Bitten by the Vampires
Sophie Stern
Published by Sophie Stern, 2020.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
BITTEN BY THE VAMPIRES
First edition. April 13, 2020.
Copyright © 2020 Sophie Stern.
Written by Sophie Stern.
Also by Sophie Stern
Alien Chaos
Destroyed
Guarded
Saved
Alien Chaos: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Bundle
Anchored
Starboard
Battleship
All Aboard
Abandon Ship
Below Deck
Crossing the Line
Anchored: Books 1-3
Anchored: Books 4-6
Club Kitten Dancers
Move
Pose
Climb
Dragon Isle
My Lord and Dragon
The Dragon Fighter
A Dragon's Bite
Lost to the Dragon
Beware of Dragons
Cowboy Dragon
Dark Heart of the Dragon
Once Upon a Dragon
Catching the Dragon
Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 1-3)
Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 4-6)
Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 7-9)
Good Boys and Millionaires
Good Boys and Millionaires 1
Good Boys and Millionaires 2
Honeypot Babies
The Polar Bear's Baby
The Jaguar's Baby
The Tiger's Baby
Honeypot Darlings
The Bear's Virgin Darling
The Bear's Virgin Mate
The Bear's Virgin Bride
Office Gentlemen
Ben From Accounting
Polar Bears of the Air Force
Staff Sergeant Polar Bear
Master Sergeant Polar Bear
Airman Polar Bear
Senior Airman Polar Bear
Red
Red: Into the Dark
Red: Through the Dark
Red: Beyond the Dark
Shifters at Law
Wolf Case
Bearly Legal
Tiger Clause
Sergeant Bear
Dragon Law
The Fablestone Clan
Dragon's Oath
Dragon's Breath
Dragon's Darling
Dragon's Whisper
Dragon's Magic
The Hidden Planet
Vanquished
Outlaw
Conquered
The Wolfe City Pack
The Wolf's Darling
The Wolf's Mate
The Wolf's Bride
Standalone
Saucy Devil
Billionaire on Top
Jurassic Submissive
The Editor
Alien Beast
Snow White and the Wolves
Kissing the Billionaire
Wild
Alien Dragon
The Royal Her
Be My Tiger
Alien Monster
The Paralegal
Roses in the Dark
Honeypot Babies Omnibus Edition
Honeypot Darlings: Omnibus Edition
Red: The Complete Trilogy
First Shift
The Swan's Mate
Eternity: A Vampire Romance
The Feisty Librarian
Polar Bears of the Air Force
Wild Goose Chase
Star Princess
The Virgin and the Lumberjacks
Resting Bear Face
Seized by the Dragon
Fablestone Clan: A Paranormal Dragon-Shifter Romance Collection
Star Kissed
Club Kitten Omnibus
Bitten by the Vampires
Contents
Bitten by the Vampires
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Author
Readers!
More shifters!
The Wolf’s Darling
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Bitten by the Vampires
A Paranormal Reverse-Harem Romance
Sophie Stern
Copyright © 2018 by Sophie Stern
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Some little girls dream of being princesses and living in far-away castles.
Some little girls dream of being saved by a handsome knight.
Some little girls want to grow up to marry a prince.
Me?
I just want to be a vampire.
I don't think that's too much to ask, but the tall, dark, and cranky gentlemen who take Eagleton, one of the last remaining human settlements, don't seem to agree with me.
In fact, they claim that there’s no way I’ll ever be able to become a vampire, yet they expect me to give up everything for them.
Fat chance.
But being a vampire is my destiny, so I'll have to take every risk, every chance, every shot I get.
I'll have to do whatever it takes to be bitten by the vampires.
Chapter 1
Once upon a time, there was a world without vampires, but nobody remembers that world.
It’s been years since the vampires took over the land.
It’s been centuries.
Now there are very few human settlements left. The ones that remain are carefully guarded and are filled with people who are scared of everything from wild animals to horrible creatures to illnesses to everything in-between.
Except for me.
I’m not scared at all.
Even now, as I sit in the guard tower on the North side of Eagleton, I don’t feel scared. We had a tip from one of our scouts last week that there was a group of gentlemen prowling about in the woods. Since Eagleton is located dead center in the middle of a forest, we don’t often get unexpected visitors.
Apparently, that’s all about to change.
Not that I mind.
I mean, living in solitude isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened. Not by a long shot. The other humans are so nervous and uncomfortable that it’s not difficult for me to stay away from them. I’ve never really felt a connection to them.
Not the way that I have to the monsters...
