The Pureblood Society

By Kristen Boyens

Liliana Monte has grown up in a world drastically different from her friends at school. Liliana's parents have been a part of a secret society whose members aren't only elite, high profile families, but ancient, aristocratic vampires. The society was made as a contract between humans and vampires. In exchange for their son or daughter, the vampires provide payment via money, land, or the ultimate gift…eternal life. Even as a child, Liliana didn't agree with the society her parents forced on her, but her headstrong, fierce personality will be her best guide as she navigates her parent's uncanny aspirations. An encounter with the new king of vampires, Xavier Delaunte, would solidify her fear of being owned and begin Liliana's journey of fighting and running to avoid becoming what she dreads most, a prisoner.
Xavier Delaunte never wanted to ascend to the throne, but when his father Julian Delaunte allows vampire members of the society to torture and demean the human's they pair with, he has no choice but to take it from him. Xavier passes new policies to protect the humans, gaining him enemies in the process. Enemies that haven't been able to find leverage over Xavier until Liliana Monte. Nobody in Xavier's life has ever been able to stir or break through his taciturn exterior. However, when he meets a five-year-old little girl who manages to do just that, he immediately raises his guard as she could pose a threat not only to Xavier's rule but to his heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tablo Publishing
• Release date: May 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781922405913

Book preview

Two

                                                         Xavier

Xavier Delaunte had woken up early today; dreams about her again. He sighed and ran his hand through his still shaggy hair. He’d cut it if he cared, but he didn’t. Who did he need to impress? Or a better question…who did he want to impress? That was an easy yet complicated answer. Without her, in his thoughts the answer was no, no of course not. Why should he want to impress the underdressed women that tend to hang around him? They meant nothing to him. 

He sighed once more as he closed his eyes again. It was nearly noon …he should be fast asleep right now. She wasn't letting him; however, she always had to torture him in some way. He laughed, dryly. He'd had the dream again if he could call it that. A memory amongst his hundreds of years' worth of them, but of course that had to be the one to stick out the most. Granted, it was only 13 years ago.

He slammed his fist down on the table, breaking it in half. What was it about her?! She was five years old for heaven’s sake! Suddenly, he calmed instantly when his nerves went wild. She must be 18 now. Gone will be the adorable five-year-old in the yellow satin dress with red and orange flowers…

Another dry chuckle escaped him. It was filled with exhaustion and sarcasm as his thoughts made him sound like a pedophile. He raised up as an epiphany hit his thoughts like a lighting bolt to a tree. No wonder she'd reacted the way she had. No wonder she screamed and tossed till she was free. 

Is it even possible she knew what kind of expression he'd had…even when she was five? He shook his head at the audacity of the idea. It was ludicrous, impossible and yet he was sure it was true.

Talon knocked on the door and popped his head inside. Xavier, is everything alright?

At first, he thought of ignoring him, but he released a sigh and answered, Everything's fine. His voice sounded exhausted even to his ears.

Talon must’ve heard it as well. You don’t sound well…

It’s probably because a young one is pestering me while I’m trying to sleep. He snapped, knowing full well it wasn’t this young one that was keeping him up during the day.

Talon bowed his apologies and calmly replied, I'll leave you to it. Xavier heard his footsteps retreat to his room.

Everyone should be sleeping right now. He thought, annoyed. Then he caught sight of the table and discovered the noise must've been the cause. Still, they shouldn’t question me every noise. He took a breath and let it out. He desperately needed sleep. If he didn't sleep he'll get thirsty and if that happens he'll get agitated. He sensed the council enjoyed it when he was agitated. They tried to take advantage of it countless times in the past. So, sleep he desperately needed. He relaxed back onto the large couch in his room and forced his raging thoughts to clear. Sleep came a short time later…. but with that came dreams…and her.

                                               *****

Little Liliana had just sprinted out of the room after Xavier had almost held her. It wasn’t disappointment or anger he felt. It was hurt and confusion. The tiny five-year-old had just rejected him a simple embrace, but it felt to Xavier as if he’d proposed and was coldly turned down. However, with the entire room staring him down for a reaction he kept his face unreadable.

