Chapter One
“Why do they get all the fucking best jobs? We could’ve been sitting pretty in that upscale Bridgegate mall…instead, we’re hunting fucking blood suckers in shitty alleys. Fucking jumped up prissy Santa wannabes!”
Rudi sighed at her partner, Darrick’s, growl and ducked the wild swing of the vampire in front of her. “Darrick, I keep telling you, Cole and Rhod aren’t Santa wannabes. They are Santa. For one night a year, they’re the real deal. Just like the hundreds of other Santa’s in the bloodlines. It’s been two years, when are you gonna get over it?”
Darrick grumbled at her and she chuckled. She wasn’t under any impression he’d seriously been in love with Mia, one of the PPA’s Christmas elves, before she’d picked Cole Claus. Pixies were territorial, so it was more his male pride which had been injured.
Side-stepping, she twisted and slammed a fist up under the bloodsucker’s chin. His jaw snapped shut with a click, the force of her blow carrying him up into the air in a graceful comic-book style arc to land in an unconscious heap on the other side of the alley.
Darrick paused for a moment and cast a glance at the crumpled form. Surprise and admiration shone in the Pixie’s eyes. “Dayum, girl…you pack a punch. You sure you ain’t got no Valkyrie in you?”
She grinned. “None at all. Pure blooded shifter. Sorry.”
A dark figure rose behind him. A vampire with claws extended, mouth open and drool dripping from its fangs. She didn’t bother to raise the alarm. Darrick was a big boy, not to mention a trained operative. If he couldn’t take on a few revenants, then it was a poor showing on his part.
Without breaking eye contact, he lifted his arm and slammed the back of his fist into the vampire’s face. There was a sharp crack and the scent of blood in the air as its nose went from hooked and prominent to flat as a pancake.
“Pure shifter?” His eyes twinkling, he twisted and looped a strong arm around the stunned vampire’s neck. With a powerful twist of his torso and shoulders, he wrenched the creature's head clean from its neck. A fizzle and a pop later and the body dissolved into dust.
Rudi whistled. She’d worked with Darrick for a few years now, so she knew pixies were total badasses who learned to fight almost before they could walk, but the casual display of strength impressed even her.
“Yup, pure shifter.” She turned to survey the carnage in the alleyway.
They’d trailed the group of revenants across half a block, watching them track a group of human women dressed for a night on the town. Fortunately, they’d been able to head the creatures off into an alley, this alley, before the humans noticed. No great feat there, at times humans were the dumbest beings Rudi had ever encountered. Within minutes, she and Darrick had reduced the group to five piles of ash and one crumpled heap.
Her companion grumbled under his breath as he stepped over and stopped next to her to look down at the revenant. “Are you ever going to tell me what type of shifter you are?”
“Nope.” She slid him a sideways glance, keeping her smile to herself.
They’d been playing this game since they’d met. Everyone at the Paranormal Protection Agency knew she was a shifter, but no one knew what sort. At her request, Iliona had sealed Rudi’s personnel file, and she never, ever shifted. Didn’t even pop a tail…
She was a shifter, yeah. Shifter types were divided into two kinds; Predators and…not predators. The PPA had a lot of predator-type shifters. Their natural aggression and hardiness made them excellent operatives few wanted to take on in a fight. Jared Stone, for example, only had to stroll into the holding room back at base and half the ‘guests’ tried to crawl up their own asses to avoid him. The other half got busy praying to whatever gods they held dear.
They did the same when she walked in. Over the five years she’d been at the PPA, she’d
“Why do they get all the fucking best jobs? We could’ve been sitting pretty in that upscale Bridgegate mall…instead, we’re hunting fucking blood suckers in shitty alleys. Fucking jumped up prissy Santa wannabes!”
Rudi sighed at her partner, Darrick’s, growl and ducked the wild swing of the vampire in front of her. “Darrick, I keep telling you, Cole and Rhod aren’t Santa wannabes. They are Santa. For one night a year, they’re the real deal. Just like the hundreds of other Santa’s in the bloodlines. It’s been two years, when are you gonna get over it?”
Darrick grumbled at her and she chuckled. She wasn’t under any impression he’d seriously been in love with Mia, one of the PPA’s Christmas elves, before she’d picked Cole Claus. Pixies were territorial, so it was more his male pride which had been injured.
Side-stepping, she twisted and slammed a fist up under the bloodsucker’s chin. His jaw snapped shut with a click, the force of her blow carrying him up into the air in a graceful comic-book style arc to land in an unconscious heap on the other side of the alley.
Darrick paused for a moment and cast a glance at the crumpled form. Surprise and admiration shone in the Pixie’s eyes. “Dayum, girl…you pack a punch. You sure you ain’t got no Valkyrie in you?”
She grinned. “None at all. Pure blooded shifter. Sorry.”
A dark figure rose behind him. A vampire with claws extended, mouth open and drool dripping from its fangs. She didn’t bother to raise the alarm. Darrick was a big boy, not to mention a trained operative. If he couldn’t take on a few revenants, then it was a poor showing on his part.
Without breaking eye contact, he lifted his arm and slammed the back of his fist into the vampire’s face. There was a sharp crack and the scent of blood in the air as its nose went from hooked and prominent to flat as a pancake.
“Pure shifter?” His eyes twinkling, he twisted and looped a strong arm around the stunned vampire’s neck. With a powerful twist of his torso and shoulders, he wrenched the creature's head clean from its neck. A fizzle and a pop later and the body dissolved into dust.
Rudi whistled. She’d worked with Darrick for a few years now, so she knew pixies were total badasses who learned to fight almost before they could walk, but the casual display of strength impressed even her.
“Yup, pure shifter.” She turned to survey the carnage in the alleyway.
They’d trailed the group of revenants across half a block, watching them track a group of human women dressed for a night on the town. Fortunately, they’d been able to head the creatures off into an alley, this alley, before the humans noticed. No great feat there, at times humans were the dumbest beings Rudi had ever encountered. Within minutes, she and Darrick had reduced the group to five piles of ash and one crumpled heap.
Her companion grumbled under his breath as he stepped over and stopped next to her to look down at the revenant. “Are you ever going to tell me what type of shifter you are?”
“Nope.” She slid him a sideways glance, keeping her smile to herself.
They’d been playing this game since they’d met. Everyone at the Paranormal Protection Agency knew she was a shifter, but no one knew what sort. At her request, Iliona had sealed Rudi’s personnel file, and she never, ever shifted. Didn’t even pop a tail…
She was a shifter, yeah. Shifter types were divided into two kinds; Predators and…not predators. The PPA had a lot of predator-type shifters. Their natural aggression and hardiness made them excellent operatives few wanted to take on in a fight. Jared Stone, for example, only had to stroll into the holding room back at base and half the ‘guests’ tried to crawl up their own asses to avoid him. The other half got busy praying to whatever gods they held dear.
They did the same when she walked in. Over the five years she’d been at the PPA, she’d
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