Shadow Side Book Three

By Odette C. Bell

Luna has made some choices. Ones she’ll never live down. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? Isn’t that what Mr. Monster wants?
How about Lennox? Seriously, what does the city’s hottest number one trouble-maker want? She might have just kissed him, but she must try harder to squeeze the truth from his lips.
And she’ll rapidly run out of time. Mr. Monster soon pulls the whole city to his will. It isn’t hard. The Vamp Council was just the first stage. The next is fire. And it’s coming for Luna, no matter what Lennox tries to do to save her.
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Shadow Side follows a plucky cleaner and the city’s worst playboy fighting dangerous demons. If you love your urban fantasies with action, heart, and a splash of romance, grab Shadow Side Book Three today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.
Shadow Side is the 7th Your True Vampire series. In a world where vampires know their true love at first sight, love brings trouble. Packed with action, humor, and a dash of romance, you can read them separately, so plunge in today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Oct 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215752579

Book preview

Chapter 1

I kissed Lennox.

Kind of. Well, it was on the cheek. It still counted, right?

But for it to count, it had to change something. Nothing could change the fact that Riley’s hand possessively grabbed my arm. Luna, all you have to do is trust me, and you will get through this mess.

Brother, Lennox began, a sharp snarl snapping through his lips.

But it wasn’t anywhere near as sharp as the grandpappy of snarlers, Clayton. You know what you must do, Lennox. And every second you delay is a second that you gift your worst enemy. Do you really want him to get more ground? Do you know what he’ll do to—

Clayton didn’t need to finish.

With one last conflicted look at Luna, he turned. He clenched one hand into the kind of tight, grinding fist that would see you pop a knuckle. If you were normal. But Lennox wasn’t normal right now. Lennox wasn’t in control of his magic.

He’d managed to ensure his eyes had returned to yellow, but they were still dappled with little flecks of gray. Which meant that he wasn’t in a position to go out and bat for the Council. He certainly wasn’t in a position to go and fight Mr. Monster on his own.

And it struck Luna – that’s what was going to happen. If she didn’t step in and do something.

Riley wouldn’t let her go anywhere.

Clayton made direct eye contact with Riley. Get her out of here. You know how. You know what you must do.

Riley just smiled.

Exactly what was his relationship with his father? The last time Clayton had seen Riley, Clayton had appeared to be on Lennox’s side.

Sorry, on Luna’s side. Because she would prefer for Clayton to be on Lennox’s side. Confused yet? Spare a thought for her.

She had no idea what the Seymour clan was doing. She had to reinforce that. She had to practically underline it with the biggest breath she could. She had no idea what they were up to. Only one fact was clear.

Lennox took a step toward one of the senior vampires in the room, and the guy shoved a hand into his pocket. It didn’t take him long to draw out what he needed to. It was a sword.

It was clearly holstered somewhere against his pocket lining, because he didn’t need to unsheathe it. It sounded like it pulled itself from stone, suggesting there had to be a small transport gate in there.

But you probably didn’t care where it came from.

You, just like Luna, had encountered plenty of transport gates. What you cared about was how powerfully the sword glowed. It flickered with this almost ethereal light. It gave you the impression that it came, not from the center of the sun, but from the center of some saint’s heart. It just bled this almost perfect illumination.

And it brought Luna’s mind back to one point. One point she hadn’t had the chance to assess yet, let alone do anything about. Lennox was an aura vamp. She just had to slow that down and repeat it to you, even bash you over the head with it. Because if she managed to do that, maybe she’d manage to finally appreciate what it meant.

Lennox was an aura vamp. Lennox was a freaking aura vamp. And when they weren’t marrying shadow practitioners, they were out there fighting them, weren’t they?

Because you couldn’t ask for anyone more perfect to head into the shadow realm and clean it.

Lennox wouldn’t look at her. Not once. He turned his back, and there was this final quality to it as if he was turning his back on not just her, but on the entire concept of her.

She heard his fingers scrunch around his sword.

His father grunted once. Ensure there’s nothing left. If we cede the Council to him, we lose. And we can’t lose, can we, son? Because some of us have more to lose than others.

Luna twitched.

