Marinescu Brothers: Simion: The Marinescu Brothers

By K. R. Hall

 

Author's note – It would be best to read Strigoi Redemption before reading the Marinescu Brothers series as it is the basis for the series.

Simion Marinescu

Born in 1401 in Moldavia. He was the fifth son of a seventh son. His brother Victor was the seventh son of a seventh son; therefore, he was born strigoi. Their father, Atanase, was the seventh son, so his mate and his children were all blessed as he was. They should all be immortal, but only Victor was strigoi.

Phoebe Snow

Born in 1845, Phoebe kept the fact that she is a phoenix shifter hidden.  Her family disowned her and dropped her off at an orphanage in Maine when she was three. Where she stayed till she turned eighteen. Esmée hired Phoebe to be the private physical therapist for Ladinas. So she moved to East Falmouth, MA, to work. He needed help to recover from the accident that happened on his honeymoon.

Esmée chose Phoebe for a reason. She had a vision about Phoebe and Simion. They were going to be mates.

Things all seem to be lined to fall into place. Until they realize there is an unknown creature out there. This creature is out to cause chaos and harm to loved ones. Will it get its way, or will they uncover the truth in time?

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. R. Hall
• Release date: Mar 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215177334

Book preview

Chapter 1

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Do you ever feel like you are a burden to everyone? Phoebe asked.

No, I don’t, Harlow answered as she pulled her raven hair into a messy bun. You shouldn’t either. You have a job, your own place to live, and pay your bills.

Girl, you have been on your own since you were dumped at the orphanage when you were three. That was about one hundred seventy-five years ago, Clio added.

Not until my birthday next week, Phoebe replied. I must have been a burden to my family. Why else would they leave me on the steps of an orphanage in Maine in the dead of winter?

Just because you couldn’t control your phoenix and scorched a few family members doesn’t mean you were a burden. You were a toddler. They should have taught you how to control your bird. Then maybe you wouldn’t have burned the orphanage to the ground, Harlow scowled.

If I hadn’t accidentally burned it down, I would not have been moved to the one you and Clio were at in New Hampshire, Phoebe said.

Yah know something? I think I’m going to go with purple hair this time. I’m tired of pink, Clio said as they passed the hair dyes.

Clio, stay focused. Phoebe needs us now. Your hair color can wait, Harlow scolded her friend.

I’m sorry, Phebes. You know I’ve got your back, Clio apologized.

I know you do, Phoebe hugged Clio. We came here to get party supplies. Clio can get hair dye.

Thanks, Phebes, Clio beamed before turning and running back to the hair dye row. I’ll catch up with you at the party supplies quickly.

You’re too soft on her. She needs to learn to focus on a task, Harlow said.

She’s a Gray squirrel shifter. It’s hard to get her to focus, Phoebe chuckled. You get sidetracked too.

I can’t help it. My raven gets excited when she sees shiny objects, Harlow laughed.

Remind me again which birthday you’re celebrating, Clio said when she caught up.

For the humans, this would be my seventieth birthday since my rebirth. Phoenix birds die and are reborn every one hundred and eight years, Phoebe explained. I’m actually one hundred seventy-eight years old from my first birth, October 2, 1845.

The best part of being a shifter is that we stop looking older when we reach our twenties until we find our mate, Clio said.

I like that part too, Harlow agreed.

I will continue being reborn until I complete my mating. Once I am fully mated, I will no longer be reborn and live for another thousand years, Phoebe replied.

That sounds so romantic, Clio sighed.

Everything sounds romantic to you, Harlow retorted.

I’m a Gray squirrel shifter. Nothing exciting ever happens to me, Clio complained.

Be careful what you wish for. You could get it in a bad way, Harlow warned.

Don’t you two start at each other again. I swear sometimes it’s hard to remember you are friends, Phoebe began. I’ve got everything. Let’s go check out.

Fine. Harlow started it, Clio mumbled.

My raven has superior hearing, and I heard that, Harlow said. Behave, or I won’t color your hair tonight.

That was all it took to get Clio to stop playing around. The girls headed to the register.

Wait. I just had a thought. Clio stopped walking, forcing the others to stop too.

What popped into your head? Phoebe asked.

Back when we were in school, they said that there was only one phoenix at a time, Clio said.

I don’t follow, Harlow frowned.

How can Phoebe find her mate if there is only one phoenix at a time? Clio asked.

Oh sweetie, you are so naïve. Phoebe’s mate could be human or another shifter, Harlow said sadly.

But, Clio began.

Clio, those are just myths and legends. Phoenix birds are only female, which is why people thought there was only one, Phoebe explained. My mom and sister were phoenix birds. If my mate were a human, he would shift into a firebird.

What’s a firebird? Harlow asked.

A firebird is a large bird with magical plumage that glows brightly, emitting yellow, orange, and red light, which is why it’s often mistaken as a phoenix. Their feathers have magical healing powers that are so powerful the feathers could bring someone back from the brink of death, Phoebe explained.

Oh, that is amazing, Clio sighed.

Yes, it’s great that the firebird’s feathers can heal, Harlow added.

The girls paid for their items, then headed to Phoebe’s 2015 Honda Accord. The color was called White Orchid Pearl. Phoebe’s inner phoenix liked the way it shimmered when the sunlight hit it.

It was a short drive to their apartment, which was located near the Frances A. Crane Wildlife Management Area in East Falmouth, Massachusetts. The apartment complex was built for shifters. The walls and between the floors were reinforced with more steel and concrete, and the windows were made of shatter-resistant glass. Sometimes larger shifters had trouble controlling their animal side. If they shifted inside apartments, there would be no damage. The girls had individual homes on the same floor.

Who is coming Saturday? Harlow asked when they stepped into the elevator.

