A Moonlit Night - The Complete Saga

A Moonlit Night

The Complete Saga

By Adrianna White

Published by Adrianna White at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Adrianna White

All right reserved.

No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form without the prior
written permission from the author.

This book is a work of fiction. The names,
characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s
imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely
coincidental.

Written in Canada.

A Note from the Author

A moonlit night has been a project of passion
for me. It was the first story that I ever wrote, and will always
remain the story that I’m most proud of. I’ve loved paranormal
fiction, primarily vampires and the notion of eternal love, for
longer than I can remember and knew that I always wanted to craft a
story of my own if I ever took the plunge into writing fiction. As
such, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing
it.

Thank you, Adrianna

A Moonlit Night – The Complete Saga

Contents

A Moonlit
Night

The
Awakening

The Vampire
Hunter

Council of
Elders

House
Franson

The Beast
Within

A Woman
Scorned

Temple of
Prometheus

A Moonlit
Night

Prologue

“Faster!” shouted a woman, looking out the
passenger window of a speeding vehicle. “I can’t see anyone, but
they’re out there!”

The car sped through the forest, winding down
a long dirt road. It was pouring, turning dirt to mud as the
vehicle swerved all over the mucky road.

“I’m trying, damn it!” the man driving the
vehicle yelled, as he desperately tried to maintain control of the
sedan. “Amanda, if I go any faster, we’re both going to be
dead.”

Amanda turned to him, and with a look of
regret, she said, “And if we go any slower, we’re both going to be
dead.”

The car squealed, spewing mud and stones
everywhere, as he pushed the car harder.

She looked outside the car, her eyes darting
through the trees as she watched the dark figures stalk them from
high above. They were fast and easily managed to overtake the
speeding car.

“They’re upon us!” screamed Amanda, pointing
out the window. “Jason, look out—!”

A silhouette dropped to the ground in front
of them, and Jason swerved to avoid him. The car veered off the
road, and went sliding down a small hill.

He desperately tried to evade the trees as
the car plummeted downwards. The car crashed into a large oak tree,
and the couple smashed violently into the dashboard.

The only sound Jason could hear was the
pouring rain hitting the roof of the vehicle as he slowly opened
his eyes. He looked over to his wife, and asked, “Honey, are you
okay?”

Amanda groaned and slowly opened her eyes.
Her forehead had been sliced open, and the blood streamed down her
nose, and then down onto her cotton shirt.

“I—I think I’ll be okay,” said Amanda,
applying pressure to the wound. “We need to get out of here.”

Jason tried to open the car door, but it was
pinned against a large rock, and wouldn’t budge. He Smacked
frantically on the car door, he screamed, “Damn it! Damn it to
hell! They’ll be here soon—!”

“We already are,” hissed one of the dark
figures, approaching from the darkness. “Come now…did you really
think you could run from us?”

The shrouded man lunged at the car, smashing
through the windshield with his bare hands. One by one, several
more dark figures dropped from the trees, and surrounded the
crashed vehicle.

“Stay back!” warned Amanda, her hands
trembling in fear. “Come any closer... and it’ll be the last thing
you do!”

Chapter One

Emily Johansson pushed her way through the
crowd of people, with the aroma of sweat and alcohol filling the
air as she headed towards her table. This wasn’t Emily’s scene, she
thought, but her friends had invited her out, a celebration of
recent good news, and she wasn’t going to ruin their night with her
incessant prattling.

Several men tried to beckon her with their
eyes, as Emily ran her fingers through her long black hair. She
smiled, brushed off their advances and approached her friends.

“Oh, c’mon now, sis,” her brother complained
as he waved a shot of alcohol in her face. “One drink isn’t going
to kill you. You’re the first Johansson to ever go to College. You
can’t hold out on me now.”

Steven Johansson was a couple years older
than Emily, with short blonde hair and a matching trimmed beard. He
liked to think himself a tough guy, built like a truck and almost
always in the weight room, but Steven was one of the good ones at
heart. He always looked after his sister, even when she didn’t want
any part of being looked after. They fought, as any siblings do,
but as the last in the Johansson family they would do just about
anything for one another.

“You worked your butt off at night school,
Emily,” continued Steven, still holding the shot glass of vodka in
her face. “You owe yourself this.”

“Yeah, Emily,” said another one of her
friends at the table. “We’ve been friends our entire lives. And now
you’re leaving me for the big city? What, Georgetown isn’t big
enough for you? Screw
you
, you owe
me
this. Let
loose, bitch…just this once.”

Julia Hendrickson had known Emily since
kindergarten, and the two had quickly become best of friends. She
had long golden blonde locks that curled down her shoulders, and a
smile that could light up a room.

While Emily saw herself as sedate and
sheltered, Julia was passionate and popular with everyone she met.
The two couldn’t have been more different. At least, that’s what
Emily believed, but the truth was that they were more similar than
she would ever know.

Julia’s high school sweetheart, Tyler Aucoin,
was also with them. He was a handsome man, and the only man that a
woman like Julia could have on her shoulder. He moved from
Mississippi a few years ago, of Cajun descent, with rich auburn
hair and intoxicating accent that made him just as desirable as the
woman he loved. The perfect match, if there ever was one.

“Jules, if she doesn’t want to drink…
don’t
make her drink,” said Tyler, reaching for the shot of
alcohol in Emily’s face. “That just means more for me—.”

“You’re such a lush,” said Julia, grabbing
the shot from Tyler’s hands. “This is for Emily.”

Julia handed Emily the shot back, and they
all waited impatiently for Emily to pound it back.

