by G. K. DeRosa
“Dammit, Leif, what do I need to do to get some food around here?” I shouted through the bars.
“Easy, boy.” A familiar voice swept into my cell, and a hint of hope trickled through my veins.
I stepped back at the whine of the key sliding into place, then the click of the lock rang out. Dinah appeared at the threshold, leaning against the arch. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“I thought you’d forgotten about me down here.” I tugged at my shirt collar trying to make myself semi-presentable. Which was hard since I’d been wearing the same clothes for a week. Apparently, at Ronin’s headquarters, a once weekly change of clothes was enough. I longed for the feel of my leather jacket. The vampire king had confiscated my most precious possession weeks ago.
“I’d never forget about you, handsome Ransom.” She crept closer, lowering her voice. “Ronin doesn’t trust me around you. He thinks you’ll smooth talk me into letting you free.”
It had crossed my mind. Since I was so pumped up with vervain, my powers of compulsion couldn’t compel a mouse at this point. Trust me, I’d tried. There were hundreds of the nasty critters living in the dungeons.
“Where would I go?” I countered. “First of all, I don’t even know where we are. Judging by the bursts of magic I’ve inhaled over the past few weeks, my guess is we’ve moved more than a handful of times.” Damned the warlock that was working for Ronin and magically relocating his hideout every few days. If it hadn’t been for him, surely Red’s team would’ve found her by now. I could’ve made my escape in the commotion. “Second of all, as soon as I stepped foot into Nocturnis, the queen would capture me. At least here, I get real blood.”
“Just play it cool, Ransom. Prove to the king that you’re loyal and he’ll reward you eventually.”
“I don’t know what else I can do. I’ve already told him dozens of times I knew nothing about the sicari spy within our midst. For a slayer, she sure played a good bloodwhore.” My mouth watered at the memories of her taste. Did she taste better to me because of the mate thing? I shoved the thought down deep. Nothing brought my emotions back to the surface like the M word. The less I thought about her the better.
Dinah’s lips screwed into a pout. “I knew there was something about the girl. You men are all the same, you see a pretty face and you start thinking with the wrong head.”
“Oh Dinah, come here.” I held my arms out, but she didn’t take the bait. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you,” I finished.
“I’m not jealous of that she-wolf. I’m just surprised she played you.”
I shrugged. We’d played each other.
“Anyway, I’m here to escort you to guard duty.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of thick rubber gloves. Once they were on, she reached behind her back to the now familiar manacles. The iron cuffs were doused in vervain and were Ronin’s favorite accessory for me. Any time I wasn’t locked in a cell, I wore the dingy bangles. “Hands, please.”
With a huff, I offered her my wrists. The iron locks clanked shut around my arms with a depressing ring of finality. She motioned for me to go first and I trudged out of my cell, in no hurry to spend the rest of my day with Red. Her incessant murderous glares were worse than the interminable silence of solitary confinement.
“Maybe you could put in a good word for me, Dinah. Convince Ronin I’d be an asset.”
She swept a lock of blonde hair behind her ear as she regarded me. “Oh, he knows you would be. His concern is where your loyalties lie.”
“Then test me again. I’ll do whatever he wants. I need to get out of that cell, Dinah. Let me out in the field. I’ll terrorize whatever border pack he chooses.”
She nodded slowly. “I’ll let him know.”
We marched to the opposite side of the dungeon, my feet slowing with every step closer. As soon as I saw her, my pesky humanity would try to rise, that switch would attempt to click on, and I just couldn’t handle that.
The rush of guilt that would pummel me for what I’d done, or mostly what I hadn’t done, over the past month would suffocate me.
We reached the door to the western end of the dungeon, and I held my breath as Dinah slid the old skeleton key into the lock. One thing that hadn’t changed in the past few weeks was how much I craved her.
The door swung open, and her scent crashed over me. My fangs immediately lengthened, and saliva pooled in my mouth. Unlike my walled-in cell, Red’s was all iron bars. No privacy. I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. There weren’t any other prisoners in this section, but who knew, maybe one day there would be.
Red didn’t even look up as we walked in. She lay across the cot with her eyes to the wall. I supposed I should’ve considered myself lucky. She was still wearing the same clothes she’d been captured in. The leather mini skirt hiked up her thigh, almost exposing her cheeks. She still wore the thigh-high boots too, probably in case she needed to make a quick getaway. She may have looked like she’d given up, but I knew my little sicari, she was just waiting for her chance. I’d probably be the first vamp she staked on her way out.
