A Nightly Howl

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  A Nightly Howl

  The Witching Hour Series Book 2

  Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Copyright © 2018 by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Please note

  Chapter One

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Afterword

  Please note

  A Nightly Howl is a paranormal romance with medium heat level for mature audience only.

  This book is written in British English and contains British spellings and idioms. This means that grammar and spelling may seem incorrect in places compared to books that use US English.

  This book has been professionally edited to British English standards. However, as with all books there is possibility of spelling mistakes etc missed in proof-reading. I will correct these as I’m made aware of them.

  Chapter One

  The date.

  "Would you like more wine?"

  I lifted my sleepy eyes and blinked twice, seeing the elf in front of me who was pointing at the half empty bottle of white wine. I pasted a lazy smile on my face and nodded, realising that he was talking to me. This date was far from perfect and I was trying not to fall asleep. I’d stopped counting how many glasses of wine I’d had since we sat down.

  "Go on, you’re being terribly generous today." I giggled. My head was spinning, and I hiccupped, heightening my embarrassment. I knew I’d had way too much, as the alcohol stirred the magic inside me. I needed to get rid of it fast, otherwise I was going to lose control.

  You’re missing him.

  “You're funny," he said, beaming. I smiled back then took a generous sip of the wine, ignoring the voice in my head. Loony was a nice guy after all. My friend Nicky had set me up on a blind date with him; I needed to remember to punch her for that once I sobered up.

  On a Saturday night, Central London was always buzzing with people. It was hard to get a table in the restaurant, which had only opened last week, but Loony sorted everything out with no problem at all. He told me later that he knew the manager, and I managed to put on an impressed face. Despite not paying much attention to what he was saying, I also learned that he had an investment portfolio in Scotland, he was excellent with spells, and I found out that he twisted his ankle fifty times in the past year while playing tennis. He was going on and on about dull and uninteresting things, so I acquainted myself with the bottle of wine on the table. We both knew that this wasn’t going to go anywhere. I certainly tried to give him that impression, but for some reason he wasn’t taking the hint.

  "Earth to Julia; is anyone there?"

  He was talking to me. God, woman, focus!

  "Pardon me, I missed what you said," I mumbled, once again plastering a smile on my face. We were finished with dinner. Now I just had to get through dessert and coffee. I met his clear blue eyes, nodding again. He looked like a typical elf, although his eye colour was more intense, delicious, and vibrant blue. His baby blond hair was cut short. I had to give him points—he was handsome with an obviously toned chest, muscular arms, and a scent that could seduce a troll. He pressed his hands together and smiled, revealing an incredibly white, perfect set of teeth.

  "I asked what sort of music you prefer to listen to?"

  "To be honest, I’m not that into music; I hardly listen to anything," I responded.

  "Oh, well, that’s too bad, but I’m sure that I can con—"

  I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying; to be truthful, I couldn't care less. It had been exactly thirty-one days since my vampire ended our relationship and I was doing everything possible to get back to normality.

  I worked for Paranormal Personnel, a recruitment firm for paranormal creatures who live among humans in central London. A few months ago, I managed to win the contract with La Caz Pharmaceutical, and that was how I met Nathaniel La Caz: half vampire, half human, who apparently couldn’t stay away from me. We dated briefly, the closeness only caused problems, and things blew up when he was near. We were perfect for each other and, yet, he couldn’t give me an exclusive relationship. Since then, my life went downhill.

  Yep, my subconscious liked reminding me that I was still single. The vampire was out of my life and there was nothing I could do about that. I fought as much as I could with those unsettled emotions, but I was losing the battle; the memories of our time together were slowly driving me up the wall.

  A loud cracking sound startled me, and I snapped back to reality, realising that the wine glass I was holding had exploded in my hand. My palm was bleeding; the sharp edges digging into my flesh. The red liquid dripped to my wrist and shooting pain ran down my arm. I was lucky the bits of glass didn't splatter on my face; at least my protection charm was working well. I moaned and stood, taking deep pulls of air into my lungs.

  "Oh my, Julia, are you all right?" Loony asked, staring at me in shock, his pupils dilated at seeing my blood dripping on the table.

  I shouldn’t have been drinking when I couldn’t control my magic. My unbalanced power could do more damage than good. I glanced around, finding that everyone in the restaurant was staring at me while I was trying to hold my balance and not scream. Humans didn’t know about magic; all paranormal creatures co-existed and we kept to ourselves. Through centuries we adapted and, so far, no one complained.

  Loony swirled around the table to help me stand.

  "Sorry, Loony, would you give me a hand to the ladies’ room?"

