Tough Shift

By H. Elizabeth Dunn

With Valerie’s mate back in her arms and her pregnancy well under way, she thought she should be able to simply enjoy some peace and quiet.

Should is the operative word, and Trey and Valerie couldn’t even enjoy a relaxing flight over the desert without finding trouble. Vampires, and they weren’t any she recognized.

Where they came from and why they were in the middle of the desert, out in the open with daylight on the way, were only two of the many questions she had for them.

The answers will take half-vampire/half-witch Valerie Hanigan and her dragon-shifting mate, Trey, on a journey they never contemplated and in no way felt ready for. Life, however, has a way of forcing issues, pushing for more, and presenting Valerie with a vicious life lesson when warnings aren’t heeded.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796011548

H. Elizabeth Dunn

H. Elizabeth Dunn was born and raised in California, but military service gave her a world view and many, many years in the Midwest. Now, back in SoCal, she spends her time writing, driving for Uber and trying to figure out how to get her stuff back from Ohio.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by H. Elizabeth Dunn.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2019900713

ISBN:               Hardcover             978-1-7960-1156-2

                         Softcover               978-1-7960-1155-5

                         eBook                     978-1-7960-1154-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 01/22/2019

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

784951

CONTENTS

Chapter 1     Gods, You Are Mean!

Chapter 2     I Wonder If They Know Pele?

Chapter 3     You’re also not assholes,

Chapter 4     I Enjoy Smiting My Enemies…

Chapter 5     Sexterrogation

Chapter 6     Gross, But Real

Chapter 7     Quit Clawing The Table!

Chapter 8     That Could Have Gone Horribly Wrong

Chapter 9     But We Haven’t Had Sex In The Gallery

Chapter 10   For-eber?

Chapter 11   Psycho, But Beautiful

Chapter 12   They Can Be Assholes Sometimes

Chapter 13   I’ve Done Things.

Many Things, I’m Sure.

Chapter 14   Dude!

Chapter 15   She’s All Wrinkly.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my cover artist Devona Felgar, thank you for lending your time and your talents to bring Valerie’s world to life.

To my friend, editor and immoral support: Kathy you continually inspire and amaze me. Thank you so very much for taking the time to plod through my work for the pesky punctuation faux paus, and continuity errors.

You keep me motivated and on track.

We need to do Palm Springs again, you know because we can.

CHAPTER ONE

Gods, You Are Mean!

Everybody has challenging days. Some are worse than others; a flat tire, a chipped nail, or a broken heel. For me though, it usually involved violence.

No! I screamed as my dragon shifting mate began to glow from his core and prove he could actually breath fire. TreTanau! Don’t hurt them!

Watching a dragon roll his eyes is particularly entertaining. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of enjoying the moment. We were busy trying to wrangle six vampires who weren’t particularly friendly.

Why weren’t we just ending them? They had been infected. A magical virus had them in its grip and they were desperate to obey its call. I was not happy. I knew I hadn’t completely eradicated the virus but was hoping that it would just go away over time. No such luck.

TreTanau could fry them with a breath, but this wasn’t their fault and they didn’t deserve to perish on the wrong end of a dragon.

The virus was driving them to a place that was now buried under several hundred feet of desert, courtesy of my magic, and a lot of explosives. There was no way they could get there before the sun came up and fried them all.

I was feeling guilty.

I should have hunted the virus down.

I should have done anything and everything in my power to find and destroy the rest of it.

Instead, I found the love of my life, and was reunited with my family.

That was way more important, right?

It seemed so at the time, and then everything just got away from us, and me.

That was… gods. Six months ago? Only six months, and yet so much had happened.

Damn it! I yelled as vampire claws raked through my thigh as I tried to maneuver out of his path. TreTanau had a vampire pinned under each paw. That left two. Two! That I was having problems with.

I was going to attribute my difficulties to the fact that the virus seemed to be enhancing their speed. It had taken both TreTanau and I all we had to wrangle these.

Not to mention that I was less graceful than I had been even a couple weeks ago, and I hadn’t minded until now. Now, it was pissing me off.

I drew my magic to me and a let earth energy fly at the vampires. At least I could still aim, and it threw them straight back into my mate, who then pinned them under his chin.

I shouldn’t have laughed, but TreTanau looked comical with every appendage splayed out. A thirty-foot, fire breathing dragon, with scales that variegated from deep red, to oranges, yellows, blue and white under his belly. He was an awesome and powerful sight who was now relegated to the function of a paperweight. He was having no problem keeping the vampires immobile, but that kept him immobile as well. Of course, the muscles over his eye ridges worked and he was clearly not amused.

Sorry. I murmured with my head down as I approached my mate and the wriggling vampires who fruitlessly continued trying to escape being pinned by a dragon. I glanced at my mate just before I made it to him just to see if he believed that I was sorry. He didn’t.

