Flowers and Fangs (Stake and Dust series, Book II)

Karen Michelle Nutt

Smashwords Edition

Flowers and Fangs

Presented by
Published by Rebecca J.
Vickery

Copyright © 2015 Karen Michelle Nutt

Cover Art Copyright © 2015 Karen Michelle
Nutt

Produced by Karen Michelle Nutt

Design Consultation by Laura Shinn

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Fated to be Yours
is a work of
fiction. Though actual locations may be mentioned, they are used in
a fictitious manner and the events and occurrences were invented in
the mind and imagination of the author except for the inclusion of
actual historical facts. Similarities of characters or names used
within to any person – past, present, or future – are coincidental
except where actual historical characters are purposely
interwoven.

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.

To those who love Otherworldly tales with a
bite.

Chapter One

The shadow blocked the porch light for a
flicker of a millisecond, but it proved enough to alert Derek Hayes
of the vampire's presence. Supernatural presences tended to feed
off energy. "He's heading toward the back of the house," Derek
whispered into his earpiece as he motioned to his brothers Axel and
Wade with a quick flick of his hand.

Axel nodded and jogged around the corner of
the house with Wade trailing behind him with his claymore—his sword
of choice—gripped tight in his hand.

Over the years, Derek had catalogued over
fifty different vampire septs, some more lethal than others. Quite
a few could feed off the humans with no ill effect—as long as the
vamp didn't lose control, while other vampire bites would insure
the human would turn from just one nick of their bloodthirsty
fangs.

The vampire Derek and his brothers hunted
tonight happened to be from one of the nastier septs called the
Nosferatu. They were as mean as they were hideous with long jagged
teeth and deep set red eyes. In their true form, they looked more
like the black and white horror flick vamps, but they were known to
glamour the humans they chose to feed upon. One bite and they were
able to work their charm. The victim didn't have to be drained of
their blood to be turned by a Nosferatu. Their bite infected the
victim like a terminal disease. They were doomed no matter if they
survived the initial onslaught.

The vamp had targeted Grift Wilkins and his
family. He already killed Grift, his wife, his daughter, and even
went after his ex-wife.

As far as they could tell, the vamp
infiltrated the family's life by posing as a therapist for the
youngest child, Kylie. She was seeing the therapist to help her
cope with family issues. How effed up was that? Now the child was
dead and so were the rest of the family—except for Kylie's brother
who had given them the slip. T. Wilkins—the 'T' standing for Trent
or Tim. Unfortunately the details emailed to them by the
Preternatural Regulating Bureau
hadn't been clear on the
guy's name, but they knew the male was in his early twenties, the
son of Grift and his ex-wife, Marla. They had to take care of T.
Wilkins, and dust the Nosferatu that caused this devastating mess
before anyone else ended up infected or dead.

Derek took careful steps, making sure to keep
his handheld crossbow ready. He would only have one chance to get
off a shot. If he missed, it could cost him his life. Sweat
trickled down the side of his face even though the temperature was
a crisp forty-five degrees.

Reaching the end of the house, he leaned
against the siding and waited for Axel and Wade to be in position.
The paint on the eaves above him were peeling, but otherwise the
Wilkins' house was well maintained. It was a two-story home in the
midst of charming suburbia, a good neighborhood where most would be
thrilled to make their home. Where the neighbors knew each other
and probably had a block party every
Fourth of July
.

He once dreamed of such a life—boring,
mundane…normal…

However, he'd been born into the hunter's
life without a choice in the matter. The Hayes family hunted down
vampires, demons, basically anything that used humans as their
playthings…or their meal.

When most children played outdoors with their
friends and rode bikes to the park or played some kind of sport, he
and his siblings were given years of grueling training to kill
Otherworldly beings. He'd killed his first vampire on his tenth
birthday; a bloody long battle, but his training had kept him
alive.

