by Rhys Rowlyn
Shadowed Secret
Rhys Rowlyn
Copyright © 2020 by Rhys Rowlyn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
1. Jean Pierre
2. Nyla
3. Jean Pierre
4. Nyla
5. Jean Pierre
6. Nyla
7. Jean Pierre
8. Nyla
9. Nyla
10. Jean Pierre
11. Jean Pierre
12. Nyla
13. Jean Pierre
14. Nyla
Also by Rhys Rowlyn
About Rhys Rowlyn
Jean Pierre
Lying perfectly still, I listen to the strange sounds around me. I hear a rumbling and strange horn blaring. Someone is talking nearby, so I listen carefully, trying to figure out if they are friend or foe. What is happening? And where is my famille?
“Which one do you think it’ll be? And when?” a female asks, and I take in her scent.
I don’t recognize her and wonder what she could mean.
“Hey, let’s make this interesting. Ya wanna bet on it?” I hear laughter in the female’s voice. I continue as I am, waiting to see who she’s speaking to and how many others I may have to deal with.
“What do you have in mind?” another female asks. I scent the air and don’t recognize her either, although there is something familiar about this one.
A foot taps on the floor, and I am tempted to raise the lid to the crate I’m in but hold off for now. I’ve loosened the nails holding it down but don’t want to alert the others I’m aware of what’s happening until I know more.
“Hmmm, how about whoever loses does the other’s laundry for two weeks?” she proposes.
“Oh yeah, I want to get in on this. I hate doing laundry.”
I still at the sound of an unfamiliar male’s voice. He has a strange accent that sounds like none I’ve heard before.
“I’m going to leave this to the two of you. Bram and I do our laundry together.”
I perk up at Bram’s name and sniff the air again. The familiar scent is similar to his, but it’s mingled with another.
“So what do you say, Giles? Wanna try your luck?” The female giggles, and I’m reminded of a simpler time when I would flirt with young ladies to hear the sound of their laughter.
“You’re on, love. Now, which one?” The male seems very comfortable with the females.
“I think it’s going to be this one.” There is knocking somewhere in the room.
“All right, I believe this one.” The male knocks on the wood above my head. “When do you think he’ll awaken?”
The female responds immediately. “Tonight.”
“Damn, I was going to say tonight.” The male laughs.
“Why do you both think tonight?”
I hear creaking and know the other female has taken a seat.
“It was the thirteenth of the month for the other three, so why not this one?” Excitement lingers in the female’s voice.
“Huh, I didn’t realize that.” The one who knows Bram sounds pensive. “Good to know. If your theory is right and it is tonight, then at least we’ll have an idea of when to expect them.”
Trying not to make any noise, I push the lid up only a slight crack, then wince at the creak the nails give off. I squint against the invading light and wait a few moments before opening my eyes again. Looking out, I see a tall male with blond hair standing nearby but facing the women. His arms are crossed over his chest, but he seems at ease. One of the women is sitting against the wall. She is striking with dark-blonde hair, and the other is small in stature with light-blonde hair that is almost white. Great, both are vampires, and I do not trust female vampires. The ones I’ve encountered have been vicious and ruthless with no sense of remorse.
One of said vicious bitches is the reason I can tolerate intense hunger so well.
Assessing my situation, I wonder if I’m being held and what they have done with the others. The only thing I know to do is catch them off guard and try to make an escape. I smell the faint scent of a human. At least I’ll be able to use them to stave off some of the hunger I feel.
Pushing the rest of the nails loose, I tense and prepare to spring forward when Bram enters the room. I still as I watch him wrap his arms around one of the females and kiss her neck. I am shocked at his clean-shaven face.
“Has anyone awakened?” Bram asks the others.
“Not yet, and the sun is down. They should be rising.” The smaller female pouts, crossing her arms over her chest.
Bram frowns, his shoulders slumping. “I thought for sure tonight another of my famille would come forth. This is so disappointing.”
“Maybe tomorrow night.” The female in his arms leans up and kisses Bram’s jaw.
I lift the lid completely off, then stand and step out of my crate, meeting Bram’s shocked gaze. “Bram, would you like to explain what’s happening?”
“Jean Pierre!” Bram rushes to me and grips my shoulders. “How are you feeling? Are you hungry?”
“Famished, but I’m in control.” I grip his forearms, sniffing the air. “I smell blood. Is that my donor?”
“No, we have a prisoner. Things are done differently now.” Bram shakes his head, and the female he was holding hands him a strange translucent bag with what looks like blood in it. “We get our blood from these pouches.”
He hands me the strange bag, and I turn it over, studying it. “It that blood inside?”
“Yes. You simply puncture it with your fangs, and they do the rest.”
I put the bag in my mouth, slide it onto my fangs, and feel the rush of blood entering my system. It’s cold, which makes it taste strange, but it must work the same because I feel my hunger easing.