I nicked my wrist with a fang, mine, not TreTanau’s and let a couple drops hit one of the vamp’s lips. It took longer than it should have before his eyes sort of cleared, but he stopped fighting and started swearing a blue streak.

Shit! Shit! Shit! He stuttered in rapid succession as he looked around at the buddies he could see, the dragon pinning them and some vampire chick who was leaning over him. What the fuck is going on? Who are you? Where are we?

Well, wasn’t he just full of questions? So was I.

TreTanau had called out for support as we landed to vampire wrangle, and our back up was now coming in. TreTanau released the one vamp and he scrambled to his feet. Nicky and Brook, our dragon back up were stunning in the full moon’s light. I didn’t have much time to enjoy them either as Nicky shifted into human form and executed a perfect flying tackle on the vampire who TreTanau had just released.

Get the naked guy off me! The vamp squealed in a panic.

Nicky, I said just loud enough to get his attention, let him go.

I can smell your blood! He growled with murderous rage, fist cocked back and ready to fly.

This is new how? I asked calmly and walked over to where they had tumbled to a halt. I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him an expectant look. I expected him to back off.

But, mistress. He nearly whined

You want to see blood Nicky? I asked with annoyance. Call me that again!

Okay. Nicky muttered, as he rose with obvious agitation and backed off a few steps. Sorry.

Nicky. I said as he shot me an unhappy glance. I knew he was mad. He’d been practicing with the Enclave guard and with Marc and Antoni. My two resident vamps were good men. One was my ex-boyfriend, and the other was on loan from my father until he got his head straight, and found a reason to live, besides having no choice. His master wouldn’t allow him to walk into the sun. Go back to the Enclave, find Mila and bring back at least five doses of anti-virus for the rest.

He shifted, and I heard him snort unhappily just before take-off. Nicky was looking for a way to prove himself to me. He didn’t need to. I knew him and knew his value. It was a really great tackle.

TreTanau handed two of the virus addled vampires to Brook and called out to me in his native tongue. The light sound of windchimes tripped over my heart. I drank from Trey regularly and heard his language enough to feel the meaning of what he was saying. Right now, I understood that this big, bad-ass dragon needed reassurance that I was okay.

I walked up to my formidable mate, so he could nuzzle me.

What happened to us? The more clear-headed vamp asked from a respectable distance. Why am I okay now?

You were all infected by a virus. I began as I rubbed my mate’s eye ridge and leaned into his body. My blood has the anti-virus in it. No, I am not donating to your friends. Nicky will be back in a couple minutes.

You created a virus that controls vampires? He screeched. For a moment, he looked ready to kill, but my mate growled, and smoke rose from his nostrils. The vamp cooled his jets. I don’t understand why you would do that. You are a vampire.

I didn’t create it. I told him and leaned more heavily into my mate. I was feeling tired. Our casual flight over the Enclave’s land had become more strenuous that I had anticipated, and my back was beginning to ache some. I was the intended target, and you know what? It’s a long story. More importantly though, is why were you out here at all?

Well… he began but paused and I watched him toe the ground. The only thing missing was him putting his hands in his pockets. He was wearing thread bare jeans and an old T-shirt. The sneakers he was digging into the ground were old and badly scuffed.

He wasn’t one of my father’s men. If her were, then he would be in Armani, or Valentino. My father had expensive tastes.

Besides, this kid still had that new vampire scent. He couldn’t have been a vampire for more than seven years.

Who do you belong to? I asked. My tone made him pull up short and look at me with fear in his eyes. Who is your master?

He hesitated and looked supremely uncomfortable.

Genevieve de la Belle Nuit Somber. He said quietly and couldn’t meet my eye. Please, don’t send us back to her.

Jenny Barton? I asked for clarification and with a bit of annoyance in my voice. Jenny went by the very French name that translated into Jenny of the Beautiful, Dark Night. She was tool. She was also dead.

She was killed several years ago. I informed him. Apparently, he hadn’t gotten the memo. The Los Angeles Council believed she had slaughtered her group, how did you escape, how have you been surviving all these years, and how did you not feel her death?

We kept to lightly populated areas. He began, and I was seeing his discomfort with the subject. I was also seeing the virus still trying to hang on when it should have simply died out. Something was wrong. Mostly, fed on the local wildlife.

Sometimes that is code for college co-eds and drunk townies. I interrupted. If he and his buddies had been killing, then I wasn’t going to bother with the anti-virus. I would end them now.

No, I swear! He said taking a step back, real fear infusing his features. We fed from some humans, but never killed them.

So, how did you manage to escape the slaughter? I continued.

We could see she was losing it over the course of several months. He told me. She had killed some just because she was pissed that the Council wouldn’t grant her Master status.

The Council doesn’t grant ‘master’ status, kid. I informed him. She either needed to fight for her freedom or make a damn good deal for it. That has nothing to do with the Council and everything to do with the vampire who made her.

The kid looked confused. Well, Jenny had gone off her nut and onto a killing spree that involved humans, so I wasn’t surprised she hadn’t been completely upfront about anything.

