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Chapter 10
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Lila paced the bedroom that had been assigned to her just down the hall from Jasper’s suite. She’d inwardly questioned why she wasn’t simply given one of the smaller rooms within his suite but said nothing. She’d had a secret crush on the handsome scientist ever since she joined him as an intern five years earlier. She’d hoped that, after her internship ended and she was placed on the payroll as his assistant that things between them might advance. Sadly, he seemed to have no interest in her other than for the contributions to his research that she was able to provide.
Although she was living in an age of freedom of expression and had the fact that she was a good-looking woman proven to her over and over again by the advances from men who she met during the menial hours away from work that were afforded to her, she’d decided to save herself for “Mr. Right”. Every fiber of her being told her th
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Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 11
Rowan stretched his long legs in front of him in a casual manner as he watched his ward enter the room. Cora had matured into a fine specimen of female humanity. On more than one occasion, he’d considered taking her to his bed, but worried about her becoming too clingy and dependent upon him. It was bad enough to have a vampire cling to him without having to endure the emotions that a human projected. He could ensorcell her, but he cared too much about her to use her in such a way.Greeting her with a warm and tolerant smile, he asked, “To what do I owe this pleasure.”Annoyance was written all over her face as she blurted out, “What is that young woman doing here? Lila, I believe is her name. Why are we housing her?”The mention of Lila brought forth thoughts of the unbelievable sexual release that he’d had with her on the hood of his limousine, and he shuddered with inward delight. He couldn&rsq
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 12
“What do you know about these vampires?” Lila asked as she settled onto the end of the cozy overstuffed circa nineteen-twenties sofa in Jasper’s suite. She took a moment to note that, although dated, the suite was tastefully decorated while she waited for his reply.“I didn’t even believe in vampires until recently,” Jasper replied. “Rowan is their leader or perhaps he is better considered their king. I’m not sure. He rescued me from an alley and saved my life. That’s really all I know. That and the fact that he has a keen interest in developing longevity of life for humans and wants me to shift the genetics of the vampire to closer resemble that of a human.”“If you believe the folklore, vampires live forever,” Lila mused as she curled her legs and tucked her feet beneath her. “Imagine them being more human. I wonder what that would be like.”&ldquo
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 13
Lila’s nerves felt frazzled with tension as she listened to the activity on the opposite side of her bedroom door. She’d secured the lock and turned out all of her lights before crawling into bed. If she were in her apartment, she’d have been snuggled beneath her thick comforter while watching a little television to help her to unwind. To her disappointment, not only was there no cell phone service in their monstrous stone prison, but there was no television or internet either.She supposed that she should be grateful for the electricity that was supplied. Research without it would have proved difficult. Even so, she occasionally used the internet to assist with their research. Where television might be considered a luxury, if they were to work efficiently, the internet was a necessity. There was also the matter of no cell phone service. She needed one or the other in order to connect with the leader of her coven, Da
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 14
The brilliance of the newly installed equipment in the lab with its walls that were recently painted a white so bright as to be borderline blinding was like a slap in Rowan’s face as he strode into the room. It took several seconds for his sensitive vampire eyes to adjust enough to locate the scientist he’d been fortunate enough to stumble upon in the alley a few months earlier.Vampires moved with a silent stealth that allowed them to sneak up on their prey. The fact that Jasper looked up from his microscope to greet him almost immediately upon his passing through the doorway gave Rowan cause for pause. It was time to learn just what the man he’d rescued in that alley had turned into. He showed signs of being a vampire, but also those of a werewolf.Over the centuries, rumors of vampire-werewolf hybrids had reached his ears, but they were simply rumor. Or so he thought. The stories told of the hybrids being b
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 15
The brilliance of the newly installed equipment in the lab with its walls that were recently painted a white so bright as to be borderline blinding was like a slap in Rowan’s face as he strode into the room. It took several seconds for his sensitive vampire eyes to adjust enough to locate the scientist he’d been fortunate enough to stumble upon in the alley a few months earlier.Vampires moved with a silent stealth that allowed them to sneak up on their prey. The fact that Jasper looked up from his microscope to greet him almost immediately upon his passing through the doorway gave Rowan cause for pause. It was time to learn just what the man he’d rescued in that alley had turned into. He showed signs of being a vampire, but also those of a werewolf.Over the centuries, rumors of vampire-werewolf hybrids had reached his ears, but they were simply rumor. Or so he thought. The stories told of the hybrids being b
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 16
It was eerily quiet on the opposite side of the thick bedroom door as Lila listened for some signs of life.Flattening her ear against the mahogany barrier, she strained to hear something… anything. There was only silence.Creepy. Creepy silence.She needed to take action. Having such a void of activity in this part of the castle was a rarity that hadn’t occurred since she’d taken up residency. The set up of the lab was completed, so perhaps that meant the end to all of the activity. Or, perhaps it was simply a fluke, and an opportunity of this type may not come again for a long time, if ever. It was now or never.Her heart lashed against her ribcage as she slowly opened the door just enough to peek out. Not stopping at her chest, the damnable thing proceeded to climb up into her head and beat in tom-tom fashion against her eardrums, making it nearly impossible to listen for sounds of any type.
