A Warrior for a Wolf. Two-Natured London 5.

By Susanna Shore

"You!" No wonder the scent had irritated her. It belonged to a man she wanted to see even less than Ryan--and had for a far longer time.
"Me," Zach said, flashing his easy smile that used to make her knees weak when she was a foolish teenager. Not anymore. "Have we met?"

Vampire warrior Zach Hamilton has divided his centuries in the Crimson Circle between killing renegade vampires and womanising. Now the latter has lost its appeal and he doesn't know how to get his groove back. A mating bond with a wolf-shifter isn't among the desired cures, but when he wakes up at a hospital after being shot, that's what seems to have happened.

If only his rider hadn't chosen a woman who hates him at sight.

The last person Harriet Green wanted to see on an already bad night was Zach Hamilton, the crush of her teenage years. It doesn't help her mood that he has no recollection of her. But she is a doctor, so when he is shot, she does everything in her power to save his life. Mating bond is an unwanted side-effect she does her best to ignore. She knows from experience that pairings between wolf-shifters and vampires don't work. After all, her ex-fiancé broke up their engagement when he was made into a vampire.

But then it turns out her vampire ex is now an ex-vampire. He is a renegade. Zach would love nothing better than to kill the man who has hurt his mate, but she has other ideas. She's a doctor and sworn to protect life. Any life, even renegades.

Are a warrior and a doctor even less compatible than a vampire and a wolf-shifter? Can they overcome their differences, or will one careless act doom them to an eternity of misery?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susanna Shore
• Release date: Dec 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9789527061176

Susanna Shore

Susanna Shore is a historian turned author. She writes Two-Natured London paranormal romance series, P.I. Tracy Hayes mysteries, The Reed Files crime capers, and House of Magic paranormal cozies, as well as stand-alone thrillers and contemporary romances.

Book preview

A Warrior for a Wolf

Two-Natured London 5

Susanna Shore

A Warrior for a Wolf. Two-Natured London 5.

Copyright © 2015 A. K. S. Keinänen

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, or distributed without permission, except for brief quotations in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, dialogues and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, organisations or persons, living or dead, except those in public domain, is entirely coincidental.

Published by Crimson House Books at Smashwords.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover © 2020 A. K. S. Keinänen

Editing: Lee Burton, Ocean’s Edge Editing

Twitter: @SusannaShore

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Two-Natured London Series

The Wolf’s Call

Warrior’s Heart

A Wolf of Her Own

Her Warrior for Eternity

A Warrior for a Wolf

Magic under the Witching Moon

Moonlight, Magic and Mistletoes

Crimson Warrior

Magic on the Highland Moor

Wolf Moon

P.I. Tracy Hayes Series

Tracy Hayes, Apprentice P.I.

Tracy Hayes, P.I. and Proud

Tracy Hayes, P.I. to the Rescue

Tracy Hayes, P.I. with the Eye

Tracy Hayes, from P.I. with Love

Tracy Hayes, Tenacious P.I.

Tracy Hayes, Valentine of a P.I.

Thrillers

Personal

The Assassin

Contemporary Romances

At Her Boss’s Command

It Happened on a Lie

To Catch a Billionaire Dragon

Which Way to Love?

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

About the Author

Magic under the Witching Moon, Excerpt

Also in the Two-Natured London Series

Also by Susanna Shore

Chapter One

Zach Hamilton descended the main staircase of the Crimson Manor at a brisk pace. The wooden stairs had suffered the daily use of dozens of warriors of the Crimson Circle over the past four centuries, but his heavy step didn’t make them sway. A team of carpenters showed up every decade or so to maintain them, summoned by a command invisible to him, and for a while the varnish would shine and the stairs wouldn’t squeak.

He wondered fleetingly who was responsible for taking care of it. The housekeeper? The butler? Or his father? He wouldn’t put it past Alexander to take personal interest in everything that happened in the manor. Well, as long as he didn’t have to worry about it…

He reached the dark and opulent foyer that had been made in Elizabethan style when it was the fashion du jour, half a century before his birth. It was a large space with dark panelling, gilded leather tapestry, and a limestone floor that had been worn smooth and shiny. While the rest of the manor had changed over the centuries, the foyer was exactly like it had been in his childhood. He wasn’t one to oppose change, but he had to admit he liked the entrance hall the way it was.

First to arrive, he crossed the foyer to the huge fireplace opposite the stairs to wait for the others. It was September and not terribly cold, but a fire was roaring there, keeping the damp away. It was a welcome home signal for weary warriors returning from their nightly patrols, and a place to gather around when preparing to head out for one, like tonight.

He threw himself onto a sturdy leather armchair—one of the few concessions to modernity in the hall—and stretched his long legs before him. His boots were still serviceable, he marked, although he could have cleaned them better after the previous night’s rain. Mud clung to the black shoelaces in clumps, colouring them grey. At least his leather jeans were clean, which was the best he could say about them. He didn’t much like modern leather trousers; they were uncomfortable and difficult to run in, made for show or riding bikes. By the time they were worn soft enough to be usable, they had to be replaced.

