Romance: Angel-The Fire Princess: Vampire Werewolf Shifter Fantasy Romance Read online

  Angel

  The Fire Princess

  Created by Vivian Nim

  I want to thank you and congratulate you for downloading this book, “Angel: The Fire Princess” I hope you enjoy it!

  Copyright © 2016 by Vivian Nim - All rights reserved.

  Copyright Cover design © 2016 by Vivian Nim -All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may briefly quote this book. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Prologue

  “Oh, Thomas! Come here, I want to show you something!” Kay called out from the bedroom, the flirtation in her tone evident. She lounged across the bed which, to be brutally honest, didn’t have the most comfortable bedspread. It was scratchy, and it was irritating all of Kay’s exposed

  skin. One must make sacrifices to look so good, she thought, and forced herself to remain posed.

  It was Thomas and Kay’s wedding night, and unlike many other couples their age, they had decided to wait until marriage to make love. While it was difficult, Kay was ready to make up for lost time. She and her best friend had shopped for hours for the perfect lingerie, and Kay had chosen her favorite outfit to wear on their first night, which she expected to be very intense. Her mouth lifted into a coy smile at the thought.

  “Coming, dear!” Thomas called back, some excitement obvious in his voice. Kay peeked out into the living area of the little cabin they were renting, then glanced at the fire burning in the hearth between the two rooms. It was a cozy little place, and heated up fairly nicely considering the blistering cold outside. It had started to snow as they were making their way up the

  mountain, and Kay had expressed her concern.

  “Babe, what if the cabin doesn’t have a sufficient heater?” Thomas simply patted her hand, keeping his eyes fixed on the road.

  “Don’t worry. I think we’ll keep warm enough, considering the activities we’ll be participating in.”

  Kay blushed at that, understanding that he definitely wasn’t just referring to their possible skiing excursions.

  Thomas finally opened the bedroom door, hesitantly, almost nervously.

  “Babe?” he said, his eyes closed. Kay laughed.

  “Tommy, open your eyes.” He did, slowly, but when he finally caught a glimpse of her, his eyes became hungry.

  “Well aren’t you just the most gorgeous creature that ever lived?” Kay’s face turned crimson, but she held his stare.

  “All for you, my darling.” He attacked her at those words, jumping on the bed with Kay and wrapping her in his arms. She laughed outright, and he smiled down at her, his face inches from hers. “I love you,” she said, bringing her hand up to his face to gently stroke it.

  “I love you so much more.” Thomas kissed her then, a heart-stopping kiss that made Kay’s world fade around her.

  At least it would have, had the fire not suddenly gone out.

  They both stopped - stopped kissing, stopped moving, practically stopped breathing. One moment, there was a roaring fire, and the next, it was out like it had never even been there. There didn’t even appear to be any glowing embers, no remnants of the once fierce flame.

  “What was that?” Kay trembled, and Thomas pulled her closer to him. It was then that four pounding knocks on the cabin door startled them even more, and Kay clutched her husband tighter.

  “Who would be out there in the middle of a snowstorm?” Thomas asked, his voice shaking. They waited a few moments before four more knocks shook the cabin, and Thomas stood.

  “No, Thomas!” Kay whispered frantically. He ignored her and grabbed his rifle, which was propped against the dresser. Kay then stood, reaching for her robe.

  “Absolutely not, you’re staying here,” Thomas commanded, his face serious. However, she shook her head.

  “I’m not letting you face this alone, and I’m not losing my husband on our wedding night. If one of us dies, we both die.” She reached for his hand, and he took it, hesitantly.

  “Alright. But I don’t like the idea of dying a virgin, so let’s do our best not to.” Kay smiled slightly at that.

  “I love you.”

  Kay stood behind her husband, his broad shoulders protecting her from the icy wind that knocked into them as her husband opened the front door. He held his gun at the ready, his finger close to the trigger.

  “Who’s there?!” he cried into the stormy night. The snow flurried and fell heavily, making it difficult to see, and the young couple could barely make out a shape in the darkness.

  “Is that-“ Kay started to whisper, but never finished. A hulking figure sprang from the darkness and through the falling snow, and they screamed, Kay latching onto her husband’s arm.

  When she worked up the courage to peek, she opened her eyes and was amazed by the panting creature in front of her. It was a grey wolf, but much, much larger - almost the size of a lion, probably bigger. In it’s teeth, the massive animal carried a basket, but Kay couldn’t quite make out what was inside.

  Either way, this was the most extraordinary thing she had ever seen. Little did she know, it would only become more so.