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 17
Jasper’s dark eyes lit up as an enthusiastic grin practically consumed his square jawed face while greeting his assistant.“Of all mornings for you to be late,” he eagerly said as he jumped up from his microscope and directed her to look through it. “Take a look.”With a slight limp, she made her way toward him. She smiled as she moved between him and the end of the equipment laden table that held the microscope.Lila had been harboring an unrequited attraction for her boss since day one of her working with him. His handsome face often made her heart flutter with desire. Even so, the surge of energy from his body was something that she’d never experienced before. It both surprised and aroused her. She stopped for a brief moment to subdue the stirring that suddenly occurred in her womb before moving on. It was a familiar sensation that reminded her of her dreams. With a quic
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 18
The muscles in Marcus’ powerful thighs strained against the fabric of his faded denim jeans as he impatiently paced the anteroom of the great hall. The excited chattering and grumbling of his clan as they gathered together on the opposite side of the oak veneered door made him eager to get in front of them and share the news.Since he became the pack master a few years earlier, the werewolves had made huge strides in bringing the enemy to their knees. What held them back was the fact that the vampires had managed to keep the location of their castle secret through magic. Now that they’d finally discovered a witch who could show them the location of the vampire’s castle with a locator spell, he had no doubt they would be able to finish the job.The door opened just enough to allow a young man to pop his head through and announce to Marcus that it was time for him to address the crowd. Moving his shoulders in a way that would release any ten
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Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Epilogue
Admitting to Ben that they’d lost Lila to the vampires was far more difficult for Jasper than he could have imagined. The rage, pain, and panic that the warlock radiated upon the news made him realize just how much she meant to him. He couldn’t help his guilt over ignoring his own feelings for her, especially upon hearing Ben’s rants over not understanding why Lila chose Jasper over him.How blind had he been? How geekily focused on his work he must have been to not notice that Lila had feelings for him that went beyond those of admiration for his wisdom and intelligence. To everyone else it was clear. Why not to him? What was wrong with him that he didn’t even allow himself to notice how he felt about her until it was too late?After hours of apologies and patiently listening to Ben’s berating over their incompetence, Marcus, and Jasper bent heads with him to come up with a plan to rescue Lila. It wouldn&rsqu
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 43
Jasper’s dejected form sat on the porch steps as he watched Freya and Marcus slowly approach the house. The wolves looked battle worn, but happy.“We won,” Freya said as she slowly made her way up the steps. With her small frame covered in blood that belonged to her and her opponents and notably beaten, she eased herself into her favorite rocking chair. Giving Jasper a curious look, she asked, “What’s wrong? I told you, we won.”“We won the battle, but a good deal of them got away,” Marcus interjected. “It was a victory, but a small one that I question if we deserved given the number who escaped. Especially since their army was surprisingly light.”“But, it was a victory,” Freya insisted.When Jasper remained silent, Marcus lowered his bruised and bloody bulk onto the step next to him. Like Freya, much of the blood belonged to his foe, but some of his own
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 42
The location that Oscar had selected for the battle was far enough away from the prison that held his fellow vampires to avoid risk of detection. His spies had assured him that the entire pack was engaged in battle, leaving only the scientist and his assistant in the house that rested acres away from the remote old building that was their destination.“It will be easy pickings,” he said with a chuckle as he led a handful of specially selected vampires from his army to assist him in releasing Samuel and the others.His acute vampire hearing afforded him the ability to listen to the basics of the distant battle between his people and the werewolves. They were too far away to hear much more than the chaos of warrior fighting warrior, but he’d already concluded that the werewolves were getting the better of his army. A remorseful frown over the fact that they’d had to battle during the full moon consumed his face as he
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 41
“You’ve got your war and you’ve got it tonight!” Marcus bellowed as he unceremoniously burst through the front door of Freya’s house and tossed the severed head of one of his men onto the highly polished tile of her foyer floor.Excitement and satisfaction was written all over her face at his news. Then, when the reality of the fact that there was the head of a pack member on her floor struck home, her expression became more of concern.With a dark scowl, she asked, “Who is this?”“I don’t know his name,” Marcus admitted. “I’m told he was assigned to patrol the south side of the lodge. Look at his neck. There are vampire marks clear as a bell.”Leaning over the severed head, she grabbed the chin and rotated it so that she could clearly see the vampire marks on the neck while she scolded, “You should know the names of those who serve you.”
