Oh Fang: Undead Ever After, #2

By Stacey Kennedy

From USA Today bestselling author Stacey Kennedy comes the next spellbinding and suspenseful romance in the Undead Ever After series.

 

Willa von Stein thought she was magicless, but after a powerful spell broke a decades-long curse, her once very safe, very quiet life was shattered. Now she's not only a witch, but also a vampire princess. Yes, seriously. But adjusting to her new set of fangs and impressive magic isn't exactly easy when her vampire uncle is out to destroy her and her newfound family. In order to survive, she'll need to master her new powers – and fast.   

 

But Willa isn't alone. Killian Constantine, vampire Warden of Charleston, may rule over the city, but Willa rules his heart. He'll do anything to protect her. But between vampire riots, blood magic sorcery, and supernatural unrest, protecting both Willa and his city is becoming harder and harder to do.

 

In every shadow, Willa and Killian find enemies new and old. Despite every precaution, Willa becomes a pawn in a ruthless war. In order to protect everyone she loves, she'll need to use mysterious, ancient magic. But if she fails, there will be deadly consequences….

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stacey Kennedy
• Release date: Jan 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781988992457

Stacey Kennedy

USA TODAY bestselling author STACEY KENNEDY has written more than fifty romances. Her books are about real people with real-life problems, searching for that special thing we call love in a very sexy way. When she’s not burning up the pages, she’s living her happily-ever-after with her husband and two children in southwestern Ontario. She’s a firm believer that wine, chocolate, and sinfully sexy books can cure all of life’s problems.

Book preview

Chapter

One

"This ghost is a pain in my ass," my best friend, Gwen, declared the moment I entered her apartment. Like most days, her red-painted lips were pulled back, the light glistening off her fangs as she lifted a bundle of burning sage in the air waving it around the room.

I kicked off my shoes and flopped into the chair next to the windowsill full of plants. I’d heard from the owners who lived in the apartment above my bookshop before me that the place was haunted. But the ghost had never bothered me in all the years I’d lived in the apartment. Nor had I ever felt it’s watchful eyes on me. The only thing I felt was slight jealously over how Gwen made even pajamas look glamorous.

While I shared the fangs with Gwen now, that’s all we shared on a physical level. Where she was tall and lean, I was only five foot six with more curves. Her shiny mid-length blonde hair always had a unique stylish cut and her brown eyes were deep and wise, where my hair was long, and brown, and my eyes blue.

Gwen lived and breathed grace. I faked it.

What’s the ghost doing? I asked.

It’s driving me mad, that’s what, Gwen snarled at the invisible pest, doing circles with the smudge stick. It leaves cabinets open, drops my things on the floor, knocks everything over, including my plants. She glanced over her shoulder, looking the deadly vampire she was with glowing eyes. It’s like I have a cat or a terrible boyfriend living with me, which right now, I don’t have either.

I’m sorry, I said, and meant it.

Our friendship blossomed after I hired her on at my bookstore, Cauldron Boil Books, which catered to vampires, back when I first moved to Charleston after being banished from my coven for being magicless. Of course, all that changed now, and I felt the Goddess’s magic flowing endlessly through my blood, as I did the darker magic of the vampires. When I moved in with Killian, my gemina flamma—which made us bound together by the rich, dark magic running though our veins, our souls a mirror of each other—Gwen had moved into the apartment to save herself the high rent in Charleston.

I frowned, glancing around the space hoping the ghost saw that. The ghost seriously never bothered me. I didn’t even believe the old owners when they said the place was haunted.

Gwen snorted, lifting the smudge stick higher toward the ceiling. Well, apparently, this ghost likes you, and doesn’t like me. She cursed and grumbled the entire time she smudged all four corners of the room. She kept on until she placed the smudge stick on a small plate and let it continue to burn, and said to the ghost, You don’t have to leave, but you must behave yourself. Stop acting like a messy boyfriend I do not want.

I fought back my laughter.

Gwen caught me immediately. She narrowed her eyes, pointing one red-painted finger. This isn’t funny. My plants, Willa, she snapped. It’s knocking over my pretty plants.

I glanced at her windowsill and stroked one of the leaves of the pothos. Okay, that is very mean. With my heritage not only as a vampire but also a witch, I had a special connections to nature, as most witches did, and experienced a soothing peace whenever I was near trees or plants.

Releasing the smooth leaf, I glared into nothingness. You were nice to me. Be nice to Gwen too. Then I added for safe measure, Please.

Gwen held her breath. I held mine.

When nothing dramatic happened, I asked, Does that mean the ghost is happy?

Gwen rolled her eyes. That’s doubtful, she said with a slight shrug, but come on. I’ve got to turn you into a princess.

I internally groaned, jumping up and grabbing my gown bag that I’d placed over the back of the kitchen chair.

I followed Gwen into her bedroom that had once been my bedroom. When I moved into the Manor—which was where Killian, the Warden of Charleston lived, and was the headquarters for Charleston’s Vampire Sovereignty—I didn’t need furniture and only took my clothes and personal belongings. Though, as I noticed Gwen’s makeup case on the queen-size bed, I discovered that Gwen bought a new flower-patterned duvet cover and changed the space a little to fit her much trendier style.

She promptly pointed to the bed. Sit. Let’s turn you into a starlet.

