Eyes Of Crimson : Vampire Paranormal Romance (Transfusion Saga Book 8) Read online

  Eyes of Crimson

  Stephanie Hudson

  Eyes of Crimson

  The Transfusion Saga #8

  Copyright © 2020 Stephanie Hudson

  Published by Hudson Indie Ink

  www.hudsonindieink.com

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it wasn’t purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referred to in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorised, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Eyes of Crimson/Stephanie Hudson – 1st ed.

  ISBN-13 - 978-1-913769-78-9

  Contents

  Warning!

  1. There is Always Time for Another ‘Oh Shit’ Moment

  2. Eyes of Crimson

  3. Mortal Pet

  4. Hard Push

  5. Prisoner of My Mind

  6. Unforgiveable

  Lucius

  7. Deal with The Devil

  8. Bound to Realms

  9. Family Connections

  10. Portals and Poets

  11. Dripping Bound Lust

  12. Sexual Limits

  13. Sticky Web of Lies

  14. Slipped Through My fingers

  15. In Another’s Arms

  16. Personal Demons

  17. Demon’s Nature

  Amelia

  18. My Demon’s Bedroom

  19. Imprisoned

  20. Seductive Torture

  21. Denied. Granted. Owned.

  22. Creating Monsters

  23. Greed is a Sin

  24. Hog Tied

  25. A King’s Jealous Arms

  26. Frozen Escape

  27. Innocent Mistakes

  28. Hex of a Time

  29. Crimson Tears

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Stephanie Hudson

  Other Works from Hudson Indie Ink

  I would like to dedicate this book to all those who helped make one of my greatest dreams possible by supporting me through this new venture. To all the people who have had faith in me and believed I would achieve my goals and accomplish my mission. One that was set out to help other self-published authors in getting their wonderful stories experienced through the minds of more readers.

  But to those especially who work at Hudson Indie Ink, I can’t thank you enough! You have helped make it a success in such a short space of time and your quality of work and dedication is astounding, in truth it is more than I could have ever hoped for.

  This book is dedicated to Blake Hudson, Claire Boyle, Cathy Hudson, Sloane Murphy, Sarah Goodman and Xen Randell.

  Thank you all for all your hard work, dedication, and commitment. Hudson Indie Ink would not be the jewel it is without all of you who help make it shine!

  Warning!

  This book contains explicit sexual content, some graphic language and a highly addictive Alpha Male.

  This book has been written by a UK Author with a mad sense of humour. Which means the following story contains a mixture of Northern English slang, dialect, regional colloquialisms and other quirky spellings that have been intentionally included to make the story and dialogue more realistic for modern-day characters.

  Please note that for your convenience language translations have been added to optimise the readers enjoyment throughout the story.

  Also meaning…

  No Googling is required ;)

  Also, please remember that this is the 1st book in a 12 book saga, which means you are in for a long and rocky ride. So, put the kettle on, brew a cup, grab a stash of snacks and enjoy!

  Thanks for reading x

  1

  There is Always Time for Another ‘Oh Shit’ Moment

  The King.

  It was Lucius!

  How had this happened? How had I somehow missed this mountain sized piece of information!?

  “That’s…This…it…it can’t be happening,” I muttered making Trice look down at me, as we still continued to stand in the side lines as if waiting for the King…someone my mind was screaming at me was my boyfriend…to be ready.

  “Dinne worry, Lass, I will tell him I wish tae claim ye…” I heard these words and panic struck me so fast that I grabbed his arm, shook it and looked up at him with beseeching eyes before pleading with him,

  “Oh Gods, please, Trice…please don’t do that! Don’t say a word…promise me…promise me quickly…don’t—” I was cut off when the sound of all of the guards that surrounded us all of sudden turned to face me as if a wave of flesh had been commanded. And they had, as one look back to the front of the raised throne and I could now see Lucius motioning with his gauntleted hand for his minions to act.

  “Ame—” Trice started to say my name and even that I tried to prevent, not trusting what it could do.

  “Ssshh…no, don’t even speak my name…just promise me, Trice, please,” I said as I knew now my time had come, I had no choice but to walk towards Lucius and all I could think of now was saving a friend’s life who had no clue who I was to his King. Which was precisely when all the questions started to hit me…why did no one know? Why, if Lucius was in Hell looking for me, did no one know who I was to him? Why hadn’t he just stormed his way down from the raised platform now to claim me? To take me in his arms and make it known to his people who I am to him?

  Oh Gods…Had the witch done something to him?

