HONOR CALLS Nocturne Bite Caridad Pieiro

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Chapter 1

Michaela had been tracking the vampire since she had sensed the thrum of elder power during her scouting mission in Central Park. He wasnt the one she sought, but the heightened beat of his power told her he had just killed. Reason enough to track him until she found the right vampire and dispatched him. Then and only then could she leave New York City for a kinder gentler place. She discovered the elder vamps victim just beyond one of the jogging paths. The kill was fresh, the remnants of the elder strong on the female runner who had

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been tossed into the underbrush like garbage. As she bent to examine the joggers body in its shredded clothes, she realized the vampire had not just been content to drain her of blood. The woman had been sexually assaulted as well and in the most brutal of ways - ripped apart by the vampire sating his lust. Michaela opened her senses to pick up every last scintilla of the elders trail, from the metallic taste of the victims blood on his breath to the unique wake of energy the immortal left behind. She reached the southern end of the park and something ahead of her spooked one of the horses attached to a hansom cab waiting along Central Park South. The animal reared up, hooves flailing at the air. She darted behind the hansom cab as the driver attempted to calm the animal and caught a glimpse of a blurry figure speeding through Grand Army Plaza. As she raced to the fountain in the center of the square, the pulse of undead power beat at her more strongly, signaling that she was getting closer to the ancient vampire. Another indistinct flash weaving through the scattering of pedestrians on Fifth Avenue confirmed the immortal was within reach. She focused on that vague shape, keeping a watchful eye and a respectful distance as she chased after him. She could not engage the vampire elder out in the open where either humans or other vampires might see what was happening. To do so might expose her presence in the city and possibly bring down the wrath of the vampire council. At some point the elder must have sensed that he was being followed. He increased his speed and movements, weaving in and out of the humans on the sidewalks; climbing up to the rooftop of a building in lower Midtown Manhattan and leaping from one structure to the next before dropping to the ground once again. The vampire moved at an almost frantic pace, as if he knew

HONOR CALLS Nocturne Bite Caridad Pieiro the nature of her mission.

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Michaela kept up her determined pursuit, patiently waiting for the moment when the time would be right. Dodging pedestrians and vehicles as the vampire attempted to elude her. Well aware that she had to act before the immortal reached the safe haven of the Blood Bank. If he made it there, she would have to pull back and wait for another night. There were too many undead in that place to risk a confrontation within its doors. Too many and she was just one against them. She drove back the crush of loneliness that nearly choked her, reminding herself that there could be no other way. Her life was filled with too much death and destruction for any kind of personal commitments. The few people she had allowed to get close had either ended up dead or run away when they discovered the truth about her existence. The truth about her. In Union Square, the vampire geared down to human speed, using that pace to lose himself amongst the many mortals still present in the park. The beat of the humans life forces and their scents served to disguise his presence. Michaela paused at the far edge of the square, examining the walkways. Attempting to set apart the humans from her undead prey, but she was unable to pin down the immortal amongst the many humans in the park. She waited, hopeful that once the elder moved beyond the boundaries of the crowded area, she would be able to pick up his presence once again. Her wait was futile. Long minutes passed with no activity that she could discern. She finally acknowledged that she had been bested by his subterfuge, but that didnt mean the chase was over.

HONOR CALLS Nocturne Bite Caridad Pieiro She knew just where the vampire was likely to go.

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If she could beat him there, she still might be able to take him out before he reached the safety of the club. Hustling at a breakneck speed, she arrived at the mouth of the small cobblestoned street which led to the Blood Bank. At the clubs door was the ever present vampire bouncer and crowd of humans waiting to go within and mingle with both wanna-be and real vampires. Not to mention the occasional shapeshifter or two that was brave enough to cross into bloodsucker territory. Michaela had never understood the human fascination with the undead. The almost veneration for the amoral creatures who had taken so much from her and others. Vampires werent meant to be idolized, she thought. They were meant to be exterminated. As she felt the presence at her back, she realized she had guessed right about the vampire elder. She had barely half-turned to face him when he lashed out at her, nails as sharp as eagles talons striking out and raking across the leather of her jacket. The leather did its job, keeping his nails from tearing into her flesh. Bending backward, she avoided the deeper thrust of another vicious swipe toward her midsection and then dropped down to sweep the vampires feet out from under him. He landed with a thick thud while with a quick jerk and launch of her body, she was immediately back on her feet, a nice sharp wooden stake in her hand as she stared down at the stunned vampire. Not what you thought, fang boy? she taunted as she stood there, arms akimbo above the prone body of the elder.

HONOR CALLS Nocturne Bite Caridad Pieiro With a swift move of his own, the vampire surged to his feet, fully

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transformed. His eyes glowed with a piercing teal-blue light. Long deadly fangs erupted to below his chin. Such a prodigious length of tooth testified to his longevity and the strength of his elder power jabbed at her senses, threatening just by its very existence. This vamp would not go quickly, she thought as the elder issued a warning growl and lunged at her again, beginning a dance that could end in only one way. . .. With one of them dead.

