Soul-Mate (Immortal Love 1)

Soul-Mate

Book One of the

Immortal Love Series

Anna Santos

Booktrope Editions

Seattle, WA 2015

COPYRIGHT 2015 ANNA SANTOS

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Cover Design by Brenda Gonet

Edited by Lisa Davall

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.

PRINT ISBN 978-1-5137-0312-1

EPUB ISBN 978-1-5137-0363-3

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015916041

Whatever our souls are made of—

his and mine are the same.

—
WUTHERING HEIGHT
S,

EMILY BRONTE

SHE WAS A VISION:
black leather suit; long, straight dark hair; and a rosy-red button mouth. Her big blue eyes were simply dazzling! She had a doll-like face and sexy body, and she moved with the grace and prowess of a feline. As she walked toward the counter and took a seat on a stool, all eyes followed her, both female and male. She gently stroked her hair away from her face so her skin gave off a gentle glow, looking softer than silk.

I couldn’t help but feel drawn to her like a June bug to a porch light.
Could she be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen? Is it possible?
I’d lived for more than two mortal lives. Never in that time had I ever reacted so strongly to a woman. It was like she had a magnetic pull, an ability to make me forget about all around me. Everything but her turned into an annoying buzz, a blur; she had my undivided attention. It has been ages, literally, since I wanted to meet a woman as badly as I wanted to meet this one. I wanted to talk to her and be next to her.

I wasn’t the only one dazzled by her: other dangerous, lustful eyes were targeting her. Like them, I was fixated on her, enchanted by her beauty. The pull I felt served as a reason to approach her, so I walked to the counter with no control over my body and sat next to her, flashing my sexiest smile.

God! Her scent was addiction, if not intoxicating
. She smelled like a bouquet of roses, orchids, poppies, Heaven, vanilla, and candy. What a feast to my senses! She was the personification of lust, temptation, and dreams come true. I couldn’t believe it; I had long since lost faith in finding her, but there she was, after all this time: my soul-mate.

“I’m not interested,” she replied to my smile before I’d even opened my mouth. “You’re not my type,” she added as an afterthought, completely catching me off guard.

What was that supposed to mean?

Stupidly, I asked, “And what
is
your type?” I’m not normally that pathetic with words, but I’m not often rejected, either. Come to think of it, I’ve never been rejected before.
Awkward
!

The downside of your soul-mate being a human—she doesn’t recognize you as hers.

She didn’t answer my stupid question, thankfully. She just took a good look at me as if I was a piece of meat, and then simply ignored me and called for a drink from the bartender. He had a smile on his face before looking over and giving me a mocking look, as if calling me a loser. Sam was probably gloating at the fact that I’d been rejected, but he didn’t know that I wasn’t going to give up on her that easily. After all, she was my other half.

She was dressed to kill but was more likely to be killed by the gang of predators that lurked in a dark corner of the bar. Their eyes were riveted on her. I could sense their noses turning to the air, smelling it, trying to catch her intoxicating scent.

She was too irresistible to be true! I was completely dazzled by her. I couldn’t believe that I was staring at her, finally, after all this time. It was like a dream, and if it truly was one, I dearly hoped that I never woke up.

“Can I buy you a drink?” I asked, trying to make conversation, wanting to stay next to her.

“Could you just leave?” she asked in a soft tone but not impolitely—far from it. She had a sexy, girly voice, and I swear I could detect a hint of concern. Like being far away from her was the best option for me.

The problem was that she was mine. At least, I would do anything to
make
her mine. And to leave her there to be a vampire’s snack was out of the question. Actually, it was out of the question before I smelled her;
now
it was a death sentence to anyone who dared to touch her.

“Are you new in town?” I asked. I was curious and wouldn’t be driven away anytime soon.

“Yes,” she answered, throwing back more of her drink. I noticed that the girl was looking at the mirrors on the wall and clearly didn’t want to talk. I followed her eyes with curiosity.
What could possibly be more interesting than me?

She was watching the dark figures not far from us. I almost sighed with impatience. Humans had an inclination to get themselves into danger. They were drawn to evil creatures like moths to flames. She couldn’t possibly be serious. That dark “Emo” look attracted her? They weren’t even the best-looking specimens of their race. They were newborn, pale, and skinny. They had arrived an hour ago, and I had only seen them two or three times before. They weren’t from my town, but they knew who I was, and they hadn’t caused any trouble―yet. Even if they looked hungry, in a bar filled with werewolves and shape shifters, they wouldn’t get lucky. If they knew what was good for them, they would leave and stop staring at the girl, at my soul-mate.

Moments after, as if they had read my thoughts, the vampires got up and glided out of the bar. My eyes followed them, my hand ready on the gun resting at my hip so they would get the message. She was under my protection, and if they dared to make her an unwilling blood donor, they would feel my wrath. I was the law in this forsaken town, and they would do well to remember it.

But as the vamps left, she got up, paid for her drink, and walked toward the exit. For a moment, I have to confess that I was hooked on her luxurious curves, until I realized that she was leaving. I didn’t even know her name or her phone number. Also, those vampires were outside and would smell her arrival in the dark of the night.

I grabbed my coat and ran outside, only to encounter my enticing soul-mate zipping up a leather jacket and sitting on a killer-looking bike that would make true any biker’s dreams, such as my own.

For a few moments, I thought I was dreaming or even hallucinating because it was really farfetched that my dream girl would have such an impeccable taste for bikes, as well as would ride one. That was so damn hot!

She put a backpack on her back and was reaching for the helmet when they came out of the dark and passed her, joking and pushing each other as if drunk. I knew better. The temptation was too much for them to resist. Even the possibility of dealing with me wasn’t enough deterrent for the vamps to back off.

The girl must have sensed that something was amiss, because she put her helmet down and took her backpack off, looking from me to them as if intrigued. They were closer to her, and they were incredibly fast when they needed or wanted to be. I’m also fast at shooting, and I’m strong and deadly when I have to be. No blood-sucking monster would lay a hand on her precious head; especially not when she was meant to be mine!

The vampires seemed to reconsider when they saw my eyes burning with the promise of retribution and my hand falling to the revolver that would shoot special wooden and silver bullets. I was prepared, and they knew that. I had killed others who didn’t respect the laws of this town. I would kill again without hesitation, and they knew that as well. So they had to have known that it would be smarter to back off and leave, but I guess they were still feeling foolish, because two sped over to attack me and one jumped at her.

She screamed something, but before she could do much more, the vampires were already exploding in ashes while my revolver smoked from the three precise and quick bullets I’d shot. After checking that there weren’t any more vampires in sight to harm my soul-mate, I re-holstered my gun.

When I looked at her, she stood blinking in amazement at the falling ashes, surely confused by the disappearance of the three supposed men. Her eyes were wide, trying to comprehend what had happened. Humans naturally assume they’re hallucinating and just try to forget all things supernatural, as they are too impossible to be true. Vampires vanishing into wisps of ash happens only in movies.