  “What are you?” Thomas asked the creature, still clutching his gun, still pointing it at the wolf. The animal didn’t reply, but was suddenly lost in a particularly heavy flurry of snow. Kay squinted into the ice; however, where the silhouette of an animal once was, the figure of a considerably smaller human had replaced it. It stepped out into the open once again, a woman,

  clothed in a rich-looking garment and covered in furs to protect from the cold. Her face was thin, and her features small and delicate, like the arms and hands that now clutched the woven basket. Her white-blonde hair flowed behind her in the wind, yet didn’t tangle like one would

  expect it to. Thomas and Kay gaped at the woman, speechless.

  She, however, looked quite amused, and gestured to her get-up.

  “I assure you, these are not wolf skins.” She looked between the two of them for a moment, judging their reaction, then laughed. “My apologies. I should have known that humor may not have been the smartest outlet with you two.” She sighed.

  “Who are you?” Kay cried out, suddenly brave. Perhaps it was the adrenalin, perhaps this was simply how she channeled her fear. Either way, the woman was impressed.

  “I hoped that this was a worthwhile decision. It seems to me I may have been correct. My name is Kelandra, and I ask your assistance.” The woman bowed, but the couple continued to stare.

  “Assistance with what?” Kay asked, her brows furrowed, her heart pounding. For the first time, the woman displayed the contents of the basket, and Kay gasped.

  An infant, somehow asleep despite the chaos around her, lay bundled inside. The woman, Kelandra, looked lovingly at the child, but pain flashe
d across her features as she looked back up at Kay and Thomas.

  “I need someone to take care of this child.” Kay looked at her husband, then back to Kelandra, then burst out laughing. Kelandra crossed her arms over her chest. “Indulge me. Why do you find this so hilarious?”

  Kay wiped at her eyes.

  “Lady, we’re barely able to survive with just the two of us on our current income. We weren’t planning on having children for years, and you expect us to take this one in now? From some woman that neither of us even knows?” Kay was angry now, and Kelandra stared at her evenly.

  “I will admit, I’m not well-versed in human culture, and I don’t understand your societal norms. But I am willing to compensate you and your husband so that you will not have any extra expenses. In fact, I think you’ll find that you will live more comfortably.” Kelandra tried to be reasonable; however, Kay was only getting angrier.

  “You have no idea the level of commitment it takes to be a parent. You have no clue what the job entails, nor do you care what kind of burden that this will put on our family-“ Kay was spewing, but the woman interrupted.

  “I do have an idea what it’s like to be a parent. In fact so far, I’ve had to make some difficult choices, for instance: fleeing with my newborn child and handing her off to some strangers, because if I don’t, she’ll die.” Kay gasped at this, suddenly regretting her earlier rant. “I have very little to go on. I know very little of the human world, but I know love when I see it. You two have it, and I want that for my daughter, even if it won’t be me giving it to her. Please,” she fell on her knees in front of the couple, begging. “Please, just keep her safe until she’s 18. December 5, please just keep her safe until then, and I will return for her. Wherever you are, I’ll be able to locate her and I’ll be back.” Kelandra now had tears running down her face, and her

  shoulders shook from the weight of her grief.

  “Oh, ma’am…” Kay started, but was interrupted once again.

  “She’ll die. Thomas and Kay Berry, she will die if you don’t take her. You’re my last resort. There’s no one around for miles except you. Take my daughter, go far from here, and keep her safe.”

  Hesitantly, Kay reached into the basket and carefully picked up the child, who remained asleep. She only moved slightly: to instinctively curl into Kay’s bosom, as if she were the baby’s mother. Kelandra laughed through her tears, but Kay looked up from the child.

  “What’s her name?” she asked, still unsure, still doubtful. The mother looked up, her blue eyes clear and bright, and she smiled when she answered.

  “Angel. Her name is Angel.”

  Chapter One

  Angel hated snow.

  That was a fact. She never understood how people could think it was “magical” or “dreaminspired” or whatever poetic garbage they can think up to romanticize it. To Angel, snow was cold, wet and miserable, and she wanted no part in that.

  “Angel, I’m leaving in 5 minutes!” her mother called up to her. Angel simply rolled her eyes and made no response. She continued to layer her clothes and she put on her warmest boots, determined to remain snug and warm today. Glancing in the mirror, she lingered to examine her straight blond hair, which she had been wanting to cut for years; she simply couldn’t bring

  herself to ask for more than a trim, though. It flowed all the way down to her lower back, but today she simply combed it back and put it into a high ponytail on her head. Her blue eyes and classically beautiful features completed her look, and she stared critically at herself a moment

  longer before she grabbed a scarf and left her room.

