The Blood Trilogy

by K Loraine

  “Sorcha’s closet. Do you think she’ll mind? She was always bringing me things to wear. Since she can’t be here, I thought this might be…a way for her to be present?”

  I ran my knuckles over her cheek and pressed my forehead to hers. “I think that’s perfect.”

  “Where’s Lucas? I want to make sure he’s okay.”

  My chest tightened. “He…had to leave. He’s fine, I promise. But the wound is still fresh and seeing you would be like taking a branding iron to it. I have faith he’ll return one day.”

  Martin appeared behind her, his expression serious, but a small glint of excitement behind his eyes. “Your Majesty, the council has arrived.”

  This was it. Samson would preside over our marriage and Olivia would become my wife. But more than that. She would be the first human queen the Blackthorne line had ever seen.

  I threaded our fingers and said, “Come along, little bird. It’s time I made you my wife.”

  Olivia

  My Blackthorne wedding was very different this time. I stood next to Cashel, not afraid, not anxious or tense. I was ready. The two of us had walked through fire and brimstone to be here on the other side. Now we were given the chance to live as we should have from the beginning. Unchained by family, by duty, by magic. We were simply, us. Granted, he was a king, but I wouldn’t complain about that.

  Samson stood at the altar and performed the same ceremony I’d experienced with Lucas, but there wasn’t a sense of doubt about our connection, no need to prove our bond.

  “Cashel Blackthorne, do you pledge yourself to this woman, to defend and protect her no matter the cost, above all save the crown?” he asked, voice low and serious.

  Cashel took my hands in his and squeezed. “I do.”

  Samson repeated the question to me, and I responded in kind. Then the silver spike was brought out and I met its bite without flinching. Cashel’s eyes widened as our blood mixed, but there was no anger or fear, only desire.

  “Joined by blood, the two of you are one,” Samson said before pulling the spike free. “Cashel, heal your bride.”

  My husband let his blood fall onto my skin, and the wound healed almost instantaneously. All that was left was a small scar next to the one I’d received when I’d married his brother. But this one meant so much more.

  Then Cashel took me into his arms and kissed me, long and drugging, his tongue dancing with mine and the world around us falling away. Then he pulled back and locked gazes with me. “Are you ready?”

  I knew what he meant. He was going to taste me in front of them. “So ready.”

  He brushed my hair away from my throat and dropped his mouth to the sensitive skin below my ear. Then his lips brushed against me as he whispered, “I love you, little bird.”

  His fangs broke my skin and sent a twinge of pain through me which was quickly replaced by indecent levels of pleasure. One palm held my nape while the other spread over my lower belly. I knew he was staking his claim and showing the council exactly how bonded we were.

  He released me, and I had to fight the wave of euphoria so I could remain standing. I wanted nothing more than for this to be over so my new husband and I could go consummate our marriage.

  “Are you finished with us now, Samson?” I asked.

  He chuckled and nodded. “Oh, wait, I have one more thing for you.”

  Holding out a hand, he waited as another council member approached. A large black velvet box was placed in his palm and he opened it to reveal a red diamond necklace and ring. The very ones Anne had worn every night up until Cashel had her removed.

  “The Blackthorne crown jewels. These belong to our King and his Queen.”

  Cashel took the necklace and walked behind me before he placed it around my throat. The heavy jewels were cold and sent a chill down my spine. “All right?” he asked.

  “Yes, I just can’t help but think of the last woman who wore this.”

  “Where is she now?” he asked Samson.

  “Gone. Reduced to a pile of ashes in the very courtyard she rescued you from.”

  My stomach clenched. “She’s dead?”

  “She was a traitor.” He said it as such a definite thing, like there were no other options for treason.

  “So was I,” Cashel said, his palms resting on my shoulders. “You didn’t kill me right away.”

  “I was but a moment away from dealing you your death until she appeared.”

  I felt sick. I hadn’t known the extent of Cashel’s capture. He’d kept so much of it from me. Aside from the visual confirmation that he’d been tortured and given his traitor mark, I really hadn’t understood just how close to losing him I’d been.

