His frustration growing by the hour as he sat at her side. Cam could hear Jinx wandering around in a nearby bedroom and hoped his friend didn’t attempt to make him go to bed. Cam had no intention of leaving Chastity’s side until he’d brought her back from the brink and anyone who tried to move him was in for an angry Alpha response, from his beast and from him.
For the first time in his life he prayed to the Goddess, urging her to bring the white Wolf back to life. “Chastity, wake up, you have to wake up,” he murmured over and over again, his heart sinking each time there was no response.
*****
Chastity ran, weaving through the trees, her heart filled with dread. Something bad, something terrible, something terrifying, was chasing her and she ran on and on trying to escape.
She couldn’t see it, only felt it, as it followed her every move. Something dark and dangerous that wanted nothing more than to catch her and do unspeakable things, drag her somewhere she didn’t want to go.
Tears streaked her face as she ran, her feet not feeling the ground beneath her. “Am I dreaming?” she thought, as she raced onwards, fear lapping inside her belly as her heart felt as if it was going to explode from the exertion.
She hoped she was because this seemed never-ending. No matter how fast she ran she couldn’t escape whatever it was that was chasing her. She tried again and again to morph into her beast but nothing happened. Her beast howling in protest at being unable to protect her.
Chastity thought she could hear voices but when she tried to latch onto the sounds they drifted away in the breeze. “Please, please! Is there anyone there?” she screamed aloud, hoping someone would come to her aid.
Nobody did, the forest silent as her scream died away. So she did the only thing she could; she ran, faster and faster.
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading one of my stories. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it and if so I would love you to leave a review. Continue their story in book 2 at A K Michaels.com
The Sexy & The Undead
By
Charity Parkerson
It is said the Angels were created from light itself. Their luminous white wings and golden hair give comfort to the poor souls they escort to the Heavens.
The story history does not tell is of the Angels born of the dark. Distinguishable by their solid black wings and warrior-like bodies, these beings are the Guardians of the Gods. -Randall Cruz’s guide to Magical Creatures
CHAPTER ONE
“This place flipping sucks,” Tam said, using her whiniest voice.
She didn’t get to visit with her friend, Lena, very often since she lived amongst the humans. Tam was stuck living in the Hall of the Gods. She was taking full advantage of the rare social call by laying all her problems on the Seer as thick as possible. “I mean, look around,” she added, gearing up for a full rant. “There’s not one man in this joint I’d be willing to sleep with.”
Lena’s bright pink hair, which stood out in a spike above her head, tilted from side to side as she did as Tam ordered. Her eyes widened, showing her confusion.
“Are you insane?”
Disbelief laced her words. Lifting one beautifully manicured finger, she pointed out a blond angel guarding a nearby door. “What about that one?” Before Tam could answer, Lena added, “or that one?”
Tam didn’t bother glancing in the redhead’s direction. She knew without looking both men wore matching black kilts and nothing else. Their golden muscular bodies were a common sight in the Heavens.
“Bloody freaking hell, Lena. All these guys are three feet taller than me. What am I supposed to do with them, I ask you? Their,” she made a swirling gesture with her index finger, searching for the right term. “Pricks. Yes,” she said with a nod, deciding she liked that word. “They are probably the size of my leg. I’d be killed.”
A snort of laughter escaped Lena. She covered her mouth as if attempting to hold it in. Tam’s nerve endings lit up at the sound. Most people believe chanting their belief in fairies will cause one to grow strong. In truth, laughter was the key to pixie power. A day with Lena was equivalent to a day at the spa for Tam. Not only was Lena the clumsiest immortal in all the realms, she was also a regular hoot.
Feeling encouraged, she grew even more outrageous. “Take him, for example.” Tam nodded toward a dark-haired angel who stood a few inches taller than the rest. “Notice how his kilt falls to his shins instead of his knees,” she pointed out.
Lena nodded. “I did think it was odd, but then again, what isn’t here?”
It was Tam’s turn to snort. “Well, his is not a fashion statement. I heard he tried wearing the standard uniform when he first arrived, but everyone got sick of seeing his huge one-eyed monster slapping his kneecaps every step he took. Mistress Katrina finally made him wear a longer one.”
