Zeek's Loving Thorn (The Narcoleptic Vampire Series Vol. 3.1)

By Dicey Grenor

She’s an intersex, newly turned vampire.
He’s a human, who was left behind.
Together, they learn how to love each other...
and survive in the final days.

RATED M for violence, sex, and way too much profanity.
Note: Zeek was first introduced in Sleepy Willow's Loosed Soul (The Narcoleptic Vampire Series Vol. 3).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dicey Grenor
• Release date: Sep 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310714306

Dicey Grenor

Wife to my best friend and biggest supporter. Mother of two handfuls. Attorney in Houston, Texas. Author of sexy, daring, wild and risky books.

Book preview

Zeek’s Loving Thorn

A NOVELLA OF

The Narcoleptic

Vampire Series

Vol. 3.1

Dicey Grenor

Dicey Grenor Books

Published by Dicey Grenor

Independent Author

Smashwords Edition

www.Diceygrenorbooks.com

Copyright © Dicey Grenor, 2013

All rights reserved

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Cover design: www.facebook.com/GrafxPassion

Dedicated to: LGBTI Community.

Acknowledgments

This was certainly not the easiest love story to tell. One, I’m not a sappy kind of girl, and when I embarked on a story focusing on love, I got nervous. Two, I wanted to treat Zeek’s situation with care and respect, so that any reader who is intersexed would be proud. Of course, I won’t please everyone with the scenes, but at least know that I tried to keep it endearing and still erotic. Lastly, I shifted POVs between Zeek and Thorn throughout, which was a challenge. I’m happy with the finished product and hope readers are too. Thanks to all the fans of The Narcoleptic Vampire Series for following this special character to her own novella!

I had some help from three people along the way: Danyahel Norris, Bill Fowlkes, and Kendralyn Jasper. Thanks so much, guys and gal! Your input and feedback was priceless. We knew this would be a difficult story, but you stuck by me through it all…even if it was outside your comfort zones, Danny and Bill. *wink*

Love, Dicey.

Zeek and Thorn:

She’s an intersexed, newly turned vampire.

He’s a human, who was left behind.

Together, they learn how to love each other…

and survive in the final days.

Other books by Dicey Grenor:

The Narcoleptic Vampire Series

Sleepy Willow’s Bonded Soul (Vol. 1)

Sleepy Willow’s Heartless Soul (Vol. 2)

Sleepy Willow’s Loosed Soul (Vol. 3)

Wolf’s Fire (Vol. 3.2)

Along Came a Killer (Vol. 3.3)

Shameful (Taboo)

Best Friends, Fantasy Lovers (Erotic Romance)

How To Have A Perfect Marriage (Dark Comedy Novelette)

PROLOGUE

Zeek hadn’t been a vampire for long before the world she knew had come to an end. Did she give a fuck? Not really. The world had never been kind to her. In fact, the last few years of her life had been downright miserable, most of it spent in a hospital bed. So, would she have chosen not to give her soul over to darkness had she known it would preclude her from being one of the Chosen to leave the earth behind? Nope. For one, she wasn’t so sure the Chosen had gone to a better place, because she didn’t believe in Heaven. Heaven was a state of mind. Two, she felt pretty damn good in her new body, with her new powers, and she thought earth was a mighty fine place to be, especially if you weren’t human.

Thank Mother Earth, she wasn’t human.

Chapter 1

Do you see anyone over there? Zeek’s blood brother, Monroe, called to her from the adjoining room separated by a curtain.

The empty apple juice carton Zeek kicked made a loud noise against the quiet of the night. Nope. Just trash. She adjusted her low-riding gray cargo pants on her hips, stepped over the equipment wires, and followed Monroe’s voice.

Maybe we should just call it a night. There’s no one here. Monroe pulled back the curtain as Zeek approached. With a shaky hand, he lifted the small hospital gown he’d found. As with the hundreds they’d found before, this one’s strings were still tied. The body it had clothed must have disappeared like the others, because it wasn’t likely someone had taken time to retie it after taking it off.

Zeek somberly raised the hospital gown she’d found on the floor in the room she’d checked. It spoke volumes. She and Monroe had spent all night searching the hospital’s halls, scoping the rooms for any sign of life. It was time to face facts. To face the cold, harsh reality. They weren’t going to find anyone. The children of Texas Children’s Hospital were all gone, and the hospital had been abandoned.

Monroe’s eyes stared at the gown long enough to remember the pattern. But recognizing the pattern wouldn’t help find the child it had once belonged to. Monroe’s attention to useless detail demonstrated how difficult this task would be for him. Assigning him to search for human children, who needed blood to heal, was a mistake. Zeek didn’t think Monroe was ready for this, especially since his own children had gone missing.

Zeek could literally feel her brother’s anguish. His grief clogged her head and hollow chest. Feeling the depth of how hard this was for him, Zeek felt the need to apologize. I’m sorry, Monroe. This is the last floor, last room.

Monroe shrugged, and Zeek felt a cold blast of his sadness hit the back of her neck.

Damn. Zeek wished her maistress vampire, Willow, would have paired her up with another brother on this mission. Someone who wouldn’t have to reflect on his own missing children every time they ended up empty-handed. But Monroe had wanted to come. And Willow wouldn’t begrudge Monroe’s need for proof that all children were gone, not just his. Or his need to witness firsthand that children still existed amongst them, and therefore, it was possible to find his.

Sure, Zeek admired Monroe’s courage and perseverance. The mission just would have been less encumbering if she had been partnered with someone who didn’t have a heavy stake in the outcome. She needed someone willing to help once they found a child in need, but could also go back to the clan without guilt or loss of sleep if none were found.

Of course, her other brothers were bloodthirsty, wanting to kill all humans no matter the age. So that was a problem.

Monroe as a partner was better than nobody. At least she trusted him with her undead afterlife, knowing he had survival skills that transferred from his harsh human life.

Zeek dropped the gown and walked towards the exit. She hadn’t given up on the mission. She wouldn’t let him give up either. Tomorrow would bring a new night, new hope. There are dozens of hospitals in Houston. I’m sure we’ll eventually find a child who needs our help.

"You’re still refusing to acknowledge the Rapture took them all? You know that’s what Willow believes. After this, he waved his arm around at the quiet, dark chaos, I’m inclined to believe her."

Perhaps Monroe needed to believe his children had been chosen to go into the sky to fly kites and roll around with gentle lions, but Zeek wasn’t convinced. She had not ruled out alien abductions, government experiments, alternate universes, time warps, or witch and wizard tricks. I acknowledge that something monumental, historical even, has happened. All the children seemed to have disappeared. Zeek pointlessly flicked a light switch, except to accentuate that the power was out in the abandoned corridor. Luckily, they didn’t need light with their supernatural vision.

Along with others. More than just children are missing.

Yes, but lots of people remain. You, me—

Bad people. Monroe exhaled noisily. He didn’t need to breathe, so letting out that deep breath showed his high level of exasperation.

I don’t believe we’re bad. We’re out looking for children to save. How can we be bad?

We’re trying to recruit them to our side before our human adversaries have a chance to brainwash them against us. Our motivations are bad, don’t you think? Monroe jerked his head at the sound of a passing siren. He relaxed once he realized it was just another of many. Sirens, gunshots, breaking glass, and screams were prevalent in this post-mysterious disappearance era.

My motivation is to heal them the way Willow healed me. To bring them back from the brink of death with vampire blood. She grabbed his arm and looked him straight on. "Hello. We’re in a hospital, not Chuck E. Cheese’s. We’re not pedophiles."

Monroe smiled in spite of his depressed state. So you don’t believe Willow’s right.

It wasn’t