by Nana Malone
Memories of William’s warm blue eyes and handsome blond looks faded, and guilt made her flinch and narrow her eyes, her shoulders and arms tense. The sensation hit her like tiny sharp fingernails grating on wood.
“Rafe…” she gasped. His name fell from the tip of her tongue, riding on wisps of a soft breeze. Alarm filled her, so real and tangible.
The fog surrounded him, flirted with him, but dared not touch him, as though it, too, were afraid of this man. But he was too beautiful to be a mere man.
He hooked her gaze with his own, and she drowned in hints of hazel, flecks of gold, and depths of the richest whiskey. She swallowed hard when feelings of lust birthed in her belly. She didn’t want this. No.
“I’m pleased to see you, Séraphine,” he said, using her full name.
The voice, that decadent voice, damn near killed her.
And then he was upon her, so close, touching her. She was naked in his arms, turning to putty, oblivious to the cold, her body now incandescent and pliable—his utter prisoner. Her shocking desires became a reality.
His eyes didn’t leave hers as he awakened each of her senses, one by delicious one, and told her with that act just how easily he could own her.
He bent down and claimed her lips in a kiss—a kiss like no other she’d had, not even with William.
He snaked his tongue into her mouth, exploring every nook inside, awakening every nerve ending within her. It warred with hers, because she couldn’t help abandoning herself to this erotic feeling. Only then did she close her eyes, denying herself the sight of him. Her body tingled with anticipation. She lulled her head back, exposing her neck to his touch, ready for him…
Then, as if floating outside herself, she noticed the puncture marks, the trail of blood falling down her porcelain skin.
She opened her eyes wide, once more inside her body. Arousal tinged with fear overwhelmed her.
He smiled, a half-smile, a wicked smile.
“I’m coming for you, Séraphine,” he said in that voice that was richer than velvet…
Then his expression changed—like landscape morphing from picturesque to feral and craggy. He reminded her of the doomed Heathcliff succumbing to madness and rage in the midst of the Yorkshire Moors. Dark shadows settled in his eyes, no kindness or desire discernible in their depths.
“Because your place is with me,” he finished, his talon-like fingers curling around her arms in a painful vise.
Those fingers dug in her flesh as he backed away and pulled her with him.
“It is time, dearest. Sei mia. I claim you now.”
Behind him, fires suddenly towered as high as in the farthest pits of Hell, all around. Beyond it lay a wall, covered in red paint, gooey, thick, oozing from the top.
No, not paint.
Blood. Death. And ugly creatures, beastlike, surveying them from above. Waiting for her. Vampyres, too? Something more, perhaps—pure evil.
And Rafe kept backing to that scene of terror, certainly aware of what she was seeing. Knowing where he was taking her.
Her feet dragged as she resisted, but he was too strong. Soon, she was engulfed in the flames….
~ Inescapable ~
Romance/Urban Fantasy
Available now at most eBook retailers
“You won’t regret reading this series; you’ll regret missing it!”—Rebecca Royce, bestselling author of The Westervelt Wolves series.
“OMG … beautifully wrapped and weaved into a believable world…”
“I have no problem giving it 5 full stars. The writing is great, the story is great, the characters are believable.”
Also by Natalie G. Owens - A Special Offer:
An Eternity of Roses
Also available at Amazon.com for $3.99
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About Natalie G. Owens
Pink velvet and black lace. Light and darkness. A world of contrasts exists in Natalie’s stories because every rose has its thorn. Her favorite stories to write are romances with a dark edge featuring brooding heroes, strong heroines, and a good dash of fantasy.
Married, with one son, she now calls the beautiful island of Malta home after eleven good years in Atlanta, GA. When she’s not working or writing—or muttering to herself about it like a batty old maid—she enjoys spending time with family and friends (both online and offline), reading, cooking, watching a good movie, taking trips, and ogling shoe store displays.
Find out more about Natalie and her work at http://www.nataliegowens.com.
Other links:
Website/Blog: www.nataliegowens.com
Facebook profile page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=563297082
Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natalie-G-Owens-Author/24911987111
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/natalie_g_owens
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4527498-natalie-g-owens
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115212743960662992349/posts
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/nataliegowens/
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Other Books by Natalie G. Owens
The Valthreans Series:
An Eternity of Roses
Eternelles Series:
Inescapable
Seraphine - A Prequel
Adrastria - A Prequel
A Kind of Judgment
An Inconvenient Debt (A Faustian Fantasy Tale)
Moonlight Dating Series
Something to Live For (Vol. 1)
Everything to Lose (Vol. 2)
Tales from the Mist
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Candy from the Horror Writer's House
Gregory Carrico
~ King of Rats ~
Hello and Welcome to my humble home. I apologize for the lack of decorations this year, but aren’t the things that scare us most already in our heads?
Please help yourself to the goodies in the big yellow bowl. As an extra treat, one lucky Trick-or-Treater may find a small silver key. When the man over in the corner looks away, please use it to unlock the shackles on my hands and feet. No, they are not decorative. Once the locks are off, just run. Run very fast.
