Viktor (Happy Evil After Book 1)

by Sarah Marsh

  In the paranormal community, Halle’s family was known for two things: her father was the alpha of the largest leopard pard on the west coast, and that the Briggs line was one of a few magical families that seemed to be able to procreate across species borders outside of a true mating.

  This meant that Halle, being the only daughter of a very powerful man, with the eggs to match no less, was a pretty hot commodity. Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t because of who she was as a person. It was all about the uterus. Growing up she’d never even been allowed to date anyone who wasn’t preapproved by her parents, which left a pretty big gap in her social life experience. Between her father and her brother scaring the ever-living shit out of any boy who looked at her with interest, she was now about to be carted off to a strange vampire as a virgin bride.

  She’d only seen the Coven Master Conrad Dair that once, at her parents’ party, and had been instantly creeped out by how intently he’d stared at her, like if he looked hard enough he could actually impregnate her right there in front of everyone. She knew that she would be a means to an end for him. He hadn’t even had a conversation with her and yet he wanted to marry her?

  Yeah, right. Halle might have been inexperienced, but she wasn’t stupid. That leech wanted to turn her into his own little hybrid breeding machine, and she wasn’t going to have any of it.

  “You know we would never accept this if we had any choice, Halle.” Her father’s tormented voice brought tears to her eyes. “But we cannot win in a war with the vampires, and his blood debt must be answered. I’m so sorry, darling. If I could go back, I would have accepted my fate and not taken his help when offered.”

  That statement from her father had both of them tearing up. She didn’t want to marry a stranger, but she couldn’t wish her father had died that night. Halle knew she had to walk into the custody of Conrad’s guards tomorrow of her own free will, for her family and for the rest of their pard. She’d just have to come up with another way to foil her fiancé’s plans that would keep her family off the hook. How hard could that be?

  Chapter Three

  Viktor could tell from the twitchiness of the bartender when his pint was dropped off that someone in this bar had been asking after him. Good. A fight was just what he needed tonight. Well, not that it was ever much of a fight, but he could really use a little venting that was for sure. He’d been so dreadfully bored the last few years.

  He spent a few moments eyeing the rest of the patrons to try to guess who he may get to beat the hell out of later. Was it the smarmy looking incubus over by the ladies’ washroom? He deserved it just for trying to pick up women coming out of the bathroom. The creep factor alone on that move was disgusting.

  Oh, look! There was a table of three bruiser wolf shifters. Now that looked like a fun fight. Shifters were such a plucky bunch, and they certainly could take a hit. Viktor silently hoped it was them.

  He certainly wasn’t expecting the sexy goth chick that normally sat at the bar to saunter on up to his table and help herself to a chair.

  “So, handsome, are you out celebrating your Coven Master’s crowning achievement tonight?” she asked, as she took a sip of her fruity drink, which appeared to have an airplane of pineapple sitting along the rim.

  What kind of a bartender makes an airplane out of pineapple?

  Viktor was just trying to figure out if he could make an airplane out of fruit when her comment suddenly registered in his brain.

  What the hell did she just ask me? He had to hold himself back from snarling at her, as if he would ever kneel to any coven leader. Clearly, this girl was crazy because no one who knew of his reputation with Conrad would ever dare to assume that bastard held any authority over Viktor—and anyone who came to this bar as much as she did would know who he was. Back in the day, he’d taken the heads of hundreds of Paras for even mentioning Conrad’s name in front of him. It was just very lucky for her that he had a little-known policy of not hurting innocent women or children.

  “I assure you, I have no coven leader, and I have no idea what you are talking about,” he growled out. “Now leave me be.”

  “Really? Oh wow, that’s embarrassing. My bad,” she said in a tone that suggested that she was indeed not sorry at all. “Word on the Fairy Godmother pipeline is that Conrad is getting the means to his ‘Happy Ever After’ tomorrow. I just assumed that all the local vamps would be stoked for him.”