The parents of the child, Kean and Sheri Monte were looking frightened, shocked, and angry at the same time. We are…so sorry Xavier…, Sheri said through tight lips.

We don't know what came over her, Kean said; both looked ashamed.

A curt and evil laugh sounded from Xavier’s side. It seems the child is very clueless in many ways.

Xavier's patience with this woman was gone. He released a small ounce of power to eliminate the two luxurious diamond earrings that sat on her ears. The pricey earrings exploded into nothing, but since Xavier didn't feel malicious, he allowed the woman's lobes to be intact. The girl exhaled sharply and began shaking. I thought I asked you to be quiet. Xavier snapped.

The room fell even more silent, now with anticipation.

He turned to the Monte's. It's quite alright. I've never met the child so I must have frightened her. He could only think of how he was grateful she hadn't witnessed the earrings' disappearance.

"That’s still no excuse. They persisted. Give us a moment and we’ll retrieve her."

All Xavier could do was nod in agreement. He wished to see the child again, but not if she was as frightened as she'd been before.

They exited the room and Xavier continued down the path until he sat in the chair provided for him. He released a little more power to check on the now earringless woman to see if she was okay. The only thing that upset the shallow woman now was that her outfit wasn’t complete. Xavier suppressed an eye roll.

Upon him taking a seat the party resumed. Dancers returned to the floor, music began to sway across the room to join the dancers, and the adults started to parade their daughters in front of him as offerings. Sickening as it was, his father who was formerly in command of the Nomads, established the tradition as the basis of the contract between the humans and vampires long ago. For nearly a century now, the society of humans and vampires would host gatherings such as this for noble Nomads to come into contact with noble humans. Should a Nomad become interested in one of the humans, they would offer the son or daughter's parents' eternal life, items of monetary value, land, or money by itself in exchange for the child.

What the Nomad did with the child was solely up to them; however, once Xavier had come into power over a decade ago he had remedied that immediately. Now the conditions were that the Nomads could choose human mates and provide whatever payment agreed upon, but the Nomads could no longer do detrimental harm to the humans. If they wished to keep them human and feed on them, that was permitted, provided the Nomad didn't use means that were torturous or cruel. The humans were thrilled with the changes and he was afraid he'd caused the number of members in their society to grow immensely; while members of the Nomad's nobility were outraged. Once payment was made, they felt it was their prerogative what they did with their property. Sickening, indeed.

An hour passed and the Monte's hadn't returned yet. The two women stayed by his side until he finally decided they were waiting for him to cut the invisible leash. There's no sense in you two not enjoying the gathering. He said to them.

They smiled gratefully and were instantly approached by men once they reached the dance floor, which didn't surprise him. They were beautiful women…just not anything that moved him in any way.

Several humans began to approach him in hopes of sparking conversation. He politely contributed as Xavier still had to work on easing their wary moods towards him. It may have been because of his station and rule over the vampires, but he knew it was because of his infamous father. While he tried to prove he wasn’t the same malicious, cruel ruler his father had been, he found he still had a ways to go. His mood soured when he thought of his father. The bastard had left Xavier no choice, but to take the throne from him. Too many meaningless lives lost at his hands, human and vampire alike. Xavier didn't have a taste for leadership, especially when he'd have to undo the savage policies and weed out members that were not only loyal to his father, but just as demented as well. Thankfully the promise of a new, sensible leader pleased more noble families than it angered. 

Quicker than usual, Xavier caught sight of movement on the staircase across the ballroom. Just outside the double doors, the Monte's were towing a now somber-looking Liliana. The way the parents walked so close and behind Liliana, made him conclude she was still very against this. Once they entered and walked along the granite to return to him, the party slowed to a stop and the dancers all moved to the side to clear a path. The violinist and cellist hushed their melodies to a mere whisper in the background.