He had two brothers and one sister. He could
rely on all his siblings to have his back, but he was closest to
his sister Cassandra…or at least he used to be. A few months back,
she'd been sent to the Hamptons to find and kill a vampire from the
Oiche Sith sept, but instead she did the stupidest thing
imaginable—she fell in love with the blood drinker. A great big
no-no. Hunters did NOT fall for their prey.
Stake and dust
was the Hayes' motto. You didn't invite the preternatural being
back to your place for a nightcap. He knew all this, had it drilled
into his head the rights and wrongs of a hunter's life, but he
still envied his sister's audacity to defy the odds and find love
with a creature they all thought incapable of such a feeling.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now
was not the time to think about his sister's life choices. The vamp
they hunted wouldn't want to be all nice and cozy. Rip his throat
out...yep, but he didn't like to play nice either.

From where he stood, he could see a swing set
with a slide and bars. It saddened him to think Kylie Wilkins would
never again enjoy an afternoon in the sun. The vamp devoured Kylie
Wilkins. Only a pool of blood in her bedroom was left of the little
girl. These nasty fellows thought of children as a delicacy and
they didn't waste a morsel.

Finally, the familiar static tickled his ear
and Axel's voice came through the earpiece.

"Ready?"

"Ready to stake and dust," he replied.

"Let's do it on three. One…two…Go," Axel's
war cry caused his ears to ring. He really wished his brother
wouldn't do that. He charged, too, expecting to see the vamp
waiting for them, but the yard stood empty. He met his brothers'
gazes from where he stood. Axel in his leather jacket and lethal
glare, made him look like a leader of a motorcycle gang, wicked
guns, broadsword and all. Wade sported a black Stetson that had
seen better days, worn out jeans, T-shirt with the logo of some
country band he'd gone to see, and a pair of snakeskin cowboy
boots. Country singer came to mind. Well, all except for the lethal
claymore he gripped in his hand instead of a guitar. No doubt he
sported daggers and other weapons in his jean jacket.

He shifted his gaze, searching for any sign
of where the vamp hid. The creature had to be near.

When they arrived at the Wilkins' home, they
found the Nosferatu in Kylie's room, rummaging through her drawers.
Most likely hunting for a souvenir to take back to his nest, a
memento of his successful kill.

No, the vamp hadn't left. He wouldn't leave
without what he came here to retrieve.

A whoosh of wind blew the ends of his hair
off the base of his neck. "Look alive, bros," he warned his
brothers as he spun in the direction, he believed the vamp to be,
with his weapon ready to shoot.

"Holy effin' hell," Wade cursed. His Stetson
no longer sat upon his head, but lay a few feet to the left of him,
but Wade knew better than to let this distract him.

The vamp toyed with them, flitting in between
them like a ghost before hiding in the shadows.

The chains clicking like wind chimes drew his
attention to the swing set. The swing blew in the breeze. He
narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze toward the large oak tree,
the vamp sat no more than a few feet away among the foliage and
flowers. Two glowing red eyes peered back at him. "Gotcha." His
forefinger pressed on the trigger and the arrow flew.

The vamp bellowed and stumbled forward. Derek
didn't waste any time and loaded another arrow, but the vamp had
already dislodged the weapon from his shoulder and flitted.

"Behind you," Wade shouted.

Derek heard his brother's warning as he swung
around to fire off another shot. The vamp stood a foot away with
his hands outstretched and his fangs a nasty length meant for
tearing. If he'd been a millisecond slower, he would have been this
vamp's next victim. The vamp fell to his knees then face forward,
landing hard. He had hit the vamp's heart, paralyzing him, but the
creature was far from dead.

Derek rolled his left shoulder to loosen it
up. Too bad the legends had it all wrong. A simple stake to the
heart didn't dust a vamp; the wood only immobilized it. To truly
kill a blood drinker, they had to relieve it of its head. This took
a good deal of muscle, but once done the blood drinker literally
turned to ash.
Yeah, dust to dust, ashes to ashes…yada yada
yada…