Series: The Un Series by Izzy Sweet
Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Things are changing and we don’t know why. It’s like all the rules we’ve lived by have been thrown out the fucking window.
It’s giving us all hope, but what’s the hidden cost?
And why now?
When we’re turned and reborn, we know we will suffer years, decades, centuries, and sometimes even millennia, waiting for our other half to be born.
And there’s no guarantee that it will ever happen. I’ve seen vampires go mad or die from waiting.
Is that a thing of the past now?
Or was this some random fluke? Like a sudden rift in the cosmos?
All my coven brothers surely must be wondering if their turn will be next.
How long will they have to wait?
Days? Or decades?
The road changes from pavement to gravel as we pull up the hill our current safe house sits on. It’s perfectly placed with a view of the city, and it has the high ground should we be attacked.
When the car stops, my soulmark’s shaking increases.
It’s been such a long night for us all, and I know my dear one must be exhausted. I am. Even though my body is begging to finally join us together.
I must be careful, though. I’ve seen what happens when a vampire turns his soulmarked and she wasn’t ready.
One vampire I met, his soulmarked despised him with every ounce of her very being. They’re fated to be, yet the loathing and hatred has never ceased.
How catastrophic that would be… to find your soulmarked and she hates the very essence of you for all of eternity.
You never age, you never get sick, and the one who completes you can’t stand you.
Or worse than all of that.
Meeting your soulmarked, knowing that she’ll soon be yours, and that all the years you’ve waited have not been in vain.
Only to have your maker rip her head off before you can truly join together.
That’s what happened to my adopted brother, Ambrose.
It’s beyond my imagination what Ambrose must feel, and sadly it makes sense why he seems so haunted. His body is stuck in the modern world while his mind is stuck a few centuries in the past.
Before I even have a chance to open my door, Caden is opening it for me.
Lifting my soulmarked and cradling her against my chest, I’m reminded of just how light she is.
Moving slowly and carefully, I take a deep breath of the fresh air, hoping it will settle my stomach.
But I’m hit in the face by the awful smell again.
Asher and Chloe come out of the house to meet us.
The rest of the family must be off somewhere, busy securing the city. But given how close to dawn it is, they’ll probably be returning home soon.
Taking out the other vampire coven was dangerous.
Too dangerous.
We already have the Order breathing down our necks and a possible witch in our midst.
With humans massively outnumbering us, we don’t need a war starting with our fellow vampires.
Pushing all that shit out of my head, I smile at Asher, my adopted father. Warmth flows through the connection we share in return. A warmth full of family and hope.
When I was turned by my real sire, he abandoned me and left it up to the fates if I survived or not.
Asher took me in and gave me the safety I needed.
“Sire, Mother, this is…”
Fuck.
I don’t even know my intended’s name.
Chloe chuckles and shakes her head at me like I’m some troublesome child.
“Raphy,” Andrei says from behind me. “That’s probably the first thing you should have asked.”
“Alena,” my beloved murmurs. “My name is Alena.”
It’s beautiful, sensual, and as perfect as she is.
Gasping loudly, Caden says, “She speaks!”
Maddox elbows him in the side and Caden frowns. “We can’t roughhouse with our little sister yet. She’s still human. We’d break her.”
Ignoring the ‘twins’ antics, Andrei moves closer to me and points at Alena’s waist. “When did she get that cut on her hip?”
Cut?
My soulmarked is wounded?
Clutching her tightly to my chest, I move with a speed only a vampire can. Racing past my family and straight into the house through the open front door, I rush her up to my bedroom.
I’m moving on instinct again.
Protect.
Keep her safe.
The door to my room shuts, and I sense Andrei moving slowly to stand beside me.
If it was anyone else…
But I know he’s here to help her.
Alena is shaking like a leaf in my arms. My speed terrifying and confusing her.
I should have felt it as I was moving.
But, dammit, the bond between us is still weak.
Bending forward carefully, I gently set her on my bed.
Her slender legs dangle over the edge and she’s still shaking, but I can see her trying to fight her fear.
“This is my brother,” I say quickly before squatting down to look at her hip. “You will come to no harm here. I swear it on my life.”
Black medical bag in hand, Andrei squats down beside me.