God of the Grim
by Kate Hill
Series: Ancient Blood
Format(s): Ebook
Heat Level: Steamy
Pairing(s): M/F
Genre/Themes: Paranormal, Vampires
Length: Novel
Cover art created at Canva.com
Coming in November 2026!
Purchase Links: Ebook: Amazon Paperback: Amazon Hardcover: Amazon
Matthew Winter and Dulcie Evans are sure nothing can come between them. Then Matthew’s dream job as head of a vampire research center becomes a nightmare when he finds a vampire child suffering torturous experiments in a hidden lab. To rescue the boy, he risks everything, including his marriage and his life. Haunted by love and hiding from the law, Matthew sinks into a New York paranormal underworld. There he uncovers pieces of a puzzle that might lead to his destruction, unless he finds a way to change the laws of the vampire world.
Note: God of the Grim was previously published as the separate novels Infernal and God of the Grim. This is a combined and re-edited version. God of the Grim contains scenes with sex, violence, and references to a past suicide attempt.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
I’m Very Familiar with Your Work
One Week Later
“Did you get a good look at her?” Lana Adams whispered to her friend Dr. Jacqueline Black. The two women glanced across the room at Dulcie Evans.
“Is it possible to miss her?” Jacqueline said.
“I wonder if those breasts have been reconstructed or if they’re that perky naturally.” Lana glanced at Jacqueline. “Well, Jacki? Breast jobs are your specialty.”
Jacqueline shrugged her thin shoulders and curled her lip. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’d say they’re real.”
“Figures. At least she’s dressed acceptably. I’ve seen her at the mall a couple of times. So low class.” The women glanced away as the object of their barbs turned in their direction and smiled, revealing teeth that were almost too white.
“I still can’t believe he married her. What a waste. One of the country’s most respected hematologists, attractive, nice, and he ends up with a wannabe Ms. August centerfold.” Jacqueline scoffed. “Do you know she’s an artist? What could they possibly have in common?”
“Probably nothing. He obviously is with her for stimulating conversation.”
“Matthew Winter is the last man I’d expect to marry a woman for sex. He’s so uptight.”
“No, I always thought there was something wrong with him. He’s too upstanding, too controlled, but there’s something in his eyes.” Lana shuddered.
From across the room, Dulcie sipped from a crystal wineglass, pretending to watch the people mingling at the dinner party. Despite her outwardly relaxed appearance, she felt uncomfortable. Most of the guests were doctors and professors, associates and acquaintances of her husband, Matthew Winter, a scientist at a research hospital in Boston. At thirty-eight, he was at the top of his field, well-known, and respected. His colleagues liked him, yet he’d never been one to mingle. Dulcie understood why. Matthew was a vampire, yet he’d been brought up in the mortal world. Until he’d met her eight short years ago, he’d never knowingly encountered another of his kind. Such a secret had made him withdrawn and uptight. To combat his wild nature, he’d kept an impossibly firm hand on his entire life. Perhaps if he’d been a hybrid—a vampire made from the bite of another immortal—things would have been different for him, but Matthew had been born a vampire.
Like Dulcie, he was what their kind called an Immaculate. His true nature hadn’t fully shown itself until he’d reached vampiric puberty at the age of eighteen. Dulcie nearly winced when she thought about all he’d endured alone. When they met, it had taken her time to breach his rigid ways, but once he’d opened up to her, their romance had been the most beautiful experience. She’d taught him that he wasn’t evil by nature and wouldn’t become a killer if it wasn’t inside him.
Immaculate vampires didn’t even have to bite humans. They survived off the blood of other vampires. Most of the time Matthew and Dulcie fed each other. She’d taught him to be the most powerful animal on Earth, and he’d taught her the meaning of true love. Dulcie loved Matthew with all her heart. Only for him would she stand in a house full of intellectual snobs, her sensitive hearing picking up the cruel conversation between the two spiritually ugly women across the room.
Matthew rarely socialized with the people he worked with, so when Dr. Adams and his wife invited them to their party, Dulcie insisted they go. She thought Matthew would enjoy himself. Though he’d introduced her to some people, he’d remained fixed at her side for most of the night. His adherence pleased Dulcie, even when she was bored to sleep with the conversations he engaged in. She knew nothing about medicine or science. The other guests discussed their personal lives, but Matthew always talked shop—except to her and his twin brother, Adam. In a way she felt privileged, yet she wondered why she’d bothered attending a party that he didn’t want to be at any more than she did.
