Vampire Heir (Scorned by Blood Book 1) Read online

  Vampire Heir

  Scorned by Blood, Book one

  Heather Renee

  Vampire Heir © Copyright 2021 by Heather Renee

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, alive or dead, is purely coincidental.

  For more information on reproducing sections of this book or sales of this book, email [email protected].

  ISBN: 979-8495482661

  Line Editing and Proofing: Jamie from Holmes Edits

  Cover: Covers by Juan

  Character Art: @kalynne_art on Instagram

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Stay in Touch

  Also by Heather Renee

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Dedication

  To the women of the world who choose to lift others up instead of tearing them down.

  Keep kicking ass.

  Prologue

  Seven years ago

  I stood frozen in horror, hiding in the trees at our property line, and helpless to do anything as I watched the air be choked from my mother. My heart pounded so rapidly, I thought I would pass out, but there would be no reprieve from what I was witnessing.

  Five men stood outside of my house, but one of them held my attention the most. He was dressed in dark clothes with a significant widow’s peak and holding my mother by her neck. He leaned in and kissed her just above her collarbone, a gesture I didn’t understand.

  She screamed, but the sound only lasted seconds until her arms fell limp at her sides. He dropped her onto the ground before joining the other four behind him. They laughed and cheered as each of them sped away at impossible speeds opposite to where I was crouched behind the brush.

  I didn’t understand what I had seen. This had to be a nightmare I could wake up from.

  Dread filled my chest as I forced myself to take the heavy steps toward the house. I’d only been gone ten minutes. Long enough to make the short walk to the store for the milk we needed to finish dinner. Milk that had been dropped to the ground when I first heard my mother’s screams.

  Tears spilled from my eyes as my mother came into view. My hands trembled as I bent over her prone body, grabbing her shirt to turn her over. Blood coated my fingers where I held her, making my stomach churn, and it was my mother’s lifeless eyes that caused sobs to rip from deep inside me.

  “No, no, no,” I repeated over and over when no other words came to me.

  I laid next to her on the cold wet ground, unable to fathom a world without my mother. She was the light that led our family. She couldn’t truly be gone. It was too soon. I wasn’t ready to live without her.

  Our front door creaked, reminding me that my brother and father had also been home, but neither of them had come out of the house yet.

  I needed to get up and find them. I needed to know what my heart was already telling me, but I wasn’t ready to accept. I couldn’t have lost them all. Life couldn’t be that cruel.

  Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe they were only injured and needed my help. Maybe I was wrong.

  Those thoughts were exactly what I needed to face whatever was waiting inside for me. With determined steps, I got up and went to the door that had been left open, and my futile hope was dashed away just as quickly as it had arrived.

  My eyes slammed shut and I braced myself in the doorway, but it was too late. I’d already seen too much.

  Blood splattered along the living room walls, gore I couldn’t identify covered the couch, and my baby brother’s body was just mere feet from where I stood.

  Fresh tears ran rivulets down my cheeks while I attempted to take steadying breaths. Teddy was so close to me. I just needed to find the strength to go to him like I had our mother. He deserved that.

  Sliding to my knees, I opened my eyes and crawled the rest of the way to him. My vision was blurred, but even through the tears, there was no mistaking what I saw.

  Bite marks marred his neck—at least the parts that hadn’t been torn out with unnecessary force—and his body lay at an unnatural angle. Yet, there was no blood seeping from his wounds.

  I averted my gaze from the awfulness, only to find remnants of my father’s body scattered over the floor of the living room.

  There was no saving them. They were already gone. My family was…dead. Just thinking the words caused pain in my chest like I’d never felt before.

  I stayed on the floor next to my brother, convulsions rocking my body until a weariness began to stifle the agony of my losses. Sleep tried to claim me, my mind unable to process the hurt any longer, but the images of what I’d witnessed never faded from my thoughts.

  I didn’t know who those men had been, or why they’d chosen my family, but their faces were seared into my memory alongside the screams from my mother and the nightmare left inside the house.

  The more I focused on those things, the less sadness filled me, but that didn’t mean emotions weren’t ravaging through me.

  Rage took precedence as I considered what I needed to do next. I was only fourteen, but my mother had taught me how to survive—almost as if she’d known this day might come.

  Her constant reminders of how strong and capable I was echoed through my mind as I finally sat up, turning to stare out the front door instead of further into the house.

  Stars twinkled above and the moon shone brightly, but I’d find no solace within them tonight.

  Surrounded by the remains of my family, I made a vow. I’d find the vile men who had done this. I’d figure out what they were and how I could make them pay for what they’d done.

