Protected by the Vampires

  Protected by the Vampires © 2019 Embrace the Fantasy Publishing, LLC

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Also by Erin Bedford

  The Underground Series

  Chasing Rabbits

  Chasing Cats

  Chasing Princes

  Chasing Shadows

  Chasing Hearts

  The Crimes of Alice

  The Mary Wiles Chronicles

  Marked by Hell

  Bound by Hell

  Deceived by Hell

  Tempted by Hell

  Starcrossed Dragons

  Riding Lightning

  Grinding Frost

  Swallowing Fire

  Pounding Earth

  The Crimson Fold

  Until Midnight

  Until Dawn

  Until Sunset

  Until Twilight – Coming Soon

  Curse of the Fairy Tales

  Rapunzel Untamed

  Rapunzel Unveiled – Coming Soon

  Her Angels

  Heaven’s Embrace

  Heaven’s A Beach

  Heaven’s Most Wanted

  House of Durand

  Indebted to the Vampires

  Wanted by the Vampires

  Protected by the Vampires

  Academy of Witches

  Witching On A Star

  As You Witch

  Witch You Were Here

  Just Witch It

  Summer Witchin’

  Granting Her Wish

  Vampire CEO

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  Chapter 1

  Piper

  If anyone had told me last year, that I would be standing here in front of an expansive mansion that looked like it had forgotten it wasn't the fifteenth century anymore, I would have laughed in their faces.

  The reddish grey stone of the mansion decorated every inch of the exterior, including the little fence that wrapped around the backyard. Large white windows filled the walls of all three stories. There were pointed metal weathervanes on the tops of the darker grey shingled roof and an actual tower on one side of the mansion. However, none of that compared to the large set of double doors looming before us like a vortex of doom waiting to suck us in and never let go.

  I shifted in my seat in the limo as it pulled up to the entryway along a gravel drive. The double doors swung open just as we parked, and a severe looking man stepped out. He reminded me of Darren the first time I met him—stern demeanor, no emotion in his eyes, and every piece of clothing perfectly in place. Except unlike Darren, who was every woman's fantasy butler, this guy was old. Like, ancient old. Mummies had better skin than this guy.

  "Who's that?" I murmured to no one in particular, as I stared out the tinted windows. The six men—vampires—in the back of the limo were tense and quiet as we prepared to leave the confines of the vehicle. It wasn't until I asked my question that they broke their silence.

  "That is the housekeeper, Fauns. Think of him as Darren, but less..." Wynn smirked. "Fun." Wynn tilted his head to the side, watching with amusement as his ebony hair fell into his face, covering those gorgeous blues for a second. Wynn always had a laid-back, carefree kind of air about him, but today was different. While he put on his usual persona, today it was forced. There was a tightness to his jaw that wasn't there before, and believe me, I watched him enough to know. It made me nervous for what was about to happen.

  My eyes shifted over to Antoine. By all accounts, now that I was his human servant, he could feel my apprehension. But, if he did, the head of the Durand house didn't show it. He was perfectly at ease, bored almost, and ready to get this over and done with.

  As if feeling my eyes on him, Antoine's shifted from the window to meet mine. Those pale, almost white blue eyes watched me with interest. The bite on my neck pulsated and my hand immediately went there. His eyes followed, filling with heat that made me blush and press my thighs together. There was a subtle shift in the other occupants of the car and a deep inhale, before a collective set of groans filled the backseat.

  "Let me out before I bust a nut in here," Drake growled, his large form pushing through the others and shoving the limo door open before Darren could open it. While we had left just after dusk, it was almost dawn now, and the sky had lightened considerably. My masters were no doubt happy for it, since light was no friend of theirs.

  Vampires. I huffed a laugh to myself. Talk about things I'd never have believed. If the mansion was impossible, then the men exiting the limo like the devil himself was on their heels were improbable. However improbable though, I couldn't imagine going back to my life before. I couldn't bear it.

  Fauns stood outside by the limo door, waiting with an umbrella over his head as if he were expecting rain.

  "Me too." Rayne crawled out of the car next, but not before moving those amber eyes over me once more. There was hurt and confusion in his gaze. I wanted to wrap my arms around the youngest of the vampire brothers and make him understand my choice.

  There really hadn't been a choice at all. I hadn't wanted to become anyone's human servant, and yet here I was, bitten and wondering what the hell I had been thinking.

  Still, I hadn't picked Antoine to hurt Rayne or any of the others. I was being practical for once in my goddamn life. It came down to one big reason really.

  Valentine scared me.

  Antoine scared Valentine.

