His Crazy Little Vamp Read online

  

  Mercury Rising 12

  His Crazy Little Vamp

  No matter how much Victor tries to stay out of trouble, he always finds himself right in the middle of it. His ranking in the coven is at the bottom of the barrel, and Riley always reminds him of that. One night, running from his bully, Victor is hit by a car a block from Black Dragon. And the driver happens to be his mate. When a capture warrant is issued for Victor, it’s up to Pierce to keep him out of prison and away from the one man who wants Victor dead.

  Pierce is hesitant to take Victor with him to execute a warrant, but is surprised they make a great team. Even so, he finds out quickly that his little vampire is out to prove his worth, and that lands Victor in a heap of trouble. When Victor is kidnapped, Pierce runs to his rescue, and a battle the likes of which Mercury has never seen arises.

  Genres: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Shape-shifter, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 30,524

  HIS CRAZY LITTLE VAMP

  Mercury Rising 12

  Lynn Hagen

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  His Crazy Little Vamp

  Copyright © 2019 by Lynn Hagen

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-597-9

  First Publication: January 2019

  Cover design by Emma Nicole

  All art and logo copyright © 2019 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  HIS CRAZY LITTLE VAMP

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  HIS CRAZY LITTLE VAMP

  Mercury Rising 12

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2019

  Chapter One

  “I see the pet is cooking for the half-breed again.”

  Why couldn’t Riley just fall off the face of the earth? Victor had been dealing with the prick’s taunting for years, but ever since Colton had joined the coven, Victor’s life had become a living hell.

  Even if Colton hadn’t joined, Riley would’ve found a reason to mess with him. He was just downright mean, and Victor was his favorite outlet. He even had two douchebags on either side of him, snickering at Riley’s comment.

  Victor gave them his back as he made lasagna for Colton. It was his favorite, and Colton had promised to play cards when he returned from executing a warrant. Victor adored the wolf shifter. He was one of the few people who didn’t pick on him.

  “That smells like dog food,” Riley said from behind him. “Appropriate since you’re feeding it to one.”

  Victor gritted his teeth but refused to stoop to Riley’s level. Even if he mouthed off, he would only get beaten up, and he didn’t feel like spending the rest of his night nursing his wounds. He finished the pan off with shredded cheese and slipped it into the oven before cleaning up his mess, all the while feeling Riley’s gaze burning into his back.

  When he turned to leave, to his surprise and relief, the band of merry assholes was gone. Riley usually didn’t give up that easily, but Victor was glad that he had. The last time he’d run into Riley, the jerk had tripped him and made him fall on his face in front of a crowd of partiers in the club.

  “How’s the food coming along?” Corbin asked as he passed Victor in the hallway.

  He always felt special when one of the Masters spoke to him. “It should be ready in about an hour.”

  “I’m sure Colton will love it,” Corbin said. “Thank you for cooking for him.”

  “It was my pleasure.” Victor hurried to his bedroom and closed the door. Soon it would be full dark and he could go outside. He loved running through the woods surrounding the town as the wind whipped through his hair.

  The underground living quarters filled with the smell of lasagna, and it nauseated Victor, not because the dish smelled bad but because he hadn’t eaten food in twenty years and the part of him that had been human used to love that smell.

  He glanced at the clock and then went back to the kitchen to check on his meal. When he opened the oven, Victor let out a short, high cry. The entire top was covered in what looked to be black pepper. Someone had sabotaged his meal. There was no way Colton would be able to eat this mess.

  He slammed the oven door closed and marched down the hallway until he reached Riley’s room. Victor banged on the door then balled his fists at his sides. It was one thing to pick on him, but Colton’s dinner had been destroyed, and Victor had put a lot of hard work into making sure it would be perfect.

  Riley swung his door opened, looked around, and then his gaze lowered, as if just realizing Victor stood there. His lip curled. “What do you want, pet?”

  Victor screeched and attacked Riley, pounding his small fists into the brute. With one strong backhand from Riley, Victor slammed into the opposite wall in the hallway. The noise brought a lot of people out of their rooms and out of the common area.

  It was Lucian who grabbed Riley and stopped him from pummeling Victor. “What is going on?”

  Victor pushed himself off the floor and wiped the blood from his throbbing nose.

  “He started it!” Riley jabbed a finger at him. “He attacked me!”

  “He ruined Colton’s dinner,” Victor accused. “He poured pepper over the top of it.”

  “Do you have proof it was him?” Lucian asked.

  “Well…no…but…” Victor wasn’t about to tell the Master what Riley had said about Colton earlier. That was a can of worms he didn’t want to open, plus Riley would make him pay dearly later if he opened his mouth.

  Like he’s not gonna make you pay for this.

  Worse, because Victor was so angry, tears stung his eyes. He hated that he cried when he was that mad. That only gave Riley something else to taunt him about.