  As the declaration formed into something I could latch onto, I knew there was no going back to who I was before tonight.

  I’d become whoever I needed to be, and do whatever it took, to claim the vengeance I sought.

  No matter the cost.

  1

  Present day

  Red wine swirled in the glass of the patron opposite me at the bar. I leaned back in the stool, grinning as the crimson color reminded me of blood. Something that used to make me cringe, but now I reveled in its darkness.

  “Another whiskey, Amersyn?” Dave, the delicious yet untouchable—at least by me—bartender from Crossroads asked. He was well over six feet tall and had auburn hair that he kept short and spiked up at the top. His blue eyes were so light, they were almost silver.

  “I think I’m going to call it a night. You good to close up by yourself?” Dave wasn’t exactly my friend—I tried not to have those—but I wasn’t heartless. Plus, I liked him.
He was a human working in a supernatural bar. Someone needed to look out for the guy.

  “Yeah, Steve is picking me up for a late-night-date-night.” Dave waggled his brows, and I shook my head with a grin. Clearly, we were both having a good evening.

  Crossroads was located in the shadiest part of Portland, Oregon, but it was my favorite place to go after winding down from a hunt. Plus, as a hunter, it was smart to know what my enemy was up to. I’d never been one to strike up a conversation with the vampires, shifters, and witches that frequented the bar, but it was easy to overhear things.

  Sure, the supernaturals didn’t like hunters hanging in the bar, but the gritty place was neutral territory for all of us. The owner and retired hunter Chester Dean only had two rules: no blood could be shed on his property and if you broke something, you replaced it. Glasses tended to go flying through the room every night, so it was a good rule for Chester’s overhead.

  I threw double the amount I needed to pay for my tab on the bar top and exited the building. Leaving Crossroads meant an attack could come at any moment, so while my posture was relaxed, my eyes saw everything, and my ears were attuned to the sounds of the city.

  I had a witch to thank for my enhanced senses. When she found out that I wasn’t some human groupie trying to get turned, she gifted me increased speed, healing, and smell. Nothing that made me anywhere near as strong as the bloodsuckers, but gave me more of a fighting chance, and thankfully, the increased smell only worked if I inhaled deeply. I wasn’t sure I’d survive smelling death every time I hunted.

  After the witch had cast her spell, she disappeared before I could figure out where she was from or get her full name. All she’d gone by to the other supernaturals within the bar was J. One day, maybe we’d cross paths again so I could properly thank her.

  As I turned the corner outside—officially off Chester’s property—a hand reached for me and I grabbed onto the accompanying wrist, twisting until the imbecile cried out.

  “Damn, Amersyn. What’s got a thong stuck up your ass crack?” Simon’s nasally voice sounded, grating on my nerves. He was a hunter like me, so I tolerated him, but there was something about him I didn’t trust. He reminded me of someone I used to know and that wasn’t a good thing.

  “First, that question makes absolutely no sense. Thongs are meant to go up people’s asses—uncomfortably so. Second, haven’t you learned by now? This is me in a good mood.” I bent his arm a little further before shoving him away with a bright smile plastered to my face.

  His mousy brown hair was matted, and his dull blue eyes roamed over me. I scrunched my nose at the smell coming from his wrinkled clothes, assuming he hadn’t changed in days.

  “I’ve been tracking a nest of ten. You want in?” Simon asked. Assumption confirmed.

  Before he was finished with his sentence, I was backing up. “I’m going to have to pass.”

  “Oh, come on. Derik was supposed to help me out, but he bailed last minute. I don’t want to let these vamps pass by thinking they can come back anytime.”

  Simon had a point there, but I had rules—very specific ones that I lived by—and they’d never steered me wrong. Not since I learned how necessary they were.

  The first rule was that I rarely worked with other hunters. It was rare to find someone who you could trust to have your back regardless of what they got out of it.

  No matter the job, no matter the place, I trusted no one. A mistake I’d only made once when I first found out about hunters. I’d been naïve then. Years later, I was twenty-one, and maybe that was still young to some, but my mind was beyond that of normal humans my age after all I’d witnessed.

  Simon tapped his foot and I sighed. “You know my—”

  He cut me off. “Yeah, your rules. Blah, blah, blah. How do you ever expect to make waves if you don’t join up with other hunters?”

  I grunted. I had no desire to make waves. I just wanted to make a dent. A dent that included five particular vampires. Three had already been turned to ash. Two remained elusive, but I was motivated enough to never give up. I knew the reward of avenging my family was waiting for me, as long as I did everything right.

