by T. S. Ryder
“It’s okay, Ethan.” Christine covered the distance between her and the other woman. “Nancy and I should talk.” She turned to the very irate woman. “Look, Nancy, when I thought you and Ethan were involved I made up my mind to stay away. But as it turns out, you and he have-”
“You smell different,” Nancy interrupted.
“What?”
Her eyes dropped to Christine’s stomach. Her lips twisted into a sneer. “You’re pregnant.”
Ethan’s eyes flew to Christine’s. “She’s what?”
Christine stared at Nancy. “How do you know?”
“I can smell it. He was supposed to be mine!" she shouted. "If I had known you were carrying his child, I would have killed you myself, instead of sending that amateur, Marcus."
Christine took a step back. “W-what are you talking about?”
Nancy paused. Her eyes widened a fraction, realizing that she just gave herself away.
A low growl rumbled from Ethan’s chest as he took a menacing step toward Nancy. “Explain yourself,” he hissed.
Nancy gulped, a fine sheen of sweat beading her forehead. “Ethan, anything I have ever done was for us.”
“Nancy, did you send that Shifter after Christine?”
Cowering before him, she whispered. “I- yes.”
“How did you even know the man? He’s from an enemy pack.”
Christine gasped, her eyes swinging from Ethan to Nancy. She realized that Nancy knew about Wolf Shifters. Of course, Ethan's personal assistant would know his deepest secret. What she had difficulty wrapping her mind around was the fact that Nancy wanted to kill her. The woman had moved from annoying supervisor to Public Enemy Number One. She listened silently as the two other people in the room continued their conversation.
Nancy folded her arms. “I might have sought out a few members of the pack and got in touch with Marcus.”
Ethan’s eyes flashed yellow. “You might have?” He fought the urge to wrap his fingers around the woman’s neck. “I am the leader of our pack and you hired a man from an enemy pack to kill Christine.”
“Because you should be with me, Ethan!” Nancy shouted, her face flushing red, evidence of her rage.
Christine finally spoke. “I can’t do this,” she whispered. “Clearly the two of you need to work through… whatever is going on between you.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched as he turned to her. “Nothing is going on between my employee and me, Christine. There has never been anything.”
“Clearly, Nancy thinks differently. I need to get out of here.”
“Christine, please don’t-”
"Look, I love you, Ethan, you know that. But, a woman went out of her way to hire a Wolf Shifter to kill me, for God's sake."
“Yet, here you are,” Nancy snarled, stepping around Ethan.
Christine watched with her mouth hanging open as Nancy began to change in front of her. Her face twisted and contorted, deadly looking teeth erupting. Christine let out a scream as Nancy lunged at her. Ethan stepped in between them with blinding speed, knocking Nancy to the ground. He fought for control, shoving down his fury and his Wolf. “Nancy, leave,” he growled. “I would really hate to hurt you, for your mother’s sake.”
The woman scrambled to her feet. “Ethan, I’m sorry. Please, I didn’t mean to lose control. What are you doing with her anyway? She isn’t like us.”
“She is my true mate, Nancy and she is more like us than you think.”
Nancy sucked in a breath, “Y-you’re true mate? B-but-”
“Get out,” Ethan hissed. He still seethed, ready to strike at any further threat to Christine.
Nancy gulped, terrified at the deadly tone of his voice. She sent Christine one more hateful look, “You’ll regret taking him from me,” she snarled before rushing out.
Christine winced when the door slammed. Her breaths came out in small gasps. “Sh-she’s like you,” she stammered. “And she’s insane!”
Ethan reached for her. “I’m afraid Nancy held some false hope that she and I would end up together. I’ve wanted to get rid of her for a while, but I gave her the job as a favor to her mother.”
“She can very easily kill me,” Christine whispered, remembering the anger and hate she had seen in Nancy’s eyes.
“She won’t. She’ll never get another chance to try. I should have better protected you from the beginning.” He paused. “Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant? I should have realized, but I suppose my mind was otherwise occupied.”
"I didn't want to tell you about what I suspected. I wanted to be sure. There was no point in upsetting you until it was confirmed."
He shook his head. “Why did you think I would be upset?”
Her shoulders lifted. “I don’t know, maybe because we have only been sleeping together for a month.”
“It has been much more than that, Christine.”
"Well, I know that now." She folded her arms. "So much for finding out about my pregnancy the old-fashioned way," she grumbled. She studied Ethan carefully. "So, I take it you're fine with me being pregnant?"
His lips curved upward. “Actually, I am.” He let out a laugh. “I never saw myself as a father, but I’m surprisingly happy.”
“I’m relieved.” Christine let out a breath. “But I have two questions.”
“What’s that?”
“Will our child be human? And what did you mean when you told Nancy I was more like you than she thought?”
Ethan froze. “I think our child will be more like me. Where are your parents, Christine?”
She shrugged, confused. What was with his sudden interest in her parents? “My father ran off when I was five, that’s what my mother told me anyway. She died a few months ago. Why?”
Ethan took her hand in his. “Let’s sit.”
“Okay now I’m starting to worry,” she said eyeing him suspiciously.
