Love with Fangs (The Witching Hour Series Book 1)

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Claudia was light, but she could barely walk, and I’d given her some of my power, so I felt weak. I unlocked the door. The corridor was still empty, so we had a chance to walk away unseen.

  "I can’t! Please leave me," she cried. Her skin was sullen and grey; she had lost a lot of blood.

  "We have to go now. There isn’t time," I hissed, but I felt the presence of a vampire. I lifted my head; it was Daniel. He was standing a few metres away with an expression of utter contempt on his face.

  "I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere," he said, approaching me.

  Claudia slid to the floor and I stood, wiping the sweat off my face. I had nowhere to escape because he was blocking the only way out. His eyes were dark, chilling like the breath of death on my skin. His fangs were extended, ready to strike. He smelled my fear and my elf blood. I tried to call up my energy. My skin started drizzling with light, but it wasn’t enough; I was too weak. My father’s charm wouldn’t start working yet; it was too soon.

  "When I started drinking from your fatty friend, I had no idea that she even knew you. Then she started talking about La Caz, so I added everything together. That’s why I came back to her; to get to you. You’re a prize Caleb wants badly because of La Caz."

  "So, it was Caleb who sent those giants to kidnap me?"

  "Yes. He wanted to have you, so he organised the kidnapping, but some foolish giants failed him. It drove him crazy that La Caz’s business was flourishing. Nothing was going according to plan, so he told me to step in again. Caleb’s production of the Lucrative Shot was going pretty well, and when we started adding fairies and elves blood, then sales really went up."

  "Stay away!" I shouted. My hands filled with fire but only for several seconds. I was too worn out and he knew that. My cousin was sobbing, lying on the floor. I had to think fast; I peered down the other side of the corridor. I didn’t know where that would take me.

  Would Caleb still be in the building?

  "Oh, my sweet Julia, did you think that I would be afraid of old La Caz? He’s not here to save you. No one is, and I’m going to enjoy tasting you."

  I decided to do the only thing that was reasonable—I ran. My legs took me away from him, but I didn’t get too far. He was beside me within a second, grabbing my throat and slamming his body into mine. He pinned me to the wall, digging his large hands into my shoulders. He smelled of blood and sex.

  "Oh my, you smell delicious," he whispered. I felt his erection between my legs and instantly felt sick. He squeezed my neck hard, cutting off my oxygen. He was slowly going to suffocate me if I didn’t get away. "You can’t imagine how much I’ll enjoy sucking you off."

  I cried out when he shoved his hand between my legs. I screamed, but blackness and panic blinded me. Tears leaked out and I just wanted him to die.

  Then I felt piercing pain near my throat. He sank his fangs into my neck, drinking my rich blood, indulging himself with my scent. His hand was still between my legs, moving with the rhythm of my pulse. Muscles inside my body clenched with ragged anger. My magic was quiet and lost. He was crushing my energy to pieces. I was hopeless. I couldn’t move or do anything. My brain clamped shut with fear.

  I listened as my heartbeat slowed down. I was drifting into a fog. My body was unresponsive; I shut my eyes, waiting for death and for this pain to end.

  Then I heard voices, and fell to the floor, not feeling anything at all. He wasn’t holding me anymore, but every part of my skin burned with fire. It felt as if my whole body was being pierced with razors. This pain was unbearable.

  "You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a solicitor; if you can’t afford one, the Paranormal Unit will provide one. Anything that you say or do will be used against you in a court of law, and if you make one move, you sick son of a bitch, I will rip out your fangs with my bare hands!"

  It was my father’s voice. I opened my eyes. He was gripping the vampire by the throat, and there were other officers around him, shouting. I wanted to move, but dark shadows obscured my vision. I moaned, but my body refused to react.

  "Jerry, he’s not worth it."

  “C’mon, let him go."

  "A millennium of torture is waiting for you, scum."

  "Taylor, come on, he ain’t worth it," someone else said. Finally, Dad released his grip and Daniel flopped on the floor, gasping for breath.