Then again, it’s hard to say whether people in Eagleton are scared or jerks. They’re not exactly a friendly bunch. Although I came to live among the humans when I was a kid, I’ve always been sort of an outcast. Maybe that’s the real reason I like being a guard. Nobody bothers me when I’m in the tower. Nobody asks anything of me.
I shake my head and try to focus on my post. My job as a guard keeps me busy and requires my complete attention. I’m the one who’s responsible if anything goes wrong. If the world falls apart, it’s my ass on the line. Eagleton has remained a settlement for this long for one reason: no one has located us.
We’re tucked deep away, protected, and that’s the way we like it.
But s
omething tells me all of this is about to change. That’s the problem with getting comfortable somewhere: change becomes inevitable. It might come quietly at first, but it comes. Today, change comes in the form of strange and unexpected visitors.
I notice the tall man first. Pulling out my binoculars, I take a second look, and I’m surprised to see that he’s staring straight at me. My palms instantly go cold. I need to sound the alarm. That’s literally my job. This man isn’t from around here, and aside from his dark leather clothing, I’d say he looks quite human. He doesn’t look like a monster: not like one of the wild beasts I’ve heard stories about.
He looks...normal.
What was I expecting?
He’s standing against a tree, and he’s only a few hundred feet from the walls that surround Eagleton.
How did he get so close to us?
How did he find this place?
We’ve taken so many steps to make sure that our world stays hidden away and isolated. There are no children in Eagleton. There is almost no noise. We’re all as quiet as possible. This world is a silent one because we’re all afraid that vampires are attracted to noise, so we stay alone, and we stay quiet. In our minds, vampires are the most hated and feared creatures: worse than dwarves, worse than elves.
Is he a vampire?
My entire life, I’ve been told they’re these wild beasts. They’re untamable. They’re bloodthirsty and hungry and evil. This man doesn’t look like he wants to destroy my world, but he’s an outsider. That makes him dangerous, even if I don’t want to think that he is. He might not be a vampire, I think. Even as the thought passes through my mind, though, I realize I’m just fooling myself. This guy isn’t here for any sort of good reason.
I need to sound the alarm.
But then I see the second man. This one is shorter than the first, but he’s still a giant creature. He’s still tall. These men are much bigger than the men of Eagleton. This man’s long, blonde hair falls over his shoulders. He, too, seems to be looking right at me.
But how is that possible?
Oh, I’ve heard the rumors about these men.
I know what they do.
They’re after human flesh.
They want to destroy every last settlement they possibly can. They want to hurt us: all of us.
But they can’t, right?
They can’t come destroy us if we don’t let them...
Can they?
That’s why we’ve been hidden away for so long. That’s why, despite everything else I’ve ever wanted, I’ve kept myself tucked away. I’ve kept myself safe.
Or at least, I’ve tried.
I’m not sure if I’ve been that successful.
A third man appears. Together, they make up this incredible trio of handsomeness and mystique. I hate how they seem to be staring right at me. They aren’t moving, though, and I’m scared to pull my eyes away. I don’t even lower my binoculars because I’m worried that if I do, they’ll somehow disappear.
I’m caught off guard by how handsome they are. Edna, the woman who raised me, always warned me that the monsters are horrible. She said they’re ugly and that they smell bad. The stories she spun made me think that these creatures were designed to be repulsive, but I’m suddenly realizing that there must be more to the story.
There must be something she left out.
The three men I’m staring at are not human. That’s obvious. Mr. One is tall, dark, and deadly. Mr. Two looks like a magical elf prince. Mr. Three is the kind of guy who looks like he’d offer a hug just as soon as he’d offer a spanking.
I don’t know which one of these men makes me feel more excited.
“Shit,” I mutter, whispering to myself. Everything I say is a whisper. I’ve been whispering for years. So has the rest of Eagleton. In my opinion, this means that everyone here has above-average hearing. I pause, worried that someone else may have heard my slip, but no one comes scurrying up the ladder to my tower, so I know I’m safe.
The men are still watching me, though, and I can’t help but wonder what it is they’re here for.
Only, I think that I know.
Somehow, in the core of my being, I feel like they’ve come for me.
I hope that they have.
I hope they’ve come to take me away because I want to be with the monsters.
It’s a sickness, this craving. It’s a horrific feeling to know that I’ve spent the last few years of my life growing more and more excited about the idea of being kidnapped and swept away by the beasts, but I have.
And now they’re here, and they look nothing the way I thought they would.