  This thought struck me paralyzed. The fear of what awaited me being almost too much to bear. Because this wasn’t my fairy tale ending where the Prince finds me at last and we run into each other’s arms as lovers reunited…this wasn’t one of those stories. No, this was the story of when the Princess discovers that her Prince wasn’t a Prince at all but instead a King in Hell who looked anything but happy to see her.

  Which begged the question what was in store for me after I forced myself to walk the length of this vast throne room? After I had made it up those steps, towards someone who was clearly renowned to be a tyrant King.

  It was just too hard to imagine. That formidable presence that I knew was getting ever more impatient as the seconds ticked by. I knew when the parallel line of guards all placed their hands upon their sword hilts that my time was running out…it was a warning I didn’t need but it rang loud and clear all the same. Especially when Carn’neau stepped forward and said,

  “Now is not the time to be foolish human, as I do believe it is your death we are trying to prevent.” I frowned at this and couldn’t help but ask,

  “We?” To this he shrugged his shoulders as if he cared little about the part I had focused on before saying a blasé,

  “It seemed more interesting having you breathing.”

  “Geez, thanks, that was so heartfelt, I am thinking you should have Hallmark cards made.” He smirked at this and nodded towards the throne where I had to admit, Lucius looked to be getting angrier by the second. But then, the moment I t
ook my first steps, Trice reacted making me raise my hand a little towards him and shake my head slightly, before telling him,

  “Please, Trice…don’t.” He frowned in confusion so I looked towards his King hoping he would get the hint. He followed my gaze and frowned, obviously now trying to piece together my panic. Because now I no longer had to fear my own death at the hands of a King but instead, I only feared for Trice’s and any part he played in trying to save me.

  That was why I could never allow Lucius to discover how Trice felt about me. Not if I wanted my friend to survive. Because in all honesty, I really had no clue what Lucius would do, as I hadn’t yet really experienced his jealously. Perhaps I was being paranoid…but I thought that the smartest plan right now was to tiptoe around the edge of caution. Hell, even I didn’t know what I was dealing with?! It wasn’t like Lucius was exactly acting himself right now and down here in Hell, then Gods, but even I didn’t know him…clearly.

  Well, I guess it was time to find out but the closer I got, the less I was starting to want to find out. Because I had to say again, it wasn’t exactly the reunion I had envisioned us having when we finally found each other. And well, it was becoming clear to me now that something had obviously happened to Lucius. Perhaps he had been captured by the witch and what I was looking at now was the result of that capture?

  Like I’d feared, had she done something to him? This question plagued me with every step I took, as the more space that was cut between us, then the more likely that prospect was looking…as well as the fact that, he didn’t exactly look welcoming. Hell, but other than the handsome face staring back at me, then he didn’t even look like the same man I knew. In fact, he reminded me very much like how he had that night in the silent garden when his demon had come to my rescue.

  However, the most startling difference was that now it didn’t seem as though he liked me quite as much as he had back then. His scowl said it all and I wasn’t exactly looking forward to finding out which words he would choose to go with the look of irritation.

  His mighty wings framed the back of where he sat, creating a frightening and imposing backdrop to an even scarier being. The horns that they were attached to were now curled up at a different angle than I was used to seeing. And I gathered that this was to allow for what I supposed was a more comfortable sitting position, meaning that remaining in this form was through choice.

  His black and red armour looked as if it had been forged in a volcano before its edges hardened to black steel. Each hammered, jagged plate looked more like lava rock that was still molten and scalding to the touch at its glowing centre, whereas the edges looked razor sharp and smooth before each interlocking piece finished in a deadly point like a knife’s tip.

  This design was mirrored on his chest plate, as pieces curved up from his sides like spiked horns that joined a single dagger point which came down over his heart. Underneath these plates were four V shaped sections overlapping his stomach and covering his abs, which I guessed offered more movement in its design.

  The shoulder pieces were made up of five sections that were moulded over on a curve to fit the large muscles I knew were hidden beneath. The larger two of these sections held huge jagged horns that reached the same height as the top of his head and they flowed down over the chest plate, covering a good portion of his pecs.

  So, on the whole and putting it another way, he looked as if he could have killed me with just one hug! And looking to the side now, was where I found his helmet resting on a stand as though it was the only remains left of some headless demon. This time it was all black, matching that part of his armour that reminded me of a trojan helmet in its shape. This was down to the typical T shape cut out for the eyes and mouth, with a dip at the top that came down over where his nose would be. But that was where the similarities ended, as it came down into deadly points past where his chin would be.

