Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(82)

Keegan frowned. “No. Dani’s healing powers only work on shifters. She can give her something to ease the pain until she passes.”

Cora sniffed, and Torin drew her close, kissing the top of her temple. “Come, let’s get the little one home and figure out what to feed her.”

“What about work?”

Blaine answered her question. “We will stay and finish it. The outer layer needs to be done by tonight. I’m afraid the human activity will draw out the mutants. I called in another team to help finish it. You can start on the second layer tomorrow as well as inspect what we do tonight.”

The cub let out a cry, and Cora’s heart broke. “I know baby. It hurts, but it’ll be okay because there is a whole Pack who will love you.”

Just like they did her.

She wrapped an arm around Torin’s waist as they walked toward MoonRiver. “I Love you, Tor.”

He scooped her up in his arms and kissed her. “Love you, too.”

The cub whimpered and butted her head against his chin. He laughed and scratched under her chin. “We love you too, squirt.”

Cora laughed. “I think I’ll name her Spring.”

“Why Spring?”

“Because it is the season of new beginnings. This is a new beginning for all three of us.”

Torin smiled. “I like it. Spring it is.”

Cora laid her head on his shoulder as he carried her and Spring to their new home. Jason would be proud. Love you, brother. Rest in peace.





Sangue Fever



By Ann Mayburn





Sangue Fever



After spending hundreds of years alone, focused only on her revenge, Lisabetta has finally vanquished her enemies and built an empire that will allow her to live out eternity as a vampire in comfort. No longer focused only on revenge, Lisabetta finds herself alone and dealing with the consequences of shutting down her emotions until her heart became encased in ice. Sargon, her Maker, an ancient and powerful vampire who'd been a king during his mortal years, has loved her from the moment he laid eyes on her, but she still fears him too much to allow herself to love him in return.

Drifting now without a purpose, Lisabetta finds herself yearning for something more, something special, and she finds it one night while hunting for her next donor at a night club. One look at the older, experienced Taylor and she knows that somehow this rough and ready cowboy belongs to her, but their love can never happen. Lisabetta refuses to make another vampire, but when she discovers that all is not quite as it seems and that Sargon will do whatever it takes to make her happy, even allowing a mortal man to challenge his claim on her heart.





Chapter One


Lisabetta Diana Marta Piero sank back into the lush black leather seats in the VIP area of the club she was hunting at during her stay in Dallas. She was here to visit with her Maker, Sargon, an ancient Mesopotamian king turned vampire with a taste for war and pleasure. So far the trip had been a big, flat bust. This was supposed to be her vacation, her well-earned rest after building her empire and vanquishing her enemies with a ruthless determination that led to her rise in rank from adult vampire to vampire elder.

Now, as a fully recognized elder within the vampire community, she had the freedom to indulge herself and celebrate her victories but found that nothing she did made her empty heart feel anything but melancholy. She’d earned the right to kick back and find some random mortal to drain. They’d have fantastic, out-of-this-world sex, and then she’d wipe their memory and be on her merry way with her hungers eased. Couldn’t have a man remembering f*cking a woman who never looked older than eighteen, no matter how many times he saw her.

Even worse, women always noticed that she never seemed to age first, catty bitches. And now the world had entered an era where men went to jail for having sex with women under eighteen. The fact that Lisabetta was six hundred and twenty years old meant nothing when guys were scared to come near her. And the ones that did approach were usually drunk, their blood saturated by alcohol.

Yuck. Made their blood taste like medicine, something to be endured rather than savored.

Memories of all the men she’d had sex with while she took blood from them flashed through her mind, and she sighed, saddened by the knowledge that so many virile, amazing men she’d slept with were now nothing more than dust in the ground. The melancholy—the yearning in her soul—grew, and she struggled to contain the hopelessness that wanted to take her over. She needed…something. Someone.

She gave herself a mental pinch and tried to shake her funk off. Maybe she should pull the stick out of her ass and find someone. It had been so long since she hadn’t had eager men throwing themselves at her that she found her pride a bit stung. She was pretty, a bit curvy for today’s standards, but she knew how to work what she had. Tonight she wore a pale champagne glittery dress that made her naturally tan skin glow. Her long black hair was swept up into a high ponytail, and she’d gone a heavier on her makeup than normal in an effort to look a bit older.

Of course her Maker, Sargon, sat next to her in the VIP booth in all his otherworldly glory—the man was beyond gifted in the looks and charm departments—but he was glamoured to conceal himself from the mortals. If Sargon lowered his shields, they’d soon be mobbed by men and women desperate for his attention. He had a lovely set of full, soft lips that just begged a woman to explore their smooth surface with her tongue and long black hair that hung down to his shoulders. Women’s panties went up in flames at the sight of him. Yes, he was that good looking, and his charisma rolled from him in a wave of command and seduction. Distracted for a moment by his handsome face, she turned to study him openly, her heart skipping a beat when he turned his attention to her and smiled, the flash of his long, tiger fangs making her blood heat.