Vampire hunter Liberty Van Helsing is responsible for protecting the humans living on Sang Croc, a tropical island in the French Polynesia. While striving to improve her recently acquired hunting skills, Liberty wrestles with her attraction to vampire, Eli Barkley, estranged son of Rupert, leader of the Evil Ones.
Then the grandparents of a young girl—who Liberty has befriended—is snatched by the Evil Ones, and Rupert offers Liberty a deal: herself for the hostages.
Rupert is certain his son will, in turn, voluntarily trade himself to save Liberty. Liberty has a better idea. Launch a rescue into Rupert’s stronghold. But first she must tap into the elusive Van Helsing strength, and convince Eli he’s not like his father… not anymore.
“Can I talk to you for a sec?” Eli’s expression was calm, but beneath his words, Liberty sensed a hint of anger. Maybe more than a hint. She squeezed Hannah’s hand. “I’ll be right back.”
Liberty followed Eli into the kitchen and leaned her butt against the counter. “Well?”
“I know what you’re thinking, and you can get it out of your head right now.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“You want to go rescue her grandparents. But you can’t do that.”
Maybe he did know what she was thinking. “Why not?”
“Not only is the compound well-guarded and dangerous, some of the humans are there of their own free will.”
“So you said, but her grandparents aren’t there voluntarily. I can at least help them.”
He threw his hands in the air and let them drop to his sides. “You have to listen to me. You can’t rescue her family. You’re a hunter, Liberty. Your job is to hunt on full moon nights, not charge off like Wonder Barbie. You are the last of the Van Helsing line. If anything happens to you, what do you think will happen to the people on this island? The Evil Ones will pillage and plunder to their hearts’ content.”
“Nothing will happen to me.”
“I know. Because you’re not going.”
Liberty barked a laugh. “How do you think you can stop me?”
“You forget, I’m stronger than you. If I have to, I’ll handcuff you to me.”
She ran her hands through her hair and shook her head. “I need to get Hannah home. We’ll talk about this later.”
He grabbed her upper arms and captured her eyes with his silver gaze. “Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t do anything without talking to me.”
Liberty twisted free and drew in a stuttered breath. “Fine.”
“Promise?”
“I said fine!” She stalked out of the kitchen. She couldn’t make any promises. If she could help Hannah’s grandparents, she would. Yes, it was risky, but what good was she as a hunter if she couldn’t save people she cared about?
Derek Hayes and his family are preternatural hunters. Stake and dust is their motto, but Derek has a difficult time accepting his sworn duty when Sloane McBride, his ex-girlfriend from high school, is the one he’s been sent to eliminate. Once infected from a Nosferatu bite, there is no turning back. Sloane has been bitten and she will eventually change.
It proves a race against time when Derek puts aside his core beliefs and teams up with Sloane. The Nosferatu wants Sloane for his own bloody Valentine, Derek’s brothers are hunting her, and every second brings Sloane closer to changing into the very fiend they want to kill.
Other titles in the Anthology:
Ring for a Lady by Gerald Costlow
A Season for Love by Linda Swift
Cupid’s Beau by Nan O’Berry
Sloane and Derek
EXCERPT
She was halfway up the stairs when someone knocked at her front door.
Lad’s ears perked up and a low growl vibrated from the back of his throat. Her gaze landed on her lab with a frown. Lad usually loved everyone. Who could be at her front door that had him agitated? She strode over to it and peeked out the peephole. She half expected Freddy Kruger to be standing there by the way Lad’s fur stood up on end, and the snarl he produced to go along with his bad fur day. She sighed in relief when she recognized her visitor. She threw opened the door with a smile.
Lad came bounding to the door, snarling in rapid barks. She’d never seen him act like that—ever. “Lad, sit. It’s only Tim.” She didn’t understand her dog’s weird behavior.
Lad backed up, but his stance clearly indicated he would take out Tim’s throat if she only gave the word. She turned toward Tim who gave her a nonchalant shrug. “Maybe it’s my new aftershave.”
She pursed her lips. “Give me a sec. I’ll put him out back.”
“Sure.”
It took her a few minutes. Lad didn’t want to obey her. She had to drag him outside and sprint for the door, slamming it shut, just to keep him outside. He continued to bark and snarl, but she would have to ignore him for now.
She hurried to the front door. Tim still stood there, leaning casually against the doorframe. He stood up straight when he caught sight of her. For a brief second, she could have sworn his eyes had an eerie glow to them, like a pair of eyes looking back from a thicket, warning her of danger, but she blinked and his eyes were the same soft brown color she’d remembered.
“Are you going to ask me in?” His brows lifted in question. He must be feeling better. He looked a little pale, not feverish. It was good to know the flu would only last twenty-four hours.
“Sure, but I must warn you I think I caught what you had a few days ago.”
