by Martha Woods
Table of Contents
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Bonus Book 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Bonus Book 2
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Bonus Book 3
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Bonus Book 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
The Immortal’s Calling
(Book 4 of the Calder Witch Series)
Martha Woods
Contents
Martha Woods
The Immortal’s Calling
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1. Part One
2. Part Two
3. Part Three
Bonus Book 1
The Alpha’s Return
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Bonus Book 2
The Vampire’s Desire
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Bonus Book 3
Escaping the Demon's Trap
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Bonus Book 4
Mysteries of a Vampire
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
The Immortal’s Calling
(Book 4 of the Calder Witch Series)
Martha Woods
© 2017 Martha Woods
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
* * *
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Part One
Tessa slowly became aware of her surroundings. Soft blankets, a cold draft, her wet hair sticking to her forehead. In the next instant, she became aware of herself. Her body crumpled in pain, folding in half and letting out a loud cry. It felt like her insides were literally dying. Her bones ached, and her muscles had never been tighter.
“I’m so sorry,” a voice called from her side. Tessa could barely hear it over the sound of her cries. It was when a cool hand pressed to her forehead, bringing relief to the hellish fever she was suffering through. She realized it was Kristian’s.
Her coffee brown eyes finally peeled open to look up at him. “What happened to me?” she asked in a hoarse, broken voice. Tessa’s face was wet from sweat and tears.
Kristian swallowed a lump in his throat, combing his hand through her hair in a soothing manner. “The Calder… they found us somehow within the house, and they attacked us. You were fading so fast, I didn’t know what else to do.” His voice was tangled in agony and guilt. Tessa could tell he had been torturing himself over his decision since the moment it happened. Tessa started to wonder just how long she had been out of it.
Then, images took over her mind. Pale faces with pitch black eyes charging at them, flames blazing through the room, Kristian shouting. Tessa physically winced, remembering then just how the Calder found them. One of the witches had managed to snake her way into Tessa’s mind, using her almost like a looking glass to find where they were. Guilt and shame twisted Tessa’s stomach. If she only had been able to do Calla’s exercises effectively, then maybe that wouldn’t have happened. It was her fault that the Calder found them, and her fault that Kristian had to change her.
“It’s okay,” Tessa mumbled, taking in the details of his face. There were dark circles around his emerald eyes, no doubt from worrying. His expression was long and pinched with pain. She hated that he was beating himself up for something that was her mistake. Though Tessa had known Kristian for long enough to know he wouldn’t let her take the blame. No matter what she could say or do, he was going to feel responsible. Still, she wanted to try and take the guilt away from him. “I would have done the exact same thing for you,” she let out in a painful breath.
Even though Tessa had been very hesitant to the idea of becoming a vampire before, she knew then that she would rather be an blood sucking vampire, than nothing more than six feet under. It was weird to not have a say in her own fate, but she supposed in a way, no one did. Things always happened for a reason.
Kristian was relieved to hear her words, Tessa catching thoughts of appreciation and love for her. Had he really been worried this whole time that Tessa would hate him for turning her? Sometimes, Kristian could be quite the neurotic mess.
Another wave of pain rocked her like a boat by a tidal wave. She didn’t even realize she was screaming, as she writhed around on the bed. It was unbearable, Tessa was ready to crawl out of her own skin. “Why does it hurt so much?” she sobbed, her hands clutching the blankets.
“It’s the venom in my blood… It’s working its way through your system, binding itself to every cell in your body. Essentially killing off your human DNA. I’m not sure how it will do with you being part witch, but the important thing is that you’re alive… For lack of a better word,” Kristian explained.
Right… I wasn’t exactly alive anymore, was I? What did that even mean to not be alive, but still function and move around? Was I simply existing? That just sounded so… depressing and empty. Tessa was in too much agony to give it any more thought. She cried and screamed into the night. No matter how much she wanted to be quiet and just bear through it, she couldn’t. Kristian held her when he could, did anything he could think of to help soothe her, but nothing would bring her solace.
It went into the next day, apparently day six of her transformation. By around noon, the pain had been replaced by a cold, numb sensation. The frigidness was almost as bad as the pain. It was eighty degrees outside, she had multiple blankets wrapped around her but Tessa still couldn’t stop shivering. The coldness was coming from within, her temperature plummeting to the same icy temperature that Kristian and all the other vampires were. As she laid there, swaddled in all of the blankets with nothing better to do, Tessa watched the clock. At exactly 6:09 p.m., Tessa’s heart rate began to slow. She could feel every beat become more and more spaced out, and fainter with each beat. By 6:12 p.m., her heart took its last beat.
Then, it was like a silence consumed her. No longer was there a constant rhythm, or a rushing sound in her ears. The prickly cold sensation started to fade, as though she were thawing. As the coldness faded, Tessa began to feel… normal. No, better than normal. Fantastic.
Slowly, Tessa sat up in the bed, letting the layers of blankets fall around her. Blinking rapidly, she tried to adjust to her senses. Everything looked sharper, noticing details of the room she hadn’t been able to before. Like how the edge of the curtain moving ever so slightly because of the breeze from the air conditioning vent. From where she was sitting, Tessa noticed that a bench against the far wall of the room didn’t have a blue cushion, but rather blue with white pinstripes on it. It was how she imagined it was for people with poor eyesight, to put glasses on for the first time.
