Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97229 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97229 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
When I heard footsteps on the cobblestones my senses made the decision for me. Flight. Most definitely, definitely FLIGHT.
I bolted as quickly as I could, hair loose and tumbling as the soles of my feet took the force of the ground. Wet moss, and cold stone, and the sound of my breaths running as wild as I was.
I was being chased.
The footsteps behind me were heavier than mine, and much, much faster.
Shit. Shit. SHIT.
I ran harder, trying to scream, but it didn’t work. My screams were silent, even though I could feel the force of them slamming right through my throat.
That sealed my fate, and I knew it. Nobody was going to save me – nothing except my own determination.
Panic and terror were enough to give me an insane energy rush. I sprinted with everything I had, but the turning onto Keel Avenue didn’t come. The street kept looming ahead, but no matter how hard I tried, and no matter how fast I ran, I just couldn’t reach it. There were only cobblestones and desperation, with an increased sense of knowing.
I knew I was going to get caught.
I knew my running was futile.
Still, my spirit fought on.
It felt almost as though the heavy footsteps behind were playing with me, holding back just enough to enjoy my efforts. Still, I tried to scream. Still, there was only silence.
The cobblestones kept on coming, the buildings reappearing on loop. I kept giving everything, gaining nothing, and slowly, slowly, slowly, I could feel my spirit weakening.
No. NO.
I fought it some more.
My silent screams were louder but useless. My feet were hurting, but kept on running, running, running until I couldn’t take it anymore.
Finally, I buckled and stopped.
I pressed myself against a timber framed building, my back against a thick wooden door. My hair felt tangled and my nipples were like bullets, still freezing cold despite the fact that I was sweating and panting for breath, clouds of steam around me like fog in the air.
I looked up and down the street, preparing myself for my attacker, but the footsteps had stopped. A fresh prickle ran up my spine.
I was being watched. They were still there. Waiting in the shadows.
Panting, heart pounding, I glanced around, waiting for the inevitable…
Who the hell was watching me?
Who the hell had been watching me like this my whole life?
My instincts knew the answer before I did. I recognised his voice before he stepped into view.
“Have you finished fleeing yet, Katherine?”
I folded my arms over my breasts. His smirk was enough to make me shudder.
He looked even more striking under the moonlight. His smile was brighter, his eyes piercing green. His suit immaculate. His dark hair sheening. But he looked different in these surroundings, as if we’d been transported back a hundred years.
“It’s you,” I managed, pointing out the obvious.
“Yes,” he said, and stepped up closer. “It’s always been me.”
Of course. The sensations came tumbling. The instinctive recognition when I’d first seen him step up to the bar in Regency. The pounding of my heart as though I knew him, even though I’d never seen him before in my life. I’d blocked it out as nothing, and it had worked. I’d busied myself in my working life, just like I should have.
I kept looking up and down the street, contemplating whether my feet would be willing to carry me.
Hans tutted as he read my mind.
“You really want to run, do you?”
I nodded in a flash, adrenaline buzzing.
He tutted again, placed a hand to his heart.
“Really, Katherine. I held you true to your word.”
Oh no.
NO.
Any instinctive recognition I’d had before faded to nothing in comparison to how I felt as he stepped closer and smiled. I saw… fangs. And they weren’t shitty plastic.
My voice was barely more than a whisper when it came out of me.
“You’re a vampire.”
“Bravo,” he said and applauded with slow claps, but there was no malice in it. “So, now you have to ask yourself, which came first? Me, or your vampire crushes? The chicken or the egg?”
My thoughts swirled, trying to make sense of it. I tried to put it into words, but I sounded like a fool.
“You mean you’re the reason I’m obsessed with vampires? But how? I’ve been obsessed with vampires since I was a kid watching cartoons on TV.”
I could feel the heat from him as he stepped up in front of me, held my arms tighter to my chest, one hand to my throat.
“Trust me, fate and bloodlines are a lot deeper running than you could imagine. Your obsession with vampires isn’t something that you randomly fell into. It was in your veins from the very moment you were born.”
My questions were scary, even to speak them.
“And how about you? Were you watching me from the very moment I was born?”
“I’ve been watching you a lot longer than that, little girl. I’ve been watching you since you were nothing more than a tiny spark of life in a family chain.”