Something Familiar (The Vandran Legacy Book 2) Read online

  SOMETHING

  FAMILIAR

  THE VANDRAN LEGACY

  BOOK 2

  By

  ANNA-LOUISE DANN

  Copyright © Anna-Louise Dann 2018

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent publisher.

  The moral right of Anna-Louise Dann has been asserted.

  For Mum.

  Forever in our hearts.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Crimson liquid splashed against her face and body, staining her white fur red. Her powerful claws were unleashed, slashing at the already torn flesh; every pain-filled scream of her victim was like cheers of victory to her vengeful heart. Sheer hatred and furious rage fuelled her actions as she swiped again, ripping skin from bone. She wouldn’t stop until every breath was ripped from this evil creature’s body, she couldn’t allow any more people to suffer at the hands of this sadistic monster.

  In this moment nothing else mattered but revenge for her family and the life that had so cruelly been snatched away from them.

  She watched as the body fell lifelessly to the ground. A river of red pooled around the tiled floor, bone and muscle were visible through tears in the material of the bitch’s black dress.

  Her beast was finally done.

  She let out an almighty scream, her senses finally returning to her as she took in the carnage she had brought upon the room. The scream echoed off the walls, it was a roar of ultimate power warning all who dared to challenge her, what would become of them if they tried.

  As the adrenaline began to subside the reality that she would never be the same after this night left a hollow inside her.

  She padded towards her companion exhausted from the violent change and the magnitude of what she had just done.

  Warm familiar arms pulled her in and comforted her; she welcomed them, purring against their embrace. There was nothing more comforting than her sister’s love.

  She couldn’t face him after what she had just done, she knew he would despise her for killing his sister. She didn’t have a choice. His sister’s reign of terror was over now, she knew it would have carried on until her vendetta was complete and she destroyed the only family she had left. She had to die.

  What was done couldn’t be changed now, but she knew deep in her soul she would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant protecting the ones she loved. She would just have to live with the fact that he hated her.

  She didn’t have to see him again after they left here tonight.

  Why did the thought of never seeing him again stir more feelings than she was comfortable with?

  She didn’t cry out as her body transformed back to human, her bones cracking back into place. The realisation of what she had just done numbed the pain.

  She silently dressed in fresh clothes as fast as she could, she needed to be free from this place, away from all the grief and heartache that had filled her life recently.

  The pleas of her friends and family to say something, to speak, went unnoticed as she made her escape into the night carrying her sleeping child in her arms.

  As she pulled out of the massive gates that surrounded the place she had called home for the last few days, she glanced through the rear-view mirror at the people she was leaving behind. The tears streamed from her aqua eyes.

  Goodbye, Dominic.

  Chapter One

  Emmie

  “Watch me dance like a princess, Mummy,” Hope said, twirling in her pink tutu and ballet shoes for the hundredth time that day.

  Emmie smiled, her heart bursting with love for her little girl.

  Clara and Colt’s wedding had been perfect, her sister looked beautiful in her ivory dress; the gown was stunning but simple, Colt’s sister Iris had done an absolutely brilliant job altering it for her growing baby bump. She was a vision.

  The happy couple were just about to start their first dance as man and wife; her heart swelled with pride.

  “Hope baby, come and watch how pretty Aunty Clara looks dancing with Uncle Colt,” Emmie said, pulling her daughter onto her lap. They watched their favourite person float around the dancefloor looking so content to be in the arms of the man she adored.

  Colt moved his new bride around the dance floor, his eyes never moving from hers. The love radiated from him, he was mesmerised by her flawless beauty.

  Emmie wiped a tear away from her cheek. Clara deserved to have someone love her as passionately as Colt did; she was so thankful that Clara had found someone who truly appreciated the amazing person she was. Times hadn’t always been easy for her little sister growing up.

  “Are you sad, Mummy?” Hope asked, a look of despair on her perfect little features.

  “No baby, I’m happy, these are happy tears.”

  Emmie kissed the end of Hope’s perfect button nose, little hands lifted a napkin from the table and dabbed at Emmie’s eyes like she had seen her do a hundred times before. Her heart swelled with love at her daughter’s empathy and obvious concern at her tears.

  “All better now, Mummy,” she said, snuggling up closer. Emmie nuzzled her daughter’s mane of dark curls as they both watched the happy couple.

