#volk

Now you might be wondering, what is this? To that I say, I don't know XD. I just wanted to make graphics... gradient maps are so pretty,, it doesn't have a theme,, I just picked pretty things ig..

🛏️ How do they act when they're tired?

Depends what kind of tired. Like any creative, his sleeping habits are a mess. You'd think it would get better with age, but he's still inclined to go to bed past midnight even when he's got to teach morning classes. Sleep deprived, he's much less expressive and quicker to irritation. But if he's had a long, productive day and he's winding down? He's at his most relaxed and easygoing, more likely to sit and chat with a victim casually then to hurt them. He gets more physically affectionate too.

🍓 Something they love

One of his only real "hobbies" is taking things apart to see how they work. He's not so good at putting them back together, but he's surprisingly good at puzzles and tinkering. It doesn't take much energy and keeps him occupied. This also applies to lockpocking.

🙃 A weird little habit they have

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

✨ New York Times Bestselling Author S.J. Tilly ✨ Brings us a brand new series where the men are still possessive. The women are still curvy. There's just a bit of a twist... and a bite. VOLIK - Bonded Souls Book One Forget what you think you know. Forget the fairy tales and lore of old. Vampires are real. And for the past seventy years, they’ve walked openly among us. They’re bigger and stronger than humans, with black eyes, horns, and powers that shouldn’t be possible. Volik is one of these vampires. Living in the small town of Hemlock Hills, he spends his days locked in his office at Stalden University. Wasting time. Waiting. Until Nix, the new journalism professor, arrives … and changes everything. This is the story about the day they met. What happened after. And how their bond started a sequence of events that changed the world. NIX It’s my first day as a substitute professor. I’m in a new city, with new coworkers, and all I want to do is keep my head down. And maybe catch a glimpse of Volik. I’ve read everything there is to read about vampires. The good and the scary. But I have all semester to sneak a look, so I focus my attention on the clock. Because in three minutes, I turn thirty. But when the moment strikes, an invisible force slams into me. Weight swells inside my chest, and heat roars through my veins. VOLIK I pause, feeling a shift in the air, telling me something is about to happen. Then the clock ticks. And my world tilts. The power inside me pulses. The building shakes around me. And I grow. I get bigger. Taller. Stronger. Thicker. My fangs lengthen. Sharpen. And I smile. Because the moment I have waited centuries for has finally arrived. The other half of my soul… She is here. NIX Screams echo down the hallway while people flee. Impossibly heavy footsteps shake the ground. But I don’t run. I can’t. The pull in my chest won’t allow it. Then the giant vampire I’ve been daydreaming about ducks through the doorway. And when he calls me his Mate, I do the opposite of run. I reach for him.

Review:

Vampires, fated mates, and everything you could want in the new Bonded Souls series! This is a paranormal romance that will have you sinking your teeth into it! Following Volik, an old vampire who meets Nix, the new teacher at a school, you get to see as they bond and fall for each other. It's such a fantastic read and the insta-love is everything you could want. I genuinely had such a fantastic time reading this and I can't wait to read the next book! It's the perfect read for fans of paranormal romance and S.J. Tilly does it once again!

Release: June 11, 2026

As long as deep in the heart A Jewish soul still yearns And forward to the east To Zion, an eye still looks Our hope will not be lost The hope of two thousand years 'Od lo avdah tikvatenu Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim To be a free nation in our own home-land The land of Zion and Jerusalem Lihyot am chofshi be'artzenu Eretz Tziyon vi'rushalayim

My country, my country, my land My ancestors! My country, my country, my nation In the land of struggle!

With determination, fire Kol'od balevav P'nimah And my volcanic revenge I have climbed the mountains Crossed frontiers Nefesh Yehudi homiyah And fought the wars I've conquered the impossible With longing in my blood Ulfa'atey mizrach kadimah And the roar of guns, For my country, my land, my home Ayin le'tzion tzofiyah My ancestors

To be a free nation in our own home-land The land of Zion and Jerusalem Lihyot am chofshi be'artzenu Eretz Tziyon vi'rushalayim

Hebrew sections (Hatikvah/The Hope - national anthem of Israel): The transliterated lines above are the original Hebrew phrases.

כל עוד בלבב פנימה נפש יהודי הומיה ולפאתי מזרח קדימה עין לציון צופיה

עוד לא אבדה תקוותנו התקווה בת שנות אלפיים

להיות עם חופשי בארצנו ארץ ציון וירושלים

Arabic elements (Fida'i/Fedayeen/Sacrifice/Martyrs) - national anthem of Palestine): The "My country, my country, my land / My ancestors!" section directly paraphrases the opening of the Palestinian anthem "Fida'i" (فدائي). The original Arabic starts with something like:

فدائي فدائي فدائي يا أرضي يا أرض الجدود فدائي فدائي فدائي يا شعبي يا شعب الخلود

(Fida'i, fida'i, fida'i / Ya ardi, ya ard al-judud / ... bil'azmi wa nari wa burkan tha'ri...)