Serena Blackwood is turning into a vix. As if that’s not enough to stress a witch out, she has to work with sexy vampire Marcus Castillo to catch a rogue vampire and keep her secret. The attraction burns between them and every moment they’re together increases the chances of falling into bed together and her secret being revealed.

Marcus knows Serena’s hiding something, but can’t figure out what. She’s a beautiful and talented witch. The mystery draws him almost as much as the urge to kiss and caress the brave woman.

But the rogue has big plans. Serena and Marcus must work together and put aside their differences or they could lose everything.

Warning: This novel was previously published under the name Vampire’s Witch. It has been heavily revised and rewritten. This book contains sexy times between a vampire and his witch as well as some violence, but you can count on a happy ever after.

“Damn it, that’s impossible. It practically goes against the laws of nature!” Serena blinked. The white textured wall faded in and out for a few moments and a dizzying spin swirled through her head. The doctor couldn’t have just said that.

Doctor Alexander sighed and lifted his eyes to the ceiling. Serena clenched her fist. She might be being a little dramatic. But she deserved to be. Fucking hell, with this news, a little drama was necessary. This wasn’t something normally thrown at her and it had definitely knocked her off balance. She needed time. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t blacken one of his green eyes if he kept that up. Where was the compassion and empathy? She didn’t need eye-rolling.

“You’re not the first witch who’s been bitten and begun the change.” He waved his hand.

That might be true, but the witches before her probably didn’t have a family like hers. No way would her mother understand. He might have many clients across the different groups of paranormals, but he probably had never met anyone as blood and name proud as her mother. And now, she’d tainted said blood. Her mother’s head might actually explode when she heard the news.
How could this have happened? She ran a hand through her hair. This possibility never entered her mind. Hell, werewolf bites had been a bigger concern. That particular mixture had happened before if the witch happened to be mate to that wolf and it would be just her luck to be mate to a crazed, rogue wolf.

This changed her entire life. She’d straddle two worlds and probably be an outsider in both after the transformation.

Not very many people could even be changed into a vampire. What were the chances of a single bite changing her? And the bite. It hadn’t even been a full bite, more of a grazing scratch. The chances of turning should have been minimal.

“Your case is very advanced. You’re almost fully transformed. I can give you some meds, but it’s too late for them to do as they were meant to. Normally, they’d practically halt the progression. You’re too far gone. All it will do is give you a little time to think and adjust.” Doctor Alexander walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out four pill bottles.

Crap! Serena stared at the wall. What the fuck was she supposed to now? All her magical abilities wouldn’t help her. She couldn’t cast a spell or perform a ritual to push back the changes in her body. Hell, even if there had been some sign right after the bite, she couldn’t have changed anything.

At least, she didn’t have to worry about Doctor Alexander telling the Vampire Council as some other doctors did. He was one of the best doctors for witches in the city. The man knew how to keep secrets. He was extraordinarily discreet about his clients’ conditions.

“How long until the transformation is complete?” She straightened, tugging at the sleeves of her creamy white shirt. Time to pull herself together. She had to get the facts and make a plan.

A vampire witch. Who ever heard of that? The two groups very seldom even mixed. Although not by the vampires’ decree. Witches tended to keep to themselves.

“Maybe two months.” Doctor Alexander leaned against the wall near the exam table. His gray-streaked black hair looked a little ruffled, as if he’d run his fingers through it one too many times. He rattled off instructions on taking the pills.

Hopefully, he’d give those in writing. She wouldn’t be able to retain all of that. Not while she could only think about everything that had changed. What would happen when she changed? Other than drinking blood. Her throat tightened and her stomach rolled. Oh, damn, that made her want to gag. Thinking about that and how she’d have to tell her family would wait.

Her mother and sisters would absolutely freak. Serena could already hear the ranting. Nothing like this had ever happened in the entire history of the Blackwell family. At least, not in the records. Her mother took pride in that. Their line of witches had always been pure as her mother liked to remind her.

Damn, telling could wait until she at least had a handle on her feelings. She’d put off explaining for as long as possible. There had to be a way to break it to her mother gently.

A buzzing ring sounded from her purse. Opening the small outside flap, she pulled the phone out. A shield symbol blazed on the ID. The Protectorate. Just perfect. Yet another way to make this day more stressful. Hiding this transition wouldn’t be easy under the eyes of people who knew what to look for.

“I have to take this.” Serena swiped her finger across the screen. “Hello, Serena here.”

“Hi, Serena, this is Jamie. Steven would like to see you. We’ve got a case that needs your touch. We’re prepared to pay your usual fee.” Jamie’s cheerful voice rang in her ears.

Serena tensed. Her mouth dried and she looked around. Her heart pounded with unreasonable paranoia. The door remained firmly closed and she and the doctor were the only ones in the room. They had no idea about her transition.