  “There you are, baby. How are you feeling this morning?” Angel shrugged, but her mother didn’t seem to notice. Her brunette hair was cut into what was supposed to be a fashionable pixie cut, but only screamed “bed hair” at this particular moment. She was frazzled, but she managed to keep it together every morning and get her daughter to school and her husband to work on time.

  “I probably won’t be home until after 10 tonight, Mom. Just thought I’d let you know.” Angel meant for it to be a casual mention, but her mother stopped and looked at her, concern flashing across her features.

  “I don’t know if I feel so comfortable with that,” she said, her gaze unwavering and intent. Angel shrugged.

  “You’ve never had an issue with it before-“ she started but was promptly stopped.

  “Your father has mentioned some disturbing occurrences that have happened lately around town, and I would just feel better if you were home early.” Kay went back to what she was doing, but there was a definite change in her demeanor. Angel, however, didn’t pick up on it.

  “I’ll be safe, as I always am, and I’ll text you with constant updates, okay?” Her mother didn’t press, but also didn’t reply. Still, Angel took this as consent, and it wasn’t brought up again.

  “Morning, ladies!” came a booming voice from behind, and Angel turned to see her father coming down the stairs, dressed for work. He sported a dressy polo and khakis, and his black hair was slicked back and classy-looking.

  Angel’s father, Thomas Berry, owned basically half of the city of Laurel Springs, Colorado. He was wealthy beyond reason, and continued to develop and build as his success grew.

  When Thomas saw his wife, he looked amazed like she was a movie star, and he smiled widely. He closed the gap between them in two steps, took Kay’s face in his hands, and kissed her sweetly, and she blushed in reply. Thomas then turned his attention to Angel.

  “Morning, sunshine. How are we this morning?” Angel smiled in spite of herself and fell into his arms in a hug, and he patted her back lovingly.

  “Good, Dad, I’m good.” Her father released her, looked back and forth between his two ladies, and grinned again.

  “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing to the door. Kay grabbed the car keys, Thomas picked up his briefcase, Angel slung her backpack over her shoulder, and they all exited the house together like they had for years.

  It was December 4, and nothing would be the same after today.

  XXX

  “He said he would take you out after school?” asked Heather, Angel’s best friend. They stood outside the school by the front steps in the cold, winter air, and Angel nodded next to her.

  “Chase asked me out on Monday and told me he wanted to take me somewhere special today.” Angel blushed, and Heather squealed.

  “This is amazing. How do you always get such hot guys to notice you?” Angel simply shrugged, but Heather answered her own question. “It’s because you look like a super model.”

  “Hey, now, guys go after more than just looks!” Angel defended; Heather just smirked.

  “Personality doesn’t do so much for a first impression though.”

  “Excuse me?” The two girls heard someone clear their throat behind them, and they both whirled around to see Chase himself, dimples, wavy brown hair and all. Heather gasped, but Angel kept her cool, her effortlessly flirtatious nature taking control easily.

  “Speak of the devil,” she muttered to Heather, just loud enough for Chase to hear, and she flashed him a smile. “Well hey, how are things?” Chase shrugged, trying to be casual.

  “Great. Um, shall we?” He gestured for Angel to accompany him, so she glanced at Heather, who looked like she was going to faint, one last time before leaving the school grounds with Chase.

  The snow fell lightly around them, and as much as this irritated Angel, she was going to let nothing ruin this evening. She followed Chase to his truck, an old, faded red two-door with bumper stickers covering the entire back-half, and he followed her to the passenger side to open her door.

  “Thank you, kind sir,” Angel smiled, but Chase didn’t reply; however, he almost fell (ice, presumably) walking around the front of the vehicle to the driver’s side. “You okay?”

  Chase turned to her and nodded quickly, still not replying. He fumbled with his keys until he managed to start his truck, they backed out, and his eye
s remained glued to the road.

  This was not typical Chase behavior. Chase was the school’s football star, the most popular guy in school - he was Homecoming King material. He didn’t get tongue-tied, or get nervous aroundgirls, and he definitely didn’t trip in front of them.

  “So, where are we going?” Angel asked, trying to get a conversation going. Chase glanced at her briefly, then fixed his eyes back in front of him.

  “Um, well, there’s this restaurant downtown that I kind of wanted to take you to. Does that sound okay?” He looked suddenly uncertain, and while his seemingly shy behavior was somewhat endearing, Angel was becoming frustrated.

  “Sounds great. So, Chase, what have you been up to?” Angel longed for a good discussion, but unfortunately, her date had little to offer.

  “Oh, you know, football practice and school. Basically.” His thoughts were clipped and unfinished, and Angel could foresee a very awkward end in sight.