Ordinary World (Cursed Kin Series Book 2) Read online

  Ordinary World

  Kyla Riley

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Hungry Like the Wolf

  Take on Me

  About the Author

  Introduction

  1066 AD

  Once there was a good and just king that ruled Scotland and the various tribes. Eochaid, was a laird (or king) that was treasured and loved by his people. Stories were woven that Eochaid was the most handsome, most fair in the land. His properties were coveted far and wide for an alliance of any kind. What the tales didn’t reveal is that the king had married his soulmate long ago and had a large family who loved him. When Fiona, his beloved bride, had passed away in childbirth, there was an outbreak of war to reunite the tribes once again with the eligible, rich king who was now a widower.

  The oldest son and heir to the throne was named Niall. The stories would go on to call him Niall of the Nine – claiming he had nine hostages. The nine weren’t hostages, they were his siblings: Conn, Fiacha, Brion, Loegaire, Maine, Fergus, Aisling and Nath had all formed a pact to keep their family together from any that would seek to do them harm.

  Family was the core of their very beliefs.

  But stories and forgotten history have a way of being warped and modified over the years so people could understand and wrap their minds around what actually happened. The horrors and curses that befell the Cael family were terrible to behold and it started with a simple phrase.

  I do.

  The truth of the matter, what actually happened, was that Eochaid was a descendant of the Ulster King and dabbled in magic, creating a coveted land that prospered and grew. The temptation of blending two powerful families together with a timid beautiful woman was too good of an opportunity to pass up for King Eochaid. A young widowed queen was brought forth to bring peace, and rumored to be just as gentle as his recently deceased wife.

  Cairene was a Saxon and much younger than the king, who was already in his prime and twice her age. When she found that her betrothed already had a family and they looked upon her as a threat, a replacement of their own precious mother… Cairene felt that she’d been betrayed and misled.

  She was still mourning her own beloved husband who’d been killed, and the thought of being surrounded by family that hated her was more than she could bear. She would never have her own family, a dynasty to pass down to her own children, nor her husband. Everything would go to Eochaid’s eldest sons – not her own. Those memories and dreams Cairene had of creating a kingdom her son would rule someday were long gone, along with any hope in her heart. The despondent Queen sold her soul and laid a heavy curse on the Cael lineage.

  No one is for sure what happened between the king and his new queen, only that their union was a bitter and angry one. King Eochaid fell sick and died within a week of Cairene’s arrival and their quick marriage. Some claimed it was a broken heart, others said it was poison, and some called it witchcraft.

  The king’s beloved children, Niall, Conn and his siblings, were struck down one by one as they mourned their father’s passing. Each of them was cursed horribly, forced to feast on those around them for sustenance. This powerful curse would separate the children, tearing their family asunder, and force them to walk the world alone… just as the betrayed Queen Cairene would until she passed.

  Death would not claim them as it had their father. The siblings didn’t fade away like the king had, but instead, they had become immortal. They were forced to exist in a world that hated them- feared them- with absolutely no hope in sight.

  Not only had Cairene cursed their family lineage- but if the siblings came close to each other, their powers were weakened significantly, leaving them vulnerable to weapons and other spells. They could still perish or be injured, forcing them apart as their own clansman hunted them down with pitchforks and swords in fear.

  Fighting against what was happening to them at Cairene’s hand, two of the older boys stood before the others in an effort to protect the younger children. An example was made out of them, Niall and Conn, before the others scattered in the night to search for cover.

  This is Conn’s story.

  1

  London 1888

  “Hey love, I’ll have another,” Connall Cael said jovially to the lovely barkeep he’d been eyeing the past several nights. She was spectacular, with dark brown hair and black eyes that made her look like a beautiful, yet mysterious, gypsy maiden. In the thick of the dirty, dangerous London streets- she was everything good and light.

  “You’ll be having to pay your tab tonight, sir. This is no charity,” she teased. Her name was Mary Ann and she was breathtaking. Her aura exuded sunshine, opposite of her dark appearance. She smiled and the room lit with joy, making Conn feel like the only man in the world.

  “Mary Ann, you know I’m good for it. I come here just to see you, milady,” he flirted. It was true- since he’d seen her smile two weeks ago – he’d been back every night. He knew she was what the ‘Ton considered a lowborn. A street urchin who worked at the bar and turned tricks to keep food in her stomach, but he didn’t care. She was beautiful and he wanted to remove her from all of this sort of life. He just didn’t know how.

  He was dangerous…. beyond dangerous.

  Conn had been struck down, cursed by his witch of a stepmother long ago. When his brother Niall had first made the change into a werewolf in front of him, he’d expected to do the same, since they had both jumped in front of the younger children to protect them from Cairene’s evil magic. Niall had stared at Conn in helpless horror as his body contorted painfully and muscles ached- but Conn had apparently borne the brunt of the curse.

