Vampire's Forbidden Territory (Sídhí Summer Camp Series #2)

by Jodie B. Cooper

  Within minutes, Beth had sliced dozens of vines. Once cut, they slithered through the tree limbs and fell toward the ground. She finished slicing vines and started back down, occasionally stopping to grab a vine that got stuck on a lower limb as it fell.

  Ten minutes later, the three of them finished filling the last few leafy pockets with minty balls of mud.

  The filled t-shirts proved to be bulky and way too heavy. The seams started ripping.

  “We might as well get really messy and just carry them,” Katie said with a huff.

  Jared grinned and started loading up his arms.

  They carried several loads of mud balls to the base of the trees bordering the meadow, before making a detour to check on the invalids.

  Mitch and Emily remained unconscious.

  Beth dropped her arm load of mint balls and knelt at Mitch’s head.

  A low growl sounded from the bushes.

  Katie and Jared crouched in defense.

  Beth swiftly changed her shape. Placing one paw on either side of Mitch’s body, she lowered her head and gave a deep warning growl.

  The leaves rustled, but no other sound emerged from the bush.

  Beth roared.

  A high pitched cry of fear squeaked within the shrubs. A small olitiau shot out of the bush. Pitch black, the bat’s fur was matted with bits of mud and twigs. Flapping madly, the youngster tried to get air born, but only succeeding in tumbling into the open area landing between the bushes and a very angry Beth.

  Stopping, the creature lay panting on its belly. With wide-eyed fear, the Pomeranian-sized bat looked up at the growling khatt.

  Big, brown eyes hungrily glanced at Mitch. Its small mouth opened, issuing a rattling growl of challenge. The young bat bared sharp little teeth, which it used for ripping prey into small bits. The poor thing was skin and bones. The olitiau had to be desperate to challenge a khatt. Even in a bat’s prime, a single adult olitiau was no match for an angry khatt.

  “Oh, poor baby, it’s starved,” Katie said, sympathy lacing her voice.

  Beth issued a warning growl as the juvenile bat darted forward, mouth wide-open, hoping for a snatched bite. “That poor baby would’ve started eating on Mitch,” Beth said. Her mental voice, sounding exactly like her normal husky brogue, burned with anger.

  With a roar, Beth snapped at the small bat.

  The little thing shrieked in fear, darting toward the underbrush on the opposite side of the clearing. The devious little meat-eater continued squealing as it ran away.

  Katie pulled her eyes from the swaying bush and watched Beth.

  Beth’s upper shoulders were slightly hunched like a grizzly bear. The sun-streaked fur along the arch of her back stood on end, warning potential enemies she was angry and on the verge of attacking anything that moved. Her long, white claws clenched and re-clenched, digging deep trenches in the dark soil.

  Leaning down, Beth touched her muzzle to Mitch’s face. Her gentle touch spoke volumes.

  _____________

  Mitch struggled to wake-up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t push through the haze. The black cloud surrounding his head refused to part.

  Words and growls, he heard them both, but neither made much sense to his mucked-up brain.

  Roses, he smelled wild roses on a hot summer’s eve. The dark, rich aroma intensified until he noticed the intoxicating aroma also had a subtle trace of morning rain. He inhaled. The scent swirled through him and he caught the slightest hint of Sídhí wilderness, the kind of wild that flourished in the deepest part of his granddad’s vast mountain estate.

  His thoughts drifted, but the mouth-watering smells tugged at him, demanding his undivided attention. He wanted to curl around the scent, protect it from harm.

  The soft buzzing of a bee zoomed around the roses. It sounded in his head, making him yearn for… he didn’t know what he yearned for. He needed whatever it was. Desperately, he tried reaching for it, but he couldn’t move.

  The buzzing stopped.

  His soul shattered. He felt lost, completely empty.

  The scent of roses tickled his nose.

  Something cool and damp touched his cheek.

  His eyes snapped open and he came face-to-face with a khatt, one of Sídhí’s most vicious predators. For a split-instant, neither of them moved. They simply stared at each other.

