by Eve Langlais
“Yeah, douchebags.”
“Ah, my wife, the resident poet of Oak Tree Ridge.” Cornell rocked their bodies back and forth gently, kissing her neck in the process. “He attempted to cite me for building a home with grounds that resembled a cemetery.”
“What did you say?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.
Cornell flashed fangs. “I told him that for each citation I received, I would take a pint of his blood as payment for my time reading his nonsense.”
She laughed. “And it worked?”
“He has yet to walk on my property again,” said Cornell, turning her to face him.
“Speaking of your property,” she said with a smile. “I think your gargoyles out front would look kick–ass with wreaths around their necks.”
He laughed. “Well, they are your gargoyles now, so do with them as you wish.”
She paused, her mind wrapping around the fact they were now a single unit. “I’m guessing we’re going to live here and not over at my place.”
“I will live wherever you want to live,” he said, his lips on her neck again. “My home is wherever you are, Dani.”
“Can I hang out here and think it over before I decide?” she asked.
He nibbled lightly on her neck. “I vote we make love in each room of both homes to help us better decide.”
She smiled, liking that idea greatly. She glanced up at him. “I love that idea. And I love you.”
He winked. “I love you too.”
She hugged him. “Thank you for putting the happy back in my holidays.”
He kissed her cheek. “That reminds me. I will be right back.”
She caught his wrist. “Where are you going?”
“Hunting for the holidays,” he said, his voice lowering. “I plan to find the few who managed to elude us last night and teach them what happens when one harms my mate.”
Dani grinned. “As much as I love you, I don’t really need any more dead bad guys wrapped in bows. Right now, I just need you.”
He lifted her and she knew he was going to take her back to bed. Where she wanted to be. “That can be arranged.”
She smiled.
He tipped his head as if listening to something far off. “It would appear Mimi is making Finn drink hot cocoa. He’s cursing the Fae under his breath. Ah, she’s threatening to beat him over the head with a candy cane.”
“Yep. Sounds like our friends.”
THE END
About the Author
Mandy M. Roth is a self–proclaimed Goonie, loves 80s music and movies and wishes leg warmers would come back into fashion. She also thinks the movie The Breakfast Club should be mandatory viewing for… okay, everyone. When she’s not dancing around her office to the sounds of the 80s, she’s busy writing sexy paranormal operatives.
To learn more about Mandy, please visit http://www.mandyroth.com
Hunted Holiday: A Vampire Romance © Copyright 2014, Mandy M. Roth
First Electronic Printing November 2014, Mandy M. Roth
Cover art by Andrea Depasture, © Copyright 2014
Content and Copy Edits by: Suz Gower
Copy Edit by: Jinxie
Final Line Edit Round One by: Dianne B.
Final Line Edit Round Two by: Lesley Parkin
Final Proofing by: Christa Soulé
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
All books are copyrighted to the author and may not be resold or given away without written permission from the author, Mandy M. Roth.
This novella is a work of fiction and intended for mature audiences only. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence. Book contains frank language, violence, and open door sex scenes. It is not for the faint of heart.
Lost in Winter
Viola Rivard
Lost in the snow–locked mountains with her niece, a young woman finds hope in a handsome, enigmatic bear shifter.
Chapter One
December, 2004
“Aunt Cait, are we going to die of hypothermia?”
Caitlin lifted her head from the steering wheel to look over at her niece. Sophia sat in the passenger seat, her safety belt still secured and her small hands folded neatly in her lap. Her breath hung in the air, expelled from lips that were turning blue. Caitlin reached over and squeezed her hands.
“How do you know what hypothermia is?”
“I read it on the internet.”
Caitlin gave her a reproachful look. “What did I tell you about the internet? It’s just scammers and pedophiles.”
“Aunt Cait?”
“Hm?”
“What are pedophiles?”
Sometimes, Caitlin forgot that Sophia was only seven.
Muttering, “Never mind,” Caitlin turned to look out the windshield again. The falling snow had obscured most of her view–not that it mattered. There was nothing ahead but a winding, dirt road and a lot of trees.
With minimal optimism, she attempted to start the car. When she turned the key, the old sedan made a sputtering noise. Just like the times before, the starter failed to turn over. But unlike the times before, when the sputtering stopped, all of the car lights went out.
Cursing, Cait tried to start the car again, but to no avail. It was completely, and utterly, dead.
“You shouldn’t say that word,” Sophia said as she rubbed her hands together. She seemed inordinately calm and Caitlin chalked it up to the ignorance of youth.
“Sorry.”
Grabbing her purse, Cait shoved her hand inside. With the car submerged in darkness, she had to blindly sift through its contents until she found what she was looking for. Pulling out the cool, metal device, she flipped it open.
Artificial light illuminated the sedan, emanating from her cellphone. She scanned the screen.
Dec 23. 12:11am. 78% battery. One bar of signal.
Caitlin blinked in surprise. She couldn’t believe she had signal, as far out in the mountains as they were. Half the time, she couldn’t even get signal in her apartment. It had to be some sort of sign. Her thumb moved to the “Contacts” button.
“Don’t.”
Caitlin glanced over to see Sophia shaking her head.
