A Muse for Mishka (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book Twelve)

By R.E. Butler

Mishka, the five-hundred-year-old vampire master of the city of Cleveland, prides himself on having one of the largest covens in the Midwest. Although he has a life envied by many, the only thing he is missing is a mate. How to begin to find the right female for himself is a mystery, and the lonely nights are starting to get to him.

Musical muse Harmony Celeste has been traveling the states for the last two years trying to find her beloved mate. After a vision showed her with a golden-haired male with fangs, she knows for sure that he’s a vampire, but his location is a mystery. With her band in tow, she visits every major vampire coven in the states and uses her muse power to not only feed herself but also, she hopes to find her mate.

When Mishka and Harmony meet, sparks will fly, but they won’t be the only ones who notice. Human enemies have never stopped watching, and they take every opportunity to try to destroy vampires and those they love in the name of humanity. When Harmony is taken, can Mishka get to her before it's too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.E. Butler
• Release date: Sep 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370823857

R.E. Butler

I write for the readers who stay up past their bedtime, telling themselves "just one more chapter" long after the lights should be out. The ones who fall in love with fictional characters, escape into magical worlds, and crave protective heroes who would do anything for their women. My love for paranormal romance started as a young mom reading ebooks in the middle of the night, drawn to the monsters who were more than villains—they were heroes. Inspired by shifters and fated mates, I set a goal in 2011 to publish my first book. Over 100 books later, I'm still creating the kind of stories I love to read. Now, I spend my days dreaming up protective heroes, captivating heroines, and the happily ever afters they fight for, often while walking with my pup coworker and plotting my next book. I write for readers who love adventure, passion, and a touch of magic—because I'm still that girl under the covers, reading by flashlight, lost in another world.

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A Muse for Mishka (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book Twelve)

By R. E Butler

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

Excerpt from A Wish for Their Woman

Books by R. E.

About the Author

Copyright

Chapter One

Mishka stood behind the one-way mirrored glass that allowed him to see into his club, Fang, without allowing anyone to see him. Behind the glass was a private viewing room where he retired from time to time to escape the noise of the crowds. He lived and worked at Fang, as did most of his coven. He’d been master vampire of the city of Cleveland for decades. His coven was the largest and most powerful in the Midwest.

Turning away from the glass, he settled onto a plush leather couch and tried to relax. A knock on the door interrupted him, and he growled before standing and moving to the door. Pulling it open, he saw Brone–one of his vampires–and his beloved mate, Arissa.

Are we bothering you? Arissa asked.

Mishka pushed open the door farther and gestured inside. Of course not.

"We were looking for you in the family room," she said.

Brone sat on the couch and pulled his mate onto his lap. Arissa was a sweet Wiccan who protected the coven with her powers.

Mishka’s family comprised his inner circle of seven vampires. They shared a private room on the second floor of the club, with guards posted at the stairs. Mishka normally spent time in the family room, but tonight he’d wanted to be alone. Shutting the door, he opted not to sit and instead paced by the glass. What can I do for you?

I was making plans for the Saints and Sinners party, Arissa said. For the last few years, you’ve used the house bands, and this year Cella and I decided to search out new talent. We’ve got some bands lined up this week for auditions, and I wanted to get your input.

As long as they play by the rules of the club, I’m fine with whichever band you choose. You know that I trust you and Cella to handle these sorts of things.

I know. You’ve just been…distracted lately.

Mishka rubbed his temples with a sigh. You’re sweet to be concerned, but I’m fine.

Cella also wanted to know what you’d like your costume to be this year, Arissa said as she eased off Brone’s lap and stood.

I always go as a sinner. Tell her I’d like to be a saint this year.

Arissa grinned. I’m sure she’ll come up with something amazing.

Brone, who didn’t speak much to anyone except to Arissa, nodded at Mishka and escorted his beloved out of the room. When the door was shut and the room was once more empty, Mishka sank onto the couch and closed his eyes. He envied Brone, who had spent a thousand years as an unmated male, but had found completion with the redheaded Wiccan. Mishka was only five hundred. A long life compared to fragile human life but just a drop in the bucket of eternity. He wanted to find his own beloved, if only he knew where to look.

Chapter Two

Harmony stood offstage and watched the crowd as they swayed to the music pumping through the speakers. Bait, the vampire-run bar in the middle of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, had red walls that glistened like something unholy had been splashed on them. Humans wearing little more than pasties and G-strings packed the space. She’d been in numerous vamp bars over the years, but she’d never been in one that made her want to take a bath in a vat of hand sanitizer quite like this place.

Bridge, her friend and bandmate, cleared his throat.

What? she asked without turning her head to look at him.

You’re not feeling any connection.

It was a statement and not a question, but one she’d been mulling over herself ever since she came into Ohio the day before.

Sighing, she crushed her empty water bottle and turned to face him, tossing the bottle into a nearby trash can. No.

