Bewitching the Vampire: A Paranormal Romance Short Story

By Carrie Pulkinen

A vampire must overcome his centuries-old disdain for witches to save the woman he loves.

Cassie McClain is a twenty-two-year-old witch who's tired of hiding her powers. Even though exposing her magic could put her life in danger, she takes the risk and goes to a nightclub for the supernatural. But her girls' night out turns into a life-altering incident when she meets a powerful vampire who's after more than her blood.

When Branan Sinclair sees Cassie, he's instantly enamored of her. He knows, without a doubt, she's his soul mate. But Cassie is a witch, and he's learned the hard way, witches can't be trusted. Damning her to darkness isn't worth the risk, but when her life is on the line, he'll do everything in his power to save her.

Bewitching the Vampire is a steamy paranormal romance short story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carrie Pulkinen
• Release date: Feb 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386513667

Carrie Pulkinen

Carrie Pulkinen is a paranormal romance author who has always been fascinated with things that go bump in the night. Of course, when you grow up next door to a cemetery, the dead (and the undead) are hard to ignore. Pair that with her passion for writing and her love of a good happily-ever-after, and becoming a paranormal romance author seems like the only logical career choice.  Before she decided to turn her love of the written word into a career, Carrie spent the first part of her professional life as a high school journalism and yearbook teacher. She loves good chocolate and bad puns, and in her free time, she likes to travel, ghost hunt, and spend time with her family.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The stench of rotting garbage assaulted Cassie McClain’s senses as she stepped around an overflowing dumpster and followed Trinity into the alley. Her friend’s long blonde hair swished down her back as she hopped over a steamy puddle and turned to wait for her.

Are you sure this is the right place? Cassie’s heel landed in the water. She shook her foot, splattering muddy droplets against a brick wall. The New Orleans summer heat hung over the French Quarter like a hot, wet towel draped across the city, making Cassie’s curls twist tighter on her head.

I’m positive. Trinity’s straight locks seemed immune to the humidity, her longs bangs falling into her eyes as she nodded toward a door. This is it.

Cassie scrunched up her nose. They could’ve picked a better spot for the entrance. What’s with the garbage and potholes?

It’s not the kind of place that wants to draw attention to itself.

True.

"And we need to get out of this alley before we draw any attention to ourselves." Trinity linked her arm through Cassie’s and stepped toward the plain wooden door. No sign hung above announcing the club’s existence. Only a single, bare lightbulb cast a dim glow over the entrance.

Cassie hesitated, a slight sensation of nausea rolling through her stomach. I can’t believe I’m doing this. My mom’s going to kill me.

Trinity put her hands on her shoulders. You’re twenty-two years old. Where you hang out is not your mom’s decision to make.

I know. It’s not that. It’s just…this is dangerous. We’re exposing ourselves.

We’re exposing ourselves by standing in this alley. Once we go inside, we’re perfectly safe. Everyone in there is like us. We belong here, with these people. I’m tired of hiding.

Cassie straightened her spine. You’re right. I’m tired of it too. Let’s go have some fun.

Trinity pulled open the door, and they stepped into a narrow, dimly lit hallway. A monster of a man stood in front of them, blocking the entry. Standing at least six foot six, he crossed his thick arms over his muscular chest, his pecs threatening to bust out of his tight black t-shirt. He looked them up and down and leaned forward to sniff the air.

His deep orange aura screamed werewolf, and Cassie avoided looking him directly in the eyes.

Witches. He let out a grunt and stepped aside, granting them access to the long, dark hallway.

Cassie’s heart rate kicked up as they padded toward the club entrance. Thanks to her ability to see auras, she could spot any supernatural being within her field of vision. But she knew better than to call anyone out in public. Humans were less than friendly to those who possessed magic, so most of the supernatural community kept their abilities secret.

But Club Hecate was an exclusive facility for the supernatural community only. Most humans didn’t know it existed. And if the rotting garbage and muddy potholes outside didn’t deter anyone who might be curious, the giant werewolf guarding the front door would certainly scare them away.

She took a deep breath and pushed open the door, bracing herself for the onslaught of noise and thumping bass. But soft jazz music floated through the air as couples slow-danced near a small stage. A hundred or so people milled around, chatting and drinking, and acting so very…normal. Had she not been able to see the auras and feel the buzzing energy of so much magic concentrated in one room, she would have never guessed this was a supernatural club.

Well, this isn’t what I was expecting at all.

Trinity pulled her toward the bar. What were you expecting?

Ear-splitting bass. Writhing bodies. Sweat. Blood. There are a lot of vampires here, so…blood.

Her friend laughed and ordered two beers. There’s a different theme every night. I purposely brought you to jazz night to avoid all that. She took a swig. And as for the blood. You know vampires only feed on humans, so… She nodded toward the bartender filling a glass with thick, red liquid. O positive on tap.

Ew.

Trinity shrugged. Most of the guys here are vampires. The good-looking ones anyway.

She swept her gaze across the crowd. Most of the male auras she spotted did glow a deep crimson. And most of the men they belonged to were attractive. Why are vampires so hot? They should share some of that hotness with the other men. You know, level the playing field.

I don’t know. Concentrating all that heat into one guy looks pretty good to me.

Cassie sipped her beer, savoring the effervescence as it slid down her throat. This was the first time she’d been anywhere in public where she didn’t have to hide her abilities. Seeing all these supernatural beings together in one place had her head spinning with excitement. Still… My mom would kill me if I dated a vampire.

She’s still hung up on that vague premonition dream? She didn’t even see the vampire, did she?

No, but I was dying, and the scene was tinted red, which means there were vampires around. I’m not even allowed to befriend one, much less date one. She shrugged and picked at the label on her bottle. She says they’re bad news, and she’d freak if she knew I was surrounded by so many of them now.

Trinity downed her beer and set the bottle on the bar. "Good thing she