  I wouldn’t ever waver. I couldn’t.

  “Sorry, Simon. If you’re not up for the task, give me the location and I’ll take the job for you,” I said, brushing my ebony hair out of my face as the icy wind blew around us.

  Simon laughed, the stench of his cigarette breath wafting over me. “No can do. I’ll find someone else to partner with. You have yourself a good night, Amersyn.”

  My skin crawled at the way he purred my name. I should have changed it long ago when I began hunting, but then I decided what I went by didn’t matter. A name was nothing without the family that gave it to you.

  I sighed, thinking of my parents and baby brother. Teddy hadn’t actually been a baby—he’d only been ten months younger than me—but I’d taken my role as big sister very seriously.

  Losing the three of them changed everything. Their deaths unleashed a darkness within me I’d never known possible. I should have been afraid of the rage and drive to kill, but instead, I’d reveled in the strength that the emotions provided me.

  Vampires didn’t deserve to walk our earth. They were nothing but parasites that people like me lived to extinguish.

  When I learned they were real, I’d had more than one misconception about them. First, the bastards bled, unlike I’d assumed before. While it wasn’t their blood keeping them alive, the liquid still splattered when their heads were chopped off. Second, they could sleep like humans, but they didn’t need to. Third, the bloodsuckers could eat normal food to blend in if needed.

  So many things made them humanlike, but I’d been patient enough to figure out the quirks that also made them stand out.

  After Simon scampered off, I headed back to my studio apartment above a local gym. I’d been living there for the last two years. I had a couple of safehouses—some much nicer than where I was staying—but I preferred to be closer to where the monsters liked to play. Comfort didn’t come in the form of material things for me.

  The owner Pete was a retired veteran who didn’t ask questions, a good guy I didn’t mind being around even during my worst moods. He held the same darkness in his eyes that I had in my own mahogany ones.

  It also helped that Pete knew nothing about what I did during the night hours and never asked, either. As long as I didn’t bring trouble to his doorstep, our arrangement worked out great with a don’t-ask-don’t-tell agreement.

  When I arrived at the gym, the outside light to the back stairs was flickering, welcoming me home. I headed up the stairs that led to my room. I’d been back earlier after my latest kill—one that yielded me no new information—dropping off my crossbow and cleaning up before heading to Crossroads. Now, I was ready for sleep.

  Entering my private space, I paused and inhaled. Something wasn’t right.

  My pillow was upside down from how I’d positioned it after making my bed that morning. The toothbrush on my bathroom sink had been moved, and my hair tie was missing. Shit. I knew I’d been staying here longer than any other place before, but I’d been more careful. Or at least, I thought I had been.

  I tried not to panic. This wasn’t the first time I’d had to bail without notice. I took a calming breath and another cursory glance through the room. Someone was messing with me, but I wasn’t going to stick around long enough for them to come back and corner me.

  Without wasting time, I went to my closet and grabbed my black duffle. It was time to leave. There was no postponing. That would only get me killed, and my purpose on this earth wasn’t finished yet.

  My important belongings were already packed, so all I had to do was throw whatever clothes I could fit inside and be on my way. I had duplicates of most things at my nearest safehouse. Anything else could be replaced.

  Within sixty seconds, I was headed out the back exit. Anger was rising inside me at being forced out. I’d tried to keep
it buried. Dwelling on emotions wasn’t something I often did, not after my years of hunting, but this was personal and the longer I thought about that, the more I wasn’t okay.

  Every step away from the gym felt heavy. I knew I was making the right choice, but that didn’t make me feel better about it, either.

  A plan was already forming in my head. After getting my stuff from the apartment, I needed my crossbow from the alley, and then I’d head to the safehouse. It wasn’t where I liked to stay on just any occasion—that defeated the purpose of it being a sanctuary when needed—but the condo would work until I sorted something else out. Worst case, I’d move north to Seattle a little earlier than planned.

  Once I was outside, I took a moment to calm myself. This was the life I signed up for when my family died. There was no room for weakness. I had to be strong even when I didn’t want to be. So many times, I’d thought to walk away and be done with the craziness of a world that shouldn’t exist, but all I had to do was close my eyes.

  The images of my parents and brother made my throat burn, and I was reminded of why I kept hunting these vampires, of why I couldn’t ever give up.

  After taking a moment to myself, I scanned the alley one last time. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, so I quickly grabbed my crossbow from my hiding spot in the brick wall behind the dumpster. Tossing it over my head, the leather strap fit snugly across my chest, and I had everything I needed.