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King of Rats - Back Cover Description
All that stands between him and a lifetime of food is a Queen, his sister, and a surface world overrun by vampires. Will the King of Alley Rats risk everything for his throne and his pack, or leave it all behind for a pretty mouse in distress?
(Navigation Stars)
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King of Rats
Copyright © June, 2013 Gramico - All Rights Reserved.
Published by Gramico via a temporary license for the purposes of this boxed set via Addictive Reads
eISBN: 9781301764181
Cover by Ravven. www.ravven.com
This short story was originally published by Anessa Books in the Amazon.com Best Selling Anthology Tales from the Mist, available in print and eBook.
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places in this story are the author’s fabrications, or fictions representations.
License Notes:
This eBook is licensed for your personal entertainment only. It may not be re-sold or given away. If you would like to share this book, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for you, please buy a legitimate, licensed copy from an authorized eBook retailer. Thank you for respecting and supporting the hard work of this author.
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Acknowledgments
I’d like to acknowledge and thank my dear friends at the WG2E, for generously sharing their expertise, knowledge and time, but most of all for their friendship.
A special word of thanks to my colleagues and co-authors of the Tales from the Mist anthology: Rhonda Hopkins, Stacey Joy Netzel, Catie Rhodes, Tamara Ward, Meredith Bond, Natalie G. Owens, Cate
Dean, Marty Young, Mitzi Flyte, *lizzie starr, and Scott Nicholson.
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~Part One: The Alley King’s Plan~
As his cockroach spy and only friend, Skit, scurried away down the earthen tunnel, King Giles of the Alley Rats enjoyed a rare moment of contentment. His age had been showing lately. He was indecisive at times, and had even been seen showing mercy. In a king, these were unfortunate signs of weakness, and in his warren, the weak were shunned.
Four of his subjects had vanished. They had either fled or been taken by an enemy. Either way, it was an insult to the pack and an unanswered challenge to the King. Worse, yet, someone had been stealing food from the pack’s hoard, forcing the smaller rats to go hungry. This meant Giles was no longer feared, at least by some of his subjects. For a king, these were unforgivable signs of incompetence, and in his warren, the incompetent were killed.
Giles had even been seen backing down from his mate, Alice, as she publicly berated him for showing weakness. The irony of it was delicious. He let her live because their newest litter of kittens was still nursing, but to be honest, he was running low on patience with them, too. He suspected they weren’t really his, anyway. But that issue needed to ripen a bit. He’d let her grow more attached to her offspring before doing anything drastic.
It had taken longer than he hoped, but his performance had finally paid off. Skit had identified several rats in his pack with very high aspirations, but insufficient subtlety to keep their plots against him secret. They, along with their mates and recent offspring, just to be safe, had been brutally and publicly tortured, murdered, and butchered for his larder. That should firmly reestablish him as a rat worthy of respect, and a king to be feared.
Skit’s recent news raised his spirits even more. Their plot to ambush and kill his final and most dangerous rival was ready to hatch. His ever-reliable companion had even found a stash of dried food bigger than they used to have on the farm! In a single outing they could eliminate the greatest threat to his power, and return with enough food to feed even the runts for most of their lives. He would be more than a king. He, Giles, would be a hero
Everything was in place. They’d have to leave before sunset, when they would visible to humans and all sorts of other monsters. He hated going to the surface, especially while the sun spilled its horrid light over everything. It was almost enough to make him reconsider.
He wondered if he could go back to being a country rat; living in a comfortable hole on a farm, near a stream where he could swim, fields with endless supplies of food, and a pretty little mate to dote on him.
Bah! I’d go crazy of boredom in a day!
Feeling almost young again, he returned to the main nesting chamber for some rest before his outing.
#
In his dream, Giles was trapped in the butcher’s trashcan, and he couldn’t escape. The corpulent human regularly dumped fresh, delicious meat scraps right on top of him, however, so it was actually quite nice. When a barely perceptible breeze tickled his whiskers, and alerted him that someone was coming into the chamber, he awoke in a rather grumpy mood.
Seeing his mate Alice’s, dirty, whiskered snout poke up from her tunnel didn’t cheer him, either. She sniffed a few times and climbed up beside him, her hot breath whistling through her partially clogged nostrils.
“Where’s Jimmy?” she snarled, apparently unconcerned for the other rats sleeping nearby in warm beds of grass and leaves. She shook her body from snout to tail, showering the room with dust and bits of fresh dirt, and then bit into the remains of an unfortunate earthworm.
Giles’ goals for the evening didn’t include fighting with his mate. She was so much fun to tease, however, that he couldn’t resist goading her a little bit. He’d remind her of her place later, when they’d have a larger crowd. If she still chose to disrespect him, he knew a great spot to leave her bones.
“Jimmy’s been gone for days,” he said in his usual plodding manner. “I assumed you had him down in your tunnels. No? Then, I’m sure we’ll find bits of him in a mound of that new terrier’s droppings. It’s the same to me either way, but how is it any business of yours? You’re not sweet on him, are you?”