“So, Giles, how did you know it was going to be him? And don’t give me any it-was-a-lucky-guess bullshit,” Bram’s female asks the strange male with a raised brow.
“What can I say? I simply knew.” Giles flinches when the woman jabs his side. “Fine, I heard him moving.”
Pulling the bag from my mouth, I turn wide eyes toward him. “How did you hear that? I barely did and was very careful not to make any noise.”
“Must have been when you first woke and didn’t realize what was happening.” Giles shrugs his shoulders, acting as if it’s nothing.
“You have keen senses.” I look at the male with new respect. He will be a good man to have at our back.
Giles grips my shoulder, smirking. “I was a hunter for many years. It paid to be alert.”
“Have another bag, and we’ll bring you up to date on what’s happened.” Bram hands me another bag of blood.
I quickly take it and put it on my fangs. My hunger is manageable, but I need more, so I reach for another. I don’t understand why I’m so hungry or where I am for that matter. Looking down, I find I’m covered in dust, and my clothes are rags. Feeling my face, my hand comes in contact with a long beard.
Bram meets my anxious gaze and smiles. “Jean Pierre, we can explain everything. Why don’t you come over here and have a seat?”
I follow him to a group of chairs and sit, bracing myself for what’s coming. The women join us, and it seems everyone here is dressed as strangely as the next person.
“He sure is calm compared to the rest of y’all.” The small blonde winks at me, and I give her a st
ern look that earns me a rolling of her eyes. Most would quiver with fear at my gaze, but this strange creature acts as if I’m no threat at all.
“First, I’d like to introduce you to Cassandra—or Cassie. She’s my mate. This is Rebecca and Giles.” Bram points at each one, and I nod in acknowledgment, unsure what else to do. My mind is racing with questions. Mate? The only mate I have ever seen was Phillipe’s, yet now Bram has one also.
“Where is the rest of our famille?” I’m happy to have Bram here, but I would like to know where everyone else is.
“Most are in those boxes over there.” Bram points at the wooden crates like the one I just came out of. “But Phillipe, André, and myself are awake.”
I quickly glance at the boxes and then back at Bram, holding my body perfectly still. “You keep saying awake as if it’s a big thing.”
“It is. We’ve been asleep for almost three hundred years.” Bram takes Cassie’s hand and holds it to his chest as if he needs her touch.
“What?!” I gasp and lean back in the chair, staring at them with wide eyes. I take a couple deep breaths, trying to get my emotions under control.
“Yes, our famille has been under a curse, and we are only now awakening.” Bram leans forward and props his elbows on his knees.
I scrub my face with my hands and straighten my spine. My palms hit my thighs, causing dust to fly up. I wonder briefly if a bath may be possible. “How did this happen? Tell me everything.”
“You always were one to get straight to the point.” Bram lets out a nervous laugh and glances at his mate.
She nods encouragingly.
“All right then. A witch cursed us before we awakened after making it to the New World. She was hired by the women we contracted to make the voyage across the ocean. They betrayed us.”
I sit back again and prop my ankle on my knee, trying to at least appear calm while my mind is whirling. “I did not trust those women, so this doesn’t surprise me.”
“Why are you so calm?” Rebecca tilts her head to the side, narrowing her eyes at me.
Bram waves a dismissive hand in the air. “Jean Pierre doesn’t get excited about anything.”
“I find it’s a wasted emotion.” My shoulders shrug, but secretly, I would like to run around the room screaming. Instead, I give them a bored look. “Will me ranting and raving change anything? I take it everything has changed?”
“Yes, things are vastly different, but I’m sure you’ll adapt fairly quickly. You always handled change well.” Bram smirks, and I cock a brow at him, remembering how well I handled Gabriel wanting to relocate us.
That was one time I didn’t handle change too well. I had unfinished business to take care of, and my choices were to stay alone in Paris or go with the rest to a new world and put the past behind me. I chose to follow my family.
Although Bram has given me much information, I sense a hesitation in him. I can’t imagine what else there could be. “I feel as though you are keeping something from me. What else do I need to know?”
Bram pulls Cassie onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. “The witch used blood magic to cast her curse, and it mingled with Giselle’s blood to create a wonderful bonus for us.”
“Giselle? Isn’t she Phillipe’s mate?” I remember being fascinated by the developing relationship between the two on our journey. They were so enamored with each other, I couldn’t imagine her betraying him. “Why would she help the women put us under a curse?”
Bram shakes his head and Cassie glares at me, but her gaze softens when Bram whispers in her ear. “She didn’t give her blood willingly. The witch bound her and took what she needed.”
I raise my brows, surprised a witch would be strong enough to bind a vampire. Most of the ones I knew were more healers than actual witches.
Bram nods, seeming to know where my thoughts have traveled. “You’ve never encountered true witches. Gabriel kept us away from them wherever he could. It is not a big thing for a powerful witch to trap a vampire. Anyway, as part of the curse, the women had to make a sacrifice, and they offered a descendant for the vampire they traveled with. Something happened with the magic, so now we’re all finding our mates. They are the promised descendants of the women.”
