Love with Fangs (The Witching Hour Series Book 1)

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  I was angry, and it wasn’t the sort of anger that was going to pass. I was ready to rip his face and ballocks off. Not because he cheated on me, but because I let him play me, believing that he was willing to help me. I caught a taxi shortly before eleven p.m. Nathaniel would be in his office. I didn’t have an appointment, but I didn’t care. I had to face him and tell him what I thought about him.

  London traffic wasn’t that bad, and I made it to La Caz Corporation within forty-five minutes. My magical energy was making me uncomfortable, but I was fuming, and when I entered the foyer area, Todd smiled, looking taken aback at seeing me there.

  "Miss Taylor, I wasn’t expecting you here today."

  "No one is, but I need to see Mr. La Caz urgently, and if he refuses, tell him I have all night—I can wait." I was trying to stay calm, but my whole body felt like I was going through an electrical storm.

  He shrugged, looking unsure about my statement. "I need to let upstairs know that you’re here, Miss Taylor." He went to his desk, exchanged a look with the other werewolf, and dialled the number. He muttered something quietly enough and within five minutes, he came back smiling.

  "Yes, that’s fine," he said. I only nodded and went inside the lift, pressing the button that would take me to the top floor. My mind was spinning, but I knew what I was going to tell him. Once I reached the top floor and the lift door opened, Emily glanced at me from her desk.

  "Miss Taylor, Mr. La Caz didn’t mention that he was expecting you." She stood, then went pale, staring at my hands flaming with electricity. I frowned and marched around her, straight to his office. I wasn’t even thinking when I stormed inside.

  Emily was right behind me. "Miss Taylor, please—"

  "It’s okay, Emily," Nathaniel said, standing by the window, waving his hand. Emily nodded, then closed the door behind me.

  " Julia, what brings you here at this time of night?" He turned to face me.

  "I came to tell you that I’m not going with you to dinner at the end of the month. I don’t want Roberto to pick me up from work, and I don’t want you to call me anymore. I don’t want anything to do with you. I’ll find Claudia myself. I don’t need your help. From now on, I’m going to talk to Lucinda for our business dealings and no one else."

  This was a long rant and my voice was too high, but I stood straight, controlling myself well.

  He was just a player, a man who would never be good for me.

  "What changed your mind?"

  "You have no idea what I’m talking about?" I asked through gritted teeth.

  "Please enlighten me." He sounded irritated.

  "Well, you’re pretending that you want to make it work with me, but you don’t call for days, not even to update me. You don’t make any kind of effort. You’re deceiving me, making me believe you care and the next thing I find out is that you were with another woman this past Sunday. I’m not the kind of woman who’s going to be humiliated by a man because he can’t make up his mind. Just be a man and tell me you only want me sometimes—"

  "Julia, please—”

  "Fuck you, La Caz. I’m not going to listen to your shitty excuses and false promises. Fuck your limousine and your dinner. Find yourself another woman who will be okay with you sleeping with other women—”

  "Julia!" He cut me off, roaring. Looking angry, his skin went slightly paler. "You don’t understand. Just let me explain what happened this weekend."

  "No!" I shouted. White flames burst from my hands, then a glass mirror crashed into a billion pieces. The noise was deafening. I didn’t care that I was going to trash his office. Now I was out of control. "You don’t own me and I’m not going to take this bullshit. I’m not just some woman you can play around with, because I won’t let you. So, go fuck yourself!"

  And before I let him say another word, I stormed out of his office, passing Emily, who was standing, shocked, in the middle of the reception area. Fortunately, the lift came just in time. For a split second, I saw Nathaniel standing in the doorway of his office, staring at me, bewildered, before the lift door closed.

  I took long rasping breaths, trying to calm down, but tears were streaming down my face. I leaned back against the wall in frustration.

  I wiped the tears off my face and rushed away from the lift, straight to the foyer. My mind wasn’t working right. I just had to get away from this place.

