by Liza Street
Marlana frowned at her phone. “They aren’t answering my call.”
“I have to go,” Fraze said. He didn’t know where she was, but he needed to reach her, however he could. “Call if they get in touch,” he said to Marlana. “Please.”
Fraze took off, out the door. He climbed into his car. Headlights shone behind him, but he ignored them. All he could think about was reaching Gracie before the dawn.
Twenty-One
Dawn was approaching. Gracie looked toward the sky. It was still dark, but she could sense the change after a century of practice. The sun would rise, lighting up the tops of the mountains first. Then the rest of the landscape would slowly change.
She hadn’t seen it since she’d been human.
But she wasn’t ready to see it again. Not yet.
She was tied to the dead tree trunk at the side of the clearing where the sun would first hit when it rose.
This was what had happened to Maslin. She imagined he’d been terrified, as terrified as she felt now. Her heart beat fast, and her mouth felt dry.
She pulled against the ropes binding her wrists behind the trunk, but there was no give. The tall, red-haired man continued to pace around her, naked, while the other mountain lion remained in his animal form. Even if she pulled free of the ropes, she had little hope of escaping.
Was it not fair? Nothing was fair. Her court had given her up. She’d been disobedient, and they felt this was her punishment.
But she wanted so much more. More than revenge.
She opened her mouth. “This could go a different way.”
The red-haired man sneered. “Nope, don’t think so.”
“We could stop the fighting.”
“Listen, we’re in deep shit with our alpha. Your death will do wonders for our standing. Got it?”
There was no reasoning with him in that regard—she understood that much.
How many years had she wasted looking for revenge on old Sheriff Rhees? Too many. She could have been enjoying them. So much time she’d spent in Paris, hunting people, looking for her next meal of life-giving blood. So much time spent watching Maslin and Astor and Ana plot and scheme for more power. She’d had almost a century and a half and all that time had been wasted.
If she could change anything, she’d have let go of Clive much earlier. She’d have made herself better for Fraze, so that when she met him, she’d come to him without any worries or heartache.
She leaned her head back against the tree trunk. And she thought of Fraze.
Twenty-Two
As soon as Fraze reached the crumbling old lodge, he jumped out of his car and shifted into his lion. He dashed through the woods, fast as he could go. He was vaguely aware of another car engine approaching, and he heard the door slam. When the wind changed, he realized who it was—Dristan.
Despite their differences, his brother was coming through for him. The trees whipped past him as he sprinted. He wasn’t built for endurance, just quick bursts of speed, but he’d force the distance. However long it took for him to find her, that’s how long he’d be running.
The blood Gracie had given him the night before had strengthened him, too. Her power still coursed through his blood. Senses heightened. Strength amplified.
He listened as he ran. Beyond the sounds of Dristan’s and his footfalls, beyond the sounds of the creatures in the forest, of the trees shifting slightly in the breeze, beyond all of that, he searched for Gracie. Her heartbeat. Her intoxicating scent. Could he find her this way? He had to try.
Something stepped out of the trees suddenly, and Fraze skidded to a halt, ready to rake his claws over the interloper’s face. Dristan caught up with him, already growling.
The man held his hands up in front of him, showing he meant no harm. His dark hair was held back in a short ponytail, and one of his ears was ripped at the bottom. He had dark, dark eyes like Gracie’s.
Fraze sniffed. Vampire.
“You want to help Gracie,” the man said. “You’re the sheriff’s kin.”
Fraze nodded.
“They’ve got her tied to a tree back there,” the vampire said. “I’m not allowed to fight the lions. I can’t save her, so you gotta do it for me. For my brother.”
Fraze nodded slowly.
The vampire said, “Good. Follow me.”
It could be a trap, except everything the man said sounded like the truth. Fraze turned to look at Dristan. Dristan closed his eyes once. Yes, Dristan believed the man, too.
They followed him, and the man started jogging, then sprinting. It was hard to keep up, even in their lion forms, but Fraze managed—maybe because of Gracie’s blood in his system. Dristan fell behind.