Copyright Notice
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Copyright 2009 by Caridad Pieiro Scordato All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of Caridad Pieiro Scordato. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

Visit Charity/Caridads websites at www.caridad.com and www.charitypineiro.com. Cover design by Caridad Pieiro Scordato Manufactured in the United States of America

About the Author Charity/Caridad Pineiro is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and RITA Finalist. Charity/Caridad wrote her first novel in the fifth grade when her teacher assigned a project to write a book for a class lending library. Bitten by the writing bug, Caridad continued with her passion for the written word and in 1999, Caridads first novel was released. Over a decade later, Caridad is the author of nearly 40 published novels and novellas. When not writing, Caridad is a wife, and mother to an aspiring writer and fashionista. For more information, please visit www.caridad.com or www.charitypineiro.com or rebornvampirenovels.com. Additional Books by Charity Pineiro NOW AND ALWAYS June 2013 ISBN B00DIGN3B6, Print ISBN 1490362770 FAITH IN YOU July 2013 ISBN B00DQBIS8Q, Print ISBN 1490412697 Additional Books by the Author Writing as Caridad Pineiro Books in The Sin Hunter Series THE CLAIMED May 2012 ISBN 978-0446584609 Forever Grand Central Publishing THE LOST August 2011 ISBN 978-0446584616 Forever Grand Central Publishing Books in The Sins Series STRONGER THAN SIN November 2010 ISBN 0446543845 Forever Grand Central Publishing SINS OF THE FLESH November 2009 ISBN 0446543837 Forever Grand Central Publishing Other Novels by Caridad THE PRINCES GAMBLE November 2012 ISBN 978-1-62266-800-7 Entangled Publishing THE FIFTH KINDOM July 2011 ISBN 9781426891885 Carina Press SOLDIERS SECRET CHILD Dec 2008 ISBN 0373276109 Silhouette Romantic

Suspense Novellas GHOST OF A CHANCE, paranormal short story November 2012 ISBN B00AUGV89G Caridad Pineiro Publishing HER VAMPIRE LOVER October 2012 ISBN 9781459242289 Nocturne Cravings Novella NIGHT OF THE COUGAR June 2012 ISBN 9781459231153 Nocturne Cravings Novella THE VAMPIRES CONSORT April 2012 ISBN 9781459222731 Harlequin Nocturne Cravings Novella NOCTURNAL WHISPERS February 2012 ISBN 9781459221437 Harlequin Nocturne Cravings Novella AMAZON AWAKENING December 2011 ISBN 9781459282766 Available Harlequin Nocturne Cravings Novella WHEN HERALD ANGELS SING novella in A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS October 2011 ISBN 0373776446 HQN AZTEC GOLD January 2011 ISBN 9781426891045 Carina Press Novella Crazy for the Cat in MOON FEVER Oct 2007 ISBN 1416514902 Pocket Books Books in THE CALLING/THE REBORN Vampire Novel Series BORN TO SERVE, October 2013, ISBN Not Available Entangled Publishing BORN TO LOVE, November 2013, ISBN Not Available Entangled Publishing BORN TO DIE, December 2013, ISBN Not Available Entangled Publishing BORN TO VENGEANCE (formerly VENGEANCE CALLS) August 2013 ISBN Not Available Entangled Publishing KISSED BY A VAMPIRE (formerly ARDOR CALLS) October 2012 ISBN 9780373885589 Harlequin Nocturne AWAKENING THE BEAST Collection featuring HONOR CALLS October 2009 ISBN 0373250940 Silhouette Nocturne FURY CALLS March 2009 ISBN 0373618077 Silhouette Nocturne HONOR CALLS February 2009 ISBN 9781426828362 Nocturne Bite HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE December 2007 ISBN 0373617763 Silhouette Nocturne THE CALLING COMPLETE COLLECTION October 2008 ISBN 9781426807657 Silhouette Includes Darkness Calls, Danger Calls, Temptation Calls, Death Calls, Devotion Calls, and Blood Callsas well as a the online read Desire Calls. BLOOD CALLS May 2007 ISBN 0373617631 Silhouette Nocturne DEVOTION CALLS January 2007 ISBN 0373617550 Silhouette Nocturne DEATH CALLS Dec 2006 ISBN 0373617534 Silhouette Nocturne TEMPTATION CALLS Oct 2005 ISBN 0373274602 Silhouette Intimate Moments DANGER CALLS June 2005 ISBN 0373274416 Silhouette Intimate Moments

DARKNESS CALLS Mar 2004 ISBN 0373273533 Silhouette Intimate Moments Romantic Suspense Series SECRET AGENT REUNION Aug 2007 ISBN 0373275463 Silhouette Romantic Suspense MORE THAN A MISSION Aug 2006 ISBN 037327498X Silhouette Intimate Moments