Xavier would've noticed how the crowd leaned forward in anticipation had he been able to tear his eyes away from Liliana’s face. Little Liliana was very much composed now, which impressed him a great deal since he could tell how her feet now shook in the 2-inch heels she'd discarded earlier. As Xavier assessed the gaudy shoes he didn’t blame her for not wanting to wear them.

The Monte's walked the last ten steps to close the distance between them and Xavier, coming to a stop merely five steps away from where he sat. Xavier fought the urge to lean downward so that he could be eye level with Liliana. Not only would that make him appear weak in the eyes of the audience, but it more importantly could scare her away again.

As the Monte's began to urge Liliana forward to speak to him, he couldn’t help but notice young Liliana hadn’t managed to take her eyes away from Xavier either. Whether it was from fear or curiosity he still didn’t know. Liliana stumbled forward when her parents nudged her closer and from the look on her face she wished she could've sent them an ugly look, had she been able to look away from Xavier.

She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly noticed the entire room was staring intently at her.

Xavier's gaze followed hers and he commanded, Continue.

The music gradually changed from a whisper to a conversational level and a few couples resumed dancing. Only a few, as the majority of the audience, were still captivated by Xavier and the Monte family's exchange.

Liliana grew more comfortable and took a step forward as she curtsied to him. I’m very sorry for my earlier behavior.

Her voice! It caused all the noise around him to disappear…to go mute.

He felt his mouth turn up in a smile. A smile he hadn’t managed for quite some time now. Despite his earlier worry, he leaned down to get more on her level. The opinions of the audience be damned, he was willing to risk frightening her for a chance to speak to her. Xavier thought he'd made the wrong decision when the girl’s face became rigid and nervous, but then she forced her arms open as though she were about to accept an embrace.

He smiled, compassionately. The poor thing was going to let him hold her even though her feet were nearly tap dancing with fear.

I'm Xavier Delaunte. He said, sticking his hand out for a handshake.

Liliana's eyes assessed him with all the intelligence and suspicion of a detective. She was deciding whether it was a trick. 

My, what an intelligent girl!

After giving him the benefit of the doubt, she stuck out her hand as well and he closed around her tiny one. If he'd had any doubts she was human before they were assured now. Her skin wasn't just warm to the touch, it seemed like his hand was on fire because of her hand in his.

She surprised him when she smiled back at him, not cautiously or shyly, with confidence. He smiled in return and commented, I see you've found your shoes, Miss Liliana.

A blush started to creep up her cheeks and she smiled, this time out of guilt. I never lost them, Mr. Delaunt. I didn’t want to wear them because they hurt my feet and look silly.

Liliana’s parents started to blush behind her as they looked embarrassed. Liliana. Her mother warned kindly, yet firmly.

Liliana looked up at her and frowned. She then turned back to Xavier to apologize again, but Xavier put his hand up to stop her. He turned his head slightly and used one of his hands to cup his mouth like he was telling her a secret before he whispered, I agree with you Miss Liliana. I think they look rather uncomfortable and silly myself. When she giggled, he winked at her.

Xavier finally took a glance around the room and noticed how everything had come to a halt once more. The dancers no longer twirled, couples no longer whispered to one another, and even the musicians were captivated elsewhere. Only then did he realize he was still kneeling, perched on one knee in his ridiculously expensive suit, smiling and joking with a five-year-old little girl. He knew what the crowd must've deduced from the situation. Xavier never went out of his way to converse with anyone let alone with a child he'd never met before. He certainly hadn't smiled this much either…possibly in his whole life.

Knowing the situation was only increasing everyone’s assumptions that he was desiring the child and that he may seek to acquire her, Xavier smiled and shook her hand one last time, Well, Miss Liliana, it’s been very nice chatting and meeting you.

Liliana squeezed his hand a little and beamed a toothless grin at him. It was very nice talking with you too. Thank you for agreeing that the shoes are silly. Then she leaned forward and cupped her mouth that same way he had earlier and whispered, Now maybe I can take them off. She even added a conspiratorial wink at the end as he had.