They couldn’t afford to go slow—the sun would rise soon.
It felt like hours, but it was probably only minutes that passed. Finally, the vampire slowed.
“They’re just up here,” he said. He didn’t even sound winded despite all the time they’d been running.
They walked over a low hill to a small clearing of trees. One dead tree stood in front of the rest, over on the west side. The side where the sun would reach first at dawn.
Gracie’s arms were tied behind her back and fastened to the tree. Her eyes looked wide and frightened. Fraze growled. Doug stood off to the side, in his human form, and Ben was crouched low, waiting to pounce.
Dristan caught up with Fraze and the vampire.
The vampire whispered, “I’ll get Gracie. I’m not allowed to fight the lions, but if you two take care of them, I can free her.”
Fraze struck first. He went after Doug, pinning him to the ground before Doug could shift to lion. He locked his jaws around Doug’s neck and waited. “You win,” Doug said, sounding pissed.
There was honesty in the words. He wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
Then Fraze turned to Ben and Dristan. They were fighting, growls and claws and teeth. They took turns slashing at each other’s bodies. Their mouths were open with fierce intent.
The male vampire was at Gracie’s back, doing something with the ropes, so Fraze rushed to Dristan’s side. Together they fought against Ben. Two on one. Only fair, after Ben and Doug had taken Gracie two on one. Fraze wanted to kill Ben. His bloodlust was high, and his body smacked painfully into Ben’s side. Ben finally rolled to his back, giving up.
Fraze allowed him to walk over to Doug’s side, and the two of them walked away, smelling of blood and defeat. Now Fraze had to rescue Gracie.
The sun was rising—already the sky above them was lightening. Fraze shifted to his human form and tried to help Gracie’s friend with the ropes. “Almost got it,” the male vampire said. “The sun—”
“Go, Bo,” Gracie said. “Get back to shelter. There’s no more time.”
“How much time do we have?” Fraze asked, frantically pulling at the knots.
“Maybe fifteen minutes,” Gracie said. “A half hour.”
“Can you get somewhere in that amount of time?” he asked.
“Maybe,” she said.
Bo tugged at some knots on the other side of her.
“Go,” she told him. “Please.”
“Clive wouldn’t want me to abandon you like this,” Bo protested.
Fraze felt Gracie stiffen in front of him. “We can’t keep doing what we think Clive would want,” she said, her voice small. “He’s dead, Bo, and he’s been gone a long time. We gotta let go, don’t you think?”
Bo stepped forward and pressed a brotherly kiss on Gracie’s forehead, then he turned and ran. He went so fast, he looked as if he was flying.
Fraze pulled once more on the knots, and finally Gracie was free. He tugged on her arm. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”
Dristan, still in his lion form, walked alongside Fraze and Gracie toward the tree line.
A petite, ghostly figure stepped into the clearing. Her voice was high-pitched, like bells, as she said, “No, I don’t think this will do. Not at all.”
Twenty-Three
>
Gracie gasped and shoved Fraze’s arm off of her. She had to be free to save him.
She gave an exaggerated, sarcastic curtsy. “Ana.”
“Gracie Jane, little Gracie Jane,” Ana said, licking her lips. “Rescued by your shifter friend, in the nick of time. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I often am, especially when it comes to you.”
Gracie didn’t have a response, so she kept quiet.
“You need a court, young one. You need the protection of other vampires.”
“I don’t need your kind of protection,” Gracie said. “I’ve been surviving, but now I aim to live.”
Ana laughed. “Oh, how precious. I always thought you were the weakest of us, and it appears I was right. In this case, I am not surprised. Your feelings make you weak. Your emotions make you weak. Let me weaken you further by telling you that once I have defeated you, I will defeat these shifter boys, and then I will defeat your poor brother Bo. And I will continue to defeat everyone you’ve ever touched, talked to, fed from, until every last trace and memory of you is gone from the earth. It will be easy, because I have centuries ahead of me.”
