by Fel Fern
Darkfall Mountain Pack 2
Harley's Gamble
Vampire fledgling Silas looked forward to spending eternity with his sire and master of his heart—until human hunters shattered that dream. Taken captive and tortured, Silas loses all hope. He begins to crave death when a rampaging werewolf saves his life.
Dominant werewolf Harley Jameson is usually the kind of guy who stays out of trouble. Despite being a member of the vicious Darkfall Mountain pack, Harley wants to live an ordinary life. Normal flew out the window the moment his wolf scented the injured vampire. A bloodsucker isn’t a werewolf’s ideal mate, but Silas brings all of Harley’s territorial instincts to the surface. Alone and cornered, Harley and Silas must take on the greatest fight of their lives. Can they survive long enough see if the sparks between them are real, and if they have a future together?
Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 20,415 words
HARLEY'S GAMBLE
Darkfall Mountain Pack 2
Fel Fern
EROTIC ROMANCE
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at
[email protected]
A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove
HARLEY'S GAMBLE
Copyright © 2015 by Fel Fern
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-965-0
First E-book Publication: December 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Harley's Gamble by Fel Fern from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Fel Fern’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Fel Fern’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
To my readers, I hope you enjoy Silas and Harley’s story.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
About the Author
HARLEY'S GAMBLE
Darkfall Mountain Pack 2
FEL FERN
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
Wrapped in his Master’s embrace for the final kiss of death, Silas didn’t think the night could be any more perfect.
“Relax, Silas. I will make this as painless as possible,” Lucius murmured against his ear. “You’ve been an exemplary student. It is time you take the final step to your rebirth as a creature of the night.”
Silas took Lucius’s advice. He focused his senses on his environment. Seductive notes of Mozart played in the background of Lucius’s penthouse suite from high-definition speakers. Candlelight flickered around them, surrounding the living room with warmth. Lucius’s touch felt cold as usual, but soon so would Silas’s.
Ten years ago, the Master Vampire Lucius decided to save a drug-addicted fifteen-year-old dropout from being pummeled to death by his dealer. To commemorate his new life as Lucius’s student and eventually, his apprentice, Lucius christened him with a new name—Silas. To Silas, Lucius was his entire life. His future and Lucius finally deemed Silas ready to take up the mantle of immortality.
Silas took deep breaths, his last. He dared raised his gaze to meet Lucius’s crimson ones. “I am ready, Master.”
An elegant smile appeared on Lucius’s velvet smooth lips. Lucius pulled Silas closer until his lips brushed against Silas’s hammering pulse. Then Silas felt the brush of Lucius’s fangs. He urged himself to stay still, to be on exemplary behavior but he squirmed when the sharp points drew pinpricks of blood.
Silas was grateful for Lucius’s iron grip, holding him steady, as Lucius’s fangs finally pierced through skin. His Master drank deeply, until the pain ebbed away, and Silas floated in a kind of strange stupor. Lucius retracted his fangs.
“Easy, Silas, it’s not over. Now, you need to take sustenance from me,” Lucius said in a soothing voice.
Lucius cradled Silas’s head gently against his shoulder, and nicked his own wrist with his teeth. Silas’s gaze lingered on the tickle of crimson blood. He thought he no longer had the strength to lift his head, but Lucius placed his bleeding wrist to his mouth. Silas fastened his mouth over the cut and took in his Master’s blood. For those next couple of seconds, Silas’s heart slowed. His lungs struggled in agony to take air.
“Hush. Don’t fight it too hard, Silas. Accept death. Embrace it and come out triumphant,” Lucius said.
Silas struggled to obey, but the pain was too much to bear.
“Master,” he uttered, before losing consciousness.
Silas thought he wouldn’t wake up to reality again, except he did. The next time he woke, he found himself lying on Lucius’s lap on the couch. Lucius peered down at him, looking worried. Then Lucius broke into a smile.
“Well done, my student. I was not certain you would survive my bite.”
Silas blinked, and sat up slowly. His vision swam, before turning razor-sharp a second later. Over the years, Lucius drilled into his head about the process of transformation. Experiencing it for himself was an entirely different matter. He stared at his pale skin, and marveled at the feel of leather under his fingertips. Silas’s other senses were enhanced too—like the scent of wax burning, and Lucius’s cologne t
easing his nostrils.