  "It’s all right, baby girl, I’m here," he said, pulling me towards him. He started whispering, and I felt warm light flowing through me. I couldn’t speak or move. After a long moment, I felt new energy inside me and I stretched my jelly legs, although my flesh was still on fire. The deeper pain was gone, and I was safe. My father used his own energy to ease whatever was happening to me, and I gained new power.

  "There are elves and fairies inside this room; the vampire was draining them. Claudia, I tried to help her, but she was so weak." I pointed at the door in front of us. Thick liquid ran down my throat; I was still losing a lot of blood. Two police officers dragged Daniel away. He was trying to shout, but he was knocked down quickly.

  "Walters, get in there," Dad barked, pointing at the room on the far right. He got up. "My daughter and my niece need to be transported to hospital right away!"

  Other hands moved me, and I passed out for a few moments. When I opened my eyes, I was still in the corridor. Dad was giving orders; bodies of unconscious fairies and elves were being moved. I was wrapped up in a blanket by two fairy policewomen. One of them was pressing a tissue to my throat.

  "Dannika, she needs to go to hospital, now!" Dad roared, looking scarlet.

  Dannika nodded and then I passed out again. When I stirred back to reality, I was lying on a bed in the ambulance and the elf was assuring me I was going to make it.

  The next time I opened my eyes, I was staring at a stranger’s face. My skin tingled and I recognised I had a witch in front of me. She was leaning towards me.

  "How are you feeling, Miss Taylor?" She had a large face and dirty blond hair, styled in a ponytail. She smiled at me, touching my forehead. I felt much better, although dizzy.

  "Fine. How long have I been here?" Remembering Daniel’s attack, I touched my neck. "How is my cousin?"

  "I wouldn’t touch your wound if I were you. Vampire bites can get infected easily and this one is particularly nasty," she explained. "You have been sleeping for a few hours. It’s four o’clock in the morning. If you’re asking about the elf who was brought in with you, then I can tell you that she is very weak, but she will make it."

  "How long do I have to stay here?" I asked, relieved that Claudia was finally safe.

  "Until morning, and then we will see. Your energy is quite strong, accumulating quickly." She smiled, then tucked her magic wand under her belt.

  "Has anyone called or asked about me?" I asked, wondering whether Nathaniel had any idea what had happened to me.

  "No, not as far as I’m aware."

  Then the door opened, and my dad walked in. He looked exhausted with dark circles under his eyes; his energy was weak. He’d used a lot of his magic this evening, for my sake.

  "Julia, hon, how are you feeling?"

  "I will leave you two alone." The witch shut the door behind her.

  "Not to worry. Did you catch him?" I asked quickly. "He had Claudia all this time."

  "We caught a few vampires, but I don’t—”

  "No, Dad, it was Caleb McGregor.” I cut him off, feeling my pulse rising. “He was the one who kidnapped Claudia, and he’s the one who is replicating Lucrative Shot, the same one that Nathaniel is producing."

  "Caleb McGregor?"

  "Yes. Nathaniel introduced me to him once and I saw him in the club. I followed him to the basement. I heard when he said he wanted to drain a fairy."

  He looked shocked. "Why did you follow him? God, Julia, you could have died!"

  "I didn’t think—"

  "Okay, calm down. I’ll find that bastard. We haven’t caught any other vampires tonight. All the fa
iries who were there are in intensive care. Claudia has lost a lot of blood, and she needed a transfusion. She’ll be unconscious for a few days, but your Aunt Dorothy is with her," he continued. "We counted around eleven captives. All of them were reported missing in the past few months."

  "He’s behind these kidnappings. The vampire who attacked me was ordered to get closer to me. He went out with Ella. Caleb organised my kidnapping—"

  "Julia, hon, you need to calm down. I’ll take care of this," he said, pushing me down to rest on the bed.

  "He was doing this because Nathaniel was making all this money and he wanted to get to me, because we started going out."

  "That vampire only causes trouble for you," Dad finally snapped, standing. "I would stick a wooden stake into his heart myself if anything had happened to you today."

