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Chapter 22
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Although he expected some type of repercussion to come his way after his encounter with Oscar, Jasper wasn’t prepared for the chaos that ensued when half a dozen vampire guards burst into the room. Acting upon instinct, he lept over the back of the sofa that he’d been resting on and scrambled to the far end of the room. He was so preoccupied with escaping the grasps of the exceedingly fast vampires as they closed in on him that he failed to recognize that he was not only equally as fast as they were, but when he lept into the air, he really lept! It wasn’t until they had him securely captured and were dragging him out of the room that their complaints about his strength and speed sank in.
His vampire captors weren’t the only ones who were both curious and concerned about his newly acquired traits as they assisted a wounded comrade along behind him. Jasper was also worried. He’d bitten one of the guards during the str
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He was hungry. It was a hunger like he’d never known before. Not only was he ravenous beyond description, but his heart was beating double time. Was it because of the adrenaline that flooded his veins when half a dozen vampire guards rushed at him, tackled him to the ground and bound his hands and feet before dragging him before their king?He was unbound but confined in a room with no windows that was so small he guessed that three men would crowd it. Since he suffered a mild case of claustrophobia, his rapid heartbeat might also be attributed to his confinement. His only saving grace for not giving into panic was the cool air that continually flowed through vents near the ceiling.Jasper wiped at the beads of sweat that coated his forehead while he pondered over the state of his physical being. He was clearly morphing. The questions of what he was morphing into as well as what triggered it bounced around in his head. Was it t
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 24
The sound of Cerie’s stilettos clicking against the castle’s polished marble floors alerted Rowan of her arrival long before her tall, stately frame stood in the doorway. She looked like the poster witch for a Halloween advertisement with her long black wool cape and black pointed witch’s hat.The soft, warm smile on her full lips didn’t make it to her steel grey eyes as she greeted the old vampire with a kiss on each cheek and a quick hug.“So, what is it this time?” she asked as she removed her elbow length, black satin gloves with slow deliberation to expose smooth olive colored skin that belied her true age.Rowan’s dark eyes twinkled as he silently took in the full scope of her before gently asking, “Did I pull you into the future or away from a costume party?”“That is no way to solicit my assistance,” she scolded as she removed her cape and tossed it over the back of a nearby chair.
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 25
Freya paced the great room of the small log cabin. She’d asked for intel on the scientist that was being held in the vampire’s castle days ago, yet nothing had been offered. Olivia had left word for her to meet at three p.m.. She was an hour late. Stopping to peer out of the window at the woods that surrounded the isolated cabin, her eyes combed the trees for signs of movement. All was still.With patience not being one of her better attributes, she found herself growing more and more irritated as time passed. By the time the quarter moon rose in the night’s sky, she’d become excessively agitated.The sound of a jeep driving up the dirt road that wound the mountainside caught her attention. Rushing to the front door. She swung it open with such force that it slammed against the wall, causing the door handle to leave its mark.With her hands on her hips, she pursed her lips as she squinted to protect her
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 26
They rode in silence down the mountainside and along the long, lonely country road until they reached the unpainted wooden building that they referred to and used as their lodge. Freya listened to the tires grind their way along the driveway that lead to the dirt packed parking lot that still showed remnants of the gravel that once coated its surface. Her busy mind took in the crooked lines of the old building. It looked as if it was ready to fall over. In fact, at one point she’d made a joke about them hoping the three little pigs didn’t come to pay a visit because they’d huff and puff and blow it down. Marcus’ response was to chuckle and remind her that the dilapidated building was packed full of big bad wolves so let the little piggies come to huff and puff if they wished.It wasn’t until Freya spotted a middle-aged man of medium height leaning against the wall of the lodge while smoking a cigarette that Freya asked, &l
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 27
Jasper sat with his elbows on the table and his face buried in the palms of his trembling hands. His raspy breathing echoed off the surfaces of the research equipment that surrounded him.“What did they do to you?” Lila gently asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder.His voice sounded muffled as he spoke into his hands while replying with, “Nothing, really.”“You’re trembling,” she observed while maintaining a gentle and steady voice that belied the panic that she felt. “What’s happened?”Lifting his face from his hands and looking her in the eyes, he whispered, “I’m afraid of what’s happening to me. I’m becoming this… this thing.”“Thing?” she repeated with obvious confusion. “Do you mean a hybrid? They’re rare, so I’m told, but they exist.”“If it was only that, I&rsqu
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 28
“I paid your scientist a little visit,” Cerie said as she gracefully lowered herself onto the end of the Chippendale sofa.“What do you think?” Rowan asked.Running her slender hand along the edge of the sofa’s curved back, she made note of how well preserved it was.“I remember when you first acquired this piece so long ago. It has remained in fine condition,” she mused.“Stop playing games, Cerie,” Rowan grumbled. “This is serious. Is he a threat?”She allowed the silence between them to build up to a point of being almost unbearable for him before she smiled and said, “I think not.”“Is he vampire?” he asked.She leaned forward and gave Rowan a studied look as she asked, “What type of research was he doing before he came to you?”“He is a geneticist,” Rowan offered. “He was loo
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 29
Jasper impatiently paced his room. It was hours since Lila had whispered that Benjamin would be rescuing them that evening and for him to be ready.Ready? He was more than ready.It took several tries over multiple weeks, but they’d managed to subdue all signs of zombie toxin from his blood. They weren’t gone, but at least they were dormant. They’d also enhanced the werewolf in him. This became a true challenge for him when he was forced to work with the volunteers in his research project.He was both happy and worried when he learned that they’d been successful in altering the vampire DNA enough for a few of them to attend an afternoon party amongst humans. Not only were they able to enjoy the light of day without significant repercussion from the sun’s brilliant rays, but the temperature of their flesh had elevated to a degree of passing for a human with poor circulation.A soft knock on
Jasper: The Beginning (Book 1) Chapter 30
Marcus took a deep breath while he focused on controlling his temper. Olivia was found dead almost a month earlier, yet they still hadn’t managed to get to the bottom of what really happened.“You know it was the vampires,” Freya hissed as she paced back and forth. “Why are you hesitating?”“Her wounds don’t coincide with the killing method of a vampire,” he explained. “They’re more in line with a wolf.”“A werewolf?” she screeched. “Are you saying that you think a member of your pack ripped my poor niece to pieces?”He vigorously shook his head as he snapped, “I said no such thing and I’ll thank you to not toss such accusations again.”She looked genuinely confused as she grumbled, “You just said her wounds were…”Annoyed and on the verge of losing control, he barked, “Madam, you are an original.&n
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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
