Fin and Hannah were off doing gross shit somewhere, and Hannah’s mother was spending ‘quality time’ with her son. That just left the Baron, Anton’s mother, Clay and Elle to deal with. Thankfully, Elle had the day off and so she and Clay had gone out. The aristos were being aristos somewhere.
Byrne intended to spend the afternoon visiting Alice. She was at work at the moment, and then having lunch with her friend, Talan. They hadn’t talked since Alice learned of the Graced, or since Talan had told her off for showing a little bit of interest in Byrne.
That left Byrne with some time on his own. Which was good, because so much had happened in the last few days. He’d met his mate. He’d Bitten his second human — the first one was long dead — and he’d got a telepathic link to the one person in the world who probably shouldn’t have access to his mind, and would abuse the privilege horribly.
But such is life. He couldn’t let the asshole die.
Byrne smelled a human approaching. He nodded at the fellow.
“Sir, there are two people here to see you,” the servant announced. “They claim to be relatives of yours. I’ve put them in the Rose room.”
Relatives of his? Here? In Pinton? He seriously doubted it.
Heading inside, and then into the Rose room, Byrne was hit with the scent of honey and apples. He stopped on the threshold of the room and stared at its two occupants. One was a tall woman with dark skin, closely cropped black hair and a protruding midriff. Next to her was a towering were, with long striped hair and the scent of mint and cat clinging to him.
“Ruby?”
“Byrne!” The woman threw herself at him, and wrapped strong arms around him.
His younger sister.
Byrne could feel tears trickling down his neck. Hers, his? He didn’t know.
Byrne unwound her arms from his neck, pushing her away slightly so he could look at her. “Ruby.”
She grinned through her tears. “Byrne, we finally found you!”
The huge weretiger raised a dark eyebrow. “We?”
“Fine, you technically found him first. Only because you were in that inn!”
“What inn?”
“When you were in Skarva,” Ruby said quickly. “Cade was on his way home when he thought he spotted someone who looked like you. He’d never seen you before, so he came home and grabbed me. I went back to the inn and picked up your scent. And here we are.”
“You two are mates?” Byrne asked, stunned. Clay had said she’d mated to a tiger, but he hadn't quite believed it. Ruby hadn't really believed in fate; he didn’t think she would have agreed to a mating, as a matter of course.
“And expecting our first cub,” the other were said. He closed the distance between him and Ruby in a couple quick strides and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Well, cubs. There’s two heartbeats.”
A grin widened on Byrne’s face, but then guilt crashed through him. He’d missed all this. This past three years, he’d been off gallivanting around the countryside and they’d obviously been looking for him. He’d had no idea.
“How long have you been searching for me? How did you even know I was alive?” Byrne asked, sitting down on one of the sturdier chairs in the room.
Ruby sat too, cupping her hands around her rounded belly. “Ever since Cade broke me out of the camp.”
Byrne sat silent for a moment. “From what-now?”
“They took me when they took you, except they couldn’t find a buyer for me. And so they kept me in a cage. Until Cade freed me.” She gave her mate a bright smile.
“They took you?” Byrne roared, coming to his feet.
Ruby nodded, her eyes sad.
“They said they’d leave you alone if I went with them. It was the only reason I did...the only reason I didn’t try and get away.” Byrne had thought he was saving his sister. Instead, she’d been shoved in a similar kind of torment to him. If he could kill the fuckers again, he would.
“Only for a short while,” Ruby said. “Not as long as you. But we never stopped looking. Cade helped me.”
The were grinned. “I was just making sure she wouldn’t just ditch me. She didn’t like the idea of a weretiger mate. Not at the start.”
“He wore me down.”
“And saved your life.” A gentle look passed between them.
“That too.”
There were so many questions Byrne wanted to ask. How was Gina? She was pregnant the last time he’d seen her. And her mate, Mark. But where could he start?
“Ruby, I’m sorry I didn’t come home.”
Maybe that would do.
Leaning forward, she stared at him, her yellow eyes bright. “I saw that room where they kept you. I knew you’d need time to get over that. But I couldn’t let you have too long. I had to see for myself you survived.”
And then they were hugging again.
A wolf whistle pierced the air. Fin and Hannah were watching them, Rena held in Fin’s arms. Behind them, the baron and Emmie.
