Romance: Angel-The Fire Princess: Vampire Werewolf Shifter Fantasy Romance
Read Romance: Angel-The Fire Princess: Vampire Werewolf Shifter Fantasy Romance Online
Authors: Created by Vivian Nim
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Copyright © 2016 by Vivian Nim - All rights reserved.
Copyright Cover design © 2016 by Vivian Nim -All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may briefly quote this book. All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
“Oh, Thomas! Come here, I want to show you something!” Kay called out from the bedroom, the flirtation in her tone evident. She lounged across the bed which, to be brutally honest, didn’t have the most comfortable bedspread. It was scratchy, and it was irritating all of Kay’s exposed
skin.
One must make sacrifices to look so good
, she thought, and forced herself to remain posed.
It was Thomas and Kay’s wedding night, and unlike many other couples their age, they had decided to wait until marriage to make love. While it was difficult, Kay was ready to make up for lost time. She and her best friend had shopped for hours for the perfect lingerie, and Kay had chosen her favorite outfit to wear on their first night, which she expected to be
very
intense. Her mouth lifted into a coy smile at the thought.
“Coming, dear!” Thomas called back, some excitement obvious in his voice. Kay peeked out into the living area of the little cabin they were renting, then glanced at the fire burning in the hearth between the two rooms. It was a cozy little place, and heated up fairly nicely considering the blistering cold outside. It had started to snow as they were making their way up the
mountain, and Kay had expressed her concern.
“Babe, what if the cabin doesn’t have a sufficient heater?” Thomas simply patted her hand, keeping his eyes fixed on the road.
“Don’t worry. I think we’ll keep warm enough, considering the activities we’ll be participating in.”
Kay blushed at that, understanding that he definitely wasn’t just referring to their possible skiing excursions.
Thomas finally opened the bedroom door, hesitantly, almost nervously.
“Babe?” he said, his eyes closed. Kay laughed.
“Tommy, open your eyes.” He did, slowly, but when he finally caught a glimpse of her, his eyes became hungry.
“Well aren’t you just the most gorgeous creature that ever lived?” Kay’s face turned crimson, but she held his stare.
“All for you, my darling.” He attacked her at those words, jumping on the bed with Kay and wrapping her in his arms. She laughed outright, and he smiled down at her, his face inches from hers. “I love you,” she said, bringing her hand up to his face to gently stroke it.
“I love you so much more.” Thomas kissed her then, a heart-stopping kiss that made Kay’s world fade around her.
At least it would have, had the fire not suddenly gone out.
They both stopped - stopped kissing, stopped moving, practically stopped breathing. One moment, there was a roaring fire, and the next, it was out like it had never even been there. There didn’t even appear to be any glowing embers, no remnants of the once fierce flame.
“What was that?” Kay trembled, and Thomas pulled her closer to him. It was then that four pounding knocks on the cabin door startled them even more, and Kay clutched her husband tighter.
“Who would be out there in the middle of a snowstorm?” Thomas asked, his voice shaking. They waited a few moments before four more knocks shook the cabin, and Thomas stood.
“No, Thomas!” Kay whispered frantically. He ignored her and grabbed his rifle, which was propped against the dresser. Kay then stood, reaching for her robe.
“Absolutely not, you’re staying here,” Thomas commanded, his face serious. However, she shook her head.
“I’m not letting you face this alone, and I’m not losing my husband on our wedding night. If one of us dies, we both die.” She reached for his hand, and he took it, hesitantly.
“Alright. But I don’t like the idea of dying a virgin, so let’s do our best not to.” Kay smiled slightly at that.
“I love you.”
Kay stood behind her husband, his broad shoulders protecting her from the icy wind that knocked into them as her husband opened the front door. He held his gun at the ready, his finger close to the trigger.
“Who’s there?!” he cried into the stormy night. The snow flurried and fell heavily, making it difficult to see, and the young couple could barely make out a shape in the darkness.
“Is that-“ Kay started to whisper, but never finished. A hulking figure sprang from the darkness and through the falling snow, and they screamed, Kay latching onto her husband’s arm.
When she worked up the courage to peek, she opened her eyes and was amazed by the panting creature in front of her. It was a grey wolf, but much, much larger - almost the size of a lion, probably bigger. In it’s teeth, the massive animal carried a basket, but Kay couldn’t quite make out what was inside.
Either way, this was the most extraordinary thing she had ever seen. Little did she know, it would only become more so.
