The Immortal Takes a Wife

by Pamela Labud

  THE IMMORTAL TAKES A WIFE

  by Pamela Labud

  Forward

  Dear Reader,

  Nocturne Falls has become a magical place for so many people, myself included. Over and over I’ve heard from you that it’s a town you’d love to visit and even live in! I can tell you that writing the books is just as much fun for me.

  With your enthusiasm for the series in mind – and your many requests for more books – the Nocturne Falls Universe was born. It’s a project near and dear to my heart, and one I am very excited about.

  I hope these new, guest-authored books will entertain and delight you. And best of all, I hope they allow you to discover some great new authors! (And if you like this book, be sure to check out the rest of the Nocturne Falls Universe offerings.)

  For more information about the Nocturne Falls Universe, visit http://kristenpainter.com/sugar-skull-books/

  In the meantime, happy reading!

  Kristen Painter

  The Immortal Takes a Wife

  A Nocturne Falls Universe Story

  Copyright © 2018 by Pamela Labud

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction and was made possible by a special agreement with Sugar Skull Books, but hasn’t been reviewed or edited by Kristen Painter. All characters, events, scenes, plots and associated elements appearing in the original Nocturne Falls series remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Kristen Painter, Sugar Skull Books and their affiliates or licensors.

  Any similarity to real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author or Sugar Skull Books.

  Published in the United States of America.

  Underworld City, Florida, Plane of Existence, Unknown,

  Chapter One

  A bracing wind blew across the Underworld Bar and Grill’s parking lot. Waiting on her boyfriend, Fiona O’Malley had paced the lot for the thousandth time in an hour. Furious at being stood up once again, part of her wanted to grab his too handsome hide and rip him to shreds, and the other part of her wanted to kiss the living daylights out of him.

  Who was she kidding? After he’d nearly died at the hand of a crazed Reaper, she’d been so happy to have him back in her life, Fi would have done anything for the man. Live for him, die for him, and even marry him.

  Goddess, she thought, that was the last thing she’d needed, especially with the irresponsible, cocky, devilishly hot, Immortal.

  There was just something about him that made her melt every time she set eyes on him.

  The only thing keeping them apart, though was him. Every time she’d thought they were on course, he’d be irresponsible and then that nice feeling of contentment and hope was jarringly ripped away from her.

  “This is the last time,” she said to no one in particular.

  “Last time for what?”

  Spinning around, she saw an incredible looking werewolf walking up to her. Six feet five inches of incredible hunky male, the sight of him stole her breath.

  At the same time, her heart rebelled, and the thought ‘he’s sweet, but he’s no Matty,’ popped into her brain.

  “Um, hello,” she said, forcing air out of her lungs. “Sorry, just talking to myself.”

  “I didn’t mean to be so forward. I thought that you were in distress.”

  Fi laughed. “Oh, I’m in distress all right, but not as much as my ‘soon-to-be’ ex-boyfriend will be.”

  “Like that is it? Then, may I be the first to apologize for my fellow male’s behavior. We of the wolfish persuasion have been known to be a bit selfish at times.”

  Fiona huffed. “I could give him a little leeway if that were the case, but not so. He’s an Immortal and commitment is something he runs from. Or, at least a commitment to me.”

  “A woman that’s beautiful, has deep feelings, and is as valuable as a king’s ransom? You deserve better.”

  Fiona almost blushed. Almost. “I’m not one who usually falls for pretty words and compliments, sir, but if I were, you’d be the guy who’d tempt me.”

  His smile grew wider and he dropped his gaze in a show of submission. “A woman with intelligence and one who is savvy as well.”

  “Thank you, just the same. I appreciate your kindness.” She waved her hand. “Don’t worry about me. Matty and I have been playing this on again, off again game for years. I’m thinking it’s about time to put it to an end, anyway.”

  “I wish I could say, I’m sorry to hear that. If your thoughts weren’t focused on a courtship that’s going nowhere, perhaps you would give some other poor guy a chance?”

  Fiona laughed. “Perhaps. I think I need a little ‘me’ time first, though.”

  “Understandable. Keep me in the running, okay? The name’s Ryan Hawke.”

  He held his hand to her, and Fiona hesitated just a second before taking it. Her wolfish intuition sparked, and she had the brief impression that this was more than a flirty guy. He was solid, he was deep, and he was dangerous.

  Cautious, she took hold of the edge of his fingers but cut short the contact. The brush of his skin against hers was warm, inviting and very tempting.

  She inwardly shook herself. Fiona could not afford this sort of entanglement. She’d barely even begun to wipe Matty out of her life. To take on a guy like this meant sure disaster.

  “Well, Ryan Hawke,” she said, clearing her throat and acting as if he’d not thrown her completely off balance. “I’ve not seen you in Underworld City before. What do you think of our little cesspool of a town?”

  He laughed. “It’s different than any other place I’ve been. Half a day and I’ve already witnessed two felonies in progress, three misdemeanors, and four people jaywalking. Definitely a hotbed of crime.”

  “And a home for criminals. No matter what your status is in the ‘legal’ world, we’re a home to all. No questions asked, no quarters paid.”