  What was this? That lying, sociopathic bastard Conrad was getting a Happy-fucking-Ever After? The same Coven Master of North America who had killed more innocents than the black plague? One who still didn’t hesitate to kill anyone who stood in the way of what he wanted? How was this possible?

  No. There was no way that Viktor would sit back and let this happen. Conrad was the last living member of the coven that had turned him and ruined his life. A monster like that did not deserve happiness… Viktor should know because he was a monster as well.

  He hadn’t always been one, though. Once upon a time, he had been just a normal man like any other. In his mortal life, he’d begun as a farmer, much like his father, but then the Empire came calling and one simply did not say “no” to Rome. Viktor did what he must to keep his family safe, and he soon realized that he was a much better warrior than he’d ever been a farmer. Still, the goal had been as always, to survive his conscripted years and get back to his wife and young son.

  They’d been marching for days, somewhere in northern Europe. Their Captain had ordered them to make camp for the night, and they were all relieved for the break and despite the cold, Viktor had fallen asleep almost immediately. He had woken hours later by the screams of his fellow soldiers all around him. It had sounded like a pack of rabid animals was attacking. The snarls and roars were louder than anything he’d ever heard before, and he’d immediately grabbed his sword and dashed out of the tent, only to find that it wasn’t animals at all that were attacking them, but beings unlike anything he’d ever seen.

  They moved so fast he could barely track them with his eyes, and their teeth and claws were long and sharp. He saw one of his troop ripped almost completely in half by one of these feral creatures, and he did not hesitate to cleave its unholy head from its body. He fought for hours it seemed, until finally, he came across a woman standing amongst the carnage, watching all that death happen with a doting smile as if her children were playing at the oceanside. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and when she met his eyes he lost the will to raise his sword against her.

  That was the first time the she-demon had taken his will from him, but it was far from the last, and he’d wished a thousand times over that he’d never laid eyes on that creature. Melisandre had been enamored of his ferocity and had decided to take him as a pet, even as she condemned every single other soldier to death that night. Viktor had been her blood servant and her sex slave for five tormented years before she finally decided that he was getting old and that she would turn him to keep him with her forever. She wasn’t prepared, however, for the depth of his hatred and rage. As soon as she had turned him, he’d risen from his new birth in a frenzy of carnage and slaughtered the entire coven in retribution. All save for one cowardly, conniving male who’d gotten away. Conrad.

  Viktor had spent his first couple of centuries tracking down other covens in search of the sneaky bastard, slaughtering them all. He had been utterly mad in those first years, so lost in the grief of having his family and his mortality stolen from him. He could never go home again being the monster they had created. With his lust for blood, he would never trust himself around his wife and child. For years he’d hunted tirelessly, for all vampires were the enemy in this new existence he endured. It wasn’t until a couple of decades later and thousands of deaths that he’d recovered enough mentally and emotionally to realize that not all paranormals were evil. Just like humans, there was good with the bad. By that time his actions had reached all across the Para community, so most avoided him if possible, and others actively
hunted him, which only increased his skills and cunning.

  Eventually, he found himself back to almost his mortal temperament, although he still chose to keep to himself mostly. Trust wasn’t something that came easily for him, and he figured he was better safe than sorry. He’d learned over his immortal life that others would try to kill him just to say that they had. Reputations were a double-edged sword that way. The whispered tales of the monster he’d been kept some at bay, but there were always a few who came looking for trouble and he would oblige them. He didn’t even feed off of anyone who wasn’t a killer anymore, but he didn’t dare tell anyone that. After all, reputation was everything, right?

  Viktor had moved to the United States from Europe about eighty years ago when Conrad had finally turned up and been ridiculously appointed as Coven Leader of North America. The previous leader had met a suspiciously untimely death, and apparently, Conrad had been pretending to not be a complete sociopath and playing the role of first lieutenant long enough that there was no longer anyone on the Para Council who remembered what a monster he really was.

