Melissa Day
Author Debut
Featuring a Brand
New Series of Paranormal Romance

Prologue

Larkyn

​

         “Today is going to be better, I can feel it. It’s going to be a good day.”

         I say out loud to no one in particular. I say it to myself as I start my dinner prep early, in hopes everything will be exactly how my husband wants it. In all honesty, I hope today is the last day I will be forced to suffer. He terrifies me and even though I always try not to set him off, I know what is in the cards for me.

         My husband, Seth Blanton is tall, and I barely reach the bottom of his chest line. He has dark hair, mahogany brown, almost black colored eyes, a disheveled beard, and a muscular build. As for me, my hair is long and blonde, almost white. My eyes are as green as an emerald, but mostly dull in color. I am small in all the ways one can be small, nothing special.

         Before I know it, the day is gone, and I have placed my husband’s dinner on the table just as he wants it. Within a few minutes, he walks in the door and sits down, waiting as I serve him. After a few minutes, Seth looks at me with a glare I recognize all too well. I bow my head in submission hoping he says nothing.

        Instead, he rises from his place at the head of the dinner table, crashing his chair into the wall behind him and lifts the table off the floor, sending everything flying in all directions. He strides toward me with a speed I have never seen him move in before. As I jump out of my chair, it falls backwards, and I fall over it trying to get away. I let out a loud scream, begging him not to touch me and scurry backward. He grabs both my arms hard, and I scream in pain as my back hits the wall.

         With tears pouring down my cheeks, I try looking around to see where I can run when he lets me go, but he grabs me by my neck with his left hand and lifts me up. When I look at him and meet his eyes, I realize I am at least two and a half feet off the floor, at eye-to-eye level with him. I grab his arm with both hands trying to get him to release me, but his right hand grabs my chin, forcing me to face him. Though my vision is blurry from my tears, I can see that his eyes are completely black and emotionless. Soulless.

         As he squeezes my neck tighter, almost cutting off my airway, I remember my feet are not touching the floor. It is at this very moment I realize this time it is different. This time there is no coming back from this. This time, he just might kill me. I kick my feet trying to touch something, anything to gain my footing but there is nothing, just the wall behind me and the enraged man in front of me.

         “Larkyn you are worthless. You never have dinner ready on time when I come home, and after five years of marriage, we still have no children. You never do anything right. Your own family didn’t want you. You are nothing but a burden to me! This is all your fault!”

          He says in his deep voice then releases my chin and punches a hole in the wall to the left side of my head, about an inch from my ear. I scream as I feel the wind of his fist passing my head and the sound of its impact when it meets the wall. With fresh tears, and a new feeling of terror clinching my chest, I am frozen in place as I feel the weight of his glare. He releases his hold from around my neck and I fall to the floor. My hands fly to my throat as I choke, taking in deep breaths into my lungs, coughing.

          When I hear the front door slam shut, I let out a heavy breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Once again, tears stain my face. Now, I am alone. No friends to run to for comfort, I wasn’t allowed to have any. No family to depend on as they abandoned me after the wedding.

After several minutes, I collect myself and stand leaning against the wall. I look around at the mess left in the wake of my husband’s fury and decide I am not going to clean it up this time. No. Instead, I stumble my way to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door. My favorite place. My safe place.

         “What a joke.” I murmur to myself. I am not safe. This is not my favorite place or my safe place. It never was. Love was never a part of our marriage, only rage and violence.

         I light candles and place them all over the bathroom and take in the lavender scent. I turn the light off and start filling the bathtub as I take in the candlelight. I am alone with my thoughts and the bottomless pit of emotions, emotions I can no longer control. With thoughts that fuel my tears, there is a silence that is getting louder. Almost deafening.

         How does one quiet silence? The same silence that says a thousand words, words I heard every day for the last five years. The pain. The emptiness. The worthlessness. The feeling of being unwanted. This is all I feel, and I am so consumed by it that it threatens to strangle me.

         As the bathtub fills with hot water, I stare at myself in the mirror, taking note of the bruises forming around my neck, chin, arms, and back. My eyes are red and swollen from crying and they burn, begging for sleep. I turn to the tub, step in, and submerge my body, spilling water over onto the floor. I feel how hot the water is as it burns my skin. More tears stream down my face, and I feel my chest tighten as I cry harder.

         After a few moments, I look around the tub and grab what I was looking for. The water level is just under the rim of the tub and the floor is soaked. I don’t know how long I have been sitting here, but my skin is red, and I decide this is the best time if I am going to do it. My tears fall on my cheeks, and I feel my face flush. Lost in my loud but silent thoughts, reminding me that I will not be missed and that no one will look for me. I look down at my wrists and I do it.

