by Rachel Jonas
The Vampire’s Mark
Book Two: Hell Storm
a series written by
Rachel Jonas
The Vampire’s Mark 2: Hell Storm
Copyright © 2018, Rachel Jonas
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including, but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior written permission from Rachel Jonas (R.C. Jonas).
This e-book is licensed for personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Table of Contents
THE VAMPIRE’S MARK 2: HELL STORM
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
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MORE FROM RACHEL
SOUNDTRACK
SYNOPSIS
THE VAMPIRE’S MARK 2: HELL STORM
To some, having the attention of four princes might be a dream come true, but for Corina, it means four times the trouble.
Escaping burning buildings, living off scraps, being hunted by vamps—those are storms she knows how to weather. It’s having the entire world observe as she and the Dynasty’s golden boys engage in a blood bond that has her shaken. For all she knows, it won’t even produce a cure for the mysterious blood sickness like they’re hoping, which could mean she’ll be put to death anyway.
And to make matters worse, as a side-effect of the bond, she finds herself falling for the very beasts she once pledged to remove from power by any means necessary.
Talk about a conflict of interest.
In the second installment of THE VAMPIRE’S MARK, will it be Corina’s mission or her emotions that prevail?
***
THE VAMPIRE’S MARK is an action-packed, paranormal romance involving vampire royalty and the humans who fear them. This series is an upper YA/NA crossover perfect for fans of Bella Forrest’s “A Shade of Vampire”, E.M. Knight’s “The Vampire’s Gift”, and Sarah J. Maas’s “A Court of Thorns and Roses”.
Love hotheaded dragons and ferocious wolf shifters?
Then THE LOST ROYALS SAGA is perfect for you!
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CHAPTER ONE
Brimstone
The wage of sin: death, carnage and pain.
Tis upon us now. Will its sting never wane?
In times of old, our hope once held.
With wrath so bold, rebellion’s voice now quelled.
Pride and courage stripped away by war.
A horizon of darkness upon us evermore.
A passage from ‘Red Prose: A Collection of Cautionary Children’s Folksongs’
Origin: Postbellum North America
Year of publication: Unknown
Author: Unknown
Status: Banned from publication and distribution
***
Corina
A small crystal globe danced in my vision. It once rested on a bookcase, but now hung suspended in midair, bathed in the glow of warm firelight as it swirled in smooth circles.
I hadn’t been inside this space yet, Julian’s study. So far, I’d only laid eyes on areas along the way, from the grandiose foyer to the Blue Suite—which had been labeled mine. I had to wonder if being invited into one of the more “intimate spaces” of his home, among his Dynasty Brothers, was Julian’s attempt at gradually assimilating me into this life.
I imagined myself as a vibrant, red thread, forcibly woven into his dark tapestry—out of place, disrupting the balance.
A glint of light caused me to peer up when the globe I’d been fixated on changed course, drifting across the room now. It came to rest gently in the hand of the one who controlled it—Levi.
I felt his curious stare long before our gazes locked; felt it even as my vision of him shifted to his slightly parted lips. The undertones of a wicked smirk I now knew to be his default expression were evident. He sat calmly—amidst our collective turmoil and drama—slouched in an armchair as if life as we knew it hadn’t just been turned upside down suddenly.
No, Levi was not rattled. In fact, as his gaze climbed the length of my legs, past my torso to gawk at my chest, I was pretty certain ‘worry’ was not his prevailing thought.
In the twelve hours since the press conference debacle ended, he and I hadn’t exchanged many words. Not even when the magistrate arrived with paperwork, making the others’ ownership of me official—like it already was for Julian.
But those heated glances between Levi and I, those loaded stares, they made my pulse quicken. I realized something very quickly. One could never quite prepare for the force of nature that was Levi Buchanan.
The flagrant masculinity that seeped from his pores.
The thick, unapologetic sensuality that took rest in whatever space he occupied.
Even now, all he’d done was sit and stare as the globe churned in his palm, but it was enough. Enough to leave me in need of a cigarette, and I didn’t even smoke.
Focus, Cori. Focus.
My eyes peered down at the binder, slamming it shut when I remembered why we were all here, the princes and myself. All four had sat quietly while I read Silas’ propaganda. There was no other word for it—a sales pitch meant to explain the innerworkings of a blood bond.
He once intended to present it as a choice, but now, it had all but been forced on me, on them. If I refused, I’d likely be killed right alongside Julian when the truth came to light. In short, his life and mine depended on it.