  Suddenly Hope jumped from her knee. “Nicnic’s here Mummy, look, I’mma say hi,” Hope shouted and took off running towards the one man Emmie had thought she would never see again. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and her palms started to sweat, she had to resist the urge to wipe them on her dress as the panic built at the anticipation of having to speak to him. Her throat was suddenly dry, she drained the contents of her wine glass, hoping it would help settle her sudden nervousness. It didn’t. The last time she saw Dominic she had been a wreck, she had murdered his sister in cold blood, grabbed her daughter from him and ran, leaving everyone else to deal with the aftermath. Why would he even contemplate being in the same room as the woman who had
taken the last of his family from him?

  She had refused to answer his calls and messages asking her to talk with him, she couldn’t face seeing the hatred in his eyes for what she had done. She wouldn’t apologise for killing Juliet, that woman had been pure evil and deserved every swipe of her beast’s claws. The one thing that stuck in her head about that fateful day was the look on his face when he had seen what she had done; he had looked horrified, the image burned into her brain, putting cracks in her already fragile heart. She had to run away that day for her own sanity.

  She had grown some renewed confidence back a few weeks after returning to Chester and had tried the number she had for him. She had wanted to explain herself, and to hear him out, she would have even allowed him to tell her exactly what he thought of her; after all, he had gone against his own birth right to keep them safe, thanking him and hearing what he had to say was the least she could do, even if he wanted to give her hell. If she was being completely honest with herself it was because she had missed him, but admitting she had deeper affections towards him than friendship out loud was out of the question, no matter how much the butterflies in her stomach danced at just the mention of his name.

  The mobile number she had for him had been disconnected and his security was so tight no one would pass on a message for her.

  So, with no response and lack of helpfulness from his staff, she had given up, assuming he was done with her and all of the trouble she had brought into his life. Other than the snooty secretary she had spoken to no one knew about the calls she had made, she hadn’t wanted to involve Clara, as far as her sister knew she was fine with everything now and hadn’t heard from him since that awful night six months ago. She hadn’t wanted her worrying or trying to talk her into anything. The last she heard he was away on business and no one had seen him for a few months, now here he was all tall, blond, and mouth-wateringly sexy. Shit.

  The song ended, and Clara welcomed everyone to join them on the dancefloor. She saw a perfect opportunity to escape for a bit. Spotting Hope preoccupied chatting to Iris and Jake, Emmie decided to take some time out in the bathroom to compose herself before the inevitable conversation happened. She made her way across the room, her eyes darting everywhere, relieved that she seemed to be in the clear.

  She entered the bathroom, heading straight for one of the toilet stalls where she locked herself in and put the seat down, sat and buried her head in her hands. She released the breath she had been holding on to.

  How the hell did she face him?

  Clara and Colt must have kept in contact with him all this time, why else would he just show up here?

  After everything that happened with Juliet and Will she had been messed up emotionally and mentally, things got so out of control, so she did the only thing she knew would help keep her fragile mind occupied; she rushed back to her home in Chester and threw herself back into her work. Delivering babies kept her mind busy, giving her something else to focus on; the days were great while she had things to do. In hindsight though it hadn’t been the best idea to return to work so soon, because no matter how many hours she worked or how busy she was, the worst things always had a way of creeping into her thoughts of a night as she lay alone in the dark; they kept her awake, playing over and over and when she finally drifted into slumber her thoughts created dark nightmares of Will coming back to hurt her and take Hope away. Her shadow demons dragged her in and played with her tortured soul in the dark of the night. The only saving grace she had to pull her away from the demons inside her mind was her little girl; she couldn’t allow herself to sink into depression, she wouldn’t allow the memories of those sadistic bastards to destroy her state of mind, they had taken enough from her, so she fought against them, took up yoga and meditation to try and help. Eventually sleep came a little easier as the weeks progressed.

  Hope depended on her to be there for her one hundred percent both mentally and physically; her little girl had suffered too.

  After the shock of everything had worn off and she had processed everything that happened, she had realised how much she missed everyone. Her life in Chester was filled with pain and loneliness – this only added to the depression she was slowly allowing to take her over. The house she had shared with her husband Will didn’t feel like home anymore, it just reminded her of his affair and all the horrible things that happened after Juliet had murdered him. His body had never been found, he was still technically a missing person; as far as anyone outside their circle knew, he had left her for another woman and hadn’t come back. How could she tell anyone the truth about what she was? She knew Hope had missed him terribly because she asked about him all the time in the beginning, she rarely mentioned him anymore though, which suited her, they were going to start their lives again.

