Blood Craving

Book 2 of the Vampire Mafia Kings series.

As vampire king, Elio must protect his clan at all cost. There’s no room for any distraction, especially if it comes in the form of a delicate human witch with a sassy mouth.

On the run from a corrupt government that wants to drain her of her magic, Serafina lands in hot water when she is rescued by a ship full of vampires. She sees the way the vampire king wants to devour her, but he’s bitten off more than he can chew if he thinks she’s going to melt for him.

Despite the violence she will bring to the gates of his kingdom, Serafina sets Elio’s blood on fire, invading his dreams until he is consumed with the need to possess her.

No matter the consequences, he will claim her as his mate. Forever. She will be his, even if it leads to his destruction.

Excerpt

SERAFINA

Keeping my eyes on the ground, I made my way through the crowd of people gathered in the market square. I prayed that nobody could see the outline of the packet of smoked venison I hid under my jacket. My contraband was a small amount, no bigger than my fist, but it would be the first bit of protein that I had to eat in months. My mouth watered in anticipation of biting into the gamey meat. It was also forbidden, as the government only gave regular meat rations to the overseers and protectors, like my employer. Drones like myself only received meat with our rations once a year at Christmas. I was employed as a dishwasher in the home of a gluttonous mid-ranking overseer in the New Boston government. With the daily decadent four-course meals he demanded for dinner every evening, he wouldn’t notice the bit of venison I snatched from his kitchens.

Keeping my shoulders hunched, I made my way around the stalls selling overpriced supplies in exchange for the credits we drones received for slaving away in service to our superiors. The wall of muscle I ran into knocked me off balance. I had been so worried about hiding the precious treasure in my arms that I missed the giant man standing in my way. The impact sent me falling back, and I reached my hands out to break my fall.

“Watch where you’re going, wench!” growled the dirty man I bumped into. He pulled back his cracked lips in an ugly snarl, stepping menacingly toward me. The packet of meat had fallen out of my arms and landed on the ground during my stumble. I reached for it, but he snatched it out of my grasp.

“What’s this?” He pulled loose the twine holding the paper wrapping in place, pausing as he looked at the contents.

“Please, you can have it, just let me go,” I whispered.

Realization settled over him and a grin spread across his face, making the scar on his cheek crinkle. He took half of the venison and slipped it into the leather bag tied to his belt.

“The boys at the barracks are going to have a blast with you.”

I blanched. Dread settled like a stone in the pit of my stomach. Before I had the chance to react, he grabbed my arm in a painful grasp, wrenching it behind my back as he pulled me to my feet.

“Thief!” he cried out. “Thief!”

As hard as I struggled, I couldn’t break out of his grip. In the distance, I heard the commotion of protector soldiers marching toward us, the unmistakable clomp of their boots sounding like thunder as they got closer and closer.

I had to get out of here. Renewing my efforts, I twisted and strained against his hold. A flicker of light in the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was a flame of a lantern. That was my way out of here.

Focusing my mind on the fire, I molded and willed it into a whirling vortex, faster and faster, until the fire spun out of the lantern and whipped toward the sky like a tornado. Screams and shouts echoed in the marketplace as people fled, abandoning their stalls. Even from a distance, the heat singed my face, but I couldn’t stop.

“What the fuck is that?” whispered my captor. His grip around my arms grew clammy, shaking with fear. He didn’t know what fear was, not yet. I manipulated the fire in my mind, imagining it turning into a fiery serpent ready to strike, and aimed it at the asshole behind me as I dropped to the ground and ducked out of the way of the flames.

I drew my jacket over my head and blocked out his screams as the fire engulfed him head to toe. Sneaking a peek, I watched in horror at the destruction I wrecked. The man was a living fire pillar, his pained cries sinking into my bones as I watched the fire melt him in front of my eyes.

Finally, the life slipped from his eyes, leaving a lifeless charred hunk of flesh that collapsed in front of me. The whirling fire vanished as quickly as it had formed.

It was over, he was dead. I scrambled onto my feet, scanning the carnage of the square. In their haste to escape, the crowds had knocked over stalls and various broken items littered the ground, smashed and trampled by the fearful masses.

“Witch!”

“Seize her!”

My head shot up. The soldiers in their green uniforms were heading directly in my direction from the other side of the market. There had to be at least a dozen of them.

Ducking behind the stalls, I ran. I cursed myself for losing my temper and using my magic. My mother had always warned me to keep my powers a secret, at all cost. Once the government discovered my powers, they would capture me and drain every bit of magic out of me until I was nothing but an empty vessel. It was what the overseers did to our ancestors after the period of darkness. Stolen magic was what let them establish the settlements. Our magic was still the one thing the overseers needed the most to defeat the vampire gangs that ruled the land outside the settlements.

I had to get out of New Boston. The powers that be were never going to let me go now that they knew I was a witch.

A wooden stall crashed in the distance behind me as the soldiers pushed the obstacle out of their way. I ran into a nearby alley, hoping that I could lose them in the narrow maze of winding paths.

While the men that chased me were bigger and armed, I had the advantage of being nimble and a lifetime of slipping through these alleyways, memorizing each turn and dead end like the veins on the back of my hand.