Then we should go.

We have another set at midnight, she pointed out.

Her band, Fluffy Venom, had been performing in vamp-run bars across the country for the last two years. As a musical muse, she had to not only emotionally feed off of humans and supernatural creatures to stay alive but she also was looking for her truemate.

Bridge looked over the top of her head, which was no hard task for him–she was a petite five-foot-four, and he was six and a half feet tall. They don’t care what they hear. They’re drunk on you and the food.

He couldn’t hide his distaste for the club from her, but she ignored it. Bridge didn’t think much of vampires who treated the humans who fed them as commodities to be bartered and traded. Bait was the sort of vamp bar that he thought should be shut down permanently.

Turning back to watch the crowd, Harmony touched her power lightly and felt an answering flare of energy bounce back toward her. She was at the zenith of her power, so feeding anymore wouldn’t benefit her. The vampires in the club were feeling elated thanks in part to her power. When she sang, her muse power mimicked the powers of the ancient sirens–she could make the listeners happy or sad, depending on how she used her power. She never liked to make anyone feel bad, so she always opted for the positive spectrum of emotions, like love and joy. The emotional reaction of the listeners then fed her nature. The happier the listeners were, the stronger the feedings were. Conversely, if she were interested in making people miserable, she could take them to dark places emotionally. Those feedings, using the dark side of her power, were intense and potentially addictive. She’d been taught at a young age to steer clear of the darker side of her powers and instead focus on making people happy.

You’re right, she said. We can take off. Let me check in with the owner.

She passed by her other two bandmates, Tamar and Wyst, and told them to pack up. Bridge followed her as she made her way through the crowd to where the owner, a skinny male named Pietro, sat on a maroon couch with several half-naked women hanging on him.

Done so soon? Pietro asked as he rubbed his fingertips over the still-open wound of a bite mark on one female’s throat. She was so blissed-out on Harmony’s muse vibes that she didn’t even seem to care that he was touching the raw spot on her neck.

Harmony never told anyone outside of her close friends that she was searching for her truemate. As far as Pietro, or any other vampire master of a city knew, she and her band just liked to travel.

No one ever seemed to care what her intentions were. It was no secret she was a musical muse and that she used her supernatural abilities to make people happy and feed off their energy. What wasn’t well known was that she’d had a vision about her soul mate two years earlier on her twenty-fifth birthday. A male with long, dark-blond hair, golden eyes, and fangs. There was no doubt in her mind that her truemate was a vampire. The only thing she didn’t know was where the hell he lived.

Everyone’s happy, she said to Pietro, gazing briefly at the human stretched out on his lap who wore a goofy smile on her face.

Indeed, he said. Bringing his bloody fingertips to his lips, he licked at them like a cat while he held her gaze. It was about as erotic as watching paint dry, except it made her want to vomit, too.

Thanks for opening the doors to my band, she said, turning abruptly and moving as quickly though the mass of bodies as she could. I need about ten showers and a rom-com movie-fest to get this grossness out of my brain.

Bridge snorted in agreement.

She met up with her bandmates at the back of the club, where they were loading the equipment into their van.

He give you any trouble for backing out of the last set? Tamar asked, his gaze lifting past her to the club, as if he expected a pissed-off group of vampires to come out and to force them to perform.

Of course not. He had a good feeding.

When humans were truly blissed-out on her power, their blood tasted extra sweet to a vampire. The result was a strange side effect of her abilities.

That guy, Wyst said as he lifted his guitar case and put it gently on the floor of the van, was one of the slimiest-looking vamps I’ve ever met.

I think so, too, she said. Maybe it was the shiny leather pants and the shirt open to the waist. Or maybe it was the way he looked as if he was picturing her and every other woman naked and spread before him.

Bridge said, I’m fucking glad he’s not your truemate. I’d think your nature was on the fritz if he was your one-and-only.

She shivered in disgust. I’m thankful for small miracles.

Enormous miracles, Tamar corrected.

When the last piece of equipment was loaded into the van, Harmony opened her phone’s calendar and said, We’ve got a stop in Columbus tomorrow night, and then Saturday night is some kind of special party at a club in Cleveland.

Party? Tamar asked.

According to the email, it’s a Saints and Sinners party.

What the hell is that? Wyst asked.

Costume party, according to the instructions. We should dress like our favorite saint or sinner, Bridge said, reading over her shoulder.

Ugh, Tamar said.

Oh get into the spirit of things. It’ll be fun. We’ll get costumes when we get to town on Saturday. That’s an order.

Wyst gave her a salute with his middle finger.

Chuckling, she followed them to the RV that they’d been calling home for the past two years as they traveled. She opened the passenger door and settled onto the comfortable seat.

"I’ll just point out

Reviews for A Muse for Mishka (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book Twelve)

[Crush · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Vampire Master and the Music Muse is a fun and hot book. With each dreaming of each other until they meet and mate.