“From what Giselle said about the witch, we’re beginning to think fate may have had a hand in it. She said the witch mentioned something about this being meant to be,” Rebecca says.
This information pierces my calm exterior. My eyes widen again, and I stare at Bram in shock. “What do you mean we’re finding mates? And what if I don’t want a mate who has any connection to Catherine? Besides, that lazy wench probably doesn’t have any descendants. I find it hard to believe she helped them with the curse. She was useless during the journey and never lived up to her end of a bargain. I finally left her alone and found my own blood. I did threaten to throw her overboard if anything happened to me while I slept. At least that scared her enough to watch me during the day.” And I believe that was only because she got to lie around on top of my crate. Her stench alone made it almost impossible to sleep.
“It would seem Simone was very convincing, and the only way the curse would work is if they all participated. As far as her having descendants, I don’t know, but I believe fate has a hand in this, and your mate is out there just waiting to be found.” Bram grins at me, and I groan.
Nyla
“Nyla, wake up. You need to take some of this food or at least drink some water. I can’t have you dying on me.” Joey slams her hand against the side of her cage and quickly yanks it back when the silver burns her skin.
“Stop hitting your cage. You’ll only hurt yourself.” I open my eyes and glare at her. It is the most I can muster in my weakened state. “I’ll be okay. Tara needs it more than I do. Keep it for her.”
Joey shakes her head, tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t think that’s the case. I believe you’re becoming the weaker of us.”
Tara reaches through the bars and links our hands, leaning her head against the side of her cage. “Please, Nyla, take the food. I’m used to not having much and am doing fine.”
I offer her a weak smile and shake my head. The poor girl doesn’t deserve the life fate had given her, and to end up trapped in a cage is the worst thing I can imagine. I glance over at Joey and nod. She understands my silent look and covers the last of the bread, pushing it to the corner.
We both know if someone doesn’t find us soon, it won’t matter, but both Joey and I agreed to do everything in our power to ensure Tara’s survival. We have been trapped here together for over a month. I was the first one captured and then came Tara. Joey showed up last.
Our kidnapper stopped coming around about four or five weeks ago. Hell, it’s hard to keep up. He left us in the care of his psycho cousin, Richard. He would come in and taunt us, but at least he brought food and water. He stopped coming over a few weeks ago, and one night Joey whispered those awful words to me.
“Richard’s dead.”
I hoped she was wrong, but as time went by, I knew she was correct. I had been stockpiling food and started giving it to Tara so she could keep up her strength. I knew my time was coming to an end, but I had lived a good life and had many adventures in my young life, unlike my new friend. My greatest wish was that Tara would know more than horror in her life.
As much as I wanted Tara to live, I knew if we weren’t found soon, the only one who had a chance of surviving was Joey. It’s so strange how everything you once believed can be wiped away in an instant.
We knew Joey couldn’t touch her cage, but I assumed it was charged or something. Boy was I wrong. Richard, the guy who had us locked up, knew about shifters and had lined the cage with silver. Every time she tried to touch it, the bars would burn her skin.
Richard was always making weird comments about her and calling her strange names like she-wolf and animal. She would play it off as if he were simply crazy, which wasn’t hard to believe. Then Richard stopped bringing food, an
d we had to ration what little water and food we had. We all became weak from lack of nourishment, and Joey couldn’t control herself during the full moon last week. She shifted into a large blonde wolf.
To say Tara and I were shocked would be an understatement. All we could do was stare at her in amazement. Once she shifted back, we were bursting with questions and quizzed her about all things paranormal. To my surprise, we found out all the things we believed were myths were actually true. Joey was hesitant to tell us her secrets, but once the cat—or rather, wolf—was out of the bag, there was no use in not confessing all.
After Tara fell asleep that night, Joey confessed she smelled Richard, and that was how she knew he was dead. She also told me she knew her pack would be looking for her. I clung to that sliver of hope, but I am beginning to doubt they will find us in time to save me.
Now I am lying in my cage, wondering how much longer I will survive. We only have a small amount of water left and even less food. I’ve been pretending to take my rations but instead have been slipping them to Tara. And this is the reason I am in the shape I am in.
Joey and I made a pact to do everything in our power to ensure Tara’s survival. She is only eighteen years old, and her life has been nothing but one trauma after another. Her parents were drug addicts and she was lucky if they ignored her, and she left that environment for an abusive boyfriend. She talked about how a lady named Cassandra Dubois had saved her and brought her to a shelter.
Joey knew Cassie and informed us she was a vampire who was part owner of a club I had frequented in New Orleans. Tara said she didn’t care what Cassie was. She was more human than most of the people Tara knew. I couldn’t argue with that. Joey had become like a sister to me over the last month of our captivity, and I’ll take my little werewolf over most folks I know too.