Dangerous Love (The Immortal Realm)

Prologue

My name is Natalia Annalise Volkov. And I am a Vampire.

Let's get something straight... I'm not that kind of Vampire. I don't sleep in coffins, I'm not allergic to sunlight, garlic and whatever. I sleep whenever I want to, but I can also live without it. I eat human food but I also need to feed on blood. I'm not all pale and dead-looking, and I certainly do not sparkle. I mean, what the hell? Why would I?

Anyway, I'm not like the vampires you used to read in textbooks. I'm a 3rd Generation Vampire. I was born on January 21, 1896 under the 59th cycle of the blood moon, which only comes every 100 years. By now I am 121 years old... supposedly. I stopped aging a hundred and one years ago. A vampire can only stop aging if he/she undergoes The Embrace. A Kindred (fancy name for a vampire) requests a Feeder to drain their blood and infuse them with a pint of the feeder's venom. Then we undergo a process called The Becoming. That's when I decided I'd love to be 21 forever.

It's kind of hard being a vampire, though. No permanent home, no permanent friends, and sadly, soul mates are never easy to be found. I know, I know. It sounds way out of my league, considering I'm practically ancient. But I just want to be with someone forever. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of bachelors in my world too. Six packs, hazel eyes, blonde hair, and whatever a teenage girl can dream of. I've had my fair share of hot guys, but they ended up being my meal. Maybe that's why I don't get so many men. I'm a beast under the sheets and on the streets.

Being a modern vampire is awesome, though. Your ancestors already suffered all those torture the townspeople would do to demons. They suffered all the misfortunes vampires initially had that they needed to create a "serum" for the next Kindreds to be immune to such torture. The serum was injected to most of the vampires and from then they reproduced. After which, the DNA composition was passed on from generation to generation. Genius, right? Thank you, awesome ancestors.

Over time, our practices have changed. From what we eat to the way we live, what rituals we do and how we cope with the times. But one thing remains, Lycans are our sworn enemies. I swear if ever I see one, I'm gonna rip out its heart and... never mind. Being a 21 year old vampire isn't a walk in the park, you know. It has perks, yes. Like I don't get my monthly periods, I didn't have to worry about acne and other flaws, and my skin has a permanent perfect tan. But I've had this look for over a hundred years and I'm sort of fed up with it.

My Clan, The Untouchables as we call ourselves, consists of 4 Covens. The Baltazars, they're the clan's leading family. The Volkovs, that's us. We're obviously the awesome ones. The Clarksons, they don't do much since they're the newest and youngest Coven we have, but my best friend, Macey Clarkson is there. And The Morrisons, who are in charge of guarding the Clan. We may be small in number, but we are one of the strongest clans, not to brag or anything. This is mainly because we've lived in every continent and we've adopted to so many cultures. So yeah, we are pretty well-off.

We Volkovs originated in Russia. But since we used to be on the run, we had to change our names and sometimes, our physical features. It's painful to morph into someone or something else, but we're used to it. I've had three other names after my birth name. I became Magnolia Bowman, an Australian nurse, Valentina de la Rosa, a Spanish waitress, and Madeline Smith, a British tour guide. But now, I go by the name Natalie Larson. I wanted something close to Natalia, so I chose that. We currently live in Palo Alto, California. In fall, I'd be a student at Stanford University, studying medicine and majoring in Pediatrics. Fun, right? Now that you know me, there's no turning back.

Welcome to my life.