She listened as Lana continued in her silly human whisper, “Robert has known him since med school. He’s had nothing but praise for Matthew, and believe me, it’s next to impossible to extract a compliment from my husband. I should know.”
Dulcie strolled toward the women and said to Lana, “Jacqueline should know too,” before she left the living room to look for Matthew.
She nearly laughed aloud at the embarrassed quickening of Jacqueline’s heartbeat and Lana’s expression of genuine confusion at Dulcie’s comment. It seemed Jacqueline’s yearlong affair with Dr. Adams was apparent to everyone except his wife.
Moments ago, Matthew had excused himself to use the bathroom, but Dulcie heard his resonant voice echoing from the kitchen. Her belly tightened just from the sound of it. Matthew had such a beautiful voice, so deep and cultured, so sensual when he spoke close to her ear in an intimate moment, so wild when he howled to the moon. She smiled, hoping her eyes weren’t taking on their vampiric glow as she imagined him howling. Not all vampires howled. As a rule, hybrids didn’t, and only a few Immaculates felt the urge, yet it was the most arousing sound in the world. Matthew did it so well.
Dulcie stepped into the large, brightly lit kitchen. Though she disliked how light humans kept everything, she’d grown accustomed to their preferences. Having been reared by a mortal family, Matthew had little difficulty with it. Still, the sun irritated his eyes so much that during the day he usually wore sunglasses.
He stood by the sink, talking to one of the fellows from his hospital, Nancy Brenner. Dulcie smiled, glad Nancy was there. For the first time that night, she sensed Matthew relax. Nancy had no idea her boss wasn’t human, but Dulcie doubted it would matter. She was a pleasant young woman with a full, freckled face and kind brown eyes. She was a good friend to both Matthew and Dulcie. Yet Nancy didn’t capture Dulcie’s attention at that moment. Matthew did. Even after eight years of marriage and a string of previous affairs, Dulcie thought he was the most attractive man she’d ever seen. Though not perfectly handsome or a pretty boy, he possessed magnetism that outshone classic looks. Well over six feet and rangy, he moved with the grace of a great cat, fluid but with underlying power. Impeccably dressed in a dark blue designer suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and long, lean legs, he leaned against a countertop as he talked. The red silk tie knotted at his throat made Dulcie quiver at the thought of what he’d probably do with that tie later in their bedroom. The clean cut of his dark, curly hair formed a perfect square against his strong neck. His high forehead looked almost primitive, yet the sapphire eyes beneath shone with keen intelligence. His nose—straight and slightly snubbed—was his cutest feature, and his mouth was his most erotic.
He turned to her and smiled.
“We were just saying now would be a great time to get out of here,” Nancy murmured to Dulcie.
“Sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all night,” Dulcie replied, glancing at Matthew.
He tugged the wineglass from her hand and placed it on the countertop while whispering close to her ear, “I told you this was a bad idea.”
“Yes, you did.” Dulcie tilted her head against his shoulder. “At least the night is still young.”
“Well, I’m going while the going’s good.” Nancy edged her way toward the door. “See you tomorrow, Matthew. Dulcie, maybe we can get together for dinner at the end of the week?”
Dulcie waved to her. “I’m there.” Once Nancy had gone, Dulcie looked up at Matthew. “Want to go outside for a minute before saying goodbye to our charming hostess?”
“I detect sarcasm in your voice.”
“Do you blame me?”
“Not in the least,” he whispered, his voice only audible to her keen vampiric hearing. “Lana is a jealous snob. Always has been. Robert’s not too bad. I can almost condone his affair with Jacqueline.”
They stepped through the sliding glass doors onto a concrete porch tastefully decorated with white lawn furniture. Their hosts recently had the large, suburban home built, but Dulcie preferred the spacious colonial Matthew had renovated. She’d been thrilled to move out of her condo and in with him after their engagement. He’d added a studio for her, completely surrounded by glass picture windows since he knew how much she loved to paint by moonlight.
They walked through the dark backyard, shadowed even more by trees. A soft-rock love song drifted from the CD player inside the house.
“Sound familiar?” Dulcie slipped her hand into Matthew’s as they walked behind some tall bushes.
He drew her into his arms. “How can I forget the song we danced to at our wedding? Care to dance it again?”