  Chapter twenty-nine

  He doesn’t seem to care.

  "My relationship with Nathaniel is serious. He isn’t just play—"

  "Well, if he is serious, where the hell is he now?"

  "He’s in Scotland; he has no idea what’s happened,” I muttered, feeling oddly calm that he wasn’t here. But I hated that my dad pointed it out to me. He exhaled, and his blue eyes flashed with resentment.

  "Vampires know these things right away, hon. I don’t want you to suffer or keep your hopes up but—"

  "Dad, please, I don’t want to talk about this. I need to go home. Ella is freaking out," I said firmly and began to rise from the bed.

  "Don’t be ridiculous, Julia. You’re not going home; you’re going to stay here until the healers let me know you’re fine. We can’t say anything to your mother because she would ask questions."

  "But I’m fine!" I yelled, getting more frustrated by the minute.

  "You were just attacked by a vampire, so please don’t argue with me. Just listen to your old man," he said in a stern voice. He strolled from my room, muttering to himself about how stubborn I was.

  I was pissed off. I felt okay and I didn’t need to be in the hospital. He was wasting valuable time being with me right now. His energy had healed me. I had slept a few hours and I needed to rest, that was all. I found my bag beside my bed and searched for my mobile. I had a few missed calls from Ella and that was about it, none from Nathaniel.

  I sucked the corner of my lips and decided to call him. It rang a few times and then it went to voicemail. I put the phone away. He was busy, or maybe he couldn’t answer. Either way, I wasn’t worried. We were still together.

  I pushed my negative thoughts aside and tried to relax. My neck was sore, and I felt tired. I wasn’t sure whether there were any spells that could help with vampire bites.

  I nearly died because a vampire was intoxicated by my blood; he only wanted to drink from me. I wished I could be a normal human being, like Mum. Then there would be no drama. Nathaniel wouldn’t behave any differently toward me.

  Dad returned, insisting I had to stay in the hospital until morning. I understood I couldn’t talk to Mum. Having a wound from a vampire bite would be very difficult to explain to a human. I told Dad to go home and get some sleep. He looked terrible and had been on his feet for more than twenty-four hours. I sent Ella a quick text, lying to her, telling her I was at home. The police were still hunting Caleb McGregor. I fell asleep, thinking about the horrible night I’d had—and about Nathaniel, who still hadn’t called me back.

  I awoke from a nightmare. I was dreaming that someone was draining my blood. Nathaniel was beside my bed; he was laughing. I begged him to help me, but he just stood there, laughing. When I opened my eyes, my clothes were drenched with sweat and my heart was beating rapidly.

  "Good morning, Julia. How are we feeling today?" the witch doctor asked, entering my room with a nurse, who was a giant. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and smiled, trying to look calm.

  "Healthy as a horse and I would like to be discharged, if I may," I replied, trying to look my best while the nurse checked my pulse.

  "I didn’t introduce myself yesterday. My name is Martha," the witch said, removing the bandage from my neck. I felt throbbing pain; the wound was still sore. "Well, this doesn’t look too bad, so I guess you can go."

  "But it will heal, right?" I asked, staring at her green eyes that narrowed, examining the wound.

  "It should. Do you remember if the vampire was older?"

  "He was young."

  "Then that’s better. I want to see you for a check-up in a week. Try to stay away from magic for now. Your body needs to regenerate," she said, sounding somber.

  "So, I can’t go back to work?"

  "I would take a few days off and maybe go back Wednesday, if you want." She placed a fresh bandage on my wound.

  The nurse had dark ebony eyes and she told me my pulse was fine. I was ordered to put some crocodile mousse on the wound and rest. She gave me the prescription and then I was discharged. I went to see my cousin, but I wasn’t allowed to enter her room; she was still unconscious. I spoke to my Aunt Dorothy who mentioned that she was planning to transfer Claudia to Switzerland as soon as she could. She would be able to regain her strength and rest for a couple of months—away from London. I had to agree with her. Claudia was emotionally scarred, and needed a dose of healing scenery before she could go back to her old life. She had been missing for several months and who knew what she had gone through?

