Surrendering: A Regent Vampire Lords Novel, Book #1 (10 page)

“Good. We need to find Xavier and eliminate him once and for all.”

“True that. Were you able to get any more information from Kate?”

“No.”

“Work your charm, Dev. Just fuck her and she’ll tell you anything.”

In the next second, Ren was slammed up against the wall, a large hand holding him by his neck, one pissed off vampire in his face. “You will
not
talk about her like that again, understand?”

“Jesus, Dev,” he croaked. “Lighten up. I have nothin’ but respect for your Moira.”

Dev let him go and started pacing. “Fuck! I know I’m being completely irrational. But if anyone looks at her, touches her, or talks to her I want to rip out their throat. You included.”

“It will get easier when you bond with her, Dev. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”

“I don’t know, Ren. I hope so. I can’t go around slaughtering everyone in my Regent just for looking at my Moira.”

Ren slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you, man. You deserve to be happy after the hell you’ve been through.”

He
had
been through hell. His entire family was slaughtered. Even after all these years, it was painful to think about. He idly wondered what his parents would have thought of Kate. There was no question—they would love her. It seemed like everyone was drawn to her. Well, except Giselle. But she hated pretty much everyone.

He let his thoughts drift back to a time long ago.

1559

He’d been due home hours ago, but the female companion he’d found tonight was just too delicious to tap once. He could tell she’d been thoroughly used, as her pussy wasn’t as snug as some he’d come across, but she blew him like no other and her blood was as sweet as the blackberry jam his meme made. He rarely used a woman more than once, but perhaps he’d return to her, while he kept up the search for his Moira. She’d been one of the few women he’d found that knew about vampires and was more than willing to give freely of her body and blood in return for the indescribable pleasure she’d receive. Dangerous that, but to each his own.

Vampires lived among humans, most humans never knowing they were anything other than what they pretended to be. They were peaceful and wanted to live and thrive as any human does. They were not to kill their prey and they were not to expose their race, for even as powerful as they were, they would be no match for thousands of humans gunning for their heads. There were some of his kind, however, like Xavier, who didn’t believe in their chosen lifestyle, desiring total power and killing indiscriminately.

Xavier was like the brother he’d never had. At four, Xavier had been left in the middle of their village, abandoned by his parents, and Dev’s parents had adopted him as their own. They’d had an idyllic childhood and were as close as blood brothers. Now both in their early twenties, they’d drifted apart and Xavier was around less and less. Xavier’s actions lately had become more and more erratic, more totalitarian and the distance that grew between them saddened Dev.

Then last month, nineteen people went missing from a village down the road. Entire families had just vanished without a trace. This was the third such occurrence in as many months and panic was quickly spreading among the villages. The elders knew a rogue vampire was to blame and there was an all-out hunt to find him and dispose of him before the rogue exposed them.

When Devon discovered Xavier was the one behind the kidnappings and had been keeping humans locked up like animals, he had no choice but to tell the elders, one of which was his father. The depraved things Xavier did to these humans sickened him. Violating small girls in front of their fathers; torturing young boys while their mothers were forced to watch; bleeding wives dry in front of their husbands until their bodies were nothing but shriveled husks.

He’d known Xavier’s moral compass was questionable lately, but that he wasn’t aware of the depths of his brother’s wickedness ate at him every day since. He could have prevented this had he only chosen to speak to his father sooner. When he confronted Xavier, he simply stated this was how it should be. Vampires were not the weaker species. Vampires should rule humans, not live alongside them as equals when they were clearly superior. Humans should be treated like the cattle they were, waiting for their slaughter, while making themselves useful in the meantime by serving a vampire’s every need.

Xavier had not been seen in over a month. Hunters had been sent to find him but had been unsuccessful.

Dev should have flashed home, but he’d taken his horse that evening and needed to return it. Flashing such a big beast was not only taxing on his powers, but it would also raise suspicions among the humans in his small village, so he settled for the long ride home instead. Dawn was nearing, but he expected to arrive shortly afterward and, with his medallion, he’d be fine. He was well sated and in a fine mood, making plans with the same female for night after morrow.

As he neared the village, still over a mile away, the scent of blood and smoke overwhelmed him. Forgetting the horse, he flashed to his small cottage, and the sight before him dropped him to his knees in agony. The stench of death made his stomach heave.

His baby sister’s body lay in the doorway, her still beating heart lay beside her lifeless body. The look of horror on her face would be etched into his retinas forever. The curtain concealing his parents’ bedroom was on the floor and the entire small area was engulfed in flames, but he could clearly distinguish their dead bodies lying in the small bed.

The attack was so fresh he must have just missed the slayer. His family had been murdered minutes ago and he’d been screwing some whore when he should have been home to protect them. He bellowed in grief and guilt and was forced to flee the house as the fire quickly spread. What he saw outside his cottage was more than his mind could comprehend.

Slain bodies lay everywhere. Most of the homes were on fire. Destruction was all around. His entire village had been slaughtered, but the sight that he couldn’t wrap his grief-stricken brain around was the one of his friend, his brother, walking out of one of the few homes not on fire. His clothes were drenched in blood and he had a smile on his face. When Xavier spotted Devon, he simply saluted before vanishing.

How his parents didn’t know their attacker was upon them until it was too late was a problem that took Dev decades to solve. His dad was an elder and one of the strongest vampires alive.

After that, hate and revenge became Dev’s only friend and he’d spent the last five hundred years trying to exact that revenge, but Xavier remained elusive—and that fucking pissed him off.

