by Wendi Wilson
“It’s like a paramour,” he explained, still looking extremely nervous.
This word seemed familiar, but I still couldn’t place its meaning. “English, please,” I said.
“I am speaking English,” he hedged.
“Levi!”
“Lover!” he bit out. “It means you’re under my protection because you’re my lover, and no other vampire can lay claim to you.”
I felt the blood drain from my face as understanding flooded through me. “Everyone thinks… you and I…”
“No. No, Piper,” he said, cupping my face in his hands. “No one that matters thinks it. Dean Purty knows I only made the official claim to protect you. So do the other counselors, Barbara, and Sasha. They all know why it was necessary.”
“Why was it necessary?” I asked, my voice still weak from shock.
“Because Warren Thornberry was showing too much interest in you.”
“But… he’s the leader of The Society. He helped us.”
“He’s still a vampire, Piper. We all are. Never forget that.”
I nodded. Even though it still weirded me out that Levi had basically proclaimed to The Shadow Lake Vampire Society that I was sleeping with him, I understood why he did it. I just didn’t know when I’d be able to show my face there again.
Probably never.
“Do you forgive me?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“There’s nothing to forgive. How can I be mad when you were protecting me?”
“Thank you,” he said, dipping his head.
The rest of the world disappeared as his mouth pressed against mine. He nibbled at my lips before brushing his tongue across them. My mouth fell open, granting him access as my hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders to tangle in his hair.
His mouth was magic, and my heart raced as his hands slipped over my butt and gently kneaded the flesh. Gripping me tightly, he lifted me up like I was made of cotton. My legs wrapped around his waist, bringing me much closer to being his Inamorata in truth.
“Piper! You out here?”
Like an icy rain shower, True’s voice startled us apart. Levi steadied me as I stumbled trying to get my feet back on the ground, and I was tugging down the cuffs of my jean shorts as she appeared through a thicket of trees.
“Oh, hey,” she said, spotting us. Her eyes traveled over my hair and rumpled clothes before a devilish grin lit up her features. “What are you guys doing out here, all alone in the woods?”
She punctuated the question with a waggle of her eyebrows, making me blush. I tried to murder her with my eyes, and she took the hint, clearing her throat.
“Oh, ahem, right. Dean Purty is back, and he wants to see you. Both of you.”
Shooting me one last mischievous wink, she spun around and disappeared back through the trees. I opened my mouth to speak, but a musical chime cut me off. Levi dug into his back pocket, pulling out his cellphone.
“It’s Charles,” he said. “He wants us to hurry.”
I took a step forward, then froze as my vision tunneled. Everything went black, and I waved my arms wildly, calling Levi’s name as I fell backwards into a vortex.
I landed with an oomph on my back, but something wasn’t right.
I was lying on a floor made of smooth boards. I could feel the grain of the wood beneath my fingers, smell the oil used to make it shine. A weight landed on top of me. I couldn’t push it off.
I tried to fight, to buck my attacker off. I couldn’t make out a face, but I scratched at it anyway. My eyes focused on my own hand, and I froze, holding it up in front of my face as I stared at it in confusion.
“Piper!”
I snapped back to consciousness to see Levi hovering over me, a worried look on his face. He helped me back to my feet, and I clenched his hands like a lifeline.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“The vision,” I breathed as chills raced all over my body. “I had the same one again.” My eyes snagged on his, and I swallowed thickly. “But it wasn’t me.”
Before he could question me further, I took off, racing back toward the camp. I needed to get to Dean Purty. I needed to tell him that someone else was going to be attacked by a vampire.
The vision played over in my head as I ran. Everything was exactly the same as the first one, except this time I noticed what I hadn’t before. The hand striking out defensively was not mine. The skin was a tanned brown color, not my freckled white. The nails were longer, painted a bright bubblegum pink.
Whoever it was, I needed to save them. I’d wasted so much time, thinking the vision was of events that would happen to me, and I knew there was not another minute to waste.
I burst from the woods and darted up the path toward the main office, Levi’s footfalls pounding against the dirt behind me. I loped up the steps and swung open the screen door, skidding to a halt as I came face to face with a very somber-looking Dean Purty.
True stood just behind him, a devastated look on her face as she watched me with sad eyes.
“What?” I demanded, my breath whooshing in and out of my lungs as panic creeped up my spine. “What’s happened?”
The dean looked at me, sadness and compassion lacing his deep voice.
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, Piper, but your friend, Coco Morales, is dead.”
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Keep scrolling for a sneak peek at Book Two: The Count…
Shadow Lake Vampire Society Book Two: The Count
The only thing anchoring me to the Earth was Levi’s hand in mine as we stepped toward Coco’s casket.
I floated toward the oak box, or, at least that’s what it felt like. My mouth was dry. My hands shook. I could barely keep my feet moving in the right direction. I’d had a few out-of-body experiences in my short life, and this felt like an awful rerun.
Everything in me wanted to turn and bolt in the opposite direction. The person in that box was my best friend. My Coco. I’d seen her only a month ago, and she’d been filled with joy. With life. Coco with her glossy lipstick and her bright hats. Her jokes. Her bad taste in music. Her thousands of Instagram followers.