A hand appeared over hers. Tessa’s eyes traced up the arm to find Kristian watching her intently. She took noticed that he no longer was chilly to the touch. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
A moment of silence fell over them as Tessa analyzed exactly how she was feeling. Not an ounce of pain, no overwhelming cold sensation, no fatigue. She felt rested, perhaps even a little wired. She couldn’t pinpoint one thing wrong. “I feel better than ever,” she breathed. “Other than needing a shower,” she commented, knowing her hair and skin were oily from all of the sweating she had done.
Kristian’s lips were stretched into a brilliant smile, standing from the wooden chair next to the bed. “Before that, we need to get you fed.”
“Oh, right…” Tessa mumbled, unable to believe that she had forgotten about the most fundamental part of being a vampire. Drinking blood. “So… do I just drink a bag or something?” she asked.
He shook his head, “You’re a newborn, Tess. It’s going to take a lot to satisfy your hunger. Hopefully, the effects will wear off after a few weeks. In the meantime, though, you kind of have to give into those instincts to hunt.”
Tessa’s mouth gaped momentarily, her brows knitting together, “Y-you… you don’t mean hunting humans, do you? I can’t do that…” She still felt the ethical remains of her humanity.
Kristian shook his head, stepping to her and putting an arm around her. “No, not humans… animals. Drinking it from a bag really just won’t be as satisfying for you, hell, it isn’t even satisfying to me. It’s a totally different experience with cold and warm blood. Being a newborn, blood from the bag won’t satisfy your thirst. So for at least the first couple of days, you need to hunt live prey, and medium to large wildlife seems to be the only thing that comes close to the real thing.”
Tessa’s stomach was uneasy. She had always been a big animal lover. She wasn’t sure if she could personally take the life of an animal. “I don’t know, Kristian…”
A long, skinny finger hooked under her chin and turned Tessa’s face to Kristian’s. He stared deep into her eyes and Tessa was captivated. The moon caught his emerald hues just right, making the light reflect off every speck and sliver in his irises. His eyes truly looked like gems in that lighting. “This life is completely different from the one you lived before, as stupid as that may sound. Your senses are heightened, and your natural instincts are amplified. That’s why vampires tend to be violent, dramatic, and sexual. Your body won’t know much else but hunger, libido, and pure survival. It’s going to take some adjusting… But I’ll be here to help you through it all. You have to listen to me though.”
Tessa nodded slowly, letting his words sink in completely. He was right, she did need to listen to him. He had gone through it, as well as watching his sister and probably many others go through the same process. Taking orders had simply never been Tessa’s strong suit. She would have figured by now, with everything they had been through, she would have an easier time doing so. Tessa trusted Kristian, she had for a while. But was as though she had a mental barrier that wouldn’t let her trust him fully. She wanted to, and it was becoming clear that she was going to have to in order to get through being a vampire without turning into a monster.
“Good,” he breathed, his finger moving to stroke her cheek. Even though she was a vampire, being much stronger and durable than she ever had before, Kristian was acting like she was made of glass. Tessa wondered if he was more gentle because he had witnessed her go through such a hard and painful transformation, or if he were just using the same amount of strength he had when she was human. “Let’s head out,” Kristian said, taking Tessa’s hand in his and heading out the door.
Her eyes scanned up and down the walls of the hall as they walked through the house, taking note of every bit of damage done by those wretched witches. Thankfully, the place didn’t appear to be too beat up, but still some broken picture frames and holes in the walls. When they stepped outside, Kristian turned to her with the corner of his mouth pulling into a smirk. “Wanna try running?” he asked, knowing the answer before he even answered.
Tessa smiled brilliantly, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Yes.”
Then, all it took was the same amount of effort as jogging, and they were moving in a blur. If Tessa’s heart could pound, it would be nearly out of her chest by then. It was exhilarating. With her enhanced vision, she could make out her surroundings just as she could at the speed of a run. Most shocking of all, it didn’t make her nauseous. Kristian peered over at her with a big grin on his face. She could hear his thoughts. He was overjoyed that she was finally a vampire and that Tessa was finally able to protect herself if needed. Even though she wasn’t quite sure when the time would come that she could would wrap her head around the fact she wasn’t exactly alive, Tessa was glad too. If vampires and witches were her life as of then, then it made the most sense for her to be a vampire. And, she wouldn’t have wanted to die.
They ran deep into the forest without breaking a sweat. Did vampires even sweat? She couldn’t recall ever seeing Kristian sweaty. Tessa still had sweat on her from the transformation, but knew with one shower, she’d never have it on her again. Well, that was a cool perk of being a vampire. She picked up her speed, and Kristian easily kept up with
her. When they made it to a hilltop, Kristian came to a dead stop, pulling Tessa to stop her as well. He slowly moved them behind a tree, poking his head out to see around it.
Kristian didn’t have to explain what was going on. The breeze carried a strangely savory and metallic smell to Tessa, a smell she could only assume was blood. Like never before, hunger pains seized her stomach. Her throat suddenly ran dry, but her mouth was watering. Suddenly, she felt like she would die if she didn’t sate her thirst and hunger. It made curiosity get the best of her, Tessa peeking her head out to see what Kristian was looking at. There was a large stag grazing in a small clearing just a few yards away. Did that deer really smell that good?
“All you have to do is run at it, you’ll move too fast for it to notice. Tackle it, and go for the jugular. Let your instincts guide you. You’ll be able to tell because of the sound of its pulse, and the smell will be more potent along the jugular vein. Your fangs should extend naturally. The blood will rush into your mouth, and you simply drink it down. It’ll be fast, and an animal of that size should satisfy your hunger for the night,” he whispered to her.