“Rise and shine, Red.”
“Fang off,” she snarled without sparing me a glance.
Dinah patted me on the shoulder with a feral grin. “I’ll just leave you two lovebirds to work this out.” She opened the door and spun back. “Maybe I’ll talk Ronin into letting me visit you in your cell tonight. You know, a little treat for good behavior.”
A gagging sound echoed from the corner of Red’s cell.
I shot Dinah a smirk, flashing my incisors. “I’d say it’s about time.”
* * *
To be continued on April 12th! You can preorder it now :) And, don’t forget to join my FB group GK DeRosa’s Supe Squad to get the Vampish prequel story for FREE and for a chance to win an advanced copy of the next book!
Also by G.K. DeRosa
Wolfish (World of Azar)
Wolfish: Moonborne
Wolfish: Curseborne
Wolfish: Mateborne
Wolfish: Fateborne
* * *
Darkblood Prison (World of Azar)
Darkblood Prison: Demon On A Dime
Darkblood Prison: Demon Double-Agent
Darkblood Prison: Demon At Large
Darkblood Prison: Demon Dark Lord
* * *
Royally Hitched Series (World of Azar)
Royally Hitched: The Fae Prince
Royally Hitched: The Fae Twins
Royally Hitched: The Fae Princess
* * *
Darkblood Academy (World of Azar)
Darkblood Academy: Half-Blood
Darkblood Academy: Supernatural Slayer Squad
Darkblood Academy: Demons
Darkblood Academy: Prophecies
* * *
The Hitched Series (World of Azar)
Hitched: The Bachelorette
Hitched: The Top Ten
Hitched: The Final Five
Hitched: The One
* * *
The Vampire and Angel Wars (Stand Alone Series)
Wings & Destruction
Blood & Rebellion
Souls & Salvation
* * *
The Vampire Prophecy (Stand Alone Series)
Dark Fates
Dark Divide
Dark Oblivion
* * *
The Hybrid Trilogy (Spin Off of the Guardian Series)
Magic Bound
Immortal Magic
Beyond Magic
Magic Bound: The Hybrid Trilogy The Complete Collection
* * *
The Guardian Series
Wilder: The Guardian Series
Wilder Destiny
Wilder Revelation
Wilder Legacy
Wilder: The Guardian Series The Complete Collection
Acknowledgments
A huge and wholehearted thank you to my dedicated readers! I could not do this without you. I love hearing from you and your enthusia
sm for the characters and story. You are the best!
A special thank you to my loving and supportive husband who always understood my need for escaping into a good book (or TV show!). He inspires me to try harder and push further every day. And of course my mother who is the guiding force behind everything I do and made me everything I am today. Without her, I literally could not write—because she’s also my part-time babysitter! To my father who will always live on in my dreams. And finally, my babies, Alexander and Stella, who bring an unimaginable amount of joy, adventure and craziness to my life everyday.
A big thank you to my talented graphic designer, Sanja Gombar, for creating a beautiful book cover and to Samaiya Beaumont for the lovely header designs and all the swag. A special thank you to my dedicated beta readers/fellow authors Jena, Mary Ellen, and Lydia who have been my sounding board on everything from cover ideas, blurbs, and story details. And to all of my beta readers, Stacie, Cheryl, Sarah and Tess, who gave me great ideas, caught spelling errors, and were all around amazing.
Thank you to all my family and friends, author and blogger friends who let me bounce ideas off of them and listened to my struggles as an author and self-publisher. I appreciate it more than you all will ever know.
~ G.K.
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author, G.K. De Rosa has always had a passion for all things fantasy and romance. Growing up, she loved to read, devouring books in a single sitting. She attended Catholic school where reading and writing were an intense part of the curriculum, and she credits her amazing teachers for instilling in her a love of storytelling. As an adult, her favorite books were always young adult novels, and she remains a self-proclaimed fifteen year-old at heart. When she’s not reading, writing or watching way too many TV shows, she’s traveling and eating around the world with her family. G.K. DeRosa currently lives in South Florida with her real life Prince Charming and their little royals.
www.gkderosa.com
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