  Hence, Antoine had to be the one to do it. It was as simple as that. Still, even if I had all the best reasons in the world, I didn't think it would make Rayne hurt any less. At least the others seemed to be taking it rather well, or as far as I could tell. They weren't big on showing their hands to anyone, least of all to me.

  "Piper." Wynn's voice jerked me out of my thoughts and I realized I was the last one in the vehicle. Wynn had waited behind and was offering me his hand. With a small, shaky smile, I slipped mine into his cool grasp.

  Pulling me from the car, Wynn wrapped an arm around my waist and lowered his mouth to my ear. "How are you feeling?"

  I hummed and glanced away from the looming mansion to meet his gaze. How was I feeling? I had pushed my feelings to the back of my mind because of what waited for us here in Washington. Back on the plane, though, it had been a blur of anxiety and excitement, and then there was the mixture of pain and pleasure. Then...nothing. After I woke up, we'd been ready to get off the plane and head to the house. I hadn't had much of a chance to assess how I felt.

  If I was being honest, I expected…more. Like, superpowers or something. It was silly, I guess, to expect to suddenly have super strength or I don't know…something.

  I did feel different sure. Not like I expected though. It was like I'd had the best sleep of my life and was hyped up on a triple shot of espresso. I co
uld feel so much more than before. The colors were brighter, the sounds...louder, and even the air tasted different. Not better, per se, but I could point out different scents unlike before. Kind of gross honestly.

  For example, the limo.

  Pre-biting—PB for short—I would have just said it had a clean smell to it. Like sheets fresh out of the dryer. But now...I could tell that someone had smoked in the back at one point in time. Another person had spilled some kind of alcohol on the back seat...and there was just a subtle scent of musk and sweat. I didn't want to think too much about what that was from. Part of me shuddered just thinking about it.

  "Cold?" Wynn asked, dropping his arm with a frown. "Sorry, I forget sometimes."

  I shook my head and offered him a smile. "No, it's not you. And for how I'm feeling...okay, I guess. Overwhelmed. Wondering why Antoine is being a dick and if Rayne will ever forgive me."

  Rayne, who stood by the front door with the twins, stiffened. His shoulders bunching up to his ears. I could see the strain he was under as he tried not to turn around. I knew he'd hear me talking to Wynn, it was hard to keep anything a secret around this bunch. Hopefully, that meant he knew how badly I felt about it all.

  Wynn gave me a lopsided grin as we walked up the steps to join them. "Don't worry too much about it, lovely. There are worse things, believe me."

  Allister moved in next to us and jerked his head towards the open door. "And most of those are inside this house."

  "Ain't that the truth," Drake scoffed.

  I was happy to have the twins so close. While all six of the guys were vampires, only Marcus, Drake, and Allister really had that ‘I will protect you from the world itself’ kind of build to them. Large and muscled in all the right places, they could give those men on the front of romance novels a run for their money. I'd be happy to let them rip my bodice any time.

  Rayne snorted.

  My eyes shot to him where his nose crinkled up and a small smile tugged at his lips. His red hair was pulled back with a clip, so his face was easily seen. His amber eyes twinkled with amusement and the freckles along the bridge of his nose stood out sharply against his pale skin. It made his face look older, more mature, like he might actually be several decades old and not barely younger than me. In vampire years, Rayne was still a baby, but it was me who was the baby of the bunch. I was pushing thirty and surrounded by younger faces and older souls. How did this happen to me?

  My thoughts of my own existence were pushed to the side as the men around me stiffened. Even Darren, who was usually so unaffected by things, had a caution to him. As if we were gazelle who had heard a stick break, we froze, except that stick was the soft, almost nonexistent footsteps of a man. Not a man. A vampire.

  The six vampires I lived with were the Hollywood version of vampires—the dark lovers of their species—gorgeous and more interested in what was between my legs than in my veins. But the man—if you could call him that—who walked toward us, with the stunning Theresa just behind him, was something out of the horror films.

  About my height at five-foot-five, and with a balding head and large ears, his face was pinched, and his lips were contorted in an almost permanent snarl. His fangs weren't the only sharp things in his mouth. Every single tooth was pointed and when he grinned, it was like staring into the face of a shark. Shudder inducing for sure.

  The rest of him was just as unappealing in nature. He wore an old double-breasted suit with a fluffy undershirt, and sleeves that peeked out of the cuffs. He was mismatched in his ancient style standing next to Theresa's modern chic. Her long, dark hair was pulled up off her neck and into a twisted updo. The skintight dress I'd seen her in last had been replaced with a red formfitting sheathe that reached to just above her knee and plunged in the front, stopping just before her naval. I envied her style, but not her residence. I didn't know how she could stand being near him, let alone live in the same house as him.