“Wait until I tell Alice you were hugging another woman,” Fin said.
Byrne growled. “This is my sister, you idiot.”
Fin sighed dramatically. “Well, why didn’t you tell me she was so good-looking?”
Good to see some things never changed.
Hannah elbowed Fin in the side, hard. “Oomph.”
Byrne rolled his eyes. “I guess you had to meet each other sooner or later. Ruby, Cade, this is Fin. And his girlfriend, Hannah. And Lord Greystoke and Miss Emmie.”
Ruby and Cade extended their hands, and everyone but Hannah shook them. Emmie’s eyes widened when she took Ruby’s hand, and then she looked at Cade. She pointed at Ruby’s bump. “Huh. There’s one tiger and one bear in there.”
Ruby’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I guess,” Emmie said quickly. “I’m guessing there’s one of each.”
Cade looked at the little girl closely before thunking down on the seat. The chair groaned in protest, but held his weight.
But Ruby was smiling. “One of each! They will be able to shift.”
Emmie slowly backed away. “Please don’t tell anyone I said that.”
“It’s okay, we won’t.” Ruby’s smile just kept getting wider. “But thank you!”
“Gee, glad we don’t have to worry about that,” Fin said with a laugh.
Emmie looked confused. “But the baby.”
“Yeah, but Rena’s already born, we know what we’re in for. I mean, imagine it. Twins.”
Emmie was shaking her head. “Not that baby. Hannah’s baby. The one in her stomach.”
Fin paled. And then he dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Hannah crouched next to him.
“He fainted!” Emmie snorted, looking down her nose at the new were. “He’ll be fine.” And with that, the little girl swept from the room.
Hannah gently slapped Fin in the face, and he awoke flailing. “You hit me.”
“You fainted.”
He put a hand to his head. “Did I?”
“It was pretty funny,” Cade said. Byrne had a feeling he might like the guy, even though he dared to touch his sister.
Fin’s face was etched with lines of disbelief. “I thought Emmie said Hannah was pregnant.”
Byrne laughed. “She did.”
“Pregnant.” Hannah was shaking her head.
Meanwhile, Fin was glaring at her. “I told you it was a risk. But no, Fin. I’m a vampire, Fin. It’s fine, Fin.”
“I am a vampire. You were human.”
“And you’re pregnant! And it’s not my fault.”
“Takes two to tango.”
Byrne clapped his hands, breaking up the argument. “So, I see congratulations are in order.”
Fin’s expression turned thoughtful. “I guess I am that good. Being able to impregnate a vampire first go.”
Hannah hit him. “I just thought
you said it wasn’t your fault.”
“Hey, you jumped my bones. But credit where credit’s due.”
Then Hannah leaned down toward him. “We’re having a baby.”
And Fin smiled, an expression so tender Byrne had to look away. “I heard.”
“You okay?”
“Better than okay.” A pause. “But we’re totally going to name it Finlay.”
Ah, this was going to be fun.
Epilogue
Faith Castle was dreaming. It happened quite frequently, so she didn’t think too much of it, except this was a dream about Fin, the twin brother she hadn’t seen in a decade. She’d been trying to track him down over the years, but he was slippery as an eel, and tended to sneak away whenever she got close.
He was lying in a bed on his side, propped up with pillows. His chest was pierced with some kind of arrow. She couldn’t see any other details in the room, it was gray and indistinct. But she knew Fin was dying.
No!
It’s just a dream, she told herself, it doesn’t mean anything.
Then the pain hit. It screamed through her mind, paralyzing her. This wasn’t a dream, it was real.
And then the agony simply stopped. Just...stopped. And a space of her mind that she’d never known existed died.
Screaming, Faith tumbled from her bed, hit the floor in the room with a thump. Tangled in her bedsheets, she flailed against the floorboards. Squinting, Faith looked down at her hand clutching the sheets to her chest, pain radiating from her heart and mind.
The door swung open, and her sister, Marcia, stood there, backlit by the weak morning sunlight. Marcia knew better than to approach Faith without warning — Faith kept a dagger under her pillow and a sword beneath her bed.
“Faith, what is it?” Marica’s Blue eyes were filled with concern, her gaze taking in her sister’s disheveled state.
Faith was never disheveled.
