We’re not creatures, though. We’re not to be feared or to be hunted. We’re just like everyone else, only stronger, faster, and some of us are immortal. The good ones—the ones I know and love—keep humans and other paranormals safe. We make sure humans don’t discover us and can sleep every night in peace from what they don’t know exists.
Sometimes Halloween isn’t what you think it will be. I certainly didn’t expect to have my snack ruined and to be abducted. I can’t help but still think about that turkey leg. I bet it would have been damn good.
We’ve got to roll with the punches. Or the magic. Whatever.
I focus on Lilah in my arms. I hold her tight and thank fate she’s the one who was chosen for me.
The party goes on for hours longer. We could have lost ones we love tonight. My brother and I are pretty confident in our skills; however, we can still be killed. We could have lost Ari, Caspian, Eaton, or others. There’s no way to tell what would have happened had Anlyn not gotten her hands on Ford and me.
So, for as long as I want to, I’m going to hold my kitten close, revel in the warmth she provides me, and love her for the rest of my life.
Want More?
Want more of Michelle Dare’s paranormals? You can read about the characters you met in this story in The Ariane Trilogy and the Paranormals of Avynwood series which are available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.
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About Michelle Dare
Michelle Dare is a USA Today Bestselling Author. Her stories range from sweet to sinful and from paranormal to contemporary. There aren’t enough hours in the day for her to write all the story ideas in her head. When not writing or reading, she’s a wife and mom living in eastern Pennsylvania. One day she hopes to be writing from a beach where she will never have to see snow or be cold again.
https://www.michelledare.com/
Love in Pieces
Natasha Raulerson
Created to be the perfect woman, Lenore only loves Erik. But when another man becomes obsessed, her reality is questioned.
Copyright
Love in Pieces by Natasha Raulerson
Copyright © 2020
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners
Prologue
Erik constructed her from corpses. It sounded crude, and maybe it was. He only used parts from fresh cadavers. Women who had recently come into the coroner's office for him to examine. He did the autopsies, provided the reports. Pretended to send the bodies off to wherever the families expected. If there’d even been a family. One woman had been a Jane Doe. Drowned. Never claimed, despite her face being plastered on the internet. The world’s loss, it seemed, was his gain.
Piece by piece, he put the woman together. Science and medicine had developed well past the tales of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. That’s what Erik thought of. But it hadn’t come so far as to bring people back from the dead. Though it did have lasers and other things to minimize the scarring if the spell didn’t work properly.
Spell.
He glanced at the book sitting on his computer desk. Next to the modern laboratory of his basement, the book seemed decayed and out of place. A bitter laugh escaped him.
“What am I doing?”
But the woman on the cold, steel table was more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. Long, black hair fell over her shoulders, and when her eyes opened, they would be a vivid blue. Not exactly Robin’s egg blue, but close. With flecks of gray in them.
He smiled at the thought. Doubt wiggled in his chest. The scientific mind. The mind that should shun all things mystical. Especially necromancy. Old world, uneducated beliefs to explain things they didn’t have the answer to.
But still. Here he stood.
The pieces came from multiple cadavers, with three various skin tones. All white, but from light to deep tan. He wasn’t sure how that would work with the spell. It only said to choose three. No more, no less.
So Erik chose the most beautiful women and took their best parts. The perfect woman created for him, by him.
He hooked the wires from monitoring equipment to her naked form. Nothing would come from this. He kept telling himself that. This was just an experiment. One last attempt to satisfy an all-consuming loneliness.
And when it failed, Erik would go to work. He’d do his job one last time. Say goodbye to his colleagues. Then, he’d come home, drink a fifth of bourbon, and take his handgun to bed with him.
It wouldn’t be sad. It’d be something better than this. Something better than the loneliness. The book he found was his last ditch effort to
