Surrendering: A Regent Vampire Lords Novel, Book #1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

working on for over five hundred years. That, and the diametrically opposed views he had with Devon and the others regarding the superiority of their race, had led him to where he was today. When he’d parted ways with Devon, he’d gone into hiding and needed an army of his own making if he was going to fulfill his ultimate plan. An army born of his own ideals, dedicated to serving him. Dedicated to his objective of world domination. Doing what he alone commanded. And while he was making progress, it wasn’t fast enough. It was difficult to have world domination without enough vampires.
    For vampires to reproduce, however, they had to be bonded with their Moira’s, their destined mate. And finding one’s Moira was not an easy task, so he’d had to use other means to build his army.
    The doctors in his employ had made progress in creating a therapy allowing for any human female to conceive and carry a vampire babe, not just a vampire’s Moira. So far, the concoction only had a five percent success rate, but that was a vast improvement over the tenth of a percent they had just a few short years ago.
    Unfortunately, that also meant they went through a lot of females. He made sure to get them young, while they were in prime childbearing years. If they couldn’t conceive after three years, they were disposed of. After they were thoroughly used, of course. They were only a means to an end. Nothing else. When their usefulness ended, so did they.
    He’d been very careful over the last decade to keep a low profile, taking only the minimum necessary women for his experiments and keeping the kidnappings spread out, so as not to draw attention to himself. He’d managed to stay under the radar while still continuing his work. But his patience was at an end, so at the risk of being discovered lately he’d taken more women than usual.
    About a decade ago, in a lucky grab, he discovered something he thought was long extinct. A dreamwalker. And he was desperate to find more.
    Dreamwalkers possessed invaluable skills. They upped the ante to help him find and destroy his enemies. With them, and the loyal army he’d spent centuries creating, he would be unstoppable.
    His strategy in locating potential dreamwalkers was brilliant and had yielded him several new recruits over the last ten years. He was partnering with many psychology professors across the country, whom he’d convinced to start very particular dream studies within their universities, sharing the results with him. Xavier’s team monitored the study participants, inviting those who met certain qualifications to join him. Most hadn’t come willingly. Well…none had. No matter.
    Yes, his plan was well in motion. Soon. Very soon his army would be big enough and strong enough to move his plan into its final stages. Then all the world, vampires and humans alike, would bow to him.
    Beg for mercy.
    Wish for death.

C hapter 7

    Kate

    Detective Thatcher stepped fully into the room, and she heard footsteps approach behind him. The special investigators must be here. The detective looked a little angry, his jaw was clenched tight and his lips were drawn in a tight, thin line.
    Her gaze swung to the man walking through the door behind him. The first thing she noticed was how very tall and muscled he was. The second thing she noticed was how amazingly gorgeous he was. Like, GQ gorgeous. This guy was some sort of detective? What a waste!! He should grace the cover of magazines…preferably Playgirl . Yum.
    “Hi, I’m Renaldo Hargrave, but please call me Ren,” he said, extending his hand. She was mesmerized. She couldn’t look away from his eyes long enough to grab his hand, which she noticed in her peripheral vision was waiting for hers.
    He ended her embarrassment, taking her hand in his.
    “H-Hi. Uh…Kate. I mean, I’m Kate. Kate Martin.” She gave her muddled head a brief shake. Crap. She was a blathering idiot.
    He laughed and it was one of the most sensuous sounds she