by Martha Woods
“Sky, what are you doing? Give me the gun and get behind me. I’ll get you out of here.”
Her hand shook as she inched around him, spinning to keep the gun on him. “I can’t let you kill him, Cayden.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’d rather shoot you.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m sorry, but I will.”
He was momentarily confused. Then his eyes shifted to Liam still in his wolf form, slowly rising. And he knew why he had lost the one woman that stirred up strong feelings in him. She was in love with a wolf shifter. It was there in her eyes, the length she would go to protect him.
Jealousy rolled through him, fueling his rage. His hand tightened around his blade. “Don’t make me have to hurt you, Sky!” he roared, taking a step toward her.
She jumped and stepped back. Liam placed himself in front of her and Cayden saw death in his eyes, a wolf ready to kill to protect his mate. Liam’s eyes challenged him to make a move. Cayden realized that the other wolf was now standing behind him and more had shifted and were inching closer. Well. Shit. If he kept fighting, things wouldn’t end well for him.
“Liam, please no more fighting.”
Skylar’s soft plea reached Cayden’s ear before she stepped out from behind her wolf boyfriend. He snarled, still pissed that she had chosen the abomination over him.
“Cayden, just leave. I don’t want you to get hurt or killed,” she said, glancing around at the several feral creatures who were eying him with menace.
“Why do you care?”
“I still consider you a friend, Cayden. I’m sure you don’t feel the same way about me right now, though.”
He gritted his teeth. He had been falling for her fast and she had friend-zoned him. Great. His nostrils flared as he looked from Skylar to the wolves.
“How about a deal? Give me the woman who killed my father and I leave, peacefully.”
There was a series of growl. “Okay, I guess I’ll die taking down as many of you as you as I can, then. I’m telling you one more time, Sky. Move.” The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but if she stayed in the way, he couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t be injured. He took one more look at her gorgeous face and lifted his blade.
“She’s dying, Cayden. Isn’t that enough? She’ll be gone in months.”
He let out a frustrated growl. Damn it. He couldn’t help softening a bit every time she spoke. He was such a sucker. “What are you talking about?”
“The woman who allegedly killed you’re father is sick and dying. What kind of a hunter would you be if you struck down a woman who can barely stand?”
He dropped his hand with his blade. “God damn it, Sky. And I can’t even hate you for this.” He took a step toward her and Liam growled. “Cool it, dog. I’m not going to hurt her.” He stopped, his eyes boring into hers. “Walk away with me, Sky. This is no place for you.”
No, she was too sweet, too bright and good. Look at the effect she had on him. She had talked him out of the vengeance he desperately sought for so long. At least he had the satisfaction of killing the pack’s alpha.
She smiled sadly and kissed his cheek. “Go, Cayden, please. You’re surrounded and I still care about you. Go. Take care of yourself.”
He let out a breath. The wolves moved closer and he inched away but his eyes remained on Skylar. “I’ll see you again, Skylar Moore.” He turned hateful eyes to the gray wolf standing behind her before he turned and disappeared.
* * *
Things had calmed down a bit after the hunter ran off. Liam scowled. Okay, so the man hadn’t run off. He had been willing to stay and fight to the death, which Liam found grudgingly admirable. He had left because Skylar asked him to. He eyed her with love and amazement. He would have reveled in further battle with a hunter of legend, but more shifters would have been killed in the process.
She gazed up at him, biting her lip. “I’m sorry I got in the way, Liam. I was terrified he was going to kill you.” She glanced at his shoulder wound, which was already healing and tears filled her eyes. “Are you angry that I stopped everything? That Cayden got away?”
He sighed and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. “It’s fine, Sky. If you weren’t here things would have probably gone way worse.” He grinned. “A few shifters here are already whispering that you’re some kind of half human, half magical being. The legendary grim reaper of supernatural creatures walked away because you told him to.”
Skylar rolled her eyes. “Oh for God’s sake. It’s called reasoning. I’ll have to teach you wolf shifters about that.” She pressed her palms against his chest and glanced at his mother’s closed door. “I’m assuming she hears everything with her superhuman hearing and all. Are you ready to talk to her?”
He nodded. Finding out his mother had killed a hunter still had him floored. He laced her fingers with hers and pulled her toward the door. “I’m ready and you’re coming with.”
Leah refused to look at them as they entered. Shame and guilt danced across her pale features. “You should have let the hunter in to kill me. I’ll be dead soon, anyway.”
Skylar gasped. “No, don’t say that, Leah. Liam would never allow that and neither would I.”
She glanced at Skylar and let out a sob. “I’m glad my son found a woman like you. I heard everything. You brought us peace.”
Skylar shrugged. “Well, temporarily.”
“I’ve always wanted peace,” Leah murmured.
Liam shook his head. “That’s why I find it hard to believe you killed a hunter, but you haven’t denied it.”