  The waiter passed me a napkin as Loony took me by the elbow. He was over six foot two and obviously knew how to handle a drunken elf. I was going to burn something if I stayed here. I didn't give a flying fuck that I had become the centre of attention. I was too drunk to focus on anything but keeping myself under control.

  Loony was doing his best to maneuver me to the toilet, but I couldn't even walk straight.

  "Do you want me to stay with you?" he asked, panic plain in his voice, though he was doing well to cover it.

  "No... I’m good, ta."

  I wasn’t sure how, but I made it to the loo without losing my balance. Lucky for me the toilet was empty. I glanced in the mirror and caught my reflection—I looked worse than I expected. My mascara was smudged, my cheeks were bright red, and my lips were swollen.

  I clenched my teeth and washed my face, trying to ignore the thoughts about my ex-boyfriend. He’d already ruined my good mood, and my evening, but he wasn’t going to ruin my life. We shouldn’t have even gotten together in the first place because everyone knew that relationships between vampires and elves would never work. At the time, I wanted to show "those" people—including my father—that they wer
e wrong. In the end, though, I realised they were right.

  I took care of my bleeding hand, which hurt like hell, and left the bathroom. Loony was waiting for me outside, looking slightly pale, pacing up and down.

  "Julia! Are you sure you’re all right?"

  “I'll survive."

  "Let me see. I'm great with healing spells," he suggested, staring at the large cut.

  In normal circumstances, I would have just told him that this wasn’t a good idea, but, right now, I was out of line, lost, and unsure what was happening to me.

  He whispered something really fast and moved his hand; the cut disappeared within a blink of an eye.

  "Good, now, can you take me home?" I asked, yawning. I didn’t remember much of what happened after that. Loony probably helped me get to his car and took me home. I must have dozed off for a few minutes in the front seat because I woke up outside my flat.

  "Julia, I had a really great time. Should I walk with you?"

  "Nah, I’m fine. Say hi to Nicky for me."

  That was that. I didn't acknowledge the fact that he paid for the meal, or that he patched up my cut with his magic. I just left him without saying a proper goodbye or without a kiss. Then without turning back, I walked through my door and took off my heels. I had a pulsing headache and needed my bed. I didn’t even have the energy to take off my clothes. As soon as my head touched the pillow, I was out.

  * * *

  The next day I opened my eyes and moaned, covering my face with a pillow; my head felt like it was about to explode. The bright morning light was like a newly discovered disaster. I groaned, trying to find my mobile phone to check the time, but it wasn’t in its usual spot. I tried to gather my thoughts about the previous night and then moaned again, remembering that I behaved like a fool. Suddenly, I recalled how I treated my date. Loony was probably a very nice guy and, as it turned out, I was his worst date in history. I stood, feeling lightheaded and nauseous. I stumbled over my high heels and cursed, massaging my toe. After doing my business in the bathroom, I looked around; my apartment looked like a shit tip. On a positive note, I looked even worse.

  "I'm never drinking again," I muttered to myself when I found my phone on the floor by the door. I had a few missed calls from Mum. It was just after twelve and I had to get to my parents’ house for dinner.

  It had been a month since the fire at the agency. We all got a week off while Rufus, my boss, tried to find a new building so the business wouldn’t lose more money. Our director wasn’t particularly happy with what had been happening in London, but Rufus knew what he was doing. He found a new building quickly enough and we all moved a few streets over; our work life resuming as normal. All the files had burned, so everyone who’d ever worked for us had to be registered again. It was a hell of a job, but being busy helped to take my mind off other distractions. Thankfully, after our breakup, Nathaniel didn’t pull out of the contract. The relationship between Paranormal Personnel and La Caz Pharmaceutical remained unaffected. It wasn't easy getting back into a routine, in an environment where my ex’s name was on everyone’s lips.

  The news about my breakup with La Caz spread fast, and by the time I came back to work everyone knew that we weren’t together anymore. Rufus didn’t comment, but he had an "I told you so" grin on his face throughout the week. Eventually, he asked me if I was all right. I assured him that he didn’t have to worry, and I was fine being on my own.

  Half an hour later, I was on my way to my parents. Dad was off today, and I was looking forward to catching up with him on his investigation at work.

  Since my breakup, Mum couldn’t stop talking about Nathaniel. I knew that as soon as I walked through the door she would harp on the subject. She scolded me often enough because I hadn’t done "enough" to keep my perfect boyfriend close. Nathaniel brightened up her prospects about a "perfect" son-in-law. I couldn’t tell her what went on between us, but of course, she just assumed that it was all my fault. My mother was a human—she had no idea what I had to go through just to date a vampire. She loved me, but was also very critical and kept me on my toes.