         I feel nothing. Numb outside as well as in. The water turns red as my life flows out of me, and into the tub as it mixes with the pain and emptiness I have felt for so long. I am so tired. I lean back and rest my head against the back of the tub. I close my eyes, and blackness takes me. Finally.

​

Chapter 1

Larkyn

Two Weeks Later

         Beep. Beep.

         “She’s coming around.”

         Beep. Beep.

         “Her blood pressure and pulse are stable.”

         “Larkyn? Can you hear me?”

         Beep. Beep.

         I try opening my eyes but close them again. The light is so bright. I don’t know where I am or who is talking to me, but I thought…

         “Larkyn, open your eyes and look at me. I am Dr. Sanlyn. Can you hear me?”

         I blink a few times to shake the heaviness of lost time from my eyes. My vision is blurry, and I’m confused.

         “Larkyn, can you tell me your full name?”

         Why does this doctor insist I answer at this very moment. I look up at him and I still can’t see clearly. Everything's so blurry. I close my eyes once again and open them one more time before answering.

         “My name is Larkyn Blanton.” I try to look around and all I see is the doctor who is talking to me. “Where am I, and how did I get here?”

         Dr. Sanlyn says to me, “You are on the recovery floor at Saint Gerome Hospital. What do you remember?”

         I have to think about it for a minute. The last thing I remember was having a fight with my husband Seth and…

         Wait…

         “My husband and I had a fight. I remember after the fight he left, and I took a bath.” I try to remember but everything is so fuzzy. After a few more moments, it all comes crashing back to me.

         “I tried to kill myself.” I say in a quiet voice. “I thought I succeeded.” My vision is clearing, and I turn to look out the window that is to the right of my bed. “How did I get here?” I ask again.

         I look at Dr. Sanlyn, seeing him clearly now. He is kind of tall, about five feet seven inches. The lab coat hides his body frame, but I can see he has broad shoulders. He has gray hair that is cut short above his ears, and he has some wrinkles around his light brown eyes and mouth. Smile lines. He looks like he could be in his sixties.

         “Dr. Sanlyn?” I say. He looks down at me as if I never asked my question. “How long have I been here?”

         Dr. Sanlyn replies. “As of today... Fourteen days.”

         Sitting up in my bed I ask, “How did I get here?”

         Dr. Sanlyn answers with a strained look on his face.

         “Your landlord received multiple complaints from your neighbors of yelling, screaming and loud noises coming from your apartment. He called the police, asking them to check on the residents and to make sure the disturbances cease.”

         Dr. Sanlyn pauses for a moment before he continues.

         “Larkyn, they found you almost lifeless in your bathtub.”

         Well... they did check on me, but only to make the noise and screaming stop. Dr. Sanlyn then continues...

         “You flatlined four times, twice in the squad and once upon arriving at the ER. After a few minutes of me receiving you, you flatlined a fourth time and I was able to bring you back. You were dead for a total of fifteen minutes.”

         He takes a moment as he stares at me thoughtfully, then takes a deep breath.

         “We ran tests to see if there were any signs of damage from the lack of oxygen to your brain, but everything seems normal.”

         After a few seconds of studying me, he says, “Larkyn, you should not be alive.”

         I did succeed. I was dead. So why did I come back to this life that never wanted me in the first place? A heaviness that is all too familiar settles in my chest and I want to ask him why he brought me back. But I don’t. I’m afraid of his answer. Instead, I go back to the scene I remember before I retreated in my bathroom: the dinner table broke in pieces on the floor as Seth lifted it in his rage. Food and dishes scattered on the floor. The fear as I was held up against the wall at eye-level with Seth. My final acceptance of death...

         “Larkyn?”

         Dr. Sanlyn says my name, bringing me back to the present. I look up at him.

         “Do you have anyone I can call? A friend, or a family member? I want to release you the day after tomorrow. You should not be alone right now.”

         In a quiet voice I answered him. “No. It’s just my husband and I don’t know where he is. I have no family or friends. I am alone.”

I look down at myself and wonder why there are no wires attached, then I remember Dr. Sanlyn had said I have been here for fourteen days.

         “What day is it?”

         “It’s Wednesday, early afternoon.”

         I nod my head and throw back the covers to get up. Dr. Sanlyn lays a hand on my shoulder urging me to stay in bed and I flinch. He pulls his hand back to his side and backs up a few steps.

         “Where are you going to go? Your husband is still out there, you cannot go back to your apartment, you will not be safe there.”

         “I have no other place to go.” I tell him, hoping he will just let me go without another word, but to my disappointment he doesn’t.

         “Larkyn, where are your parents? Your family?”

         Dr. Sanlyn asks me with a grim look on his face, studying me.