Without waiting, Gracie lunged forward and tried to grab Ana. Ana dodged, and Gracie’s fingers clawed Ana’s neck. The contact was satisfying to Gracie, and infuriating to Ana.
“How dare you touch your queen!” Ana shouted, before bolting forward.
Gracie braced for impact, ready to fight. When Ana made contact with Gracie’s shoulder, Gracie turned and shoved the queen to the ground.
Ana leaped up immediately and charged again—this time Gracie leaped and met her in the air. She threw as many hits as she could at Ana’s face, until they fell to the ground.
Gracie was on the bottom—the vulnerable position. She fought to push Ana off of her. Ana just grinned. She held Gracie’s head tightly, as if to rip it directly off Gracie’s neck.
She could do it, too.
Gracie grabbed Ana’s wrists, but Ana was too strong.
But suddenly, Ana’s weight left Gracie’s stomach.
Two mountain lions had barreled against her, shoving her off Gracie.
Fraze stood over Ana in his mountain lion form. Another mountain lion stood with him. His brother, Gracie guessed. Fraze held Ana down, and the other bit into her throat.
A half-second later, Ana was dust.
But the sun had risen. Light, beautiful light, gracing the treetops and painting them a warm, greenish gold.
Gracie felt the light burning her skin, the sear of it branding into her flesh. So beautiful, but painful. She struggled to stand. “Ana must have had somewhere to go,” she said, “if she was risking being out here this late…”
The lions turned to her, and one of them shifted to human. Fraze. His big body covered hers in shadow, trying to protect her from the sun. Her shoulder already felt burned—she would scar, no question about it.
“There’s a cave just beyond these trees,” he said. “I’ll stay with you all day.”
The other lion shifted, too, into Fraze’s brother. The two men shielded Gracie with their bodies. They couldn’t protect her completely, and any exposed parts of her skin bubbled into immediate blisters. She writhed, trying to hide in the brothers’ shadows. Intense pain. She cowered behind them until they backed her into a cool, damp cave.
Fraze looked at his brother. “Thank you.”
The other man was objectively handsomer than Fraze, with sandy blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The kind of classically handsome man she’d see in the movies. But it was Fraze she loved, Fraze who held her heart. His face was dearer to her than anyone else’s.
Fraze saw her gaze on his brother. “Gracie, this is Dristan. Dristan, Gracie.”
Gracie said, “Thank you for saving my life. It’s nice to meet you.”
She held out her hand, and Dristan stared at it for a long moment. Finally, he took it in his own and shook it. Then he turned and shifted back into a lion.
Then he was gone.
Fraze looked down at Gracie, she felt his eyes on her.
“Where am I burned?” she asked.
“Your shoulder. A little on your neck right here.”
“It’ll scar,” she said.
He held up his wrist. “Take some of my blood.”
Gracie smiled at him. Her generous man. “Thank you, but a burn from the sun always scars.”
“Does that bother you?” he asked.
“Not if it doesn’t bother you.”
“‘Course it doesn’t.”
Leaning over, he kissed her, and Gracie reveled in the feeling of his lips on hers. This was exactly where she belonged. Maybe not in this cave, but with Fraze at her side, for as long as their lifetimes would allow it.
His tongue probed her mouth and she allowed him in, allowed him to pull her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling his muscles. He looked bruised in places, from his fight with the other shifters, but he would be all right. Both of them would be just fine.
She covered his face with kisses, pulling him closer to her body. “All alone in this cave,” she murmured. “And I can’t leave for the entire day. What ever are we gonna do?”
He laughed, low in his throat, and captured her lips with his once more. After releasing her mouth with a soft smack of lips, he said, “I have a few ideas.”
Epilogue
Fraze passed a box to Gracie, who took off on those adorable legs of hers and walked up to the front door of their little house. They’d rented a cottage in the Corona Pride territory with Marlana’s blessing. They’d be near the woods so Fraze could shift whenever he wanted to, and Gracie could reach a cavern to hide in if it were ever necessary. Fraze didn’t think it would be necessary, though—the Corona Court had begrudgingly blessed their relationship.
