Kindred Soul (Otherworld Book 2)
KINDRED SOUL
OTHERWORLD BOOK #2
BRYNN BURKE
COMING SOON FROM
BRYNN BURKE
Lailah
(Dawn of the Lachlan’s)
Marked
(Fated to a Lachlan Book #1)
Heart’s Desire
(Otherworld Book #3)
Arctic King
(Darkest Nightmares Book #2)
Co-write with Elizabeth Knox
KINDRED SOUL
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Kindred Soul Copyright © 2019 by Brynn Burke. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews. For information contact Brynn Burke.
Kindred Soul. © 2019 Brynn Burke
Cover design by Clarise Tan, CT Cover Creations
Editing by Elizabeth Knox, Knox Publishing
Formatting by Brynn Burke
Publisher: Knox Publishing
Created with Vellum
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Dedication
To My Amazing Mother
This one is dedicated to you, mom. You have been my number one supporter in life, since the day I was born and every day that has followed. I want to thank you for all the sacrifices you made for both my sisters and I. I’m sure it wasn’t easy. You have been through many trials in your life. I know they were hard on you and at times when you felt like giving up; you stayed strong and some-how managed to overcome them and prosper. I know I can always turn to you for wisdom, courage and even solid advice. You’ve always pushed me and supported me in whatever I have decided to do in life. You have been there for me through thick and thin. You are not only my mother, but my best friend, as well as, my rock, my person.
When I came to you about becoming an author you told me that I could do it if I really set my mind to it. You even put the current book that you were reading down, which most likely was about a zombie apocalypse, to read my book and help me fix some errors that I had made. I know you did this for me because you love me, and I cannot put into words how truly grateful I am for the things you have done for me and what you continue to do. I just want you to know: I love you with all my heart!
Acknowledgments
Elizabeth — Girl, let me just start off by saying: thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me since we first met. You took me under your wing and showed me the ways of being in this crazy book world. You even signed me as the first solo author in your publishing company. I’m so thrilled you took a chance on me when most probably wouldn’t. You have become one of my dearest friends, actually more like a sister. Anytime I have a problem I can’t figure out, even if something is on my mind, I know that I can call you any time night or day, and you will answer. I never thought I could become so close to someone in such a short matter of time, but you worked your way into my heart, and I am never letting you go. You are amazing, I honestly couldn’t have done any of this without you.
Sabrina, Mary & Jaytoya — You girls have been there for me during the hardest of times in my life. I met you all while being in the military and you each had a part to play in the person I am today. I want to thank you all for pushing me and helping me overcome my fears and self-doubts. I may not talk to you girls daily, but just know I love you all so much and I will always and forever consider you lovely ladies my best friends.
My Twisted ARC Team — You guys are awesome. Thank you for signing up to be a part of my dark and twisted writing journey. I hope you love this book as much as I do. There will be more to come, and I plan on keeping you on your toes.
My Beta Minions — Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules and lives to read my unedited version of this book and give me much needed feedback. I was a bag of nerves waiting for you to finish reading and tell me what you thought. You girls are the best.
Courtney & Rachel — You two girls are a part of my betas, but I thought you deserved to be recognized by name. Thank you for always being there for me and giving me inspiration when I needed it most. This story practically stole the soul right from my body, but you both pushed me to keep going and get the damn thing done. I love guys to pieces, and I can’t wait to get your opinions on the future stories I have in the works because I know you two will give me nothing but the god honest truth. Kisses.
Clarise — This book cover is exactly what I envisioned. It is perfect, and I cannot wait to see what you come up with for the rest of this series.
Warning
THIS CONTENT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT MAY BE VIEWED AS OFFENSIVE TO SOME READERS, INCLUDING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE, DANGEROUS AND SEXUAL SITUATIONS, DUBIOUS CONSENT, PHYSICAL ABUSE, MULTIPLE PARTNERS AND EXTREME VIOLENCE.
Playlist
WAY DOWN WE GO | KALEO
YOUNG & FREE | DERMOT KENNEDY
YOU CAN CRY | MARSHMELLOW FEAT. JUICY J & JAMES ARTHUR
SAVE YOURSELF | KALEO
UNSTEADY | X AMBASSADORS
CHASING CARS | SNOW PATROL
THE CHAIN | FLEETWOOD MAC
COME DOWN | BUSH
CRAZY IN LOVE | SOFIA KARLBERG
DANCE OF THE DRUIDS | BEAR MSCREARY FEAT. RAYA YARBROUGH
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN | THE ANIMALS
WILD HORSES | THE SUNDAYS
LITTLE BIRD | ANNIE LENNOX
UNCHAINED MELODY | THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS
MA CHÉRIE | DJ ANTOINE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Heart’s Desire
Prologue
Chapter 1
Marked
Prologue
Prologue
Killian
I arrive to Archer’s estate in record time. It’s been... I look down at my watch and see it’s been three hours. The case I just worked was only in the next town over, so I could have made it here in ten minutes flat, but I thought better of it.