“What are you?” Thomas asked the creature, still clutching his gun, still pointing it at the wolf. The animal didn’t reply, but was suddenly lost in a particularly heavy flurry of snow. Kay squinted into the ice; however, where the silhouette of an animal once was, the figure of a considerably smaller human had replaced it. It stepped out into the open once again, a woman,
clothed in a rich-looking garment and covered in furs to protect from the cold. Her face was thin, and her features small and delicate, like the arms and hands that now clutched the woven basket. Her white-blonde hair flowed behind her in the wind, yet didn’t tangle like one would
expect it to. Thomas and Kay gaped at the woman, speechless.
She, however, looked quite amused, and gestured to her get-up.
“I assure you, these are not wolf skins.” She looked between the two of them for a moment, judging their reaction, then laughed. “My apologies. I should have known that humor may not have been the smartest outlet with you two.” She sighed.
“Who are you?” Kay cried out, suddenly brave. Perhaps it was the adrenalin, perhaps this was simply how she channeled her fear. Either way, the woman was impressed.
“I hoped that this was a worthwhile decision. It seems to me I may have been correct. My name is Kelandra, and I ask your assistance.” The woman bowed, but the couple continued to stare.
“Assistance with what?” Kay asked, her brows furrowed, her heart pounding. For the first time, the woman displayed the contents of the basket, and Kay gasped.
An infant, somehow asleep despite the chaos around her, lay bundled inside. The woman, Kelandra, looked lovingly at the child, but pain flashed across her features as she looked back up at Kay and Thomas.
“I need someone to take care of this child.” Kay looked at her husband, then back to Kelandra, then burst out laughing. Kelandra crossed her arms over her chest. “Indulge me. Why do you find this so hilarious?”
Kay wiped at her eyes.
“Lady, we’re barely able to survive with just the two of us on our current income. We weren’t planning on having children for years, and you expect us to take this one in now? From some woman that neither of us even knows?” Kay was angry now, and Kelandra stared at her evenly.
“I will admit, I’m not well-versed in human culture, and I don’t understand your societal norms. But I am willing to compensate you and your husband so that you will not have any extra expenses. In fact, I think you’ll find that you will live more comfortably.” Kelandra tried to be reasonable; however, Kay was only getting angrier.
“You have no
idea
the level of commitment it takes to be a parent. You have no clue what the job entails, nor do you care what kind of burden that this will put on our family-“ Kay was spewing, but the woman interrupted.
“I do have an idea what it’s like to be a parent. In fact so far, I’ve had to make some difficult choices, for instance: fleeing with my newborn child and handing her off to some strangers, because if I don’t, she’ll die.” Kay gasped at this, suddenly regretting her earlier rant. “I have very little to go on. I know very little of the human world, but I know love when I see it. You two have it, and I want that for my daughter, even if it won’t be me giving it to her. Please,” she fell on her knees in front of the couple, begging. “Please, just keep her safe until she’s 18. December 5, please just keep her safe until then, and I will return for her. Wherever you are, I’ll be able to locate her and I’ll be back.” Kelandra now had tears running down her face, and her
shoulders shook from the weight of her grief.
“Oh, ma’am…” Kay started, but was interrupted once again.
“She’ll die. Thomas and Kay Berry, she will die if you don’t take her. You’re my last resort. There’s no one around for miles except you. Take my daughter, go far from here, and keep her safe.”
Hesitantly, Kay reached into the basket and carefully picked up the child, who remained asleep. She only moved slightly: to instinctively curl into Kay’s bosom, as if she were the baby’s mother. Kelandra laughed through her tears, but Kay looked up from the child.
“What’s her name?” she asked, still unsure, still doubtful. The mother looked up, her blue eyes clear and bright, and she smiled when she answered.
“Angel. Her name is Angel.”
Angel hated snow.
That was a fact. She never understood how people could think it was “magical” or “dreaminspired” or whatever poetic garbage they can think up to romanticize it. To Angel, snow was cold, wet and miserable, and she wanted no part in that.
“Angel, I’m leaving in 5 minutes!” her mother called up to her. Angel simply rolled her eyes and made no response. She continued to layer her clothes and she put on her warmest boots, determined to remain snug and warm today. Glancing in the mirror, she lingered to examine her straight blond hair, which she had been wanting to cut for years; she simply couldn’t bring
herself to ask for more than a trim, though. It flowed all the way down to her lower back, but today she simply combed it back and put it into a high ponytail on her head. Her blue eyes and classically beautiful features completed her look, and she stared critically at herself a moment
longer before she grabbed a scarf and left her room.