The memory was painful, as always. He agonized every day that he hadn’t been there to save his family, his village, from Xavier’s wrath. After he discovered Xavier’s special ability, he knew he would have also been killed had he been there, but it still didn’t stop the guilt. He was surprised to find the grief felt slightly less today and smiled inwardly. Kate was already healing him in more ways than she even knew.

The webcam rang at the same time Giselle walked into the office, pulling him out of his reverie. He answered, projecting the images of Damian DiStephano and Romaric Dietrich on his computer screen. Marco and T were with Damian. No one, not even Damian, new what T was short for. Circo was with Romaric, as usual.

Both the other Vampire Lords were as striking as Dev. He knew neither had a shortage of willing women spreading their legs, but he was surprised that neither man had found his Moira, either. While he’d yearned to find his, he hadn’t realized how truly lonely he’d been until he laid eyes on Kate. That deep dark hole had now been filled with a woman whose essence shined brighter than the stars. He was a lucky bastard.

“Gentlemen.” He nodded.

Damian spoke first. “Devon, Ren. Good to see you both. Giselle, you’re looking bitchy, I mean beautiful, as always.”

“Bite me, asshole.”

“Hmmmm, I think I’ll pass, babe. Wasn’t so great the first time.”

Dev jumped in. “Knock it off. We have more important matters to discuss here than whatever the fuck went on between you two that neither of you will let go.”

Damian just laughed. If he were here in person, Dev was sure he’d be on the floor with a dagger in his heart about now. Bastard better watch his six when he gets here. Giselle was the meanest bitch he’d ever met. But she was also one of the most loyal.

Romaric spoke up in his usual get-down-to-business manner. Dev liked and respected Rom, but the guy needed to get the cob dug out of his ass. Or get laid more. “Let’s move this along. I have business to tend to before I am to be there by tomorrow at nightfall.”

They spent the next half hour rehashing what they all knew about the missing girls in their Regents. In total, twenty-eight girls had gone missing in the last three weeks. There were likely more they weren’t aware of yet. They’d all come to the same conclusion that Xavier had resurfaced, ramping up whatever sick plan was rattling around in the twisted gray matter that functioned as a brain.

“One more thing you should know before you arrive tomorrow. I have found my Moira. Her name is Kate Martin. She’s here at the house and she doesn’t know of our kind yet, so keep your mouths shut. I’ll see you all tomorrow evening.” He cut the video before anyone had a chance to respond.

“Giselle, a word,” he said as everyone made a move to depart.

When they were alone, he continued, “You will give Kate the respect she deserves. If you treat her like the dirt under your boot again, you’ll answer to me. Understood?”

She nodded curtly. “Yes, my lord.”

“That’s all.” She left without another word.

He was looking forward to tomorrow when he’d spend as much time with Kate as possible before he had to spend the night strategizing on how they could find Xavier this time. Find and destroy. It felt even more urgent now that he’d found his Moira. If Xavier found out about Kate, she’d be in even more danger.

He was even desperate enough to bring in Esmeralda and he and the witch weren’t on the best of terms. His rejections of her advances over the years had bruised her pretty, fragile ego. Never trust a witch. Use them, yes. Trust them, hell to the no. And while Esmeralda was stunning, regardless of what anyone thought, he had more discriminating tastes than that. Esmeralda probably wouldn’t take too kindly to Kate, so he planned to keep her as far away from Kate as possible. Better safe than sorry.

Dev’s urgency to kill Xavier now had much more driving it than revenge. He had a new family to protect and he wouldn’t fail
—couldn’t fail—
this time.

C
hapter 17

Kate

She woke feeling refreshed. The gods had blessed her, because she’d thankfully had a rare night of dreamless sleep. She looked at the clock to see she’d slept until 8:30 a.m. Crap! She had class to teach in an hour, which she’d yet to find a replacement for. She quickly grabbed her cell and called into the office. Ten minutes later she’d posted a cancellation for today’s classes and due to a ‘family illness’ found replacements for the next several days, just in case. She really had no idea how long it would be before the threat to her safety had passed.

Not knowing what the plan for today was, she decided to shower and was half way to the bathroom when a knock sounded at her door. Looking down at the skimpy tank and shorts she generally slept in, she wished she’d thought of bringing a robe.

When she opened the door, famished eyes raked her slowly from head to toe. Her nipples pebbled underneath the thin fabric. Dev’s eyes lingered on them for what seemed like minutes before they traveled further down her bare legs. His perusal back up was just as agonizingly and deliciously slow.

His eyes finally met hers. The desire engulfing them was palpable.

“Good morning,” he rasped.

She fought to catch her breath. “Hi.”

“Sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you.” She suddenly remembered she’d just rolled out of bed. Frantically running her fingers through her hair, she attempted to tame her long locks.

“Morning looks good on you, Kate,” he said.

Needing to put a bit of distance between them so she could gather her wits and thoughts, and rid herself of toxic morning breath, she asked, “So what’s the plan for today?”

His smile was easy, gentle. “Breakfast first, then a tour. How long do you need to get ready?”

“Thirty minutes is sufficient.”

“Thirty? I think I’m falling for you harder every minute I’m in your presence, love.”

And with those parting words, he turned and walked down the hallway, leaving her brain to swirl those confusing and terrifying words over and again for the next half hour.

___________

Dev

Thirty minutes to the second later, Dev knocked softly on Kate’s bedroom door. As he waited for her to answer, he thought of her in the shower. Water sluicing down her succulent, naked curves, made his groin tighten uncomfortably. He envisioned the droplets beading up on her fair skin. How her nipples would tighten from the cold once she shut off the tap. He ached to get her underneath him. He’d had a painful, never-ending hard-on for days that needed remedying. He hadn’t had to resort to using his own hand since he was a young boy but he was getting pretty fucking close to going there.