Almost Human

Erotic Romance

Secret Cravings Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com

Smashwords Edition
©
2015 Honoria
Ravena

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A Secret Cravings Publishing Book

Erotic Romance

Almost Human

Copyright © 2015 Honoria Ravena

E-book ISBN: 978-1-63105-512-6

First E-book Publication: February 2015

Cover design by Dawné Dominique

Edited by Christy Caughie

Proofread by Courtney Karmiller

All cover art and logo copyright © 2015 by
Secret Cravings Publishing

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This literary
work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
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or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are
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Secret Cravings Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com

For Sascha, Lindsey and Emily.

“How long are you going to stalk me, vampire
hunter? Am I supposed to be the monster in this story? Because
you’re awfully creepy.”

I paused in the mouth of the alley. Crap. So
much for the element of surprise. How had it spotted me? Usually
vampires I hunted didn’t know someone was tracking them until it
was too late.

He kept his back to me. “You’re interrupting
my hunt. I haven’t fed in a long while and would appreciate it if
you backed off.”

A chilly blast of wind swept through the
space. Could that be his magic? Sometimes the blood suckers were
impressive. And the wind did carry a dark sense of foreboding that
made me want to turn tail. If I’d been human, and not a witch, I
probably would have.

He spun around and I shrank back into the
shadows behind a dumpster. Not the most pleasant place I’d ever
been, but not the worst either.

“Really? You can’t hide from me. I can feel
you…taste you, even if I hadn’t spotted you two blocks back.”

I usually only hunted for money, but as soon
as I’d brushed past this vampire in the street outside the coffee
shop I’d known what he was. Being raised to hunt vampires, I
couldn’t resist the call to follow him and take him down before he
had a chance to hurt anyone. Even if I wasn’t getting paid,
sometimes there was a higher calling to consider. And seeing
another Amber Alert pop up on my phone? Another body on the news? I
wasn’t willing to risk that.

Though taking on this big, blond son of a
bitch without being able to surprise him hadn’t been my plan. I
drew my knife. Oh well, coming out guns blazing might shock him,
too. I stepped around the dumpster and faced him.

He smirked. “Well, you certainly are
prettier than most of the hunters after my ass. Can I help you with
something, sweetheart?”

“Well, if you’d like to stand still while I
put this knife in your heart and then behead you, I’d appreciate
it.”

He tipped back his head and chuckled. The
sound was sexy, but vaguely threatening. “Yeah, not going to
happen. I’d prefer it if you came over here, tilted your head to
the side and let me take a little bit of blood. Promise it won’t
hurt.”

His power beat against my skull, and I
ground my teeth together. If I’d been human, I probably would have
walked straight to him and done as he asked. As it was, it was
almost an insult for him to try to influence me.

“I’m a witch, idiot. You can’t use your
powers on me.”

He scowled. “Always good to give it a try.
Who knows, you could have been weak, but like I said, I haven’t fed
in a while. My magic isn’t up to scratch.”

He pulled a knife from the sheath at his
waist. He was so fast I almost didn’t see the movement. He was
trying to intimidate me. He didn’t need that kind of speed at this
time of the fight. He sighed and tossed the knife end over end
before catching the handle again. “Are you sure you want to do
this? I mean, I like to play with my food a little, but I’d hate to
actually hurt you.”

It was my turn to laugh. Granted, the
situation wasn’t ideal, but I’d been born to kill his kind.

My heart throbbed and I rubbed my chest with
my free hand. What was that? I was in perfect condition. There was
no reason for this tightness I was feeling in my ribs or my stomach
to feel queasy. Something was wrong.

He arched an eyebrow. “Problems?”

I glared at him. Was he somehow doing this
to me? I built up my psychic walls and the feeling abated a little.
Either way, it was time to push through the pain.

I rushed him, aiming my knife for his
throat. He blocked hard and I lost my footing, stumbling into the
wall. Thunder cracked and the sky opened up, dumping a deluge of
water on us both.

A flash of lightening illuminated his
puzzled stare. “What the hell is wrong with you, hunter? As cocky
as you are, I wouldn’t think you were this inept.”

I rammed my foot toward his knee, but he
sidestepped easily.

“Slow too?”

He was right. Something was wrong with me.
Paralyzing weakness swept through me. I wasn’t even sure I could
keep my feet without the wall’s help.

In a blur of motion he was there. The back
of his hand connected with my face and I tumbled to the ground. I
wasn’t sure if the dizziness and inability to breathe were from his
blow or whatever was happening to me. But whatever was going on was
about to get me killed. I’d dropped my knife when he’d hit me.

His boots came into my line of vision and I
glanced up at him. He dropped into a crouch next to me and I
flinched. He tangled his hands in my hair, yanking my head up.

“You’re very lucky I’m not a bad guy. I
could rip your throat out, huntress, and believe me a day ago I
would have. I’m not going to help you, but I’m not going to kill
you either. You’d best stay away from me in the future.”