         “I don’t know. They abandoned me after the wedding. My husband...” I pause and cringe at the title I gave Seth and turn to look out the window again before I continue. “Seth said they didn’t want me anymore after the wedding, that I am now his burden.”

         I feel my eyes fill with tears and try not to let them fall but they do and soak my cheeks once again. Dr. Sanlyn’s facial expression changes from the grim look he was giving me to that same look I always saw in Seth’s eyes before he was consumed with rage. Except I see a soul and an emotion I think might be pity in Dr. Sanlyn’s eyes. In the memory I cower in my bed, trying to get as far away as I can. When I realize I can’t go anywhere, I bunch the covers up to my chest and sink back into the pillows. I look up at Dr. Sanlyn, trying to predict if something bad will happen, but nothing does.

         Dr. Sanlyn’s expression softens as I look up at him.

         “Larkyn, you are safe here. Your husband will be detained on sight should he walk on hospital premises. Rest now and I will be back to check in on you a little later.”

         With that, the doctor who tried to reassure my safety, leaves my hospital room without another word.

Several minutes pass before I look around my room to take in my surroundings. It looks like any other room on the floor of a hospital except the chest of drawers has a vase of fake flowers and two leopard statues. The door to the bathroom is not a normal bathroom door. I get up from the bed and approach the closed door with caution in case someone is behind it.

         No. Dr. Sanlyn said I am safe here and I shake my head, then study the door. There are leopards carved into the wood and the door itself has been burned. The carvings are beautiful, and I touch them with my fingertip. Two leopards are side by side, one bigger than the other. The big one is looking at the smaller one protectively, and the smaller one is in a sitting position looking downward at a group of leopards. The group are also sitting but seems to be looking upward. Tracing my fingers down the carvings, I noticed the leopards are spaced apart, like they are mimicking the shape of a pyramid.

         Studying the carvings, I can’t help but think how beautiful this is and I am entranced by it. It’s beautiful. There are no colors, but the burning of the door gives it a beautiful antique look. The handle on the door comes just above my waist. Turning the knob and pulling the door open, the bathroom looks normal in size, having a sink sitting in the middle of a small countertop. A fresh hospital gown, socks, and boxer shorts are neatly folded on the far corner of the counter. A toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, deodorant, and a brush are laid beside the gown for me to use. Fresh towels and rags have been placed on a towel rack on the far back wall.

         I disrobe, allowing the gown to fall to the floor. Stepping in the shower, I turn the water on to a comfortable temperature and allow myself a few minutes to feel the water gently pour over my body. I look down at my wrists and see the damage. I still have stitches and the wounds are covered with a clear bandage and tape.

         I turn to face the water that is cascading down my back and as soon as the water hits my face, I cry. I don’t understand why I’m still alive to continue suffering in this agonizing existence of pain and emptiness.

***

Cyrus

​

         Sitting at my desk, I look around my study and I remember my father, Edwyn, sitting here just like I am, trying to find a way to save our people from extinction. He was no closer than I and we have nothing to show for all the sleepless nights and lost days. Being the successful attorney he was, he created his own law firm, Meleyda & Meleyda Associates, with several attorneys who work for him. His firm is the base for our people and serves as the main income for some and a haven for others.

         I remember how angry he was, even with his success, he was not able to find a solution to not only protect our people but to help us rebuild and thrive once again. As a child I didn’t understand why he was always in here and why I was never allowed to disturb him. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I understood, but I wish he would have included me.

         I worked with my father as a partner in his firm when I graduated law school. After twenty years, I have created a nice cushion for myself and eventually, my Queen. After the death of my father, I now solely run his firm, still employing the attorneys he started with. Though I no longer practice law, I am still CEO of my father’s firm and I take advice from his chosen attorneys and help decide which cases the firm takes on. Once I find my queen, I plan to pass control over to Mason Petré. He was my father’s best friend and I trust no other to move forward with my father’s law firm.

         I also have a small woodworking shop that has taken off nicely. It’s not a big business, but it serves our people and allows for steady revenue. I have created doors, signs, perches, and decks, along with other things people have personally requested for. My father would have loved the study door, and how I used the intricate carvings and the burning technique.

         My father was attacked by some kind of rabid hybrid five years ago. I don’t know what kind but I know it was a hybrid, but I do know he had red and black fur and a soulless stare I will never forget. I was so distracted by his injuries, that I didn’t know how long the hybrid had been gone before I realized he was no longer there. I promised my father that night before he died that I would find his killer and bring justice to him, and I will. He told me and made me promise to find my queen first, that she is more important than vengeance. I argued the difference between justice and vengeance, but I swore to his last request.

         He told me of our lineage when I was a young boy and described the emblem in such detail that it has been burned into my memory. Sometime throughout the centuries, the emblem has been lost and there are no other drawings, sculptures, or hieroglyphs that give a visual of our beginning. I don’t know how my father knew what the insignia looks like, he never told me, only that I needed to know. I carved the insignia into the door of my study, something to keep as a visual and reminder to continue this journey without my father.

