Vixen by Mina Carter

Series: Kyn 2
Length: Novella

Whatever else he was, she had to admit he had guts. She wouldn’t want to be shut up in a room with an angry Kyn either. Whilst his pixie heritage might have protected him from being turned into a vampire, it did buggar all to protect him from being dead.”

The only vampire warrioress in existence Vixen has spent most of her life proving herself in a man’s world, but she’s never been able to squash some very feminine thoughts where fellow warrior Kalen is concerned. Kalen however, has sworn off love, preferring to deal in lust instead.

But a passionate encounter blows their carefully constructed indifference to each other and when Vixen is kidnapped will they be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to give their love a chance?

Available NOW from: Summerhouse Publishing| ARe| Amazon UK| Amazon| Smashwords

Excerpt:

Gorillas did not look good in dresses.

Vixen looked down at herself and suppressed a grimace. She never wore makeup and her blonde hair was always caught in a plait at her nape. Not today, oh no…today she had been primed and preened to within an inch of her long life, and then shoehorned into a silk sheath dress. With heels, it proved the fates were bitches of the highest caliber. Granted, she was more Amazonian in build, but next to the other bridesmaids she felt like a lumbering ape.

The dress was pink. Of course it was. It had to be pink, Vixen’s least favorite color. It even had a large bow right on her ass. They might as well have slapped a ‘wide load’ sticker on her backside, she grumbled to herself, craning her head as she twisted and turned, trying to pull it into a better position.

Wide load stickers were out. They’d clash with the color scheme. The wedding coordinator—an army drill sergeant masquerading as a slender vampire of a certain age and an impeccable pedigree—would have kittens. No, pink and white it was. Andonly pink and white. Baby pink, she’d been corrected earlier. She’d taken that at face value. Pink was pink. Why did it need so many different names?

She suppressed a sigh. She’d never been scared of anything. When Maria, the king’s fiancée, had asked her to be one of her bridesmaids, Vixen had been happy to accept. After all, she was Vixen, big, scary Kyn warrior. The only female warrior. Ever.

Like the other warriors, she spent her days hunting and killing rogue vampires, the most ferocious creatures to walk the night. And she was damn good at it. Just last week her patrol had topped the leader board for the most kills for the third week in a row.

What was being a bridesmaid compared to that? A dress, some flowers and following the bride up the aisle to make sure she didn’t break a nail. It couldn’t be that hard, right?

Wrong, dead wrong. If her knees knocked any harder, they’d have to keep checking the door. Moments to go and she shook with nerves. She looked ridiculous. She’d thought she was clever, avoiding those dress fittings. Boring as they’d been, the reason behind them was now crystal clear.

Her dress didn’t fit.

The pink silk was stretched tight across her bust, so tight she could hardly breathe. She couldn’t take a deep breath, in case the delicate lacings across her back— already stretched to the limit—ripped. The dressmaker was no help. Annoyed at having to work without a dress fitting, she’d ordered Vixen not to breathe. Vixen didn’t know if that was to not breathe deeply, or not breathe at all. Not breathing was the best option. The neckline was so low a deep breath would spill her breasts out over the top.

She cursed under her breath as she looked around the small antechamber. Just off the main hall of the court where the ceremony was to take place, it followed the rest of the building in its style. Heavy wood paneling covered half the walls, whilst ornamental plaster carvings covered over the rest. The symbols of ancient Kyn families surrounded them as the bride prepared to walk up the aisle. Like a lot of vampire buildings, there wasn’t even a damn window she could wriggle out.

As soon as the idea of escape occurred, she dismissed it. She couldn’t run out on the wedding of the king. It just wasn’t done. She didn’t give a damn about protocol, but if she didn’t show, Marak would track her down and bust her ass for it.

Despite the fact he’d been caught up in court protocol recently with the wedding preparations, Marak was her patrol leader and one of the meanest warriors out there in the fight against the rogue. Someone she didn’t want to piss off.

She straightened her back. She was a Kyn warrior, and warriors did not run from anything. She didn’t run from anything. Even if her knees shook under her skirt.

“Now… you look amazing.”

As if Vixen’s thoughts had conjured her up, Maria appeared at her elbow like a genie out of a bottle. A genie in a full wedding gown with veil and tiara to boot.

“Me?”

Vixen resisted the urge to tug on the dress again as she turned to face the bride. Yanking it up until it felt more secure reduced the risk of her breasts falling out, but meant the spilt up her thigh would rise indecently high. Pulling it down to solve thatgave her the fall-out problem again. Catch 22.

“I don’t. I look ridiculous.” She gave into temptation and went through the whole pull up, pull down routine again. “Like a damn gorilla in a dress.”

“What are you talking about? You don’t look like a gorilla at all. You look stunning.” Maria’s dark gaze seemed to make a quick assessment of Vixen’s dress. Slim-fitting, it molded to every curve she had. A fact she was uncomfortably aware of.

She wore tight clothing on patrol, but that was work gear. Somehow, skin-tight leather pants with a skinny-fit tee didn’t seem quite as bad as her cleavage, or the entire length of her leg on display.

“You can see my underwear,” Vixen muttered, tugging at the dress again, nearer to a panic attack than she’d ever been in her life.

“Don’t be stupid, it’s perfectly decent. You’re just used to hiding yourself away down in the compound…leave it, you’ll crease the silk.” Maria swatted at Vixen’s hands, her impatience obvious.

Perhaps she could still make a break for it, Vixen wondered, as the bride moved off to speak to one of the other bridesmaids. Already, Maria had adopted the role of hostess, a skill she’d need as Marak’s queen. Hope filled her—surely Maria would understand…

Available NOW from: Summerhouse Publishing| ARe| Amazon UK| Amazon| Smashwords