Caressed by Night

“Not for me,” he grated.

Her eyes narrowed. “What
are
you?”

He dropped his head.
Why now? Why did it have to happen this way?
He cursed, damning Fate for the tricks she played. He hadn’t wanted it to happen this way. He wanted them to take their time, to get to know one another before he shared his secret with her. Now he was cornered.

He had to tell her or―no. He would not erase her memory; he could not disrespect her that way.

He would not take the coward’s way out. He had to tell her.

His heart clenched. What if she rejected him? What if she hated him? What if he repulsed her? She was his mate, but that was no guarantee that she would understand, that she would stay with him or that she would love him.

“What are you?” she demanded again, her voice shaking.

Her thoughts screamed at him
. Vampire. Vampire. Vampire!
He forced his gift aside, shoving it back into the darkness of his mind.

“I think you already know,” he said before pulling his shirt closed.

Books by Amanda J. Greene

Rulers of Darkness Series

Caressed by Moonlight

Caressed

by

Night

Amanda J. Greene

Publisher Amanda J. Greene

Copyright © 2012 by Amanda J. Greene

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced by any means. This book is fiction. Characters, events, places, names, and etc. are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any actual persons (living or dead), businesses, or locals is completely coincidental.

Cover art by Kim Killion – Hot Damn Deigns

Edited by Danielle Donaldson, Rebecca Grimmius, and Kathy Davie www.amandajgreene.com

ISBN:

For my family, thank you for supporting me and believing in me. You all know writing has been a passion of mine for so long. I would like to give a special shout out to my mom and my aunt Brenda. You two ladies are my pillars of strength, you never allowed me to give up on myself, instilling in me determination and stubbornness (a popular trait within our family). I also have to say a special word for my Papa, God rest his soul. He was the rock in our family and without him, I don’t know if I ever would have had the strength or the courage to chase and achieve my dreams.

Acknowledgments

Hot Damn Designs did a wonderful job with the cover. Love it! Thank you, Ms. Killion.

I also would like to give thanks to my friend Rebecca, Danielle Donaldson and Kathy Davie for helping me with editing.

Glossary of Terms

Binding Ceremony:
Takes place between a vampire and their mate through the exchange of blood. Their blood needs to mix and they both have to consume the mixed blood at the same time. They will bare the mark of their binding, a scar.

Black Knight:
The protectors of the vampire royalty and nobility and the enforcers of vampiric law.

Bleeder:
A human slaved kept by a vampire for the use of feeding. This practice is outlawed, though it remains in use within the Outcast Society.

Death Curse:
A spell cast by the Shaman upon any vampire that becomes ruler of a Clan. This curse was created to limit the power and reign of the monarchs. It begins by attacking what remains of the vampire’s conscious (often times the king reports seeing the faces of those he has slain, thereby attacking their mind), hallucinations set in and the vampire begins to descend into madness. Next, the curse singles out the vampire’s emotions (they become over come by grief, shame, loneliness, despair, ect.). While the curse twists their minds and emotions, an illness consumes the body. Death is always welcome in the end. The average reigning term of a monarch is 200 years. This has helped cut the numbers of the older, stronger, vampires.

Fathers:
Cassius, Uro, and Imbrasus. These three of the four purebloods shared their blood with humans, thereby creating fledglings. They also formed the vampire clans.

Fathers can also be addressed as Sire. (Dimitri is a leader of a clan, though he has never created fledglings and is addressed as Sire.) Began to change humans to vampires when civilizations became strong.

Fledglings:
Humans that have been changed into vampires.

A vampire’s strength is determined by four (4) factors.

1. How hard the victim fought to hold on to their mortal life. The stronger the will to live the stronger the demon will be within them upon transformation.

2. How strong the vampire is who is trying to turn a human. The Purebloods posses the most strength, while their direct fledglings are the second strongest and so on and so forth. As the blood continues to be shared with humans, the vampire curse becomes more and more diluted. Example: the vampires that are made by the 16th generation will not be nearly as strong as those made by the 2nd, no matter what.

3. Depending on how much blood the vampire gives their victim, the more blood a vampires shares, the more poison (the curse) the human consumes. With more poison in the system, the transition is easier, though there is still no guarantee that human will survive the transition, though will have a better chance.

4. The passage of time. As years turn into decades and decades into centuries, the demon within (the vampire) grows stronger and some develop extra senses: mind reading, mind control, teleportation, and visions of the future.

Mate:
A vampire monarch’s lover. The Shaman, with his ability to see far into the future, knew that one day a ruler would come into power (one for each vampire clan) that would want to bring peace into the world of darkness. In order to save these rulers of the Death Curse, the Shaman created their mates. If the vampire finds their mate, they will never fall victim to the Death Curse. Though, there is no guarantee that the vampire will find their mate and if they do not, they will parish.

Mylonas Clan:
The very first vampire Clan to be formed. Created by Cassis, their territory consists of Southern Europe, every country that lines the coast of the Mediterranean.
Reigning monarch: Dorian Vlakhos
Outcast Society:
Made up of vampires who have been banished from their Clans or were changed into vampires illegally (without the blessing or the approval of the King).

Generally they are the weaker of the vampire race, with few exceptions. Their territory consists of the Untied States, with some small factions scattered about Canada and South America. To protect themselves from the Red Order, they form groups, banding together.