Was that statement about her? She felt like every statement was about her. She felt like deep down, the entire time, this fight had been about her.

And if only she’d had the balls sooner, she could’ve asked Lennox. Maybe he would’ve told her. Maybe he wouldn’t have. But if she’d asked him the second she’d seen him in her lounge room, she guaranteed you he would have.

If she’d faced him, he would’ve faced her back. Now it felt like he’d only face his impending fight – face it right up until it killed him.

With a soul-destroying sigh, he just leapt forward.

At first there was nothing there. But there had to be a hidden transport spell in the middle of the room, because as his feet scuffed it, it appeared in full. Light bled out in this halo of pure power. It rose up high and played over his torn trousers but never reached his eyes. He screwed those shut. Which meant that she didn’t have a chance to see if they were still flecked with gray – if he was in any condition to go up against Mr. Monster. Hell, who was she kidding? Even if they weren’t flecked with gray, and even if he were fighting fit – which he wasn’t – he still wouldn’t be in a condition to go up against Mr. Monster.

Mr. Monster held all the cards, he had hell working for him, and he’d been planning this for so much longer.

She snapped a hand toward Lennox, even tried to cry his name, but it didn’t matter. The transport circle swallowed him. She got the sinking impression she’d never see him again.

Did that mean that she’d never have anything to do with the Seymour clan? Good luck with that.

Riley pulled her around.

She was getting really sick of that.

But then Riley zeroed in on the ring on her finger.

He got this edginess to him.

He wasn’t about to pull it off, was he?

She found the gumption to move back from him. It was just as he scratched his chin with his other hand.

Ordinarily she wouldn’t have the power to break a vampire’s grip. But that had been back then. You know, before Luna had transformed. Not just into a shadow practitioner, but someone who was starting to learn their mind. And why was that last bit so much more important?

Bear with Luna, but it went back to a lesson her grandmother had tried to impart on her years ago. Magic is just one part of the equation. Hell, even for normal people, magic – or possibilities – is just one part of the equation.

Even if you find yourself in a realm where anything is possible, there is something else that is far more important.

Knowing what you want.

Some people think they already know what they want.

Some people think they are born understanding their tastes, their desires, the destiny they want for themselves.

It usually isn’t true. You often have to go through the crucible to truly understand what your soul is after.

It’s only then, when you understand and that you have enough magic and will, that you can really start living.

And she had enough magic. And enough will. Even though Lennox had sealed some of that magic.

She just didn’t have a vampire anymore.

Just trust me, Riley said.

She spun on him, but if she was under the illusion that she would get time to do anything, she was wrong.

He lifted his fingers out of his pocket. He clicked them.

It was just as his father said something. Not to Riley, but to her. His tone softened. It was almost as if the megalithic statue-like Clayton was about to bend down onto one knee and actually attempt to explain what was going on.

But his grating words were cut short.

Another transport circle opened. This one wasn’t in the floor. It came from Riley’s pocket.

A familiar card rose up out of it.

It was the same card that she’d signed for him with her thumbprint.

She didn’t know why that was significant, but as her eyes locked on it, she realized it was crucial.

Then as Riley’s hand locked harder around her wrist and he pressed close to say, Do not let go of me, she appreciated they were about to transport. You know, transport?

Lennox had been at pains to explain to her that transporting as a shadow practitioner was dangerous. If she slipped into the shadow realm, she could end up anywhere.

But Riley wouldn’t let her go. She had to slow that down, really emphasizing that. Riley wouldn’t let her go.

She had the strength to break his grip. But someone’s grip is only just one way they can entrap you.

And as she looked into his eyes, magic rimming them, rushing around him, and suddenly cutting him out of the room like someone with a blowtorch to a mere piece of paper, she realized this was just the beginning for Riley.

… The beginning of what?

As that question echoed around her head, he pulled her close.

The transport gate opened fully, and she was sucked into it.

She saw the shadow realm. This time it was far more detailed than ever.

It wasn’t detailed…. Was it just clearer? She didn’t know. She lacked the vocabulary. But everything was sharper, and in becoming sharper, it became realer. And in being realer, it beckoned to her. She felt this fidgety energy in the pit of her stomach. It rose up and crashed back down. Then when it realized it had a power of its own, it twisted into her feet and hands. It was like it was begging her to leap into the shadow realm. She had more lessons to learn, more power to find, and more monsters to clean.