“It’s Fin,” Faith whispered. She cast her mind out, roaming. Her telepathic range was immense. She tried to latch onto the small part of her brother that she could detect. His natural shield prevented her from seeing his thoughts, but they’d shared a womb, and the shape of his mind was as familiar as her own.
There was nothing there.
“What about him?” Marcia asked, coming closer. The floorboards squeaked in protest.
“He’s dead.” Faith’s voice was hollow.
And then, as if nothing had happened, Fin was there. That small presence within her mind, back again.
Faith searched within herself. Had her mind been playing tricks on her? No, it hadn’t. He’d died.
“Faith!” Marcia must have detected her swinging emotions. Devastation to elation and then confusion.
Looking over at her sister, she frowned. “He died, but now he’s alive again.”
“How is that even possible?”
Untangling herself from her bedsheets, Faith stood, her feet bare against the cold wooden floor of her room. Enough of this cat and mouse game. She’d had it. “I don’t know, but I plan on finding out.”
Acknowledgements
I am so pleased to be able to share Bitten with you all. Creating a book is a very personal journey for an author, but we have help. I’d like to thank my husband for his support; my eagle-eyed editor, Pete Kempshall; my wonderful beta readers — Stephanie Gunn, Liz Grzyb, and Joanne Danton; and my writing buddies, you know who you are. Also, a special thanks goes out to Dr. Brendan Carson, who kindly offered me his medical knowledge when I began developing vampire physiology and had to perform imaginary autopsies.
More by Amanda Pillar
Graced
Vampires suck.
Well, that's the nicest thing city guard Elle Brown can say about them. Her opinions of shifters aren't much better, either. And her second full time job – keeping her special little sister safe from either race – has just gotten harder, now that the vampire Dante Kipling, has taken an interest in Elle’s life.
Dante is a scientist fascinated by human anatomy. Despite his last two experiments failing, he is convinced that the answers to his questions lie within Elle Brown. Though he’s been told to stop his experiments, he’s convinced that humans with special eye colors are different, and he’s determined to find the proof – even if it means risking his and Elle’s lives.
Captive
Civilization has ended.
Vampires, werewolves, and the Graced are at war with their human creators, and humanity is losing. But Laney might hold the key to salvation. Held captive with her fellow humans by alpha Wolfgang and his pack of weres, Laney secretly inches ever closer to breaking were and vampire blood dependency forever.
But Laney doesn't have long. Their numbers decimated by plague, humans are being kidnapped and reduced to livestock. And when Laney and her sister are abducted by a neighboring vampire clan, their only hope lies in Wolf – who doesn't know the shocking secret Laney has gone to great lengths to conceal.
Survivor
Too stubborn to die.
Billie Young is a human city guard with a troubled past – she was kidnapped, tortured and almost killed by vampires. Though she survived, it’s left her scarred and damaged. Now, she trusts no one, and is focused on finding her attackers.
Vere Radcliffe is a vampire spy who answers directly to the king. Recently returned home from a year abroad, he’s at loose ends, waiting for his next mission. But trouble is brewing in the city, and Vere is asked to investigate the abduction of a city guard and the murder of several other humans. But as the hunt closes in, the killer takes someone close to Vere’s heart.
About Amanda
Amanda is an award-winning editor and author who lives in Victoria, Australia, with her husband and two cats, Saxon and Lilith.
Amanda has had numerous short stories published and has co-edited the fiction anthologies Voices (2008), Grants Pass (2009), The Phantom Queen Awakes (2010), Scenes from the Second Storey (2010), Ishtar (2011) and Damnation and Dames (2012). Her first solo anthology, Bloodstones, was published by Ticonderoga Publications in 2012. The award-winning sequel, Bloodlines, was published in October 2015.
Amanda's first novel, Graced, was published by Momentum in 2015. The novellas Captive and Survivor were also released in 2016.
In her day job, she works as an archaeologist.
You can go here to sign up to Amanda’s mailing list for future news and free reads or visit www.amandapillar.com for regular writing updates.
Cover Design: Amanda Pillar © 2016
Internal Layout: Amanda Pillar © 2016
Edited by: Pete Kempshall
First Published January 2017
The moral rights of the author has been asserted.
All characters in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recoding or any information retrieval system, without prior permission, in writing, from the publisher.
The book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
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