EXTRAS

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Beautiful cover above by @redlitmus THANKS so much!! 

NOTE - I loaded EPILOGUE PART THREE right before this. Read that before you read this!

Chapter 167—EXTRAS


**I'm Curious: Some of you mentioned you read the book twice. Is there anyone that's read it more than twice? If so, how many times have you read it?**

@Itz_okayy_advxnturez  suggested a great question: Who are your favorite and least favorite characters in this book?  Her answers were Felaern and Vlad.  I'm not sure what my answers would be honestly, probably Raine and Acheron. What about you?

**Random Tidbits**

I asked you guys these questions, so figured I should provide my answers as well.

Funniest moment – when Cage, Talon and Ivy are having their mental threesome, or second hand blow job as one of you clever readers suggested. I actually googled 'corny porn lines' and found 'That's right, service me, baby!" that Cage makes Talon shout out. I swear, I giggled and giggled every time I read that part.

Moments I cried – I do actually tear up occasionally while writing. The moments that caused me to shed a tear were Quinn's punishment of Raine, when Cage dies, and when she whispers goodbye to her baby because I've been there. I've held my dead child as I tried to communicate my broken heart and say goodbye...not easy. But writing Raine's story has been very cathartic for me and such a blessing.

Angry moments – didn't really have any of those, because I knew the outcome.

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**Unanswered Questions**

I wasn't able to incorporate these answers into the final chapters for various reasons, but wanted to give you answers.

What IS Raine? She is a Bloodline Vampire. She was the start of an entirely new Bloodline. The other Bloodline Vampires are: Marku, Quinn, Isolde, Armand and Liliana. Raine was born human with the vampire side latent inside of her. As a result, she had to be turned to become a vampire.

Why did Marku hide the fact that his sister, Penelope is still alive? I incorporated Penelope into the plot at that juncture to balance out Cage and Raine's relationship. Cage had been so long-suffering and understanding regarding both Alaric and Marku, so I felt it was necessary for Raine to have to deal with some of Cage's romantic history. Currently, I actually don't have the answer for why her death was faked. I do this frequently—add 'nuggets of potential' into the story without knowing exactly how I'll use them. I just go with my gut instinct and usually, they play out very well down the road even though I have no idea what I'll do with them at first. If I write Book 5, I suspect I'll answer this question in that story. I'd love to hear your ideas for how I could use it.

Where did Brialle get all of the money she gave to Raine? There are two options here. First, would be the money she amassed and saved over her time with Armand. Second, was her very elevated standing with Isolde (another Bloodline Vampire). However, the plot didn't really allow for me to expand on her relationship with Isolde.

Why is Ivy human? Esmeralda adopted her. All we know is Esmeralda appeared genuinely heartbroken when Marku took Ivy as his pet to pay off Esmeralda stepped. We also know that Ivy did not want to return to her mother, but the reasons were not disclosed. This was another 'nugget of potential'. If I ever write Talon's story, I'll flesh it out.

Does Raine have the same power of compulsion without speaking, like Cage does? No, I didn't want to give her too many powers and felt she already had plenty between her blue-eyed control thing/breaking mate bond, illusion, walking in the sun and calling-large-cats-to-fight/her-bond-with-Loki/tigers.

What powers does Cage have? His mating with Raine gave him the ability to compel without speaking, immune to compulsion, bloodline vampire strength and walk in the sun. Felaern's transfer of power gave him the ability to use energy as a weapon and made him physically stronger than even a Bloodline vampire. More powers may manifest in the future.

What do the images in Raine's Royal mark mean? Tiger: special connection to Loki. He emits a sound that helps her heal when she is on his back. She called for big cats to assist during a fight. Interlocking bands: Bind vampires against their will. Eyes glow blue and can bind other vampires to her irrevocably. Once bound, they cannot disobey an order from her. She feels a deep connection/ownership with them. Key: The vampire's mate bond can be broken at the same time if the other vampire wishes to be free of the bond. Unique connection with big cats, can communicate and call for their help. Sun: Walk in the sun. Wings: her Fae heritage. Water: for now, just for overall love of water, no particular power attached...yet.

Why was Tobias and Ileana's mate bonds broken when Raine bound them to her, but other's mate bonds remained intact? Because both Tobias and Ileana wanted to be free of their mate bonds.  That person must want to be released of the mate bond.

Where is Tobias? He lived through the battle with Acheron and went home with Echo.

Do the security people also sit in on the mating? No.

Does Raine feel/know when one of her 'sworn' dies? No. While she feels intensely connected and protective of to them, she doesn't get a specific feeling of loss letting her know they've died.

What is the significance of her glowing blue eyes when experiencing severe emotion? I found an image of a female surrounded by animals; all of them had glowing blue eyes, signifying her control over them. I incorporated it so that her power wasn't confused with normal compulsion. I initially planned on using the image in the book, however decided to limit her powers to big cats not the variety shown in the image.

