EMBRACE THE DARK (The Blood Rose Novella Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

serious reserves.
    Jason looked up at him and pushed his light brown hair off his face. He wiped sweat from his forehead with the woven sleeve of his shirt. “That was fucking close, wasn’t it?”
    Gerrod nodded. “Very. There were forty in all.”
    “Sweet Goddess. What has happened? How have the Invictus grown in such numbers? Someone must have charge of them. I’ve never known these pairs to join together like this.”
    “I know. I have thought the very same thing.” Gerrod swallowed hard. His left hand trembled, a sure sign that his blood-starvation was reaching a critical point. He should have summoned one of his doneuses to stabilize him long before tonight, but he hated to disturb the women. Each of his three donors were married to good men. The act seemed disloyal and he despised having to ask.
    Though it wouldn’t have mattered. He could have had a dozen doneuses , as some of his fellow mastyr vampires did, but he would still suffer from starvation. It was the curse of his ‘mastyr’ status. Though he, like all mastyr vampires, had tried a hundred remedies, the starvation remained. Although, with so few doneuses , he tended to reach dangerous levels much more often than those mastyrs with larger blood-harems.
    The rest of the Guard began arriving, which helped his spirits since he had no doubt that once the notables in attendance at the wedding reached his entrance hall, cell-phones would light up alerting the media to the attack. It was only a matter of time before the TV station vans and reporters arrived.
    The headlines the next day would be terrible, no doubt, but he thought it the wiser course to let the populace know that the Invictus had become active again. Parents would take extra precautions, neighborhood watches would be on guard again, and all volunteer policing units would gather with city entities to organize for increased patrols.
    In the meantime, clean-up was critical. Each of the Invictus would have to be hauled to a morgue, families of any of those realm-folk who had paired with a wraith would have to be notified of the death. None of it was an easy task.
    Gerrod issued his orders. And as Jason nodded then returned to the battlefield to begin the horrific disposal process, Gerrod headed to the castle to confer with those governing officials who had been present at the wedding. Each would of course have a great deal to say about how the governance of Merhaine ought to be conducted.
    He repressed a sigh as the weight of rule descended heavily on his shoulders once more. Another tremor vibrated through his left hand and he made a fist then released it a number of times. He really didn’t want a group of Merhaine dignitaries to observe him in this weakened state.
    But as he walked up the broad front path to the castle, his thoughts turned to Abigail. His heart seemed to lumber in his chest. An image flashed through his mind of his fangs buried in her neck. Whatever the reason, more than life itself he wanted to know what her blood tasted like, if it would carry the flavor of rosemary, the scent that seemed to be attached to her always.
    Yes, in the year he’d known her, he’d come very close to obsessing about the damn human.
    *** *** ***
    An hour later, Abigail frowned as Gerrod marched away from her.
    He had said very little to her except to insist she return to Flagstaff and not to come back because Merhaine was no place for a human.
    She hadn’t known exactly what to expect when she saw Gerrod next, but these terse commands weren’t it. For one thing, she had wanted to thank him for saving her life but he hadn’t given her the smallest opportunity.
    For another, she really wanted to know what was happening.
    She might even have demanded he speak with her for a moment, since he’d kissed her in the forest, but she saw that his shoulders were tight and his hands were balled into fists. He was struggling with a very difficult situation.
    Most of the guests had driven back to their