The night she completely lost it, he began slowly, some of her lieutenants helped her keep us corralled. Until she started killing them. After that we got out and ran. There were fourteen of us, but she caught up with us several times over the course of a couple weeks. Then, she just disappeared. We all felt like our hearts had been ripped out, but we didn’t know what that meant.

Marc and I killed her.

Do you know how many she had in her group? I asked, because the Council had told us she was creating her own clan, without permission and the number had reached thirty-five. That was unacceptable.

Sixty-seven. He said, and I watched his eyes go vacant. It’s really difficult for a vampire to pale, but he did it.

Out of the shadows my guard began to immerge. They were a frightening sight. Half human, half beast and looking ready to kill. They hadn’t been with me because Trey and I were just out for a peaceful glide over the Enclave property.

It’s okay guys, stand down. I said, but a few of them snarled and their muscles bunched up. Even though my thigh had healed, they could still scent the blood. It’s just a flesh wound. Chill!

No, it’s not. Lance said softly. Your leg’s come off.

Cynthia and Mac hushed him, though I heard a giggle or two before the growling began in earnest. Monty Python’s Holy Grail was a staple of movie watching in the Enclave. I had a good guard. Werewolves, mountain lion shifters and couple of panther shifters, they were easy going and laid back, but they took guarding me seriously. As seriously as they took wagering.

It was at that point that Nicky landed with Marc and Mila on his back. Nicky was small for a dragon, just fifteen feet long and he look ethereal. His wings looked like gossamer, but they like the rest of him were solid. Mila slid off with the bag of enchanted snow globes and lobbed them at the pinned vampires. She could throw for major league baseball and was throwing with all her tiger shifter strength. It wasn’t nice. The glass broke on their faces and lit them up with the enchanted fluid inside. It was looking like it was doing a slightly better job than my blood.

Mila, I called out to the Enclave doctor. do you have any spares?

Of course. She replied with her very well educated British accent.

I pointed at the vamp who I’d given my blood to, and she reached into her bag with a smile on her face. The young vampire never saw it coming, and she landed a direct hit. The fluid glowed and the magic sparkled softly before it faded. His eyes cleared just a bit more, but I could see the virus trying to cling to him. It had been altered.

Slowly, the other vamps came around, but my guard dragons didn’t release them.

TreTanau? I turned and caught my mate’s attention. Are you seeing this?

He nodded as the last of the virus gave up the fight and fizzled out.

Carter? How did we get here? One of the pinned vampires squeaked. Why are there dragons!

I don’t know Jimmy, Carter said as calmly as he could. but we are alive, so relax and go with it.

Where is the last place you remember being? I asked. It would give me an idea of where to look for the virus. I needed to hunt this down and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

Northern Nevada, near some geothermal feature. He said. There were some caves nearby and few people in the area.

I knew the place.

Fly Geyser is 500 miles from Las Vegas. How did you get here? I asked. Do you have a car?

No. No car. He replied and continued to simply look confused. I don’t know how we got here.

Please let them loose. I asked of TreTanau. He didn’t really look as if he wanted to, but he snorted a command to Brook and the remaining vamps scramble away from the dragons and collected in the middle of 8 were-creatures and shifters, 2 vampires (Antoni had shown up), and me. They weren’t going anywhere. Empty your pockets.

The confused and frightened group hesitantly dug into their pockets and turned out what little contents there were, including a set of keys.

I swear, I have no idea where these came from! Jimmy screamed. He actually tried to make a break for it, but Marc had him down and pinned before he’d gotten two steps away. The kid stunk of fear. I knew he was telling the truth.

One of the crappy things about the virus was that it blanked the memory of young vampires. Jeremey was an older-than-dirt vampire. He knew what was happening as it unfolded and was powerless to stop it. He was one pissed off clan master when I first met him. He crushed my hand and threatened my life. I consider him a friend now.

I tried to step away from my mate, but he wasn’t having any of it.

Cujo, grab the keys. I sighed, and a huge werewolf stepped out from the circle of hell surrounding the vamps, picked up the keys, made menacing noises toward the scared-as-all-fuck kids, and finally brought the keys to me. Gods you are mean.

He smiled and chuckled softly before turning back toward the group and growling threateningly once more.

It was about that time I caught the faint noise of bets being placed in the background. Just at the edge of the darkness were some of the denizens of the Enclave, and they were placing wagers. They bet on nearly anything.

Currently, one of the bets revolved around one of the vampires peeing themselves. I was certain that Cujo had money on that, he was doing his best to make it happen.

Brook, if you wouldn’t mind, I began as the water dragon on loan to me from the Draco Corpus Legum leaned in toward me. head out in the direction of the Reno area and see if you can find an abandoned Dodge.

He nodded, sighed and took off. Poor guy. He was a water dragon in the middle of the Nevada desert and didn’t really want to be there, but he had his orders. Guarding me. Along with every freaking body else.

"Let’s