Page 1 of Bitten By Desire

Chapter 1

The General’s True Colors

My mother’s funeral was scheduled for three days after we found her body ripped open from neck to thigh on her bedroom floor. Our house was a crime scene, so I stayed with Julian while Zoe bunked with her girlfriend Hazel. Everything felt fake, like a fuzzy kind of wall separated me from reality. Food tasted like cardboard. People’s words sounded like mumbles. Even my vampire’s gentle touch or embrace when I cried late into the night felt distant like it was happening to someone else.

Only one thought surfaced over and over again. This is my fault. My psychic gifts had tried to warn me of the danger, but I’d stubbornly shut them down, not wanting to have to hear or feel any more horror.

I slipped on my black heels and tugged at the matching dress I was wearing to the ceremony as Julian waited silently near the door—far enough to give me space, but close enough to rush in if I needed him. He wore a tailored grey suit and matching tie, his handsome features arranged into a stoic mask. But I knew him well enough to note the concern tugging at the edges of his deep blue eyes and the slight downturn at the corners of his full lips. The dead didn’t have auras, but I knew that Julian’s would have been gray with sadness and worry for me, and that made my heart lurch harder.

Silently, he led me outside, hand on the small of my back as he steered me to the passenger side of the vamp mobile, a sleek black sports car that always magically reappeared whole and unblemished wherever he needed it, no matter what it had been through. My ears buzzed with the unending quiet as he drove us toward the small cemetery on a green cliffside overlooking the Atlantic.

Located in the Bermuda triangle, Monster Island had only been home to Mama, Zoe, and I for a short time. Beautiful and filled with magic, it was the right place for her to be. I knew she’d loved it here.

“Who did this?” I asked as Julian parked.

His hand found mine and squeezed. “I don’t know. But when we find out, they will suffer for it.”

Slowly, I turned toward him, not bothering to wipe away the tears that felt like a normal thing now. In the past, when Julian had threatened to harm those who hurt me, I’d chastised him, acting as his conscience. But the only thing inside me other than emptiness right now was a burning desire to rake giant wounds down the front of whoever had done the same to my mother.

I nodded.

After a few deep breaths, I opened the car door and found Julian had already zipped over to my side to offer his hand. Together we made our way toward the large willow under which my mother’s open grave sat waiting to swallow the simple oak casket that lay above. The knowledge that she was inside that box curdled in my stomach.

Zoe rushed to my side and pulled me into a huge hug as soon as she saw me approach. Hazel waited solemnly near the headstone, freshly carved with magic and displaying Mama’s name along with the dates of her life, far too short, on top.

“Have you heard anything from the base?” Zoe looked up at Julian while squeezing my hand in hers. She knew I wasn’t saying much these days.

Julian shook his head once, glancing at me with that same poorly hidden concern he’d had earlier. “It’s been eerily quiet.”

As they spoke, more visitors made the trek up the hill to join us. I spotted Sam, the shifter sect liaison. He wore his long hair slicked back into a ponytail and a black sport coat. He kept rolling his shoulders as though the jacket was tight or bothersome in some way, and I appreciated him dressing up out of respect when it was clearly uncomfortable for him. Daphne, the nymph combat instructor from the base, showed up in a long black dress with a slit up the side and her blonde tresses tucked up in a twist. I warmed slightly, knowing she’d dressed nicely for the funeral but kept her hair up and leg free on purpose. She’d taught me to always be prepared to fight. And Lydia, my lab assistant turned vampire, had come as well, in black leather pants, Doc Martens, a leather crop top, and jacket with gleaming silver zippers open over it.

If only I’d had a chance to fight off Mama’s killer. Or rather, if only I’d listened to my gut and taken the chance I’d wasted. I couldn’t believe Zoe wasn’t angry with me. I supposed I was furious enough for the both of us.

The rest of the coven and island book club pressed closer, and I was grateful to see both Gladys, the admin from the base, and Murphy, the owner of the Rusty Shifter Pub, along with many others I’d met only briefly if at all.

Mama had made friends easily, and a new set of tears swam in my eyes as I looked around at the small crowd that had gathered to say their goodbyes. The only ones missing were Binx, the incubus she’d been dating who could only visit at night, and poor little Em, the psychic child we’d rescued from experimentation only to disappear the night of the murder. I knew Julian had every contact on high alert, searching for the child.

Hazel cleared her throat and a hush fell over everyone.

“We are gathered today to say farewell to one of the most talented and kind witches I’ve ever met.”

As the sect liaison, it was an honor to have her head the proceedings. She’d even foregone her usual punk style by spelling her short hair brown and wearing a matching pinstriped suit and pants. A caw sounded in the massive willow above her, and I glanced up to find Karma, Hazel’s shapeshifting familiar, in Raven form perched on the branch.

Ground crunched behind me, and I peered over my shoulder to find General Fontaine—in his black uniform, as always—taking a position several feet behind, hands behind his back and hulking form as thick as the trunk of the tree he stood in front of. His aura swirled with mixed emotions, including a large amount of yellow, indicating concern or doubt, and an overwhelming amount of black, which worried me.

“Darlene Devaux could whip up an expert potion or charm in the time it takes me to toast a slice of bread,” Hazel continued, recalling my attention, “but what she really excelled at was family. She raised two daughters, pretty much on her own, and damn, she did a good job. I hope that if I ever have kids, I can do half as well as Darlene did.”

Zoe sniffed beside me and managed a small smile. Was that something my sister wanted? A family? We’d never even talked about it.

“And everyone who met Darlene… We all felt special, like a daughter to her. She’d offer food and love the second she met you.”

Sam let out a howl, shocking just about everyone, but it was short lived. Then he bowed his head in respect.

Julian spoke in my mind through our mental bond as our fingers entwined. That was a signal of honor toward your mother. He’s put you and your entire family under the protection of his pack.

I gasped then snapped my mouth closed. I knew so little about supes other than the witches I grew up with and the vampires I’d made a job of studying, yet somehow, Julian knew so much. He’d had centuries to learn, I supposed.

“As a witch, Darlene’s request was to be laid to rest in a simple box so that she may return to the earth in the most natural way possible. Char?”

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