I invited everyone on our floor, so we won’t have any noise complaints. Plus, Candy and Scotty from work, Phoebe said.

That’s great! I know it’s hard for you to open up and meet strangers even after all these years, Clio said.

I know they are nothing like my birth family, but it’s hard, Phoebe whispered.

The elevator doors opened on their floor. They stopped before Phoebe’s door to help bring the packages in. Phoebe entered the code into the lock on her door, and it popped open upon registering the correct code.

Harlow and Clio followed Phoebe into her home. They dropped the bags onto the kitchen table.

We will see you Saturday at one, Clio said as she hugged Phoebe.

Work is going to be super dull without you there tomorrow, Harlow said, then leaned in for her hug.

I need to get the last things done tomorrow before the party. Pop over after work, and we’ll order pizza or Chinese food, Phoebe said.

You got it, they said in unison. Jinx!

They laughed before heading to their apartments.

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Saturday’s party was full of drinking, dancing, and merriment. By the time everyone left, Phoebe was worn out. She was relieved that many people had cleaned up after themselves, so she had nothing left to do except take out the trash.

As Phoebe neared the dumpster, she heard a couple of women talking.

Did you hear there was another sighting of the Black Flash last night? a woman asked.

Yes, poor Susan Barnes. Her dog Minnie chased the beast off. I think I might get a German Shepard dog for protection, another woman replied.

Phoebe knew Susan, but she hadn’t said anything at the party. As she rounded the corner, Phoebe saw that the two women were Jennifer and Miranda.

Oh, Phoebe, I’m sorry I missed your party. I had to work a shift at the hospital. Nurses hardly ever get time off, Jennifer said.

It was a fun party, Miranda said.

No worries, Jennifer. I completely understand, Phoebe said. I’m glad you had fun, Miranda. Did you say there was another sighting of the Black Flash?

Oh, yes! It was dreadful. Susan’s dog chased it off before it could hurt her, Jennifer said.

I thought the police said it was practical jokers, Phoebe said.

Susan said it was inhumanly tall, at least ten feet tall. The figure was dressed all in black and jumped out in front of her from behind some bushes. He had glowing red eyes that resembled red balls of fire, clawed hands, pale silver skin with big pointy ears, and sharp fangs like a vampire. It always wears a black cloak, Miranda explained.

Polly Stevens was attacked while walking across the college campus last week. She has a broken arm from trying to fight the Black Flash off. The week before that, Mary Adams was rescued from an attack near the library. A police car was on patrol when the officers heard her scream. They said her dress was shredded, Jennifer added. I treated Polly when she came into the emergency room.

The police said that Thomas Finch confessed to being the Black Flash, but I find it hard to believe after Susan’s attack last night, Miranda stated.

The Black Flash does sound scary. Is it only attacking shifters? Phoebe asked.

Hmm, now that you mention it, the attacks that I have heard of are all dark-haired shifter women, Jennifer concluded.

I think we should be more alert to our surroundings and not go anywhere alone until the Black Flash has been captured, Phoebe suggested.

I agree, Miranda said.

Yes. We should put up a notice to warn the other women in our building, Jennifer said. I need to get going. I have to be back at work in twenty minutes. I normally wouldn’t come home during a break, but I was asked to cover for a nurse who called out with the flu. Talk with you, gals, later.

See you later. Have a good shift, Miranda said to Jennifer.

See you later, Phoebe said.

Call me if you need anything, Miranda said as she turned to leave.

I sure will. Thanks for updating me on the Black Flash, Phoebe said.

Sure.

Phoebe tossed her bag of trash and headed back to her apartment. Her cell phone began to ring as she entered her apartment.

Hello? Phoebe answered.

Hello? I’d like to speak to Phoebe Snow, please. My name is Esmée Marinescu, the caller said.

This is Phoebe Snow. How can I help you? Phoebe asked.

Hi, Phoebe. Doctor Mitchell Newby in Australia gave me your contact information. Do you have a moment to talk?

Sure.

My husband, Ladinas, was severely injured when a jet ski crashed into him. Doctor Newby said you are cousins and you are a physical therapist near Edgartown, Esmée explained.

Yes, Mitchell is my cousin and I am a physical therapist living in East Falmouth, MA. I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s accident, Phoebe replied.

Thank you. We’re flying home today, and I’d like to set up a meeting with you at our home. Ladinas can’t travel in a car right now, Esmée explained.

With the time zone changes and the possibility of jet lag, how about we meet Monday afternoon? Phoebe suggested.

That would be great. Thank you so much. I look forward to meeting you, Phoebe, Esmée replied.

I look forward to meeting you both, too, Phoebe said before hanging up.

Phoebe thought back to when she tried to find her family a few years ago. She needed answers to why her parents abandoned her as a toddler. Computers and DNA technology weren’t as advanced in the 1800s and early 1900s. The shifter internet, Paratelenet, was invented in the late 1990s. It was like the human internet but had many shifters-only pages because they were unknown to humans.

Shifters were only known to small human communities. Carver residents knew about shifters because of the protection Victor gave them. In the last decade, shifters came out to humans all over the globe.

In 2012, many companies began offering DNA testing to help research family history. Clio and Harley had convinced Phoebe to do her DNA at the same time they did theirs. Within a few months, Phoebe received a message from Mitchell Newby. He lived in Australia and was an Australian Fur Seal.

Mitchell didn’t know her parents when they were alive. He discovered that in 1852, a yellow fever epidemic spread throughout the United States. Her family lived in New Orleans and were listed among the eight thousand people who had died that summer.

Chapter 2

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Some days, Alana found it hard to believe her daughter, Inima, was only six. Sometimes she seemed far wiser than the average six-year-old. Other times, like now, when she refused to listen to her parents, it was hard to believe she was not younger