“There you are, baby. How are you feeling this morning?” Angel shrugged, but her mother didn’t seem to notice. Her brunette hair was cut into what was supposed to be a fashionable pixie cut, but only screamed “bed hair” at this particular moment. She was frazzled, but she managed to keep it together every morning and get her daughter to school and her husband to work on time.
“I probably won’t be home until after 10 tonight, Mom. Just thought I’d let you know.” Angel meant for it to be a casual mention, but her mother stopped and looked at her, concern flashing across her features.
“I don’t know if I feel so comfortable with that,” she said, her gaze unwavering and intent. Angel shrugged.
“You’ve never had an issue with it before-“ she started but was promptly stopped.
“Your father has mentioned some disturbing occurrences that have happened lately around town, and I would just feel better if you were home early.” Kay went back to what she was doing, but there was a definite change in her demeanor. Angel, however, didn’t pick up on it.
“I’ll be safe, as I always am, and I’ll text you with constant updates, okay?” Her mother didn’t press, but also didn’t reply. Still, Angel took this as consent, and it wasn’t brought up again.
“Morning, ladies!” came a booming voice from behind, and Angel turned to see her father coming down the stairs, dressed for work. He sported a dressy polo and khakis, and his black hair was slicked back and classy-looking.
Angel’s father, Thomas Berry, owned basically half of the city of Laurel Springs, Colorado. He was wealthy beyond reason, and continued to develop and build as his success grew.
When Thomas saw his wife, he looked amazed like she was a movie star, and he smiled widely. He closed the gap between them in two steps, took Kay’s face in his hands, and kissed her sweetly, and she blushed in reply. Thomas then turned his attention to Angel.
“Morning, sunshine. How are we this morning?” Angel smiled in spite of herself and fell into his arms in a hug, and he patted her back lovingly.
“Good, Dad, I’m good.” Her father released her, looked back and forth between his two ladies, and grinned again.
“Shall we?” he asked, gesturing to the door. Kay grabbed the car keys, Thomas picked up his briefcase, Angel slung her backpack over her shoulder, and they all exited the house together like they had for years.
It was December 4, and nothing would be the same after today.
XXX
“He said he would take you out after school?” asked Heather, Angel’s best friend. They stood outside the school by the front steps in the cold, winter air, and Angel nodded next to her.
“Chase asked me out on Monday and told me he wanted to take me somewhere special today.” Angel blushed, and Heather squealed.
“This is amazing. How do you always get such hot guys to notice you?” Angel simply shrugged, but Heather answered her own question. “It’s because you look like a super model.”
“Hey, now, guys go after more than just looks!” Angel defended; Heather just smirked.
“Personality doesn’t do so much for a first impression though.”
“Excuse me?” The two girls heard someone clear their throat behind them, and they both whirled around to see Chase himself, dimples, wavy brown hair and all. Heather gasped, but Angel kept her cool, her effortlessly flirtatious nature taking control easily.
“Speak of the devil,” she muttered to Heather, just loud enough for Chase to hear, and she flashed him a smile. “Well hey, how are things?” Chase shrugged, trying to be casual.
“Great. Um, shall we?” He gestured for Angel to accompany him, so she glanced at Heather, who looked like she was going to faint, one last time before leaving the school grounds with Chase.
The snow fell lightly around them, and as much as this irritated Angel, she was going to let nothing ruin this evening. She followed Chase to his truck, an old, faded red two-door with bumper stickers covering the entire back-half, and he followed her to the passenger side to open her door.
“Thank you, kind sir,” Angel smiled, but Chase didn’t reply; however, he almost fell (ice, presumably) walking around the front of the vehicle to the driver’s side. “You okay?”
Chase turned to her and nodded quickly, still not replying. He fumbled with his keys until he managed to start his truck, they backed out, and his eyes remained glued to the road.
This was not typical Chase behavior. Chase was the school’s football star, the most popular guy in school - he was Homecoming King material. He didn’t get tongue-tied, or get nervous aroundgirls, and he definitely didn’t trip in front of them.
“So, where are we going?” Angel asked, trying to get a conversation going. Chase glanced at her briefly, then fixed his eyes back in front of him.
“Um, well, there’s this restaurant downtown that I kind of wanted to take you to. Does that sound okay?” He looked suddenly uncertain, and while his seemingly shy behavior was somewhat endearing, Angel was becoming frustrated.
