by V. A. Dold
He stood alone at the front of the ballroom, his heart pounding with joy. Truth be told, he never believed he would find his true soulmate. Yet there she was, walking toward him. The most beautiful sight he’d ever seen, and she was his.
He glanced at his warriors, his people, the majority had yet to find their other half. Many who had given up finding a soulmate now had hope and longing in their eyes. Willa had given them that.
The ballroom was overflowing, but they had planned for that. Cameras caught the ceremony from every angle and beamed the wedding to large screens set up throughout the house and on the lawn where a large white tent had been erected. Even the vampires around the world who were unable to attend were receiving the broadcast.
This was a momentous day. The king was getting married and their queen was about to be crowned.
Etienne stepped down from the platform that had been built for the wedding and took Willa’s hand from Darius. Then he bent and whispered in her ear, “You take my breath away.”
With a nod, Darius took his seat next to Carolyn.
He helped her up the platform, and they turned to find a beautiful dark-haired woman in a classic Grecian gown smiling at them.
Etienne bowed to the woman, then said very formally, “Goddess Artemis, I am pleased to present to you my muierimei, Willamina Josephina Donnella Witt. We ask for your blessing on our union.”
The goddess held out her hands. Etienne took Willa’s hand and placed it on one outstretched palm, then put his on the other. Artemis clasped their hands and closed her eyes. A slow radiant smile lit her ethereal face. “This is a powerful match, even more powerful than your father and mother. I bless your union and offer you a wedding gift.” She looked Willa in the eyes and held her gaze. “You will not be held captive by the rules of the sun, waiting two hundred years before you can walk in daylight without one of my rings. From this day forward, you are free of that curse.”
Gasps echoed around the ballroom.
Willa bowed respectfully to Artemis. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome, my child.” Artemis turned to Etienne and smiled with love in her eyes. “For your gift, I have ensured that the son that Willa carries and all future children will be free of the family curse. No longer will the Delacour lineage be plagued by rage.”
Etienne stared at Artemis then looked wide-eyed at Willa. “Son? We are having a son?”
Willa shook her head. “Don’t look at me. I had no idea.”
“Yes. You are having a son,” Artemis assured. She released their hands and took a step back. “You may exchange your vows.”
Etienne and Willa turned to face one another. He took her right palm and laid it over his heart. His heart so full of love for the woman before him he was about to burst.
“I, Etienne Delacour, king of the vampire race, take you, Willamina Josephina Donnella Witt to be my bonded mate and queen.
“I take you as my partner in this life and every life to come.
“I promise to love you without reservation, honor you, respect you, and always place you above all others.
“I promise to stand as your shield and protect you from harm.
“I vow to grow with you in mind, body, and spirit, from this day until the end of time.”
Willa, in turn, took Etienne’s right palm and laid it over her heart.
“I, Willamina Josephina Donnella Witt, a vampire and witch, take you, Etienne Delacour, king of the vampire race to be my bonded mate and king.
“I take you as my partner in this life and every life to come.
“I promise to love you without reservation, honor you, respect you, and always place you above all others.
“I promise to accept you as my shield as you protect me from harm.
“I vow to grow with you in mind, body, and spirit, from this day until the end of time.”
Artemis stepped forward again and proclaimed, “You are now bound, blood, body, and soul with a tie that shall never be broken by outside forces.
“I, the goddess Artemis, bless this union and place you under my personal protection. Woe to any and all who threaten those whom I have claimed as my own.”
Then she turned her gaze on Willa again. “I have one more thing for you.” Artemis snapped her fingers and a crown of gold inlaid with sunstones matching Etienne’s appeared in her hand. A gauzy veil with golden threads was artfully attached to it. The goddess lifted it above Willa’s head and announced in a voice loud enough for all to hear, “I crown you, Willamina Josephina Donnella Delacour, queen of the vampires.”
Artemis placed the crown on her head, nodded to Etienne and Willa, and said, “Congratulations. May you have a long and joy-filled union.” Then she vanished.
The audience rose to their feet. As one they cheered, “Long live the king and queen.”
Echo’s of the sentiment were heard throughout the house and grounds.
Etienne took Willa into his arms and kissed her soundly. “I love you, wife.”
Willa grinned up at him. “I love you, husband.”
He led her up the aisle and into the grand hallway to receive their guests as they filed out of the ballroom and onto the lawn for the wedding feast.
Finally, the last of the guests offered their congratulations. Willa sighed with relief and rubbed at her cheeks. “My face hurts from smiling.”
Etienne chuckled and rubbed at his jaw. “Mine, as well. Let’s get some air. We can stand at the top of the stairs and do a general greeting to the crowd outside from there.”
“Thank God.”
Etienne had just finished his welcoming speech to the crowd when the roar of a motorcycle engine was heard coming up the drive.
A large black Harley pulled right up onto the lawn and didn’t stop until it was at the foot of the stair. Several of his warriors rushed to detain the rider, but Etienne waved them away grinning from ear to ear.
The rider cut the engine and flipped the kickstand down. Then she pulled off her helmet and shook out her short, spiky pink hair. “Am I too late for the party?”