Proper leather was one of the few things he missed from the old days—the seventeenth century in his case. The leather jerkin that covered him to mid-thigh was from that era—or at least the model of the sleeveless double-breasted vest was. Present day jerkins the vampire warriors of the Crimson Circle used were lined with Kevlar for maximum protection. Vampire shields weren’t much use against high speed projectiles; they were more meant against invisible threats, like magic.

One by one, his fellow warriors on duty that night arrived to the foyer. Every night, five patrols of four men would head to London and the City at the heart of it to hunt renegades, or demon vampires, as the warriors called them. Tonight was no exception. Excited talk and boasting soon filled the room. Maybe tonight something big would happen.

It was a couple of weeks already since their latest major victory that had destroyed a renegade cell targeting human women with promise. Things had been quiet since then, but Zach and the warriors knew it was only a matter of time before something happened again.

Everyone was present when Zach felt his brother approach, his impact in Might as familiar to him as his own. Gabriel was his senior by a century and half, and they had different mothers, but thanks to their father they looked a lot alike, with dark colours and classical features—though Gabe’s defined jaw and straight nose were stronger than Alexander’s, and his dark brows were starker, accentuated by his habit of wearing his long black hair in a tight cue at his back. In Zach, those features were more refined, his cheeks lean and the line of his jaw and nose slightly lighter. From his mother, Zach had inherited sleekly curling hair that fell around his face in a mess, and deep dimples that gave him an angelic look—or diabolic, depending on his mood.

They were both large men, around 6 feet 5, but Gabe was the more muscular of them, while Zach was leaner like Alexander. In fighting leathers, Gabe was a sight to behold, as Zach once again noted as he emerged from the hallway that led deeper into the middle wing of the E-shaped manor. Zack rose up with the rest of the warriors. They might be brothers, but as First Son Gabe outranked him, and he respected his brother.

His movement drew Gabe’s attention. What the hell are you doing here, Zach?

Heading out on a patrol.

But it’s your night off.

So? Zach grinned as his brother’s brows shot up. It wasn’t often that one witnessed Gabe being taken aback.

So wouldn’t you rather go clubbing?

Nah.

Gabe blinked a couple of times. Okay then.

Gabe didn’t ask more questions, but Zach knew he wasn’t done. His brother would want to know why, contrary to a habit of a lifetime, Zach wasn’t unwinding in his usual manner with clubbing and womanising.

Zach rode the thirty miles from the far edges of Epsom to London with Gabe and Marcus, another Hamilton who could pass as their twin. His hair was cropped short in Roman style, but otherwise he looked exactly like the brothers. They called him cousin, because he was the same age as Gabe, but he was actually Alexander’s grandson a couple of times over.

Gabe spoke the moment he had the car running. What gives?

Zach shrugged. I feel abandoned and lonely. He meant it as a glib remark to brush off his brother, but as the words came out he realised they were true. Things had changed in the past months and he was feeling left out of the loop.

Jeremy Grayson, who was his patrol partner and best friend for centuries, and Jem’s brother Jasper had found themselves mates and were busy settling down. More often than not, they opted for spending their free nights with their girlfriends, and had done so tonight. Nicholas Fortier, Jas’s patrol partner, had wanted to stay home tonight too, leaving Zach with no one to hang out with. Going out alone was no fun, but staying home hadn’t enticed him either. The only option was to join a patrol. So here he was.

Gabe wasn’t buying it. You? You have a different woman every week, and more lined up than you can possibly have any use for.

And I don’t care for any of them. I don’t even remember any of their names. He wasn’t sure he had always asked. They are not a remedy for what ails me.

Which is?

My best friends are moving on to a life that I can’t follow into.

Marcus snorted from the back seat. Says who?

Me. They’re doing things as ‘couples’. He made sure the disdaining quotes were clear in his tone. Third wheels aren’t needed in that.

Marcus laughed. Is this about you not being the centre of everyone’s attention?

Hey! I don’t need to be the centre of the attention.

Uh-huh, his companions said in unison, and Zach grinned.

Well, not always… But he had to admit it played a great part in why he was feeling let-down.

There’s an easy solution to what ails you, Marcus said. There was a mischievous look on his face when Zach turned to look. Become a couple yourself.

Zach shuddered, and his brother and cousin roared in laughter. Leg-shackling myself to a female is hardly a solution. No, I have a better one. I shall find myself new friends to party with.

Is that why you’re here tonight? Gabe asked. It’s not like you haven’t known these men for centuries, in work and play.

But people change. Who knows, maybe there’s a party animal among them I know nothing about.

Or there’s a woman out there who could be your new best friend.

You can’t be friends with women.

Your best friends seem to think otherwise.

Zach spread his arms, brushing his brother’s words aside. Well, Pippa is obviously an exception, having benefited from my influence. And Jem just got plain lucky with Cora. But there aren’t exactly a plethora of women out there who can face me as an equal. And he should know. He had pretty much met them all.

"Because you’re so special."

Zach felt his cheeks warm, not a common reaction to him. No, it’s just that I tend to scare women. They want to bed me, yes, but when it comes to actually hanging out with me they’re too intimidated to even speak. Vampire women barely dare breathe in my company lest they offend me. Human women aren’t similarly affected by me ‘cause they don’t react to Might, but I frighten them physically. And anyway, they die, so I won’t consider them.