“Sounds great. So, Chase, what have you been up to?” Angel longed for a good discussion, but unfortunately, her date had little to offer.
“Oh, you know, football practice and school. Basically.” His thoughts were clipped and unfinished, and Angel could foresee a very awkward end in sight.
“That sounds-“ she began but was quickly cut short by the pumping of breaks and Chase’s suddenly sharp tone.
“Look, I can’t do this. I have to explain.” Chase pulled over to the side of the road and put the truck in park, and Angel stared incredulously.
“Explain what?” Her stare remained intent, and Chase squirmed in his seat.
“Okay, look, don’t get mad, but this was all a bet,” he said all in one breath. Angel’s stare intensified.
“A bet?” She was flabbergasted, and Chase nodded.
“Yeah. All the guys are talking about how you’ve never been kissed. And it’s widely known that you’re definitely the hottest girl in school, so-“ but Angel cut him off.
“Excuse me? Since when has the amount of kissing or not kissing that I’ve done been a matter of public discussion? This is absolutely disgusting,” she spat out, and Chase leaned in.
“Look, I know it sucks, and I’ve put you in a crappy position, but I don’t have to go through with this. We can just tell everyone we did something, we don’t have to actually do anything.”
“Are you serious?” Angel gaped at him, but Chase leaned in more.
“Sure, we can kiss, but tell everyone that we did something else. That way it doesn’t sound like such a lie. Come on, Angel, don’t be such a prude,” he complained as he reached for her face. Angel pressed her back against the window, trying to stay as far away from him as possible, and tried to open the door. Locked.
“Unlock the door, Chase!” she screamed, terrified.
Suddenly, the whole vehicle shook from the weight of a massive force, and Angel screamed again, this time from pain. Glass shattered around her, and her leg was pinned by crumpled metal.
Something had crashed into the truck.
Angel was panicking at this point. Chase was unconscious, but seemed to have avoided any serious injury. She tried to remain calm and remember that someone would probably see them soon, and someone would call 911, and everything would be fine.
She really believed that until, through the broken glass, she saw armed men exiting the vehicle that had crashed into them.
“Help!” she cried, writhing and shifting, trying to free her leg. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t budge. There were 3 men, all armed with weapons she didn’t recognize, approaching; all of them were dressed the same way: in loose, black fabric accented with gold. If Angel wasn’t so terrified, she would be puzzled by how strange they looked.
Struggling with her leg, there wasn’t much Angel could do. While she continued to shift around, she searched for anything she could use to defend herself. Before she could, though, she heard a harsh grunt from outside of the vehicle, and she looked up in time to see another figure,
unassociated with the group of armed individuals, attacking one of the men.
Angel strained to catch a glimpse of the new fighter, but the figure was too quick. He moved gracefully and with a fluidity that was almost mesmerizing, and Angel almost forgot the danger of the situation. The men were taken down easily, effortlessly, and the mysterious fighter finally
looked at Angel.
He was tall and lean, but obviously strong. His shoulders moved up and down along with his heavy breathing, and his dark eyes practically pierced through Angel. The man’s jaw was chiseled, along with the rest of his face, almost as if it was sculpted. He looked absolutely flawless.
The man approached, and Angel remembered how trapped she was.
“Please- help-“ she managed, choking back tears. Pain was starting to set in, and the last few moments were finally catching up to her and she was finally reacting to it all.
The man said nothing, only continued his slow approach, eyeing her warily. When he reached her, he displayed a massive amount of strength by pulling back the metal that had pinned Angel’s leg in place. She gaped at him, and glanced at her again.
“What about him?” Angel remembered, and the strange man looked at Chase for the first time, a look of disgust flashing across his features.
“He’ll be fine,” he spat, speaking for the first time. “He’s a dog, anyway, don’t worry about him.” Angel was suddenly angry.
“Well if it’s anything to you, I think I’ll still call the police.” The man shrugged. Angel paused as she reached for her phone. “Thank you for saving me. Who were those men?”
“That’s none of your concern, right now,” he said, his brow furrowed.
“Actually, it’s all of my concern. I was the one attacked, I’m a victim-“
“You were in the way, you stupid girl. They weren’t targeting you, and you’re an idiot if you think so.” Angel gasped, and the man turned away.
“Well, if you won’t tell me anything else, will you tell me your name?” He was already walking away, but he still replied over his shoulder.
“No. Stay safe, Angel.”
She didn’t bother to ask how the fighter knew her name.