Smiling, she nodded and drew a deep breath at the touch of his hand on her waist. He grasped her other hand and led her in gentle, swaying motions across the grass. His movements slowed, and he tilted her face up to his for a kiss. Dulcie sighed, her arms sliding around Matthew’s neck. Their heartbeats quickened, beating in time. His incisors emerged from their flesh sheaths high on his gums, and he pricked her tongue with one of them. At the taste of her blood, they clutched one another tighter.
“Let’s go home,” Matthew whispered breathlessly against her lips. “I’m going to drive you insane tonight.” He grasped her waist and jerked her so close that her soft breasts crushed against his hard, lean chest. “You’re going to scream tonight, Dulcie.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes.” He nipped her lower lip. “Oh, yes.”
She snapped her teeth close to his face and gazed at him through her lashes as they walked back to the house. They paused before stepping inside.
“Do you smell that?” he asked.
Dulcie nodded, inhaling deeply. “Hybrid.”
“I wonder who?”
“One way to find out.”
No sooner had they entered the house than Robert Black, accompanied by a slim, dark-haired man, approached. “Matthew! There’s someone I want you to meet. This is Jay Ashford, a hematologist from the West Coast. Jay, this is Matthew—”
“Winter,” Jay finished, casting Matthew a slick smile and offering his hand.
Dulcie studied Ashford carefully. Being a hybrid, the man was by no means physical competition for Matthew. Even among other Immaculates, Matthew and his twin, Adam, were alpha vamps in every way. Until he’d met Dulcie and confronted her ex-lover, Matthew hadn’t fully understood the extent of his strength. He’d even taken Dulcie by surprise, though she reveled in his power each and every night of their lives.
“I’m very familiar with your work,” Jay continued. “Highly impressive. Your entire career has been quite amazing. You’re innovative, Winter, and you’re not afraid to defy convention.”
“Thank you. This is my wife, Dulcie Evans.”
“Ms. Evans, it is my pleasure.” Jay also took Dulcie’s hand and squeezed it. “I caught your exhibit last month in LA. Your interpretation of the Old Testament was thought-provoking. An unusual subject for you, though, isn’t it?”
“Not really.” Dulcie tugged her hand free of his cool grasp. Despite Ashford’s friendly manner, she disliked him. “I’m glad you enjoyed my work.”
“I’ve always had an interest in art. It’s a hobby of mine. I’ll be looking forward to seeing more of your paintings.”
Matthew stepped forward, easing himself between Jay and Dulcie. A low growl, completely imperceptible to human ears, rumbled in Matthew’s chest. Dulcie heard it, and so did Jay. He stared at Matthew and nodded slightly. “I see you and your wife are on your way out. I won’t keep you. However, I do hope you and I will see each other again, Matthew. I’ve recently moved to Boston, and it’s nice to have contacts.”
“Of course.” Matthew offered a smile as sincere as Jay’s had been. He and Dulcie nodded to Robert before leaving.
As soon as Matthew pulled their car away from the curb, Dulcie said, “There’s something weird about that guy.”
“He wanted you so badly I could smell it.”
“So did I. Sort of a disgusting thought.”
Matthew glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Glad you feel that way.”
“You didn’t actually think I’d go to bed with him?”
Over his dead body, Matthew thought.
“I heard that.”
“Dulcie, you know I don’t like you to read my mind, especially since I can’t read yours. Unlike my twin, I’m telepathically deficient, remember?”
“But you’re the super-genius.”
He glanced at her. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Like what?”
Matthew removed one hand from the steering wheel and slid it up the curve of Dulcie’s shapely thigh. “Want to hear what I’m going to do to you when we get home?”
Her heartbeat fluttered. “Each and every lustful word.” Closing her eyes, she cupped his knee with her hand, not the least bit disappointed with the promises that followed.
Interview with Matthew
Are you comfortable talking about yourself?
It depends. I’m happy to discuss my work.
Are you a spiritual person?
That’s a complicated question. I think everything can be explained, even if we don’t have answers at the moment. If you had asked me ten years ago if I would one day practice witchcraft, I would have thought you were joking.
Other than your wife, who do you trust most?
Again, it depends on the situation. There are people I thought I could trust who turned on me and people I didn’t trust in the past who have protected me. One thing I’ve learned is that life has many gray areas.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I sing pretty well.
Tell me about your brother, Adam.
Adam and I don’t always see eye-to-eye. He can be stubborn about certain things, but the same has been said about me.
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