Lena openly gawked at the man in question. Leaning over in her chair, she tried to peek under his pleat before losing her balance, almost landing on her face.
Catching her stare, the man began to inch the plaid upward as if fully prepared to relieve Lena’s curiosity.
“Thomas!” Tam cried, admonishing the wicked angel.
With a wink in Lena’s direction, he turned away. Lena didn’t look the least bit ashamed as she attempted to right herself.
“Too bad,” she sighed. “I’ve never seen a knee-slapping monster before. Why don’t you leave?”
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? Tam’s wings drooped, mimicking her inner deflation. “I want a normal man,” she confessed to Lena. “An ordinary man who won’t squash my twat,” she added miserably.
****
Ella would be hard-pressed to explain exactly how she ended up with her very own pet zombie if anyone ever expected to hear the story. Nonetheless, here she was at twenty-six, single, unemployed, and with a zombie named Freddie to support. It wasn’t cheap keeping up the care of a zombie. There were codes, visits to the zombie witchdoctor—don’t get her started on the food bill—and a zombie sitter; those were almost impossible to find. That was why she was now fifteen minutes late to the first job interview she’d managed to land in six months with Freddie in tow, and no idea what she was going to do.
She found the tiny shop squeezed between an organic food store and a nail salon. She almost missed it, but at the last moment, she caught sight of the gold-embossed letters spelling out Cruz Apothecary across a red door. The windows were dark and dingy, causing a person’s eyes to automatically skirt past it. Since she was already late, it looked like heaven to her. Inside, the place appeared a bit more cheerful, with bright yellow walls and shiny oak shelves lining each one. A cream-colored loveseat sat wedged between two huge shelves covered in corked and colored glass bottles. She led Freddie in its direction. It wasn’t the ideal place to leave him. He was better off here than in her apartment unsupervised. Unfortunately, Freddie was having none of it. No matter what she did or promised, he wouldn’t stay put.
As a last resort, since she was feeling desperate, she brought out the big guns. “I promise to take you hiking on the wilderness trail as soon as we leave here. You can eat all the little critters you find.”
At one time, Freddie had been a handsome man. Unfortunately, his curse had stolen most of his looks. His slightly drooping hazel eyes reminded her of a pouting hound dog. Freddie huffed, but stilled at her words. She sighed in relief.
“Remarkable!” A male voice exclaimed behind her, startling her so much she clutched her chest. Spinning, Ella kept her hand pressed to her breast, trying to still her racing heart. A man wearing a white lab coat stood mere inches from her, appearing every inch the mad scientist. His sandy-brown hair stood on end. He held a black-rimmed pair of glasses up to his eyes to inspect Freddie closer. “I’ve heard of their existence, but this is my first time actually seeing a Homo Coprophagus Somnambulus.”
Freddie was of average height for a man, coming in around five-foot-ten. The scientist towered over him. Ella could s
ee Freddie beginning to shuffle anxiously. Stepping between them, Ella forced the man to take a step back and focus on her. “Freddie is a good boy,” she remarked, as if she were talking about a dog instead of the undead. He shoved his glasses all the way onto his face, assessing her with his dark-blue eyes. An overwhelming desire to smooth her blonde hair and make certain her blouse was wrinkle free, overcame her.
“Ella Perry, I presume,” he said, sounding a little too pompous for her liking. Good manners won out, and she held her hand out for him to shake.
“Yes, and you are . . .”
“Dr. Randall Cruz,” he answered as he reached for her hand. She almost groaned. Of course, he was the one interviewing her today. It seemed her bad luck was holding.
As soon as their palms touched, Freddie sprang into action and clamped his powerful jaw around Randall’s wrist. Randall released a howl of pain. Ella froze in shock at the sight of Freddie chomping on her—hopefully but unlikely—new boss. Freddie made a “nom-nom-nom” sound, jerking Ella from her shocked haze. Digging through her purse, she pulled out her make-up case.
“Stop, Freddie! Down, Freddie! Bad, Freddie!” she screamed while flashing the tiny mirror from her compact in the zombie’s face.