         The insignia covers the top half of the door and has two leopards, a male and a female, making the top of the pyramid. The male is sitting looking toward the female. The female, smaller than the male also in a sitting position, is looking downward to the group of leopards below her.

         These leopards are sitting upright and are spread out in the shape of a pyramid while looking up at their Queen. This insignia shows the original lineage of the Therimau before couplings were done with other species, specifically with wolves. Over time, these couplings have diluted the original bloodline.

         My father told me what was passed to him from his father and so on and what he told my mother. The world existed with wolves, dogs, bears, and other species of animals but the line of the feline did not exist. A century after the creation of life, a young woman who was the only daughter of an Egyptian Pharaoh and had no husband, became pregnant and gave birth to two feline cubs, one black and the other white.

         After their birth, these cubs morphed into human male and female infants. Though they were born together, they were not siblings and the Egyptians saw this as a blessing. Their mother was recognized as the mother of the Therimau bloodline giving birth to the Therimau species.

         As children, they were never able to morph back into their first presentation, but they could feel the stirring of their cats. At maturity, they became a mated pair, and within a few hours of their mating, they both presented in their full-grown feline forms. They were able to present at will and the Egyptians came to believe the mating released this change.

         A hieroglyph was created to honor the two and as they had children, more glyphs were added, eventually forming The Leopard’s Pyramid. The male, larger than his female, had black fur while the female’s fur was white. Their offspring were all a mixture of different shades of blacks and browns, and all had a dusting of gray circles spread throughout their fur.

         There was only one white leopard and that was the female. She was crowned Queen of all Therimau, and her mate was King. Together, they ruled this new species as one. They mated for life having only each other and their abundance of children. With their loyalty they had for one another, they flourished.

         Not long after, two of their children found their mates outside the feline species, one pair accepted the mating, and the other did not. The mated pair who fully embraced their status, had offspring and the process started over again as it did with the king and queen. The mated pair who didn’t accept the mating, did not have any offspring and their blood line ended.

         It was believed as one did not fully accept their mated status, they were rejecting the other even when the rejection was never vocalized. However, if they embraced their chosen mates and truly accepted each other, they would be blessed with offspring and their line would continue.

         This meant our DNA fused with our chosen mates creating the varied species of leopards, giving birth to the Theribrid bloodline. The mixing of species created different colors of fur and patterns of circles giving the identity of varied species of leopards and other big cats we know today like tigers, lions, cheetahs, jaguars, Pallas’ cats, caracals, and many others. We lived in peace as one unit and with immortality, we had many children and thrived.

         My father told me sometime in the sixteenth century, my ancestor, Maximo, became greedy and took more than one mate from each group. He wanted more offspring than any other, making him powerful and he took the throne, ending the first bloodline of the Therimau species. He trained his offspring to kill and spread fear, forcing our people into submission. Eventually, the unit that once lived as one, were now divided and spread-out, seeking safety and peace all around the world.

         Even in death, our mother continued to watch over us and became so enraged, she forced the males to live as solitary creatures, seeking a female only to mate. The females lived and raised their cubs alone instead of living in clans, units, or groups. Over time cubs born to a male and female of varied species did not survive, and others were no longer producing offspring, making them either endangered or extinct.

         Immortality was taken from us, but we were left with longevity. Though we do eventually die, our life span is long and lonely. A female from the original bloodline had a vision of our people flourishing once again, and in the center of the people were the black and white leopards. The female interpreted the vision as we must find the white leopard and solidify the royalty of the first male and female once again. This is the only way we will replenish our people and our way of life as it once was.

         I am the last of the original royal bloodline, and I have been searching for my queen since my father told me my mother was human and did not survive my birth. I promised my father the night he died in my arms five years ago, I will find his killer and bring him to justice. I also promised my father that night, a promise I intend to keep. I will find her. I will find my mate and Queen.

         As I leave my study to stop for the day, my cell phone rings. It’s three in the morning and the caller ID shows Dr. Sanlyn, our people’s healer. I rub my face with one hand and answer my cell with the other as I reach my bedroom. He only calls if one of my people has been killed, kidnapped, or if a human has been attacked or mauled.

         “Yes Dr. Sanlyn, what’s going on.” I say, my voice sounding more irritated than intended. He gives a momentary pause, then he says what I never thought I would ever hear.

         “Your queen has been found.”

​

Thank you for reading. To follow Cyrus' and Larkyns' story, the e-book will be coming soon on Kindle, Apple Books, Nook Books, and many other major e-reader platforms. Enjoy! Printed Hardcover book coming soon!