  They had no idea about all the crimes against para and human beings alike that he had committed or who they were putting into power. Viktor had spent years trying to find a way to finally kill the bastard. Unfortunately, he’d never found a way to get to Conrad after the asshole had moved into the newly appointed home that came with the job. It would have been a suicide trip into his compound with the sheer numbers of vampires he had turned. But if there was something he could do to make sure that the bastard didn’t get what he wanted, well then, Viktor would do it.

  “Stop,” he said as the crazy girl was about to turn and leave. “Tell me everything that you know about Conrad’s ‘Happy Ever After’.”

  As she sat back down, he could’ve sworn he saw a devious smile cross her lips, but then again, she was obviously a few bricks short of a load to have sat down at his table in the first place.

  Chapter Four

  Halle was exhausted, more so emotionally than physically, although hanging out from her bedroom window was a bit more exercise than she typically enjoyed. She could only shake her head as she thought about the family blowout that had just happened downstairs. Her mother had barged in shortly after her rescue and then proceeded to cry for forty minutes because her “baby was going to get married to some horrible stranger”. So as per usual, things went from being about her to being about how traumatized her mother was. Cripes, how could she have come from the loins of such a drama-queen?

  To add insult to injury, when she opened her bedroom door and turned on the lights, there was a strange goth girl with black and grey wings sitting on her bed staring at her. Halle was so startled she almost screamed.

  “Hello, Halle!” the stranger said, as she motioned her hand towards the door and it swung shut behind her.

  “Who the hell are you, and why are you in my room?” Halle asked as her hackles rose and her claws slid out of her fingertips.

  “Goddess, kitty, no need to get all aggro,” she answered as she bounced a few times on the bed. “I’m your Fairy Godmother of course!”

  The girl is clearly insane was all that went through Halle’s mind as the female’s black eyes stared up at her expectantly. Batshit crazy or not, this being obviously had some strong magic, and Halle knew better than to bring her claws to a fireball fight. So, how do you get a crazy magical woman out of your house without getting turned into a toad or something?

  So she did what all cats do when uncertain about what to do—she froze.

  “Halle,” the woman said with a dramatic sigh, “seriously. We need to figure out a way to get you out of this whole mess. You cannot marry Conrad. He’s a bit of a dick, you know?”

  Those were the magic words for Halle. She didn’t care who this person was now, not if she was going to help her get the hell away from that leech.

  “Right?” Halle said in exasperation as she jumped onto the bed next to her new friend. “I knew he was a dick! But how am I going to get out of this without starting a war, Fairy God … umm, person?”

  “You can call me Dori,” she answered with a wink. “I have the perfect plan that will screw Conrad over, get you your Happy Ending, and launch my new career all in one strategic move!”

  Wait a minute, Halle thought. New career?

  “Hey… do you know what you’re doing? This is not just my life we’re talking about but my family’s, too. Can you pull this off?” she asked narrowing her eyes at the fairy.

  “Of course, I can! I’ve already got your rescuer primed and ready to go,” Dori said with a roll of her eyes. “But we’re going to need snacks while we plan this out.”

  One wave of the odd Fairy Godmother’s hand and there was a spread of junk food settled between them on the bed. All of Halle’s favorites were there.

  “You know, I always thought that Fairy Godmothers were stuffy little old lady fairies, but you’re kind of awesome,” Halle said as she settled in so they could plan her escape.

  “I know, right?” Dori said as she popped open a bag of chips. “So here’s the plan, and you’re going to have to stick to your guns on this one because your fated mate is a stubborn S.O.B. and he will probably try to send you on your way for ‘your own good’. But no matter what, do not let him shake you loose or this entire thing is going to go to shit. I’ve looked at all the angles, and this is your one shot at a happy ending, do you understand me, Halle?”