  “You don’t have to wear the ring if you don’t want it,” Cashel murmured in my ear.

  I looked at the large red diamond ring and bit my lower lip. “Your mother wore this?”

  He nodded. “Every night of her life.”

  “She was important to you. I want to honor the woman who made you.”

  His lips brushed my jaw. “Thank you.”

  I took the ring from the box and turned to face my husband. “Put it on me. This is a wedding after all.”

  He grinned and slid the glittering jewel on my ring finger. “It looks like it was made for you.” Then he linked our fingers and tugged me down the aisle and away from the eyes of the council.

  “What do we do now?” I asked as he scooped me into his hold and carried me over the threshold and into the King’s rooms.

  “Whatever the hell we want.”

  Epilogue

  Lucas

  “Honey, I’m home,” I called into the dark foyer of Midnight Rose Manor. The place was home to nothing but ghosts of a life I was ashamed to have been part of. Now I had to revisit it…permanently.

  Striding through the house, I pulled sheet after sheet off the furniture, marveling at the state of things. For a home abandoned for centuries, this place had been fairly well maintained. That spoke of something my brother hadn’t been aware of. Someone had been keeping Midnight Rose Manor in working order. Someone knew we’d eventually return. But who?

  My palm throbbed where I’d been marked by my mating ceremony with Olivia, and my heart ached for the piece of me that had been removed and given to her. She couldn’t have known what her choices would do to me, her affair with Cashel, her love for him and not me. I knew that, but it still burned.

  An ache ripped through my chest, sudden and crippling. Directly where I’d stabbed myself to sever the bond with Olivia. It hurt so much I cried out and fell to my knees, my hands pressed over the place where I was sure I’d been shot, or staked. I pulled them away and stared down at my palms, prepared to see my blood covering my skin. But nothing stained my hands. She was gone. That was it. Olivia had been fully mated to Cashel, and I had to live the rest of my very long life without a mate.

  A flash of the two of them invaded my thoughts, Cashel feeding from her on the altar, his hand cradling her lower belly. Three hearts beating together. So, now they would have a child. It was how it should have been, but even with magic, once a bond is made it can’t be fully broken. At least it wasn’t for me. Maybe it was because I’d loved her all this time and never said anything. Either way, I had to do something to get her out of my system.

  I was tired of being the one who gave and never received. I received nothing but pain for my trouble and now I was here. Alone. By choice, but also by necessity. There was only one way to move on. I closed my eyes and searched inward, finding that place inside my being that housed everything human that existed in me. The part of me my mother gave me. I was done with that. I would embrace my nature, the side of me my father had worked so hard to foster. The part I’d always failed to show him. From now on, there was nothing human to Lucas Blackthorne. I was a vampire and I cared for no one but myself.

  I’d debauch my way through Salem, drain every willing participant, and leave them writhing in pleasure. Maybe I’d find myself a little bird o
f my very own and see what all the fuss was about. Cashel’s seemed to enjoy captivity even though she fought him. I’d spent far too much of my time playing the easy, congenial brother. It was time for me to become the bastard prince my father had never wanted.

  I was the Midnight Prince of the Blackthorne line and, starting now, I was going to raise hell.

  * * *

  The End

  Keep reading for the first chapter of Midnight Prince

  Lucas Blackthorne gets his turn

  * * *

  Midnight Prince

  Blackthorne Bloodlines

  Sneak Peek

  Chapter 1

  LUCAS

  * * *

  “Bring me another. This one’s empty.” I let the woman in my arms fall to the floor, her pulse weak and thready. She might survive if they took her to a hospital and gave her a transfusion. I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything anymore. I was free. Free of the chains of my mother’s humanity, of my father’s royal bloodline, and of the pain my heart would not let me escape. Now, I was a vampire prince. Not a half-breed. Not a bastard son.