  "Miss Taylor, are—"

  I ignored Todd and ran away through the entrance, straight onto a main road and didn’t stop. It was dark but there was some traffic. I started running away, hearing a car coming from my right. I glanced back, staring at the large black van that pulled up next to me.

  In the blink of an eye, two large men, probably giants, jumped out, crossing over to me. One of them grabbed me by my waist. "Come on, sweetheart, we need to get going."

  I started screaming and kicking, but soon someone else grabbed my shoulder and I felt a pain as if someone was ripping my skin apart. In a split second, energy rushed to my core, moving through my hands. I didn’t want to end up like my cousin. I had to fight back.

  I roared at the top of my lungs and magic burst out of me. But then I felt pain in my skull and darkness obliterated me.

  Chapter twenty-three

  Attempt one and failure.

  I tried to move, hearing voices inside my head, but my muscles failed to obey me. My mouth was dry, and I only felt pain. My head felt heavy and my whole body was sore. I blinked, and my eyes gradually adjusted to the light.

  “Hon, try not to move.”

  Dad was talking to me; I opened my eyes, drawing a long breath. My skin was sensitive, and magic was zooming over the surface of my skin. I felt as if someone was sticking invisible needles all over my body. The smell of burnt wood and newly cast spells swirled around the room. My face felt swollen; on top of that, I had a splitting headache. I looked around the room realising I was in the hospital.

  "What am I doing in the hospital?" My mother shifted, standing next to my bed.

  "Someone attacked you," my father said, then glanced at my mother. He couldn’t say in front of her that this whole thing had something to do with magic.

  I was in Nathaniel’s office and I was furious when he started giving me some shitty excuses. I remembered storming out, then running outside. Moments later, a black van pulled out. One or two giants tried to grab me, and I must have passed out. My mum and dad looked worried.

  “They tried to kidnap me," I finally whispered.

  My mum reached toward me. "Oh, my darling. They tried to take you like they took poor Claudia. I don’t understand what you were doing in that part of London knowing—"

  "Mary," Dad warned, cutting her off. Then he lifted his hand and whispered the spell that was supposed to stun her. Within a second, Mum became a frozen statue. I knew he hated using that spell, but was forced into it. We both needed to understand what had happened. There was no one else in the room and we didn’t want to stress her out even more. He brought his chair next to me, arching his eyebrows. I noticed that he was still in his uniform, so he must have rushed here straight from work.

  "Apparently, the security guard saw two giants who tried to push you inside the van. You cast a powerful spell and knocked one over, then one of them knocked you out. They were trying to drag you inside the van, but that werewolf security guard managed to stop them; he shifted."

  Dad looked tense and the vein on the side of his neck was pulsating. He was probably going to give me a lecture. Mum was still charmed, standing completely immobile.

  "Yes, I remember it now. Do you think those were the same men who attacked Claudia?" I asked, feeling grateful despite the soreness from a punch to the back of my head.

  "Possibly. I requested all the CCTV tapes from that building. At least we might have some profiles." Dad grunted, scratching his head. "Julia, can you tell me why there is a vampire outside? He has been sitting there since they brought you in. He glamoured two nurses so they would let him see you before
you were transferred to the Paranormal Ward. Why is he here?”

  I dropped my jaw, staring at my dad in confusion. "A vampire?"

  "Yes, the vampire that I questioned about the Lucrative Shot. Tall, dark blond hair, wearing a suit. He wasn’t very happy when I told him to get out of your room." Dad pursed his lips with annoyance.

  My stomach crawled because I realised who my father was talking about. "Nathaniel La Caz is here?" I asked, breathless.

  "Yes, him, but hold on; why were you in his building?"

  The colour drained from my face. I gaped at my dad and mum, who was still charmed, trying to figure out what to say. I just had to be straight with him. He needed to know what was going on with me.

  "We’ve been sort of seeing each other," I explained in a small voice. I was done with lies, and my dad just had to deal with the fact that I was spending time with a vampire. My heart was hammering in my chest when my dad went pale with anger.