Xavier’s heart thudded inside his chest. What was this little girl doing to him? He didn’t lust for her, no of course not. He may be a creature that shouldn’t exist, but he wasn’t a monster. Well, not that kind of monster anyway. He truly cared for Miss Liliana Mont and that kind of thing wouldn't do. 

For if anyone thought they could use her against him as his sadistic father would, he feared he would do anything for her. With that decided, he gave a last smile and squeeze of her hand, I hope it works in your favor, Miss Liliana. He rose to his feet to converse with her parents for a time, but he didn’t speak long in case the room thought they might be negotiating.

Once the conversation ended, Xavier returned to his seat and participated in more tedious exchanges. The only entertainment he enjoyed for the rest of the banquet was when he could successfully steal glances at young Liliana and found her eyes were already glancing his way as well. Xavier knew he couldn’t and shouldn’t attend any more banquets just in case Liliana happened to be attending with her family. Whatever feelings were being conjured or whatever relationship he could pursue- once she was of age of course-had to be put to rest. Xavier was too new of a ruler with too big of a target on his head to give his enemies anything they could use as a weapon.

Xavier snuck a glance at Liliana and noticed she was yawning and rubbing her eyes. He knew her parents would make her stay awake in case he decided to show more interest, so he rose from the chair and said his goodbyes. He thanked the Monte's for hosting the occasion and for the invitation, but nothing more. He took his leave and with his departure his large entourage followed. He hoped the party ended soon after so little Liliana could rest.

                                                   ******

Xavier was woken up by a knock on the door. What is it? He asked, shortly.

Resha, a petite African American woman who'd been in his services for many years, popped her head inside the door. She knew Xavier despised being interrupted during the day, but the news she had couldn’t wait. I'm sorry to disturb you, but there seems to be trouble at the high school where some of our newer members are attending.

Xavier began to raise from the long beige sofa the young ones had bought for him. They said his former sofa looked far too uncomfortable and small for his 6'2 legs. 

He became interested in the news not because he found it surprising, but the fact that there was trouble at the high school…the one Liliana attends as well.

Do you wish for me to send for Talon and Garran to go? Resha asked, unsure if Xavier already understood why she'd woken him up.

Xavier felt uneasiness seeping from Resha. What seems to be the trouble? He asked, trying to sound as disinterested as he could manage. Sensing he wasn't going to like the answer, he began to button his long sleeve baby blue-collar shirt. When he tried to rest the second time he'd felt restricted and confined so he'd unbuttoned the first few to relieve the pressure.

Resha knew she should come out and say it, but didn't want to spark any Delaunt fury that may unravel on her. The rumor was, Xavier's father used to kill any messenger that delivered any unpleasant or upsetting news regardless of its importance. She'd worked alongside Xavier long enough now to know he's nothing like his father...but her news may stir up behaviors neither of them have seen.  

With this in mind she reluctantly reported, Two humans went through the Nomad hallway and Felson and Jerre pursued them later on.

Xavier stood to full height and looked down at Resha, his patience wearing thin. Why do I feel you aren’t telling me the entire story? He knew he was right when Resha began to clasp her hands together.

The 5'0 young one breathed a sigh that sounded shaky and took a step closer to whisper, One of the girls was Liliana Monte…

She braced herself for any repercussions, but when Xavier calmly grabbed the keys to their sleek black Highlander, she began to breathe again.

Xavier started for the door while attempting to mask his urgency. If Felson or Jerre put their hands on Liliana, or worse, they would have worse fates to face than the ultimate punishment.

As they left the estate Resha, Garran, and Talon joined him in the Highlander. Xavier tore out down the gravel drive going well over the speed limit and headed towards the high school. It seemed he would meet the grown-up version of Liliana Monte much sooner than they both expected.

Three

                                                         Liliana

Lili couldn't believe she'd been so stupid. Why she didn't consider the two Nomads coming after them once class was over, she'll never know. Oh, wait, she knew, because she was an idiot. They should've never gone in their hallway in the first place.  

