“Yes,” he replied hoarsely.
Chapter Nine
The crowd cheered in waves. The game was being filmed this time by national television and the team supporters who were attending the game had been instructed to cheer in a wave pattern. There were going to be scouts in the bleachers, and Margie’s heart was pounding again. There was no doubt about it, Lance was going to be spotted, handpicked for a National League team.
She was in one of his jerseys, her hair tied up but her curls tumbling down over the back of her neck.
She cheered loudly as Lance kicked the team to victory. Bryan, at the other end of the seats, leaned forward to pass her a smile. Margie nodded in response. She decided she was going to warm to him.
Lance was on the shoulders of his teammates again and he caught her eye. Margie blew him a kiss and he mimed a catch and then rubbed it on his cheeks. Margie’s smile widened and she covered her mouth as she laughed. They’d been together for three months already, college was nearing its end and each day was better and better with him.
She watched as the cheerleaders swarmed the field now and Chloe ran right towards Lance. He leaned in towards her from above, still on top of two of his teammates’ shoulders and gave her a quick hug. Margie felt a jealous tug somewhere at the bottom of her heart, but he looked up immediately towards her and smiled. He was telling her that she had nothing to worry about. Lance was a man very much in love, and he was in love with her.
“He’s proven me wrong.” Claire’s voice interrupted her thoughts. It was Claire’s first game, and she had agreed to accompany Margie after days of pleading.
The buzz in the crowd had caught on to her as well. Claire was standing and clapping now, just like everyone else. Hank, the Arts Major from the bar, was beside her, equally converted on his first attendance of a football game.
“Your boyfriend is quite the performer,” Hank leaned forward to say, and Margie couldn’t help but laugh. She agreed. If there was ever a performer, it was Lance Healy.
People everywhere were blowing horns and waving big foam thumbs in the air, and Margie found confetti stuck to her hair now. This was going to be her life now, she was going to attend his games and watch on proudly as Lance took his team to victory after victory.
“Here she comes.” Claire nudged Margie with her elbow just as Chloe appeared behind them.
“We won!” Chloe shrieked, right into Margie’s ear.
“We did!” Margie said excitedly, and Chloe shocked her with a tight hug.
“What’s the deal with her then?” Claire asked as they watched Chloe walk down the seats towards Bryan and the other guys.
“Nothing. She still hangs around Lance a lot, but she knows she doesn’t really stand a chance with him. She’s kind of nice to me, though. So as long as she doesn’t throw herself at him anymore, I have no complaints,” Margie said with a sigh and a smile.
“You’ll have to deal with that a lot, though,” Claire said, rolling her eyes at Chloe, who was now hugging Bryan tightly. “Fangirls throwing themselves at Lance,” Claire added.
Margie sighed and shrugged. That is what she had signed up for with Lance as a boyfriend, she knew that.
“I consider myself lucky,” she said with another shrug. Claire pointed ahead and Margie turned to look. Lance had broken away from his team and was climbing the short distance through the bleachers towards her now.
“You are very lucky. And he’s a lucky guy to have you,” Claire said, clapping again as the crowd cheered for Lance as he made his way to Margie.
Margie’s heart was beating fast. Lance was coming to her. She was important to him, more than the game and more than the cheers.
“We won!” he said, just as he came up to her and lifted her up in his arms to give her a twirl.
“We won!” she repeated after him and leaned in for a kiss.
“Let’s get out of here?” he asked, gripping her waist tightly.
“What about celebrating with your teammates?” she asked, and Lance laughed.
“They’ll understand,” he said, planting a kiss on her belly.
“We’re leaving, Claire. I’m abducting your friend,” he said, turning to Claire and Hank.
Margie couldn’t do anything else other than blush a bright red.
*****
THE END
Paranormal Shifter Romance Collection
The Shifter's Vampire
Description
A vampire virgin who’s given away PLUS a huge shifter protecting his pack PLUS an ancient war about to escalate…
Curvy Yuliana is a low-born vampire who’s never been with a man. So she’s terrified when the vampire king asks her to make a sacrifice for the kingdom… to become the mate of the Alpha of one of the most powerful shifter packs in existence. The only thing she knows about shifters is that they are huge and dangerous…
But when she sees her new mate, all she wants to do is wrap her legs around his hips.
Leon agreed to take a vampire mate to bring peace to his pack. What he didn’t expect was to be paired with the hottest woman he had ever seen, let alone develop feelings for her.
Is this a trick, a game of war in which Yuliana is only a pawn? Is the vampire king out to get him?
But it's not just the vampires Leon has to worry about. The shifters are angry that he chose to take a vampire as a mate. Before the end of it all, his and Yuliana's bond will be tested.
And if it breaks, everything will be destroyed.
Chapter One – Yuliana
The billowy robes that they had put Yuliana in did nothing for her figure. But the puke-green, tent-like garment was meant to be a sign of humiliation, and so it made sense that it would be actually humiliating to wear it. Her hands trembled a little as she waited in the opulent room. She was a low-born vampire. Her parents weren't even servants in a noble household. They rented a little plot of land from a human landlord and worked in the human sector of town. In vampire society, one couldn't get any lower than that.
