Meet the Clan (Vamp Tales Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Vamp Tales Book Three Sneak Peek

  Connect with the Author

  Broken

  New Enemies

  Other Books by Melony Paradise

  Alpha Reader/Editor:

  Danielle Romo

  Beta Reader/Editors:

  Benjamin Phillips

  Lynn Sheridan

  Meet the Clan

  Vamp Tales Book Two

  Copyright © 2017 Melony Paradise

  www.melonyparadise.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Be sure to check out my other series, Discordant Earth.

  Broken is available for purchase at Amazon.com

  New Enemies is available for purchase at Amazon.com

  Descriptions (Blurbs) can be found in the back of this book…

  Chapter 1

  Red tinged bile erupted from my mouth, my guts heaving as my head spun from the dizzying route of fading Kat had taken.

  “Fuck!” I hissed. “It’s a damn good thing I haven’t fed yet, or I might have yakked ten hops ago.”

  Crouched down with my hands braced against the grassy ground, I hung my head between my knees, gulping in huge breaths of cool, wet air. The clean scent of pine soothed my senses. I, Mercy Reyes, was not a fan of zipping around Seattle under the magical power of my vampire sire.

  I reached over my shoulder, feeling the ragged edges of my bullet wound. Looking at my bloody fingers, my stomach rumbled. Swiping away dripping strands of long, black hair from my icy face, I glanced up at Kat as she hovered nearby, apparently unaffected by the rain or the super-speedy hops from place to place.

  “I can’t believe you faded us over Lake Washington,” I said, my breath huffing little puffs of white as I shook my head. Winter was nearly here. I’m so happy I don’t feel the cold as a vampire.

  “I told you,” Kat said, flinging her dripping raven locks over her shoulder with an eyebrow arched and her mouth pinched, “if I can see where I want to go, I can fade us there, and no one can see us because we’re moving too fast. And, I call them steps, not hops.” Her hip popped out as she crossed her arms below her bulging breasts, her crimson blouse dark from the wetness and plastered to her pristine ivory skin.

  “Whatever. How exactly are we moving? I’m not moving my feet, so does that mean you’re carrying me?”

  “In a way, yes. I lift my foot to take a step—” she brought her black leather, stiletto boot three inches up off the ground “—and my power propels me forward at incredible speeds so when my foot touches down—” her foot stomped back down, somehow managing to not sink into the wet grass “—it’s landing in the place I was looking at. Of course, our enhanced vision helps to increase the distance I can go.”

  Shaking my head, I tore my eyes away from her long, leather-clad leg. I didn’t take enough mathematics classes to figure this fading shit out.

  “And, what’s with the fire?” I straightened, my hands on my hips and knees squishing in the grass. “You didn’t tell me you could do that.”

  “Mercy,” she said, rolling her eyes, “we barely know each other. Why would I tell you everything about me and my clan? You haven’t earned our trust yet.”

  “Well, you saved our asses. Thanks.”

  Her mouth curled into a smug smirk. “You’re welcome.”

  “Where are we?” Peering around, all I could see through the dark night were picnic tables and winding walkways.

  “A park.”

  “You don’t say,” I said with a little snort.

  “This is not the time to act childish, Mercy,” Kat said, hissing with narrowed eyes.

  “Sorry, I’m still shaken up from all the fading.” Feeling less dizzy and nauseated, I stood, trying not to glare at my prickly sire or let my emotions leak through our irritatingly tight blood bond.

  Kat slowly spun in a circle, scoping out our location. “Get ready for more, because sunrise will be here too soon. We must get to our clan soon so we can feed before my energy is drained and you lose control of the hunger.”

  “Yes, please, let’s not let that happen on my second night as a vampire.” There’s no way in hell I wanted to lose control and accidentally munch on an unwilling donor, or worse, kill someone.

  “What about our wounds?” I asked, wondering how the hell she could act so cavalier. “I got shot, did you know that?” I just couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my tone.

  Kat looked down at her leg. The line left by the grazing bullet along her skin appeared half healed already. As I watched, the edges seemed to slowly pull together, and I shook my head, shocked.

  “I’ll be fine,” Kat said before coming around to inspect the hole in my shoulder. “Yours will take a little bit longer since it has a bullet to work out of your flesh, but you’ll be fine too.”

  Her light touch against the damaged area caused me to flinch, reminding me of all the other bruises and achy bones I had. Part of me was thankful for the faster healing of my new body, but the other part of me screamed that none of this would’ve happened if Kat hadn’t knocked on my door.

  “I believe we’ve gone far enough north that Michael and his hunters won’t be able to track us.”

  A painful pinch in my chest reminded me of the horror we’d witnessed just before our escape. “I can’t fucking believe he killed Lynn. He seemed like a great guy, you know, a werebear I wanted to cuddle with.”

  A cold, delicate hand wound itself through mine, and I jerked my head up to find violet eyes full of unexpected sympathy.

  “I’m sorry, Mercy,” she said in a quiet, melodic voice. “I could sense your attraction to him, and he was a good man. If he hadn’t been so close to Commander Anderle, that bolo shot wouldn’t have been so… damaging.”

