Release
Angler Series, Book 3
by Annie Nicholas
by Annie Nicholas
Genre: Paranormal
Romance
Publisher: Annie
Nicholas
Date of
Publication: Oct. 21, 2013
Word Count: 65,000
words
Cover Artist: Kanax
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Connie Bence is on the run with her two lovers, Rurik and Tane. As leader of the Nosferatu, Tane’s only threat is his own clansmen, and they want all three of them dead. When Rurik began to lose his hair, rumors spread, and the Nosferatu accuse Tane of trying to transform Rurik into one of them illegally.
With the Nosferatu on their heels, Connie tries to figure out what’s changing Rurik and cure him before she loses him to blood lust.
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Chapter One:
Like music playing in the
background, nobody in the meeting paid any real attention to me. I was just a
human caught in vampire society, their king’s blood slave. His plaything, which
meant if Tane decided to crucify me in his yard, no one would bat an eyelash.
Good thing Tane seemed to love me in his own sadistic way; otherwise my
pampered existence would truly suck.
Well, almost no one would care.
Rurik would give a shit what happened to me. We’d been lovers for years. He was
also Tane’s right-hand vampire since we’d become a threesome and his presence
in court kept most of the predators off my tail.
So I couldn’t comprehend why Tane
had dragged me to an emergency Nosferatu clan meeting and insisted Rurik stay
at our hotel room across town. The sudden role reversal did horrid things to my
stomach. A room full of Nosferatu warriors would make any regular vampire toss
their cookies. Let alone little human me. Antacids didn’t cover this kind of
stress.
Sweat trickled along the crease
of my spine. Silk and moisture didn’t mix. I controlled the urge to pluck at my
curve-clinging dress. Why did I let Tane pick it? I’d been leaning toward
buying a business suit when he’d intervened. Something about needing me to be a
distraction…
Tane sat at the head of the
conference table. Board shoulders straight yet his posture molded into his
chair in a relaxed manner much like tiger watching his prey. The artificial light gleamed of the surface
of his bald head and the tips of his pointed ears. They curled around his head
in a pretty fashion but I doubt anyone ever used that adjective to describe
him. Words like hard, intimidating, and sensual came more to mind when I
thought of him.
He faced five of the most
powerful vampires in the world across the table. Their bald-headed and
pointed-ear appearance made them seem more like Tane’s brothers than just clan.
I stood behind his chair, where a good little blood slave should, and clutched
his shoulder. That last bit wasn’t required, but touching him gave me the
balance I required since my stilettos sank into the thick white wall-to-wall
carpet making my stance unstable. I already felt like I stood on a tight wire.
Any of these vampires could kill me with a thought. Only Tane’s favor kept me
safe so when he launched into action, ordering his private jet prepared when
they summoned us, my Richter scale of oh-shit registered a 9.0 on a scale of
one to ten. I wish his clan had chosen another city to meet in though.
Monte Carlo was Las Vegas’s
prettier sister. Gilded, it appeared more welcoming than its American sibling
but under all the rich tapestry laid the same shit: drugs, sex, and rock and
roll. Each shadow held a ghost of my past. The city sparked memories of empty
liquor bottles and cheap motels. A time I wished I could permanently erase from
my mind. Welcome to the adult version of Disneyland, where all your dreams
could come true…for the right price. Even with the glitter, Monte Carlo was a
tragic kingdom.
I could think of so many other
things I’d rather be doing than attending a secret Nosferatu clan meeting. Tane
might be king of the Vampire Nation, but the Nation didn’t include his nasty
clan. They apparently ran things differently among themselves.
On the drive here from our hotel,
he briefed me to stay quiet and follow his every order. If I gave him my usual
attitude, he’d be forced to punish me in ways I’d rather not think about again.
His clan didn’t take shit from anyone, which meant publically neither could he.
I wore my good girl panties, crossed my fingers, and hoped I could keep my
tongue in check. I’d like to keep my dignity intact thank you very much.
His clan brothers lined the
wooden table, staring at us in silence. Not unnerving at all. I didn’t know the
total number of members, but I was sure it took more than five to police all
the vampires in the world. Two of them had humans hovering behind their chairs.
Other blood slaves? Nosferatu weren’t known for herding, let alone bonding to
someone forever—these types of vampires were predators, the things that kept
regular vampire population in check. Had Tane started a new trend?
Being a blood slave was a
two-edged sword. Our bond would last until death-do-us-part. His death, not
mine. I would never age or get sick. However, Tane held my life and sanity in
his hands.
