by E A Price
Running from the Vampire into the Arms of the Wolf
(Book 4, Grey Wolf Pack Romance Novellas)
By E A Price
Copyright ©2014 by Elizabeth Ann Price
All rights reserved. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
Next Up
Prologue
Three years ago
It was Melanie Ramirez’s 21st birthday. She was antsy. She was 21 and still a virgin.
She was sat in a club enjoying her first legal drink and watching as Stephanie, her best friend, gyrated on the dance floor with a rather weedy looking man.
Melanie was five foot five and a little plump... alright technically overweight. She had a pretty face with beautiful dark brown eyes, framed by long dark brown hair. Stephanie, as pale as anything, was always jealous that Melanie didn’t have to sunbathe to get a tan. Melanie’s caramel coloured skin was luminous.
However men tended to take a look at her, smile at her face, frown at her body and then choose not to look back. Not when they had Stephanie to look at.
Stephanie was five foot ten and gorgeous. Charlize Theron gorgeous. She certainly had no problem finding any multitude of willing men.
Not that Melanie really minded, the love of her life sure wasn’t going to be found in a sleazy club.
Stephanie told her to just bite the bullet and find some random guy to pop her cherry. But she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her own silly romantic sensibilities wouldn’t let her. She wanted it to be special. She wanted it to be with someone who cared about her. Not someone who barely cared enough to order her a taxi home.
Stephanie waved at her and motioned for her to join her on the dance floor much to the consternation of her dance partner. Melanie chuckled and shook her head no. Stephanie shrugged whilst flashing her a dazzling smile and concentrated on dancing.
Melanie sipped at her drink. It was a cocktail, the flashiest one Stephanie could find. It was adorned with straws, pieces of fruit and little umbrellas. It was a hazard just trying to get a drink without poking an eye out.
She trembled involuntarily, the hair on the back of her neck stood to attention.
“Hello.” A velvet voice floated her way.
She turned to see the most handsome man she had ever seen standing over her. He was tall dark and deadly looking. His eyes looked to be pure black. His body was a study of taut muscles barely concealed by his form fitting t-shirt and jeans. He looked to be seriously dangerous for her health.
He gave her a wry smile. “I’ve never seen you here before.” He was almost hypnotic.
Her natural witchy senses were going in overdrive, warning bells were ringing about him. He wasn’t human that much she could tell. Shifter? Warlock? Medium? She couldn’t quite pin him down.
She blushed as his eyes slowly raked her body. “Ummm, I just turned 21. It’s my birthday.”
“Happy birthday. What’s your name?”
“Thanks. Ummm, Melanie.”
“Melanie.” He rolled the name over his tongue.
Her body felt tense. For some reason she couldn’t relax round him. He creeped her out.
“May I buy you a drink Melanie?”
She gulped, she wished he hadn’t come over to her. Why had he? There were so many other women in the bar so much prettier than her. Why was he bothering with her? “I... I already have one thanks.”
His lips twitched. “May I join you then?”
He put a hand on her arm. It was icy cold. Goose bumps sprung up on her skin and she shivered.
She pulled her arm away. “I’m actually waiting for someone... maybe another time.”
He stared at her for a few moments, his jaw twitched. Why wouldn’t he just go away? “Until next time Melanie.”
He glided away, the crowd automatically parting for him.
She breathed in and out trying to calm herself. Not if she could help it. She’d never disliked anyone so much, or so quickly. She hoped never to see him again.
She started as Stephanie plopped down on the seat next to her. Her cheeks were pink and a thin sheen of sweat covered her.
“Who was that? He was hot.”
“I don’t know.” Said Melanie. And she didn’t want to know.
*
After a couple more drinks Melanie decided to call it a night. Stephanie had found a couple of stockbrokers to hang out with, ostensibly one for each of them. ‘Hers’ though hadn’t been especially thrilled to be relegated to the fat best friend and so instead had been competing for Stephanie.
It was actually kind of funny to see the silly young men trying to ‘one up’ each other.
But... Melanie did have to get up for work. She was currently working as a receptionist at a small hotel. Stephanie had pleaded with her to stay and have some fun, Melanie had said she’d had plenty of fun already and had said her goodnights.
She’d called a cab and was waiting for it outside. It was a pleasant night and she’d had a nice birthday. They didn’t really mean as much as they once did, they hadn’t since her mom died a couple of years ago but she and Stephanie had spent the day shopping and had caught a movie.
She yawned. Usually by now she was tucked into bed with a book. She really wasn’t a party animal.
“Hello again.”
She jumped at the silken voice. He sauntered towards her. The maddening smile on his face was even wider than before.
She looked round, hoping someone else was around. She really didn’t want to be alone with him. Unhappily the road was deserted.
