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  Vampire Brides

  For Better, For Worse

  A Novel by

  Yvonne Robertson

  Copyright 2019 @ Yvonne Robertson

  Published by Major Key Publishing, LLC

  www.majorkeypublishing.com

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  Any unauthorized reprint or use of the material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the publisher.

  This is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Contains explicit language & adult themes suitable for ages 16+

  To submit a manuscript for our review, email us at [email protected]

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  PROLOGUE

  It is extremely rare for a vampire female to conceive a child. There has been a few in the history of our kind, but I personally suspect that the female was not a full blood vampire. Some of us, have in the past, mated with humans but sadly they are not strong enough to bear our young and it has always been strictly against our laws, that is until recently.

  As I passed my five hundredth year on this earth I began to think constantly about the future of our House and about my heirs. I guess we are the equivalent of Vampire royalty and my son Luca, the eldest and heir apparent would be a capable, fair and just ruler.

  We had all sworn a long time ago not to take the lives of any human unless they were on the brink of death, as was the case with his brothers. Luca, we made an exception for, as he would have been left in this world with no-one if we hadn’t changed him too. He begged us to make him immortal.

  The only way I could see the continuation of our house was for my sons to mate with hybrid humans. Women with mixed blood, elves, fae, lycan were all much stronger than their full human sisters and were capable of bearing our children. I finally got the backing of the vampire council, most of them anyway, and I began to plan.

  My soulmate and life long partner, a witch in her previous life, began searching in earnest for the women destined to be with our sons for eternity, Violette loved our sons fiercely and wanted them to find love with their partners too. I thought that a rather tall order but I didn’t really bet on my mates tenacity and her extreme powers .....

  Hendrik Van Buren.

  Aeric

  I barely felt the sharp stake cut through my flesh and for a tiny, heart stopping, (pun intended) moment I thought Demetrius had ended my existence for eternity.

  My eyes met Sorcha’s as my long life flashed before me and I bellowed with pain at the knowledge that I would never completely possess her, mind, body or soul. Or watch her belly swell in her small frame, as my seed grew with new life within her. I had never made love to her, felt her naked skin beneath my touch, heard her cry out my name in joy or bit into her soft flesh and tasted her like I had dreamed of for many months now. I wanted her to have space to make her decisions and I feared I had left it all much too late.

  I ached for my brothers and my parents, especially Violette, who had treated me like her own blood for more than two hundred years. I had never met another vampire with as much ‘humanity’ as the woman I called Mother.

  My heart quivered with the near miss but it still brought me to my knees and I realized that there was silver in the shaft that was now lodged deep in my chest. Some supernaturals are deathly allergic to silver and unfortunately, I am one of them.

  I reached for her mind, through our tentative bond, I felt her fear and pain as she watched Demetrius plunge the stake into my chest and in an instant, she was running towards him, long fangs bared and sharp claws drawn. I had watched her do this many times but she never got any further as she tried in vain to shift. Like her, I wondered if she had enough shifter genes to be able to do it ever, maybe she was destined to become a vampire like me after all.

  This time, however, I watched through my helplessness, in awe, as the anger coursed through her and in the split second it took her to reach him. I saw her body elongate and grow as she ran and she twisted and changed in a flash, to the beautiful, majestic creature before me now.

  Demetrius looked horrified; wolves were a vampire’s most dangerous predator. His eyes widened in terror as she reached him and in an instant, she tore his head cleanly from his body and dropped it at her feet. Yet I knew she was still unaware of just what had transpired, despite the blood dripping from her exposed fangs

  Her beautiful, thick, glossy fur was a rich chocolate brown, the color of her hair and it covered her body entirely. I would have known her beautiful eyes anywhere as she continued to stare at me. They glowed amber as she watched me.

  ‘Sorcha, look at your body,’ I urged her through our link as I looked into the eyes that captivated me so much.

  She dragged her eyes from me and looked down and I felt her surprise, and then her pride at what she had become and I saw her stand up taller as she faced us again before raising her head to the heavens and a prolonged, mournful howl erupted from deep inside her belly.

  Why would I ever want this glorious creature to become a vampire like me, she was what she was always destined to be.

  She was a wolf and she was magnificent!

  CHAPTER ONE

  Sorcha

  Sorcha Stillwater sat cross legged, at the edge of the pond and trailed the cool water through her fingertips as she contemplated the craziness of the last few weeks. She was still in shock, and mostly awe, at how quickly she had shifted into her wolf form after she saw her mate being attacked during a rescue mission when she and the other women were kidnapped.

  Aeric was stabbed in the chest with a wooden stake, wielded by Draven Demetrius and she believed for a moment that he had been taken from her forever. The thought of losing him before she even had a chance to tell him how she felt made her nauseous. She and Aeric were bonded now and she had been claimed as his mate in the eyes of the law, but that bond had never yet been consummated.