After turning around multiple corners until I knew I had taken them in a circle, I dashed for my destination. The entire city of New Boston was a fortress, surrounded by tall stone walls that blocked everything but the bare tips of the trees that grew outside the fortified walls. There was only one way out of the city and that was on one of the supply trucks that left the city every night. Once I made it out into the wastelands, I could seek refuge with one of the human rebel factions that were trying to destroy the government.

Thankfully, the protectors hadn’t gained any distance on me. A few quick turns down another series of alleys, and I was in the loading area where there was a convoy of trucks loaded with crates of supplies. These were the vehicles going out tonight. To my surprise, there was nobody standing guard. The protectors were trained to keep invaders from coming into the city, keeping someone from sneaking out was not something they were prepared for.

One by one, I peered into the beds of the trucks for a hiding spot, until I found one with a rolled-up black tarp tucked along the side of the wooden crates. I climbed up into the back of the truck and lifted the tarp until I could slide my body under it. The space was just wide enough for me to lie down. Once I was in position on the floor, I pulled the tarp over myself until my entire body was covered.

And then, I waited. The thick tarp blocked out all light, making it impossible to see anything. It seemed like forever until I finally heard voices. I held my breath, afraid that they could somehow hear or see me breathe. After waiting for an eternity, my heart pounded at the chance that they were going to discover my hiding place. Eventually, the trucks roared to life, one by one, and then we were off.

The tarp made it impossible to see where I was being taken, but judging by the jostling of the vehicle, we hadn’t gone very far before stopping. Through the hum of the machinery, I heard the sound of crashing waves and the clink of chains. What was going on? Were we at the ocean?

New Boston was a rarity among the human settlements in the Americas because it was the only settlement that had an ocean port. Most access points to rivers and the coasts were vampire controlled, giving them the power to choke off trade routes. This made it impossible for the human government to rapidly expand or challenge the rule of the bloodsuckers.

I was startled as the truck started moving once again, driving uphill for a short distance, before stopping again. We were on a ship, I realized, as the earth swayed beneath me. The only destination I could think of that was also controlled by humans was the prisoner island not too far off the shores of New Boston. It made no sense though, why would there be this many trucks full of supplies going to the island?

The island was home to the most serious threats to the overseers, mostly rebels who planned to bomb the city or overthrow the government. There were also others who were confined on the island. Witches who were discovered and captured by the government. With no way out past the choppy frigid waters, it was the perfect place to make someone disappear once they were drained dry of their magic. Panic set in.

I had to get out of here before we got to the island. Straining my ears, I counted the number of heavy footsteps I heard pacing around the truck where I was hiding. There had to be at least ten men, more than I could fight off or outrun. A loud mechanical rumbling shook the ground, and then the world jerked and rocked. The ship was leaving the port.

Shit.

Now what?

After a while at sea, an explosion rocked the ship. It sounded and felt like a bomb went off, the impact making the vessel shake and rattling my ears. Then, there was a rapid series of six more strikes. I felt the heat before I even lifted the tarp off. We were under attack and the ship was on fire.

The men on board shouted orders as they ran around trying to put out the flames spreading across the deck.

More balls of fire rained from the sky, rocking the ship. The protectors were too busy to notice me as I climbed out of the bed of the truck. Something on the other side of the ship blew up with a loud bang, sending shards of glass and metal flying through the air. I dropped to my hands and knees to shield myself from the debris that showered down. Thick oily black smoke filled the air as the ship tilted sharply, sending everything tumbling to one side. I fell on my butt and slid until my back hit the edge of the deck. Water rushed around me, soaking my clothes.

Fuck. The ship was going to be at the bottom of the ocean by the end of the night.

Gripping the metal wall for support, I staggered to my unsteady feet. My stomach turned as I looked over the edge of the wall. The inky waters churned violently, tossing the ship like it was a toy. In the distance, there was a larger ship that was multiple stories tall and much bigger and faster than the ship I was on. More shots came from that direction.

I had no idea who was on the other ship and why they were attacking, but the enemy of my enemy and all that.

Time to make a choice. Jump in the water and take my chances, or go down with this ship.

I jumped.

The water was shockingly cold, knocking the breath out of my chest. The waves tossed me around like a rag doll. Flailing my limbs, my head bobbed above the surface and I gasped for air. Salty water filled my mouth. Before I could orient myself, the world spun again as a torrent slammed over my head and forced me back under.

The smoke and chaos of the sinking ship faded away, muffled by the dark water. My lungs burned for air as I struggled to claw my way to the surface, but the ocean pulled me deeper and deeper into its depths.

Darkness descended over my vision and my arms and legs grew weak. There was a flush of dizziness and then a sense of contentment washed over me.

This was it. I was going to die.

The cold, dark abyss was going to consume me, and I was ready to accept my fate.

A sharp yank and my world spun again. I landed with a thud on my back. Sputtering, I coughed violently, vomiting up the water I had swallowed. Like a rush of fire, air filled my lungs. Squinting against the bright light shining down from high up above on the masts of the ship, I blinked rapidly as I focused my vision on my rescuer.

I froze. They stood in a semicircle around me, their hungry gazes burning into me as their fangs glistened under the harsh lights.

Vampires.