She surreptitiously felt for her phone in her purse. Ready to call for help. “Oh ummm hi.”
He loomed over her only inches away. She was breathing heavily, breasts heaving as she tried not to panic. He delighted at the sight.
“You don’t like me do you? Am I not good enough for the virgin princess?” He rubbed a thumb over her cheek.
She pulled away from him, heart pounding. “Get off me! If you don’t leave me alone I’ll protect myself.”
He laughed hollowly. “You can try little witch, but it won’t stop me for long.”
Moving quickly he grabbed her and smashed her lips to his. His grip was like steel as he viciously assaulted her mouth.
She whimpered and tried to pull away but he held her tighter. Pulling on her magic she sent a zap through his body. He released her and stumbled back.
Quickly she turned tail and started to run as fast as she could. She barely got two steps before she felt his strong arms clamp down on her. He bellowed with laughter as he dragged her kicking and screaming into an alleyway.
He pushed her against a
wall and pressed himself against her. She could feel his hard erection against her stomach and shuddered. Oh Dios no...
He scented her hair and neck. He trembled, aroused by her. She redoubled her struggles but he gripped her more tightly, fingers digging into her painfully.
He pulled his head back and she stilled, shocked. He was a vampire. His fangs proudly protruded from his mouth and he grinned at her reaction.
“What do you want?” She whimpered.
He dragged her arms above her head pinning them with one hand whilst the other stroked down her body and started lifting the hem of her dress. She felt him moving towards her panties. She sobbed.
“Just you Melanie. Just you.”
He pressed his fangs into her neck. She screamed, crying and quivering.
He groaned as her sweet blood danced over his tongue and his hand found what he was looking for...
*
Two years ago
Melanie peeked out of her bedroom curtains carefully. She had to get to work and if she hesitated any longer she was going to be late.
She had only just started at the supermarket, it was the only job she could find without a good reference. Which meant she was relegated to night shifts. Which she hated. She didn’t go out at night at all unless completely necessary. She couldn’t risk running into Him.
She was living in Chicago now. She’d moved around quite a lot over the past year. No matter where she went he found her. She shivered thinking of his cold fingers creeping over her skin. His icy lips pushing against hers as he violated her mouth before he... he...
She shook her head trying to dispel the flashes of memory of the things he did to her. He wiped her memory after every encounter, or at least he tried to. He always left her memories of him showing up intact, but from the moment after they meet again it’s a blur. Which meant that every encounter was felt anew by her, so what he did was always a gruesome surprise.
She’d tried to go to the cops but she couldn’t really tell them anything definite, without any evidence or memories what could they do? Besides there weren’t many cops who really wanted to go up against a vampire. They’d indulged her and put out a few more patrol cars past her apartment, but really that was never going to stop Him. Magic didn’t even stop him...
The only souvenir she had of him was the bite mark on her neck, which never lasted long. He gave her a few drops of his blood to ensure that after a couple of days it faded away. Like it was never there...
Flashes of the things he did still come through though, she had a certain amount of resistance probably because of her own magical abilities. Horrifying flashes...
She sighed, she needed to move or she’d be late. She grabbed her purse and her keys and peeped outside through the spy hole. Nothing. She gingerly stepped outside looking around carefully, everything was quiet. She locked her door and quickly started walking to work. Her strained resources meant that she couldn’t stretch to a car.
She buried her hands in her pockets and kept her head down. It was only a couple of blocks. She passed a few rowdy drunken frat boys stumbling out of a bar. They called to her but she ignored them and carried on her way. To think, a year ago she would have been wary of them. They were like kittens in comparison to Him.
A couple of bums rooted around some trash cans. A couple of wolves howled in the distance. Shifters most likely.
She rounded the corner and yes, thank goodness, the market was in sight. She hadn’t realised she had been holding her breath. She exhaled loudly. Home free.
She started to move forward but was suddenly stopped by an arm with a steel grip. She was roughly pulled backwards into an alley. She was thrown against a building, her head forcibly making contact with the bricks. She saw stars.
A hard body pushed against her. The silken voice oozed toward her. “Did you miss me, princess?”
Him again.
*
One year ago
Melanie sighed and forced herself to listen to what her date was saying. It was something to do with one of his customers. He was a teller in a bank, they’d met when she went in to open up a new account.
He was nice, not pulse racingly sexy, but still nice. He had awkwardly asked her out and she had awkwardly accepted.
She was living in New Jersey now. She had been for the past two weeks, and for the past two months she hadn’t seen Him at all.
She’d lost Him. She had finally lost Him. She could finally relax and start living her life. Hence her current date. Her first date in well over two years.
