A VAMPIRE’S EMBRACE, A Paranormal Romance
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
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Dear Reader
A VAMPIRE’S EMBRACE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
A Note from Caris
Coming Up Next
About the Author
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Copyright
A VAMPIRE’S EMBRACE, A Paranormal Romance, the Blood Rose Time Travel Series Book 2
By Caris Roane
Copyright © 2017 Twin Bridges Creations LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced in whole or in part, scanned, photocopied, recorded, distributed in any electronic form, or reproduced in any manner whatsoever or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without express written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
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~ ~ ~
Dear Reader
Welcome to the second book of the Blood Rose Time Travel series. A VAMPIRE’S EMBRACE continues the journey into the world of Time Travel and the land of the Nine Realms. I had so many requests not to end the Blood Rose Series with the final installment, EMBRACE THE POWER, that I decided to press on. But I also wanted something special to bring to the series, and it occurred to me that it would be a lot of fun to add Time Travel into the mix! This series will have a mix of full-length novels and novellas.
So, welcome back to, the Blood Rose Time Travel Series!
Here’s a brief look at the story:
Having lost his entire family, Mastyr Rez vowed never to love again…
Rez has no use for a blood rose…
Rez lost his family in a tragic Invictus attack. His wife and two sons were killed and his daughter abducted. Besides battling the monstrous Invictus wraith-pairs and keeping his neighbors safe, he has only one goal, to find his daughter. When Holly heals him after a deadly, dark fae poisoning, her time-pathing ability soon draws him into a new world. But his heart is a cold, empty shell and though he finds himself captivated by her, he has nothing to give. As a new Invictus threat emerges, will Rez be able to overcome his grief or will he lose Holly forever?
The last thing Holly wants is to feed a mastyr vampire…
Holly loves art and literature. She teaches at Tannisford University. She believes Mastyr Rez is nothing short of a deserter for not returning to Mastyr Stone’s Vampire Guard. When she suddenly discovers she’s the one person who can end his chronic blood starvation, she’s furious. She has her own life to live and that doesn’t include opening a vein for a vampire. But when he needs her time-pathing abilities to locate his long, lost daughter, how can she refuse? Yet the more she’s with him the more she starts to fall beneath his vampire charm. Will she be able to help him in his search without losing her heart?
If you’d like to check out the first book, A VAMPIRE’S SOFT EMBRACE, just click on the title.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the Blood Rose Series! I’ve loved living in this world of vampires, fae, shifter wolves, trolls, elves, and forest gremlins.
And now, have a wonderful day and an even better night!
Live the fang!
Caris Roane
May, 2017
A VAMPIRE’S EMBRACE
A Paranormal Romance
The Blood Rose Time Travel Series ~ Book 2
By Caris Roane
Chapter One
Rez sat on the cobbled sidewalk in Millerell. A house blazed opposite him. He leaned against a low stone wall and stared up at the night sky, his vision narrowing. His eyes felt cold, like they were trying to see deep into space, into the beyond. He knew then he was riding death’s train and it was picking up speed.
Blood poured from the wound in his gut. Four Invictus lay around him, two female wraiths, each bonded to powerful, Guardsmen-size vampires. The battle had been difficult and furious. Four dead.
If he didn’t get help, he’d be joining them.
He had a sense of the villagers coming out slowly from their hiding places. They moved with caution. He didn’t blame them. The Invictus had set a house on fire and bombed one of the cars. They’d been wild, out-of-control and in need of blood.
They’d found his battle energy instead.
But in return, an axe had struck home.
His self-healing wouldn’t close the gap and he was still leaking all over the cobbles. Something was wrong.
He didn’t want to make the call, but he had no choice. If he didn’t get a healer over here fast, he would die.
He’d been avoiding contact with this particular fae for two months. She’d served him once before. Mastyr Stone had beat him senseless at the Wild Boar, for coming onto his woman, Rosamunde.
The bar owner had summoned a fae of considerable power who had a home in the nearby mountains, a beautiful woman with a floral scent that still lived in his nostrils. He’d been semi-conscious at the time. But when he’d come around, the smell of her had aroused him like fire on a dry stack of wood.
He’d thought about calling her a hundred times since. But he knew she was the kind of trouble he had to avoid like flesh-eating bacteria.
Right now, however, he was out of time.
Still wishing he had an alternative, he opened his pathing ability, then tapped on her telepathy. Holly, I’m in trouble. I’ve got an axe wound and something stinks like poison. I can’t stop the bleeding.
~ ~ ~
Holly was holding a glass bowl in her hands, full of flour, when Mastyr Rez’s telepathy sounded through her mind.