  “I’m bored,” I said to no one in particular as I nudged my donor with the toe of my left shoe. My right leg was splayed over the arm of the mockery of a throne I’d set up in the main hall of Midnight Rose Manor. It was the estate I’d been gifted for services rendered to the crown. Over the last few months, I’d taken to holding a farcical version of court here in Salem. They came to me, offered willing donors, and I gave them what they wanted.

  Pathetic.

  I stared down at the writhing couples before me, locked in various states of intimacy. The crowd was made up of a few vampires who’d latched onto me simply because of my name and title. They weren’t my friends, not even my allies. These vampires were climbers. They wanted what my title could offer, a place in the Blackthorne vampire court. But they brought me women to fuck and feed from. Men to toy with while I took their women. In turn, I offered a place for them to be who they were without fear of discovery.

  “I said, I’m bored.” My voice was loud, but they were too far gone.

  Standing, I adjusted the cuffs of my sleeves and frowned when I saw a spot of crimson marring the white fabric. “Bloody hell, that won’t do.” With a sigh, I stepped over the woman I’d fed from and strolled toward the staircase. If they didn’t have another donor for me tonight, I’d have to find one the old fashioned way. Hunting.

  But first, I needed to change.

  The air in the pub was thick with the scent of stale sweat and cigarette smoke. It covered everything in a film that ruined the night before it even got started. A band in the corner played dreadful renditions of country music, and if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought this was my own version of Hell.

  “You look a little out of place, handsome.” The busty woman from behind the bar sized me up. She was pretty with big…eyes and a wide smile. “What can I get you?”

  I grinned and turned on the charm. “I’m from out of town. Here for a business trip. Got a bit bored of the hotel bar.”

  She lit up like a firework at the sound of my accent. “Where are you from? You sound like a prince.”

  Oh, if only she knew. “My family comes from England.” I leaned against the bar and reeled her in. My heart beat in a slow cadence as I locked my gaze on hers. “What's your name, love?”

  She sighed, and blood rushed to her cheeks. “Candace... but you can call me Candi.”

  “What if I want to call you mine tonight, Candi?”

  “I'm off at two.” Her voice was low and sluggish—the power of my gaze keeping her locked in my thrall. Honestly, it was like shooting fish in a barrel these days.

  “And if that's simply not soon enough? I need you now, in the alleyway. You’re too lovely to waste any more time with this nonsense.” My hands pressed hard on the surface of the bar top. If I wasn't cautious, I'd leave palm-sized indentations in the wood.

  Candi swallowed and glanced around the room. “Lisa! I’m taking an early lunch.” She didn't look away from me for long, and when Lisa gave her a clipped noise of acknowledgment, Candi was around the bar and sidled up to me in a heartbeat. “Okay, bad boy. You’ve got thirty minutes to rock my world.”

  I sighed. This was ridiculously easy. My chuckle turned to a full-body laugh.

  “What's so funny?” Annoyance clouded her tone, but I simply shook my head, and the two of us kept walking until we were in the alley.

  Under cover of darkness, I pushed her against the wall and let a low groan free from my chest. “You have no idea how much your world is about to change.”

  I ran my fingers over her collarbone and up her neck. Candi shivered and sighed. “You’re so hot. Hotter than any of the guys I’ve seen come through this town.”

  “Candi, do me a favor, love?”

  She leaned into me. “Anything.”

  “Do shut up.”

  I didn’t let her respond. My fangs descended, and I dropped my lips to her throat, piercing her skin with my teeth before she had a clue what was happening. She let out a moan of pure ecstasy, her fingers clenching my shoulders over and over as I drained her slowly, letting the life leave her bit by bit.

  I heard the shuffle, just a light brush of shoes on pavement, but it was enough. Releasing Candi, I let her sag against the wall, dazed and still caught up in the rapture my bite brought her. Two figures stood at the mouth of the alleyway, one hulking and stinking of testosterone, the other more slight, but with power radiating off her.

  “It’s rude to interrupt someone in the middle of a meal.” My tone was light and unaffected, but on the inside, I was annoyed. I was going to ruin another shirt if I had to kill them.

