Vampire Lord's Bite

VAMPIRE LORD’S BITE CELESTE KING Copyright © 2023 by Celeste King All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Sign up for my newsletter Join my Facebook group here! DEDICATION This book is dedicated to Kaylee, Emily, Taylor, Jordon, Melanie, Jamie, Jennifer, Hannah, Donna and the whole “Project Protheka” family. Thanks for believing in the world. CONTENTS Books in The World of Protheka The World of Protheka 1. Soren 2. Soren 3. Evelyn 4. Soren 5. Evelyn 6. Soren 7. Evelyn 8. Soren 9. Soren 10. Evelyn 11. Evelyn 12. Soren 13. Evelyn 14. Soren 15. Evelyn 16. Soren 17. Evelyn 18. Soren 19. Evelyn 20. Soren 21. Evelyn 22. Soren 23. Evelyn 24. Soren 25. Evelyn 26. Soren 27. Evelyn 28. Soren 29. Evelyn 30. Soren 31. Soren 32. Evelyn 33. General Hodolo Valnu Preview of Mated to the Dark Elf 34. Amelie 35. Kral Ishiraya 36. Amelie 37. Kral Ishiraya BOOKS IN THE WORLD OF PROTHEKA Orc Warriors of Protheka Series Mates of the Burning Sun Clan Series Dark Elves of Protheka Series Thoruk’s Prize: A Monster Romance Naga’s of Protheka Series Minotaur’s of Protheka Series Demon’s of Protheka Series Vampires of Protheka Gargoyles of Protheka THE WORLD OF PROTHEKA 1 SOREN “Selene!” Screams fill the air as the girl’s head wrenches back. “I'm not going to let anyone hurt you– Get off of me!" His wings flair, blue magic dancing in the air, and he still can’t break free of the others holding him back. My eyes dart between the once great Elder Raziel and the human woman he thought he could hide. He’s nearly breaking himself to get to her, and yet, nothing can be done as she is dragged from the room. Pity. I wanted to watch the blood drain from her. Maybe get a taste myself. But her delicious scream fills the air from rooms away and everyone in the Councilroom twists, bodies tensing as they fight the urge to run to their prey. Even now, I can feel that desperate need to leap at the tiny human, to sink my teeth into her– “It is our hope that this base will open many new opportunities for us.” Brinda, our Matriarch, speaks. Her voice cuts through the memory of my last time in a Council meeting. “This will be the new age of our kind.” Brinda's fiery hair shines above everyone else, drawing the eye to the Matriarch. But my gaze is focused elsewhere, on an unlikely pair that no one can stop talking about nowadays: Raziel and Selene. I am still in shock about their mating. Everyone knew the Elder before. He rarely left his room, refused to take part in anything with the Council, and was overall aloof toward the general population of the vrakken. He fooled us well after he returned from the surface, the first vrakken to be allowed to go there in centuries, seemingly remaining the same, but I was in the cavern when they took Selene from him, when they sentenced her to death. I've never seen a single vrakken that tormented. Not when blistered in the sun. Not starved for weeks. It was like we had taken the air out of his lungs and withheld it. When the Matriarch announced that an above ground base would be built, I knew I had to be here. After seeing what happened to Raziel, and growing quite complacent underground myself, I had to get to the surface. It has lived up to expectations. I had forgotten what the sun felt like, and with the glamor in place, I love walking outside just before I go to sleep after dawn. It makes me realize how much I've hated the dampness of the caverns. When it was announced we'd be having our first Council meeting, though, dread flooded my body. I feared having to go back below ground, but to all our relief, the Council came here. I think they wanted to stretch their wings, too. "While everyone is still a part of our coven and must live by the rule of the Council, there will be assignments to maintain order until we all are moved above ground," Brinda announces. "We need the vrakken to take on more roles, specifically in human recruitment. You will be beneath Selene, who has a detailed plan and will guide you through the recruitment process." She continues on, adding a few more roles that need to be filled and what each will entail, but I'm having a hard time focusing on any of it. I'm still staring at Raziel. It's like the Elder has been Made again as he looks down as his tiny blood bag. It makes no sense to me what she did to him. Is her blood poison, muddling his brain? It's the only conclusion I can draw for why someone of his role and prestige would lower themselves to mate with our prey. What stumps me is that she has remained human. I understand that it is for the role in the Council to help recruit humans to our cause, that it is the only reason she is still alive, but what is the point in him choosing to tie himself to a rapidly aging, weak creature that might last a few decades? Now that he's been mated, he can never be with anyone else, even after she's gone, which will be in the blink of an eye for most of us. I've always been envious and enraged by Raziel. He holds so much power, and seemingly a lot of sway with our Matriarch, and he squanders it. There are many of us like me who deserve that power, who deserve to turn heads every time they enter the room. Maybe he once was great, but