Red textured background with smoke and cracks
To love a Dark One is to invite death…
It is wrong to love her.
It is worse to want her.
It is sin to consume her.
I desire all three.I’ve been given thirty days to prove my love to another immortal–as a human. Cursed to use nothing but the side of myself I’ve always despised to win her affection. I am Cassius, the King of the immortals, A Dark One.
And today I tasted fear for the first time.
How can I win her when my human emotions over take every ounce of logic I possess?
A darkness is brewing.
One I cannot stop as a human.
One that Stephanie, my loves visions, have shown, will be my end.
Thirty days ago I was King of the immortals.
Today I know fear.
Today I know how I will die.
By her hand.
The woman I love.
EXCERPT:
“I heard my name.” Alex limped into the room.
“What the hell happened to you?” Mason burst out laughing as Alex found a chair and winced.
“Baby gates.” Alex cursed. “A hell of a lot of baby gates. Who knew that would be my downfall?”
“I did,” I said between bites. “You’re a Siren, it’s like your kryptonite. The fact that you could have sex and produce children…it’s enough to make you abstinent.”
Face blank, Alex outwardly trembled.
“Shhh…” Mason handed Alex a berry. “You’re scaring him.”
“It’s like a mean bedtime story.” Alex glared at me. “Also, a little bird told me you nearly burned down the house last night. Care to share any intimate details?”
“She met Darkness.” This from Mason as he used his incisors to take a huge bite out of the pinecone.
“Ah, crazy right? Like meeting the worst part of yourself, while at the same time being seduced…” He pressed his lips together in a seductive pout. “I bet Darkness is hot.”
“He is,” I corrected.
Alex looked nonplussed, his expression didn’t change. “You know I don’t discriminate between the sexes, if he’s good looking, good for him, good for all of us.”
The sound of Mason chomping on the pinecone scraped over my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. I gave him a pointed look. Slumping, he dropped it back onto his plate and popped a berry into his mouth, his hand transforming into a claw so that he didn’t need to use a fork to poke each berry.
“Circus freak,” Alex muttered reaching for Mason’s coffee.
“Why—” Ethan stormed into the room. “—didn’t you warn her?”
Cassius followed, close on his heels. “What the hell did you expect me to say? Oh by the way, in your dreams, you’re going to get a visit from Darkness, have fun, be careful not to get to set the house on fire. Oh, and if you’re hot and bothered, it’s not me?”
“For the record,” I interjected. “I wasn’t hot and bothered, just warm.”
They ignored me.
“If she can’t control herself, she can’t stay!” Ethan slammed his fist down onto the granite cracking it down the middle. “Genesis is pregnant! She needs protection from things like that.” Pieces of granite flew into the air as Ethan pointed in my direction. I slumped low in my seat.
Mason let out a low curse. “I hate ordering new kitchen appliances. Home Depot employees are always so judgmental.”
Alex winced as the crack in the granite extended farther. Then the counter slammed into the floor. “Just tell them you got carried away with your last stripper. I’d go with it. Then once we flash them nothing but cash lean in and whisper ‘mafia’.”
Mason poked another berry with his claw. “Maybe I’ll just take you with me and tell them you’re my lover. Last time we did that we got fifty percent off.”
Alex sighed heavily. “Because she was totally into me, not you.” He scrunched up his nose. “You smelled too funny for her tastes, which is why you hung out by appliances while I took her out back.”
Ethan turned. “You did what? To a human?”
“Taught her how to saw.” Mason interjected. “At the Depot of Homes.”
I barely managed to keep my smile in as Cassius shared a confused look with Ethan.
“Lots of sharp edges.” Alex nodded emphatically. “Very dangerous…but don’t worry, none of your precious blood was spilled.”
A low growl erupted from Mason. “One day you’re going to get caught for tasting forbidden fruit.” Another raspberry flew through the air and into his mouth. “And I’m going to laugh. What’s going to happen when your tricks stop working on human women?”
Alex didn’t look worried.
“They’ll attack in mob-like fashion.” Mason nodded. “Yes, what a fantastic day that will be.”
Cassius frowned. “Do they…attack at the Depot of Homes?”
“It’s Home Depot,” I corrected. “And don’t pay attention to them, they’ve been bickering all morning.”
Scary vampire waiting in the wood. Halloween and horror concept