  "A vampire, Julia? Are you out of your mind? He’s a suspect. You shouldn’t be dating him. What if he was involved with Claudia’s kidnapping?"

  "He’s a Dhampir, Dad, and what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. Why would be want to kidnap me if we were dating?"

  He was looking at me as if I had gone crazy. “I’m not convinced," he growled. "He’s probably manipulating you."

  "During Christmas dinner you said yourself that you don’t think he’s a suspect anymore.”

  "That was then, now I’m not so sure," he snapped.

  "Come on, this doesn’t make any sense, so can you please remove this spell from Mum before anyone else comes in here?"

  Dad’s face had gone scarlet, but he moved his hand with great precision, and within a second, Mum exhaled.

  She looked at me and took my hand. "Oh, dear, Julia, I don’t understand why anyone would want to kidnap members of our family. This city is getting dangerous."

  The atmosphere shifted, and my father stopped smiling. He was looking at my neck, probably searching for signs of Nathaniel’s bite.

  “I’m all right, Mum. How long have I been here?"

  "Only a few hours, darling. When your father got the call, we came straightaway. The doctor wanted to keep you. He said that this awful man hit you pretty hard. You have a few bruises, but he said they were monitoring you."

  National Elves Service had always been pretty good. Someone at La Caz Pharmaceutical had to have called the Paranormal Unit. My father was always reluctant to get me treated by human doctors.

  “I’m fine, Mum. Don’t worry. I just have a headache."

  "You know, there is a handsome gentleman in the waiting area who insisted on seeing you. He has been waiting for news about you, sitting there all this time," she said smiling, probably eager for me to tell her all about Nathaniel La Caz.

  "It’s okay, Mum, I kind of work with him," I said, not able to look at my father, who looked deeply upset about this news.

  "He’s incredibly handsome, Julia, and with excellent manners. I would love to have a son-in-law—"

  "Mary, please," Dad cut her off, rising. I could feel the magic boiling inside of him. Then the nurse walked in and smiled, seeing me awake. She was an elf with beautiful glossy blond hair, wearing a blue uniform.

  "Mr. La Caz is insisting on seeing you, Miss Taylor. He has been very persistent," she said, frowning. She might as well have said; this fucking vampire wants to come in. But it will be over my dead body.

  My mother clapped with enthusiasm and grinned. She was already excited at the prospect of seeing Nathaniel. Dad looked livid. I had a lot of explaining ahead of me.

  I knew I had to get this conversation with La Caz over with, so I said, "Fine, I’ll see him."

  She nodded and swiftly came back with the half vampire himself, who looked awfully pale. My mother sighed and stared at him with utter admiration. Dad, on the other hand, had his hands in his pockets, ready to cast a spell.

  "Julia, are you all right?" His deep voice was filled with concern; his hazel eyes searching for injuries. I nodded and looked at my dad, trying to tell him to leave me alone with Nathaniel, but clearly seeing he wasn’t going anywhere.

  “C’mon, Jerry, let’s leave them alone," Mum said, pushing my dad out the door. He looked as if he was going to tear Nathaniel to pieces with his eyes, but knew he had to leave.

  For some reason, my anger faded away and I just wanted him to embrace me. A great silence swept through the room and magic charged the air again. My body was letting me know he was there.

  Nathaniel sat in the chair next to my bed and took my hand. "Julia, I was so worried about you. God, I’m glad you’re all right." His skin was soft; his touch caused a riot of emotions to gallop throughout my body. "I should have been aware of the danger. It was late.”

  "Nathaniel, you don’t have to do this. I’m fine; there is no need," I said, but my voice was small and even if I tried, I couldn’t pull away from him. His thumb was massaging the sensitive centre of my palm.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call you and I’m sorry that you had to find out about that creature that I fed on the other night. I was so angry with myself when I found out you were nearly taken away, so I followed the ambulance to the hospital."