Her love for me.
How could this be happening? How could she be dead?
I hadn’t talked to her once after leaving for my job at Camp Shadow Lake. Sure, I’d tried once or twice, but I’d been so caught up in Levi and the vampires that I hadn’t made a real effort. I’d heard from a number of people that Coco had been aloof and acting strange before her death. Her social media feeds dwindled to nothing, and she stopped answering texts. They said it in passing, not really taking much stock in it, but to me, it felt like a stab to my heart. Maybe my lack of communication had sent her into a downward emotional spiral. Maybe if I had tried harder, I could have somehow prevented this from happening.
Part of me knew the thought was irrational. That there was nothing I could’ve done and no way to get her back.
She was gone.
Quiet organ music played while hushed voices whispered to one another and the smell of cut roses floated on the cold air piped in through the vents. The funeral home was packed wall-to-wall with people. Coco was well-loved, and she had a big family, so this had to be one of the most well-attended funerals this place had ever seen. A few people I knew from high school were there, but I didn’t want to talk to them. What would I say?
So, how’s things? And isn’t it crazy that Coco’s dead?
I couldn’t begin to stomach it.
“Are you okay?” Levi whispered in my ear as we waited in the processional that meandered up to the casket.
I bit my lip, and he squeezed my hand.
“Of course you’re not okay.” His brow creased with concern. “Can I get you something? Water? More tissues?”
“Just stay beside me.” With my free hand, I gripped his arm so I could
keep from dropping to the floor. Levi felt solid, sturdy. I didn’t know what I’d do without him.
Mom was here, of course. I could hang by her, but she’d taken a seat behind Coco’s wailing mother. Mom had the quiet presence of someone who’d been through the worst thing imaginable and knew what this felt like. I drew my eyes away from her. Just the sight of Mom in the black dress she wore at Dad’s funeral was turning the water works on again. This was the same funeral home, the same room. I swiped at the mascara streaks on my cheeks as Levi handed me a tissue. Why’d I even bother to wear makeup in the first place?
As we took a few steps closer to the front, my heartbeat seemed to slow down. Even though it was a closed casket, I couldn’t stand the thought of her being in there alone. Coco had been in a car accident, and Mr. and Mrs. Morales didn’t want people’s last memory of her to be the Coco whose car had flipped three times before crashing into a tree.
At least, that’s the story they were telling everyone, but I wasn’t so sure. I’d seen Coco in my vision, hadn’t I? She’d been attacked by a vampire, or so I thought. It had all felt so real. Had it all been fake, a delusion made up by my traumatized brain?
I wanted to see her. I wanted to know, but what could I do? Throw open the casket? Everyone would be horrified.
We stepped up, and the line of people parted to reveal the glossy oak box in front of us.
I felt my knees buckle. Levi gripped my arm and helped me stand while words fell from my lips.
“I’m sorry, Coco. I love you.” I laid a hand on the smooth oak box.
I should have called. I should have been there. This is all my fault.
I began to sob, and Levi helped me to a chair where he held me as I cried.
The funeral was beautiful, but I was glad when it was over. I didn’t know how long I could sit in those uncomfortable chairs and listen to people talk about Coco in the past tense. The hymns and flowers were making my head light and my heart ache. It all felt too painfully similar to Dad’s. Thankfully, it was brief, and Mom and I had decided not to stay for the luncheon afterwards, leaving it for Coco’s immediate family. Plus, we were exhausted, and poor Levi’s shirt was ruined from my tears. If he minded, he didn’t show it.
The three of us followed the guests toward the door, then Mom grabbed my arm. “I want to say goodbye to Coco’s mother. I’ll meet you out there.”
I nodded, watching her filter back through the crowd.
Levi and I exited, stepping out into the hot summer air. The heat felt good on my chilled skin, though I knew it bothered Levi. Always stoic about it, he slipped on his sunglasses then put his arm around me while we walked together to a small picnic table under a maple tree to wait.
“That was a nice service,” Levi said, glancing at me like he wasn’t sure what to say.
I nodded while pulling a tissue out of my purse to try to clean up the mess that was my face. I didn’t really know what to say, either.
“I wonder if I had a funeral,” he said quietly.
When I blinked up at him, he shook his head. “Sorry. I’m not trying to make today about me. We should talk about Coco.”
“No, I could use a change in topic for a while. What do you mean you wonder if you had a funeral?”
He leaned back against the bench’s backrest, letting his black suit jacket fall open to reveal a crisp white shirt. I’d seen the other girls from our high school and some of Coco’s cousins checking him out while they thought I wasn’t looking. It wasn’t the time or the place, but the distraction made me feel just the smallest bit better.
“Well, I died, and dead people usually get funerals.” Levi sighed. “My parents don’t know I’m alive. Well… technically… undead. Anyway, I didn’t see them after I woke up in the morgue, since I couldn’t risk going back to them as the monster I’d become. It would’ve been far too dangerous. By the time I was back in control of myself, it was long past the time they would have held a funeral. It doesn’t matter, but sometimes I wonder if they had one and what it was like.” He went quiet, staring pensively up at the tree branches that swayed gently in the breeze.