Poison? Are you sure?
I can’t self-heal. Gotta be dark fae magic.
The bowl slipped from her hands, hit the side of the granite counter, and crashed to the stone floor. She stared down at all the broken pieces and the lake of flour, but didn’t make a move to pick it up.
Her heart slammed around in her chest a few times. She had to work to calm herself.
Rez needed her and every fae instinct she possessed told her he was minutes from death.
Rez was many things. He was arrogant and proud. He was even a deserter of the ruling mastyr’s Vampire Guard. But he wasn’t a liar and he wouldn’t have reached out to her if it hadn’t been absolutely necessary.
She’d healed him a couple of months ago, this solitary vampire. She’d been drawn to him in a way that wasn’t good at all, an intense obsession. She’d vowed never to see him again, especially since after she’d healed him, they’d argued.
Viciously.
She drew in a deep breath. Right now, none of that mattered.
&nb
sp; As she saw it, she had two problems in front of her. She had to get to Rez fast and she had to know what kind of poison she was dealing with.
First, she needed information. Was there a battle?
Yes. As I’ve said. Out at Millerell, not far from the Wild Boar where you healed me. Four Invictus dead. House on fire. Family is alive. Neighbors are out.
Can any of them reach you?
No. They can’t get past some kind of mist. They can’t even see me.
Holly’s heart sank. Will I be able to?
I don’t know. You have a lot of power, more than I think you know. So, maybe. That’s why I reached out to you.
Okay. Listen. I’ll figure it out. But I also need to ask an important question: Exactly what does the poison smell like?
He didn’t answer right away, but she didn’t intrude. She needed him to take his time and make his best guess or she’d never be able to concoct the right antidote to save him.
Finally, he said, This may sound off, but it’s like fresh cut grass.
Good. That’s exactly what I needed to know. Now, I have one final question, and it’s very important: How much time have you got?
~ ~ ~
Rez felt light-headed, almost euphoric, probably from the blood loss. How much time have I got?
Yes. A minute? Two? Mastyr, pay attention. Focus. Can you last two minutes? I need to know.
He chuckled. I can last longer than that. You should try me.
Sweet, Goddess, are you flirting with me? You’re dying and you’re flirting with me?
He sighed. Every cell in his body burned from the poison now. Foolish to waste time. But he was a man. Some drives wouldn’t be denied.
He took a moment to evaluate his blood level. Odd, being a vampire and the things you could know. Like he knew exactly how much blood he’d lost, half his supply and still pouring out of him. He also knew the hour, just past eleven. I’ve got about three minutes. No more.
I have to see the battle. I’ll be with you in two.
He couldn’t make sense of what she’d said. How could she get to him in two minutes unless she was closer than he thought? What did she mean, she had to see the battle? The Invictus lay at his feet. What was there to see?
He must have misunderstood her. Nothing more to be done now, except wait.
The building opposite him still shot flames high in the sky. He was close enough that the heat kept the dying chill from overtaking him.
The couple had lost their home but he’d saved their lives. They were a lovely troll family with five children. He could see the woman in the distance, beyond the strange mist. She held an infant in her arms. He could hear the baby crying, but it was a wonderful sound, full of hope and life.
He’d had a family once.
They were gone now.
But he wouldn’t think about that.
Although, if Holly didn’t arrive soon with a miracle antidote in hand, he’d be joining them tonight.
A pain drove through his heart, a sharp jagged thing. He couldn’t leave Tannisford Realm. He hadn’t found his teenage daughter, Isobel, yet.
Two years ago, while he’d been out patrolling with the Vampire Guard, several Invictus pairs had invaded his small farm. They’d slaughtered his wife and two young sons, but his daughter had been abducted. One of the neighbors had seen her held captive by the vicious wraith-pairs.
He’d hunted for her since, but still hadn’t found her.
So, no, he couldn’t die yet.
Not yet.
Not until he’d brought Isobel safely back to his home in Boylbury.
~ ~ ~
Holly had spent the last two years studying time travel with Vojalie, the most powerful fae in the Nine Realms. She had prepared for exactly this kind of situation, to breach time through the time-path in order to extract sufficient information to save another realm-person’s life.
She was on deck and frightened out of her mind. Her heart beat like it was a thoroughbred running the last quarter mile of a critical race.
Knowing she had only two minutes, she took a deep breath and sent up a prayer. Goddess, be with me. Help me to keep everyone safe as I enter the continuum.
It was her own prayer, not something Vojalie had taught her. More than anything, she feared by her actions she would cause a serious disturbance and alter the future. By carelessness, she might initiate waves of change that could end in the deaths of innocent people.