My entire life I was a witch—a magicless witch—but a witch, nonetheless. Until Ezra Von Stein went on a full-fledged power trip against his brother Ari, the Vampire King, wanting to overthrow him. In that quest, I got caught up in the middle, when it came out that I wasn’t only a witch, but I was also part vampire, and the daughter of the Vampire King. All of which was hidden away with a binding spell. When that spell was broken, my life forever changed: with the return of my magic, both witch and vampire, and the return of my witch mother, Zara—the love of Ari’s life—who had been trapped in the same spell that bound my magic.

Which all led up to tonight with my being introduced to the vampire world as the daughter of Ari, and I needed to play that part.

With a sigh, dreading the night ahead and the spotlight that I didn’t want shining on me, I sat down, and Gwen got right to work.

Hair pinned back for the moment, she put her makeup to good use, until she finished by gluing fake lashes into place. When she finally took a step back, she gave me a long, long look over. Oh, I have nailed this. She smiled, taking my hand, pulling me up and leading me to the antique vanity.

I blinked at my reflection as I sat against the velvet cushion. Gwen… I…

Are stunningly beautiful, I know, she breathed, standing behind me, her hands on my shoulders. You can thank me later.

I’ll thank you now, I countered. I’d never considered myself elegant by any stretch of the imagination. I loved books, coffee, and comfort. Somehow my smokey makeup made me look red-carpet ready, making my eyes pop, without looking too over the top.

Gwen just smiled and then got to work on my hair. I always thought that if she hadn’t been turned into a vampire against her will, she’d likely have been a makeup artist to the stars. The talent just oozed out of my best friend, and I could see the joy in her eyes whenever she got to fuss over anyone.

Are you nervous about tonight? she asked after she released a curl from the curling iron.

Very, I replied, not bothering to lie. I’d already experienced a similar event when Killian introduced me to the Charleston vampires, as well as his friends and his guard, as his gemina flamma—which basically meant the bonded one of their leader—and that had gone well enough. His guard had become protective—sometimes to a fault—over me, but I had made new friends within Killian’s ranks. But tonight’s event with Ari, the Vampire King, was on a much larger scale. I was meeting every Warden from every state they governed, and I was doing so as part witch.

While Zara and Ari had once tried to close the gap between vampires and witches and unite our worlds, they had failed. I have no clue how everyone is going to react. Past experience told me mixing the two worlds didn’t go well.

Witches and vampires weren’t exactly besties.

For as long as I could remember, I thought my mother had passed away and I’d been raised by my Aunt Flora. But, in fact, the truth had been that Flora had stolen me away and Ari had thought I died the night my mother had. Turned out, my mother hadn’t been killed at all, but she’d been entrapped by the spell.

No one had expected Flora to try to kill me to use the magic to empower herself. As much as no one had expected Ari’s brother, Ezra, to want to kill me for the same reason.

In the end, Flora had died by Ezra’s hand for the power now humming in my blood. And Ezra had gotten away, remaining out of our reach, a reminder that there were many vampires who didn’t want the races to intermingle.

I wouldn’t worry too much about tonight and how everyone will treat you, said Gwen, drawing my thoughts back to her. She added another pin to my hair. You have Ari and Zara there to protect you. Zara was a mighty witch in her own right. And Ari more powerful with the same elvish magic that I now had too. Elves were ancient shape-shifters who were brutally hunted during the medieval period. You also have Killian. Any of them will rip out anyone’s throats if they so much as look as you wrong.

I snorted a laugh. Probably Killian more so than my parents.

Gwen gave a firm nod. Probably.

That was another adjustment that still was a work-in-progress. Not that long ago, I thought the idea of the soul-deep connection was weird. Until I had experienced it with Killian, and now I knew for certain my soul couldn’t face life without him.

Regardless of the intense pull to share our bond with the world, we hadn’t rushed to declare our relationship publicly, because a month ago, I hadn’t even known about my vampire heritage, or Ari and Zara. A month ago, I viewed myself as a broken witch. So, while my soul loved Killian and needed him, my heart and head were still falling in love with the vampire that fate had destined me with.

And since witches fell in love the same way humans did, naturally, Killian was considerate of this side of me, allowing me the time before we declared our love in a ceremony before the vampire world.

To be honest, I just hope there aren’t any problems tonight, I admitted my greatest fear.

Why would there be problems? Gwen asked with a smile. "You are you. Everyone is going to fall madly in love with you."

I snorted. Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I’m also part witch, and vampires hate witches. I let all my worries sink heavy into my gut. Ezra is still out there, still creating a great divide between the vampires. Where Ari wanted peace with the humans who fed vampires willingly and were greatly compensated for it, Ezra wanted power and control, viewing humans as lesser. And Ezra didn’t want to bring the species together.

Funny, at one time in my life I thought being a magicless witch was bad. Now, being the only offspring of a witch and vampire came with a big sticker on my forehead that read: OUTSIDER.

Gwen slapped my shoulder, when suddenly a snappy voice from the doorway said, Stop that right now!

I spun on the stool, discovering the other best friend in our trio, Finnick, entering the room like the God he thought he was. He wasn’t delusional, both men and women alike treated him as such. Finnick belonged on magazine covers. His sandy-blond hair was messy, his blue eyes sharp, and his body packed full of