. First she would blush—
In front of him, pink had blossomed in her cheeks.