  Both Halle’s human side and her cat fully understood that this was their shot at a real mating, and they both would do whatever was necessary. She’d get her happy ending and her family and pard would be safe from Conrad’s machinations.

  “So, who is my mate then?” Halle asked excitedly as she helped herself to a big mouthful of peanut butter M&M’s.

  “Viktor Krescech, and bitch, you must have a horseshoe up that lucky ass of yours because he is smoking hot!” Dori answered waggling her eyebrows right before a mouthful of wet M&M’s came spitting at her face. “Dude! That’s just offside!”

  Halle hacked and coughed as she tried to expel the handful of candies that had just been sucked into her windpipe when Dori said that name.

  “Are you fucking crazy? Viktor The Destroyer is my mate?” she wheezed out, tears running down her face. “He’s a psychopath with a reputation worse than Conrad!”

  “Now just calm down, no need to be a spazzy-cat,” Dori said, handing her a bottle of water to clear the candy pieces still rattling around in her throat. “Don’t you trust me? His reputation, while totally justified when he was first turned, is mostly just rumor and propaganda now. He’s not actually a bad guy. He won’t even feed off anyone who isn’t a douchebag anymore. He’s just misunderstood really.”

  Halle was still a bit suspicious, but Dori was her Fairy Godmother after all. I mean, if a girl couldn’t trust her own Fairy Godmother, then what was this world coming to?

  “All right, I’m taking your word on it for now, but he better be really hot,” she finally answered. “Now how do we do this? Conrad’s goons are picking me up tomorrow.”

  Chapter Five

  Viktor calmly waited on top of the office building, at the corner of Mission Street and Hyack Boulevard, just as the crazy woman had told him to. It was ten minutes until noon. She had said that Conrad’s men would stop in the ally precisely at noon, and he was to collect whatever was inside this car if he wanted to foil his nemesis’s only chance at a Happy Ever After.

  He wasn’t quite sure he believed the odd little fairy, but he wasn’t going to risk missing the opportunity either. It certainly wouldn’t cost him anything to sit up here and check it out. The propaganda that vampires would spontaneously combust in the sun was of course just that, propaganda. When the Spanish Inquisition was happening in the 1400s, the Para Council had gotten together and “leaked” all sorts of fabricated species tidbits and weaknesses. The information was intended to help the paranormal beings camouflage better amongst the rest of the m
ortals when the religious fanatics were torturing and killing people at an alarming rate. It couldn’t have worked better, and most of those same mythologies were alive and well to this very day.

  Vampires burned in the daylight? Nah, but Viktor had to admit that his tan was a bit on the sad side. Could vampires only ingest blood? Of course not, but some of the older ones did get tired of eating food when a liquid diet could be so much more convenient on the go. Each species had their own lore, and it had kept most of them from being hunted by the humans, just as it was designed to.

  When he spied the black car pulling into the alleyway he was actually a little surprised. Perhaps that crazy drunk chick was telling him the truth after all. In all the years that Viktor had lived as a vampire, he’d never met a Fairy Godmother.

  So naturally, he assumed that they were just a myth created by the fairies to protect their own species. Some sort of “don’t kill the fairy because you might not get your happy ending” kind of bullshit. He’d met several run of the mill fairies of course, but nothing quite like her. She’d practically vibrated with magic.

  When the front car door opened below him and one of Conrad’s lackeys jumped out, quickly pulling open the back door, he realized that finally, his chance was here to ruin Conrad’s life. He stepped off the ledge and silently dropped to the ground just in time to see a little blonde head come streaking out of the back seat and bend over in front of the dumpster.

  “Gosh, guys, I’m sorry. I really thought I was going to puke. Guess I’m just nervous about the ceremony, huh?” A sweet lilting voice washed over him.

  Viktor had to shake his head to get his attention away from the rather shapely ass that was bent over in front of him. He needed his focus back to the four thugs that poured out of the car once he stepped out of the shadows and away from the wall.