Ruthless Liege

RUTHLESS LIEGE SHADOWSEND VAMPIRE CLAN: 2 L.A. MCGINNIS Copyright L.A. McGinnis 2023 All rights reserved Editor: Emerald Edits Copy Editor: Editing720 Cover Design: Janus Designs All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or distributed in any printed or electronic form or by any means, without express permission from the author or publisher. Please do not participate or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, including businesses, companies, events or locales is purely coincidental. ISBN-13: 978-1-970112-72-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-970112-73-3 Published in the United States of America by Fools Journey Press, 2023 If you love reverse harem with detailed plot, unforgettable characters and tons of steam, you can join my readers group here: www.lamcginnis.com CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Epilogue Also by L.A. McGinnis 1 AISLING I’d love to say my life was under control. But watching smoke pour out of the castle made me realize just how fucked everything really was. I slipped the ancient ring back onto my sweat-slicked finger, hands shaking. The magical artifact had an instantaneous effect—the second the metal touched my flesh, I reabsorbed my black, shadowy power, knees going wobbly from the resulting rush. I’d had the ring off for a whole ten seconds—I’d counted every one—which was all it took to rip a hole in the protective ward and decimate part of the castle. No, my life was definitely a disaster movie, and not the kind with a happy ending. The kind where everybody dies. I had magic—I couldn’t control. A mate—who’d rejected me. A life—where my enemies wanted me dead. Staring at the destruction I’d caused; frustration and anger turned me into a powder keg of pent-up emotions. The harder I tried, the more spectacularly I failed. Case in point… “Ash, stand back.” Darrow elbowed his way past me, sent a thundering wave of his frosty power through the window, extinguishing the choking black smoke, ice dripping from the window frames, snowflakes dancing in the warm May air before they melted away to nothing. “Brendan will kill me when he sees this.” I muttered. Actually, Rowan was going to kill me, if he could muster up the enthusiasm. But I hadn’t spoken to my estranged mate in days, and somehow, I doubted even arson would get him to talk to me—he loathed me that much. We’d healed the scars between us, and I’d hoped—foolishly, perhaps—we might have a real mating, but then a week ago, Rowan did a one eighty. He’d rejected me. Publicly, in the most humiliating way possible, by choosing Scarlett Locke over his own mate, and cutting me completely out of his life. No explanation, no discussion, just cold, hard rejection. In front of an audience, no less. I looked around, my chest tightening. Kind of like this one. “Godsdaaaamn, Ash. That protective ward is over a thousand years old.” Finn didn’t hide his grin when he tugged me away from the thick plume of smoke, “After all that time, I thought this place was impervious to accidents. You never fail to impress.” “Impressive is not how I’d describe today, Finn Forge.” The practice yard was an outdoor courtyard sandwiched between two wings of Laith Castle, the lush green space encased in a protective ward of ancient magic, used as an outdoor training facility for students new to wielding magic. I’d just blown a huge hole through the impenetrable ward, and wrecked the castle’s entire east wing in under thirty seconds. Maybe Finn was right. That had to be some kind of record. “Don’t worry.” Finn squeezed my shoulder as Darrow sent another blast of wintery magic into the churning black smoke. “We’ll get a crack team of abjurists in here to fix this, and everything will be good as new by tomorrow.” I glanced over my shoulder at the gathering crowd, shaking harder when I saw how many people witnessed my epic magical fuckup. “Can…can we get out of here?” Finn tracked my gaze, then tucked me under his arm, effectively hiding me from our curious audience. What was supposed to be the first real test of my magic under controlled circumstances and careful supervision was anything but. I’d taken the ring off and…instant Armageddon. “Fire’s out, but we’re attracting quite the crowd. Some of those fuckers are taking pictures.” Darrow grumbled, a smudge of soot marring his perfectly chiseled cheekbone. “Ash, are you okay?” I dug my fingers into Finn’s arm. “I really cannot be here right now.” I wasn’t used to failing publicly, and between the smoke clogging my lungs and the curious stares, I wanted to curl up and hide. Today was supposed to be a triumph, but a simple test of my power had backfired. The council was coming for me, and without my magic—my only strength—I dead. “It’s okay, Ash.” Darrow leaned down; his half smile tinged with concern. “No one expects you to take on Zachariah singlehandedly using magic you just discovered you had. The first time Finn used his power, he set his family stables on fire. Burned the entire barn to the ground.” “Yeah, well, I got the horses out, first. Who turned Master Darkmore into a