Chapter One
Brasov, Romania
Summer, 1873
Juliann Little wasn’t a woman to stand by while life flew past her. She had lost several friends in her propensity to act without thinking. Doing so had changed her life forever three years prior when she followed her heart and had an affair. With a married man.
She hadn’t known he was married, but by then the damage had been done. She was ruined. Completely. Utterly.
After that debacle, Jules had begun helping her father in his quest to search for anything supernatural. It was used as an escape, and her father gladly welcomed her.
Yet, Jules found part of herself on those travels. A part she hadn’t known was missing. A part that needed something…more…in her life than parties and gossip.
Usually her father kept his travels centered around England and Scotland, but recently, his research took him to Romania.
That’s where everything unraveled.
Jules stepped off the travel coach and took a quick look around the small, quiet village. Everyone kept their gazes to the ground, refusing to speak to each other.
“Excuse me,” Jules said when a man walked near her. But he continued on as if she didn’t exist.
She bit her lip and inhaled deeply. If she expected to locate her father, she was going to have to get someone’s attention. Quickly.
“Miss? Where do you want me to leave your luggage?” the driver asked impatiently.
Her gaze scanned the sleepy village until she spotted an inn down the road a bit. “I’ll take it,” she said.
He dropped her valise onto the ground before she could reach him, and Jules was glad she hadn’t packed anything breakable in the bag. She picked up her case, straightened her shoulders, and walked to the inn.
A thin, pale young woman with blonde hair greeted her as she walked through the door. “May I help you?” the young woman asked, a kind smile on her lips.
Jules sighed in relief as she closed the door behind her and set the valise at her feet. Finally, someone with manners. “I’d like a room, please.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “You’re staying in Brasov?”
Jules was hard pressed not to ask what else she’d be doing in the inn but looking for a room. “I’m searching for my father, actually. Professor Little. Perhaps he stayed here?”
The girl fidgeted with her skirts and swallowed nervously. “I wouldn’t suggest staying here, miss. These are very dangerous times.”
Dangerous ? Jules tamped down her growing panic and calmly asked, “What is going on, exactly?”
Not that she expected the girl to tell her there were vampires or such running around, but with her father here, it had to be something of the supernatural realm.
“There is a pack of wolves that has been attacking people.”
Jules looked out the window to her right and gazed at the Carpathian Mountains. Wolves. Her father hadn’t been hunting wolves, but he must have found something.
She turned back to the girl. “My father? Do you remember him?”
“I do, miss,” the girl replied softly. “He stayed here about six months ago before he headed into the mountains.”
“Thank you,” Jules said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be staying, but I do need a room.”
“You’re a woman traveling alone. Not a good idea in Brasov, if you don’t mind my saying so,” the girl whispered and glanced out the window.
“I’ll be fine, but thank you for the warning.”
Jules paid the girl, and then followed her up the stairs to her room. Before the girl turned to leave, Jules stopped her.
“Do you know of any men I can hire to take me up the mountains?”
The girl glanced down the stairs, her fingers clutching her her dark green skirts. “I know some men who are always looking for work, but with the wolves, you’ll have to pay extra.”
“The amount doesn’t matter. I just need someone who knows the mountains.”
“Then you really need Cristian Dragomir, miss. No one knows our mountains better than he.”
Jules’
Brasov, Romania
Summer, 1873
Juliann Little wasn’t a woman to stand by while life flew past her. She had lost several friends in her propensity to act without thinking. Doing so had changed her life forever three years prior when she followed her heart and had an affair. With a married man.
She hadn’t known he was married, but by then the damage had been done. She was ruined. Completely. Utterly.
After that debacle, Jules had begun helping her father in his quest to search for anything supernatural. It was used as an escape, and her father gladly welcomed her.
Yet, Jules found part of herself on those travels. A part she hadn’t known was missing. A part that needed something…more…in her life than parties and gossip.
Usually her father kept his travels centered around England and Scotland, but recently, his research took him to Romania.
That’s where everything unraveled.
Jules stepped off the travel coach and took a quick look around the small, quiet village. Everyone kept their gazes to the ground, refusing to speak to each other.
“Excuse me,” Jules said when a man walked near her. But he continued on as if she didn’t exist.
She bit her lip and inhaled deeply. If she expected to locate her father, she was going to have to get someone’s attention. Quickly.
“Miss? Where do you want me to leave your luggage?” the driver asked impatiently.
Her gaze scanned the sleepy village until she spotted an inn down the road a bit. “I’ll take it,” she said.
He dropped her valise onto the ground before she could reach him, and Jules was glad she hadn’t packed anything breakable in the bag. She picked up her case, straightened her shoulders, and walked to the inn.
A thin, pale young woman with blonde hair greeted her as she walked through the door. “May I help you?” the young woman asked, a kind smile on her lips.
Jules sighed in relief as she closed the door behind her and set the valise at her feet. Finally, someone with manners. “I’d like a room, please.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “You’re staying in Brasov?”
Jules was hard pressed not to ask what else she’d be doing in the inn but looking for a room. “I’m searching for my father, actually. Professor Little. Perhaps he stayed here?”
The girl fidgeted with her skirts and swallowed nervously. “I wouldn’t suggest staying here, miss. These are very dangerous times.”
Dangerous ? Jules tamped down her growing panic and calmly asked, “What is going on, exactly?”
Not that she expected the girl to tell her there were vampires or such running around, but with her father here, it had to be something of the supernatural realm.
“There is a pack of wolves that has been attacking people.”
Jules looked out the window to her right and gazed at the Carpathian Mountains. Wolves. Her father hadn’t been hunting wolves, but he must have found something.
She turned back to the girl. “My father? Do you remember him?”
“I do, miss,” the girl replied softly. “He stayed here about six months ago before he headed into the mountains.”
“Thank you,” Jules said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be staying, but I do need a room.”
“You’re a woman traveling alone. Not a good idea in Brasov, if you don’t mind my saying so,” the girl whispered and glanced out the window.
“I’ll be fine, but thank you for the warning.”
Jules paid the girl, and then followed her up the stairs to her room. Before the girl turned to leave, Jules stopped her.
“Do you know of any men I can hire to take me up the mountains?”
The girl glanced down the stairs, her fingers clutching her her dark green skirts. “I know some men who are always looking for work, but with the wolves, you’ll have to pay extra.”
“The amount doesn’t matter. I just need someone who knows the mountains.”
“Then you really need Cristian Dragomir, miss. No one knows our mountains better than he.”
Jules’
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