“I did it a year ago, when I was still strong enough to shift and run. I went out with your father. I was so excited because we hadn’t done anything together in a while. We saw a man snooping around near our community and he had weapons. We knew it was a hunter. It was the first either us had seen one. I begged Isaac to turn back and get to the safety of the pack, but he wanted the bragging rights of killing a hunter. I stood back and watched them fight.” Her eyes lifted to Liam’s. “Your father was injured and the hunter was about to kill him. I jumped out and attacked him while he was focused on Isaac. I was just lucky. I never intended to kill anyone. We never told anyone it was me and Isaac took the credit for killing the man. I didn’t mind. I mean, I thought that would make him love me again.”
Skylar was already perched on the bed and hugging his mother as if she had known her all her life. “You were protecting someone you loved, Leah. I would have done the same.”
Liam wiped a hand over his face and watched his mother cling to Skylar. “Well, Isaac is dead.”
“I heard.” Leah sniffed. “There’s no alpha. I suppose when Lucas decides to surface -”
“There is an alpha.”
Two pairs of shocked eyes flew to Liam. “You’ve changed your mind?” Leah asked, hope shining in her eyes.
“You were right, Sky. Maybe I can bring a change. My father’s out of the way and everyone here is looking for a leader. I can make things different, better. ”
Her lips curved upward and she nodded her support. Leah clutched her heart. “Are you sure, Liam? What about your happiness?”
“I will be happy,” he said gazing at Skylar. “As long as I have my woman with me.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Skylar said with a smile. She gasped when Leah pulled her into a tight embrace with a sudden burst of strength.
Liam grinned, glad that his mother was happy. A burst of love for the small woman in his mother’s arm swelled inside of him. “Mom, Skylar and I will back tomorrow. I should get her home now.”
Skylar glanced up with a frown. “But -”
“Let’s go, Sky.”
Understanding dawned when she saw the smoldering look in his eyes. She swallowed a smile and kissed Leah on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Leah. Maybe we can bring you to Liam’s cabin, mansion, whatever it is.
She chuckled. “I suppose now I can do that.” She seemed delighted.
Liam kissed his mot
her’s cheek and pulled Skylar to the door. She stifled giggles as they made their way down the front steps. “You horny devil,” she whispered.
He let out a laugh, feeling at ease for once in a long time. He looked around, noting that his father’s body had been removed. He waited to feel even a sliver of remorse but none came. Spotting Michael, he approached him.
“Where’s Henry? He was injured by the hunter.”
“He’ll be fine. He’s home with his wife. So what’s going to happen?” Michael’s eyes were fixed on his.
Liam’s mouth stretched into smile and Michael’s eyes widened. “You accepted.” He fist pumped the air. “Yes! I swear if Lucas took over, I would probably organize his assassination.”
“Michael!” Skylar gasped.
“Oh come on, you’ve met the guy. Remember when he tried to eat you?”
“That doesn’t mean -”
“Don’t start you two.” Liam clapped Michael’s shoulder. “If Lucas shows up and starts trouble, take care of it. As my second in command, I’m leaving you in charge. I’ll come back tomorrow and we’ll let everyone know what’s going on.”
Michael snorted. “By the wide grins on everyone’s faces, I think they already know. They were all suffering under dearly departed Dad’s tyranny. And what the hell do you mean second in command? We never had -”
“I’m going to make some changes and that’s the first change. I’m hell bent on making family duty and spending time with my woman and work. So just work with me, little brother. I won’t be here all the time and I need someone I can trust to stand in my place from time to time, like when Sky and I go on vacations.”
Skylar’s eyes gleamed as he led her toward the trees where his car was still parked on a narrow path. “Can we go to Paris?”
“Anywhere you want, baby.”
Michael shook his head and watched them walk away. “They’re so sickeningly adorable,” he murmured and walked off.
She squealed. “I can’t wait to tell Farah I’m going to Paris. I can’t wait to tell her about everything that happened today.”
“You’ll have to wait because when I get you into bed, we’re going to be there a while.”
“I like the sound of that.” She looked at him with troubled eyes. “Your problem has been solved, but mine is still hanging in the air. I don’t know what my father is up to and there’s a mob boss still trying to get his hands on me.”
He opened her door and she slid into his car. He was tempted to abandon the vehicle, lift her into his arms and run home. They would move much faster. “It’s our problem, and no one is getting their hands on you except me. We’ll deal with it together.”
Skylar smiled slightly and let out a breath. “Okay. Are you sure about everything, Liam?” she asked as he drove off.
He immediately knew she was talking about him suddenly changing his mind about becoming alpha. “I can’t be entirely sure about everything. I’ll just have to take things one day at a time. There’s one thing that I am sure about.”
“What’s that?”
He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips.
“You and me.”