“Do you have questions?” Silas asked reluctantly. “We’re here to answer them as best as we can.”
I met his gaze, instantly feeling unsettled—I still hadn’t gotten used to that penetrating stare of his. The few times his attention had been focused on me, it was almost as if he saw straight through, to the secrets I was desperate to hold.
Turning away, I freed myself of his spell, ignoring the boyish charm that bled through, despite him and the others being the epitome of the word ‘man’.
Don’t let them get to you.
“I um… I know you shared this with me because you want me to understand the bo
nd, but if I’m honest, I’m even more confused now than before,” I admitted.
Roman shifted in his seat, running a hand through his dark curls when my gaze met his. “Honesty,” he scoffed. “Isn’t that a new concept for you, Corina?”
I glared, but didn’t speak. Nothing good would come of explaining that I only lied to protect the ones I loved.
He’d have to know something about love to understand love. And I guessed he didn’t.
“It’s abundantly clear everyone in this room, but me, has gone insane,” Roman fumed. “I mean, we’re more concerned with spoon-feeding this girl details about our world—a world she’ll never understand—when what we should be focused on is figuring out who tipped off Jon Carlisle! For all we know, we should be out there, hunting down the two sentinels from the gala. If they’ve been talking—”
“If they’ve been talking,” Julian cut in as the voice of reason, passing a stern look toward Roman, “the damage is already done. The last thing we need is to be seen ripping and running like madmen, trying to silence those guards, and whoever else might speak ill of us. We already look guilty enough in the eye of the people, let’s not give them any more ammunition.”
“And besides, if we should have thought to silence anyone, its Madam Amelia,” Levi grumbled, breathing deeply afterward. “We’ve spun so many lies, we were sloppy, forgetting to tie up one of our most important loose ends.”
I couldn’t know for sure he didn’t mean Madam Amelia should have been silenced permanently, or if that was simply my interpretation.
Silas exhaled sharply, doing little to conceal his frustration with Roman’s outburst and how it sidetracked our conversation. Roman, on the other hand, seemed to care very little whether his statement offended me, or anyone else for that matter.
Just being in the room with the guy terrified me, although I’d never let that show.
He wasn’t like the others. While, no, I didn’t trust any of them all that much, it was a different kind of darkness that swelled within Roman. The fear I felt when near him, alone, had amplified my resolve to find a way out of here. I’d cooperate as long as necessary for the sake of survival.
However, the first chance I got, I’d bail.
Silas dropped down onto the couch. I’d been seated stiffly on the opposite end, unable to relax.
“We’ll sort it all out,” he expressed patiently.
As infuriating as all this had been, I couldn’t find it in me to treat him coldly. Maybe it was because he’d only spoken to me with kindness today, and comforted me as things spiraled on that stage.
From what I did take from the writing—amidst foreign terms, and big words I didn’t recognize—it seemed the bond would run deep.
Very deep.
“So, we’ll all be affected?” I asked. “Not just me?”
“Correct.” Silas offered a smile before continuing. “It will be like each of us absorbing a bit of your essence, a bit of who you are at the most basic level,” he explained. “And likewise, you’ll take on a small part of each of us as well.”
That key detail made my heart leap, and I immediately opened the binder again, in search of that particular passage.
“I didn’t read that,” I admitted. “And I don’t feel much of a change since Julian bit me.”
Since Julian saved me…
Silas nodded, making it clear this was normal. “That won’t happen until the Claiming.”
Another term I didn’t understand, but perhaps I would have if I’d managed to get through the entire encyclopedia he’d put together overnight.
“What’s a—”
“A Claiming is more than just being bitten,” he interjected after sensing what I’d say. “What will solidify the bond is … when the two of you engage in a mutual feeding.”
There was no missing how gingerly he’d just stated that. I guessed he knew I’d freak out hearing it.
My posture straightened, and I locked eyes with Silas again.
“Mutual feeding … as in, not only do I have to let him take blood from me, but … I’m expected to take his?” I asked, seeking clarity.
There was a shrill tone to my voice that reminded me of my mother’s whenever she got worked up.
And ‘worked up’ I was.
Big time.
“Relax,” Silas insisted, standing from the couch when I did. “It’s not as bad as I’m sure you’re imagining it to be.”
I’d just begun to pace when his words stopped me dead in my tracks. “Easy for you to say.”
He lifted both hands shoulder-high as if he meant to surrender.
