Blood Red

Natalia Darling was looking forward to spending her honeymoon in a modern-day castle with her new husband…

     I needed to pee, so I waited for my maid of honor, to return from whatever she was doing, and help me find a larger bathroom stall. I wore my wedding dress, and my nervousness wasn't going to let me wait until after my ceremony.

     I could almost imagine my future husband standing in his finest suit waiting for me at the altar of one of the most prestigious churches in this city. And if Willow didn't get here soon, I'd have to hunt for the restroom on my own or spend the entire ceremony dancing from side to side, in these heels.

     That does it, I'll find one myself, and Willow Jackson, you had better have a good explanation for not being here when I need you most…

     And apparently she did, her hand was down the front of my husband to be's dress pants, in the ladies room, in the back of the church, and once I stepped inside, they both tried to explain.

     But how do you explain that kind of betrayal?

     I'd scheduled the time off from work, I had the reservations for Castle Cozy in my purse, and I had a new outfit to wear every day of the week. Why shouldn't I go ahead with our – correction my plans, and spend the time reflecting over what had gone wrong.

     My plans were going great until I remembered that I hadn't charged my phone earlier. So, after using the remainder of my charge on GPS, my cell died, and I got lost, in the middle of a blizzard, while searching for the castle.

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   Serhan Gorky…    

     I kept myself hidden in my small, modern-day castle in the Adirondacks. It was modern compared to my family's castle in, Kaliningrad, and small was an understatement. However, it was mine and had been for nearly one hundred years.

    I had to leave my home, and family behind. I was tired of being called a monster, and a bloodsucker. And the deciding factor had been when my wife betrayed me with my twin, and I couldn't get past that.

     The woods surrounding me were abundant with wildlife, and though I knew I'd occasionally miss the taste of human blood, I could survive on the blood the animals would provide.

     I was comfortable here.

     I had everything I needed.

     Until her scent permeated the air. 

*     Follow Natalia as she discovers a world full of the monsters her father read to her about at night. But these monsters didn't want to play nicely. *