  Arrangements were being made to be closer to her family; she needed a fresh start. Heather was sorting out an apartment close to Clara and Colt’s new house, which was also a ten-minute drive from The Sanctuary, so it was close to all the people she cared for.

  She had a few interviews this month at a few local hospitals. The sooner she could throw herself back into work the better, she hated being between jobs, and refused to borrow money.

  The fear of seeing Dominic again had been the only thing holding her back from moving straight away. Just his very presence set her nerves on edge and created those butterflies in her stomach.

  Opening the stall, she walked to the sink and washed her hands, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She fixed her makeup and patted down her pale pink bridesmaid dress which clung to her every curve.

  She could do this, she would face him and finally lay this thing to rest one way or another.

  Emmie entered the hallway, expecting Dominic to be waiting outside to ambush her.

  She felt a pang of disappointment when he wasn’t. Making her way into the massive reception hall, she scanned the room and couldn’t see him; maybe he had left.

  When she reached her table Heather was sitting waiting for her. Great.

  She had put aside her grievances for her birth mother for Clara’s sake, but she still didn’t fully trust the woman. How could she trust someone who could abandon their own children, leaving them to fend for themselves?

  “Amelia, I wanted to talk to you about the apartment,” she said in her usual authoritative manner. Typical Heather, business came first.

  “Why, has something happened?” Emmie asked, brushing aside her annoyance at the way she was being addressed.

  “You could say that,” Heather said, looking unusually sheepish. “I put a bid in for the apartment you wanted but someone had already beat me to it. They have paid over the asking price.”

  Emmie deflated a little, the apartment had been perfect for her and Hope. It was close to family, work, and the schools in the area, it had enough space for them to live quite comfortably.

  “Don’t worry, I am sure I can find something else,” Emmie replied optimistically, although she felt anything but.

  “That’s the thing though, Amelia. The apartment is yours, it’s all in your name, so someone has bought you an apartment.”

  She was sure all the colour had drained from her face at this new information. “Who the hell would do something so crazy?” Emmie said, feeling slightly rattled at the idea.

  “I would, Amelia,” a deep voice said from behind her, making her jump and sending her heart into a beating frenzy.

  She turned, meeting dark blue midnight eyes.

  “Dominic?” she said, her throat suddenly dry.

  Chapter Two

  Dominic

  She was more beautiful than he remembered, his breath caught in his throat. The way her aqua eyes stared him down, challenging him and sending his insides into a frenzy. He couldn’t stay away from her any longer even if he had told himself it was a bad idea coming here this evening. Seeing her again had brought everything he felt before back to the surface, opening wounds he was certain had healed. She enchanted him, made
him want a life he didn’t deserve, and now she was sitting in front of him and he was glad he had forgone his earlier plan to stay away.

  If he had known she had tried to contact him after he had left all of those months ago, he would have dropped everything he had been building in America and gone to her, he would have taken her in his arms and told her he didn’t blame her for what her beast had done. Instead he had retreated back to the side of his life he could control and tried to forget about Ms Stewart and her adorable little daughter.

  Juliet had been set on finishing what his ancestor had started by wiping out her whole family and she wouldn’t have given up, killing her was the only option. As much as his heart ached for the death of his sibling, the thought of never seeing Amelia again hurt him more.

  He had thought Amelia was done with him when she refused to answer his calls and messages. He didn’t blame her for dismissing him after what his family had done.

  Juliet and his father had torn her and Clara’s lives apart; they poisoned everything they touched, he had just been too caught up in building his empire to see what they were doing behind his back, using his legacy to terrorise and murder innocent people. He had been too stupid to even realise his own sister was a humanoid familiar.

  “I can’t accept, Dominic. It’s a very kind gesture, but it’s too much,” she said, pulling him out of his daze.

  He could hear the tremor in her voice, he knew he was affecting her just as much as she was him, the thought of even touching her had his suit pants tightening uncomfortably. He cleared his throat and took a step closer.

  “It’s the least I can do after what my family put yours through, Amelia. It is not up for negotiation.” His tone was more abrupt than he intended.

  Amelia looked like she was going to say something else to argue with him but was interrupted by an overexcited Hope who threw herself onto Amelia’s lap.