Can Raine speak with all big cats? Yes.

Did Marku fall in love with Raine? Her tenacity, unique scent, immune to compulsion and superhuman strength, as well as her swindling him out of $500K caused him to be ridiculously attracted to her, more so than any other female in his past. He doesn't deal with or identify his own emotions, he just lives. However he found he was unable to torture her as he initially planned, and was willing to sacrifice what he desperately wanted (to keep her) and let her go instead. For him, this could be defined as love. But it would be extremely unlikely for him to be monogamous long-term because over the course of centuries, he has never committed himself to one female, even his mate, but rather enjoyed females whenever and however he wanted to, and thought nothing of taking them by force. Raine firmly believes he is incapable of changing this long-term behavior because it is just a part of his identity. He treats Raine differently, but he is not a changed man. He hasn't become good, and wouldn't hesitate to do despicable things in the future.

How did Sofielle become Acheron's hostage? This will be revealed in the future novella about them.

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**Interesting Tidbits**

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Raine would have completed the mating ceremony with Alaric?  The answer is it would have killed Alaric because he already bore a royal mark, Quinn's. The conflict between the two marks fighting for dominance in his body would have ripped him apart. However, Cage didn't have a royal mark (because Armand hadn't transferred it yet)...making it possible for him to accept it and survive. If Raine would have completed the mating process with Alaric, he would have died at the end of it.

The story was initially meant to have just 41 chapters and end where she discovers she is Armand's daughter. But when we neared that point, the response to the book had been so favorable and encouraging, that I decided to continue and created Book 2 (her time with Alaric). And then Book 3 & 4.

The story underwent significant editing, but none more than my decision to switch the order of chapter 1 and 2. Initially, chapter 1 was Raine's point of view at the club when they meet. Chapter 2 contained the same events, but told from Cage's point of view. I found there were significantly more votes on Cage's point of view, so I switched the chapters to make his first. After that, my beta reader didn't like the repetition, so I significantly changed chapter 2 and 3 to cut out any repetitive story line.

The 'New Beginning' chapter was initially meant to represent when Cage and Raine conceived their baby, hence the title New Beginning. Raine couldn't have conceived prior to becoming a vampire, and this was the first chapter after she was turned. I didn't plan for them to have sex after this before Cage 'died', but as is so typical with this book, the story seemed to write itself sometimes, and I ended up with not one, but a few more sex scenes before Cage 'died'. So now it is impossible to pinpoint exactly which sex scene they conceived, but I like to think of it as in 'New Beginning' chapter.

The Tiger Element was not preplanned. Instead, each step was progressive and in the moment. In the 'Dulce Tigru' chapter, I wanted him to have a nickname for her that wasn't used in every other book, so I came up with Dulce Tigru which means 'sweet tiger'. In the 'Promises' chapter, Cage and Raine see her mark for the first time in the shower. I had to describe it and didn't have any plot points attached to the symbols at that point. While I was pondering what to choose, I remembered I had used the symbol of a lion for Armand's mark, which made me think about tigers, which was just too perfect, because it matched her nickname. And then there was Loki. He was another 'character' that was quite 'accidental', meaning I hadn't planned for him until I was smack dab in the middle of the chapter. I felt Raine needed something to call her own/something to comfort her—like a teddy bear normal people would have. That's when I thought about tigers, and again, the concept was just too perfect, because it fit the other two items already in place. Then I added in her special 'tiger ability' and voila'. I love Loki, and have been thrilled to work him in to as many scenes as possible. My favorite scene with him and Raine is when he bursts through the window when Raine is being whipped and then he carries her while she heals. It's my favorite because it was an excellent solution for the problem I had of how Alaric was going to carry her without hurting her back even more. That solution didn't occur to me until quite close to when I was writing the chapter, and I was super pleased with how well that piece fit. Even though I hadn't planned it ahead of time, it was the perfect solution.

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**Folklore**

For those that may want clarification, here are some dynamics of this world.

Bloodline Vampire – initially 5 in the book: Armand, Marku, Isolde, Quinn, Liliana. They cannot be compelled. Some have unique gifts. Royal Mark/Family Crest: Each Bloodline has a unique mark. The mark is transferred to their biological children, not to vampires they turn. If the mark is visible on a baby at birth, the lines are black. There are occasions when the mark only shows up when the vampire drinks from their parent. In this situation, the lines of the mark are white. Bloodline Scent - each Bloodline has a unique scent. The scent is passed down to their children, and sometimes to vampires they turn.

Bloodline Human – over the centuries, some humans carry and pass down the scent of one of the ancient vampire Bloodlines. Most bloodline humans live and die without ever knowing they carry this ancient vampire trait.

