The Place You Called From - Volume 2, Chapter 8: Save the Last Dance for Me

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

An ordinary youth living in the year 2050 in the Western calendar accidentally came to a fantasy world created by the collision of magical elements and supernatural technology at the other end of the dimension…

- Description from novelbuddy

Jaden lived an ordinary life. This was the life that he had lived for several years now. This kind of life was one that had existed ever since the death of his parents.His parents died in an accident, leaving him an orphan. The moment that his parents died, his uncles came over and took over everything that was supposed to be taken by him.He tried going to court, trying to see if he could get back the wealth that belonged to his family, but due to the connections that his uncles possessed, he did not succeed.Completely abandoned by his relatives and friends that existed before the death of his parents, Jaden was left to fend for himself.He managed to get a job as a bouncer in a club. But as a coincidence, he ended up irritating someone that he was not supposed to offend. And with that, he was beaten and left in an alley to die.But it was at that exact moment that out of nowhere, he was bitten by a dog. Jaden could not believe it. He had never expected that he was going to die just like this. And even before dying from the wounds that he had suffered from the beating, he was going to be infected by rabies?But the strange thing that happened was the fact that after the dog bit him, a holographic screen appeared in front of him.[Congratulations on being chosen by The Bodyguard System.]And with that, Jaden's life changed completely.

Adeline Smith's life took a sudden and dangerous turn when her grandmother’s will named her as the sole heir to her massive fortune, leaving her uncle with nothing. But the rules that came with the inheritance only made her a target, as her uncles would stop at nothing to claim what they believed should have been theirs.When one of her uncle’s murderous schemes left her gravely wounded and on the edge of death, she was found by Enzo Laureati, an annoying, yet breathtakingly handsome man. What she did not know was that Enzo was no ordinary man—he was a vampire prince who had abandoned his world and royal duties to live among humans just for fun.The moment he saw Adeline, he knew she was his mate, as his heart that had remained dormant for hundreds of years suddenly began beating. But despite knowing what she meant to him, he felt no love or attachment toward her.Out of curiosity, Enzo saved Adeline’s life and proposed an unusual deal: he would become her fake fiancé, help her expose her uncles for trying to murder her, and secure her inheritance. But he didn't propose this deal because he wanted to help her, but because he was simply bored. Adeline agreed, unaware of the chaos that was about to come her way.At first, their partnership was nothing more than a random deal. Living with Enzo wasn’t easy, as he was infuriatingly confident, annoyingly flirty, and had a knack for driving her crazy with his nonchalant attitude.When Adeline finally discovers who Enzo truly is, will she see him as a monster or the man who had always protected her from her uncles? And will Enzo be able to embrace their mate bond, or will secrets tear them apart?(PS: I'm not sure if one would consider this novel slow burn, but the REAL romance between my MC and ML begins at chapter 74.) Thank you so much for supporting my book!