“Your timing is perfect. Willa, I would like you to meet my sister, Elayna. Elayna, this is my beautiful muierimei, Willa.”
Heads craned to get a look at the woman the king had just proclaimed was his sister. Murmurs were heard as the news was passed from table to table.
Elayna balanced her helmet on the seat of the bike and leapt up the stairs and into Etie’s waiting arms. “I missed you, big brother.”
“I missed you, too, munchkin.”
Then Elayna turned to Willa and hugged her as well. “Welcome to the family. I always wanted a sister.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Elayna.” Willa gave Etienne a questioning look over Elayna’s shoulder.
“Elayna, it’s time for your coming out party. Stand here between us while I take care of business.” He waited for her to move to where he indicated, then cleared his throat.
“Ladies and gentleman, I know this will come as a shock to you, but Ivan was not my only sibling. When Elayna was born, I already harbored suspicions about my brother and his murderous tendencies. He hated me because I was the firstborn son and heir to the throne.
“He sought on many occasions to cause accidents that would result in my demise. I could never prove definitively he was trying to kill me and was forced to endure in an attempt to catch him in the act of setting a trap. Ivan left home to travel to Asia before I could succeed.
“While he was away, my parents joyfully welcomed a daughter into the world. I feared for her life from the second she drew breath. I knew If Ivan learned of her existence, he would attempt to kill her as well.
“I convinced my parents to hide her away and never tell a soul about her. They knew the heart of their second son, so it wasn’t difficult to win their approval of my plan. My mother left our homeland to raise Elayna in secrecy. Though it was difficult for my parents to be apart, my father and I visited them often. When Elayna turned eighteen, she board
ed a vessel to America where she has lived in secret ever since.
“I have kept in close contact with my sister all of her life, ensuring her safety, awaiting the day she could come out from hiding. Now that the danger no longer exists, she is able to be claimed openly as a Delacour and the princess of the vampires.
“Please give a warm welcome to Princess Elayna.”
The crowd jumped to their feet cheering.
Elayna leaned into Etienne and growled, “Was that really necessary?”
“Yes, it was, because I’m putting you in charge of Europe. Ivan left a vacuum in the power structure. I need you to fill the role. I want you to take your bikers and clean up that part of the world. Whatever it takes. I leave it to your discretion.”
Elayna rubbed her hands together. “This is going to be fun. Thanks, big brother. Challenge accepted.”
“Excellent, now go and meet our people. Mingle and behave.”
Elayna stuck her tongue out at him and skipped down the stairs to do as she was told.
Etienne put his arm around Willa and pulled her in close.
“Wow. I didn’t see that coming.”
He grinned at her and winked. “No one did.”
They were about to join their guest when Darius ran up the steps. “We have a situation.”
“Tell me,” Etienne said in his all business tone.
“I just got word of a singular witch on the run with a WITSEC agent. She witnessed a mob hit at the casino here in New Orleans. She’s in trouble. Big trouble.”
“Send Xander, Nick, and Derick to retrieve her. Once we have her story, we will eliminate the threat so she can return home.”
“Consider it done.” Darius ran down the stairs and into the crowd to collect his crew.
Willa gazed up at him, worry in her eyes. “There’s never a dull day in your world is there?”
He gave her a smile and kissed the tip of her nose. “There are plenty of dull days. You just haven’t seen them yet. Come on, Mrs. Delacour. We have a wedding feast to enjoy.”
The End
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V.A. Dold
Please, continue reading the first chapters from
FANGS & FELONS
FANGS & FELONS
Book Three
League of Guardians Series
Romance with BITE
Prologue
Darius Drummond sat with his arm slung over the back of his muierimei’s chair, sipping a cocktail. Today was an excellent day. Etienne Delacour, his best friend and the king of the vampires, had just married a fabulous woman. Willa was perfect for him and would be an incredible queen.
Carolyn Drummond leaned into him and smiled. “You look happy.” Carolyn was, and still is, a very powerful witch. She and Darius met over Halloween 2017 in Savannah. It was true love at first sight, followed quickly by three blood exchanges to convert Carolyn into a vampire.
“I am. The sun is shining, Etienne and Willa are no longer in danger, and I have you at my side. My world is perfect.”
“I have to admit, it’s nice to have a peaceful day for a change.”
No sooner had Carolyn said that, his cell phone rang.
Carolyn let her head fall back on her shoulders and sighed. “I spoke too soon.”
A minute later, Darius ended the call. “Work calls. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He bounded up the grand staircase of Etienne’s mansion, stopped beside his king standing on the covered porch, and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “We have a situation.”
“Tell me,” Etienne said in his all business tone as he lifted his hand in greeting to one of the wedding guests.
“I just received word from Evan Dupré of a singular witch on the run with a WITSEC agent. She witnessed Dante Comeaux commit a mob hit. She’s in trouble. Big trouble.”
“Send Xander, Nick, and Derick to retrieve her. Once we have her story, we’ll eliminate the threat so she can return home.”