He smiled and pulled her onto his lap. “When I told you Wolf Shifters have one true mate, I left out the part about that mate having to be a Shifter.”
Christine snorted, “Well then why would you tell me that I’m your true mate? I’m human.”
“You are my true mate, there’s no doubt about it. But we can mate only with someone who carries the Shifter gene.”
Christine stared at him and he waited for her to put the pieces together. “So what you are implying is that I have the Shifter gene?” He nodded. She laughed, “Well, now that is just ridiculous. I have never changed into a wolf, ever.”
“Half Shifters can’t shift. How much did your mother tell you about your father?”
Christine stared down at him in horror. The possibility that she was half Wolf Shifter was hard to process. Just when she had accepted the bombshell of her boyfriend not being human, she now had to deal with the fact that one of her parents wasn’t either. “My mother never told me much about him, except how much she hated him and his spawn. Those were her exact words, by the way.”
Ethan frowned, wondering what kind of mother said that to her child. “More than likely it is your father who was the Shifter.”
She suddenly inhaled deeply and dropped her head in her hands. “Oh no.”
“What is it?”
“You may be right. My mother might have told me more about my father than I had realized.” Ethan’s brows furrowed but he remained silent, waiting for her to continue. “I remember asking her about my father once. She told me that he was an animal and his kind didn’t stay with anyone they weren’t meant to be with. I was too young to understand at the time. But after everything I’ve found out recently, I’m looking at her words differently. She specifically said his kind.” She huffed. “Now I’m starting to understand why she hated me.”
“No mother should hate their child, for any reason, Christine.”
She shrugged, her lips twisting wryly. “You know, my Mother could easily have been the wolf, she certainly was mean enough,” she said with a laugh. “Sorry, I use humor as a defense mech
anism sometimes.” She rested her head against his shoulder and sighed when his arms tightened around her. She needed all the comfort she could get right now. After a few seconds of silence, she murmured, “I remember something else.”
“About your father?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I never met him, or I don’t remember ever seeing him. But there was an incident when I was around five. I could have sworn I saw a huge wolf outside my window. Of course at the time, I assumed it was just a really big dog. It just stood and stared up at my window with these strange eyes. Minutes passed before it took off.”
She lifted her head to look at Ethan. “What if it was my father?”
“Maybe one day we can look for him.”
“I don’t know if I want to find him. He just left his family. Maybe my mother wasn’t his true mate, but he could have stuck around for my sake.”
Ethan pulled her back to him and planted a kiss on her head. “You’re right, there is no excuse for any man to abandon his family.”
She sighed. “I don’t want to think about my parents, Ethan. My mother is gone and I have no idea if my father is even alive. I want to focus on us and our unborn child. I think I can live without knowing my father, as long as I have you. I’ll have my own family.”
Ethan studied her for a moment and then nodded. “Alright, let’s not dwell on it then. You’re half Wolf Shifter, you’re mine and that is that.”
She nodded. “What I need to dwell on now is finding another job.”
“There’s no need for you to work.”
“Of course there is. Have you forgotten that I live with someone and I have to pay my part of the rent?”
“Move in with me.”
Christine stood up. “No way, it’s too soon.”
He sighed. “We have already established that we are in love and we want to be together. Plus, you’re carrying my child. It would be the most natural thing for us to live together.” Noting her unconvinced look, he said, “Alright, how about I pay your half of the rent and take care of your other bills.”
She shook her head vigorously. “I don’t care how much money you have, I will not live out of your pocket. Don’t bother arguing, you’ll never wear me down.”
Ethan sprang up and hoisted her into his arms, taking her by surprise. “How much do you want to bet that I can slowly wear you down in the bedroom?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “You are welcome to try, but after breakfast.”
“Right, I forgot about breakfast.” Walking to the kitchen, he deposited her on a stool. “Sit and watch the chef at work.”
“You are the sexiest chef I have ever seen,” Christine said with a girly giggle. Lacing her fingers and resting her chin against them, she watched Ethan as he worked. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have found him.
*****
THE END
The Vampire Prince's Prisoner
Description
A curvy nomad in search of an escape PLUS a sexy vampire warrior who is heir to the throne PLUS his cold wife who has evil plans!
Avery Lathe is a nomad. Her entire life she’s travelled between the Severed Kingdoms and the land of Varlyn, ruled by the Vampire King Granzen Thorne. Avery has never thought of herself as special or important, but somehow, this poor curvy nomad has captured the eye of the Crown Prince.
Crown Prince Alistair Thorne is a vampire warrior, heir to the Crown of Varlyn. Married to a cold and distant princess, he cannot help but be drawn to the beautiful human Avery. After destroying her caravan and killing her abusive father, Alistair welcomes Avery into his bed, promising to protect her from the powers in the palace.
A prophecy exists that tells the tale of the half-human half-vampire prince that will unite the Severed Kingdoms and bring peace to the realm. Could Avery be the human woman to bring the prophecy to life? What will happen when the Vampire Princess senses a threat to her position? Caught between political intrigue and the machinations of her devious brother, Avery must not only survive, but also protect her unborn child: the bastard son of her Vampire Prince.
