As a half-blood vampire, Stella has been fighting all her life to get out of this city, escape the torment of her pursuer and live a peaceful life on her own.

And she’ll do anything to achieve her goal, even if it means working for Cassius van Cleef, a pureblood.  

From the moment their eyes met, Stella has been unable to resist Cassius and his loving arms, but will he protect her, or is he just another dangerous predator?

—

I leaned into him, and I inhaled his masculine scent as it intermingled with mine. 

He reached up with his fingers and brought my chin up a little, just as his warm lips met mine for the first time. 

I opened my eyes when the kiss broke and saw Cassius’ lips wet from the moment we just shared. 

I felt a warm blush flowing up my cheeks and I turned away quickly.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” he said as he reached over and gently turned my back to him. “As I said before, you are so much more than you realize. Just be patient with me.”

Saved by the Vampire

I parted from Cassius and Albert with a mixture of sad and angry emotions. What did Alistair think he would accomplish other than making it more difficult for all vampires to live in New Rome? 


The answer was that it would do nothing but get us all killed. 


I got ready for bed and tried to contact Florence again to make sure that she was alright, but I didn't get an answer. I thought she must be working late and left a message for her to stay safe and that I was still okay.


I tried not to think about the young woman who was murdered. But it was hard not to see her face, the one I’d seen on the news, whenever I closed my eyes. As I fell asleep, I found myself drifting back to the days of my childhood, before I lost my parents. I remembered the street we lived on feeling safe and the community around us being very friendly. 


Chapter 9: Night Terrors