He grabbed the last two boxes from the back of a truck he’d borrowed from Chase Channing, and brought them inside. Gracie was already arranging books on a shelf in the front room. She stepped back to stare at her work.
“It’s still a bit empty,” Fraze said from the doorway.
“We’ll fill it with love,” she said, smirking.
“Yeah, we will.”
“We could use some art on the walls,” she said. “Maybe something right here.”
Fraze felt himself smiling at her. “Maybe we can frame one of your sketches.”
They busied themselves with putting away items. Gracie’s sketchbooks all got lined up beneath their small library, and her journals as well. Fraze pulled the couch into place. He finished hanging up the light-tight blinds. It wasn’t ideal for her—she’d need to hide out in the basement during the day. But just in case something happened, he wanted to be able to close up the whole house. He couldn’t guard Gracie during the day because he still had his job, but he sure as hell would do everything in his power to protect her in his absence. If that meant extraneous, light-blocking blinds, so be it.
“It’s great,” she said, coming over to stand next to him. Her soft presence in his life—it was more than he could ask for.
A knock came at the door, and she looked up at him. “It’s nearly midnight—who could that be?”
“It’s Dristan and Laura,” a deep voice came from the other side of the door.
Gracie’s eyes wrinkled in apprehension. Fraze rubbed her back reassuringly. Dristan had turned down all their offers to get together at Hart’s over the past month, and he could tell that Gracie’s feelings were getting hurt by his brother’s distance.
But maybe they were making an effort now.
“Open up, Fraze,” Laura called.
Fraze strode forward and opened the door. “What’s up?”
Dristan held a big, flat square in his hands, wrapped up in brown paper. “Housewarming gift.”
Gracie came up to stand at Fraze’s side. “Well, come on in. We’ve got some beer in the fridge.”
“Can’t stay,” Dristan said, but Laura elbowed him.
“We’ve got a few minutes,” she
said. “I’d love a beer, thanks.”
Fraze watched as Gracie walked over to the fridge and pulled out four bottles.
“So you have a gift for us, huh?” Fraze said, eyeing his brother.
“Oh, yeah.” Dristan thrust it forward.
Fraze stuck his beer on the coffee table and took the package. “You wanna help me unwrap it, Gracie?” he asked.
She tore the paper with him. They uncovered a beautiful photograph.
“It’s done by a local artist,” Dristan said, clearing his throat.
“It’s…it’s perfect,” Gracie said.
Fraze looked at the photo again. Sunlight filtered over the valley. Obviously a morning shot.
“Well, I thought, after you told me about how Gracie misses the sunrise…” Dristan trailed off.
Dristan had put some thought into this gift. It was a true peace offering—peace and reconciliation between brothers. Even better, it was a sign that Dristan had fully accepted Gracie into their family.
Fraze cleared his throat and held out his hand. “Thanks, brother.”
Dristan pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry I was an ass about all this.”
The four of them made small talk and drank their beers. After an hour or so, Dristan and Laura took off, and Fraze turned his gaze to Gracie.
She was staring at the photograph of the valley. “That was really thoughtful of them, wasn’t it?”
“They’re accepting you,” he said. “That’s what this means.”
Tears in her eyes, she looked up at Fraze. “I’ve got everything I ever dreamed of. A man and a little cottage, and a place to watch the sun rise.”
He pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on the crown of her head. Then he leaned back, still holding her, so they could look at the sunrise together.
*
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Preview of Savage Bliss
The Fifth and Final Installment of the Corona Pride
Chapter One
Viviana lowered herself over the edge of the balcony. It was a twelve-foot drop, but she’d done it dozens of times. Inside the house, faint music played. Her dad practicing the piano. She could see the scene in her mind—Dad playing music, and her mom, Marlana, sitting on the blue brocade sofa, sipping a glass of red wine.