"Dark Legend" begins in Paris when Gabriel, one of the legendary but believed-dead twins, is rudely awakened from a centuries-long slumber. He knows that nothing could awaken him except his twin Lucian, who he has fought and tried to kill for centuries because he's turned vampire, and only Gabriel is strong enough to destroy him. Fearing for mankind, Gabriel bursts from his resting place and sets out to track his brother. But first he must feed, as he's ravenous.

Soon after his awakening, he's picked up by Francesca Del Ponce. She's a wealthy woman with a heart of gold. At first she believes him to be a starving and possibly insane homeless man. She wants to help him, so she takes him to a homeless shelter where he's turned away. Later they run into her friend, Brice Renaldo, a doctor with a romantic interest in Francesca. He urges her to lose the stranger, but she feels sorry for him, so she takes him home with her. Upon their arrival, it dawns on her who and what Gabriel is. She is very familiar with the Carpathian race, as she herself is Carpathian. In fact, she recoginzes Gabriel as the lifemate who left her behind to hunt vampires. She was hurt by what she believes was his abandonment, but she knows that she must help him, so she offers him her ancient blood, so that he will heal faster.

Upon taking her offering, Gabriel, like all Carpathian males, can suddenly see color again. He recognizes Francesca as his lifemate, and claims her as such. He doesn't remember abandoning her 1000 earlier, and so he can't understand why she fights their union. He has planned to walk into the dawn after destroying Lucian, but suddenly he has a reason to go on living. He makes the decision to court Francesca. He has no intention of giving her up now that he's found her, but he doesn't want to force her compliance either. He wants her to come to him of her own free will and love him without coercion.

Gabriel's sudden reappearance in her life is exactly what Francesca did not want. During her 1000 years of self-imposed solitude, she has learned how to be human. She can walk in daylight and she's even been able to mask her presence from vampires and Carpathians alike. She's become so adept at hiding that nobody from her homeland knows she lives. She's made many friends and used her Carpathian powers for good. She heals the sick and injured. But in her solitude, she hasn't been happy. Even though she doesn't love him, she's made the decision to spend the rest of her years with Brice and she plans to age and die with him as a human mate would do.

Gabriel will have none of this. Though he plans on taking his time to court her properly, he feels he must do something drastic to bind Francesca to him so that she won't end her life and their chance at happiness together. So he seduces her and unbeknownst to her, he intentionally impregnates her. He feels that a baby is just the thing that will draw her to him and he knows that she would never abandon her child, even if her lifemate were to be killed in his fight against the undead.

Within days, Brice calls her to the hospital to help a near-comatose girl who's been beaten and abused for most of her life. Francesca does what she can, but upon learning the girl's father is the person responsible for her trauma, she decides to figure out a way to take the girl from him. He shows up at the hospital and threatens Francesca, at which time Gabriel swoops in and saves the day. Brice balks at finding Gabriel still in his lady-love's life but is terrified of him and the power he wields, but that doesn't stop Brice from making their union difficult at best. His jealousy makes him the target of an ancient vampire who uses him to draw Francesca out of hiding.

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Francesca fall deeper in love with each other. But Gabriel hasn't forgotten his mission...to destroy his brother, Lucian. He sets out on a path to rid Paris of the undead, and the world of the threat that Lucian poses. There is a surprise twist at the end of the story, but I can't possibly reveal it as it would mess up the whole experience. However, readers faithful to the saga will figure it out or at least suspect it a bit earlier in the story. Just know that it sets up the beginning of many more installments of this series.

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NOTE: This is an e-book. If you're intested in reading or trading for this book, I'll be glad to send the hard copy that I printed for my own reading via snail mail, or the electronic version via email.

RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to Deutschland!