Then a second kind of hunger hit him, intense and hard to ignore. Silas had a sudden thirst for blood, and to sink his new fangs into the tender skin of some willing victim. Lucius grabbed his arm. Silas snarled.
“Calm down,” Lucius snapped. “Control yourself. I will take you out to hunt soon.”
Realizing he reacted like an animal, like some violent shifter, Silas breathed deeply. “I’m sorry, Master. I’m just overwhelmed by how different everything feels.”
Lucius looked pained. “It’s alright, my student. Usually when a fledging vampire first feeds, he is accompanied by his coven, but I’m all you have.”
Silas adamantly shook his head. It had always been like this, just Lucius and him against the world, because Lucius didn’t ally himself with any vampire coven or supernatural group. They were nomads, always moving from one place to another and never settling down.
During the turn of the century, Lucius angered the Order of the Knife, a group of vampire hunters after accidently killing one of the trainees who interfered while he was feeding. The Order never forgave Lucius for his slight, even though Lucius didn’t kill while he fed.
Fine with Silas, because he liked travelling—something he’d never experience if Lucius hadn’t saved him from the streets. Right now, there were in the small town of Northfield. Their next destination was the nearby town of Darkfall, which was reputedly populated by a vicious pack of werewolves who didn’t welcome outsiders. Lucius was good friends with the alpha Sergio though. Sergio agreed to let them stay for a week as long as they don’t leave behind any corpses, so Lucius could train his new fledging.
“You’re all I need,” Silas whispered.
He leaned closer, afraid Lucius would reject his kiss. To his relief, his Master accepted his gift. At first Silas wasn’t sure how to kiss with his new fangs, but he managed. Lucius wrapped a hand around his waist, pulling him close to deepen the kiss. It might take Silas a few more years to master the art of French kissing with his fangs himself.
Silas began to lose himself as the world narrowed its scope to Lucius and him. Vampires might be cold to the touch by nature, but when it came to sex, they were all heat. He could feel his own member pressing against his jeans and Lucius’s own, rubbing against his own. Silas began to pull down the zipper of Lucius’s trousers to free his length, when he heard it.
The whisper of footsteps so soft, his once mortal eyes wouldn’t have caught them. He abruptly parted from Lucius, who looked at him, confused.
“Silas?” Lucius whispered. His voice sounded husky. Couldn’t Lucius hear them?
Then the front door banged opened. Silas only saw the intruders for a couple of seconds. Half a dozen hard-eyed men and women dressed in military black, all toting serious ammunition. Before either vampire could react, the hunters opened fire.
* * * *
Intense hunger woke Silas the next time he regained consciousness. At first, he couldn’t piece together what happened. His brain refused to work and he hurt all over. Blood. He needed to eat so he could heal, think, and assess what happened…except something shrieked inside him, an emptiness where a metaphysical link connected a fledging vampire to his master.
“Lucius,” Silas rasped.
The memories of the past few hours returned to Silas. He remembered the extravagant dinner Lucius cooked, even though vampires didn’t eat. How Lucius mentioned that would be his last meal. His last night as a mortal, but Silas needn’t be afraid. Lucius would be there to guide him step-by-step...except Lucius was gone.
Silas could recall the moment so crystal clear. When the vampire hunters burst into the apartment and unloaded their clips. Lucius’s first instinct wasn’t to protect himself. Knowing Silas didn’t know a thing about using his new body, Lucius threw himself over Silas, and used his own body as a shield as silver bullets tore a hundred holes in him.
He twisted, let out a little scream as fire burned into his wrists. Silver. He forced himself to keep still. Silas forced his eyes open, dreading the position he’d find himself in. He was half naked and strung up like a pig at the slaughterhouse, his wrists bound with silver chains and hooked to the ceiling.
A quick look told him the hunters had placed him in some kind of empty barn. They’d stripped him of his blood-soaked shirt, but kept his jeans on. Silas took calming breaths, before remembering he no longer needed to breathe. Why the hell would they slaughter Lucius, but leave him behind?
“You’re awake I see, bloodsucker,” drawled a voice.
“Just kill the fucker. We don’t need him,” hissed a second voice.
Two buffed and sullen men in their late twenties, both clad in black entered in Silas’s line of sight. He didn’t miss the shotguns slung over their shoulders, or the knife sheaths carrying silver-edged blade. Did they really think he was that dangerous?
