The Rise of Vlad (The Seeker Series Book 3) Read online

  The Rise of Vlad

  The Seeker

  Book Three

  By Ditter Kellen

  www.ditterkellen.com

  Copyright © by Ditter Kellen

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Ditter Kellen. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Image/art disclaimer: Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  Published in the United States of America

  Ditter Kellen

  P.O. Box 1764

  DeFuniak Springs, FL. 32435

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

  Warning

  This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This e-book is for sale to adults ONLY as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers

  Dedication

  For my beautiful friend, Nita Banks. Your personality, dedication to helping the author community, and amazing blogging skills are simply incredible.

  If you love romance, check out Nita’s blog, The Book Chick, where you’ll find updates on new releases, giveaways, and discover her stunning trailers.

  You can also browse her gorgeous magazine, full of fantastic articles by some of the best authors in the business.

  Nita was named Blogger of the Year in 2015 by Authors after Dark. Way to go, Nita! Looks like I’m not the only one who adores you!

  I love you, lady. Here’s to your happily ever after…

  Acknowledgement

  My beta reader, Cathe Green, has been a good friend for several years. She is one of the most loving and patient individuals I’ve ever known.

  Cathe does more than beta read. She shares, encourages, and lifts me up when I’m feeling insecure. She’s simply the best, and I don’t know what I’d do without her.

  I love her with all my heart…

  Chapter One

  Vlad had always loved the night. It represented safety, peace, and desire. Only, he hadn’t felt anything close to desire in centuries.

  Glancing up at the Alaskan sky, he attempted to recall the last time he’d enjoyed sex or participated in sex for that matter. But the memories were vague at best.

  “Will you be needing anything else from me before I retire, my lord?”

  Vlad had sensed Mordecai’s approach long before his otherwise silent arrival. The elderly butler had been with him for over fifty years and was the only human Vlad completely trusted.

  “I don’t require anything further this evening. Have a good night, Mordecai.”

  “You as well, my lord.”

  Pulling the hood of his cloak up over his head, Vlad ventured out to the hot springs bubbling in the distance.

  He stared into the pool’s depths for long moments, debating on whether or not to strip out of his clothing and sink into its welcoming warmth.

  A wolf’s howl sounded in the distance, echoing through the mountains in a haunting melody of pain.

  The animal had likely been injured in one of the bear traps set by the locals, Vlad thought, his vision sharpening with vampiric precision.

  Vlad despised the wolves, almost as much as he despised his own immortality.

  Another agonizing howl split the night, signaling the descent of Vlad’s fangs.

  He lifted his heated gaze in the direction of the tormented sound, his breaths suddenly coming in rapid succession. Vlad had one thing on the brain as he blurred his way to the foot of the mountain… Death.

  A shot rang out, slowing Vlad’s steps. His vision sharpened, scanning the distance for signs of hunters.

  Vlad could hear the bullet enter the wolf’s flesh, wringing a cry from the animal’s throat.

  His fangs lengthened in rage. How dare someone deprive him of the kill?

  Taking off in the direction of the gunfire, Vlad ran with the speed born of a vampire, stopping directly in front of a raised rifle.

  He could hear the intruder’s heartbeat thumping inside his chest at an increased rate.

  The man jerked his rifle higher up against his shoulder and pulled the trigger.

  Vlad easily sidestepped the bullet, bending the barrel of the weapon with enough force that the stranger fell to his knees.

  “Who are you?” Vlad rasped, looming over the cowering man.

  The guy stared back in rebellion. “Fuck you, vampire.”

  Bending down, Vlad gripped the man’s jacket and yanked him to his feet. “Vampire being the key word here.”

  Vlad struck, sinking his fangs into his victim’s throat hard enough he hit bone.

  The guy began to struggle, boring Vlad with his feeble attempts at escape, until he stopped moving altogether.

  Disgusted, and more than a little disappointed over the fact of losing the hunt of the wolf, Vlad dropped the corpse at his feet.

  One of the things Vlad hated about draining his dinner was disposing of the body. But bury it he must. He couldn’t afford to leave it lying about to be discovered by trappers.

  He trailed back toward the house, keeping his senses on alert, and grabbed a shovel.

  White puffs of smoke surrounded Vlad’s face with every breath he took as he made his way back to the dead body.

  Vlad loved the winter, and he loved Alaska. It had been his home for over a century. Romania would always be his heart, but nothing compared to the quiet serenity of the mountains of Anchorage.

  Being alone had become a way of life for Vlad, long ago. It wasn’t that he hated humans— Oh, who was he kidding? He positively despised them, had for centuries. They were a means for a vampire’s survival. Period.

  But nothing got Vlad’s ire up more than a shifter. Part human, part animal, shifters stalked that which they deemed a threat. Namely, vampires.

  Vlad buried the dead body with swiftness, tossing some brush over the grave to camouflage its existence before turning toward home.