There’s always shifters, Marcus suggested, and while Zach had bedded his fair share of those as well, he shook his head.

They’re too connected to their clans. He frowned. Anyway, you’re the ones to talk. You’re both much older than me and you’re both single.

I’m too busy to date, Gabe stated.

"I bet Dad would love grandchildren," Zach teased his brother.

Hey! Marcus exclaimed from the back seat. Grandchild here.

Zach seldom gave a thought to how old his father was, but he had already lived many lives before Gabe was born, and even had children from a marriage to a human woman from the time before his promise had been fulfilled. None of them had been made into a vampire that Zach knew of, though Marcus was the progeny of one of those human children, born a century and half after the marriage.

He remembered something else too. And you were married once, weren’t you?

Marcus’s face, as stern and forbidding as Gabe’s, closed completely. I don’t want to talk about it.

Zach let the matter rest as they had arrived at the City. The place had quieted for the night, as much as a metropolis ever could. The City at the heart of London was the centre of the business world, and while some people lived there too, the area came truly alive only during the working hours. At night, it belonged to the warriors of the Crimson Circle and their prey.

They pulled over at the rendezvous spot, a different place every night, and got out of the car. Gabe assigned them to their patrol areas and they were off.

Zach joined one of the groups that looked most promising friend-wise. Kevin Pritchard, Jonathan Duff, Jory Kendrick, and Griffin Rains were about his age, and had been with the Crimson Circle for centuries. They were all single men, and most importantly, were a recently formed patrol group, not yet a tight-knit one, so he might fit in.

There wasn’t a warrior with whom Zach hadn’t been on patrol one time or another, and these men weren’t an exception. They didn’t need to communicate much as they headed to their sector at the northern edge of the City, around the Smithfield Market and St Bartholomew’s hospital. The patrols covered the entire square mile, but the hospital was especially important, as it hosted a two-natured wing. Newly fulfilled and other weaker vampires, and those shifters who weren’t powerful enough to heal themselves, like most non-predatory ones, needed hospital services just like humans. It would be very easy for renegades to attack vampires there when they were vulnerable.

Despite his high hopes, Zach soon discovered that the four men couldn’t replace the friends he already had. Outside of work, he had nothing in common with them. The four of them seemed unnaturally interested in fishing, hunting, and hiking. The only thing Zach wanted to hunt was renegades, and the great outdoors was a concept best enjoyed on TV.

Is this an evaluation or something?

Zach gave a puzzled look at Kevin, who had asked the question.

No, why?

I thought Gabe maybe made you check on how we were working together.

He may ask about it afterwards, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m bored.

What, you ran out of women?

The men laughed and Zach rolled his eyes. Something like that.

What you need is a wife, Jory stated with authority, and the other men nodded.

You’re the ones to talk. You’re all single. Hadn’t he had this conversation already tonight?

But we’re not bored.

It’s a funny reason to get married, boredom.

The evening wasn’t helping much to alleviate his. His company was not what he had hoped for and the enemy was a no-show. But there were hours left till dawn. Anything could happen.

They walked the length of Charterhouse Street at the northern edge of their perimeter. It was full of people this early in the evening, the bars, restaurants, and clubs there keeping the area busy till late at night. Normally that meant the enemy would avoid the area and the warriors wouldn’t have to worry about it. But there was an engagement party for two vampires in one of the bars tonight that just might lure the renegades in. So they would keep a close eye on the place.

Do we know who’s getting engaged? Zach asked his companions, not really caring about the answer.

Fearing one of your conquests is off the market?

Naturally. But the jibe annoyed him. He was more than a party-animal and womaniser. He was a great warrior and the second strongest healer they had after Alexander. Didn’t that count for anything?

The bride is the oldest Townsend daughter. Elsa, I think her name is, Jonathan said. Zach tried to conjure an image of the woman, but the only thing he could remember was that Townsend had three vampire daughters and one of them had been Pippa’s friend at one time—a couple of centuries ago. Women of good vampire families didn’t frequent the joints he did.

And who’s the groom?

"No one knows. He’s a newly fulfilled human."

Zach startled. Well, that’s … magnanimous of Townsend.

The guy has to be from a good human family. Townsend wouldn’t consent to it otherwise.

They all nodded. Seymour Townsend was the head of a very old vampire family and only associated with his own kind. Having one of his daughters marry a vampire of no consequence was peculiar, to say the least.

"I hope he’s not so newly fulfilled he’s not able to control his rider," Zach mused. It took at least a century before vampires were suitably in control of their second nature to be able to handle the emotional upheavals of a romantic relationship.

Perhaps we’d better keep an eye on the happy couple, just in case, Griffin suggested. Zach made a mental note to talk to his brother about it too. An out-of-control rider could wreak deadly havoc among humans and two-natureds alike.

They headed towards the hospital next. Barts didn’t have a human A&E, so it never became as busy on party nights as other hospitals. The grounds were emptying of humans already, and they kept their vampire senses open; it wouldn’t do to let their concentration slip just because things seemed calm.

But the night went on and