  “Right. Well, this might be a bit difficult for the local populous.” He reached in his jacket and pulled out a flat, black leather wallet. Flipping it open, a platinum badge caught the parking lot’s lights”

  “Oh,” Fiona breathed. The sharp glint of the light’s beam cut into her eyes.”

  Wolfe quickly snapped it shut. “Sorry, about that. I forgot how it affects other ‘supernaturals.’ I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

  Fiona resisted the urge to rub her eyes. “I’m fine. I was just surprised. It’s been a long time since one of your kind has dared to show his face around here.” Centuries, even, she thought. And, her, lusting after him like a young female on her first heat. She was ashamed of herself. Well, maybe not as much as she should have been.

  “Then, I guess I’ll be on my way. I’m not a bad guy, really.”

  “What outfit are you with? One of the mortal agencies? FBI? Rangers? What?”

  His smile faded. “No. I’m here for another purpose. I’m a bounty hunter, and my bondsman has a job for the Otherworld Society of Druids. I’ve been assigned to track down and arrest a supernatural, whose last known address was Underworld City. Of course, he’s been sighted in at least a dozen other places, but my last intel said this was his home base. Seems he has a brother in a nearby town and,” he let out a breath, “a girlfriend.”

  Fiona’s mouth went dry and a stab of fear shot into her gut. “A girlfriend?”

  Hawke nodded. “He’s an Immortal, name of Matthew Hyland. You don’t know where I c
ould find him, do you?”

  Son of a… Fiona crossed her arms. “So, all of your hot guy flirtiness was just so you could trick me into giving you Matty’s whereabouts?”

  Her shock morphed into white hot anger. She could feel the tips of her claws begging to break through her fingertips and sink into his thick werewolf hide.

  “Easy does it, Miss. I was sincere in my comments about you. Besides, you yourself said he wasn’t any good for you. What I hear, he’s not good for a lot of people. That’s why he’s wanted. Perpetrated a lot of crimes against innocent people. The Druid council has been after him for quite some time. He does a good job of skirting the law. Not good enough.”

  “I think I’ve got somewhere to be,” Fiona said. Adrenalin shot through her veins and she was torn between wanting to pummel this guy or run and find Matty and get him to safety.

  “I understand. Still, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He tipped his hat, turned and strode away.

  Fiona did her best not to react. This wolf was trouble wrapped in a hot guy exterior. Even the stiff-backed way he walked, broad shoulders, a hint of thick muscles under his leather jacket and the way he held his head high and at a slight side angled position spoke volumes.

  Otherworld Society of Druids. The words whispered into her consciousness. High and mighty, ultra-sophisticated species of mystics. Most non-magical people thought they’d disappeared centuries ago—wiped out of existence by human armies. Some believed they were the same beings who’d crossed into this dimension in order to change history, influencing world events from ancient times until the present. Others believed they never existed in the first place, instead merely a persona adopted by anyone wanting to wreak havoc in the world.

  Either way, among the world of supernaturals, they’d held a certain level of anonymity. Like ghosts, they tread across the landscape, oftentimes working as mercenaries or worse, religious zealots. But always on the side of righteousness. They weren’t murderers or thieves, but they were frightening. And they were relentless.

  And if this guy was after Matty, chances are, by the looks of him, he’d have no trouble in taking him.

  Fiona squared her shoulders and turned back to her eatery. She’d have to warn him, but after seeing the Druid hanging around, chances were, they’d already tapped her phone, had a satellite link set up on her home and was surveilling her at the very moment.

  “Oh, Matty,” she hissed. “what have you gotten yourself into now?”

  #

  “Now, what have I done?”

  Immortal, Matthew Hyland, Matty to his friends and family, hung suspended by a single snare suspended by his left ankle over a raging fire pit. The flames were burning white-hot, and his one-time friend turned enemy, Mario Chavaz was tossing oil-soaked wood onto the blaze with abandon and laughing as he did so.

  “Seriously?” Chavez huffed. “You don’t know?”

  “That card game was over fifty years ago, Mario. You shouldn’t hold on to stuff that long. It’s not healthy.”

  El Chupacabra, or as he was known to the humans as a ‘Mexican Goat Sucker,” his species was an off-shoot of Vampires, though it was hinted they preferred animal blood over human. It was a matter of preference, since, both species could survive quite nicely on the artificial blends as well.

  “I don’t give a crap about the gold. Sleeping with my Marietta was the last straw.”

  Now, that was something Matty did regret. For the record, he hadn’t done more than flirt with her—during one of the times he and Fiona were on the outs, by the way—but Mario went into a jealous rage and thought the worst. Of course, it didn’t help that Marietta never told him the truth, thinking it was better to have a jealous husband than one who takes her for granted. It was a shame, too, because Marietta was the real deal. Like Fiona…

  “Listen, you know this isn’t going to work. Even if you kill me, the whole healing thing will take over and I’ll come back to life, just like the dozen other times you’ve killed me.”

  “Yeah, but it’s so much fun ending your life—even if for a little while. Besides, a guy can hope this time it might stick.”