I want to make Archer wait on me. I want to piss him off like the way he pisses me off. I am not someone he can demand, or bark orders to. Hell, I don’t even want to be in his presence, but a debt is a debt. He’ll get over the fact that I didn’t come as soon as he called.
This is the last fucking time, I keep telling myself repeatedly as I drive up the winding path that leads to the estate.
I gave him a century, and I think that is long enough. A few hundred years back he helped me out of a sticky situation. It was a time when I was a teenager in vampire years. Young, stupid, and arrogant as all hell. I thought I could get away with anythi
ng and everything. Boy, oh boy, was I sorely mistaken.
I park my motorcycle right in front of the house, basically on the steps leading up to the entry way. Wanting to get in and get out as soon as possible.
I dismount off the bike, stepping in a puddle. Instead of being pissed about it, I make sure to get as much of the gunk on my boots as possible. Then I walk to the front door barging in like I own the place.
As soon as I push the door open, a gaggle of Archer’s men have their weapons drawn, aiming at either my head or my chest. I am not amused in the least. I take a quick look at their faces, not recognizing any one of them. They are all freshly turned, new vampires, not knowing who I am. That right there gives me the ammunition I need to knock these assholes down a few pegs.
“If I count to ten and your weapons aren’t pointed in a different fucking direction, there is going to be hell to pay.” I spit out.
“Who are you? How did you get in here with all the glamour and wards in place?” one of the guards asks while still pointing his gun in my direction.
Glamour is set in place so the human’s naked eye will believe the estate is a run-down, old looking castle. It keeps people away because it’s gives off an eerie feeling.
As for the wards… they are like an alarm system of sorts. I knew Archer was the one whose blood was used for the system and since were of the same blood, I can get in without triggering it.
I count to ten silently in my head while staring at him, ignoring the questions he just spat out at me.
In the blink of an eye, I am standing behind the guard. I lift my hands up to his neck and give it a good twist, breaking his spinal cord, watching as he falls to the ground. He’s not dead, but he is sure as hell is going to have a killer headache in the morning. I dust off my hands with a nonchalant flare as the others around gawk at me with gaping mouths.
“Lower your weapons, I really don’t like to be tested. My patience is thin.”
The men do as they’re told. They don’t question me, which is shocking considering I am all rainbows and butterflies compared to the likes of my father. They must have a death wish... oh well, not my problem.
I leave the foyer and make my way to the one place I know the man I’m seeking will be, his office. It is grueling trek, all the halls and stairs… this house is just way too fucking big for my liking.
Outside the large wooden doors, I contemplate how I want to present myself, so I do the first thing that comes to mind. I lift my right leg and kick in the door. It comes off its hinges, flies though the room and hits the floor with a bang.
Oops.
“Daddy dearest, I’m ho-oo-mm-e.” I say in the most sarcastic voice I could muster.
I peer into the office and see him standing beside his book shelf that sits directly across from his desk. He is acting discreet, like he doesn’t think I have any idea what lays behind that wall.
Silly man. Tsk. Tsk.
* * *
I had a lonely childhood. Nobody to play with, nobody to talk to. It was just my father, mother, myself and all the minions who were paid to be by my father’s side. Back then, I looked up to my father. I even wanted to be just like him when I grew up, so I would follow him around and pretend I was him.
At the age of five was the first time I saw him go into his office and as soon as I entered, I couldn’t find him anywhere. The office was a pretty large room, but there was no place for him to hide. The same scenarios happened for the next years that followed, he just seemed to disappear right out of thin air.
I smartened up at the ripe age of eight. I hid in his study all day long, hoping he would show up so I could solve this mystery. I wanted to know where he went, and I found out pretty quickly what he was up to.
He entered the room, went over to the book shelf and pulled a candle. The whole book shelf slid to the side, revealing a hidden room and I wanted to know what was so important in that room that my father felt the need to hide it from the world.
I waited a couple of months for my father to leave on what he considered a supposed ‘business trip’, then I went to the room and copied all the things I had once seen him do.
As soon as the door slid open and I entered the chamber, I became obsessed. The room was full of books, tomes, scrolls and other works of writings that my little brain could not process.
From that day forward, I would sneak in that secret room and take a book, bringing it up to my room to hide it. I would read it after everyone would fall asleep and I’d get up early in the morning to put it back in the same spot I found it before taking another one. The things I learned I could never forget.
