Reawakening (2 page)

“Well, there must be some interest there, because he asked Dev what your name was. And …” Kate left the word dangling, hanging in midair like a kite caught on a stiff breeze.

“And what?” she finally asked, not able to help herself.

“And he asked what happened to you when you were captive.”

Great
. He thought she was damaged goods since she’d been kidnapped by those rogue vampires. She may still be recovering emotionally from the whole ordeal, but having heard what some of the other women had gone through, Sarah knew that, while traumatizing, it could have ended far, far worse for her. She knew she’d be in a far different place had she been repeatedly raped, or, God forbid, pregnant, like many of the women rescued.

Sarah tried not to let her heart, or her ego, take a hit, but damn if it didn’t feel like both had just been splattered all over the sizzling hot driveway out front. Taking another large gulp of her wine, she decided it was time to call it a night. Besides, Kate and Analise were probably anxious to get back to their mates. They’d been here for hours and while she enjoyed spending time with them, she didn’t need a babysitter. Which is exactly what this whole ‘Christmas in July’ ruse had been about. She wasn’t as naïve as everyone seemed to think she was.

“I think this wine has made me tired. I’m going to hit the hay.” They all rose and made their way to the kitchen.

Besides, she had things to do. When her brother died, she’d ended up delaying college for a year, so just turning twenty-four, she was a little older than most grads. Except, she hadn’t graduated yet and she’d decided that she really wanted to. Only six credits shy of her Human Development and Psychological Services Bachelor’s degree when she’d been kidnapped, since it wasn’t safe to leave the house, Kate had found a way to get her enrolled in the remaining two classes via Skype, which she started in a few weeks.

After her Bachelor’s, she’d been planning to get an advanced degree in clinical and counseling psychology, but now she wasn’t sure what she’d do. It was her intent to start as a counselor at the shelter when she finished her degree and while her original path leaned toward children, she knew these women needed her far more. She found it fascinating that both Kate and Analise studied in the same field she was interested in, but she supposed now that it was all meant to be. That
this
is where she was meant to be.

“I’ll let you know if I hear anything, okay?” Analise hugged her tightly and she squeezed her eyes together to hold back tears. She would not cry over some stupid vampire who wouldn’t give her the time of day. She wasn’t even really sure she wanted his attentions. He was so extreme it bordered on scary.

“It doesn’t matter, Analise.”

“Uh huh.” Winking as she waved goodbye, she turned and left for the main house. “We’re headed back to Boston, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yes, sure,” Sarah mumbled.

“Goodnight sweetie. See you tomorrow.” Luckily Kate didn’t say another word on the subject, which was good. Either she was going to blow up or cry. At this point, she may do both.

Finishing her wine, she retreated to her room, after checking on a couple of the girls, including Beth. Beth had slowly started to come around, talking a bit more about what had happened and so she’d made it habit to stop by her room every night before going to bed to insure she didn’t need anything. The night before last they’d ended up talking for two hours, mostly about mundane things, but it was the first time she’d cracked the door open enough for Sarah to learn about the real Beth. Sarah began to see how Analise and Beth had become so close.

But Beth was already sleeping, so she reluctantly went to her room, pulled up the university website and ordered the two books she’d need for classes, sending them to the university, where Thane would graciously pick them up.

It was still too early for bed, so she puttered around online for a while. Although she hadn’t been one for social media prior to ending up here, unfortunately with Xavier on the loose she was forbidden from using any of it for fear they would be able to trace her back here, even with the technological security they had in place.

Much to her dismay, Xavier, her psychotic-biological-sperm-donor-vampire father, wasn’t killed in that raid and, after five months, still remained on the loose. And was still trying to find the daughters he’d ordered dead, but were very much alive, so he could turn his twisted empire-building into a
family
business and take over the world.

Thanks, but no thanks ... Dad.

Try as she might not to, once again, she thought of the fear and despair she’d felt during those thirty-three days.

She thought of the terror she’d felt the first time she realized her captors were real life vampires. She thought of the day, two weeks into her captivity that she was saved from a horrific fate by an unknown vampire, who was true to his word that she would be safe. For the first several weeks after her rescue, whenever she closed her eyes, she’d relive that day. The day she was stripped naked, tied down and almost raped by a horde of rogue vampires. Thankfully, those nightmares now came few and far between.

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 wrong 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.