The two largest groups within the Outcast Society are lead by Gabriel Erhard and Boras
Werner (competitive factions).
Also known as bastards, blood-bastards, or filthy-blood.

Pureblood:
The original vampires cursed by the Shaw: Cassius, Uro, Imbrasus and Dimitri. The proper way to address a Pureblood is Sire.

Rightful Ruler:
The intended monarch chosen by Fate to rule a vampire clan. They will bring about peace and be granted a mate through the spell created by the Shaman.

Second:
Also known as heirs. They are chosen by the current reigning vampire ruler to be their successor.

Shaman:
Leader of the Shaw. He is all-knowing and his magical abilities are limitless.

He is continuously reincarnated; this helps his powers grow and insures that his knowledge of the past continues on. The Shaman can choose to retire, meaning he selects a fellow member of the tribe, generally from his direct bloodline, to pass on his strength and knowledge. Once he relinquishes his power and memories, he is free of the reincarnation cycle and will live out his life to finally pass on to the next realm.

Shape-shifters:
A species that appear human but can take the form of an animal. Also known as Weres. They separate themselves by animal type and live in packs/tribes.

Africa, Asia South America, and some parts of North America are split up amongst the different factions. Generally live in small groups and amongst people. They share much of their territory with the Outcast Society. War is popular within their communities and peace is always short lived. One cannot be changed into a Shape-shifter. They can breed with humans, producing Half-Breeds.

Shaw Priestess:
Gifted witches who show great promise for strength. They are trained by Shaman and are highly respected within their otherworldly community. They are Seers, able to look into the future. They are assistance to Shaman and are members of his bloodline. Priestesses are pure of blood, meaning their blood, if given to a human, can grant immortality.

Shaw Witches:
A peaceful tribe of witches possessing great magical power.

Soul Shattering:
When a human is on the verge of death and received vampire blood, the transition from human to vampire begins. The blood is poisonous to a human; it eats away at the soul and conscious until the next full moon. Once the full moon rises, the transition begins; excruciating pain claims the victim as their body begins to morph into that of a vampire. At this point, the soul is weak and splinters under the pressure. In most cases, the soul dies and the human does not survive the transition. If the soul does not die, it is forever shattered, in pieces. The human will awake a vampire possessing little humanity. They retain their memories and some of their emotions, though their conscious is almost nonexistent. However, there is a way around Soul Shattering. When the human is being given the vampire’s blood, the vampire can press their hand over the human’s heart, there by creating a shield around the soul, protecting it from the poison. A vampire is stronger if they possess their whole soul.

The Red Order:
Witches, who have very little magical power but possess great physical strength, they are the hunters of vampires. Also known as the Red Order Hunters.

Transition:
The process by which a human is transformed into a vampire. The human must be near death from blood loss and receive a vampire’s blood. Upon the next full moon, the change from human to vampire takes place. It is an agonizing event and most do not survive. Males dominate the vampire race because, for one reason or another, female’s bodies do not absorb the vampire’s poisonous blood well and often die when the blood first enters their system.

Validus Clan:
Created by Imbrasus. They claim Eastern Europe, beginning at the Czech Republic with the exception of Russia.
Reigning monarch: Hadrian Lucretius.

Voidukas Clan:
The smallest of the vampire clans, created by Uro, and their land consists of: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland.

Reigning monarch: Sonya Rebane.

Volkov Clan
: Formed by the pureblood Dimitri. Territory belonging to this clan is Northern Europe and Russia. He created this Clan to give refuge to vampires over the years trying to escape persecution, slavery, and tyrannical rulers of their own Clans.

Reigning monarch: Dimitri Arsov.

Caucasus Mountains, Russia

Dimitri fell to his knees. Exhaustion and agonizing pain ripped through him, blood flowed from the gash at his temple, the slash in his stomach, and dripped from his mouth. His lungs burned and his limbs ached.

“Look at you now, the honorable Dimitri Arsov, on his knees at my feet. I’ll never forget this sight.”

“Nor shall I,” Dimitri rasped.

“Don’t worry. The memory will not plague you for long. Red!” Ven called to the hunter. The witch came forward. His ancient dagger, bare and gleaming in the moonlight, was held steady in his fist.

“Goodbye, my king. You may rest in peace knowing that I will take great care of your Clan.” Ven bowed low and watched with eager eyes as the witch advanced on the humbled warrior. “Finish him!” the vampire demanded.

The hunter kicked Dimitri, his heavy boot shattering the vampire king’s shoulder. Dimitri did not cry out, his face cold as a tomb, his eyes bright with murderous rage. The witch raised the dagger and plunged it into Dimitri’s heart. Ven hooted with glee and laughed as Dimitri’s body fell silently to the moist ground of the forest. Ven kicked dirt in the ancient ruler’s face before turning to the witch.

“Well done,” he said, lightly tossing Red a sack of gold. “I wonder if I should cry when I am given the crown. Or do you think that would be too much?”

The witch shot him a chilling glare.

Ven growled, “What am I doing asking you anyway, witch? I suggest you leave before someone smells his blood.” With that warning, Ven disappeared into the forest, a joyous smile curling his repulsive lips.

Red, founder of the Red Order of Hunters, counted his gold before collecting his weapons. He smirked at what he had just accomplished. Witches had tried for centuries to kill a vampire king and he was the only one to succeed. He single-handedly brought down the last remaining pureblood vampire. The once powerful Dimitri Arsov would be remembered only as a weak king, slain by a Red Order witch.