  Conn faded away into almost nothingness, disappearing before his very own eyes. He’d felt the tingling sensation and looked down at his hands in horror to see them nearly gone. He could see through his palms down to the grassy knoll they stood upon. His screams of fear were silenced, a mere breeze in the night. His brother Niall had howled in pain and loss, as their own father had died very similarly only a week before. He tried to slap his brother into some sense, but there was nothing. Niall must have felt something because he stopped his wailing and frantically felt the air around him, reaching for Conn.

  The only way Conn could reach out and communicate when he turned into an apparition felt like a silent breeze, an almost nothingness in the wind. There was no substance to him, just a whisper of who he was remained. It was as if he didn’t exist and the world went on around him.

  When Conn reappeared days later, he was crazed with bloodlust because the vampire’s hunger had still been there, yet he could not feed in his spectral form. So, every month when the full moon came, he starved and nearly lost his mind from hunger. Frenzied feeding brought about guilty feelings for Conn; remorse and hatred for himself…yet as immortals, they couldn’t die – just suffer unendingly.

  Since 1066 AD.

  Shaking his blond head, he grimaced as the bitter dark ale touched his tongue. He was due to fade away again soon and just wanted to feel something, feel like a normal person once again. He wanted to be normal.

  “Mary Ann, can I talk to you for a moment?”

  “O’course,” she said with a wide grin and made her way down t
he bar with another fresh tankard. “What do ya need – another ale?”

  “No, I’d like your company. Will you join me for a pint?”

  “I cannot,” Mary Ann said softly, her eyes sympathetic. He didn’t want her sympathy, he wanted to see her smile focused on him solely. “I will be working here tonight since we are busy. Did you want a quick tup, my lord?” she whispered, looking around.

  “I’d like more than that from you,” he said with a sad smile. “You shouldn’t have to do that.”

  “I enjoy it and you should too.”

  “I’m sure I would, but I’d like to give you more than that. You deserve more than a quick tup in some alley. You could have a roof over your head and clean linens for your bed.”

  “Ho now! Are you offering ta put me up?”

  “I’m offering you a chance to better yourself.”

  “Aren’t you offering the same thing I do now?” she said pointedly. “Finish your ale, Connall, and be about your way. I’ve got work ta’ do.”

  * * *

  One week later…

  “Conn! Conn! Can you hear me?” Niall’s voice broke through the fog in his mind. He was panting heavily and could hear himself growling menacingly. Conn had finally reappeared and felt himself crazed with hunger. It had been a week since he’d fed and the pain had eaten through his body and mind, escalating exponentially once he’d returned to his corporeal form. He had been mindless and felt the haze recede from his vision. Looking up, he saw his brother Niall’s horrified face watching him from a distance.

  “Conn, let go and step back. We’ve got to get away from here, brother,” Niall ordered softly. “Don’t look at anything but me and get to your feet.”

  “Where am I?” He could see the buildings and cobblestone streets in the dim moonlight, but not much else. There was fog building in the area and it had to be extremely late in the evening.

  “Whitechapel and it will be dawn soon. I was leaving the clubs and heard the screaming. No! No! Don’t look down, Conn – just turn around and let’s go.”

  “What did I do, Niall,” Conn felt shame and horror filling him as he stared at his beloved brother’s face. He was trying to hide his emotions, but failing miserably. Conn hadn’t seen him in forever and this was not the way he wanted a reunion to be between them.

  “You weren’t yourself and you need time to recoup,” Niall said gently, stepping forward and holding out his hand. His voice was placating and gentle, striking Conn oddly. He’d only had that tone when something serious had occurred like the time he’d accidently cut his leg as a boy. There had been blood everywhere and he hadn’t felt the pain until he looked down and saw his pant leg was covered. “Take my hand and look at me. We can get past the weakness and we’ll split soon. As long as we don’t get attacked, we’ll be okay, but it’s not safe here anymore. Not now.”

  “It’s… your voice. You are scaring me,” Conn said, staring at Niall, frightened to look away from his beloved brother’s face. “Is it that bad?”

  “Yes, now trust me. Shut your eyes and let me guide you to another block over. We’ll get you cleaned up and…”

  “Hey! You two! What say you… What goes here?” a policeman on patrol screamed out, running down the street towards where they stood. Breaking his gaze away from his brother, he saw the policeman headed their way and saw several mounds in the street.

  Bodies.

  There were bodies everywhere and the cobbled streets were dark with blood. Conn could smell the coppery-tang in the air and knew that he’d lost all control yet again. He heard Niall’s exclamation as he grabbed his arm, cursing, and dragging him away. That was when he saw her… Mary Ann.