  A soft whine reached his ears, barely audible over the sounds of the forest. Vlad stilled, expanding his senses to the hills beyond.

  The sound came again, fainter this time, summoning Vlad’s predatory nature like a moth to a flame.

  The injured wolf had obviously survived the gunshot wound, Vlad assumed, changing course.

  He blurred his way toward the injured animal, the wind whipping his cloak around as he dodged the massive trees lining the foothills of the mountain.

  His lip curled over a fang with the first glimpse of the giant white wolf, lying on its side, struggling to breathe.

  Vlad came to a stop next to the hideous beast and allowed his gaze to travel from its injured leg to the gunshot wound in its side before coming to rest on the creature’s face.

  Dropping down onto his haunches, Vlad pushed back the hood of his cloak and stared into the wolf’s amber-colored eyes. “I bet that hurts like hell.”

  A strained growl bubbled up from the animal’s throat, further amusing Vlad. “I should let you lie there and bleed out for thinking to step foot ont
o my land.”

  No fear entered the wolf’s strange-looking eyes. Only acceptance…and rage?

  “This is your lucky day, dog. I’ve had my dinner, and I’m feeling mildly generous.”

  Vlad reached down and grabbed onto the wolf’s neck in time to watch a pair of feminine legs begin to emerge from beneath its silky white coat.

  He relaxed his hold as his gaze slowly traveled up over the curve of a hip, a small ribcage, and a pair of incredible breasts before coming to land on a face he would never forget. “You…”

  Chapter Two

  Nita Franks had never felt as much pain as she did in that moment. Every place on her body hurt. Including her hair.

  She stared up at Vlad the Impaler with as much hatred as she could muster in her current condition.

  He laughed.

  More rage poured through her at the sound of his soft chuckle.

  If she managed to live through her injuries, Nita vowed to take his head back to her pack, wrapped in his own idiotic nineteenth-century cloak.

  She opened her mouth to tell him as much, but the words wouldn’t come.

  “I am aware of your dislike of my person, dog. Suffice it to say, the feeling is mutual. But I am your only hope of survival. Now, if you will kindly stop your display of bravado and hold still, I will remove this trap from your leg.”

  “Why?” she managed to wheeze, not trusting him for a second.

  He paused, his hand resting on the trap. “You not only saved Angelo’s life, but Shon’s mate as well. A debt is owed you, and I intend to see that it’s repaid. That is, if you survive.”

  Fire shot up Nita’s leg as Vlad suddenly released it from the jaws of the trap.

  She couldn’t breathe—whether from the overwhelming pain in her lower extremities or the gunshot wound in her shoulder, she didn’t know. She wasn’t sure of anything beyond the white-hot agony seizing her insides.

  Nita’s eyes began to close against her will. The last ounce of strength she had slipped away on a groan as strong arms came around her and lifted her from the damp earth.

  “You’ve lost a lot of blood,” Vlad pointed out in a matter-of-fact voice.

  Nita attempted to open her eyes, but her lids wouldn’t seem to cooperate. She was going to die in the arms of the most hated vampire on the planet. Naked at that.

  Humiliation washed through her on the heels of that thought. She only prayed that he wouldn’t defile her or remove her head and put it on display for her pack to see.

  Nita had been born the daughter of Ronan Franks, leader of the Kiana pack. After his death a few years back, Nita was forced to fight for her place as alpha of the pack. She was strong, intelligent, and resourceful, but lacked the necessary equipment that some felt she needed to take on the role.

  No, Nita didn’t possess a penis, but she had something even better. A brain. And that brain had kept her pack safe for the last eight years. Until now.

  Images of Vlad’s pale blue eyes played behind Nita’s closed lids as he carried her through the woods as if she were an invalid infant.

  It roasted Nita’s ass to rely on the bloodsucker for anything. Let alone her life.

  The sound of a door opening interrupted Nita’s trip down self-loathing lane.

  Smells and sounds came to life, filtering through her senses one by one, stopping on one in particular. A human?

  “Mordecai?” Vlad called out, continuing his journey forward.

  Distant footsteps rang in Nita’s ears, moving ever closer. “Master?”

  “I need towels, any medical supplies we have, and one of my T-shirts. Bring them to my room.”

  “Your room, sir?”

  Nita could feel more than hear Vlad’s sigh. “Please, Mordecai. We are taxed for time.”

  The sound of Mordecai’s footsteps echoed off the walls as he ran to do his master’s bidding.

  Nita could see the glare of overhead lights dancing through the cracks of her eyelids. She vaguely wondered where Vlad was taking her, but realized it didn’t matter at that point. Being naked in his arms and on the verge of death took precedence over what room he placed her in.

  The feel of cool sheets touched her back as she was laid out on a soft mattress.

  Vlad’s hands were suddenly on her body, touching her everywhere, kneading and coasting up her limbs and sides.