Her throat constricted, but she managed to say, “I think this is the end of the line, kiddo.”
Short of a miracle, there was no way the car was going to start and there was no way anyone would find them out here. Caitlin had specifically chosen the back road because it was so obscure and out of the way. In hindsight, it was a terrible idea to drive through the mountains on an old back road in the middle of a winter night. But really, nothing she’d done tonight was logical.
Caitlin said, “If I don’t call someone to get us, we may actually die of hypothermia.”
“It’s okay,” Sophia said quietly. “I’m not afraid to die.”
Stunned into silence, Caitlin set her phone on the dashboard and sank back into her seat. For the first time that night, her mind went perfectly blank.
She stayed that way until the backlight of her phone timed out and the darkness returned. Closing her eyes, she reached over and took Sophia’s chilled hands into her own. Caitlin’s hands were just as cold, but she squeezed them regardless.
“Aunt Cait.”
“Hm?”
“There’s a fire.”
Caitlin’s eyes sprung open and darted around the car frantically. She didn’t see any fire, but a faint light from outside Sophia’s window caught her eyes. Far off in the distance, beyond rows and rows of trees, she saw it. A flickering light that could only be some sort of campfire.
Sophia asked, “Do you think there are people down there?”
Caitlin chewed her bottom lip. “Maybe.”
She considered the light in the distance. What sort of person would be out in the wilderness, especially after dark? The mountains were riddled with dangerous anim
als and even more dangerous shifters–animals that could take the form of human beings.
It had to be some sort of hunter, she deduced. Maybe a hermit or a recluse. Maybe a hermit or recluse that knew a thing or two about cars and could fix up the sedan. Or, maybe a hermit or a recluse that likes to kill women and wear their skin as clothing.
As Caitlin mentally ran through the multitude of possibilities, Sophia unbuckled her seatbelt.
A blast of cold air swept through the sedan as Sophia opened the door. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Wait!” Caitlin yelled. She grabbed her cellphone, crammed it into her purse, and then fumbled with her seatbelt.
As soon as she was free, Caitlin shoved open her door and climbed out. The snow crunched under her feet as she dashed after Sophia, who was already working her way down the hill.
“Be careful,” Caitlin said, grabbing her niece by the hand. “You’ll slip and break your neck.”
“Let’s go,” Sophia said again, tugging at Caitlin’s hand.
Caitlin adjusted her bag on her shoulder before allowing Sophia to pull her along.
The road had been carved into the mountainside and everything to the right of the road sloped downward into a valley of wooded hills. Caitlin held tightly to Sophia’s hand as they descended down into the forest.
Several times during the trek, Caitlin was sure that she’d lost sight of the light, but every time she was about to give up and turn back, she saw it through the trees, brighter than the time before.
Scaling the final hill seemed to take an eternity and Caitlin was panting by the time she reached the top. Stopping to put her hands on her knees, she tried catching her breath. When Sophia didn’t stop with her, Caitlin was forced to stagger after her.
Up ahead, the trees gave way to a pathway of unblemished snow. At the end of the path was the wide mouth of a cave, and in the cave was the fire.
Reaching the fire first, Sophia put her hands out to warm them. Caitlin inspected the area. There were several footprints leading out of the cave, but the falling snow masked which direction they went in. The footprints were those of a large man and some sort of animal.
As Caitlin leaned down to get a better look at the animal prints, Sophia said, “Look. A bear.”
Caitlin froze for a fraction of a second, then her head snapped up. She expected to see a giant animal, but instead, was met with the sight of a small, brown creature curled up on a pile of furs. At the sound of Sophia’s voice, it lifted and cocked its head, regarding them with calm curiosity.
Caitlin gripped Sophia’s shoulder. “Oh, my God, it’s a mini bear.”
Sophia gave her a flat look. “It’s a baby bear.”
“Ah, right. Well, we should go. The momma bear could be around here somewhere.”
She tried to back up, but Sophia held her ground.
“Someone must have built the fire,” Sophia said. “Maybe he belongs to them.”
“Ah, right. Okay.”
Caitlin looked around, still feeling anxious. Something about this didn’t feel right. What sort of person would go into the forest with a baby bear?
“He’s so cute,” Sophia remarked, trying to approach the bear.
Caitlin tightened her grip on her niece’s shoulder. “Not another step, kiddo. Let’s go back to the car.”
“But it’s warm here,” Sophia said, digging her feet in.
“We’ll only have to wait for a little bit. I’m going to call someone to pick us up.”
Sophia’s eyes widened in alarm. “No.”
“I don’t have any choice,” Caitlin said, crouching down to Sophia’s level.
Her blue eyes narrowed. “Yes, you do. Why do grown–ups always say that? You’re the only ones who have a choice in anything, ever.”
Caitlin frowned and brushed some of the snow from Sophia’s golden curls. She wasn’t sure how to explain to her niece that she’d never felt so powerless in her life or that she would give just about anything to never have to turn back to Carter County again.
As she stared at Sophia, trying to find the words that would make things better, Caitlin heard a strange noise, followed by warm air on her ear. She looked over to see the baby bear, sniffing her.
