Finer Points Of Vampire Affairs

It was eerily silent for a moment and she wondered if death had finally come for her. Instead, she was wrenched forward forcefully. Wincing at the sudden pain, she was once again reminded of her human frailty. Her eyes gazed into the dark depths in front of hers and she realized that this wasn't death. This was definitely not a hallucination. Orion was here. The intensity in his eyes caused something to coil deep within her stomach. It screamed at her to react, but before she could even question him, he bit down upon his wrist. Wide-eyed, she watched blood begin to flow from the wound. Her eyes stayed upon the wound for a moment before her eyes returned to his eyes. “Orion?” she whispered. His mouth was smeared with his blood. It should’ve shocked her. It probably should’ve caused a different type of reaction, but she had lived with her stepbrother and been around their culture for most of her lifetime. Her heart raced in her chest and she watched his tongue slide across his top lip

Somebody was following her. They had been following her for quite awhile now. She could feel their eyes upon her. Her instincts were breathing down her neck with the telltale sign of goosebumps raising upon her arms. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that somebody was indeed following her. And they were good. They were truly good at tracking and not being seen, but Briar Devereux was a hunter and predator. She was a master of observation. It was very rare for anybody to sneak up on her and catch her unaware. In her youth, her speech was robbed from her at the hands of a traumatic experience. Now her speech was flawed. She could no longer rely on verbal communication to get her point across. She had honed her other senses and mastered them. It was to make up for what she lacked. Her instincts were telling her that she wasn't going to outrun or outsmart her stalker. She refused to be a victim or prey. She would become the hunter. She would become the predator. When she rounded the

"Are you packed and ready for our flight?" Reginald called out to her as she stepped into the spacious dining room. "Judging by how late it is, I would hope you made the right preparations." She couldn't ignore him or avoid him. Straightening her back, she forced herself to walk to the end of the long table where he was seated. There was already a place setting prepared for her. "I have already directed Lewis to take care of my luggage," she told him evenly which seemed to satisfy her fiance. His eyes stopped burning into her and he returned to the newspaper he was reading and his plate. "Your brother seems to have chosen his mate," Reginald remarked nonchalantly over the newspaper as she settled into her seat across from him. She had hoped when she attended her morning fare that Reginald would still be absent and she would meet him at the private hangar. For a few days now, he had been preoccupied by his mistress and hadn't been in attendance in the mornings. She had enjoyed the

Persephone sighed, watching Caramia fidget in her seat. She didn't fault her for her restlessness. She had barely acknowledged her until now. How they managed to get to this exact point was remarkable, because she was supposed to be aboard a jet with Reginald going to Italy where she would be accepted by his grandfather to enter into a matebond with Reginald. They would have a large public ceremonial ritual, because Reginald had always demanded to be the center of attention. Instead, she was being chauffered in Derrick's fancy car. She had received a text of gratitude from Orion when she informed him that she was taking Caramia to him. Her eyes took in the beauty in front of her. Their blood cured Caramia and her true natural beauty was breathtaking. Cowardly, her eyes dropped when Caramia glanced at her. She didn't know how to be anything but what Reginald crafted her into. Except the moment her phone alerted her of an incoming text, her entire body warmed merely at his name. Her h

Persephone glanced over at Caramia as she polished off her sushi. She was glad the fledgling finally gave into her appetite. A newly sired vampire needed to consume food, beverage, and blood triple the amount of what they normally would in the beginning of their transformation. She expected under the watchful eyes of Orion, Caleb, Rogier, and Lyndie that she was supplied with it, but now that none were around, it was up to her to make certain her new sister was properly taken care of. "Persephone?" Caramia called out to her. There was definitely a note of hesitation wavering in Caramia's voice. Persephone watched the tension in her muscles, the uncertainty and nervousness in her movements as she wrung her hands. "I'm sorry," she whispered to her. "I know it's not my place, but I overheard a lot of conversations about you and Caleb." Persephone swallowed back the lump in her throat. "I never wanted to be the reason why it didn't work out between you two." Persephone took a deep bre