  Great. “You know, I don’t care about the whole dying thing. It’s just that I was supposed to meet with Fiona an hour ago and she’s really going to be furious.”

  “I bet she will be. It takes what, five to six hours to get a full rebirth?”

  “Crap.”

  Death by asphyxiation was no fun at all. At least he’d be out before the fire touched him. Not to mention, becoming a charcoal briquette was one of the most painful deaths of all.

  “Chavaz” another voice called into the night. “You’ve had your fun. Let him go.”

  “Maxie? Is that you?”

  Matty thanked the heavens for his twin. While he wasn’t happy about the idea, the fact that Max Hyland always knew when death threatened them both was part of their gift. If one perished, so did the other.

  The same height and weight as Matty, Max had dark brown hair and eyes, tanned—a result of his recent honeymoon in Cabo, he was a mirror image of Matty. Although, Matty chose to wear his hair silver and sport green eyes.

  Being a twin was tough enough, but Matty never wanted to be mistaken for his too serious brother. It didn’t help that he was a full ten minutes older and seriously lacked a sense of humor.

  Okay, Matty on the other hand was a bit reckless and had a hard time being responsible. But, he had a good heart and mostly good intentions.

  “Hey, bro. Glad you could make it. Ol’ Mario here wants to have a barbeque, and I’ve been trying to convince him that all that charred carbon is bad for his health. Being vampire-goat thing and all, you know.”

  “Shut it, little brother and for once let me handle it.” Max turned to Mario. “I know he deserves to become ash, but if he gets burned, so do I. I’m a newlywed, you know, and my lady would be really ticked off if something were to happen to me. She’s a Reaper, by the way.”

  The goat sucker stepped back a pace and crossed his arms. “Well, wouldn’t want her mad at me, huh? Okay, but somebody’s got to pay. I need enough to get my sweetheart a nice piece of ice, you know. I’m thinking ten carrots at least.”

  “Ten carrots? Are you crazy? I don’t have that kinda green.”

  Max held up his hand. “Lucky for my baby brother that I’ve had some fortune in the markets lately.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. “I’ll text my accountant and have it in your bank by the close of business today.”

  “Deal.” With that, Mario turned to the fire hose coiled on the ground behind him. Lifting it up, he pointed the nozzle at Matty and pulled back the switch. Matty saw his ugly goat-sucker grin spread across his face just before the full force of the icy blast.

  “Arrrghhhh!”

  Though it seemed like an hour, sixty seconds later, the water stopped and before he knew what was happening, the tie that held Matty suspended cut loose and he fell six feet into the ashy mush of his intended funeral pyre.

  “Nice,” Max said beside him. “You look awful. Smile for the camera. This is so going viral.”

  “Ugh. You stink, you know that?”

  Wiping the slop from his eyes, Matty did his best to focus his vision. “Aw, Mario left us?”

  “Said he had to get to the jeweler before dusk.”

  “I miss him, already.” He drug his charred sleeve across his face. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I kinda stood up Fiona, and she’s going to rip me to pieces. Literally.”

  “I don’t blame her. You are the worst boyfriend, ever.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m going to change. I mean it this time.”

  Max gave him a long look. “Of course, you do.” He paused a moment. “Anyway, the reason I came to see you wasn’t to keep you from becoming a crispy critter. There’s a rumor a bounty hunter has been around asking questions about you in town. I don’t know what you’ve gotten into this time, but the
guy was very insistent.”

  “Seriously?”

  “If I were you, I’d take a hike for a little while, baby brother. You might be Immortal, but they can lock you up for a very long time.”

  “I can’t leave Fiona again. I have a feeling I’m on my last chance with her. If I screw up now, we’ll be over.”

  Max sighed and crossed his arms. “I don’t know why she hasn’t cut you loose by now. If you’re lucky enough to get back in her good graces, you need to take things to the next level.”

  Matty looked up into his brother’s knowing expression. “You mean, marry her?”

  “Exactly. Why you haven’t after all these years is beyond me. If you don’t do something soon, she’ll be gone. I’ve heard that a bounty hunter who came through Nocturne Falls is quite a looker. He’s full blood werewolf, too.”

  Great. Matty clenched his jaw. It would serve him right if she did dump him.

  “She loves me,” he said, probably trying to convince himself as much as his brother.

  “For now, maybe,” Max said. “That doesn’t mean she’ll wait forever for you.”

  Chapter Two

  It certainly wasn’t a luxury hotel. But it wasn’t the bus station, either. The Pinehurst Inn had been a grand place, at one time. The cement brick walls were cracked and uneven and paint was chipped on the window frames and doors.

  “How many nights?” The young woman behind the counter asked, as she pulled out the register.

  “At least a week or better. Unless my project ends earlier than expected, of course. Just in case, I’ll pay for the entire week.”

  “Thanks.” The young Vampire took his card and swiped the reader. Although, to human eyes, she would look maybe sixteen or seventeen years old, when in fact, as a young Vamp, she was probably at least a century old or more. “Do you want a wake-up call?”

  He sent her a curious look. “No. I’m not a heavy sleeper. You know, Werewolf thing.”

  “Right.”