“In my … ? Sweet … ? You miserable …” Alice’s fur bristled and she involuntarily squeaked in anger.
Giles rolled to his feet, his tail flicking with pleasure at her reaction. He had only been taunting her, fishing for a reaction, but he seemed to have hit a nerve.
Alice and Jimmy, eh?
“You know I’ll rip him to pieces, don’t you? Yes, of course you do.” He paced as he spoke, watching her reaction. “Then, again, if that thieving plague-rat wants you, maybe I should give you to him. No, not give. I heard he found a fresh human grave beneath those tunnels you’ve been digging. I’d give ten of you for just a bite of a fresh human. Do you think it still has its heart? That’s the best bit.”
“Alice ain’t sweet on no one, least of all Jimmy. He likes to dig more than’s proper for a buck. Digging’s doe’s work.”
The way she always said her own name when talking about herself grated on his nerves. “Why are you so worried about poor, missing Jimmy, kitten? Is he not sharing his find with you after everything you’ve been through together?” This was too easy. Her ears flattened against her head, and her back was arched, practically in a fighting posture. The other rats looked up their nests to watch.
She took another vicious bite of her earthworm, and then pointed the oozing stub at Giles like a weapon. “Does Alice look worried to you?” she asked in her annoying nasal growl. “It’s Jimmy needs to be worried. If he shows his pointy face again, you tell him we ain’t forgot. You tell him Alice’ll get her due, or he’ll get his!” She ended with a strong, loud voice, looking around to make sure everyone heard.
Giles grabbed the leaky end of Alice’s worm and pulled it tight. “You growl at your king like a sunburned badger, little kitten. Shall we find out if you bite like one, too?”
Alice’s fur bristled, and she gnashed her teeth a whisker’s width from his nose. “Alice ain’t no bald little kitten, love, and even if you is still King, you ain’t half the rat you once was. Now, let go of Alice’s snack, or you’ll wish she was just a badger.” Her back definitely arched this time. Her hair bristled, and dirty spittle sprayed through her bared teeth.
Another rat looked down from a ledge above Alice’s tunnel, and clicked her tongue. “Aw, look, Terry. They’re so sweet together, aren’t they?” she asked, nudging the rat beside her. “They still care enough to fight. Your lover’s spats are always fun, Giles, but all of this squeaking and hissing is making my tail twitch, and the Queen’s voice is annoying my fleas.”
Terry stopped scratching his ear long enough to point at her and laugh. “Heh. Hilary has fleas.”
She swiped at him, nicking his ear with her claw. “Pike it, Terry. We all have fleas.”
“Some King!” Alice said. “Your brother and sister don’t even show you respect. You’ve been the top rat a long time, love. We all knows you’ve gone weak. Kingin’ is hard work. Maybe you need a breather.”
“Enough of this!” Hilary said, jumping down from the ledge to her brother’s side. “Are you going to put this little wet nurse in her place?” She glanced around at the watching faces with a knowing, sympathetic smile.
“Mind your own whiskers, Hilary,” Giles said. He lunged sideways at Alice. Still gripping her worm in one claw, he jumped halfway onto her back and bit the nape of her neck.
“Don’t …” she sniveled, “Don’t be cross with your Alice, love. She was only showing off her king’s strength and speed. It was all for you. All for you.” She let go of the worm, and screeched even higher as she continued to grovel and flatter him.
“Of course it was, kitten. Go tend your young.” He shoved her back towards her tunnel and glared at the expectant faces of the watching rats until they returned to their nests.
With a chitinous flapping sound, Skit landed on Giles’ back
and whispered to him. Giles nodded, smiled, and let the roach nibble Alice’s end of the worm.
Terry hopped down from the ledge and started talking at the same time as Hilary.
“That could have gone better, Giles,” Hilary said, as Terry cuffed his shoulder, saying “Good job.”
“Gah! What did you expect me to do, Hilary? Kill her? She’s still nursing my kits,” Giles said. “Her time will come.”
“Expect? Only what every sister expects of her brother; what every rat expects of her King. I expect you to be strong and to lead your pack with hard claws, sharp teeth, and a heart of stone!”
He knew exactly what she wanted, and there was nothing sisterly about it. She was twice as ambitious as Alice’s, and ten times more dangerous. Alice was just a stupid, crude bully, and was easily controlled. Hilary, however, was too smart for her own good. A master politician, she was respected and feared by the pack. She was orchestrating his demise in some elaborate plot that would never lead back to her. After whatever unfortunate accident she had in store for him, she would step up as the pack’s reluctant, but capable new leader. She would make a fearsome queen.
He looked around the dark chamber at the rolled up lumps of fur and scaly, twitching tails. How many of the rats in this room had already sided with her? How many other conspiracies were twisting through their greedy little minds. He was surrounded by his pack. His family. His enemies! Any one of them would finish him off at his next sign of weakness.