Emily starred down at the shot glass,
swirling the drink around. What the hell, she thought, you only
live once. The vodka burned her throat as Emily slammed the glass
down on the table. This was met by a round of cheers from her
friends.

“There,” Emily said. “Now let’s go
dance—.”

Emily stumbled for a moment and clutched her
head in agony. Her head pounded, and she could’ve sworn she heard
screeching animals circle around her, their piercing cries
screaming out to her from beyond. While she couldn’t understand
what they were saying, she somehow felt like they were speaking to
her; calling to her from the far reaches of her mind.

“Whoa there, are you okay?” asked Steven as
he steadied his sister. “I guess we know why you’re not a big
drinker.”

Emily’s pain slowly subsided, and she
regained her composure. Whatever just happened, Emily wasn’t going
to let it ruin her night. What she didn’t know, however, was that
the headache wasn’t a result of the alcohol, and the voices in her
head were very real.

As Emily lifted her head, she caught a
glimpse of a dark figure, staring intently at her from across the
room. He was a good-looking man, she thought, clean-shaven with
short wavy black hair. She was instantly attracted to the man, as
she followed the lines of his chiseled cheekbones with her eyes. He
was mysterious, and not someone Emily usually found herself
attracted to. Yet, she could not seem to look away.

“Emily!” yelled Julia. “Emily! What’s
wrong?”

Pulling Emily out of her trance, Julia
grabbed her by the hand, leading Emily towards the dance floor.
Emily looked backwards, hoping to catch one more glimpse of her
mysterious stranger, but he was nowhere to be seen.

The dance floor was packed tight, and
everywhere Emily turned, she rubbed up against some greasy,
obnoxious lowlife. This wasn’t her scene, she thought, as she
danced with Julia. She wasn’t a party girl like all her
friends.

“You know, I think I’m going to get some
fresh air!” Emily shouted over the loud, thumping music.

“What?” Julia asked.

“I’m going to get some fresh air!” Emily
shouted again.

“What?” Julia asked, pointing to her ear,
indicating that she still couldn’t hear anything.

“Forget it!” shouted Emily, as she turned to
walk away.

“What?” Julia asked, and pointed to her ear
for a second time.

Emily left Julia on the dance floor, as Tyler
and Steven arrived. Emily pointed to the exit, letting them know
she would be right back. She just needed to clear her head. That’s
what she thought.

Emily made her way to the backdoor, and
exited to the alleyway behind the bar.

It was quiet, and neither a smoker, nor drunk
lined the alley. It was rather peaceful, actually; a place to be
alone with her thoughts.

Emily looked upon the moonlit night, and
wondered what her new life would be like. Would she be happy in
Charleston? Would she find love?

“What do we have here?” a man asked from
behind Emily. “It’s such an ugly place for such a
pretty
girl, wouldn’t you agree?”

Emily spun around to see a man standing in
the middle of the alleyway. It didn’t make any sense to Emily; she
had been alone just a moment ago; how did he get here? Where did he
come from?

The man was as rough as he was dirty. He had
long, scraggly hair, and wore tattered clothes. He looked like an
addict, Emily thought, with blood red eyes that pierced through
Emily’s soul. She was officially frightened now.

“You’re right, Jacob,” said another man, once
again from behind Emily. “She looks delicious.”

Emily once again spun around, only this time
she was struck in the face. She hit the floor, dazed and
bewildered. Blood streamed down Emily’s chin from a gushing cut on
her lip.

The other attacker was a disgusting mess of a
man, out of shape and nearing morbidly obese in size. He had
slicked black hair, and a bushy beard. Clearly he couldn’t get laid
inside, and Emily feared that he was going to try his luck outside.
He, too, had the same blood red eyes as Jacob. Whatever drugs they
were on, Emily wasn’t carrying.

“It’s a pity, George,” said Jacob, walking
towards Emily. “She would have made a fine dessert.”

“W—what do you want?” asked Emily, as Jacob
lifted her off the ground. “I don’t have any drugs.”

“Honey, you don’t have the drugs we’re
looking for,” smirked Jacob, lifting Emily up by the neck. “No,
you’re
exactly what we’ve been looking for.”

Chapter Two

Emily was beaten and afraid. She tried to
scream out, but Jacob’s filthy hands were wrapped firmly around her
throat.

“What’s that?” George asked as he licked his
lips. “I think she’s trying to cry out for help, Jacob.”

“You know, I think you’re right,” said Jacob,
loosening his grip just a little. “Well girl, what have you to say
for yourself?”

“I—I don’t know why you are doing this!”
Emily cried. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“Oh, we’re going to hurt you all right,”
George replied. “And we’re going to have fun doing it—.”

Suddenly, George’s large, bulbous body was
sent crashing into the wall. The mysterious stranger from the bar
had arrived.

“What the hell?” Jacob asked, turning his
head. “And who the
fuck
would you be?”

Jacob released Emily, who tumbled to the
floor, exhausted and out of breath. Jacob turned towards the
mysterious man, and took a defensive position between his victim
and himself. Clenching his fists, Jacob made sure the man knew he
wasn’t going to back down.

“You don’t know who you are screwing with,
buddy,” said Jacob, marching towards the mysterious man. “I’m going
to mess you up.”

Jacob threw a fist at the stranger, which he
easily avoided. The mysterious man moved deftly, and sent Jacob
soaring into the wall with a swift palm of the sternum.

Emily could barely believe her eyes, as the
man moved with super-human speed. Unable to comprehend any of this,
Emily thought she was more injured then she previously believed;
flush in the face and feeling much too faint.