The Lycan Rebirth (The Flux Age Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

and had fine, almost regal features. She judged him to be around forty-five, and he was dressed stylishly in a black designer suit. The other two were both women, and Yasmin guessed they must all be siblings. The sisters had sharp, near-pretty features with pitch black hair. They wore heavy velvet dresses that reminded Yasmin of eastern European gypsies.
    The most compelling thing about these visitors were their thin, crimson lips and cold, dead eyes. They were vampires, that much was certain.
    “It’s OK, Tomas, they’re kin,” Yasmin said in wonder as she stepped past him.
    The tall man stepped forward with a haughty smile.
    “Finally, some hospitality,” he sneered. “We travel from Poland, my queen. Our main objective is to be confirmed under your grace.”
    The man dropped to one knee and laid an arm on it, veins up. Yasmin hesitated, throwing a glance back at Tomas. He had a look of resignation, as if Yasmin had no choice but to comply.
    Yasmin knelt before the tall man and wasted no time in sinking her teeth into his forearm. She found herself drawn to his blood and feasted enthusiastically. A part of her wondered if she was making a scene as she gorged on the sweet nectar. She and Tomas had been receiving steady supplies from Bucharest but there was nothing like a fresh fountain.
    When she lifted her face she realized her mouth and cheeks were probably covered with blood. Tomas helpfully provided a cloth.
    “My name is Ralph Odessa,” the tall man said in a tight voice, his face pale but sanguine. “My sisters and I sensed the fire and came to pay our respects.”
    Yasmin smiled inwardly. She was beginning to wonder if her vampiric fire would attract any followers at all. It was a thrill to have strangers come in from the cold and kneel before her, however bizarre it was! Of course, Yasmin simply smiled and acted like this was all routine.
    The Odessa sisters stepped forward humbly, heads bowed.
    “Anna,” said one.
    “Irina,” said the other.
    “Welcome,” Yasmin said, unable to tear her eyes from the bulging veins in their forearms.
     
    Later, the Odessa siblings were seated in Yasmin’s drawing room, a comfortable chamber adjacent to her bedroom. Yasmin’s servant Ligo, a Maramurian hand-picked by Tomas, had prepared several delicious glasses of mulled wine. Yasmin and Tomas sat alongside their guests before a roaring fire.
    “Was it hard to find a diviner in Poland?” Yasmin asked Ralph. Thus far, conversation had been a little stilted. Yasmin sensed that the Odessa sisters had been instructed to stay quiet while their older brother handled the talking. It seemed such an old-fashioned notion that Yasmin wondered what kind of family they were from.
    Ralph inclined his head stiffly. “We know a man in the neighboring village. He tends goats.”
    That last bit Ralph uttered with contempt, as if he couldn’t believe that such a man could possess such an impressive skill. Yasmin resisted the urge to ask more questions about this man. She already had a diviner, and Mischa was probably sound asleep in the next room. The young girl was slowly adapting to life at Mount Brasev but still liked to sleep all night. Yasmin couldn’t criticise her very human habit.
    “Diviners need to be protected,” Yasmin said. “I hope you were divined by mutual consent.”
    Ralph looked at Yasmin strangely, but inclined his head.
    “We live a quiet life in rural Poland,” he said. “All we desire is to be left alone.”
    Yasmin could certainly understand that. It seemed vampires weren’t the most social of creatures.
    “Do you feel any different, now that you’ve been confirmed by me?” Yasmin asked with a smile.
    Ralph thought for a moment before replying. “Nothing obvious,” he said. “Although I do feel the connection between us.”
    Yasmin could feel it too. She now felt intimate with these people in a way she could never adequately explain. She just knew that her new followers would defend her to the