ETHAN’S MATE (Book One: The Vampire Coalition) by J. S. Scott Page A

cause, a
ray of light and hope for ones who lived in darkness. If they had
nothing else to live for, they could remain in that ray of light by
preserving the future for others of their kind. If they didn’t have
The Coalition and their goals, they knew it was possible to become
the hunted instead of the hunter .

Chapter 1
    Come to me. I need you.
    Ethan Hale sat up in bed, his heart pumping, sweat
dripping from his body so profusely that it saturated his bedding.
He was panting as if he had just battled a dozen fallen.
    I’m dying. My life force is draining away. Come to
me.
    The voice was weak and soft in his mind, a faint
whisper with a female softness that sent a shiver down his spine.
He recognized the voice of his mate from pure instinct, a certainty
that had nothing to do with logic.
    Another seeks me, but he is not you. Please come to
me… before it is too late.
    “Who seeks you? And why? Help me find you.” He spoke
aloud, although it was not necessary. He sought her in his mind,
trying to reach her through the weak psychic connection. Something
was… wrong . She sounded distant, depleted. It was still
day…long before the sun would set and the connection was
fragile.
    Ethan tried to rise, but it wasn’t possible. Nothing
could pull him from his day sleep except his mate, but he couldn’t
function before twilight. He fought and struggled, frustration and
anger driving him. He couldn’t rise. Damn it! He couldn’t rise! His
body refused to cooperate and his mind was sluggish.
    Nothing drove a vampire like the need of his mate. It
was feral. Animalistic. Instinct. The need to protect his woman, to
shelter her from all harm ripped through his useless body. Her pain
and her need became his, and there was nothing worse than not being
able to protect his mate. The instinct was there already and they
had not even bonded.
    I don’t know who seeks and stalks me, but it is not
you. I feel the evil. I’m growing weak. You must come to me.
    Ethan’s heart nearly exploded from his chest while he
fought the seductive call of his day sleep. “Tell me how? Please.”
His voice was desperate now as he clenched the wet sheets, trying
to feel her essence. It was so elusive, barely there, but he had to
reach it.
    Please find me…
    Her voice floated away lightly, fading to…
nothingness. The connection was completely severed.
    Ethan felt himself being dragged back into his day
sleep. He resisted, tearing at the sheets, pounding the bed. But
the day sleep was relentless, pulling him into a dark abyss.
    “Nooooo!!” His cry was an anguished howl as the
darkness consumed him.
    *****
    Brianna Cole woke with a frightened cry. Her eyes
popped open and she had an immediate awareness of her
surroundings . I’m home. In my own bed. Her heart pounding
and her breath shallow, she sat up and looked around her
bedroom.
    “Nothing here,” she whispered to herself as she
shivered and rubbed her arms to warm herself despite the warmth of
her bedroom.
    She was always cold these days. Since she had been
suddenly struck down with a rare and mysterious form of leukemia
six months ago, she was constantly chilled to the bone.
    Brianna was just grateful to be in her own home.
Although her family and friends had objected, she had obstinately
stuck to her guns and remained in her own house where she felt at
peace. She hadn’t been able to return to her job as a social
worker, and more often than not, she was in the hospital getting a
transfusion or some other experimental treatment. When she wasn’t
being poked and examined like a lab specimen, she needed to
be home. It was the only thing that kept her level and sane in a
world that had been turned upside down by her illness.
    Brianna knew she was dying. She didn’t need a team of
experts to tell her that she was slowly fading away. She could feel
the weakness, the slow draining of her spirit.
    But I connected with him today! I called him.
    She shook her head as the notion popped into her