“Where’s Lucius?” Silas demanded, glad his voice sounded even.
“He’s probably ashes by now. We burned his corpse to make sure.”
“You fucker, I’ll kill you. Drink you dry,” Silas hissed.
He wasn’t a temperamental individual by nature, but white hot rage filled him now, along with thoughts of revenge. Lucius often told him immortals and other supernaturals felt normal human emotion more intensely. A few changed for the better during their lifespan, while most became worst. Silas swore he won’t end up like that, but he couldn’t help himself.
How dare these mortals ruin his moment with Lucius? Christ. How dare they kill his Master? What would happen to Silas now?
The second hunter, the bald one with the earring, came up close to Silas then let his fist do the talking. The force of his punch shattered Silas’s nose. He groaned, tasting blood, but the pain didn’t hurt as bad as he imagined.
“The only one about to die here is you, leech.”
“Ben, take a couple of steps now,” ordered the first.
Ben grunted, showed Silas the unexplainable hatred burning in his gaze, spat at him, before keeping his distance.
“When I get out of here, I’m going to take my time draining you,” Silas threatened. It was a pathetic threat, but he needed just a bit more courage.
He knew for some reason these hunters thought Silas had something they wanted. After that though, Silas was no good to them so he had to play it by the ear.
“Cooperate with us, bloodsucker, or I will let my brother work on you the hard way.” The first man showed him a flash of white teeth. “Let me assure you, Ben can be quite creative.”
“Fuck you. Why would I help you assholes?”
Ben’s cheek twitched. “Let me get my kit, Gordon. This twink’s going to talk after I shove a bottle of holy water down his throat.”
Silas did his best not to show fear. The silver already burned at his skin. Holy water would hurt a lot worse and in his weakened unfed state, Silas didn’t know how long he’d last. So he snarled and made useless threats. Gordon let Ben bring his kit and Silas resorted to pleas, which only made the hunters more eager. They asked the same questions repeatedly, questions Silas had no answers to.
“For the hundredth time, I don’t know about this fucking chalice you assholes are looking for,” Silas said hoarsely. Ben uncapped the ordinary-looking water bottle. Holy water hit his arm, instantly burning like acid. Silas screamed.
“Let’s try this again. Your Master, Lucius, is the guardian of the Rosewood Chalice. You’re his student and you have no idea?”
“No. I really don’t. Lucius just changed me tonight. He never told me anything beyond what I needed to know to survive as a vampire.” Silas begged and sobbed. Finally, Gordon raised a hand to stop Ben.
“I think the poor sod doesn’t really have a damn clue.”
“The leech’s lying. Let me work some pliers on that pretty face,” Ben sneered.
Silas whimpered, unsure how much more he could take.
“Did he mention anything, anything at all about retrieving a precious object from a special loca
tion?” Gordon asked.
“We planned to go to Darkfall next. I don’t know anything.” Silas was so exhausted.
Fire ran through his entire body, and he only wanted this all to end. Why was he fighting so hard anyway, when he no longer had a reason to live? Lucius was gone. Dirt and ashes, and he was still flesh and blood on earth. Hell, some part of him wanted the hunters to finish the job. Silas might meet Lucius back in the afterlife, or whatever place the souls of the damned ended up in.
“Darkfall, eh?” Gordon sounded contemplative.
“Isn’t Darkfall run by werewolves? Why would a vampire go there?” Ben demanded.
The two argued some more. Silas decided to close his eyes, even for just a little bit. If he never woke up again, that would be swell too, because this reality was too painful to live in. Taking the easy way out seemed like what a coward would do, but who could blame him? After all, Silas had nothing left to return to. The day Lucius picked him up from the streets was the day his life really started, so it was only right his life would end alongside Lucius’s.
Chapter Two
Harley Jameson wondered what possessed him to wander as far as Northfield. The woods surrounding home sweet home—Darkfall, covered plenty of ground for any werewolf. Usually, Harley didn’t stray from the pack either, when they went on their weekly run.
Somewhere in the far distance, the Darkfall Mountain pack alpha, Sergio, let out a howl. Harley’s fellow pack members answered in the form of yips and snarls. Harley didn’t join the song for once. Curiosity got the better of him. He deviated further from the usual run. Something in the wind felt wrong, like it was shrieking in agony.