With a screech, Freddie cowered from the sight of the mirror. He flung himself face first onto the couch behind him. Randall ran in a small circle, howling in a mixture of outrage and pain while frantically waving his arm from side to side. Ella watched the doctor’s hop-skip-run dance in confusion. Freddie had gnawed on her several times in the past. She knew from experience it didn’t hurt that bad. When it finally occurred to her what the real problem was, she had to stop herself from slapping her forehead in disgust.
“Oh, there’s no need to worry,” she told him soothingly. “He’s not contagious.”
Randall froze mid-frantic wave with his mouth still stretched wide in a silent scream. She watched as his face changed almost comically from terror to confusion before finally ending in curious calculation. “I thought zombies ate people, then whatever was left of them turned into a zombie, and so on and so forth,” he mused, the scientist in him showing itself.
Ella giggled. “You watch too many movies.”
“I resent that,” he said hotly. “I don’t watch movies at all. I read books,” he added with an offended sniff.
“Those ridiculous fiction books,” Ella retorted.
“Well, yes,” Randall admitted. “But still, most myths are based on some form of truth. Therefore, you must concede my fears aren’t unfounded.”
“Freddie here is a victim of a bitter witch’s curse,” Ella confessed, shaking her head sadly. “He was too sexy for his own good, and too stupid to know not to two-time a witch.” Ella waved the mirror in Randall’s direction. “Part of his curse is a fear of mirrors as punishment for his vanity.”
Freddie emitted an offended grunt. Ella patted his head. “No worries, babe. You’re much smarter now. Unfortunately, you’re not quite as handsome, but the intelligence level has seen a definite spike.”
Randall looked back and forth between them, snorting. “And you call me ridiculous.”
Ella looked pointedly at his hand before slowly raising her gaze back to his. She lifted her eyebrows, making him blush. “Yes, well,” he stuttered, sounding embarrassed. Ella did nothing to alleviate his discomfort. He glanced around the room, attempting to avoid her gaze. Forgetting about the mirror she held, Ella accidentally flashed it in Freddie’s direction, causing him to let out a pitiful moan. The scientist jumped a foot. In a rush to get away, he stumbled and then quickly righted himself.
“Our interview,” she called at his retreating back, causing him to freeze in his tracks. Without turning, he called over his shoulder, “Be here at eight a. m. sharp tomorrow morning. Leave the zombie at home.”
***
The Hall of the Gods had been home to a vast number of Gods and Goddesses over the centuries. Nowadays, the palace resembled more of a bed and breakfast than a stronghold as the deities only visited in passing. War between the realms lessened as more beings came into existence, allowing for an equal split of worshippers for each idol.
“It is Lena,” Samuel called as he rocked her chair back onto two legs, kissing her loudly on the cheek. She tried to swat him away. There wasn’t any real heat in the action. Lena was his favorite immortal. Since he’d saved her from the edge of death some years earlier, he liked to fancy himself she owed him the occasional kiss.
“You never write. You never come to visit,” he fussed in a falsetto old lady voice. “And what of your puny man?” he asked, referring to her husband, who wasn’t tiny in the least. Samuel shook his head. “He is not worthy of you, you know?”
Lena giggled like a little girl.
“Don’t break her,” Tam chastised. “Then neither one of us will get to play with her anymore.”
“Yes, please don’t break me. First off, my husband won’t like it, but also if I’m broken, then we can’t gossip.” Lena’s words reined him in. He did love gossip.
“Oh, I’m in. I love chinwag. Who are we on about tonight?”
“Tam was telling me about Thomas.”
“Oh, he is a fine solider. He could cut a man clean in two in one blow.”
Lena cut him off. “No. Tam was telling me about his one-eyed monster.”
Samuel’s jaw dropped. It wasn’t often he was surprised. This was one of those times. “Well, I’m out of this conversation then,” he said as he jumped to his feet. “But for the record, Thomas doesn’t possess the biggest staff in this place.” With a wink, Samuel turned to leave while the girls were still laughing, but something was wrong. Freezing in his tracks, he turned in a slow circle as he searched for the cause of his unease.