“Believe me, I’m not making light of the situation,” he insisted. “I know this has been a lot to absorb in such a short amount of time, but I assure you, if there was another way to go about this, we would have gladly taken it.”
Unmoving, I only stared as he spoke.
“You have to believe we took your feelings into consideration, Corina, as much as we did Julian’s. But unfortunately, this was the only solution that didn’t end with one of you being taken to the Butcher as a new, shiny toy to break.”
My skin crawled at the mention of that man. The savage who prided himself in breaking the will of the most steadfast humans on Earth.
I knew this to be true, because many of his victims had been intricate components of our network.
“Understood,” was the only response I could muster up for Silas.
This was all so messed up, how we’d been forced to surrender to one another because the world their kind created was so cruel, so unforgiving that even a prince couldn’t be pardoned. But this was our reality now.
Theirs.
Mine.
Quickly, I came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t do any of us any good to stall, so…
“What needs to happen now?” I blurted. “What’s our next move?”
Silas, being incredibly perceptive, seemed to notice the sudden change in my mood. I’d gone from practically wearing my emotions on my sleeve, to hiding any trace of them behind a thick wall—a defense mechanism I developed at an early age.
“Well …,” he sighed, “Julian’s already administered the bite, so the next thing to take place should be the Claiming. He needs to feed from you while his venom is still co-mingling with your blood. And, seeing as how that should wear off by morning, that means it needs to happen tonight.”
The rims of my nostrils flared when I breathed deeply.
Tonight.
It wasn’t likely my face gave anything away, despite feeling so much.
“Well, there’s no sense in waiting, I suppose. Let’s get this show on the road.”
It was a bold move, but I started toward the door without being prompted.
“Corina.”
Hearing my name leave Silas’ lips so sweetly, I halted, peering over my shoulder simply because I hadn’t expected to hear it spoken in such a way.
“There’s still time if you’d like to finish discussing this first,” he offered.
Time. My thoughts snagged on that one word. It was a phrase that had so many strange meanings to me now.
There was only so much time before my life, as I knew it, would be over.
Then, there was an eternal life ahead of me in which time would lose its significance.
Peering up at Silas, I fought the stinging in my eyes, certain it meant tears were on the way.
“It’s fine,” I replied. “I’m ready.”
CHAPTER TWO
Corina
The option to choose where the Claiming took place was left up to me. Of all the rooms in this sprawling estate, my bedroom was the only one that felt familiar, even if only a little.
My hands trembled in my lap as Julian and I sat side-by-side, resting on the edge of my bed. We were both still clothed in our attire from the press conference. Me—the sleeveless blouse and gray pants that had been chosen for me. Julian—now missing his suit jacket, but still wearing the pants and dress shirt rolled
up to both elbows, navy-blue tie undone around his neck. With all that transpired, no one thought to change afterward.
I twirled the silver bracelet from Felix around my wrist as we sat in silence. The only light in the room came from the fire Elle had lit for us. It cast ominous shadows on the walls, but they gave me something to focus on other than Julian. Other than the obligation hanging heavy in the room.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
I suspected the hint of confidence he radiated to be false. That suspicion grew when he lowered his head.
There were so many things I could have been angry about, but I found it harder and harder to recall that emotion since being bitten. That softness I felt toward Julian only took a stronger hold on me as the hours passed. It hadn’t even been a full two days and here I was, feeling something for the prince of the Eastern Quadrant I didn’t think possible.
Sympathy.
“Don’t blame yourself,” I mumbled.
This had all just been one horror after another, and he was not at fault. I saw that now. So, bearing in mind that he’d saved me so many times since our first meeting, I made the first move.
“Here.” His stare fell on my wrist when I extended it toward him as an offering.
It wasn’t until his gaze rose to meet mine that I understood the full breadth of the sorrow he felt. I hadn’t said as much, but he seemed to sense how much I valued my humanity, how giving that up pained me.
Even if the alternative had been death.
The tears I fought to hold in finally slipped down my cheeks, and I didn’t bother pushing them aside. Doing so would have only cleared the way for more.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “We don’t have a choice.” The words were barely heard as I surrendered to him—literally, figuratively.
Cool fingertips chilled my skin when my wrist was brought to his mouth. Our eyes locked just as the soft, fleshiness of his lips pressed down over it. The next instant, a contrasting sensation startled me—two sharp jabs. His teeth were like pinpricks as they punctured through my flesh.