He released my hair and was gone.

I curled into the fetal position, shaking.
Each breath caused my chest to clench. I didn’t have time to
consider the fact that I was damned lucky he’d left me alive. I was
still worried I would die anyway.

Suddenly, I knew what the problem was. My
sister was in trouble. She was dying. The knowledge sank like a
stone in my gut. I needed to get to her. I managed to gather my
strength and shove myself to my feet. Using the wall as support, I
made my way down the alley. My apartment was a block away. I needed
to pack weapons, grab my car keys, and get moving.

I’d never make it in time. What I was
feeling couldn’t possibly be true…but if it was, I was too late. If
she was in this kind of pain, there was something horribly
wrong.

It couldn’t be true. I refused to believe. I
would make it to her house and she would be fine.

The weight in my chest vanished, and my
headache subsided to a dull roar. I was still unsteady, but it no
longer felt like I was dragging an anvil down the street. However,
the dark pit in my stomach expanded. She was dead. That was all it
could mean.

I made it to my apartment and grabbed my
phone. I’d assumed I was going on a ten minute coffee run and
wouldn’t need it.

“Please, let this be a nightmare.” It was a
reoccurring one of mine. I dialed my sister’s number. “Casey, damn
it, pick up your phone. Please, baby sister, pick up.”

It went to voicemail and I sank down next to
the bed, resting my head on my knees. This wasn’t a dream. If
something wasn’t wrong, I’d eat my shoes. I reigned in the need to
throw the damned phone down the hallway and dialed my mother’s
number.

I stumbled to my feet and rushed back into
the bedroom. I pulled the suitcase out from under the bed, pressed
the speakerphone, and started going through drawers, throwing
clothes into the suitcase while the phone continued to ring. I had
to go to her now. She couldn’t be dead.

I took a deep breath and tried to center
myself. “Come on, Kori. You have a deep connection to Casey for
sure, but it’s never been anything like this. You’ve seen a lot of
fucked up shit lately, and you’re having a mental breakdown. This
call is just going to interrupt your mother’s REM cycle and she’ll
be pissed.”

“McCormic.” My mother’s voice was sharp and
cold over the line. Nothing unusual about that. Maybe everything
was fine. Our line of witches hunted vampires exclusively, and
attempted to deaden our emotions. Many people said my mother was
the perfect hunter, but they were wrong. She felt, even if the only
emotion she was capable of was anger. Constant anger.

“Hey, Mom. It’s Kori. How is Casey? Where is
she? I want to talk to her.”

“She’s been damned.” My mother’s chilly
voice didn’t change as she said it, but I knew she was close to
violence.

I froze. I had thought she was dead. Being a
vampire was worse. I couldn’t have heard it right. “What?”

“She’s damned. She’s been turned into a
vampire and she hasn’t killed herself. She’s evil.”

I shook my head even though she couldn’t see
the gesture. “How do you know that? I thought I just felt her die.
How do you know she was turned?”

“I caught her with a vampire. I knew when I
disowned her for not killing him, she would go running to him. I
watched them fight and his love for her is stomach churning. A
pitifully twisted demon refusing to kill his mortal enemy. When I
felt her die, I simply assumed he hadn’t killed her.”

Bile rose in my throat. I swallowed hard and
composed myself. Either way, the sister I knew was dead. Just
because her body walked the Earth didn’t mean her soul was in it.
“I’m coming home.”

“I was going to tell you to. She must be
dealt with before she becomes a black mark against this family.
With a fallen daughter, what will the rest of witch society think
of this family? Even vampires will cease to think we’re a threat.
We can’t have one of them associated with us. We would never be
trusted to execute them. You would never get one of your ‘jobs’
again.”

My family had a problem with me hunting
vampires for money. They did the job because witches were meant to.
We were the protectors of the humans. Personally, I felt I had a
specialty, and I should be paid for providing the service. Greedy
of me, but at least I could pay the bills.

“As the eldest of the new generation you’re
expected to handle something like this, Kori. But if you don’t have
the stomach for it, I’ll be forced to. You’ll never be Matriarch of
the line if you allow the task to fall to me, but I don’t believe
you have the power to lead the witches when I’m gone anyway.”

I narrowed my eyes at the phone. Sometimes I
wanted to strangle her. Personally, I didn’t want to be Matriarch.
I’d taken off to get away from duty, honor, and the
responsibilities that had been pressed upon me from birth. But I
also didn’t want the position torn away from me. Things inside
witch society needed to change. If I became Matriarch, I would have
the power to force changes.

“I know what I’m supposed to do, Mother. I
know that it’s not my sister in that body. Just give me the details
and I’ll take care of it.” Even if it killed a piece of me. As long
as that demon inhabited her body, my sister’s soul couldn’t move
on.