Eternal Blood Read online

Prologue

 

  To My Wonderful Readers,

  Imagine for a moment a world similar to our own except for one small detail . . . Vampires.

  They live among us in hidden Amish-like communities where the Purebloods rule the Impures, and the ten ancient members of the Order rule them all. Most vampires never fight against their class distinctions-just as most would never have the guts to leave if they were being ill-treated.

  But our Roman brothers are not like most. Alexander, Nicholas and Lucian had not only the guts to run from their community and from the harsh rule of the Order, but the brains to stay hidden and fed. For many years, they have lived in peace and freedom, but now the Order has come for them. They want the brothers to fight for them, for the communities-and for the purity of the line. They want them to bring down an Impure rogue before there is an uprising in the Breed.

  The brothers want nothing to do with this war, but as they take on new members of their family, females and their kin, Impures and Purebloods alike, they know a war is coming. And if they wish to keep their family intact, they will have to choose a side and fight.

  I am thrilled to be able to share this Mark of the Vampire e-novella, Eternal Blood, with you. As some of you may know, Gray Donohue is the Impure brother of our heroine, Sara, from the first book in this series, Eternal Hunger. Gray has always intrigued me; his struggles with his past, his closed mind and fire-ravaged hands and his need to shut off the world and give in to the pleasures of the body, as he did in Eternal Kiss. All of these factors have made me wonder what his future holds, what he will do now that he's found out he's an Impure, a half vampire, now that Alexander Roman brought him back to life. I've also wanted to explore the Impure world more. I feel as though we've seen a clear vision of how the Purebloods live, but really never see behind the mask of the Impure lifestyle, except to note that they are looked down upon and treated like second class citizens.

  In Eternal Blood we get to see the truth behind the Impures' call to action, we get to see their struggles up close, and how the Order truly views and treats them. Granted, this is only the beginning of Gray's story-and the battles and triumphs of the Impures-but, boy, was it wonderful to write.

  This e-novella fits perfectly between sexy and secretive Nicholas's book, Eternal Kiss, and bad-boy vamp Lucian's book, Eternal Captive, and I hope you enjoy it.

  All the best and happy reading,

  Laura