  Even the eye holes were menacing, with deep slanted angles and ridges above that looked like a metal frown. The top of the helmet matched the V shaped armour that covered his abs, with overlapping plates that were riveted at the edges. The only part of the design that was like scorched lava rock, were the two massive horns that came out at the sides and went up in a large U shape that tapered to gleaming tips of glowing crimson.

  As for his face, it matched the rest of him being that of half demon, half startling masculine beauty that I had been used to seeing on Lucius. The darkness in his veins was present, along with the heated, twin pools of crimson replacing the steel blue gaze that watched every step I made towards him. The talons on his armour clad hand were tapping impatiently against the horns of his throne, and in that moment, he had never reminded me so much of his maker before.

  He was utterly terrifying!

  So much so, that I actually found my feet tripping over themselves as if failing to work together at the sight. I would have fallen had it not been for Carn’neau’s quick actions in taking hold of the top of my arm and keeping me upright. Something Lucius only half appreciated, as the second I was securely upright again, he growled out at him, snarling a few words that I didn’t understand,

  “Ezebu sinnis!” Although, it didn’t take a nerdy scholar to get the gist of it being let her go or die, seeing as Carn’neau quickly let me go as if he had been stung by my skin.

  A few steps later and soon I was left looking up at the raised platform in a way which must have looked like a terrified deer in headlights. Lucius’ crimson gaze narrowed in annoyance before he lifted a heavy looking metal plated hand and jerked two fingers, beckoning me forward. But when I didn’t move, being too stunned by the imposing sight before me, and one I never expected to see Lucius at its centre, Carn’neau decided I needed prompting, so he muttered next to me with clenched teeth,

  “Go on human, as I suggest not keeping your Master waiting.” I turned to look at him and frowned in question…my Master?

  He motioned his head a little in the direction I should go, and I knew the time had come to face what now looked to be my personal devil. So, I did as instructed, and forced my foot to rise to the first step and basically keep going until reaching the top. Doing all this without being able to take my eyes from my feet, telling my cowardly self that this was so I didn’t trip, not because this side of Lucius was actually making me afraid.

  Of course, I was lying to myself.

  Because like this, and with each step cut down between us, then I was starting to wonder what my fate would be if the witch had made him this way? The moment I reached the top was when I received my answer, as suddenly he stood and his increased demonic height had him towering over me, making me jerk backwards. However, in doing so I was too close to the edge and felt the heel of my left foot lose the surface beneath it, which made my world start to tilt as I started to fall backwards.

  Thankfully, I didn’t get far, as unlike the first time I was pushed off these steps, it wasn’t Trice who saved me, but Lucius. His gauntleted hand snapped out and grabbed me. But then it was as if my life had hit some kind of slow-motion mode as I focused on that dangerous hand coming closer, now wondering if my skin was going to survive this? However, something happened just in time, before he came into contact with me, his talons retracted back enough that when his metal clad hand grasped me, it hurt only slightly. But at the very least, I was happy to report that it didn’t shred my skin.

  After he caught me, he hauled me to him, and I found myself looking up at him with trepidation clear in my wide eyes, ones that I could feel filling with tears at just the raw beauty looking down at me. Then his free hand came to my face so he could run the back of one silken soft talon down my cheek, keeping the deadly tip pointed back towards himself. I closed my eyes for a moment and felt the single tear escape from beneath my lowered lashes. Then his name barely made it past my lips, and I swear in that moment, it sounded more like a secret prayer.

  “Lucius.” I opened my eyes to find his own now frowning down at my mouth where he had heard it escape from, b
efore his lip curled in a slight snarl. Then, before my senses could fully register, I was spun around to face the large open space and the sea of demons that were all there, each one still on their knees. There were warriors, full of armour and horned bodies. There were winged creatures, more beast than man and women, of both beauty and vulgarity. An ugliness that went beyond the flesh and from just one look you knew that evil was rooted to the bone. An array of hideous features that showcased more teeth than skin, more rough than smooth, and more snarls of hunger than just sinister thoughts. It was an ocean of danger, like sharks ready to circle whatever kill their Master was ready to cast aside, and a mere hint of blood was a coiled slither in the water, telling them a mortal meal might just be on the menu.

  It was little wonder then why the sight made me shudder and before I could step away, his hand that had once been at my arm, came to collar my neck. I swallowed hard, barely allowed the freedom enough for the function. Not with his metal hand now imprisoning my throat from behind, with his strength evident enough that I knew it would take little effort to snap it. But killing me quick, wasn’t in his plans, as I felt him use the hold on me to bring me a step back against him. The tremor in my body was unmissable the second I felt that solid wall of armour at my back. Then as he lowered his head enough to speak directly in my ear, I knew that my earlier question had been answered.