  “Damaging?” I yelped, my face trying to flush with anger, but not having fed tonight, it only made me dizzy. “Michael or Commander Anderle or whatever the hell name he wants to go by, cut him clean in half! I’ve never seen anything like it, except on TV. Why the fuck are these hunters so hot to kill us?”

  “We’re monsters in their eyes,” Kat said. “They don’t understand that we have evolved enough to avoid killing humans. Most of us exercise great restraint with our hunger and abilities. When we’re safely surrounded by our clan, we can take the time to discuss this. For now, we must circle back while I still have the strength, so we can find the restaurant that hides the entrance to the underground tunnels.”

  “What about the bar? Do you think anyone survived the raid?” I stepped in close to Kat, taking in a deep breath to prepare for the jolting hops between each fade.

  “Bull will have gotten as many out as he could, and he’s a survivor.” She wiped away a layer of moisture from her face as the drizzly rain persisted in soaking us. “When the excitement dies down, he’ll set up the bar in a new location. The wolves are quite resilient, especially with the other shifters standing by t
hem in a crisis.”

  “So, all the different shifter types get along?” I wonder how many there are…

  “Not always, no, but we don’t have time for this discussion, Mercy. We’ll educate you when we’ve found our clan and Edgar.”

  “Fine,” I said, biting my tongue, and grabbing her hand, the now familiar zing of attraction tingling along my skin. Oh, the joy of being connected to a female vampire who has no interest in crossing lines of sexuality. Not that I’m really into her or anything, but this new life makes me feel brave enough to explore, now that I’m not an overweight introvert with no life, dating or otherwise.

  Chapter 2

  “Ugh!” I fell to my knees on the slippery sidewalk in front of a dingy, five-story building, the only light coming from a twenty-four-hour Chinese restaurant. My head felt filled with cotton, and my stomach rolled as I retched painfully.

  I felt for the wound in my shoulder and found a small chunk of metal waiting to be plucked out of my flesh. My aches and pains from the fight already felt better, and I could feel the hole in my back closing. For just a moment, I stared at the misshapen projectile coated in my blood, then let it fall to the ground, where it rolled off the sidewalk and into a storm drain.

  “Well, at least we won’t have to break in.” One pointy-toed boot tapped near my head as Kat surveyed our surroundings.

  “Seriously?” I asked, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “The entrance is in the ‘Golden Dragon,’ and I can’t even order take-out. Just my luck.”

  “Get up. We need to get inside. Now!” Kat growled.

  “Okay, okay,” I grumbled, pushing myself up and swiping at my wet knees. “Why the rush? There’s no way the hunters can find us that fast.”

  “They can with traffic cameras, although I think I managed to avoid them all.”

  I glanced around the empty street, inspecting the nearest intersection for hidden cameras, and snorted. Like I’d see them if they were hidden.

  Kat’s vice grip wrapped around my wrist as she dragged me inside. A door chime tinkled and several faces peered at us, people of varying types. A few people appeared to be homeless or near-so, a crowd of drunken twenty-somethings talked loud enough to be heard ten blocks away, and a handful of wait-staff loitered around the counter in their grease covered aprons.

  “Welcome to the Golden Dragon, please follow me.” A tiny, hunched Chinese woman waved us toward a dark hallway labeled ‘Restrooms.’ Nearly wrenching my arm off, Kat pulled me along as we filed after the old woman. The smell of pork-fried rice made my mouth water.

  “Does she know who—”

  “Hush!” Kat demanded as she gave my throbbing arm a good tug

  With a grumbly huff, I clamped my mouth shut, biting back angry words. This bossy shit is getting old!

  The elderly woman led us through a door marked ‘Employees Only,’ pointing at another door with no markings. Kat bowed her head at the woman, yanking on my arm until I repeated the gesture, then rushed through the unmarked door. The restaurant noise faded behind us.

  Clattering down the rickety stairs, we plunged into the darkness of an endless basement filled with dusty shelves and moldering boxes. I guess they don’t keep their stock down here. A dim glow emanated over the shelves from the right, and we cautiously headed that direction.

  Before we got close enough to see the source of the light, a voice boomed out. “Show yourself, vampires. Now!”

  With a stiff back and halting step, Kat inched us forward until we reached the last set of shelves. She peeked around the corner, jumping back with a screech, and knocking me down as an enormous lion leaped at us. The beast straddled my prone form, pinning me with his amber-eyed gaze, the tips of his mane tickling my cheeks.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I closed my eyes and turned my head, unwilling to watch those giant teeth take a chunk out of my hide.

  Gusts of hot breath blew across my face as I heard something that just didn’t seem right.

  “Meow.”

  Opening one eye, I peeked through the strands of lion mane to find a huge, long-haired Maine Coon cat. Calculating gold eyes glittered as the silver feline pranced over and plopped down next to the lion who grudgingly tore his eyes away from mine, a menacing growl rolling from his terrifying mouth.

  “Meow.”

  The lion huffed, his breath fanning the cat’s long, silver fur back in waves, then walked backward as I scrambled to huddle at Kat’s legs. Did that cat just order the lion to back off?