  When I got there, I sat down with my dad, hoping to cure my hangover with chocolate. Nathaniel was out of my life, so Dad was much happier with me. He would never discriminate, but he wasn’t crying over the fact that we broke up.

  "Any news about McGregor?" I whispered to him, making sure that Mum was still in the kitchen. He frowned shifting on the sofa.

  "No, stop asking me. I told you that I would tell you if anything changes,” he replied, jumping off his seat when the Brits scored.

  "I know, but you obviously have some leads, right?"

  "What?"

  "You know, leads. There must be some?"

  He couldn’t concentrate much on keeping up with both the game and a conversation with me; I could tell he was getting annoyed.

  "You shouldn’t worry about that. Leave it to me and stay out of trouble," he fumed, staring at the TV.

  I made a grumbling sound and sat back, disappointed. McGregor had done everything to try and ruin Nathaniel’s business, so I wanted to see him behind bars. Since McGregor vanished, the Paranormal Squad worked hard to secure all important evidence from the ruins of the fire. I knew they were stuck, but Dad would never admit that he didn’t know what to do. He’d run a marathon rather than ask someone for help. The vampire community wasn't cooperating either. I still had nightmares about that terrifying night. I woke up night after night drenched with sweat, screaming, because I thought I was being attacked by vampires.

  Dad didn’t want to talk about work. And when Mum came in and started giving me the usual updates from around the neighbourhood, I quit pursuing the subject of Caleb McGregor in front of her.

  At least my cousin, Claudia, was happily reconnected with her mother. A few months ago, just after my meeting with Nathaniel, I saw her being dragged towards a black van. We found out later, Claudia was used as a blood donor for production of a fake Lucrative Shot, a drug to help vampires lessen their need for real blood. I nearly paid with my own life when I found her in the underground of a dance club, but in the end, my bold move helped my father with the cases of other mysterious kidnappings in the city. As soon as Claudia was able to travel, her mother, my aunt, sent her to Switzerland in order to recover. She’d gone through hell and Aunt Dorothy mentioned that she would be away for a few months.

  I spent a peaceful Sunday with my parents talking about nonsense and indulging myself with delicious food. I had to pretend I was happy in front of them, otherwise Mum wouldn’t stop nagging. I kept my good mood until I got home.

  Mum’s cooking helped me deal with my nasty hangover and I felt good going to work on Monday morning, for a change. Our new office was situated on the first floor, a few hundred meters away from High Street, next to a Chinese take away restaurant. It was spacious and much bigger than the old one. I kept telling people that we finally had a real kitchen; no one believed it, though.

  "Morning, Kate," I said, shutting the door behind me.

  "Morning, Julia, how are you today?" she asked, smiling.

  "All right, I suppose. Where’s the new girl?"

  "Late as usual," Kate replied, shaking her head. "Coffee?"

  "Please, and make it a strong one."

  Nodding, she waved her magic wand to switch on the kettle while I turned on my computer, flopping into the chair. We had a busy day ahead of us. Lucinda had been on my case all week and, knowing her, I was sure that she wasn’t going to stop today. Rufus was going to pop in later to give us a hand with registration.

  Jennifer used to be our best co-worker, but it turned out that she was a nasty piece of work. She sold information to McGregor, burned the agency, and nearly killed me, so, in the end, Rufus sacked her as soon as I rescued her from the fire. He quickly found a new replacement. When he brought Sara in, I wasn’t very optimistic. I had nothing against her, except that she was clumsy and late nearly every day. She was a giant with short, curly brown hair
and an odd sense of fashion. We didn't question Rufus on why he’d employed her; he was the boss and we did whatever he asked us to, even when Sara slowed everything down.

  Kate vanished into our new kitchen to make coffee and I scanned through my emails. The first five were from Lucinda. She must have found out that Nathaniel and I separated because she talked about him every time we had a chance to discuss business. It felt like she purposely wanted to wind me up. Unwillingly, I learned about his trip to Romania—probably to work closely with his Eastern European goddess—and about his new business ventures in Switzerland and France. I didn’t want to know what he was up to, but Lucinda kept ranting about him during nearly every telephone conversation. Kate suggested that I stick a post-it note on my forehead that stated, “I'm trying to forget about this arsehole, you idiot!" but I went against it. After all, we had to keep her happy.

  Kate handed me a steaming mug, effectively pulling me away from my thoughts. I was just about to sit back and take five minutes to enjoy my coffee before the shit hit the fan when, someone just stormed through the door. I had to blink twice because I thought I was seeing my own grandmother walking towards me. Everything was moving in slow motion and she looked pissed off.

  "Julia!" roared a woman who, upon closer inspection, really did look like my grandmother. She stopped in front of my desk. "I keep hearing rumours. Were you involved with a vampire?"