  My inner voice was reminding me that Nathaniel was a professional charmer, that I was supposed to be wary of him. My pulse rose, bringing with it these raw, wild emotions that were mounting within me. "Why did you have to kiss her?" I asked in a hoarse tone. "And then feed on her?"

  He looked away, squeezing his fists. "Because I couldn’t stop thinking about your delicious smell and I’m not the kind of guy who makes an effort to attract women. Women come to me. Sometimes even elves," he added, then smiled. “I’m not used to not getting what I want. So, when I went out on Sunday, she was just there, wanting me."

  "So, you couldn’t control yourself and decided that you’d had enough of playing Julia?" I asked, swallowing back my tears.

  "I regret this so much," he said, leaning towards me. "I want to try again, only with you."

  But I knew he could never commit only to me. "Nathaniel, please—this isn’t going to work. We aren’t good for each other. You’re just going to hurt me more. Plus, I’ve got too much on my plate right now."

  He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. “I’m going to try harder, Julia. I promise it will only be you. Since I first met you, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I can’t imagine being without you."

  "But this isn’t who you are, Nathaniel, and I wouldn’t be able to stand any other woman with you. I don’t think you know what you’re saying," I insisted, but saying these words aloud were crushing me.

  "I haven’t made myself clear enough. I don’t want other women, and I will deal with my thirst. But let me be with you, show you I can be the man for you."

  I sighed. "But you can’t just change your nature."

  "You’re more stubborn than my father." He grinned and leaned near me. "I can repeat what I did to you in my office, just let me and I will take you to heaven."

  My throat was dry and the image of him between my legs sent a tremor throughout my entire body. My stomach tightened, but I had to stand firm and see whether he was willing to change. "My dad wasn’t happy about you being here, so I need to talk to him first."

  He stood, eyeing me intensely. "He doesn’t like me because he doesn’t know me yet, but this can be changed. Besides, your mum thinks that I’m a perfect match for you." He smirked.

  I rolled my eyes. "She doesn’t know your true nature, but she thinks that anyone who can charm her is good husband material for me." I laughed.

  "So, it’s sorted then. I just need to convince your dad and we should be all right."

  I blew out a breath. "My dad is more stubborn than I am, and he doesn’t like your involvement in this whole investigation, so no one is going to convince him. Besides, I didn’t say yes to anything yet. I’m considering your new proposition."

  "Is that so?" he ask
ed, raising his brow.

  "Just ask my dad to come in without my mum, please, so I can talk to him.” I gave him a flirty grin. "And don’t be so sure of yourself."

  He nodded, then left. I didn’t want to leave Nathaniel alone with my mum, but I had to deal with the crisis with my dad. After a minute or so, he came back, looking worn out.

  "Dad, before you say anything, let me just tell you; I didn’t plan this. We met during a business meeting; we went out a few times and I was very careful," I began, feeling awkward, trying to convince my father to let me date a vampire. He wasn’t going to take this lightly.

  "Julia, I thought you listened when your grandmother told you all about vampires. He will go out with you, but when he doesn’t get what he wants, he will get bored. I don’t even want to talk about what kind of business he’s involved with."

  "Oh, c’mon, he’s not even a real vampire. And I’m not going to marry him. We’re just seeing each other, not even dating yet," I countered, pulling a face. I still had a pulsing headache.

  "Can you imagine what your grandparents are going to think when they find out their granddaughter is dating a Dhampir now that your cousin is missing? Your grandma will flip."

  "Let me deal with Grandma. Just trust me. I don’t even know if it’s going to work between us."

  Our conversation was interrupted by the nurse who came in early. "I apologise for the intrusion, but your test came back negative, so the doctor agreed to release you today," she said, smiling. "You passed out because you released too much energy and the same charm kept you unconscious for several hours. You will have a headache, but other than that, you should be feeling like yourself again soon."

  Too much energy, huh? Well, I guess Nathaniel knew what he was talking about when he made me come in his office.