“Consider it done.” Darius straightened the traditional Romanian dress tunic he had worn to escort Willa down the aisle, before turning to rejoin to the wedding feast. His crew was somewhere amongst the crowd. His luck held when he spotted all three vampires standing around the open bar.
“I need to have a word with the three of you. Let’s take this into the library.”
Without a word, all three followed him into the mansion.
Darius closed the library doors and turned to address his men. “I have an assignment for you. Sheena Savoy, a singular witch from New Orleans, is on the run from Dante Comeaux. She witnessed him commit a mob hit and is currently under WITSEC protection.”
“WITSEC?” Nick Trahan scoffed. “They might as well hand her over to Comeaux on a silver platter. That division is full of dirty agents.”
Darius gave Nick a pointed stare. “And that’s why we have a vampire working undercover in the department. Dupré is invaluable as a mole in that cesspool. Your job is to find Miss Savoy, protect her, and bring her home.”
“What about Comeaux?” Nick asked, still pushing Darius’s limits. “This isn’t the first time he’s crossed the line in the paranormal community.”
“Get the entire story out of Sheena. Once we have the information, Etienne will make the call.”
“And the WITSEC agent?” Derick Trahan, Nick’s younger brother, asked.
“If he’s a problem, stage Sheena’s death. He won’t pursue a dead woman. If he’s dirty, feed him to the gators.”
Alexander ‘Xander’ Beck rubbed his jaw. “What about Miss Savoy? Is she going to be a problem?”
“Unknown. I have no idea how much she knows about witches or vampires.”
“Just another day in the life of the League of Guardians,” Nick quipped.
Darius gave Nick an exasperated look. “She’s safe for the moment.”
Then he glanced at Xander and Derick to include them in his final instructions. “At present, Miss Savoy and the marshal are at the police station. Their confirmed destination is a safe house in the bayou. Retrieval will be much more efficient outside of the city. Only the marshals guarding our witch will bear witness to Miss Savoy’s removal from their caring embrace.”
Darius glanced at his wristwatch. “You have a few hours before Miss Savoy arrives at that location. I’ll email her file to each of you. Enjoy the wedding feast and then head out. The address is in the file.”
Chapter One
Sheena Savoy moaned as she slapped the top of her bedside table to silence the horrendous noise coming from her alarm clock. With her eyes pressed tightly shut, she wondered why it was making such a terrible racket. Slowly, the fuzzy memories from the night before cleared. Then she remembered it was a workday. Shit. No wonder the alarm was screeching.
Damn, her friend Jill, and her demands to go out for drinks.
She hadn’t had more than a couple of cocktails, but evidently, they had been enough to cleave her brain in half and make the light filtering through her curtains feel like pins stabbing her eyeballs.
Double damn Jill and her midweek breakup. Why couldn’t she have waited until the weekend to dump her deadbeat boyfriend?
Careful not to jar her screaming brain, she rolled from her bed and shuffled to the bathroom. If she was going to survive the day, she needed to rehydrate. With no glass available, she turned on the faucet and stuck her mouth under the flow. She gulped water like a fish that had jumped out of its bowl and flopped on the floor for several minutes.
Leaning heavily on the vanity, she shut the water off and glanced at her reflection. Jesus! The combination of smudged mascara and bloodshot eyes made her look like a deranged raccoon. She pushed away from the sink and started the shower. It was too bad hangovers were frowned upon as a r
eason to call in sick.
As she headed to her closet, she glanced at the clock and gasped. Where had the time gone? She threw on the first pair of slacks and blouse her fingers touched. Thankfully they looked good together. Then she grabbed her sneakers. There was no way she would get her swollen feet into heels today. She would just have to hide her feet under her desk. She didn’t have time to fuss with makeup either. She would worry about that once she got to the office.
Sheena had seven minutes to make it to her bus stop, or she’d have to wait for the next one and then she’d be late for work. Running for her front door, she grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter where she’d dropped it the night before and pulled the door shut behind her. A solid click sounded, assuring her it had locked, and her home would be secure while she was away. Rushing along the sidewalk, she winced and dug for her sunglasses. The sun was overly bright and made her head pound again.
Twenty-eight minutes later, she rushed through her office door. She sat behind her desk and took a minute to catch her breath as she put her purse into the bottom drawer. Before she could ask, her good friend and coworker, the one who talked her into going out the night before, walked in with a steaming cup of coffee.
Jill sat in the chair on the other side of the desk and grinned. “I saw you come in and it looked like you could use a little wake me up juice. You look like hell this morning.”
“Thanks, it’s nice to know I look as bad as I feel. This,” she waved a hand down her body, “is all your fault by the way.”
“I know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kept you out so late.”
“We need to make a rule. No going out during the week. I’m exhausted.”
Laughing, Jill stood and headed for the door. “I promise. The next time I need a shoulder to cry on, it’ll be on the weekend.”
“Make sure you do that. Are we doing lunch today?”
“I wish. The boss man dropped a crap-load of work on my desk that he wants done before I go home. Even if I skip my lunch break, I’ll be lucky to get it all done.”