  Both she and Aeric, along with Marcus, her lycan trainer, had come to the conclusion that maybe she wasn’t ever going to shift, she was after all half human. Maybe she just didn’t have enough shifter genes in her DNA, when suddenly it had just happened.

  She wasn’t consciously trying to shift, but rather acting purely on instinct when she saw her mate hurt and had spontaneously turned into her glorious wolf form in an instant. In her fury, she viciously attacked the vampire responsible for trying to kill Aeric.

  She hadn’t been aware of her body changing as she ran towards him and tore into his flesh with her claws and fangs, ripping his head clean from his shoulders, but she had heard Aeric’s voice in her head, urging her to hear him and she looked down at her body in amazement. She was covered in beautiful, soft brown fur, the color of her hair and the low menacing growl filling the silence, was actually coming from deep within her belly.

  After she realized Aeric was not fatally wounded, she had been overcome with euphoria at her change. She also knew instantly and with certainty that she would never want to be a vampire now that she knew she could be Lycan, Sorcha Stillwater was born to be one with her wolf.

  Since then she had shifted many times over and could now do so with ease, changing back and forth into her human form at will. At first, she had summoned s
trong emotions to help with the transition but now it seemed to come to her as naturally as breathing. Marcus was elated with her transformation and had been a great help to her ever since.

  Two members of the council had come a few days after she had killed Demetrius to interview them all about her and the other women’s kidnapping. Demetrius and his goons had tried everything in their power to stop the House of Van Buren from producing more heirs and this latest stunt proved those behind it would stop at nothing. Her sisters in law, Sierra and Greer were already pregnant, Greer with twins and Sierra’s baby was due very soon, but it hadn’t stopped the despicable vampire from trying to burn them all alive, along with their mates and unborn children.

  She shivered at the memory and wrapped her arms around her body as the sudden cold chilled her to the bone. This was indeed a dark and dangerous world she now belonged to.

  Between them, they were able to project the entire scene to the council members and the elders had agreed that Demetrius had met a just fate. His father, however, was furious and they waited to see if he would try to exact revenge for his son’s death.

  She stared at her reflection in the now still pond and knew she had to talk to Aeric today about her decision. She wondered how he would take it, she felt in her heart he wanted her to be a vampire, like him. She knew her sister’s in law would all become vampires after they had borne their children but she also knew that it wasn’t her destiny, hers was to follow a different path. She prayed he would understand and be able to accept her for who she now knew she really was.

  She stood up and brushed the grass from her jeans and walked purposely back towards the house as she thought of her mate. Aeric, unlike his brothers, had a deathly allergy to the silver in the shaft of the stake and it had impeded his recovery somewhat as Calathiel, the healer, applied topical medicines to his wound to draw out the tiny particles of the metal still embedded in his body and his mother, Violette, used a little of her powerful magic to help him recover. He had been physically training with his brothers every day to get back to full strength and Sorcha knew she couldn’t put it off any longer to talk to him.

  She walked slowly up the stairs and along the corridor, passing her suite and to Aerics bedroom next door. Aeric had moved out of the suite to let her live there after she and the other women were brought to the estate a few months ago for their own protection when the plot to prevent their mating with the Van Buren brothers was uncovered.

  It was the first time she had met Aeric and despite the injuries she had sustained by the vampires lying waiting for her in her home, she had felt the pull towards him immediately and her feelings for him had grown tenfold in the time they had spent together since.

  Her mother was human and her father a wolf shifter. She didn’t know if he was alive or dead or if he even knew of her existence. Since she had found out she was half lycan, she had been forced with a difficult choice. Embrace the wolf within her or be changed to become a vampire like Aeric. Violette told her if she became a vampire, she would lose her shifting power but would retain the heightened senses that came with her wolf. Aeric had agreed at the beginning to give her space to decide what she wanted to do and hence her staying in his rooms while he slept in a guest room next door.

  They still spent almost all of their time together and Sorcha knew she wasn’t really being fair as they both struggled to pull back when he kissed her goodnight at her door every evening. It was time for a change, a new beginning.

  She knocked tentatively on his door and went inside his room. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom and she kicked off her shoes and got comfortable up on top of his bed to wait for him.

  She closed her eyes and breathed in his addicting scent. Her senses had increased since her shifting and she wrapped her arms around her chest as she breathed deeply and imagined him holding her in his arms, his full sensual lips exploring her body and she sighed with contentment as she welcomed the sensations running rampant through her body.

  She drifted off to sleep with his woodsy scent filling her nostrils.