  Without waiting for Lucian to punish him, Victor ran up the stairs and into the club, uncaring that he hadn’t turned the oven off. The meal was ruined anyway, and someone would eventually turn it off. All he wanted to do was get away from Riley before he got himself into further trouble by socking him on the nose.

  Thankfully, the sun had set and Victor was able to leave the club. He hurried onto the street and then slowed to a normal pace. He was so upset when he crossed that he hadn’t paid attention to traffic. One second he was cursing Riley’s name, and the next, a car struck him.

  Victor flew into the air and landed on his chest, the air whooshing from his lungs. Pain exploded on the right side of his body where the car had impacted him.

 
; A guy got out of the driver’s side and rushed toward Victor. “I didn’t see you until it was too late!” He hunched down and his hand hovered close to Victor as a small crowd gathered. “You’re vampire,” he whispered. “That doesn’t matter,” he amended. “Are you okay? Do I need to take you to the club?”

  The guy was talking way too fast as Victor tried to shake off the pain. He might be a vampire, but getting hit by a car hurt like hell. Until he could feed, his injuries wouldn’t heal, and damn, his side was killing him, along with a headache pounding against his skull.

  “I…uh…no…no club.” He tried to get up but collapsed back to the ground, crying out in pain.

  The stranger—good god he was handsome—scooped Victor up and headed for his car.

  “Hey, you shouldn’t move him,” someone said from behind them. “He could have spinal injuries or something.”

  The stranger ignored the shouting man as he tucked Victor into his backseat. “You’re delusional from the impact. Of course you need to get back to your coven. You need blood.”

  “How do you know?” Victor found it hard to breathe, let alone talk. He was pretty sure he had a few cracked ribs and maybe a cracked hip. He just knew that his entire right side was killing him as the stranger hopped into the driver’s seat and took off.

  Since Victor had been right around the corner when he’d been hit, they were at the club in seconds. The guy was also on his phone when they arrived, and to his shock, it was Colton who opened the back door of the car.

  “How bad, mouse?” Concern flooded his blue eyes.

  If anyone else had called Victor that demeaning name, he would’ve tried to knock them on their ass. But he knew Colton meant it as a term of endearment.

  “I think the car relocated a few body parts,” Victor said as he panted.

  “Let’s get you inside.”

  “No.” Victor shook his head. The last thing he wanted was for the coven to see him being carried in. Vampires were all about strength, and right now Victor felt as weak as a…well, a mouse. Plus, he didn’t want to face Lucian. Victor had taken off before things with Riley could be settled, and he didn’t want to know if he would be punished.

  “I’ll take you through the back,” Colton said as he lifted Victor from the seat. “No one will see you.”

  Victor loved that Colton understood his need to stay away from everyone, so he stopped protesting as Colton—the stranger following behind them—took him around back and entered through the Masters entrance.

  He was taken to the office and laid on the couch as Colton’s mates gathered around him. Victor wanted to sit up, to downplay his injuries, but moving was damn near impossible.

  It was Corbin, the practical vampire, that slit his wrist and fed Victor. It was an awkward moment considering Colton stood right there, but Victor wasn’t about to say no. Not when he smelled blood and his instincts took over.

  He drank just enough the heal himself and then released Corbin’s wrist and closed his eyes, feeling like the world’s biggest idiot for not watching where he was going.

  But as he lay there, praying everyone would leave, the sweetest smell wafted his way. Victor opened his eyes and gazed at the stranger who spoke softly to Colton.

  Victor was staring at his mate.

  * * * *

  “I’m telling you,” Pierce said as he spoke with Colton. “I could’ve sworn I saw someone push him into the street, but it happened so fast.”

  He looked at the small fry lying on the couch and felt guilty as hell for whacking the guy with his car. Pierce had never felt his heart beat that fast in his life. It was truly messed up what had happened, but he was glad he’d hit a preternatural who could heal quickly rather than a human.

  Even with that knowledge, he still felt like shit, though.

  Colton furrowed his brows as he looked from Pierce to the vampire. “Are you sure?”

  “No.” Pierce had seen a blur right before the accident and couldn’t be certain, but his gut told him something wasn’t right. The vampire kept looking at him strangely. Pierce turned his attention back to Colton, but he felt the guy’s eyes on him.

  “His name is Victor,” Colton said with a slight smirk, as if he knew Victor was paying too close attention to Pierce. “And he’s a very sweet guy.” Colton looked toward the door. “I’ll be right back.”

  Very sweet guy? Since when did Colton talk like that? Pierce was used to the gruff, surly bastard who always snapped at everyone. It seemed being mated had done Colton a world of good, and he seemed to be returning to his old self.

  Pierce turned to face the vampire and found Victor was still watching him. “Hey, look, I’m really sorry about hitting you. It was an accident.”

