Blood and Snow 5: Prey and Magic

Praise for the Blood and Snow series:

“The modern twist on the Snow White fairy tale was interesting and original, which isn't easy to find these days. Highly recommended.”
Sarra
Cannon, bestselling author of the
Peachville
High Demons series

“This book will definitely suck you in (no pun intended) instantly.” Anthony

"BLOOD AND SNOW draws you in from the very
 
beginning and never let's you go, only to leave you anticipating more! Loved
 
it. Can't wait for volume 2." Debbie Davis from Debbie's
Inkspectations

"This is a fun, smart, and sexy read!"
 
Elizabeth Mueller, award winning YA author of
Darkspell

“I definitely look forward to more, and recommend this to anyone who likes a fairy tale with a twist.” Kay Glass

“If you enjoy vampires and fractured fairy tales you'll enjoy these quick reads!” Laura Pauling, author of
the Circle of Spies series

“Best books that I
have read!”
Mercedez

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Afterword

Additional Works by
RaShelle
Workman

Indelible Authors

About the Author

Contact Information

Copyright Information

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

When you lose everything, there’s only one option. Jump.
Go all in.
Which is
what I did.
With both fangs.
I
e
mbraced my vampire…
ism
?...
n
ess
?...
tendencies
?...
whatever. I
accepted
them
and
,
the truth was
, I liked it.

At least while I partook of
human
blood. After, when the
drunken
haze
faded, guilt would edge its way in
.
I
hadn’t
kill
ed
another human, not since Gabe, but killing him
was horror enough. It ate at my heart.
I remembered
the grotesque way Gabe’s body laid on the floor.
The
way Professor Pops and the
guys
looked at me.
With loathing, disgust, and fear. But I deserved it. I’d become a mo
nster, and killed a
brother. A son. A boy I thought I
might love.
He kissed me, and I r
epaid him in blood.
Lots of it.
M
aybe even all of it. My carnal need over
took
all other emotion
s
, and I let myself give in
.
Relished the sensation
.

At those thoughts
my mind grew darker, and I sank
further away from every
thing that had to do with my former life.

I kept running.

Where I went
didn’t matter
as long as I
was
further from where I’d been. The kind of life I lived before. I blocked away my fat
her, my wicked stepmother, the
amazing boys who were my neighbors, and the man
who
loved them. I buried thoughts of Cindy, my cat, Gatsby, and Christopher aka Chace aka my Hunter. None of them mattered anymore. Not to the new me. Even the name of my city
was forgotten.

No
longer
an in between—part human and part revenant.
I was a
bloodthirsty
fiend
wit
h an unquenchable
thirst
.

Chapter 2

I fixed my gaze on the night sky
.
Inhaling
a deep
breath,
I smelled
the air, tasted
it,
searching for the
coppery
fragrance
I wanted
. It was there.
Past the rushing wind,
through the woodland
filled with
fir and eucalyptus trees, and down on the sandy shore.

The
distinct smell of the ocean
. A
nd blood.

Pulsing.

Pounding strong in the veins of two humans.

Fast.

Needy.

I
let
out an unearthly scream
,
and
sprinted forward
.

Toward my need.

My drug of choice.

The
entity
that made me what I
was
.

When
I was
only
few feet
from
my prey,
I slowed down, e
ach silent stride closing the gap.
The humans were in the throws of passion. They were on a blanket, kissing, and losing themselves in each other. The sight burned my eyes and my heart
as memories of Gabe
cut through me unbidden
. I
needed
to forget.
Drinking the
humans’ blood would help, would fill
me up in ways nothing else ever could.

I stepped closer
,
the edge
s
of my
dirty, black
Converse
touching the
ir
blanket
, while my heels sank into the soft sand.

The girl opened her eyes, and
stopped kissing the boy
. After a moment, she whispered. “
Some
skanky
girl
is
watching us. What a
perv
.” She giggled.

The boy swivel
ed his head
. “Get out of here,” he hollered. To the girl under him, he added, “She smells.”

The girl giggled again.
Probably grateful the guy on top of her didn’t find me attractive. Recently
though,
since my change, I
discovered I could cha
nge a human’s feelings. C
ompel them to come to me, desire me,
and even
lust after me. Up until the moment I drained them into unconsciousness.
The process was easy.

I
knelt beside them. “Look at me,
”
I demanded, my voice silky smooth.

The boy whipped his head around, a sliver of fear shading his
brown
eyes. He was handsome, lean. His blood smelled slightly like Gabe’s. I swallowed.

“Get the hell away from us.
”
He tried to shove me, but I didn’t budge. The fear in his eyes grew.

“Look into my eyes,” I
ordered
, enjoying the rush, the adrenaline. Knowing I possessed all the power.

He did as I said. “You smell divine.” As I spoke his eyes dilated. The change in his demeanor was swift. He got off the girl, who let out an annoyed huff. I grabbed her chin. “Do you like the color
of my eyes?” I’d
discovered
with
girls,
despite
whether they sensed danger or not,
they
couldn’t resist such a simple question. I think it
stemmed from our
innate need to compare
ourselves to other
s.

I caught her glance and held it. “Such a pretty thing.” Even in the moonlight I watched her blush,
the crimson of her blood rushing
into her plump cheeks.

“
Th
-thank you,” she stammered. Her dilated
cinnamon
eyes no longer interested in the boy next to her, but totally focused on me.

“What are your names?”

As one they spoke.

“Ashley.”

“Kevin.”

My heart pounded faster. The fangs in my mouth fought to
release. My mouth watered. “Ashley, lie down and go to sleep.”

Immediately, she obeyed. She closed her eyes, and I watched her breathing deepen. 

Kevin still kneeled, his large eyes desperate to please. He had a baby face. Sweet. Probably seduced a lot of girls with that face. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and I absently noticed his chiseled abs, the way his faded jeans rested low on his hips, and his finely manicured hands.

I swallowed again. The monster in me wanted to pounce, wanted to make him scream. But I resisted. “Kiss me, Kevin.”

He leaned forward, his swollen lips pressed against mine. At his touch, I closed my eyes and p
retended I was in Professor Pop
s
’
basement.
O
nce again kissi
ng Gabe. He deepened the kiss, grabbing my shoulders, pulling me on top of him, just
like Gabe. My pulse pounded rapidly, my need was
strong. I wanted to take this boy’s blood.
All of it.

I straddled Kevin, tilting his chin upward with one hand. Kevin
whimpered
, as though he knew what I
wanted
. Letting out a groan, I allowed my fangs to grow, and sank them into the tender skin
on
his
neck.

His blood filled my mouth and I swallow
ed the coppery warmth hungrily.
Professor Pops
’
words
paraded across my mind.
“Promise me you won’t drink for more than ten seconds.” Internally, I
counted to ten.
Eleven. Twelve. I released Kevin. He lay unconscious, his breathing normal.