  An angry khatt had been known to kill even an adult Sídhí. The animal ran swifter than a cheetah and had the personality of a wounded grizzly bear, a deadly combination to be sure. Only after a khatt adopted a human was the animal somewhat safe to walk near.

  Eyes the color of burnt amber blinked at Mitch. Dark brown fur, touched with light blonde speckles surrounded the khatt’s intelligent eyes. Teeth, sharp and white, were inches from his throat.

  All of this flickered through his brain in a split second.

  “Argh!” Mitch roared. The bloodcurdling bellow echoed through the trees. A surge of adrenaline burst through his veins. He scrambled backward, smacking into a furble tree. The impact knocked the wind out of him, snapping him out of his muddled thoughts.

  The khatt reacted in much the same way. The big animal jumped back, hissing in shock. The similarity ended there.

  In mid tumble, the khatt’s body changed. Its feline shape shifted into the form of a beautiful young woman. Stumbling backward, his new cabin mate dropped to her shapely rump with a hard thump. Beth looked at him with wide, startled eyes. Several emotions flashed across her face.

  Mitch growled, low and deep, furious with himself. He would not feel sorry for frightening her. She was not even human and she was not, repeat – not – beautiful. He absolutely refused to fall into the filthy shifter’s trap. He didn’t even know if the creature really was female. For all he knew it could be a boy or some weird combination of the two sexes.

  Mitch’s growl reverberated around the trees. He pulled his feet under him, slowly forcing his aching body to obey him. He stayed crouched, ready to defend against her attack.

  He feared he might actually faint if he tried standing up too soon.

  His body swayed, but he remained upright, never taking his eyes off his deadly opponent. He tried extending his claws. The silver bracelet caused a steady pulse of pain through his fingers. Pain didn’t matter. He fought to use his claws. With a stubborn grunt, he pushed past the pain, partially extending the tips of his claws.

  Half-inch claws appeared on a single hand. The other hand, where the wretched silver snuggly wrapped around his wrist, refused. Not even the tips of his nails grew sharp.

  He swayed for a moment, but his fierce growl grew stronger.

  He watched Beth through narrowed eyes. No, he watched the mutt. He refused to give the creature any type of respect that a name suggested.

  The shifter swallowed and slowly held up its hands in a peaceful gesture. Her calculated move had to be a trick. She acted as if she didn’t want to fight him, but he knew better. Shifters were servants of the Dhark lords, evil to the core.

  She was much smaller than he was. As long as she stayed in human form, he could easily kill her.

  “Mitch,” Katie shouted at him, “don’t you dare hurt her! Beth has saved our lives twice now.”

  Mitch didn’t move. He glared at the mutt, furiously wondering how the filthy creature had ensnared his sister. His growl deepened. His tongue seemed extra thick, so chunky he couldn’t form words.

  He bared his fangs and snarled. Let his actions convince his sister of the danger.

  He didn’t doubt, not for a single moment, the shifter was an evil spawn. The mutt was a creature straight out of the Dhark Empire. He’d kill it before he let it harm his twin.

  The violent urge burned through his brain. He could rip its throat out before it had time to shift.

  Briefly, a loud ringing-like buzz burst through his brain. The sound overwhelmed every rational thought and emotion. He felt pulled toward the shifter, like the creature was trying to suck his soul dry.
>
  He shuddered in horror. The creature was more devious than he could ever have dreamed possible. He had to warn Katie.

  “Katie, don’t trust it,” he said. Urgency filled his mental voice.

  When Katie didn’t answer, he realized something was keeping his telepathy from working. That something was probably the creature standing in front of him. He wanted it dead.

  He forced venom into his fangs. Sucking on them, he pulled a thin stream of liquid across his tongue. The bitter moisture swirled around his mouth, and down his throat.

  “Filthy shifter,” Mitch rasped past his swollen tongue. “Don’t trust it!”

  “It!” Beth shrieked. Jumping up in a huff, she propped her hands on her very feminine hips. Her glorious multi-hued hair shimmered down her back, curling around her tiny waist. “Do I look like an ‘it’ to you?”

  His gut clenched at the sight of the shifters very feminine body.