  “I know.” Victor blushed as he sat up, looking better already. And he did look good. The guy was svelte, with black hair and crystal-blue eyes. Pierce had never seen a vampire with blue eyes before. They were usually black. He had a pert little nose, thick eyelashes, and if Pierce didn’t stop checking him out, he would get hard.

  Too late.

  “Well, since you’re feeling better…” Pierce headed for the door. He had a warrant to execute and standing around ogling the cute little vampire wasn’t going to get that accomplished. Not only did he have a lion shifter who needed to be taken to the prison, but the bounty hunters were still searching for the creatures who had escaped the veil—particularly the ones who had attacked Colton and forced his mates to convert him into a vampire.

  “Wait!” Victor hopped from the couch and ran toward Pierce. “Leaving already?” He touched Pierce’s arm and then quickly moved his hand away. “Sorry.”

  Hmm. A polite vampire. Who would’ve thought? Pierce had mainly dealt with Andreas whenever he had to deal with a vampire, and Andreas wasn’t the sweet and cuddly type. He was a sarcastic bastard with an attitude.

  “I gotta go,” Pierce said as he reached for the door handle. “Places to be and people to capture.”

  “You’re executing a warrant?” Victor’s blue eyes lit up as he grinned at Pierce, making the little vamp appear even more devastatingly handsome. “I’ve always wanted to know what that was like.”

  “Well, you ain’t gonna find out with me.” Pierce tried to open the door, but Victor moved in front of him. “I work alone.”

  “That’s fine.” Victor wouldn’t stop smiling at him. It was starting to creep Pierce out. “You won’t even know I’m there.”

  “Why would you want to hang around a guy who hit you with his car?” Pierce needed to get across town before Hallman McGovern took off from the house he’d been hiding in. Pierce had a small window of opportunity to capture the lion without having to chase him down, and Victor was standing in his damn way.

  “Because…” Victor closed his eyes and inhaled deep drafts of Pierce’s scent. His facial expression held pure delight. Pierce had never had anyone sniff him before, and he found it awkward.

  “Because?”

  Victor’s eyelids fluttered open, his thick lashes fanning as his cheeks turned a bright red. “You’re my mate.”

  Pierce stumbled backward and gaped at the little twerp. Shifters didn’t know who their mate was until they’d slept with them, but vampires knew instantly.

  Still, Pierce wasn’t sure what to think. True, he was the last person in his pack to be mated, but…fuck. Talk about dropping a bomb in someone’s lap.

  “You’re confusing attraction for mating.” Pierce swallowed, hoping he was right and hoping he was wrong. He didn’t have a hang-up like some of the wolves about vampires. In Pierce’s opinion, there were bad seeds in every race and species.

  He was just in shock at Victor’s statement. “Are you sure?”

  Victor’s smile wavered as he looked away. “I can understand if you don’t want to be my mate. Not many people want to be bothered with me.”

  “Hey, I didn’t say that.” Pierce tucked his knuckle under Victor’s chin and made the vampire look at him. “And why would you
say something like that?”

  “It’s true,” Victor said. “My coven thinks they can pick on me because of my position on the hierarchy. I’m basically at the bottom.”

  Pierce gave a low growl. He hated hierarchy, although he knew it was a necessary part of life. “You tell me who’s fucking with you and I’ll snap their damn neck.”

  Victor snickered. “You don’t have to do that, but I appreciate the offer.”

  Now wasn’t he the cutest little thing. What harm could come from letting Victor hunt with him? He had inhuman speed, could stay out of the way, and allowing him to tag along would help Pierce get to know the guy better.

  “Okay, you can come with me.”

  Victor squealed. “I promise you won’t regret it!”

  After that ear-piercing sound, Pierce held up a hand. “There’re a few rules.”

  Victor bit his bottom lip as he stared eagerly at Pierce.

  “First, you stay back. There will be no helping of any kind. Got that?”

  He bobbed his head.

  “Second, if I say run, you run with no questions asked.”

  Victor furrowed his brows. “You want me to leave you?”

  “If shit goes south,” Pierce explained, “I don’t want you in harm’s way. You have to promise me you’ll listen to me, or you can stay here.”

  Why did he have a feeling getting rid of the vampire would be damn near impossible? Victor might be a short little shit, but he looked like a hellion behind those penetrating blue eyes.

  Victor saluted him. “Copy that, sir.”

  With a roll of his eyes, Pierce walked out of the office, Victor at his side as they exited through the back entrance. When he walked a block over, he saw his car had been parked at the curb—no doubt Colton’s doing—and the keys had been left in the center console.

  Victor slipped into the passenger seat and buckled himself in before resting his pale hands in his lap. When Pierce got in and looked over at him, the little vampire made a motion of zipping his lips. “You won’t hear a peep from me.”