* * *
END
Bonus Book 2
Kiss of A Vampire
(Book One of the Calder Witches Series)
* * *
Martha Woods
© 2016 Martha Woods
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
* * *
For permissions contact:
[email protected]
Part 1
The street fair continued to buzz with the energy of people drunk on craft beer and artists making more cash than they would all year. Plastic white booths lined the entire lawn of Pack Square Park, filled with handmade crafts such as woodwork, jewelry, quilts, and anything else you could sell for an exorbitant amount of money. Tessa’s table, a round stool with a purple, velvet cloth and a glass paperweight that mimicked a crystal ball, was tucked well away from the main thoroughfare, but she’d had a steady amount of clients since arriving that morning. They knew she would come every October as the leaves changed and the air grew crisp. They came, nervous and full of questions about the future. She had no real answers for them, but she could sound convincing with the tumble of thoughts always pouring from their minds, a relentless current that pummeled her if she wasn’t careful.
Her lower back ached from sitting so long, and her flask of bourbon had long run dry. It was about time to call it a day. She’d told at least ten widows their husbands loved them and wanted them to be happy. All she had to do was listen for the lament that played like a scratched record in their thoughts. Once a widow heard her husband’s name pass Tessa’s lips, they tended not to question her anymore. She overcharged several drunk jackasses and claimed to see a vision of their adultery. Their insecurity lay just beneath the surface, and she could usually string together two convincing names from their anxious thoughts. She’d also had a handful of giggling teenagers, an old man who’d simply hit on her, and a little boy who wanted to know if his dog would come back. She’d made several hundred dollars. The festival ran three Saturdays in a row. She’d stay one more before moving on. She hadn’t quite settled on where she wanted to go next. She was leaning towards Texas. She didn’t like snow much, and winter was already making an appearance in the early morning as frost clung to the grass and trees.
Tessa moved to take down her small sign, which simply read Psychic. She did not display her name, her contact information, or her fee. She preferred anonymity and flexibility. For the old widows she only charged twenty dollars. For the drunkards, forty. For the fervent believers of the occult, a hundred bucks or more. They were crazy. Tessa might be able to read minds, but these assholes believed in witchcraft and shapeshifting and vampires.
When she turned back to the table, a man sat across from her. She jumped, startled.
“Shit, you scared me,” she said.
The man now sitting across from her smirked. “You don’t sound much like a psychic,” he said. His voice was low, and there was the tiniest bit of grit to it that she liked. He had chestnut brown hair that was cut short to accent a sexy widow’s peak. His skin was ghostly pale and his eyes were a piercing emerald green that sent a tingling sensation across her skin as they raked over her. Even in the dim light, she could see the flecks of gold near his pupils. He looked delicious. Tessa sized him up and decided it had been a while since she’d indulged in a passing tryst.
“You think you know all about psychics?” she countered, and sat down, offering a mischievous smile that was borderline flirtatious.
His thin pink lips curved slightly in amusement. His thoughts flirted with attraction, but she felt the weight of his condescension. He thought she was silly. She was going to overcharge his handsome ass.
“Enough,” he said. He reached for his wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and put it on the table in front of her, raising an eyebrow as if in challenge. That challenge echoed in his thoughts.
“Two hundred,” she countered, sitting back and crossing her arms. Another hundred-dollar bill appeared.
“Thank you,” she said with a sly smile as she palmed the bills. “What’s your name?”
“Kristian,” he said.
“Alright, Kris,” she said. He flinched at the informal nickname. Tessa bit back a smile at ruffling his posh feathers. “Let’s do this.”
She put both of her palms down on the table on either side of her fake crystal ball and closed her eyes. Sh
e waited for his thoughts to unravel, loosening like a knot in a cord. When she first met someone, she was often slapped with a barrage of thoughts, visions, and feelings all at once, no form to be had. The more she got to know someone the more she could read, until eventually she could hear every tiny thought that passed between their ears. She hadn’t been close enough to someone for years for that to be the case. And as far as her business went, if she let people sit in silence long enough, their thoughts would align themselves into some semblance of readable order.
“You don’t need to ask me any questions first?” he said, surprise creeping into his gravelly voice.
“Shh.” She hushed him and continued to listen, suppressing a smile when she could feel his mild confusion. Most psychics would play mind games, asking leading questions in order to cold read. She combed through vague feelings and a few random thoughts she couldn’t pull enough context from to be of use. She waited. He grew impatient. He crossed his arms over his chest in the peripherals of her vision. Then, like finding the missing puzzle piece, she put together something that could be useful.
“I’m getting something,” she said. His arms loosened. “I’m picking up on a…Veronica. You’re close to her. You feel protective of her. You’re worried about her. You fear they are coming.”
Before a breath had passed, he’d grabbed her wrist so violently she cried out.
“The hell!” she cursed.
He yanked her towards him, toppling the stool between them. The fake crystal ball toppled to the floor with a crack. “Who are you?” he hissed.
“Jesus,” she said, breathless with pain. It felt like he might snap her wrist. “Let go of me, asshole.”