A foggy vision of a blonde female flying through the air, as if struck by an invisible force, formed as a mist in front of him. No one else in the room showed any reaction to the sudden appearance. His body swayed as the floor became similar to quicksand at his feet. He could see Tam and Lena staring at him with matching looks of confusion, their faces made hazy by the film in the air.
“Tam,” he said slowly. “Something isn’t right.”
Their eyes met. In an instant, she was back to pixie size and flying in his direction. Her eyes widened in shock, making him wonder if she caught sight of the same apparition. Lena stood covering her mouth as Tam shot through the air and straight at his chest. At the impact of her tiny frame barreling into his, the palace disappeared around them.
CHAPTER TWO
Ella flipped through the calendar, checking the date. She’d only worked at Randall’s shop for a grand total of two weeks. She didn’t feel confident she’d hang onto the job for very long. She was perpetually late, and she had yet to find a sitter to take Freddie. He’d been to work with her each day. It was only a matter of time before Randall became fed up by it all.
“That can’t be right,” Ella muttered to herself as she leaned closer to the calendar. Closing one eye, she tilted her head to the right in hopes of changing the date staring back at her. No matter how she looked at it, the numbers refused to change. She groaned. It was Valentine’s Day again.
A heartfelt sigh escaped her lips as she thought of another year alone. She’d always have Freddie unless she could break his curse. He wasn’t always enough for her. Most of the time, Ella’s single status wasn’t an issue, but for one day a year she really wanted that special date. It was busy work being a full-fledged witch and searching for a cure for Freddie. She didn’t have time for a man in her life. She mentally assembled a list of eligible bachelors, thinking tonight she could make an exception. She discarded each choice. The guy at the coffee shop was cute but too short. The one at the bank had a good job, but he talked too much about himself. Randall was single, but he was her boss. She needed her job more than she needed a little fun time in the bedroom. She knew she was, most likely, too choosy, but why waste her time on someone? After all, she wasn’t ignorant of t
he fact she could be more than a little high-maintenance when she set her mind to it. On the other hand, she also knew she’d work hard to keep a man happy if he was worthwhile. Almost to the point of despair, her eyes landed on the row of pots hanging above her stove. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Pulling down the largest one, she set it on the stove, and turned the eye on high. Freddie lifted his head at the sound of her moving around the kitchen, but quickly went back to flipping through the set of books she’d recently purchased for him. They were boring but filled with pictures of different meat packaging plants from around the world. Freddie seemed to love them.
Ella knew the heart of any good spell was the ingredients. All she needed to do was decide what she wanted in the perfect date and she could conjure him up herself. Jumping up and down, she let out a girly squeal as she considered the possibilities. Freddie grunted and clapped his hands once as well. It was one of his best qualities. Even though Freddie had no idea why she was so excited, he was still happy for her.
Focusing her thoughts on her plan, she debated which quality she should deal with first. She wanted a cool man, not some dork with zero prospects. Using the first thing that came to mind, Ella dumped a pint of ice cream in the pot. It was cool and sweet. Next, she added a pinch of spice, for obvious reasons, and a lily she’d nicked off the grave with the huge ancient-looking angel headstone from the cemetery next door. She knew it wasn’t right to steal from a grave, but the flower was almost silver in coloration. The oddity of it called to something inside her. She added the flower now because how else could she ensure his eyes would end up that color? It took a moment for her to think of anything else. Well-groomed, that was a big one as well. Unfortunately, the only thing she could think of to add to the mixture to guarantee such a quality was a huge pair of toenail clippers. As she dropped them inside the bubbling potion, it turned an ominous black, signaling it was complete. However, now the potion was finished, she wasn’t a hundred percent sure what she should do with it. Not to mention, as the excitement began to pass, she couldn’t help but wonder if she shouldn’t wait until after she’d fixed herself up a little before conjuring up this dream man. After all, Ella really didn’t want him to see her with her hair in a ponytail and wearing last night’s pjs. While she was busy debating her next move, Freddie shuffled off down the hall. He returned with a necklace dangling from his fingers. With one glance at the miniscule corked bottle hanging from a leather cord, Ella threw her arms around Freddie’s neck, hugging him tight.
Voracious Vixens, 13 Novels of Sexy Horror and Hot Paranormal Romance Page 65
