Series: The Cursed Series #1
Publication date: September 15th, 2020
Synopsis:
After pulling the plug on her mother's life support, seventeen-year-old Chloe Madison moves to live with relatives she hardly knows. Her new hometown in the Adirondack Mountains is barely more than a pinpoint on the map, but it's shrouded in deadly secrets and strange family legends. Chloe is determined to keep her head down, finish high school, and get the heck out of there. Until she meets the enigmatic Trent Halstead. Something intriguing hides beneath his quiet self-assurance and hero hair. Maybe there's something--or someone--worth sticking around for after all.
But when a rash of unsolved murders leaves two of Chloe's classmates dead, she begins to suffer from disturbing hallucinations that build to the horrifying image of Trent as a murderous vampire. With nowhere else to go, she's stuck in a town she hates, surrounded by people she can't trust, and she's pretty sure she's going to be lunch.
If all that isn't bad enough, Trent is hiding a lethal secret, besides the whole immortal bloodsucker thing. He's the not-so-proud owner of an ancient, family curse--no Halstead will ever know true love--and he's desperate to find a way to break the curse. Could Chloe be the key to his happiness or just another secret Trent wished he never unlocked?
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Excerpt
"There's still one very important question you haven't asked me yet." He guided me out of the room, shutting off the lights and closing the door behind us. "Aren't you curious?" He led me to the final room at the end of the hall.
I knew what question he was talking about, and while I was curious, I'd purposely avoided asking because what was the point? I didn't want to become a vampire, so why bother asking how it happened? It would only lead to hurting Trent's feelings, and that was the very last thing I wanted to do.
He flung open the door and ushered me inside. This room was still in use--it was an office. An oversize mahogany desk sat in the center with bookshelves lining the wall behind it. Newspaper clippings and drawings of very intricate family trees were plastered on the other three walls.
"This is where Sean keeps all the research he's gathered about the Zoya and our families. He's tireless about finding a way to break the curse." Trent stood near the door as I wandered around the room. It would take months just to read everything hanging on the walls.
"Is he close to finding a cure?"
"No. Every new lead is another dead end." There was too much sadness and regret in his voice.
I wanted to do or say something to make this better for him, to take away his pain and loneliness. "I'm sorry." I returned to where he stood, slipped my arms around his waist, and rested my head on his chest.
He enveloped me in a hug. We stood there for a long while and held each other, neither of us speaking. As much as I would have loved to stay there with him like that, it was time to get an answer to the question I'd been avoiding. I started to move away when Trent yanked me back to him, his lips landing on mine.
My eyes fluttered closed, and I kissed him deeply, wondering how many more moments like this we'd have. He flexed his fingers, then flattened his palm against my back, branding me with his touch. In that moment, I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I was meant to be with Trent. There would never be anyone else--that fact was so clear and strong in my mind it knocked the breath from me. I put my hands on his chest and clutched his shirt between my fingers so he couldn't get away, so that I knew this was real.
His lips were soft, his arms strong. It was the safest I'd felt since losing Mom, and I wanted to cling to him, to stay in this moment and forget all about the pain and loss I'd suffered recently. Trent made the idea of facing the future without my mom bearable, like I would survive without her even though there were days I swore I never would.
Trent pulled me closer. I moved my hands up to his neck and let my fingers splay in his silky hair. A feeling of raw, unhindered love crashed over me, and I couldn't stop from whimpering against his lips. Groaning, he abruptly ended the kiss. My chest heaved with labored breaths, and I licked my tingling bottom lip.
"Chloe," he whispered, trailing his fingers delicately down the side of my face.
My heart stopped at the emotions in his eyes, at the love that was so evident in his expression. Had he always looked at me like that? Or was I just finally noticing because I only now realized how I felt about him?
I loved Trent.
I loved a vampire.
I was hopelessly in love with a guy I had no future with.
Tears pricked behind my eyes, and my throat burned with the effort of holding them back. "Tell me how a person becomes a vampire."
He placed a lingering kiss to my forehead, took my hand, and led me back upstairs to the living room. I expected to find Jax and Sean in there, but the room was empty. We went to the couch and sat.
"So, you want to know how to become a vampire?"
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