Vampire Coven Book 3: A Vampire's Embrace Read Free Page B

my brethren now,” Tavish informed him.
    “Brethren?”
    “My coven of vampires. Have you heard of vampires?”
    Rhett’s breathing grew rapid. Night walkers? They were a myth. It was daylight. There were no such beasts. Rhett struggled from the grip Tavish had on his arm. Tavish held him for a moment; the pure whites of his eyes glowing with meaning, showing him he released him because he wanted to, not because Rhett wanted him to.
    “My wife?”
    “My men took her to your cottage with your daughter. The emperor declared them untouchable—with a suggestion from my men. You are dead to your family, but you can watch over them. We will wait until they both die; we have all the time in the world. Tell me, was it worth it?” Tavish asked.
    “What?” Rhett asked though he remained stunned.
    “The child, your daughter, was your death worth her life?”
    For an instant, Rhett’s mind went to the last time he gazed into his daughter’s face. Her eyes, so trusting, gazed back. Acca’s perfect beauty and innocence. Her sweet smell, the softness of her skin. It wasn’t just his job as a father to protect her, it was his privilege. Rhett’s words were pure when he spoke.
    “Yes, every last second.”
    Tavish placed a hand onto Rhett’s shoulder. “You may keep your wife and child safe, we will even help, but there is something you need to know,” Tavish said. The whites of Tavish’s eyes glowed brighter and for a second, a split second, Rhett feared him. He heard Tavish in his mind when he next spoke.
    “Caine is a doctor. The arena was full of humans but one heart, one tiny little heart called to him. Caine chose to become a vampire. There is integrity, honesty and a gentle caring about him. He was hard to refuse when he begged me to be turned, no other ever has; the circumstances were so incredible, and as the centuries passed I am ever grateful for his presence.”
    “What heart?” Rhett asked though he filled with dread. A fist clenched. “What could a heart say?”
    “It called to him because Caine sensed it was broken. Not with grief, it is too little to understand grief. There is no cure for your little daughter. She has perhaps eight years at most.”
    “No,” Rhett said and began to weep. “My wife will be devastated.”
    “Your wife is already devastated,” Tavish reminded him. “Her husband was murdered.”
    “I’m going to kill the Emperor,” Rhett said as he filled with blinding rage.
    Tavish laughed. “Of course you are. He’s a pompous ass. The world will never learn, greed dictates. We place those in power, pawns who think they control, but others do, we can remove those in power. But unfortunately, those we place in power think they are untouchable. Not so. You will kill the bastard and then gaze from a distance at your lovely wife. You will take your anger out on any who have wronged you, then you will slip into your wife’s chambers as she slumbers and hold your babe.”
    Rhett heard the command. There was a reason for it. Rhett had always felt anger, it burned in his guts. Before he made love to his wife he would battle. Never would she feel an ounce of his anger. Neither would she ever, nor would Acca.
    Tavish clapped him on the back. “Shall we begin?”
    “Begin?”
    “You will never be alone,” Laken said. “Simply call to us and we will hear you. It grows dark. Hunting is best in the dark.”
    “You will feed again, only this time I won’t stop you. I take care of my family.” Rhett heard loyalty in Tavish’s words. Rhett had friends, other warriors whose lives could be snuffed out on a whim, such was the life of a Roman.
    Dark was how Rhett felt. His family wasn’t gone but out of his reach. He was dead, yet alive. Perhaps his child’s condition would be a blessing. No one would ever believe her if she mentioned she saw her father. Rhett would watch over them—until he lost them for the last time.

Chapter 1
    “Do you ever wonder what it would be like to