  His sweet Mary Ann lay there in the gutter with a horrified expression on her face, frozen for all time. Her eyes would haunt him for years and years to come as well as the reality of what he’d done. In his madness, he’d torn her throat out and eviscerated her sweet body. Her clothing had been ripped and mangled. The vampire instincts in him were so strong that it had taken over completely and his body found sustenance where it could. He was every bit the monster that Cairene had named him long ago and he was flooded with guilt from the creature he had become.

  Monsters like him deserved nothing but hatred and loneliness. No one was safe near him and he would never allow himself to get close to anyone ever again if the vampire took over and hungered for the ones he cared about. This was all his fault and he would never allow it to happen again.

  2

  Chicago

  Modern day

  Daphne Gentry was nervous. It was one thing to speak in front of her students in the lecture hall but it was completely another to do so in front of her peers and coworkers. She would be going over a topic that she was extremely familiar with, and had focused her thesis paper on it a few years ago to get her doctorate. She would be holding a seminar on famous killings and the madness behind it.

  There was something that fascinated her about history and the reasons behind everything that shaped the past. It was the minute details that caught her eye, things that seemed to be so small yet so powerful, that had steered history in a different manner. What if Arthur Tudor had lived instead of Henry Tudor, becoming the new king? What if the massacre of Glencoe hadn’t happened? What if the Salem witch trials had ended differently? So much had happened in history that could have had a different outcome that would have caused ripples in time.

  Today she would be discussing her theories on Jack the Ripper– a horrifying and sick monster. It was people like this in history that convinced her that sometimes there was no helping people. The sick had to be removed from society, and she knew it was a narrow-minded viewpoint. There was no justification other than mental illness or crazed madness that could not be explained.

  Heading out the door, Daphne smoothed her jacket and pants outfit, praying that it would look professional enough for them to take her seriously. A lot of times, unless you had several papers and published articles under your belt – the theological society and her peers would try to poke holes in her theories or undermine her. She was nervous as hell because of her presentation today, because there was a possibility she could lose any backing or support from the college with her ‘crazy notions’.

  Daphne knew it was a gamble, but there was something that struck her about the Ripper mystery that was odd. Things simply didn’t add up and she believed that is what led to all the confusion allowing the murderer to escape. There was a gap in the time frames and the pattern on the bodies of the eleven victims didn’t match up. Some were horrific, brutal slashings. One was strangled, and others were mutilated first. There was even a boy that was murdered months later after the initial victims. It simply didn’t make sense and that is what intrigued her.

  Investigating murder scenes and historical data on brutal events didn’t really sit well with Daphne, but it did pique her interest. She was drawn to it because she believed that the original few murders were not deliberate. They seemed to be a result of something else, something she was going to get hazed for publicly by her peers.

  I must need my head examined, Daphne thought to herself. She glanced up to see men and women filing into the conference room. It was too late to cancel or back out. She would have to simply dig deep and prove her theories were correct. Besides, if she was fired, the department store down the road from her house was hiring.

  Wincing, Daphne thought of her bills and student loans, knowing that she couldn’t make ends meet like that but would rather need to sway the crowd to at least believe there could be a shadow of a doubt in what she said. Smiling politely, she made her way forward to greet the other professors and her students that emerged into the room, just before she saw him.

  A tall man stood at the back of the room watching her. He was dressed in a crisp, pressed cotton button up shirt, black slacks and a knit sweater. The other men in the room wore suits and her students were in jeans. He just seemed to be out of place and part of her wondered what broug
ht him in today? His dark blond hair and light brownish eyes watched her with almost an air of sadness to him, as if he knew she was making a huge mistake.

  A career ending mistake.

  Daphne hated the condemnation in the blond beefcake’s expression and it just pissed her off to know that this stranger was pitying her before she’d even gotten started. It was that judgmental belief that she would have to overcome today. He would be her goal, she thought suddenly. If she could get this ‘negative nelly’ persuaded to even listen to reason, it would feel like an accomplishment. She smiled at him and gave a small salute before walking confidently back up to the stage. It was time for the fireworks to begin!

  * * *

  Walking into the auditorium, Conn frowned as he suddenly scented the air. It was like an invisible hand had just caressed the most inner part of his soul. He could feel it in his bones that something special, someone special, was here. He got a jittery feeling when one of his siblings was too close making him vulnerable, but this was significantly different. This almost felt like a warmth, like something just for him, was right nearby and he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  He felt his body stir deep inside and frowned when he felt his groin suddenly awaken in anticipation. It had been forever since he’d developed any physical interest in another woman- yet as he stared blankly over the room, he’d narrowed in on her.

  A frail, tiny woman with long black hair that hung down her back like an inky waterfall. Her blue glowing eyes were brilliant and fascinating as he saw the gleam of arrogance in them. She seemed to almost enjoy the challenge that discussing the events from so long ago would bring.