  He groaned, hating his very male response to her sexy body. He resisted the urge to reach for her. He would not fall into her web of deceit. He repeated what he knew about her race, wishing those facts would sink into his brain. She was a shifter, a born manipulator, a creature of the Dhark Empire, nothing more.

  “You can obviously shift into whatever form you prefer,” Mitch snarled at her. Words grew easier to speak. He hoped no one could hear how much his heartbeat increased as his eyes roved over her curvy, petite figure. She was a gorgeous little thing, full of fire.

  At his words, she gasped in outrage. Her face turned a mottled shade of red. For a moment, he thought she was going to shift and rip into him. He’d fight her, but as weak as he was she’d probably claw him into very little pieces.

  “You insufferable, wretched, filthy minded… oh!” she screamed furiously. Rage dripped from her voice and blared through her body language. She turned and stormed out of the clearing, hands curled into tight fists, clenched at her sides.

  _____________

  Katie glared at her twin. She couldn’t believe Mitch was acting this way. He wasn’t even using common sense!

  From the scowl he threw her way, she didn’t doubt he wondered the same thing about her mental stability.

  He struggled to his feet, slightly swaying as the last of the poison burned from his system.

  Suddenly, Beth – in khatt form – bounded back into the clearing. Her back slightly arched, her long tail flickered back and forth.

  Katie held back a tumble of calming words. She – even with Jared’s help – would never be able to stop Beth if the girl attacked Mitch. The shifter might regret hurting Mitch later, but the girl was angry enough right now to do him serious damage.

  At Beth’s appearance, Mitch jumped back. Tripping over a small bush, he fell backward slamming into a tree.

  Katie cringed as the back of Mitch’s hard head smacked against the blue tree trunk.

  The large khatt snarled at Mitch. Her tail twitched a rapid beat.

  For once in his life, her twin actually appeared startled at the appearance of such a fierce opponent. His pale green eyes, with their overly large pupil – the same elfin eyes Katie sported – widened at the scary, deep-throated growl Beth threw his way.

  Mitch inhaled sharply, muttering a curse about roses and his screwed-up sense of smell. He shoved away from the tree.

  Beth’s lip curled above her sharp teeth as she mentally snapped at Mitch, “Serves you right, you stupid, pig-headed oaf!”

  Beth moved stiffly across the open area. Body language shouting her anger to everyone present as she stalked toward the forgotten pile of mint balls. Leaning down, she slit one of the larger leafs with a single sharp claw. She curled her paw-hand around the muddy ball.

  She paused, shaking her head. The tip of her tail twitched ever faster.

  Judging the actions of a khatt was difficult, but Beth seemed to be arguing with herself.

  Katie couldn’t figure-out what Beth was up to.

  Mitch must have wondered the same thing. “Get your stinking hide out of here. You stink worse than anything I’ve ever smelled.” His nose curled in distaste, but oddly enough he seemed to inhale as deep as humanly possible, which completely contradicted his words.

  Beth snarled. Her eyes turned into glowing bronze slits as they narrowed in anger. Moving whip-cord fast, she whirled toward Mitch and began pelting him with globs of mud.

  The first mud ball smacked him dead center, right in the middle of his forehead. He yelled and threw up his hands, but not before she splattered mud into his open mouth.

  Hacking and coughing, Mitch ran out of the glen, and into the forest. Mint balls painted his backside muddy brown. In his haste, he tripped over a large root, but finally managed to dodge behind a larger tree. The coughing and hacking soon intermingled with threats of how he planned to rip her apart, piece by piece.

  Katie began coughing, trying her best to cover-up her laughter. She had never seen Mitch turn tail and run from a fight. Not that she blamed him.

  Jared wasn’t so careful with her brother’s ego. Deep rumbles of laughter boomed from behind her.

  Beth stopped throwing mud balls and shook. Like a dog, her entire body shivered from head to tail. She glared at the tree, but Mitch remained safely on the other side.

  “Filthy, stinking shifter! You smell like molded tea leaves fermented in mice droppings.” The utterly weird insult appeared to be Mitch’s last one as the sound of spitting increased.

  One paw lifted, like a simple house cat, Beth sniffed disdainfully. Turning away from Mitch’s hiding place, she shifted into her human form. Sparks of anger flickered through her eyes, but she stopped growling.