His name was Jerry. He was telling her about a customer, an older woman, who came in every day to deposit one hundred cents in coins. Every day she did this come rain or shine. Jerry thought she was a mad old coot who wanted to waste his time. Melanie just thought she was lonely and wanted any company she could get. Melanie could relate.
She forced herself to smile at him. Dinner was a bit of a tasteless affair, chewy steak, hard potatoes, limp vegetables. But she ate it all down.
Since her first encounter with him she had lost weight dramatically. She worried herself thin, she was half her former size. She always used to want to be thin, and now she was she thought she looked malnourished. As much as she used to fret about her ample size she had never actually been unhappy with it, in fact she couldn’t ever remember being truly unhappy before she met Him. Perhaps now her appetite would come back and she could work about putting a little more meat back on her bones. She wondered if Jerry would like that.
She fidgeted with the strap of her dress it was a little loose. She’d done her best to alter her clothes but they were still a little baggy. Maybe she could just grow back into them.
She realised Jerry was staring at her.
“So?” He prompted. “You ready to go?”
“Sure.” She said and swallowed down the rest of her wine.
Jerry looked pleased and went to take care of the check. He helped her put on her jacket and led her out of the restaurant.
He drove her home in silence. He kept looking at her anxiously. She worried about what he actually expected at the end of a first date.
When they finally arrived outside her condo she turned to him. “Thanks for dinner, it was really nice.”
He laughed nervously. “You know the date doesn’t have to end here...” He quickly leaned over and pressed a sloppy kiss to her lips, his hand fumbling with her breasts.
She pulled back from him and sucked in a breath. “I’m kind of tired... and I don’t do that on a first date...” She wasn’t lying, she’d never had sex on a first date. Or consensually for that matter...
He looked disappointed. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could his car window shattered. Melanie screamed. A large hand reached into the car and grabbed Jerry by his shirt.
Jerry whimpered, his eyes wide in terror. He was dragged from the car which shook as he was thrown up against it.
Melanie stumbled out of the car, her heart racing. On shaky legs she ran round the car, confirming what she already knew. It was Him.
He was holding a beaten and bloody looking Jerry up by his shirt. He turned his head toward her, a vicious smile curling his lips.
“Hello princess.” His smile turned into a mocking pout. “I’m very disappointed in you, I’m gone for a couple of months and you try to replace me with this?” He jutted his chin at Jerry who was crying.
She felt her own tears prickle her eyes. “Please... please... don’t hurt him.” She begged. She could never forgive herself if Jerry was killed because of her.
He hit Jerry knocking him out. Carelessly he dropped Jerry’s body to the ground. He sidled over to her and stood inches from her. She openly wept and he stooped down so he could lick them away.
He moaned at the taste of them. The fucker gets off on my misery she thought bitterly.
He leaned in close to her and smoothed his hands down her body.
“Only I am allowed to touch you princess. Remember that. You’re
mine. Say it!”
She choked back a sob. “I’m yours”.
*
26th August
Melanie Ramirez looked at her driver’s licence. No, not Melanie. Melody. Now she was Melody James. It was as close to her real name as she dared risk.
After a lot of research she had found a glamour spell and had enchanted her licence so that the details would be altered.
Now instead of Melanie Ramirez, age 24, weight 185 pounds, she was Melody James, age 26, weight 120 pounds. At least the weight change was actually accurate.
She had cut off her long brown hair and her locks now fell down to her chin, naturally curling slightly. She had thrown out all her old clothes, all her sundresses, all her cardigans, all her flowery pyjamas, all her sandals and heeled shoes. She had replaced everything with pairs of jeans, t-shirts, boots and a few daring miniskirts. She’d painted her nails black and had amped up her eye make-up. Rather than the cute young girly look, she was going to project a sexy grungy woman.
She barely recognised herself anymore. Gone was the plump and pretty romantic, replaced with a harder more cynical woman.
She ought to be sad but after three years of running she was pretty numb. She’d lost everything in her life, even her own identity, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to cry over it. If the last years had taught her anything, she was a survivor.
She hadn’t seen Him in over a month, and now she was going to disappear completely. She had found a tiny little town in northern Virginia called Rose. She had tentatively reached out to the local witches Circle. She had found them through enquires with the CoS (Council of Supernaturals).
After having met with their leader, a particularly cold witch called Emerald Cole, and proved her admittedly limited talents as a witch she was grudgingly invited to join the Circle. She was now sat in her new bedroom in the boarding house that housed a large number of the Circle.
She had felt nervous, but now sitting in her spartan room her confidence started to ebb back. She could do this. She could be Melody James. She was certainly not the old Melanie Ramirez anymore, so changing her name wasn’t such a big leap.
Yep, she could do this.