  “Get up. We’re safe.” She pushed at me with her knee, and I looked up at her, confused by how calm she sounded.

  “There’s a f-fucking lion over there,” I said, my voice wavering as my body trembled. “H-how can you say we’re safe?”

  “Because that—” she pointed at the regal feline “—is Mr. Julius Hartfell.”

  Chapter 3

  “Seriously?” I asked, using Kat’s leg to pull myself up as she rolled her eyes. “That cat is a person?”

  “Yes!” She shoved me away, sneering. “Now, please, stop hanging on me.”

  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Bull is a werewolf, and Lynn was—” A lump clogged my throat at the memory of the poor werebear getting sliced in half.

  “Well, that was unfortunate.” Brushing herself off, Kat stepped towards the waiting cats. I grabbed her arm as heat rushed up my spine, pooling in the back of my head.

  “Unfortunate?” I spit the word out, my grip tightening. “You call whatever that was unfortunate? How heartless are you?”

  Kat’s arm ripped out of my hand as she faded then reappeared behind the cat and lion, standing next to a tall, muscled woman with caramel skin and dark blonde hair pulled back in a severe ponytail. My oh-so-pleasant sire glared at me with her arms crossed and her toe tapping against the cement floor.

  “Do not grab me like that again, Mercy,” she hissed, instantly getting two pairs of ears aimed at her as the large and larger cats eyed me. “I had no idea Michael had bolo rounds, but we cannot waste time mourning the dead right now. We have to get our clan and move to a safer location.”

  “What the hell is a bolo round?”

  A scuffling noise drew my attention to the multi-sized cats between us. As I watched, the silver cat flickered and stretched, like an antique television when you switched it on. Within two heartbeats, his flickering form went from oversized house cat to a lanky man with long limbs, angular face, and piercing gold eyes.

  Mr. Julius Hartfell brushed off the front of his navy-blue suit, adjusted his crisp, black tie, and smoothed the hair above his ear, even though it looked as if he’d just walked out of the barbershop. Everything about this man made me think swanky nightclub owner.

  Next to him, taking a bit longer and a lot more painful looking to change, the lion jerked and hunched in on himself as fur receded into nearly ink-black skin. Bones creaked and crackled, shifting under that dark skin, taking at least thirty seconds to change from terrifying king of the jungle to terrifying guard. This man could disappear in a dark corner with his ebony skin, bald head, and black shirt and slacks. Even his belt, attached holster and handgun, cell phone, and—is that a night stick?—blended into his silhouette.

  “A bolo round,” Mr. Julius Hartfell said, clasping his hands behind his back and taking the tone of a teacher, “is a wire strung between two heavy, round bb’s or bearings that spread out upon ejection and slice through a target. The weight and velocity of the bearings or bb’s pull the wire through most any object. Flesh and bone are no match against these deadly projectiles.”

  I closed my gaping mouth and gulped. “I see. So, Lynn never had a chance.”

  “No, and I’m terribly sorry that we lost such a beautiful spirit. Did you know him well?”

  “I, uh—”

  “No, she didn’t, Julius.” Kat huffed from where she stood and we all turned to see the female guard pointing a gun at my grumpy sire. “Do you think you could pause your lesson and take care of this?”


  “Oh, I do apologize, my dear Kat.” He nodded his head curtly and spun on his heel to face the werelion. “Chima, Kat is Clan Martis. You may let her inside. We’ve been waiting anxiously for her to return to us.”

  “What about this other woman, Sir?” Chima asked, nodding his head at me.

  “I do not know. Kat?” He raised an eyebrow, puckering his lips as he eyed me.

  Sighing as the female guard lowered her weapon, Kat flicked her hand my way. “She’s mine, part of the clan now.”

  Mr. Julius Hartfell gasped delicately, and I pinched my lips between my teeth, holding back a giggle at his old-fashioned demeanor. He turned to me and inspected my body from head to feet and back with an arched brow and one corner of his mouth curling ever so slightly.

  “You’re a sire again,” he said. “I never thought I’d see the day in my long lifetime when you took another fledgling.”

  “Yes, well, it was a—” she looked up at the dirty ceiling, waving her hand in circles “—done out of necessity. I’ll explain after we get inside and I’ve seen Edgar. Please.”

  “Isabel, dear, would you mind opening the door for us?”

  The female guard, Isabel, slid her gun into a holster strapped to her leg and reached for the large handle of the heavy steel door, grunting as Kat flounced past her.

  Patting Chima on the shoulder, Mr. Julius Hartfell ushered me ahead of him with a little flourish ending in a shallow bow from the waist, although his eyes never stopped watching me. Neither did Chima’s. I slowly approached the imposing woman holding the door open to another unknown situation which I was quickly getting tired of encountering.

  Isabel let Mr. Julius Hartfell in behind me before shutting the door with a resounding clank. I glanced over my shoulder as the dim light seemed to wink out, enveloping Mr. Julius Hartfell briefly before my newly enhanced vision adjusted. With a wink and a smile, he gently pushed me forward with his fingertips to follow Kat as she disappeared around a smooth rock corner.