She'd decided, however, not to let them win and get what they desired. How well she was going to be able to accomplish that, she wasn't so sure. The second she and Juliana exited the classroom she spotted the two Nomads that'd approached them earlier. She acted quickly even though Juliana was desperate to talk to them again.

Lili guided them through a hallway that used to host all of the art department’s classes and activities. Following a massive plumbing incident that flooded the entire wing of the school, the hallway had been closed off. Lili only cut through it now since it bypassed the Nomad’s hallway altogether. She just hoped it was far enough away from their hallway to make them think twice before following.

Juliana had wanted to go through the Nomad’s hallway again, but this time Lili was adamant against it. So, with Juliana’s hand in hers she towed her along in the clear opposite direction as she racked her brain for a plan.

Juliana pulled on her captured hand as she asked, Lili, what’s your deal? She gave it another tug to test Lili’s grip; when her hand remained stuck, she pouted.

Lili's eyebrows were pulled together in thought and annoyance that Juliana wasn't picking up on her urgency, which admittedly wasn't fair...Juliana didn't have a clue what was coming for them. When she looked back at her however, she smiled carefreely. I accidentally forgot something in my locker. She knew Juliana wouldn't completely buy it, but it bought her time.

Juliana planted her feet, bringing them to a stop. Okay, but we don’t have to act like we’re in a marathon.

Lili glanced over her shoulder to see the abandoned bathrooms sign above her head and panic caused her blood to go cold. Pausing or stopping was never good.

The Nomad who'd shown interest to Juliana appeared just behind her shoulder and said, You two are some hard ladies to find.

Juliana giggled and blushed as she whispered, Oh, hey…

Lili started to turn and continue down the hallway with Juliana’s hand as she said, We were just leaving.

A hand grabbed Lili’s free one as the earlier Nomad, who'd nicked her and tasted her blood, appeared behind her shoulder. What’s the rush?

Lili glared right into his dark blue eyes as she snapped, Let's skip the theatrics, you're not getting what you came for.

The Nomad cheesed, showing all of his teeth, and kept them showing long enough for Lili to see his fangs slowly protruding from his incisors. Lili’s eyes glowered into his in warning, while Juliana giggled at something the Nomad behind her had said. I think you’ll find I can be fairly persuasive.

The bell rang at the exact moment the two Nomads shoved her and Juliana into the bathroom, successfully breaking their linked hands. It wasn’t lost on Lili that the bell covered up Juliana’s shriek perfectly.

Once in the bathroom, Juliana finally seemed to understand that their situation was not an opportunity for her to talk to a hot boy. She struggled in her Nomad’s hands while shouting, Hey! What’s your problem? The Nomad handled her efforts easily and started directing her into one of the rusted stall doors.

Lili cringed as the stench of sewage burned her nose along with the crunch of the floor's tiling peeling away under her feet. The Nomad continued to push her further into the bathroom, towards the back wall under the cracked window. Absently, she prayed that the squishy contents under her feet were leftover puddles from the flood and not remnants of the sewer. With the smell being so strong and the lights not working, it was hard to tell.

As her back was being pressed to the wall, she could hear the chipping paint crumble under the pressure. She could also hear what sounded like intense kissing coming from the stall where Juliana was being held. Sick bastard. She thought, tricking her into submission by manipulating her feelings.

Lili's attention went back to the Nomad in front of her. His eyes traveled down her body and came back to settle on her face. It's a shame about your shirt, it compliments your skin tone so well.

Lili's eyebrow rose in confusion as she glanced at what he was talking about, but as soon as she took her eyes away from him, his nails sliced through the neckline of her blouse, further exposing her neck and shoulder. She gasped in surprise but immediately threw her hands up to defend herself. While she aimed to just cover herself, smacking the Nomad in the face felt pretty good too.

He stumbled a little from the surprise and from how slippery the floors were, giving her a brilliant idea. You bitch, you might as well just enjoy it. I hear some girls get hot and bothered when someone drinks their blood. His hand grazed her cheek while he gave her what Lili would describe as a predatory smile.

She gave him a smirk in return as she said, "Maybe so, but that sure