  She heard him call her name in the distance and she reached out for him as he came to her in her dream. His chest was bare and she licked her parched lips as she stared at the beautifully defined muscles rippling across his chest and her eyes drifted to his powerful thighs and she saw his lips tug into a smile as he followed her gaze.

  He kneeled beside her and smiled broadly and her heart constricted as she gazed at his handsome face. His dark hair brushed his shoulders and his fangs poked out a little from his perfectly straight, white teeth. She reached out and touched his stubbled cheek and his pale hazel eyes crinkled at the corners. They were the color of milky coffee but she had watched them turn to amber when he was angry or aroused.

  They were glowing amber now and she held out her arms to him and he lay down beside her and brushed his lips gently over hers. She gasped as her stomach contracted and she wanted nothing more than to strip off her clothes and lose herself in his arms but she knew she had to talk to him first. He may not want her after she had delivered her decision.

  She felt herself awaken and she fought to stay in her dream but it was no use. Her eyes snapped open and she was wrapped in Aeric’s arms as he looked down at her with a bemused smile on his face, her heart did somersaults when he looked at her this way.

  “Wow,” he said simply and she blushed as she remembered again that he could read her thoughts, especially when she forgot to shield them from him. She struggled to sit up but he held her in place and kissed her again and she sunk back into the soft quilt and threaded her fingers into his hair as the heat pooled in her stomach and she felt the desire threaten to overtake her. He cupped her breast in his hand and she moaned as his thumb rubbed across her sensitive nipple through her shirt and she almost abandoned her principles right there and then and went with her heart.

  She pushed him away and jumped to her feet and watched him lay back on the bed, his hands behind his head as he watched her lazily through his thick eyelashes, a slow smile played on his lips as he savored her discomfort.

  “Aeric, we need to talk,” she said as she tried to still her beating heart, feeling the flush of her cheeks as he appraised her.

  “I rather liked what we were doing actually,” he smirked and she grinned, despite herself

  “Please,” she said “It’s important,” and he swung off the bed and came to her quickly, his brow wrinkling in concern.

  “Are you okay baby,” he asked tenderly and her heart melted all over again

  “Yes Aeric, I am fine but I have made a decision,” her heart pounded almost painfully in her chest as she watched him. She bit her lip, desperately trying to think how to phrase what she needed to say to him.

  He looked at her for a moment in silence and then he said softly,

  “You want to remain a wolf,”

  She nodded sadly and felt tears prick her eyes as she met his gaze. He watched her face for a moment and she was taken aback when he suddenly grinned back at her before pulling her into his arms in a bear hug.

  “Thank the goddess Sorcha, it’s what you were destined to be, your wolf is glorious and it would be damn criminal to destroy her!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Aeric

  “Sorcha, the only thing I want is to be with you, you are my mate. As a human, a wolf or a vampire, I don’t care which. I wanted you to take the time to choose because I want you to be happy here. I knew the day you shifted, that’s what you are meant to be sweetheart, your wolf is magnificent and without her, I wouldn’t even be here.”

  “Oh Aeric, I am happy here with you,” she cried, “Since Mom died, I have never felt like I truly belonged anywhere until I came here. You are my whole life now and this is my home and family.”

  I held her for an age rocking back and forth until she finally pulled away and looked up at me. My heart lurched and my body tightened in response as I watched her beautiful face,

  “I want you to mo
ve back here to your rooms tonight, with me Aeric, you are my husband, my bonded and we should be together.”

  I felt truly awful when I realized that Sorcha had been dreading my reaction to her decision. I thought she had known that whatever she decided would have been okay with me. I just wanted to be with her, and I didn’t care what form that may be, it truly didn’t matter to me, I wanted her on any terms.

  As it happens though, I do think she made the right decision in the end. She was born a wolf shifter, but I don’t think I even realized how I felt about it until she shifted to protect me when Draven Demetrius tried to kill me and I saw her in all her magnificent glory.

  However, all of that paled into insignificance compared to the elation I felt when she asked me to move into the suite with her. I wondered how I was going to make it through the day until it was time to hold her in my arms, in our bed, at long last. Unfortunately, as always, I had business to attend to, but I doubted I could keep my mind on anything but her today. The thought of sleeping in the same bed as Sorcha made my blood pressure soar and I was forced to take my second cold shower of the day to cool my ardor.

  My brothers and I had all reacted differently to our mother’s insistence that she had found each of our soul mates, using her powers that we all accepted without question. I was merely curious, at least until I actually met her, then I was speechless. Mother had used magic to aid her in locating them and had been working behind the scenes to bring them closer to our location for months, to allow us to meet them ‘naturally.’

  Some people search for a lifetime to find their mates, which in our case is a very long time, but it took our mother only a few months to find all five of these women that she was sure were linked to us by a powerful force none of us really had the ability to understand.