  Dad was on the way to my ward just as I was leaving.

  "Julia, where are you going?" he asked, sounding perturbed.

  "Home. I’m fine, Dad; the healer said there is nothing wrong with me."

  “I’ll drive you home." He took my bag, looking much better today.

  "There is no sign of that McGregor. We had a warrant to search his house, but it looks like he vanished just in time," he grumbled, walking to the car. Once I got outside, I felt a little dizzy, but didn’t mention anything. I just needed to get home.

  "What about his business?"

  "We’re working on that. I’m on duty again tonight; your mother keeps telling me that I work too hard. She wanted you to come over for dinner, but I told her you have to work."

  "I would die for her apple pie today." He glanced at me like I was crazy. "Yes, I know, but she would start asking questions. Not to worry, I will back you up."

  Dad had made sure that I wouldn’t be unprotected in my apartment. I noticed two werewolves outside in an unmarked police car. Dad mentioned they would be there until he caught Caleb.

  "Have you spoken to your vampire?" he asked when I was just about to leave the car.

  My face heated up instantly and I clenched my teeth. "No, I haven’t.”

  He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t have to. It was obvious; Nathaniel was too preoccupied to think about me. I was hoping that maybe he was in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t get reception, but if that were the case, his phone wouldn’t ring.

  I spent the rest of the day watching TV and staring at my phone. Nathaniel didn’t call for the rest of the evening. I texted him, asking if everything was all right, but he didn’t respond.

  I decided not to think about him anymore, but when I watched the news and realised that every TV station was talking about what happened in the club—of course, the official version was just that the kidnapping victims had been found—there was no mention of the supernatural element—I became even more depressed. Nathaniel must have known something had happened, so why wasn’t he trying to contact me?

  In the end, I called Rufus and explained what had happened. He told me to take it easy and not to worry about work. I went to bed late, sobbing into my pillow and thinking that I was the biggest fool on the planet. I’d slept with a gorgeous guy who didn’t really care about anything other than sex. I’d believed he had good intentions, but I was just another girl to him.

  The next few days weren’t any better. Nathaniel didn’t call or text me. It was as if I ceased to exist.

  As for my dad, things weren’t going much better. Caleb was the one who produced
the fake Lucrative Shot, but Dad couldn’t find him. It was as if he knew every place the police would look and simply avoided all those places and people associated with them. He seemed untouchable.

  I tried not to cry. I told myself I was better than La Caz. I was a strong, independent woman and I didn’t need him. When Nicky called, I told her everything. I couldn’t hold my tears any longer.

  She listened and in the end said, "Not to worry. It’s better that it’s over now."

  "But he should have said something to my face," I howled.

  "He’s a bastard, darling, and that’s what they do. At least you enjoyed good sex, so cheer up."

  She helped a little, but a few hours later, I still felt like crap. Mum kept asking when I was going to come for dinner with Nathaniel. I couldn’t tell her the truth, so I just kept lying.

  Wednesday morning, I told Rufus I was coming back to work; sitting at home and doing nothing made me angrier. Even Roberto vanished; he wasn’t waiting for me outside my apartment anymore. And I had the late shift today. Even work didn’t make me feel better. Every time I had to deal with La Caz Corporation, the pain got worse.

  I was working with Jennifer again today. I went to the office late, hoping to avoid the girls from the previous shift. I didn’t want to be pitied. I decided to keep my head held high; besides, no one knew that I hadn’t spoken to Nathaniel since last week.

  "Oh, my God, Julia, are you all right? Rufus told me what happened," Jennifer said when I walked into the office at seven that evening.

  “I’m fine, Jen, seriously. My neck is sore and that’s about it," I explained, trying to get her off my case.

  "But what were you doing alone with that vampire?" she persisted, when I sat at my desk. I found some painkillers in my bag.

  "It’s a long story. I saw someone and followed him, then everything got out of control." I opened my emails; I had around two hundred. Just fabulous.