And yet the king himself had called her and her parents to meet with him.
"What do you think he wants?" she asked, brushing her fingers through her chestnut hair yet again.
Her mother caught her hand and pushed it down firmly. Yuliana could feel her slow but steady pulse. "Rumor has it that the king is looking for another maid to expand his household harem. Not many girls stay virgins these days, but you—"
"Mother, please don't say things like that!" Yuliana's pale olive tones flushed red. Vampire didn't care about virginity or sexual prudence, but her mother never accepted that. "The king doesn't want me in his harem."
She caught a glance of herself in one of the highly polished mirrors that were spread around the opulent receiving room that they were in. Despite the fact that she was born from two vampire parents, her skin had never had the ghostly pallor that was prevalent among the nobility. Yuliana suspected it was because her mother was human-born. She had only turned into a vampire after she met Yuliana's father. Yet another reason why the family was on the lower end of society. Human-born vampires were always seen as second-class citizens, the vampires that turned them a step above criminals.
Yuliana's figure, too, was undesirable of vampires. Given their low position, Yuliana and her parents couldn't afford to purchase enough blood to fully sustain themselves and had to supplement with raw meats and iron-rich vegetables. The result was that instead of the slim, almost gaunt silhouette that the elites espoused, Yuliana was full-figured. Round cheeks, round thighs, round stomach. She was even bigger than most of the human women she knew.
It wasn't as though she wasn't pretty. Her eyes and mouth were both well-shaped, her hair thick and shiny, her proportions reminiscent of a thicker Marilyn Monroe. She just wasn't beautiful, and the king only took beautiful women for his harem.
One such beautiful woman, dressed in a gorgeous emerald-green gown that clung to her thin frame, stepped into the receiving room. A tattoo of a crown gleamed from
her bared, creamy shoulder. "King Harold will see you now."
The slow pace of Yuliana's heartbeat jumped. She smoothed the green robe as she and her parents fell in step behind the woman. What would King Harold say? What did he want? The letter she had received summoning her had been addressed with her name, and the invitation to bring her parents only came at the end. But what had she done to get this attention? Until the letter, she hadn't even thought that the king would know she existed!
Her breath caught in her chest when she finally saw the king himself. He was in a large room, empty save for a piano in the window and a few couches, loveseats and chairs scattered throughout the space. The king sat at the piano, playing a delicate tune. His face was turned towards the window, but just his profile was enough for Yuliana's throat to go dry.
Skin pale as death, sharp cheekbones, deep, dark eyes. The black suit he wore made him radiate all the more power. Yuliana could hardly make herself move but somehow managed to sink low to the floor in a curtsy as she was meant to.
"Ah, Yuliana." The king's voice was rich and deep as it washed over her. "Welcome."
She ducked her head, blushing. Was she supposed to reply? "It is a great honor."
"The greatest honor is yet to be bestowed. You may rise."
Her heart slammed against her chest as she straightened. Was her mother right?
"You, of course, know of the war that the Shifters have been waging against us."
Yuliana shivered and nodded. Everybody knew about the Shifters. They were a violent, unreasonable people that lived in the dense forests that surrounded the civilized areas controlled by the vampires. Every year they made dozens of raids, killing vampires and stealing food and supplies from wherever they got it.
"What if I told you that you could be our means of ending this conflict?"
"Me?" Yuliana's eyes widened. "But what could I do?"
"The Alpha of our greatest foes is seeking a mate. He's even put ads in human newspapers for women to contact him. I have contacted him to offer a female vampire as his mate, and you are she."
Ice flooded her veins. She had been called here to become the mate of a Shifter? And not just any Shifter, but an Alpha? Out of everything she had considered, this seemed impossible. Even more impossible than being chosen as part of the king's harem. Her stomach churned. King Harold was asking her to leave her family and home to… mate a Shifter?
"M-my king," her father stuttered, clutching Yuliana's hand. "Surely the beast would kill her!"
"Nonsense." The king waved his hand airily. "Shifters are different from us in many ways, but they don't kill their mates. When he accepts you as his mate, dear Yuliana, he is dedicating his life to you. He will give you everything you desire and lay down his life for you. You can't find that among humans, and given your station it's unlikely, that you'll find a vampire mate."
Yuliana flinched at the reminder. Her mother's previous words brushed across her mind. Not many girls stay virgins these days.
Well, it wasn't by choice on her part. She was just over a hundred years old, a young woman who had reached the age where she could take a mate some time ago. But nobody wanted her. Whether because of her appearance, her lowly station, or her crippling shyness, she hadn't had a single suitor.
Skipping dating and the heartbreak and rejection that came with it and just having a mate was an attractive proposition. But a Shifter? What if he took her away, and just gobbled her up like the Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood? The news was full of Shifters stealing away young women to be their mates. Could this Alpha really be capable of dedicating his life to her when his people seemed to not care about whether their mates chose them or not?
"You would be doing a great service for your people," the king urged.
Yuliana swallowed hard. Her people. Yes, they had to come before her own comforts, even if it was terrifying. "I will be his mate."
