Contents
Keep in touch with Debbie
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
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Other books by Debbie Cassidy
About the Author
Copyright © 2021, Debbie Cassidy
All Rights Reserved
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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.
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This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
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Thanks for all the boot descriptions, Andrea.
You made sure Cora kicked ass in style ;)
Chapter One
I had a vampire’s fangs in my neck, and he was slurping me up like I was a slushy on a hot day.
My body wasn’t my own, paralyzed as the bloodsucker took his fill. He’d done something to immobilize me. Something that regular vamps couldn’t do, but then this was no regular vamp. There was only one thing he could be. One of the Sons of Adam.
Jasper had said they’d come, and one had. Wait, were there more? No. Just this one. One, I should be able to take in a fight. I could blast him, if only my damn body would cooperate with me.
Oh, God, I was so fucking screwed. Despair threatened to bloom in my chest, but I pushed it back. No way would I be a meal for one of these fuckers. There had to be a way to get out of this. Think, fucking think! My body was paralyzed but…But my mind wasn’t, and my power…My power was connected to my will. I didn’t need to move to use it, for fucksake!
I was not helpless.
My chest heated with determination and my power flared, pushing back at the numbness this creature had forced into my limbs. The threads connecting me to the guys quivered, as if urging me to take hold and tug, but numbness still gripped the back of my mind, the part of me that controlled the link. I needed more power. I needed a moment to gather it.
The vampire squeezed my throat with his bony fingers, tongue lapping at my neck, and my head swirled with dizziness and the edges of my vision darkened.
Fuck this. I was not passing out. Anger flickered then blazed in my chest, and my power lashed out, obliterating the numbness holding me captive. I bucked, taking the vamp by surprise.
His fangs tore from my throat and fire lanced through my neck, but I was free and tugging on the threads, my panic and urgency rushing down the connection.
I rolled away from under the vamp. He lunged at me, cloak flapping. A fucking cloak? What the hell? I hit the ground and rose in a crouch, hands up, ready to fight.
The fucker’s face was obscured by the hood of the cloak, which flapped about his body like it had a mind of its own. He was either a huge fan of Bela Lugosi’s Dracula interpretation or just shitty with fashion.
“Come to me,” he said imperiously.
Like, seriously? “Um, no.”
The door behind me slammed open and Tor barreled in, fully dressed and vibrating with power. Rune was hot on his heels, coming to stand in front of me, haunches bunched, ready to attack.
The hooded vamp levitated off the ground.
“What the fuck?” Tor lunged at him.
The world shimmered blue and then Tor was thrown back with a crackle.
A forcefield, Rune said in my head. Not a warlock. Not fae.
I stared at the creature, desperate to see his face but getting nothing but an oval of shadow. “Vampire.”
That oval of shadow turned to face me. “Your blood is ours.” The voice was now like snapping twigs and the crunch of dry bracken, teasing gooseflesh to life across my skin. “You will come with me.”
Invisible bands wrapped around me and tugged. My feet slid across the hardwood before I could dig my heels in. Tor grabbed me and hauled me to his chest, his powerful arms unrelenting bands.
The blue shimmer flared and lashed out at us. I was yanked forward with sudden force. Tor bellowed as I was ripped from his arms. My feet left the ground, and I flew toward the vamp.
A growl tore the air and Rune hit me from the side, knocking me onto the bed. He stood over me, huge shaggy body bristling as he snarled at the vamp.
Tor picked up my huge dresser as if it weighed nothing and threw it at the shimmering blue barrier. It slammed into the shield with such force the barrier vibrated.
“You cannot fight me,” the vamp said. “Give her to me.”
But he didn’t sound so sure now.
Again! Rune ordered. He’s not as strong as he looks.
Tor, who already had my wardrobe in his arms, threw it at the barrier, and both the wardrobe and the shield shattered. The world was an explosion of blue light and wood.
The vamp screamed, an inhuman sound that was claws digging into my mind.
Tor charged at him.
The vamp’s cloak flapped wildly as he whirled and shrank until he was a…Bat? What the fuck?
Tor made a grab for the creature, snagging its wing. He almost had it, but the bat screeched and clawed, tearing free and hurtling out of the open window.
Tor ran to the window, but the bat was gone. “Fuck!”
Rune, still standing over me, turned to look at me. Are you all right? His voice was melted chocolate and snuggly blankets.