Despite her fears, she had to move into the time-path. Otherwise, Rez would die.
She closed her eyes and spread her hands wide. She engaged in the unique gift which very few realm women shared. The world of the Nine Realms was the world of frequencies and vibrations. Time-pathing was no different.
With a sudden jolt, she moved from real-time into the continuum, a place where the past could be observed and from which Holly could move from one location to another with ease. In this state, she was free of time. When she reentered real-time, she would return to Rez with two minutes to spare. It was the greatest gift of time-pathing.
Once inside, she saw her kitchen as though it was blurred. Even the flour and broken glass on the floor had a wavy appearance.
Before she did anything, however, she wanted Vojalie’s guidance.
She tapped on Vojalie’s pathing frequency and the woman responded. I’ve been expecting to hear from you. Vojalie had a powerful connection to the future.
Holly explained the situation as quickly as she could. Though she knew she would meet Rez in time to heal him, she didn’t have unlimited time in the continuum. For her, a ten-minute trip would usually end in severe lethargy, which would leave her extremely vulnerable.
Vojalie listened to her recounting of her conversation with Rez. Fresh cut grass. You know what that sounds like.
I do. But I want to be sure. If I’m to save Rez, I need to return to the battle to see the moment he was afflicted. I need to smell the poison myself.
I couldn’t agree more.
Then you approve the direction I intend to take. More a statement than a question.
Holly, I give you leave from this point forward to time-path when and how you feel you must. You’ve entered a critical period in your life. I will only say you would be wise, at times, to move beyond the strict rules and expectations you’ve set for yourself.
A familiar theme. She’d argued with Vojalie for hours on this subject. She didn’t have time, however, to take issue with her now. I have heard you, Mistress.
She heard Vojalie’s telepathic chuckle. You are very stubborn, Holly McCrae. Now, get going.
She felt Vojalie end the telepathic conversation. She wished she could pause to catch her breath, but she didn’t have time.
Focusing on Rez, she let the time-path move her. It was like being pushed one direction then another as though searching for the way. She’d learned through her apprenticeship with Vojalie not to fight it.
Within seconds, she was at the village of Millerell, though a couple of minutes in the past. Because she was in the continuum and hadn’t actually moved into the past yet, she saw the entire village as if blurred. If a car drove down the street, it wouldn’t strike her because she wasn’t really there.
She could observe, though.
The fire drew her attention first. The cottage was in flames. A fire truck was already on the scene and several strong-looking trolls worked three different hoses to bring the blaze under control.
Villagers clustered at a distance, though a troll family stood nearby and appeared devastated, probably the owners. A sudden breeze whipped up the flames and the villagers gave a cry. Just as quickly, it died down and the heavy sprays of water began subduing the fire once more.
She turned and saw Rez sitting against a low stone wall. Nearby were several dead Invictus. She put a hand to her mouth and avoided looking at the corpses. Instead, she focused on Rez.
His hand was pressed to his stomach. His white tank top was stained a deep red. She repressed a sudden
revulsion as she saw he sat in a pool of his own blood. He was pale, his forehead beaded with sweat.
In this instant, she’d forgotten what he looked like, the features she’d seen in her dreams a hundred times. He had a firm jawline, sharp cheekbones and straight brows. He was one of the handsomest men she’d ever seen with wavy brown hair to his shoulders, ridiculously sexy blond highlights and light blue eyes that two months ago had pierced her soul.
All this she took in like the flash of an image on a screen.
Her heart pounded hard now, as though laden. She put a hand to her chest. She’d felt this before, the night she’d been summoned to heal him at the Wild Boar.
She’d never met him before. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have known who he was since Mastyr Stone had pummeled him almost to the point of death for making a move on Rosamunde. Rez’s jaw had been broken, the bones around his eyes shattered. His face was a mass of blood and bruises.
It had taken all her healing arts to first bring him back from the edge of death, then to restore him to health. Once she had, she’d been astonished by how gorgeous he was.
Gaining his feet, he’d thanked her. She remembered his height and the tremendous bulk of his muscles. Mostly, she recalled how her heart had started to labor in her chest as she looked up at him. She’d experienced a profound desire to feed him.
She’d often wondered what would have happened if they’d been in a private space. Longing had torn at her. She’d wanted him like no other man before him. He’d been into her as well.
An argument had followed. She’d been defensive when he called her ‘uptight’. She hadn’t hesitated to remind him he’d left the Guard when they’d needed him most.
Other words were exchanged. She couldn’t recall them all, but neither pulled any punches. She’d often thought her own words had been a thick smokescreen to disguise her sudden, intense craving for the man.