Her first inclination was to scream, but the second she laid eyes on it, she was taken aback by how incredibly cute and harmless it appeared.
The cub had appeared to be a black bear, but up close, the firelight illuminated the brown hue of its fuzzy coat. Its dark eyes were full of curiosity as its gaze flitted between Caitlin and Sophia.
Under the cub’s spell, Caitlin didn’t have the good sense to scold Sophia as she reached out to stroke its muzzle.
“He’s so soft,” Sophia cooed.
The cub licked her hand, eliciting laughter from Sophia. How long had it been since Caitlin had heard her niece laugh?
Weeks?
Months?
If they went back to Carter County, how long would it be until she laughed like that again?
Caitlin opened her cellphone.
Dec 23. 12:39am. 76% battery. One bar of signal.
She looked back at Sophia, who was now receiving a face cleaning from the cub. Caitlin tensed, prepared to pull Sophia back if the cub tried anything funny, but it seemed to want nothing more than to lavish the little girl with affection. Giving in to her own inner–child, Caitlin reached out and scratched behind its ear.
It was soft.
“What are you doing out here all by yourself, cutie?”
“He is not by himself.”
A deep, menacing voice had Caitlin scrambling to her feet so quickly that she became dizzy. She whipped around to see a man standing a few feet away, her vertigo making his form shift in and out of focus.
The first thing she noticed about him was how huge he was. He was incredibly tall and his massive frame was accentuated by the thick furs he wore over his shoulders. His hard face was contorted with anger, anger that seemed entirely directed at Caitlin.
“I’m–I’m sorry,” Caitlin stammered, snatching Sophia’s hand. “We didn’t mean to disturb you. Our car broke down and…”
Caitlin trailed off, noticing the man’s hands for the first time. They were large, strong hands. Hands that were covered in blood.
Her mouth became dry as she began to back away from the man. When he took a step forward, she tightened her grip on Sophia and quickened her pace.
“Please–ahh!”
One second she was backing away from the ominous stranger, and the next, Caitlin felt the sickening sensation of falling. She heard Sophia scream as pain lanced her skull. Then, there was nothing but darkness.
Chapter Two
Caitlin woke slowly. Warmth and comfort tried to drag her back down into unconsciousness, but a feeling of unease had her rising up on her elbows before her eyes were even open.
She had to blink several times before her surroundings would come into focus. Even then, what she saw made no sense. She was lying in a cave, beside a fire, and in between two heavy furs.
Caitlin searched her mind, thinking back to her last memory. She’d been in her home, waiting for her sister to bring Sophia over for the night. When Heather had finally arrived, two hours behind schedule, her eyes had been rimmed with tears. Heather had left Sophia on the porch before walking away, her hands in her pockets.
Everything that had happened next came flooding back to Caitlin in a wave of malcontent. The final straw, her attempted escape from Carter County, the car breaking down, the bear, the man… the man.
As if her thoughts had caused him to spring back into reality, her gaze settled on him. A few feet from the fire, he sat on a large, flat rock. His dark, piercing eyes watched her, but all of the malice from earlier appeared to be gone.
He almost seemed intrigued by her.
“Where’s Sophia?” Caitlin asked, finding that her voice was thick and scratchy.
The man nodded towards the left. Caitlin followed the direction of the gesture, spying
her niece’s curly blonde hair. Caitlin got up, ignoring the sting of the cold air, and went over to check on her.
Sophia was fast asleep on her own pallet of furs and was cuddled up with the bear cub. Relief washed over her as Caitlin reached out to stroke Sophia’s rosy cheek.
“You should let her rest.”
Caitlin turned to look at the man, who was still regarding her with interest. His regard was unsettling, but not in the way she’d expected. For the first time, Caitlin noticed how handsome the stranger was.
He had a strong, Roman nose and striking eyes that appeared to be some shade of green. His short, scruffy beard covered a well–hewn jaw and framed sensuous lips. Beneath his strong chin was a corded neck that led down to his collarbone. A small triangle of flesh was exposed on his chest and Caitlin would bet there would be no shortage of muscle beneath those furs.
His lips twitched, drawing her attention back to his eyes.
“You should lay back down,” he said. “You hit your head very hard when you fell.”
Rubbing the back of her head, Caitlin glanced at the furs she’d come from and then back at the man.
“You put me under the furs?”
“You would have frozen to death, had I not.”
He had such a smooth and–dare she say–sexy voice.
“Thank you. I guess I sort of made an ass of myself, didn’t I?”
He didn’t answer, but she thought she saw his lips twitch again.
She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “So, what are you doing out here in the middle of the mountains? Did you find that bear cub out here?”
“He’s mine.”
“Like, a pet?”
“He’s my son.”
Now, it was Caitlin who fell silent.
A shifter. He’s a shifter.
It made a whole lot of sense, actually. A giant man in the wilderness, wearing furs. Of course he would be a shifter. But Caitlin hadn’t expected a shifter to look quite so human, or so handsome.
She’d never met a shifter–at least, not that she knew of. They lived in the mountains and rarely made contact with humans. Not much was known about them, except that they were primitive and highly territorial.