  “You should have thought about that before you took someone in the middle of town, Lucas.” The man’s voice was low and deep, not one I recognized, but that meant little.

  “Who are you to tell me what to do? You clearly know who I am. The only one who holds any jurisdiction over me is the King. You’ve heard of him, haven’t you? Ruler of all, blah, blah, blah, and so on.” A strange warmth covered me, joined by a buzzing in my brain and a thickness on my tongue. I rolled my head and watched as the world moved a beat slower than it should have. “What’s happened?” My words were thick and slurred. God, had they drugged Candi before I got to her? “How?”

  “Give him a moment. Don’t go near him until we’re sure he’s out, Tarron. A clumsy lion is still a lion.”

  The woman’s voice echoed in my mind, familiar somehow. My limbs were leaden, weighing me down, bringing me closer to the ground than I wanted. I stared at them, their features distorted by the drug and the shadows. Then I raised my hand and made a claw with my fingers. “Rawr, bitch.”

  I hit the ground and fought to keep my eyes open, even as their footsteps grew closer. But I couldn’t move my arms to tear them limb from limb as I wanted. I couldn’t do a damn thing. They wrenched my wrists behind me, clamped something across both, and hauled me to my feet. But not before attaching some kind of muzzle over my nose and mouth. Oh, I would kill them at my earliest opportunity.

  They dragged me across the damp, uneven pavement, and Tarron opened the rear of a large black SUV. “Throw him in, cover him in the silver net. Can’t take any chances with this one.”

  The woman gripped me tighter. She was terribly strong and smelled quite like a dog I once knew. “I know how to handle a vampire.”

  “But do you know how to handle a Blackthorne?” I slurred.

  Her eyes, a startling color of violet I hadn’t seen in far too long, bored into mine. My head swam, and I wondered whether I’d truly lose consciousness. “I’m well-versed in the Blackthornes, Lucas. That scar on your back should serve as a reminder.”

  “Rowena?” I whispered as she shoved me into the back of the vehicle and tossed a silver net across me.

  “You didn’t think you’d live out your days without paying for everything you did to my pack, did you?” she snarled,
and I heard the wolf inside her begging for release. “Your time is up.”

  Then she pulled out a syringe and slammed a needle into my thigh, pumping me full of something that burned like fire and dragged me down into darkness all at the same time.

  Midnight Prince: Blackthorne Bloodlines Duet #1

  BONUS EPILOGUE

  OLIVIA

  I woke to the sensation of fingers running through my hair, twisting the strands gently.

  “Wake up, little bird.” Cashel’s deep voice made me smile and caused a flutter of happiness to wake in my belly. We’d been married all of a month, and I’d only just begun to relax.

  I sighed and stretched. “I was having a really nice dream.”

  Glancing at my husband, a curl of desire took hold. He was painfully handsome. Naked and unashamed. His dark hair swept back from his forehead, except for one errant lock, strong, striking eyebrows framed his intense stare. It was easy to see why I’d been attracted to him even when I hated him.

  “Care to tell me what this dream of yours was about?”

  He nuzzled my neck and layered soft kisses to the tender place where my shoulder and throat met. It was a tease he’d perfected. “Mmm, that feels good.”

  “Perhaps you’d rather show me?”

  Yes. God, yes. “If I wasn’t already knocked up, I would be by now for sure.”

  A dark chuckle rolled through him. “Yes, you’re right. Now part your perfect thighs for your king. I need my wife.”

  Things low in my belly tightened. He needed to not only fuck and claim me. He wanted to feed. I could see it in the darkening of his eyes. “Yes, Cashel.”

  He tugged the blanket off my body, exposing my naked form to the chill of the air. Then my vampire fit his hips between my thighs and held his big body over me. The muscles in his chest and arms bunched and flexed and made me feel like a wanton thing. But if I couldn’t ogle my husband, who could I ogle? My fingers ran along his traitor mark, causing him to wince in slight pain.