She’d never get the opportunity.

Riley pressed close.

Riley wasn’t an aura vamp. Riley wasn’t a shadow practitioner. But even though it shouldn’t be possible, she got the impression that he could see the same world she could. He tried to focus her. Luna, just pay attention to me. Because, Luna, I understand everything. And I can get you out of here.

… He understood everything? Never a more arrogant statement had been said, especially in a situation that kept morphing out of everybody’s control. She doubted even the apparently omnipotent Clayton knew everything.

Only one person in this twisted tale actually understood what was going on. Because only one person was responsible for twisting the tale. Mr. Monster.

Riley placed one hand on her back.

It slipped down to her torn sleeve.

You know, the sleeve she was keeping together with shadow magic?

His finger brushed one of those shadow strands.

It was just as the transport gate opened on his yacht.

She felt something. And she couldn’t tell you what. Because everything sharpened as she tumbled against his chest.

The transport circle was large. And it was powerful. It must’ve used a heck of a lot of magic to cut its way free from the Vampire Council, considering how many defenses the Council was utilizing.

The transport gate actually burnt a hole right through the top deck of the yacht.

But just before they could both tumble down to whatever room was beneath, Riley clicked his fingers and stamped his foot to the side. He made a cutting motion with the toe of his expensive loafer, and magic crackled out into the hole, chasing around it quickly and re-sealing it like somebody pouring glue into a gap.

As it hardened and crackled, the wind grabbed his hair and whipped it over his face.

It was night. A dark night, too.

It was dark, because they were no longer docked. They were out at sea somewhere.

As she twisted over her shoulder, she saw a light-lit bay beyond. That had to be the city.

… Where the hell were they sailing to?

She turned to him. He still held her frigging wrist.

Okay, so he’d stopped her from falling through the floor. Okay, so he’d taken her out of the very dangerous Vampire Council.

But she could stand on her own.

She went to break his grip, but the wily vampire simply tightened his fingers, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a contract.

It was perfectly flat as if he’d spent hours ironing it.

He clicked his fingers, and a vampire contract pen arose.

She didn’t know where it came from. Maybe it was part of the yacht. Or more likely, it was a fundamental part of his magic.

He’d probably partitioned off a bit of his life force to ensure a vampire contract pen would follow him wherever he went.

For vampires, especially like Riley, contracting people was the very reason they were alive.

She stared at the contract, at the pen, then at his eyes, then at the yacht, then across at the city. Riley, if you want me to sign my old contract, you must be mad. The city is about to fall—

Though you can’t appreciate this yet, Luna, it’s for your own good.

She snapped her gaze toward him. Her nose rumpled. Her brow furrowed. And that was a very gentle way of describing exactly how she felt. Inside, her emotions twisted. They mixed together, and it was a damn toxic brew. At first there was frustration, the aching, goading frustration of someone who kept getting somewhere only to be pushed back.

Then there was fear. Plain fear for Lennox, wherever he was.

Then there was a tiny mote of pride at the fact Luna had risen so far so fast. There were a heckuva lot of other emotions, too. The one that rose right out of the midst of that mix was anger.

She pulled her wrist back. She broke his grip. She took several steps away from him. Not once did she look at the contract. She knew her mind.

Riley stiffened slightly. Then it seemed as if he had to use most of his vampire power to loosen his bottom jaw from his top teeth. He looked down at the hole he’d sealed, then took a step right out of it.

Fortunately he didn’t approach her with the pen again. Instead, he walked over to the pristine polished railing only several meters to his side. He didn’t face the city. He faced the dark, ominous ocean beyond. She felt the gentle lapping of it.

She heard it.

And she recoiled at it.

She’d never appreciated this before, but she was a city girl. Through and through. If you’d asked her, she would’ve given you an ambivalent response about Arkans City. Now she bled with the desire to get back there. She almost lurched toward the opposite railing and jumped into the water despite the fact she knew she couldn’t swim well. Her theory was that she could slip into the shadow realm, and maybe her