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 40
“The full moon is on the rise,” Oscar grumbled as he paced the floor of what used to be Rowan’s room. He’d moved in shortly after word reached him that Samuel and most of the other vampires who had participated in the study that Rowan had ordered were all missing. Turning to face the vampire who’d brought him the news that he’d discovered their whereabouts, he added, “If what you say is true, trying to rescue them could prove more dangerous than normal.”One of the oldest of the vampire den, Colin was made by Oscar when he was just nineteen. His youthful face often deceived those who opposed him into thinking that he was an easy pushover. Since he’d made it a point to study military tactics to the extent that he held a very high position in the vampire army, this was far from the truth. It was, however, something that he would often use to his advantage to keep the enemy off guard.He w
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 39
Jasper paced the interior of his makeshift lab while Freya stared out of the window with an undecipherable expression. He couldn’t tell if she was monitoring his movements out of the corner of her eye or was lost in thought.Stopping not far from her, he finally spoke, “There’s something that has been troubling me for some time now. If Marcus was able to hear Lila’s baby’s heartbeat right away, why couldn’t that scum vampire when he went to her each night?”“Who said he didn’t?” Freya asked with a wistful tone as she continued looking out the window. “He probably thought it was your baby and paid it no mind.”“He’d do that to a pregnant woman?” he yelped with dismay.She leaned her forehead against the windowpane and with a tone that relayed her frustration, growled, “When are you going to get it into your thick skull that vampires look upon humans
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 38
“I expected to see you two with your heads together in research over how to fix this vampire mess,” Marcus said as he carried Lila into the main room of Freya’s estate house, “not in a lip lock that’s enough to make a man blush.”Hearing his words, Lila’s head shot up. Her red rimmed, wet eyes shot daggerous stares at Freya as the couple separated from a lover’s embrace.Jasper nervously cleared his throat as he said, “We weren’t expecting anyone.”“Obviously,” Lila managed to choke out.Freya gave a smug grin. Sliding her hand over Jasper’s chest, she moved past him to sit on a nearby overstuffed chair. Her petite frame looked out of place as she sank into the cushions with a satisfied look on her still lovely face.“We are not only working on the vampire mess, but he is studying me,” she said as she preened her hair. “If he can
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 37
The three-hundred acres felt more like three-hundred miles as Lila made her way across the fields to an old cinderblock building at the far end of Freya’s horse farm. She was an adept rider, but, because of the value of the child in her womb, both Freya and Jasper refused to risk allowing her to get on the back of a horse. She abhorred long hikes, but if she wanted to get a look at the vampires who Freya’s people had managed to capture without the tediousness of someone constantly monitoring her, she had no choice than to make the trek.She used the time making her way over what she considered rough terrain contemplating the development of Jasper’s relationship with Freya. Where, in the beginning, it appeared as if they’d be lucky to get through a day without taking each other’s head off, of late, they seemed almost bonded. Lila assumed that it had a lot to do with the closeness that was required in order for him to study
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 36
Oscar waited at the door for Rowan to motion him to enter the room. The vampire king had all but become a recluse as he drained the old witch of her magic. He snickered as he strode past her limp body. She looked like a rag doll that was simply tossed onto the cushion of an oversized chair without care of how it settled. He'd always despised the arrogance she projected as she strutted about on her stilettoes. It did him good to see her taken down to such a state.Rowan sat with majestic flair as he watched Oscar approach. He wore only a smoker’s robe that was loosely tied at the waist. The robe was opened enough to expose a good deal of his flesh, but he made no move to cover it. Still feeling the rush of the magic that he’d recently syphoned from Cerie, he gave his underling a good-natured smile and offered him a seat.“To what do I owe the honor of this visit?” he lazily asked.Looking back over
