There’s only one week to go until the release of Tegan’s Power, so I’d thought I’d share a snippet from the first chapter of the book. If you haven’t started reading this series and are curious, now’s the time to start! Book one (Tegan’s Blood) is free to download
from most of the ebook retailers out there and this new book will be the very last one, so you get to read the full story all the way through. If you’re feeling nostalgic for the early Sookie Stackhouse/Anita Blake books or Buffy the Vampire Slayer then there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this series 😉

Okay, so Tegan’s Magic ended on quite the explosive cliffhanger. If you’re eager for a glimpse of what comes next, read on. (However, if you haven’t read the 1st three books yet…steer clear for there are spoilers ahead!)
P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for a teaser from Finn’s POV later in the week.


Chapter
One
Let
Me Be Your Ruler
Tegan
My
view of reality is foggy.
I see Ethan standing on the roof of a
high building. His body shimmers with a silvery glow and there are hundreds
upon hundreds of vampires on the street below, bowing to him as though he’s a
miracle made flesh. Their fangs are out and their red eyes are like a sea of
crimson lasers.
In my hazy mind my vision expands over
the entire city, where it seems like every vampire has sensed Ethan’s change
into something else, something extraordinary. Indestructible. No matter where
they are, they bow. Some in fear, others in awe.
I can feel it in my blood that’s rushing
through his system.
The black chaos mists retreat from the
humans, called away by their master, Theodore. He needs to regroup, lay low
until he can figure out how to approach Ethan’s transformation.
I hear Ethan’s strong, familiar voice
shouting orders. He tells the vampires to rise and face their new leader. His
old Romanian accent is more dominant than it had been; the American twang he
once affected has almost completely receded.
He speaks but I can’t figure out the
words. The vampires stand to attention, taking his orders with renewed
enthusiasm, their red eyes staring up at him like he is the ruler they had been
waiting for. Gone are the days of the Herringtons, of Jeremy Whitfield and his
wars. A new era has begun, and the possibilities are endless.
I’m slumped weakly over the edge of the
building, staring down at the vampires who now begin to organise themselves
into groups as they clear away the dead bodies and carnage that has drowned the
city in a sea of blood and mess.
Some humans are not dead, just
unconscious. The vampires leave them where they lie. I wonder in horror how
many innocent people were killed tonight.
Arms as hard as steel wrap around me and
lift me up. My dizzy head sinks into the crook of Ethan’s neck, my safe place
to fall. My energies are vastly depleted from blood loss. He starts to move at
vampire speed. Incredible vampire speed even faster than before. I can’t take
the whooshing colours, slipping in and out of consciousness.
Then I sleep.
When I wake up my head and my eyes hurt.
It feels like I’ve been sleeping for days. I’m lying naked on a bed that’s not
my own. Cool Egyptian cotton sheets cover my body as I stretch out my aching limbs.
The windows are wide open and morning
light shines into the room. I look around, recognising Ethan’s bedroom in his house
on the south side of the city. The house Whitfield had exiled him from.
I sit up, the cotton sheets falling to
my waist. Ethan is lounging in his armchair by the bookshelves. His eyes are
closed and he’s holding his serene face up to the daylight.
I gasp as the events leading to my being
here rush through my head. His eyes open when he hears my sharp intake of
breath. Oh wow. They’re incredible. Deep royal blue edged in silver. His blonde
hair shines even more so now; his golden olive skin is even more flawless. He
stares at me intensely and I can’t tell whether or not I’m safe, whether or not
he’s still Ethan, or something else.
“Am I safe?” I whisper and he tilts his
head questioningly in response.
“Are you safe?” he repeats back at me, his old accent doing all sorts of hot
things to my insides.
A long stretch of silence elapses. I
pull the sheet up to cover my chest.
“Well, am I?” I ask uneasily.
“You are safer than you’ve ever been, my
love. Do not cover yourself.”
I blush and let the sheet drop again.
Ethan stands from his chair and walks toward me. He sits at the end of the bed
and runs his hand along the fabric of the sheets.
“How long have I been out for?”
“About a day,” he answers, not lifting
his eyes from the sheet. “I imagine you needed the rest in order to recuperate
from the substantial blood loss.”
“God. My muscles are all sore.” I
stretch one arm up over my head and then the other. “What happened while I was
sleeping? Where is everyone?”
He smiles vaguely. “I have not yet
located the others. I believe they fear I have changed into a monster and are
hiding out. Vampires have been queuing up all the way down the street waiting
to speak with me, to pledge their allegiance. I have not yet opened my doors to
any of them. They left at daybreak and I went outside in the sun, something I
have not been able to do in all my years. It’s unimaginable this gift you have
given me, Tegan. You are such a treasure,” he breathes.
I wince. “Don’t call me that. Theodore
always calls me his dear little treasure. It makes my skin crawl.”
“I apologise,” says Ethan, raising his
magnificent eyes to me now. “You look pale. I want you to take some of my blood.
It will restore your strength.”
My mouth waters at the prospect, but I
shake my head. “I shouldn’t.”
He moves across the bed with warp-like
speed, and now he’s hovering over me. The air thickens and my breathing becomes
laboured as my eyes roam his chiselled torso. All he’s wearing is a pair of
light denim jeans.
“Your accent has changed,” I comment to
distract myself from his perfect body. “Why is that?”
“You’d prefer me to speak a little more like
this, darlin’?” he asks, putting on the American twang I’m used to.
“I don’t mind either way. I was just
curious.” Goose pimples prickle at my skin.
“I’ve changed the way I speak over the
years to acclimate with the times I live in. Now that I am transformed, I no
longer feel the need to disguise my true self.”
“Oh.”
“You once told me you couldn’t resist my
Romanian accent,” he says in a low voice, bringing his hand up to run his
knuckles along my jaw.
“I can’t. It’s sexy as fuck,” I whimper
as he leans closer.
“Where would you like to drink from this
time?” he asks huskily.
“I said I shouldn’t.”
“Shouldn’t doesn’t mean you won’t.
Choose a spot, Tegan.”
My eyes flicker to the masculine line of
his throat. “Your neck,” I answer quietly.
He smiles with approval. “Good choice.”
My attention is drawn to the thumbnail
of his right hand, which has grown to a sharp blade-like point. “Is that one of
the changes of your transformation?” I ask with trepidation.
“Yes. This nail is the only thing that
can cut through my skin.”
Using the nail, he slices a line a
centimetre long across the side of his neck. I can practically smell his blood
as a trickle seeps out. It’s no longer black like a normal vampire’s, it’s now
a silvery red. I lick my lips and bring my hands up to clasp his shoulders. He
picks me up effortlessly and sits me astride his lap, fully naked.
Moments later my lips are on his skin
and I’m gulping down the sweet nectar that runs through his veins. It’s more
like the ambrosia of the Gods now, though. I practically orgasm just from the
taste of it.
Ethan groans loudly and his hands move
down my spine with delicious pressure. I continue sucking his blood into my
mouth, my body coming alive with it. It slides down my throat like liquid
magic, igniting everything it touches.
I moan softly, clutching him to me. He
feels powerful, addictive, alive.