With his hand resting upon his
crossed knee, Tane assessed the others. “Why have you summoned me?” Straight to
the point for a change. Tane’s whole existence revolved around subterfuge. I
would have felt better if he’d started the meeting with a lie or started a
rumor. This made me more nervous than the garrison of guards standing outside
the room. Apparently, the brothers thought they should bring a small army with
them, where we only brought Kam, the sole wolf shifter of the group. I chewed
on my bottom lip. Poor planning on Tane’s part? I couldn’t believe that. He’d
kept our group small for a reason. Inwardly, I cringed. That didn’t reassure me
either.
Kam stood with the guards in the
hall outside the meeting room. Hopefully behaving. His alpha personality could
rub a person the wrong way. I knew this from firsthand experience. Maybe I
should have asked for him to be present inside the room.
“Stop fidgeting.” Tane’s voice gonged inside my head.
A squeak escaped my lips. Allowing my mental shields to part, I reached
out to Tane. “I’m very ready to leave. Let’s saddle this show pony and get the
hell out of Dodge.” I sensed the muscles of his shoulders tense under my hand.
“Why haven’t you brought Rurik?”
the brother with a strong chin sitting farthest from Tane asked. He was one of
the two with a blood slave. The young Asian man stood at attention and stared
forward as if in the military. Show-off. Tane hadn’t bothered with
introductions when we’d arrived so I didn’t know how to address anyone in the
room.
Tane folded his arms on the
table. “I wasn’t aware Rurik had joined our clan, brother. Why would I bring
him to one of our meetings?”
“This isn’t the time to play
games, Tane. We’re your strongest supporters.” Chinny gestured to the others at
the table. “Rumors are spreading, and we’ve gathered to warn you. Possibly to
keep you from being executed.”
Tane’s shoulders jerked. It was
so subtle that if I hadn’t had a death grip on them I wouldn’t have known.
“What are you talking about, Damius?”
Sucking in my stomach, I stepped
closer to his chair. The only exit out of this room was behind me if I didn’t
count the window on the other side of the table. Leaping out that would only
end with a Connie Bence-shaped pancake on the sidewalk thirty floors below. I’d
choose the door guarded by the garrison if this became a fight. I wasn’t a
fool. If fighting broke out among vampires, I ran. These weren’t regular
vampires. All Nosferatu were warriors, born and trained. One glancing blow and
I was toast.
“We know Rurik is losing hair.”
Chinny, AKA Damius, tossed a set of pictures on the table.
I controlled the urge to gasp and
almost suffered an aneurysm. “How do they know about him?” I sent this question
to Tane. What the fuck? We’d been so careful to hide Rurik’s mysterious
affliction but we hadn’t been able to find the reason for his slow hair loss.
His blood lust had grown stronger as well these last few months. We could only
assume a poison at this point, yet all our efforts to find a source or a cure
had turned up nothing.
My first love, Laurent, had died
of cancer. I couldn’t lose Rurik. No matter the cost. My heart had been beaten
to hell all my life, and there was only so much duct tape in the world to keep
it together.
Slowly, Tane inspected each
picture. They were of the three of us in Mexico last month in our private
rooms. A blush flashed across my cheeks. I wouldn’t prance around naked ever
again. Thankfully, Rurik was the focus of each shot though. “All this trouble because
my companion shaved his head. He still has stubble over most of it. Obviously,
not naturally smooth.” He ran his hand over his own scalp. “He’s insanely
jealous for Connie’s attention and thought to copy my appearance. Should we
shackle him for it?” Tane chuckled and tossed me the best fake amused glance
I’d ever seen.
I tried my best to return it. All
the while I was trying not to shit bricks. Some men went bald. Vampires didn’t.
Not unless they were Nosferatu, but Rurik never would have volunteered for that
gig. Way too much drama in that clan.
The brother to Tane’s left set a
small clear bag with black hairs on the table. “My sources within your home
sent me these from your bed a few months ago. Before these pictures were
taken.” He pointedly stared at my blond hair. “Don’t tell me they are from
her.”
Tane raised his eyebrow. “Is this
why you called this meeting? Pulled hair found in my bed? Who knows what these
two are up to when I am away.”
The one on the right set his hand
on Tane’s arm. “I understand your attachment to Rurik, but you can’t turn
someone without a clan vote.”
Tane yanked his arm from his
brother’s grasp. “You are making a grave accusation with very little proof.” He
poked at the bag. “This…” He shook his head. “This is ridiculous.”
The vampires grew still like
their kind could. Only the sound of my and the other human’s breathing broke
the heavy silence.
“Either way, I doubt the rest of
our clan will be pleased by this change.” Damius gathered the pictures. “We
have also heard that Rurik’s blood requirements have tripled. Send for him. Let
us examine Rurik for ourselves before the others learn of his hair loss.”
If they didn’t already know. Tane
had told me his brothers would have spies in our home, just like he’d had them
in theirs, so chances were his whole clan knew, even with all our precautions.