I looked into his warm hazel eyes, bright with flecks of gold. He’d saved my ass. If he hadn’t knocked me down… “I’m okay.” My voice was a whisper. “I’m good, thanks to you guys.”
I shuffled out from beneath him, hands sinking into his fur and curling to grip him as I hauled myself to my knees.
My pounding heartbeat slowed.
Tor pulled the window closed and turned to face us, his expression tight with anger. “Get up. We need to call a meeting. Now.”
The bite wouldn’t completely heal no matter how much Rune licked me.
I’m sorry, he said.
“Don’t be. Thanks fo
r trying.” I reached up to gently probe the tender flesh around the puncture wounds at my neck. “At least the torn skin is healed and it’s not bleeding anymore.”
“We need to keep it clean.” Tor entered the kitchen carrying a first aid kit.
Rune padded out of the way to allow Tor to get to me.
The tattooed monolith nudged my knees apart and slipped his leg between them to get close. He gripped my chin gently and tipped my head to the side so he could get to the wound.
I winced at the sting of antiseptic and the pressure of his fingers as he taped on a square of gauze.
“That should help it heal.” He stroked my chin with his thumb, turning my head so I could lock gazes with him, his steel-gray eyes dark and stormy. “Do you need pain meds?”
“No. I’m good.”
His throat bobbed and his jaw tensed. “How long was he feeding before we got there?”
The memory of that thing on me, his mouth on my neck, fangs in me…I suppressed a shudder. “A minute or so. I couldn’t move. He had me paralyzed.”
Normal vamps can’t do that, Rune said.
Yeah, they couldn’t. “I know.”
Tor’s jaw ticked. “He could have drained you.”
Yep, he totally could have, but, “I’m okay. I don’t think he wanted to drain me.”
Tor exhaled through his nose. “You’re too pale.” He released me and busied himself at the kitchen counter, filling the kettle and pulling out mugs from cupboards. “I called Anna. They should be here soon.”
What did she say when you mentioned the Sons of Adam? Rune asked.
“Absolutely fucking nothing.” He made tea like it was a mission, and I was mesmerized by his fluid movements. “Eat.” He handed me a biscuit from the tin he’d just opened.
I took a bite and sighed as sugary goodness melted over my tongue.
He passed me a mug brimming with the good stuff just as the kitchen door slammed open and Leif charged in, butt-naked and carrying the scent of the forest with him. His crimson locks were windswept and his gunmetal-blue eyes were bright from the shift.
He skidded to a halt at the sight of me sitting at the table, chocolate biscuit in one hand, tea in the other.
“Took your time,” Tor drawled, putting the biscuit tin on the table. “What did you do? Crawl?”
Leif fell to a crouch in front of me, his hands coming up to cup my face, and then his gaze fell to my neck.
“What the fuck?” His fingers were warm as they slid down my cheeks to trace a line around the bandage. “What the fuck is this?”
Don’t look at his crotch. “I’m fine. It’s gone.”
“What the fuck happened?” He turned to Tor, demanding an explanation.
“Vampire attack,” Tor said bluntly.
Leif stood and turned away from me, offering me the perfect butt shot. Oh, God, we needed to keep a box of clothes in the kitchen.
“What vamps would be dumb enough to attack on wolf territory?” he asked.
These weren’t ordinary vampires, Rune said. These were Sons of Adam.
“The vampires Jasper told us about?” Leif took the seat across the table from me and ran his hands over his face. “Fuck, the malevolent was right.” He sat up straight. “Wait, Jasper said the elders were also talking about handing you over…”
Tor’s chest rumbled in a growl. “If they are, then they’ll have to go through me.”
“Us,” Leif said. “They’ll have to go through us.” He made a sound of exasperation. “I never should have left you guys.”
He’d left to go to his pack house, to tell his pack about his father’s death. Oh, God. Arne was dead. Leif shouldn’t be here. He needed to be with them.
I reached across the table to take his hand. “Leif, I’m sorry.”
“What?” He looked confused.
“I pulled you away from your pack and Arne. You need to go. We’ve got this.”
“No,” Tor and Rune said in unison.
Leif gripped my fingers and leaned across the table. “Arne died to save your life, and I can’t allow his death to be in vain. I need to be here. I want to be here. You come first, Cora. It’s just the way it is now. I want to protect you.”
“And if what Jasper says is true, we may have to protect her from the elders,” Tor growled.