Immortalwhen a Bloodline Human conceives with a vampire who carries a Royal Mark. Gestation is 10 weeks. They mature at twice the human rate, so in ten years, they will look twenty years old in human terms. They are born with several white symbols on their body, each representing a different gift. If they misuse a gift, nature will take it from them during an extremely painful three-week process that leaves the flesh under the mark mutilated. Brialle lost her illusion gift when she transferred the gift to Felaern, so that he could kill a woman to deceive Armand into thinking she was dead. An Immortal can only conceive with a human, not a vampire. The resulting children are human in every way. Most Immortals do not have many children because they have to watch them grow and die, and that repeated loss is too great.

Naturally Born Vampire – only Royal vampires (ones that carry a bloodline mark) can conceive a naturally born vampire baby. All other vampires are created via a bite.

PetHuman slaves. Kept in very little or no clothing. Their collars define their ownership. Plain collars for regular vampires; crystal or studded for higher class vampires. It is not illegal to release a pet, however it is so rare, it is close. Releasing a pet is dangerous. There are several vampires who hunt released pets for either sport or spite.

Pets in Raine's KingdomShe requires them to wear at least some clothing. They are paid for their labor. A vampire cannot have sex against their pet's will. Her kingdom is a refuge. She will keep and not release any pets who seek asylum.

Fae, Light – white wings, create portals, fight with balls of energy. Not all Fae can, but Felaern can fight/stop lesser opponents with his mind. Bloodline vampires and high ranking Royal vampires are immune. Obsidian ore is deadly to them.

Fae, Dark – black wings, access dark powers, some have unique powers. Killian can make someone go to sleep. Mischievous, unpredictable, dangerous.

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**Relationships**

Felaern/Brialle – He was drawn to her because her mother Sofielle was his mate. I have hinted toward a romantic history, maybe not ongoing, but 'something'.  At this point, in my head, it was a one night stand or something short like that, but I don't have further details to provide because they simply don't exist. I might incorporate something into the Felaern/Sofielle novella.

Felaern/Raine – Protective of her because Brialle was her mother. Also felt a connection to her because his mate Sofielle was her grandmother.

Felaern/Talia – Felt a connection immediately, so wanted to know more about her to find out why. He never imagined it was because she was also Brialle's daughter.

Killian/Raine – Killian felt immediate connection because he is her uncle. His mother is Sofielle. He kidnapped her from Cage, so he could ask her questions about her family while they flew. After they were out of Marku's territory, he dropped her into Cage's arms.

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Holy shit--I get to change the status of the story to COMPLETE!

**Playlist**


Book 1.1: Courtesy Call by Thousand Foot Krutch

Book 1.4: Closer (Epic Trailer Version) (Feat. Keeley Bumford)

Book 1.18: Without Him by Christina Grimmie

Book 1.23: Warzone by The Wanted

Book 1.28: Stay by Safetysuit

Book 1.29: TiO by Zayn

Book 1.41: My All by Mariah Carey

Book 2.6: Heart Heart Head by Meg Myers

Book 2.7: Infinity by The XX

Book 2.20: Just Like Fire (Nightcore version)

Book 2.22: The Heart Wants What It Once by Boy Epic

Book 2.24: Surprise Yourself by Jack Garratt

Book 2.25: Powerful by Major Lazer

Book 2.32: Ready or Not by Mischa?

Book 2.34: No Running From Me by Toulouse

Book 2.40: Can't Forget You by My Darkest Days

Book 2.41: Secret Love Song By Little Mix ft Jason Derulo

Book 2.44: I Get To Love You by Ruelle

Book 3.2: Lollipop by Framing Hanley

Book 3.5: Day is Gone by Noah Gunderen & The Forest Rangers

Book 3.6: Boom by P.O.D

Book 3.8: Become the Beast (Nightcore Male version)

Book 3.9: Simple Things by Miguel

Book 3.26: You Are My Sunshine by Jamey Johnson, Twiggy Ramirez, Shooter Jennings

Book 3.32: Dirty Mind like Boy Epic

Book 3 .33: My Pony by Ginuwine

Book 3.34: Unstoppable by Sia

Book 3.42: Mercy by Hurt

Book 3.44: I Here You Pray by Dare

Book 3.45: Gone Away by Noctura

Book 3.45: Armor by Landon Austin

Book 3.49: Deep End by Ruelle

Book 3.50: Animal by Chase Holfelder

Book 3.52: Wicked by Boy Epic

Book 4.1: Requiem For A Dream by Lux Aeterna

Book 4.6: Him for the Missing by Nightcore

Book 4.7: Raised The Dead by Rachel Rabin

Book 4.8: The Power of Love by Gabrielle Aplin

Book 4.9: I Think Where Alone by Hidden Citizens

Book 4.12: Legendary by Welshly Arms

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