  “You are not healing as you should be,” he rasped, stopping to probe at the hole in her shoulder.

  Nita bit back a cry of torment, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Sweat popped out on her forehead, and tremors racked her agonized frame. Still, she said nothing.

  “This is all that I could find, my lord.”

  Vlad’s hands left her body, giving her a brief respite from the insistent throbbing. “That will do, Mordecai. I thank you.”

  “May I be of assistance?” the obviously elderly man questioned in an anxious voice.

  “There is nothing more you can do, Mordecai. Go back to bed. I will see to her injuries.”

  “Very well.” Retreating footsteps and a door closing told Nita that Mordecai had left the room.

  The mattress dipped next to her hip. Vlad leaned over her and lifted one of her eyelids. “I am going to have to dig the bullet out of your shoulder and reset your leg. It’s going to hurt worse than anything you have felt before. My blood will—”

  “No!” Nita managed to croak, straining to open her eyes. “No…blood.”

  “As you wish.”

  The sounds of paper ripping could be heard over the thundering of Nita’s heart. Alcohol suddenly permeated the air seconds before Vlad poured the icy-cold liquid into her wound.

  Nita found her voice.

  A hoarse scream ripped from her throat, ricocheting off the walls and resounding in her ears. Unimaginable pain tore through her, taking her to the brink of hell before she slipped into blessed darkness.

  Chapter Three

  Vlad felt the moment that the shifter lost consciousness. He took the opportunity to reach into her wound and remove the bullet.

  More blood trickled from the injury to spill down her side and onto the bed.

  He stitched the jagged hole with vampiric speed and moved on to the break in her leg.

  Noticing the break had already begun the healing process, Vlad gripped her ankle in one hand and her knee with the other before rebreaking the bone and setting it straight.

  A deep moan vibrated inside her chest, but she didn’t move.

  He splinted the leg as best he could and sat back to access her vitals. Her heartbeat had slowed to the point of nearly stopping.

  Vlad laid two fingers against the pulse point of her throat, feeling her life steadily slipping away.

  She needed blood. Now.

  Nita Franks had made it perfectly clear that she did not want his offer of blood. But she would die without it, and the debt owed to her by the vampires would go unpaid.

  Vlad took the decision from her.

  Biting into his wrist, he laid his now bleeding wound against her lips and coaxed her to swallow by massaging her throat.

  A soft sound escaped her, but she didn’t fight.

  Minutes ticked by with Vlad hovering above her, feeding her his life force and listening to her heartbeat grow in strength. She would probably try to kill him when she awoke, but he’d deal with that when the time came.

  Once he felt she’d had enough, Vlad removed his wrist from her lips and licked his wound closed.

  Nita took a shuddering breath, burrowing deeper into the pillows and drawing Vlad’s attention to her nudity.

  His cock stirred to life for the first time in two hundred years.

  Vlad jumped from the bed in shock and more than a little disgust. How was it that a wolf, a damn shifter, could stir in him sensations that no other had in centuries?

  He fled the room, not slowing until he reached the wintry air of the Alaskan night.

  Taking deep breaths to clear her scent from his lung
s, Vlad pulled his cell phone from the inside pocket of his cloak. He scrolled down to Angel’s number and pressed the send key.

  “Is everything okay?” Angel asked after answering on the first ring.

  Vlad closed his eyes and turned his face up toward the night sky. “Have you arrived in Anchorage yet?”

  “We got here last night,” Angel assured him. “Ember wanted to do some sightseeing since it’s her first trip to Alaska. Is something wrong?”

  “Our debt to the shifter, Nita Franks, has been paid,” Vlad stated in a calm tone.

  Angel grew quiet for a moment. “What happened?”

  “I found her on my property, caught in a bear trap with a bullet wound to the shoulder.” Vlad went on to explain everything that had happened since finding the injured shifter, ending with, “She is not going to be happy about the blood given to her.”

  “She would have died without it,” Angel murmured, a sigh in his voice. “Did she say what she was doing at your place to begin with?”

  Vlad’s eyes slowly opened. “I have yet to ask her. She is their alpha, Angelo. She knows better than any of them not to cross into my territory.”

  “I’m sure she had a reason for being there, Sire.”

  “You are quick to defend her actions without knowing her intentions.”

  “She came when I called, protected my family while I slept, and saved Laura’s life before killing the Seeker,” Angel pointed out. “I realize she was repaying a debt to me, but I feel that I owe her.”

  “Your debt has now been paid in full, Angelo. I will obtain my answers as to her trespassing, when she awakens.”

  Angel grew silent once again before clearing his throat. “I would like to be present when you question her.”

  “You do not trust me,” Vlad stated quietly, amusement rising to the surface.

  “No, Sire. It’s not you that I don’t trust. It’s her.”

  Vlad let that sink in. “You worry that she will bring her pack to my door. I hold no fear for the shifters, son of my son.”