The Carpathians’ name comes from the place of their origin, the Carpathian Mountains in eastern Europe.
A Carpathian is definitely not a vampire, even though Carpathians
- drink blood
- sleep during the day
- burn in sunlight
- have supernatural powers
- are immortal (sort of)
The primary difference is that Carpathians are the good guys. They only drink enough blood to survive, and never kill their victims (prey). The vampires are evil and destructive and bitter enemies of the Carpathians.
Of course, Carpathians can actually become vampires if they start killing their prey. Which many do, after living a millennium or two without finding their lifemate. Lifemates give hope for the future, make them see in color again. Unfortunately, there are fewer Carpathian females, and when they do give birth, few of their offspring live past infancy.
Which means that more and more Carpathians, unable to deal with the endless centuries of loneliness, are beginning to turn, becoming vampires themselves, and thus the enemies of their own race.
But wait…there are some human women with special psychic powers who have the ability to become Carpathian lifemates. They can even become Carpathians themselves, and bear Carpathian children. These human women can be the salvation of the Carpathians. Which is why the vampires are out to get them first and destroy them (as they do everything else) before they can meet their mates and bring them back from the precipice of despair.
Where’s the Romance?
Well, there is something really appealing about a guy who is so closely bound to you that he will never look at another woman, that you will be so close that you will hear each other’s thoughts. Knowing that you have saved him from the depths of despair. And the ritual pledge the Carpathian males learn when they are young:
I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give to you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness, and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care.
To die for!
Drinking a little blood now and then and sleeping in the ground…I could get used to it.
What about you?
There are currently twenty-three books in Christine’s Dark series, and I’m only on number six. Christine comes from a family of thirteen, and has eleven children herself, as well as five dogs and numerous grandchildren. Where does she find the time to write?
Susana's Morning Room 