“I’ve already been exposed and I doubt I’ll catch it twice,” he said.
She opened the screen and stepped aside. She frowned when he didn’t move. “Well, come in already.”
His lips slid into a grin, but the smile made her uneasy. Something was off with him, had been for a few days.
Before she could shut the door, he pulled her flush against him. She gasped in surprise and he chuckled. “Don’t be scared.”
Funny, how those words sent a chill down her spine. “I’m not scared.”
“Your heart is beating fast.”
Her brows drew together. “How do—” She didn’t have a chance to finish her question. He captured her lips and her words were swallowed into a passionate caress. His tongue swept inside her mouth and she met his passion, but something pricked her lip and she drew back in alarm. Her hand flew to her mouth. When she looked at her fingers, she spotted drops of blood coloring the tips. “You bit me.” Again, she thought the last to herself.
“You say it as if it is a bad, thing.” He stalked toward her. This time there was no mistake; his eyes gleamed with a weird sheen before turning red. Red? What the heck was going on? When he grinned she caught sight of two pointed incisors. Vampire came to mine, but that was insane. Self-consciously, she touched the side of her neck where he had bitten her the other night and stumbled back a few steps.
Tim’s mouth quirked and a low menacing chuckle greeted her. “I can see your wheels are turning inside that pretty little head of yours, but I’ll make it simple, unlike how my brother did for me. I’m a vampire. You know—the kind that drinks blood and all that.”
The kind that drank blood—was there another kind? She shook her head. “That’s impossible. You’ve been ill. You must be…running a fever.”
“I’ve never felt better.” He shook his head and kept grinning like he’d given her the best news. He took another step toward her. “I can make you feel good, too.”
“Stay back.” She bumped into the wall, separating the kitchen from the living room and quickly sidestepped.
“But I can’t stay away from you. You invited me in and I’m soooo hungry.” His gaze roved over her like she was a delectable treat he’d been anticipating sinking his teeth into.
She whirled away from him, attempting to run, but it was useless. He was upon her in a second, spinning her around to face him and slamming her against the kitchen counter. She ignored the sudden jar to her body and pushed at his chest, but he was so strong…so very strong. “Let me go, Tim.” His fangs lengthened. “Oh God, no!” She would have screamed but a deep baritone voice, from somewhere behind Tim, halted her cries.
“I believe the lady asked you to let her go.”
Tim’s body went rigid as if rigor mortis had set in and turned his body to stone.
Curiosity proved too strong and she chanced a peek around Tim’s shoulder. A man with dark reddish brown hair and eyes as green as a cats stood there in the archway of her kitchen with a medieval crossbow aimed at Tim’s back.
Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all of Karen Michelle Nutt’s stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.
When she’s not time traveling, fighting outlaws, or otherworldly creatures, she creates pre-made book covers to order at Gillian’s Book Covers, “Judge Your Book By Its Cover”.
When Master Vampire Lucien Delgatto threatens her potential mate Wick’s life, Shape Shifter Andrea “Andy” McNeilly will employ a den of witches, a bedazzled thong, and her ability to shift into multiple animals to meet his demands. She plans to keep Wick safe—even if she’s not speaking to him. Lucien’s unwelcomed control over Wick’s life has thrown Andy into a whirlwind of emotions.
Though Wick vows to do whatever it takes to earn Andy’s forgiveness and win back her trust, it may be too late. This recent conflict awakens something within Andy, an animal she’s never learned to control. For hidden beneath all her forms is a beast whose anger and brutality rivals none.
And she’s pissed.
Excerpt:
Letting my falcon drift close to the surface, my eyesight sharpened. A dark figure moved in the brambles near the deer path ahead of me. About to step closer, something tugged at my senses.
Come to me, a voice echoed in my head. I froze.
An overwhelming urge to walk into the forest on my right consumed my body. I hadn’t felt anything like this since…
Since I was fourteen, and walked into the forest to meet three feras.
Sweat beaded on my brow and the bridge of my nose. I wiped it away, while fighting the compulsion to move.
Come to me, Carus.
Leaning forward, I tried to locate the animal. A branch snapped, and my attention darted to where the sound originated from. The forest hummed with the sound of summer insects. My heart beat loud and heavy in my chest.
Underbrush rustled. There!
A flash of orange.
Pop! A sharp sting, much like a rubber band on bare skin, radiated across my right butt cheek. I yipped and jumped three feet in the air.
Whirling around, I found Wick with an ear-to-ear grin and his paintball gun resting over one of his shoulders. If he had a leg propped up on a recently deceased moose, he’d look like a hunter from a photo.
Born and raised on the Haida Gwaii, off the West Coast of Canada, J.C. McKenzie grew up in a pristine wilderness that inspired her to dream. She writes Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.