Her Vampire Prince
On the seventh full moon of a red year
The only daughter of a seventh son of the lands of Mygie
will lie with a Vampire Prince
In nine months’ time,
she will bear him a son born on a moonless night
Half-human half-vampire, he will be beautiful and terrible to behold
He will conquer the world and reunite the Severed Kingdoms
He shall be the greatest King that Varlyn has ever seen
The world will shudder from his power
- Celisa the Prophet of Four Boulders
Chapter One
He could smell them. Prince Alastair Thorne lifted his nose in the air and took a deep breath. Humans, he could smell their sweat, the smoke from their camp, the fat of a roasting rabbit dripping into the fire. His mouth watered. He tongued the sharp fangs in his mouth knowing that soon he would be able to fill his thirst.
He listened to their sounds. Men and women went about their business unaware of the monsters lurking in the shadows. He ignored the low mutterings of men and focused on a woman singing a slow mournful song. The grumbling men were of no concern to him. He wasn’t interested in their kind. It was the women he wanted.
He could hear their light, high-pitched voices creating a tantalizing music that danced towards him. Closing his eyes for a moment, he just listened. He heard laughter from a group, a tittering that sounded like bells and a deep longing surged to the surface. They were so close.
He gripped his sword, his fingers digging into the supple leather of the handle. The blood lust was coming on. His heart began to pound, adrenaline pumped through his veins.
His pupils dilated and the darkness around him lit up. He could see everything clearly. Every blade of grass stood out in bright detail. The wind picked up making the boughs of the trees shudder. It was as if nature herself knew what was coming.
“On marks,” Alistair ordered. Behind him, fifty men unsheathed their swords and bared their fangs.
“Now!”he said. He took off at a run, racing towards the bright fires of nomad’s camp. He ran across the flat grassland as his men fanning out behind him. The dogs in the human camp began to bark furiously, tugging and straining at their leashes. The sound only made Alistair’s feet go faster. He opened his mouth and let out a screaming war cry echoed by the men around him.
They crashed on the camp the way a wave crashes on the shore. Swords clashed as women screamed. Men leapt up from their chairs and reached for their swords, but they were too slow and their blades dull.
The nomads were not fighters. As the vampires descended on their camp, the men panicked and fled. They abandoned their dull weapons on the ground to speed up their cowardly retreat. The abandoned women began running in all directions clutching at each other and screaming for help. It was chaos and madness. To his left there was a bright burst of flame as one of the elaborately decorated caravans of the nomads caught fire.
He was halfway through the camp before he came upon the first man willing to put up a fight. A fat nomad raced towards Alistair, holding his no doubt stolen sword like a cudgel. Bringing up his own sharp, well-hewn blade, Alastair took a moment to sneer at the nomad before cutting him down with one slice of his blade.
In disgust, Alastair watched as several men threw their women in front of them, attempting to use them as shields. Alastair ignored the women, leaving them weeping on the ground, crying for the men who had left them behind. Racing past them he charged down their weak men. With a fury, his sword raked across their backs and legs sending them screaming to the ground.
Heaving for breath, Alastair looked around the chaotic camp searching for another threat, another enemy. All he could see were women huddled together holding onto each other. Caravans burned, his men emptied the elaborate carts searching for anyone attempting to hide from the
ir fury. He needed a warrior, someone willing to put up a real blade. Was there no one left? Had they really defeated the nomads that easily?
Alastair wasn’t ready to be done yet. Bloodlust pumped through his veins. He wanted a real fight, a real challenge. These weakling nomads had disappointed him. He felt unfulfilled. He spun in a circle his eyes scanning the camp for movement. There must be someone who would give him a proper fight.
He heard a scream from a caravan behind him and he turned around in time to see a woman tumble to the ground. There was a man behind her, holding her by her hair, wrenching and pulling her forward. She screamed and fought against him, her hands trying to pull him off her hair. But he was bigger and anytime the girl managed to get her feet underneath her he would kick them and she would fall again.
Alistair snarled and the man whirled around, bringing the girl with him. Her face was screwed up in pain and wet with tears. The crying had smeared her make-up, leaving tracks of dark tear lines down her pale skin. It did nothing to hide her beauty.
“Take her, not me,” the man screamed throwing the woman on the ground in front of him. She tumbled, falling directly below Alistair. On her hands and knees, she looked up at him beseechingly. Even there, in the hectic chaos of battle, she did not quiver with fear or beg for mercy. He expected to see anger and hatred in her face. Instead, she looked up at Alistair like he was her savior. He stared into her deep grey eyes and the longing in his stomach surged.
By the Gods she was beautiful. Alastair let his sword drop as he took all of her in. She had a full head of thick, dark hair, clear alabaster skin and grey eyes that shone in the moonlight. Through her poor nomad's dress, he could see she had an hourglass figure with full breasts and hips.
A fire surged within him. He wanted to take her right then and there. He wanted to push her down into the grass, enter her and bite her, draining the beauty and have her all at the same time. But there was something he needed to do first. He tightened his grip on his sword and moved around the kneeling woman, leaving her be.