I want to be one of them. I’m lonely, which is the biggest problem I have. I miss being part of a family. Living in Eagleton has been hard. Yes, I’ve had food and water and clothes, but I’ve never been included. At all. Eagleton has secrets and outsiders aren’t welcome, no matter how long they’ve been a part of the community.
I lower my binoculars, finally, and blink. Maybe there aren’t any creatures here at all. Perhaps I’m just hallucinating. Am I? Could I be? None of the other three guard towers have sounded an alarm. Is it possible that I’m just dreaming? Am I making the mistake of trying some sort of wishful thinking?
I shake my head, pinch myself, and raise my binoculars again. Then I lower them back down.
They’re gone.
Where I thought I saw the three men, there’s nothing. There aren’t any deer or any animals or anything at all.
There’s just silence.
Maybe I am going crazy.
Maybe there was never anything there.
With I sigh, I grab my jug of water and have a sip. Dehydration can make you do funny things. It can make you see things. It can make you crazy. I drink, chugging down the fresh water, and then I set my jug down. Eagleton has a little well in the center of town, so we don’t even have to walk anywhere to get our water. It’s kind of nice, actually. It’s wonderful. Yeah, our villagers have to do hunting and gathering, but that’s it. Water isn’t something we have to haul, and it’s a good thing, too. Walking through the forests, even along the well-worn paths, isn’t something I’d consider to be very fun.
Edna always told me that when she was a kid, she and her sisters had to walk a mile to the river to get water. She always warned me about the dangers that could be found in the woods, especially if you weren’t aware. That was only one of the reasons you had to be so prepared for anything. Most of the Eagleton residents stay safely within the walls. Unless someone has to go hunting, they don’t wander around. Edna always warned me that I needed to stay close, that it was important for me to remain around the community.
But I shouldn’t be thinking about Edna.
If I let my mind wander too much, I’ll start feeling lonely and sad and a bunch of other things that nobody should be feeling, least of all me. As a guard for my settlement, I have to always be on alert. I have to always be ready. I have to know exactly what I’m getting into, and I have to do whatever it takes to keep my people safe.
Daydreaming is something other people have the luxury of doing: not me.
More time passes, and eventually, Joe comes to relieve me.
“Anything happen I should know about?” The 25-year-old whispers to me. He’s tall and lanky, and honestly, he’s pretty handsome, but I’ve never viewed Joe as anything but a fellow guard. I don’t think he’s ever viewed me as anything else, either. Then again, nobody in Eagleton has. My romantic prospects have been...
Well, I’ve never had any.
For just a fraction of a second, I think about telling Joe what I saw, but I can’t tell whether I was imagining that or not, and I don’t need him to think that there’s something wrong with me or that I’m trying to cause trouble for the community.
Vampires are supposed to be ugly and scary. They’re supposed to be these big, winged creatures with sharp fangs that swoop down and take anything in their path. The men I saw looked nothing like the vampires I’ve h
eard about in stories, so why am I so certain that they were?
Why am I so certain that they’re the monsters I’ve been warned about my entire life?
I don’t tell Joe. I can’t. If I tell him what I saw, he’ll either think I’m lying or crazy. Both of these are offenses for which I could be banished from Eagleton. Our little village has no room for liars, and it certainly has no room for crazies. People have been kicked out of the community for less than this. I don’t want to go off into the woods. I definitely don’t want to be banished without food or water or hope.
“Nope,” I whisper quietly.
“Good,” he says. “Then it should be a nice, quiet night.”
The sun has finally set all of the way, and it’s dark outside now. When I look up, I can see stars shining down on our tiny little forest village: offering just the littlest amounts of light for us to see by.
“Of course,” I tell Joe, but something is stirring within me. I feel like something is going to happen, and I honestly can’t pinpoint why.
Why do I have the biggest feeling that something is about to change everything?
And why am I worried that I’m going to be involved?
I don’t get premonitions. Ever. I don’t believe in them. But I definitely did see something in the woods tonight, and I know that those weren’t the monsters I’ve been warned about. The monsters Edna spent my youth warning me about were different: fiercer. These men seemed like they weren’t only intelligent, but also calculating. That’s a deadly combination, and it’s not one I’m going to mess with.
“Be careful,” I tell him.
Joe is just as surprised by my warning as I am. He starts, turning back to me, and looks at me for a long minute. He opens his mouth, maybe to ask why I would say that to him, but then he closes it and shakes his head. Maybe he’s trying to pretend I didn’t just offer him safety advice.
Finally, he seems to calm.
“I always am,” he says.
“I know,” I tell him. “You’re the best guard we have.”
That seems to make him happy, because he grins and gestures for me to scurry off, so I do.