“Oh, Levi, I’m so sorry.” I leaned into him and put my hand on his chest where his heart beat no longer. “You haven’t seen them since?”
He shook his head. “They’re still alive. I check in on them from time to time on the web. They’re in their late sixties now. They seem okay. Happy even. Still in the same home I grew up in.”
“That’s so sad.” I held his hand, wishing there was more I could do.
He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve had twenty years to process my grief.”
I started to lean into him, but as I did I spotted someone staring at me from the shadows.
A dark shape hunkered between the dumpster and the funeral home’s west wall. The man was scraggly and unkempt, but the most unsettling thing was he stared at me as if he knew me.
When he caught me looking, he lifted his hand and waved me toward him rapidly.
Who was this man, and what did he want?
My heart began to pound, and of course, Levi sensed it right away. He whirled to follow my gaze. “What is it?”
“There’s someone back there.”
Levi was on his feet, coiled to strike, but I put my hand on his arm. “There are people everywhere.”
His eyes darted around, taking in much more than mine ever could. There was a crowd gathered, some smoking, some talking. None could see the man from their vantage point which meant, if we went back there, no one would see us, either.
Levi froze, keeping his eyes trained on the perceived danger. “Go to the car, Piper. Lock the door. I’ll deal with him.”
My eyes darted from the man to the parking lot, but I didn’t go. Instead, I followed Levi, toward the man’s hidey-hole.
The man seemed unafraid, but he also seemed half crazed. His hair was wild and white like an Albert Einstein wig. His gray beard was straggly and patchy, sticking out in places that you wouldn’t expect and disappearing in places you would. He wore gray coveralls that were soiled and thin at the knees. When he opened his mouth to speak, I saw he was missing several teeth.
“Girl, come here. I’ve got somethin’ important to tell ya.” He flashed that jack-o-lantern smile again. “It’s real good.”
Levi stepped between the man and me, his tone and body tense. “Get to the car, Piper.”
I didn’t listen to him before, and I wasn’t going to listen now. I didn’t think Levi would kill the man right here in broad daylight, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. But the man didn’t seem to have any fear.
“Hey, girl. I know you. You were here before. I have something to tell you. Something about your dad.”
Despite the heat, a cold chill settled over me. Did he say… my dad?
Before I knew what I was doing, I pushed around Levi and got up in the man’s personal space as anger pumped through my body. No way would he play some kind of game by invoking my dead father. Not today.
“Piper.” Levi reached for me, but I shrugged him off.
I wanted to poke him in the chest, but I had no idea what he might do. So instead, I put my hands on my hips. “What did you say about my father?”
He smiled that empty smile again. “I know about him, but what’s it worth to ya?”
The nerve of this guy. “You tell me or my boyfriend here will rip your arms off. How about that?” I could feel Levi behind me, and I knew he looked intimidating as he towered over both of us. He literally could rip this man’s arms off, but of course I was bluffing. Still, it seemed to work.
For the first time, the man considered Levi and his smile fell. “Fine. I’ll tell, but if you find it’s worth your time, you might part with a fiver to buy me lunch?” One wild eyebrow arched.
“We’ll see. Now talk.”
“I work here,” he said, thumbing toward the back of the funeral parlor. “I have for thirty years. I clean, do odd jobs. I
see things.”
“Like what?” Levi asked.
The man’s eyes darted up before landing back on me again. “I saw you. You were here for your dad’s funeral. Sad.” He puckered out his bottom lip in a mockery of sadness before sucking it back in again. “Anyway, I thought you should know. He wasn’t in the box.”
I felt my heart stutter. “What do you mean? Are you saying…?” My words ran dry, but the man had plenty.
“I mean, they buried an empty box. Someone took the body. Someone who was worried that evidence the police didn’t find might someday be revealed. They came at night. Two men.” He held up two fingers. “They took the body, and the mortician was so upset he says, ‘It’s an empty casket, they won’t know,’ and put bricks in instead.”
I stared at him, unsure if I could believe any of this or not. Words tumbled out as I spoke more to myself than anyone else. “Who would take my father’s body?”
“You tell me, little lady. But I will tell you this. I heard one word as they snuck off: Siskiyou.” He cackled, the sound wheezing from his lungs. “If there’s one thing I learned working here, it’s this: Secrets from the past don’t always stay buried.”
I felt Levi’s hand on my shoulder, but little else. It seemed as though I was having another of those out of body experiences.
The vampires not only killed my father, but took his body to their hideout in the Siskiyou Mountains.
I no longer cared that they were fearsome and scary. I wanted to know the truth about my father, and I wanted revenge.
We hope you enjoyed that sneak peek of Shadow Lake Vampire Society Book Two: The Count!
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Acknowledgments
Katie and Wendi would like to thank all of our readers for taking a chance on our first co-writing project. We hope you all love the book and these characters just as much as we do!
We’d also like to give a big shout out to our beta readers—T.L. McDonald, Samantha Britt, G.K. DeRosa, Kat Stiles, Cynthia Csepel, Susan Brown, and Sandra “Jeanz” Richardson. You guys are the bomb.