Even being just eight years old, I knew one thing without a shadow of a doubt… the world would be screwed if all that knowledge landed in the wrong hands.
* * *
My father turns and looks at me, narrowing his eyes in full irritation, then he walks over to the en-suite bar and pours himself a glass of bourbon.
“Where have you been? I called for you hours ago,” Archer says with annoyance lacing his words. I ignore his question for now, making my way over to his cherry oak desk that is unoccupied. I plop my ass down in the leather chair and prop my dirty, muddy boots right on top of the desk, over a stack of papers.
“Yeah… I was busy. What do you want?” I say while crossing my arms over my chest.
He lifts the glass up to his lips, finishing the whole thing in one gulp. Then his gaze zones in on me, anger radiating off of him in waves.
“When I call, you fucking come. Do you hear me, boy? You drop everything you’re doing and get your ass here. Don’t push me. I brought you into this world… and I can just as soon take you out of it,” he says with venom laced through his tone.
“Excuse me?” I say, standing from my position on the chair, slamming my dirt crusted boots to the hardwood floors. “I have done nothing but heed your beck and call, always doing whatever you ask and only because I owe you a debt. I am not yours to command, Archer. I am not someone you can talk down to or belittle. I am most definitely not one of your fucking human pets. You will not disrespect me or talk to me like that.”
I’m just about to take a step towards the door, leaving this man’s presence to never return when I realize that the bastard is standing right in front of me. I see his fist slowly making its way in the direction of my face, and I move to the left, avoiding the contact. I raise my own fist before he even sees it coming, punching him square in the jaw. He stumbles back a little from the impact.
“How dare you! Do not ever raise your hand to me again. Do you fucking hear me?” I spit out.
Archer makes his way over to the chair I was just momentarily sitting at before hand. He takes a seat in it and rubs his hands over his face.
“My apologies, son. I am just a little worked up over the dilemma that I am currently facing.”
Holy shit.
Did Archer Addison just apologize to me?
And since when has he ever called me son?
“I need you to find someone for me.” He says so nonchalantly, but I can hear hints of different emotions playing on his word. To anyone else, they wouldn’t have been able to pick it up. To me… I know my father, and I know him well. He’s attempting to tamper down his emotions. Which emotions? Hell if I know. If I had to take an educated guess, I would say its frustration, anger and… is that grief?
Now my interest is exceedingly peaked.
“And who exactly do you need me to find, old man?” I say as I look at the non-existent dirt underneath my nails then I raise an eyebrow at him.
“She is one of my slaves. Someone took her from right under my god damn nose. It’s been a few hours but I’m sure… you of all people… can locate her.”
He pulls out a glass vial from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and places it right on the corner of his desk. I can tell immediately that it’s filled with blood just alone by the coloring of the liquid. It’s the one thing I need to find someone. No matter where in the wor
ld they are, I’ll be able to find them. Blood. Blood is needed to unearth a person.
I approach the desk slowly and pick up the vial. I pop the top off it and take a whiff. Instantly my mouth starts to water, and my fangs start to elongate. I turn my body, giving Archer my back so he doesn’t see how much this blood is affecting me. It takes all the willpower I possess not to down its contents right here, right now. With strength I forgot I have, I quickly place the top back on the vial and squeeze it in a tight fist.
“I will do this for you under one condition. This is the last time,” I pause for Archer to realize I mean business, “The last time fucking time, I do anything for you. I will find her. After… we are finished, terminated. I want nothing to do with you. Do I make myself clear, father?” I spit out the word father full of hatred. I never called him that to his face. It is always Archer. He doesn’t deserve that title after what he did to my mother… he is and was never a father to me after that. Just a sadistic, sad, pitiful man.
Archer nods his head in my direction, not saying a word.
“Good.” I say turning my back to him.
With the vial in hand, I shove it into my pocket and make my way out of my childhood home.
* * *
I sit at the edge of the bed in my hotel room, staring at the vial resting on the small dining room like table. I have resisted for a few hours, not really understanding why this blood is calling to me so much, begging me to taste its contents. Never has a smell caused so much turmoil within me.
I stand and approach the blood. It’s now or never. I let out a breath and pop the top off and down its contents in a manner of seconds.
This girl’s blood... it is rich and smooth, over all delectable. Delicious. My eyes roll to the back of my head with so much pleasure that my whole body shakes slightly with its intensity. I feel powerful, like no one can do a thing to stop me if I decide to go and wreak havoc.
The thing is… It doesn’t taste like that of a human… matter of fact… it doesn’t taste like any supernaturals blood I have ever had the pleasure of tasting either.