She shook her head. Operatives didn’t lurk around in the cabinets spying on her. They couldn’t know where she was or what she was doing. Get a grip. She took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions. It had to be the news and the uncertain situation. Maybe time would help settle her emotions.

“I’ll be there in about an hour.” She clenched her fingers into a tight fist. Thank God for her business voice.

They wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong. She hadn’t reported the bite. It had only been a minor nick on the side of her arm. Hardly worth mentioning. Now, she couldn’t give them any reason to start suspecting something had changed.

“Thanks, I’ll tell Steven to expect you, then. Bye, Serena,” Jamie said.

“Bye.” The call disconnected before Serena could finish the word.

Jamie was a perky, petite blonde. How did the woman always manage to be so cheerful and energetic. Part of it could be too much caffeine, but not all of it. At times, Serena wanted to hand her a cup of tea laced with a sedative potion, because that perky, everything’s-perfect mood got on her nerves fast.

“Sounds like you’ll be busy, Serena. If you want to slow the change as much as possible, you need to take the pills as directed every day. If you don’t, you’ll be a full vix in less than two weeks.” Doctor Alexander put her chart on the small stand near the exam table.

“I’ll take them as directed. I need that time to decide what to do.” Serena nodded.

Freaking understatement of the century. Would she be able to hide the change for even a couple weeks? Was it even possible? All she really knew about vampires was rumor or common knowledge. If they could tell by feel like she could sense magic, she’d be found within a week. Hopefully, she could avoid vampires for a while. She had things to do before she discovered what her life would be like as a vampire.

“Good. Now, you need to take things easy and don’t donate blood. If you do, the organization will undoubtedly inform the vampires. And stay away from vampires. Another bite will put you over the edge, not to mention instantly alert that vampire that you’re changing.” He handed her the pills along with written instructions.

“I won’t go near a donation center. I thought that vampires being able to tell if someone was changing just from a taste of blood was simply a myth.” She cocked her head to the side. Many of the myths about witches were false and the same was probably true of vampires.

“Do you want to try testing it?” The doctor raised a salt-and-pepper eyebrow.

“Not really. Will these pills last the full two months you said I’d have or will I need to come back for more?” Serena looked at the bottles. Some of those pills she had to take three times a day and unless the tablets were small, there wouldn’t be enough.

“You’ll have to come back for more.” Doctor Alexander smiled and then picked up the chart and opened it again. “I’ll want to see you in two weeks to see how the drugs have affected the transformation.”

The doctor closed the file and extended his hand. She stuffed the bottles into her purse before she slid off the table.

“I’ll make the appointment when I pay for the visit.” She shook his hand. “I don’t know if I should thank you for what you told me. I guess knowing is better than one day figuring out I’ve turned into a freaking vampire.”

“That’s vix.” He smiled, stepping forward and leading the way out of the exam room.

She nodded. So not worth arguing. The technical term didn’t matter. A vampire was a vampire regardless of whether male or female.

This day couldn’t get any worse. As she walked into the reception area, she took deep breaths. Her mind whirled with thoughts. That diagnosis pulled everything normal right out from under her. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not from a fucking scratch. She was supposed to find her witch-mate and marry him.

* * *

Serena pulled her sporty, little car to a stop in front of the Dallas Protectorate headquarters. The office building gleamed silver and glass windows covered it from top to bottom. It appeared open and unprotected, but that was just a facade. A blast wouldn’t take those windows out.

Looking a little closer revealed a clue as to it’s purpose. A row of identical black cars lined one side. At the back, a large, closely grated gate blocked the way to an underground portion of the building.

She picked up her purse. It rattled. Damn it, she couldn’t take those pills in. She transferred the bottles from her purse to the glove box before walking to the building. If those were found during a routine search, there wouldn’t be any hiding what had happened.

She pushed open one of the double doors and strode in. Two pairs of eyes locked on her as she entered the spacious reception area. Jamie smiled and lowered her eyes to the computer, but the second pair of eyes didn’t waver. The large man sitting in a corner of the room had a tablet on his lap. A bulge protruded on the side of his suit. Probably a gun. His eyes followed her and his body stiffened. Oh, yeah, he considered her a threat. She smiled.

He must be sensitive to magic. Otherwise a man of his size most likely wouldn’t react like that to her. She wasn’t physically strong or carrying a weapon. But her magic could do more damage than either of those things. Stationing someone there wasn’t a bad idea since the Paranormal Protectorate sometimes went after beings with magic.

Serena strolled across the functional gray carpet to the reception desk and the blonde with her hair cut in a neat bob. Jamie looked up from the monitor. White teeth flashed.

“Hello, Serena, Steven’s not quite ready to see you. Do you mind taking a seat and waiting? I’ll buzz you through when he’s ready.” Jamie waved to the seats next to the window.