***
She packed only a backpack with clothing in it. Yuliana hugged her mother tightly, determined that she wasn't going to cry. Her eyes were already red, scratchy and puffy from the previous night. If she kept going on like that, she was going to have to drink a gallon of blood just to replace lost energy.
And where she was going, she didn't know if she was going to have regular access to blood.
"Call us as often as you can," her father said, gripping her shoulder. "I wish I could stop you from doing this… but you're a grown woman, and I'm proud of you. Just take care of yourself."
Yuliana's lip trembled and she threw herself into her father's arms. Her shoulders shook despite her vow to remain strong.
There was a knock on the door. Her mother wiped her cheeks as she moved towards it. Yuliana's heart seized when she saw the man waiting for her. He was big. No, more than big. He was enormous. His shoulders were so broad that he had to turn sideways to enter the house, and even now as he looked in at them, he had to duck. The man was a monster!
And yet…
Yuliana's mouth watered when she caught his scent. Deep and manly, smelling of fresh-tilled earth, chopped wood and summer rain. And his eyes, sharp blue in a weather-browned face, were the most striking she had ever seen. Even as she drew back from him, there was something stirring inside of her core that demanded… something. To be in his arms with her legs around his hips. She shivered, unable to process this confusing mix of terror and desire.
"Yuliana?" He addressed her and she nodded silently. "I am Leon Pierce. You're the girl who wants to be my mate?"
"Yes."
Leon gestured for her. "Then come along. We have a long trip to get to camp."
She hugged her parents one last time before she slipped out of the house to join her new mate. He was even bigger up close, his bare chest gleaming, muscles straining against his skin. He wore shorts made of some sort of stretchy spandex material that left little to the imagination.
"Is this all you have?" he asked, poking her backpack.
"Yes. I know Shifters are nomadic, so I thought it was best to travel light."
Leon nodded with a grunt. "I have procured some blood bags for your use once we reach camp, but after they are empty, you will need to drink directly from me."
Yuliana stifled a gasp. She had never drunk fresh from the vein before and certainly hadn't expected this monster-sized Wolf to offer her his blood… could Shifters even feed vampires? Or would it end up giving her food poisoning?
"We usually have a semi-permanent camp we stay at for most of the year, but as you and I are new mates, we are going to head to a cave up in the mountains where we will solidify our bonds and physically be bound for the first time," Leon continued. "I hope you enjoy the outdoors. Climb on."
Before Yuliana could ask what he meant, he shifted. She jumped back as his form transitioned smoothly into that of a giant Wolf. He stood as tall as she was at the shoulder, his fur a smoky gray that glittered in the sun. Yuliana had to resist the urge to dig her fingers into it.
Well, now she knew what the shorts were for. They stretched, covering Wolf's loins, though his tail looked uncomfortably lumped in there. Leon crouched, his belly scraping the ground. Yuliana climbed onto his back, greedily breathing in his heady scent.
She turned once to wave back at her parents, but otherwise kept her grip on her new mate and faced the future.
Chapter Two – Leon
The Alpha Wolf chewed on a piece of jerky, smiling with amusement as he watched his mate-to-be struggling with the heavy canvas he had given her for a shelter. He normally didn't use any sort of cover, sleeping beneath a tree if it started to rain, or just pulling his blankets over his head. Yuliana wasn't used to such rough arrangements, though. For the first two nights, she had slept stiffly next to him only for him to wake in the morning with her soft, warm body tucked snugly against him while she shivered.
The feel of her next to him awoke all sorts of things in his body, and if he didn't start letting her have a place of her own to sleep, then he wasn't going to make it to t
he caves before he took her. And he was the Alpha, he was meant to have more restraint than that. So he had gotten the canvas. Clearly, creating her own shelter wasn't something she was used to dealing with.
When the pole she was trying to prop it up with toppled over onto her head for the third time, Leon stifled a laugh and jogged over to help her. Her olive tones flushed darker when she caught sight of him, the heavy canvas slipping from her hands.
He had expected the vampire king to give him one of the skinny, useless women vampires seemed most drawn to. He certainly hadn't expected a beauty like Yuliana, with her bounteous curves and clear eyes and sinfully-shaped mouth.
"The pole is to weight the front over a low-hanging branch," he explained to the vampire. "Like this."
He put the pole through the loops on one side, then swung it over a branch. Holding the canvas tight, he put a few rocks on the other edge to keep it down. He stepped back and gestured at the lean-to. Yuliana avoided his eye as she nodded.
"Thank you."
"Are you tired?" he asked. "If you aren't, then I would like to speak with you about a few things."
Yuliana retrieved her bedroll from the hiking pack Leon had replaced her old sack with and spread it out. "I'm not very tired."
"Good."
They settled down under the canvas lean-to. The dimness of twilight was on them, basking both their faces in a purple glow. As a Shifter, Leon could see as well in the dark as during the day. The same was true for vampires, he knew. Twilight, though, was a difficult time. Everything was in shadow, and his eyes didn't take know whether to focus on his human-based vision or his Wolf vision.
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