No, Rune said. I don’t think the elders sent that thing. If they wanted to hand her over, they’d have been sneakier about it.
He was right. This was too messy for a Grimswood witch.
“Well, they can tell me that to my face,” Tor said. “Once they get here.” He pulled out the chair beside me and parked his ass. “And if I’m not satisfied with their response”—his lip curled—“then they’ll be getting a visit from my beast.”
I looked across at my mate’s profile, stern and unforgiving. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of Tor’s wrath, not for any money.
Anna better have answers, and they better be good.
Chapter Two
Tor had just topped me up on tea when there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Leif said.
He’d run upstairs and pulled on some clothes. Shame, because I’d been enjoying the view. Yeah, I was depraved, but heck, there had to be some perks to this arrangement, and hot naked shifters was definitely one of them.
Anna, Jessie, and Elijah entered the room a moment later. I’d expected to see Sloane, and my gaze went over their shoulders, looking for The Elite witch leader, but then it hit me—Brie, Sloane’s best friend, was dead. Sloane was grieving and sorting funeral preparations, I don’t know…What did you do when a witch died? Were there different rules to supernatural death?
Jessie’s jaw was tight, her arms crossed over her chest. She didn’t want to be here, that much was obvious. I didn’t blame her.
The faster we got to the bottom of this vampire issue, the quicker she could get back to her friends and mourning.
I fixed my attention on Anna, the witch who had the answers. “Who are the Sons of Adam, and what do they want from me?”
The air beside me crackled and fizzed. “Do tell,” Jasper said. “I’ve been dying to know.”
My gaze flew to his face, harsh lines and an angry slash of a mouth. He was here. He was okay, but where had he been when I needed—
No. I didn’t need him.
But there it was, the tug in my chest, the one that yearned for him. Leif had said the binding would get rid of any outside influences messing with my emotions, which meant—
Now wasn’t the time to think about this. Original vampires wanted my blood and there was no doubt in my mind they’d be back.
I tore my gaze from Jasper and fixed it on Anna once more. “Why do the Sons of Adam want me?”
Jessie’s brows came down in a frown. “What’s this about, Anna?” she demanded. “You dragged me away from The Elites. You said the anchor was in danger, so spill it.”
Anna pressed her lips together for a long beat, as if searching for words. “Revenge,” she said finally. “The Sons of Adam feel wronged by the coven and they want vengeance. They mean to exact it by taking you.”
“What did you do?” Tor asked.
“Yes.” Elijah slipped out from behind the witches and joined Leif on our side of the kitchen, physically dissociating himself from Anna. “What did the coven do to the original vampires?”
“The accounts are… incomplete,” Anna said. “Most of the journals perished in the east wing fire centuries ago, but from what I’ve pieced together, the coven drew power from the Sons of Adam to create the prison where Croatoan is held.”
“I don’t understand,” Jessie said. “They’re vampires. What could you possibly gain from them?”
“Original vampires,” Anna said. “Descended from Lilith and Adam’s bloodline. Demons spawned from Lilith’s union with Adam were called Sons of Adam. One of them procreated with a human, resulting in the birth of the original vampires, bastardized demons. They went
on to create more vampires, and each generation was more inhuman, the rats of the outlier world. Accounts say that Lilith set about slaying the vampires, but they bred too fast and it was an impossible task. There were three vampires who retained a more human form, who had strong celestial blood, and for some reason, these three were permitted to live. They call themselves Sons of Adam, even though, technically, the Sons of Adam bloodline died out a long time ago. As far as I’m aware there’s only one left, a Dominus reaper named Conah.”
Jasper’s gaze flew to mine. We knew who Conah was. Heck, I’d lived with him for a while. Had Fee mentioned he was a Son of Adam? No, I would have remembered, but it made sense. The reapers were mainly from Lilith’s bloodline and they all drank blood. I should have made the connection.
“How do we kill them?” Tor asked, straight to the point.
“I don’t know,” Anna said. “I don’t even know if they can be killed.”
“Lilith managed to kill a bunch,” Leif added. “There must be a way.”
“If there is, then it’s not common knowledge.”
Not common knowledge for witches but maybe for reapers. I’d need to call Fee again. Soon.
“Why are they attacking now?” Elijah asked. “You said the coven drew power from them, what? Twelve hundred years ago?”
“It’s taken this long for them to recover,” she said. “And they’re pissed.”
Witch Undecided: The Thirteenth Sign Book 2 Page 1