Like I have a choice. She rolled her eyes. Waiting irritated her, but causing a scene wouldn’t solve any of her problems. If she really wanted in, she could use her magic, but that wouldn’t get her anything but arrested.

She nodded and strolled over to one of the seats around the edge of the lobby. The only entrance was beyond a weapons’ detector to the side of the black-and-white, U-shaped desk. That door had to be opened electronically. She took a seat and settled in to wait.

The entrance doors opened and a tall, broad-shouldered man entered the building. The hair on the back of her neck rose as her stomach tightened. She frowned. What the fuck was that? Definitely not magic, but it was something.

She studied the man. Dressed in a red sweater and jeans, he strode over to the desk. The jeans lovingly cupped his tight, round buttocks. That was one gorgeous butt, very grabbable. The dark-haired man looked out of place here.

With those broad shoulders and muscles, he looked more like a construction worker or biker. His broad face had rugged angles and a slightly crooked nose. But he was sexy and watching him was a joy. Jamie spoke to him briefly and gestured for him to take a seat. He walked over to the chairs, but a scowl pulled his lips down.

She sighed and pulled out her phone. After checking her email, she opened an ebook and started reading. Finally, Jamie cleared her throat. Serena looked up. The receptionist put a stack of papers on the ledge to her right and brushed a strand of curly hair off her cheek.

“Serena, Marcus, you can both go back.” Jamie swiveled around to the front.

Jamie’s eyes skittered over Serena before focusing on the muscled Marcus. Who could blame her? The man did have something that drew a woman’s eyes. Even with the test results swirling in her mind, he drew her attention.

Serena handed over her purse and stepped through the scanner. Jamie searched the purse before handing it back. Serena waited while the man went through the scanner. That door wouldn’t open until both of them had been scanned and their belongings checked.

As the man, Marcus, stepped up beside her, a low buzz sounded. She stepped forward but the black-haired man was there before her. He opened the door and waited until she stepped through it. Darron Canon, a red-haired agent, waited in the hallway, leaning against the glass wall of one of the offices. With the clear wall, the area had open feel, but that glass wouldn’t break from the discharge of most weapons.

“Hello, Serena, it’s nice to see you again. And you as well, Mr. Castillo.” Darron walked over to meet them, clasping Serena’s hand before nodding to the man at her side. “I’ll escort you both up to Steven’s office.”

He led them down the hallway toward an elevator. His black uniform fit to his body with almost tailored precision. She walked beside him. If possible, she’d like this to be a short visit.

“Thank you, Darron. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but I didn’t expect to see you at this time of day. How did you get stuck with escort duty?” Serena smiled. Normally, he preferred field work.

“I’m stuck in the office for a while because of an injury.” Darron exhaled and shook his head slowly. “I’d love to be out there, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

They reached the elevator and Darron pressed the button for the top floor. As the doors slid shut, Serena sliced a glance toward the dark-haired man at her side. Why did he need to see Steven? He looked fairly normal. Maybe he was a prospective agent or a former agent . That didn’t fit though.

He’d dressed too casually impress anyone. Most people meeting a prospective or former boss would wear a suit. On the other hand, he could belong to any of the various paranormal groups in the area. What was he? Definitely not one with magic, though. She shrugged. That would probably be revealed soon if he was part of what Steven wanted to talk about.

A young man sat at the desk in front of the glass wall into Steven’s office. Serena paced over to the desk, but Steven waved to them. Again, Marcus opened the door before she could. She smiled at him and entered the room. Nice manners.

Steven gestured to the gray-cushioned seats in front of his desk as he listened to someone on the other end of the phone. She sat and waited, watching the brown-haired leader of the Dallas Protectorate. Her fingers drummed on the arm of the chair. It took only a few minutes. He put the phone down and straightened.

“Hello, Marcus, it’s good to see you again. Serena, I guess you’re wondering what’s wrong and why you’re here.” Steven tented his hands on the desk as he leaned forward.

“I’m a little curious.” She lifted a shoulder. “Jamie said you had a case that needed my touch so I know it has something to do with magic.”

“Yes, we do need your skills. This is Marcus Castillo. Marcus, this is Serena Blackwell, a witch. Marcus is a vampire. A task force of vampires and Protectorate agents is currently hunting a rogue. Unfortunately, the rogue has some talent for magic and will use it against opponents who don’t have protection.” Steven looked from Marcus to Serena.

Serena swallowed and firmed her lips to hold back a scream. Hopefully her horror didn’t show on her face. Fuck. Could this get any worse? He wanted her to work with that vampire, with other vampires. Her stomach tightened and dizziness swept over her.

Cripes, she was cursed and not in a magic way that she could break. Life had become even more complicated. On top of that, she couldn’t refuse the mission. It would cause too much suspicion. She’d never refused to work with a vampire before. Hell, she’d never refused a mission unless she was sick or hurt.