  Her master's hand moved out from behind her waist and I applauded her for not sighing in relief. Those hands were thin and sharp, with a long nail on the end of each finger. He waved one of those hands in our direction, and for a moment I was confused.

  A hand pulled me down to my knees. Wincing at the sudden impact to my joints, my eyes jerked to Allister who had dropped me, and then I noticed all the others had genuflected as well. Even Marcus—someone I couldn't imagine bowing to anyone—sat on the ground before this monstrous man.

  "Master," Antoine greeted, propped up on one knee before the man. "Thank you for having us in your home."

  The master vampire barked a laugh and waved a hand at us. "Yes, yes. Of course. Get up already, Antoine. Humble does not suit you. Nor do I believe it for one second."

  Antoine didn't show any reaction, except for the slight stiffening in his shoulders as he stood. The rest of us apparently had leave to stand as well, because the others moved from their feet and Allister helped me on to mine. I kept hold of his hand, squeezing it tightly with my small fingers. Allister's blue green eyes darted down to me for a moment, but he didn't release my hand.

  The master moved around our group, taking in each of us before muttering something or another for that person to hear, making their shoulders bunch and tension rise. For once, I was happy I didn't have vampire hearing.

  "Darren, my boy." The master clapped Darren on the shoulder like he was a much beloved grandson that he never got to see. "I see you are still as ripe and succulent as the day you joined my Antoine's service. Glad to see the life hasn't been completely drained from you...yet."

  Yikes. Make that a creepy ass uncle.

  Darren took it all in stride of course, nodding his head slightly, leaving his dark eyes locked on the ground. Even though we weren't at home, he still wore a suit and tie, as well as his white gloves. His black hair was slicked back from his handsome face, but it was all a mask. I'd figured that out now. He hid behind his perfection like an armor against the two worlds he was straddling. I guess I was straddling them now as well. With one leg in the human world and one in the vampire world, neither one of us would ever be able to fully belong to either one.

  For a second, my heart raced as I realized that my existence had been changed forever. Just like Darren, I wouldn't age. I would stay exactly as I was forever and ever. No wrinkles. No grey hairs. I'd never become an old woman sitting on her porch surrounded by my grandbabies. Well, I guess I could still have grandbabies and kids, as far as anyone has told me my own body hadn't changed that much.

  "And who is this lovely morsel?" The raspy voice stopped before me and I realized it was me that was the lovely morsel. Like I was some piece of candy and not a human being.

  I glanced to Antoine for some kind of guidance, but he didn't even turn his eyes my way. Bastard. Flipping my attention back to the vampire before me, I watched as he lifted my hands in his worn and wrinkled ones. He brought them up to his face, and for a moment I thought he might kiss them, but then he...sniffed me. A long inhale that shivered through him and made me want to gag.

  "Ah, yes. I can see why Valentine is so taken with her. She is a rare beauty." The master lifted his gaze to mine. I gasped, making him smile. His eyes. They were red. Not a brown like I’d thought before, but actually red, like dry blood on the floor. It made him even more frightening than before.

  I swallowed hard and tried to still my racing heart.

  "Do not fear me, child. All react to me this way the first time." He reached a hand up and cupped the side of my face, his long nails so close to my eye that I had to force myself not to flinch. "And what is your name, precious?"

  I was pretty sure he knew my name. I didn't know what game he was playing, but two could play that game. Licking my dry lips, I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Yours first."

  The men around me stiffened, and even Theresa frowned at my words, but the ancient vampire simply threw his head back and laughed. "Yes, yes. That fire. That energy. I bet she tastes divine. Doesn't she, Antoine?"

  Anto
ine froze but then answered, "I do not know what you mean, master."

  The vampire clucked his tongue but turned his eyes back to me. "You should know by now not to lie to me, lad. I see as well as smell your mark on her. You've made her yours as well? Now, aren't we a greedy boy. No wonder you turned down Valentine's offer to buy her." The way he chastised Antoine made my stomach roll and I wanted nothing more than to be back home. I knew the likelihood of that happening was about as likely as Darren letting anyone muss his perfect hair.

  Those blood-red eyes focused on me as the master scanned over my form. "Yes, I can quite see how you would have all of my boys in such a tizzy."

  "I don't," Theresa scoffed. Her arms crossed over her chest, making her dress shift enough to show more of her breasts. "She is positively...common."