  As if nothing in the world had happened, she picked up the few remaining mint balls. “See you at the tree line?” Beth asked. Head held high, she glanced toward Katie.

  Katie noticed the girl’s eyes held unshed tears.

  She didn’t know what to say, so Katie simply nodded her agreement.

  Beth left the clearing in a ground eating trot.

  “She’s gone,” Katie said to her brother. Anger made her voice snappish. Her brother was a certified twit.

  Mitch clutched the tree, slowly moving around its trunk. Never looking up, he stumbled into the clearing. His legs seemed to give out and he sank to the ground. His mud covered body began trembling. She assumed his reaction was the after effect of the poison. There was no way he was that upset over Beth’s attack.

  He lowered his head between spread legs, not looking up as he gruffly chewed her out. “I can’t believe you’d trust a shifter. The mutt is worse than that red-eyed vampire you hang around. Dang it, Sis, you’re just too trusting.”

  “And me?” Jared asked in a deadly soft rumble. “You think I’d let my mate come to harm? I wouldn’t let her anywhere near either of them, if I didn’t trust them.”

  Mitch rubbed his head like the thing was about to explode. “They’ve got you both suckered,” Mitch said, glancing up, he held Jared’s gaze. “You’re too wrapped up in Katie to see anything but her.”

  Jared bared lengthened fangs, growling deep in his chest. He took a single step forward before jerking to a halt. His head swiveled toward Katie, his piercing blue eyes searched her face.

  Never taking his eyes off of her, Jared snarled at Mitch. “Be very glad Katie loves you. If I rip you to pieces then I hurt her.” He bent and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “Thank you,” Katie said, rubbing her hand across his vibrating chest. She felt his anger boiling inside her and knew how hard it had been for him to stop. He wanted to crack a few of her brother’s bones.

  “Mia Cara, I would do anything to keep from hurting you, but I may not always be able to stop from thumping some sense into him,” he said. Frustration darkened their bond.

  With a lingering look of love, he brushed a wisp of hair out of her face. “Don’t be long.” With those parting words, he turned toward the tree line where Beth waited for them.

  The silence within the sm
all clearing was broken by Emily’s soft voice. “What happened at the pool?”

  Katie pulled her eyes from her twin’s angry gaze and winced.

  Emily was still curled on her side. Dark bruises covered most of her bare flesh. Limp, midnight hair surrounded a heart-shaped face grimacing in pain.

  “Long story made short – we were attacked by cave mites,” Katie said. She quickly gave them a run-down on what had happened, emphasizing Beth’s part in helping them.

  Mitch waited for Katie to finish before rudely snorting his disbelief. “What’s the first thing a con artist does?” he demanded, immediately answering his own question. “A con-artist does something to make you trust him. That shifter is worse than the best con-artist you’ll ever meet. At least a con-artist won’t eat you.”

  “Eew, yuck,” Emily cried in disgust. Her whole face contorted in pain as she moved too fast. “That’s just an awful thought. Why would you think that?”

  Mitch growled, deep and harsh. His gentle effort to help Emily sit up was completely opposite of the animalistic sound. “Shifters are creatures of the Dhark Empire. I’ve always had a warped fascination over why an entire Sídhí race would be so utterly loyal to those evil over lords. I’ve read a dozen books on the shifters. Trust me on this one. Some of the stories would curl the hair on your head.”

  Katie huffed. “Mitch, most of those stories had to be fiction.” She plowed ahead as he tried interrupting. “Even if every single story was true, the information is over four thousand years old. Hello, bird brain! People can change overnight, much less over a few thousand years.”

  Katie’s glare was met by his obstinately clenched jaw. She might as well be arguing with the wind, trying to convince the force of nature to stop blowing.

  “Em, you okay?” Katie asked, turning her attention to her whimpering friend.

  “Sure, no problem, I just feel as weak as a three hour old kitten, a kitten that was thrown from a moving car, and then run over. I hurt everywhere!”

  Katie didn’t know whether to hug Emily or apologize over the girl’s aches and pains. Or better yet, thump her hair-brained twin on the cement stump he called a head.