All that work for nothing: Wigs, checking his suits for loose hairs before
meetings, youtube videos on comb overs. When he arrived at the meeting how
would we explain the smoother sections of his scalp that didn’t show in the
pictures? The stubble would eventually fade. Then what?
Tane leaned back in his chair.
“Connie, send Kam for Rurik and make me something to drink. There’s a bar in
the room off the hallway.”
I startled at the mention of my
name. Instinct cried for me to tell him to get his own drink but I was glad for
the excuse to escape the room, even for a few minutes.
Shit. Rurik was on the Nosferatu
radar. Vampires didn’t like change, and the unknown reason for Rurik’s hair
loss might cause a panic. We used wigs to hide Rurik’s affliction but in
Mexico, the humidity had made Rurik’s head itch. Within the confines of our
apartment he had removed it. His brothers must have been spying on us for a
long time to catch those pictures and find those hairs.
Maybe one of the other Nosferatu
would have an idea of what was wrong with Rurik. His blood lust grew worse
every night, and we needed help. Tane had been researching cures day and night
since it had started, to no avail.
I exited the meeting room to come
face-to-face a group of armed regular vampire guards. Kam, my personal shifter
bodyguard, stood apart from them. He leaned against the wall, appearing both
relaxed and alert at the same time. His dark chestnut hair reached his
shoulders but he kept it back in ponytail at the nape of his neck. Easily the
tallest person in the hall, he spotted me and met my glare. I’d seen many a
woman and female vampire throw themselves at the muscular shifter’s feet. I
couldn’t blame them. He had that rugged mountain man look that some women
loved. I like my men less furry.
I approached him. Before I could
open my mouth, I sensed Tane slip inside my head.
“Run.” The order was whispered
yet sharp like a strike of a whip. “Get Rurik out of the city. This is worse
than I suspected. They’ll kill him. I’ll give you as much time as I can.”
I stumbled at his sudden retreat from my head
and landed against Kam. With wide eyes, I met his golden gaze.
He gripped my arms and his
nostrils flared. Quickly, his gaze shifted to the other guards in the hall. He
knew something was wrong but neither of us could verbalize anything in front of
these warriors.
“I don’t feel well, Kam. Take me
home. Tane will meet us there later.” Swooning against him, I did my best
impression of a fainting southern belle. We needed to vamoose from this
building. Tane had insisted on staying in a separate hotel across town. He must
have suspected something, or maybe it was from past experience with his clan.
Either reason, he did well by keeping Rurik out of easy reach.
Kam scooped me in his arms and
strode to the elevator, hitting the button with his elbow. The muscles in his
arms tensed as if prepared to attack at a moment’s notice. With my mind, I
tried to touch Tane, but he shielded against me. The mental walls he could
build blew away anything I’d ever encountered. Being king meant he kicked ass
on high levels of vampire abilities. His brothers were strong, but he was
stronger.
The door slid open with a ding,
and Kam carried me inside. None of the guards questioned us. What damage could
a small human woman and a hulking wolf shifter do? As soon as the doors closed,
Kam set me back on my high-heeled feet. “What’s going on?” He took up most of
the space in the small area.
“They want to kill Rurik. We have
to get out of the city.” Pressing my hand to my stomach, I fought rolling
nausea. “I’m a blank. I don’t know this area and I haven’t an idea how the fuck
to hide from Nosferatu. I mean, they only have to scan the minds of surrounding
humans to find us, right?” They’d done this in Rio last year when hunting
Colby, my old slayer boss. We had barely survived that fiasco and we only had
to deal with one rogue Nosferatu at that time.
Kam’s face paled. “What about our
Master?” His pack served Tane and, by proxy, me. Kam’s sister, Gwen, used to be
my bodyguard but she was on a personal mission to kick a certain stubborn
vampire slayer’s ass otherwise known as Colby. I wished her luck and hoped she
didn’t kill him. Since then, Kam took her place, my oversized shadow who
against his will knew too much about me and my past.
“I think he can handle himself.
They want Rurik dead, not Tane.” I slapped his rock-hard abs. “Focus. Where can
we go?”
“The marina. Master Tane had his
yacht brought here. He’d thought to surprise both of you with a cruise of the
Mediterranean.”
My heart fluttered at the kind
gesture. Since we’d become a three-way couple, he’d been non-stop romancing us.
Damn his stupid brothers for wrecking that trip.
“Give me your cell.” My dress
didn’t have enough material for pockets.
Kam pulled out his phone.
I dialed Rurik’s number from
heart. My pulse hammered in my ears as I listened to the ring. I disliked
speaking mind to mind but at the moment I would have been thrilled for Rurik’s
velvety presence in my thoughts. We didn’t share a blood bond, so such a link
was difficult. Distance made it even tougher.
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About the Author:Annie writes for Samhain Publishing, Carina Press, and Lyrical Press.
Website: www.annienicholas.com
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