The Hunt

The Hunt

The V V Inn Series: Book Two

C.J. Ellisson

Red Hot Publishing

P.O. BOX 651193, STERLING VA, 20165-1193

First ebook Edition June 2011

Second ebook Edition December 2011

Copyright 2011 C.J. Ellisson

All Rights Reserved

ISBN
978-0-9877042-1-4

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored 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.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead (or undead ;-), business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book is dedicated to my nephew, Eric William Monson, February 28, 1989 – April 23, 2010. You touched the lives of many with your genuine concern for others, sharp humor, keen intelligence, and stalwart friendship. You will never be forgotten.

This past year was incredibly hard for my family. I wasn’t sure I could finish this book, or if I wanted to. After losing our nephew, Eric, I couldn’t see what the point was. I’m a small-time author hoping to reach readers and sell books. How could my fantasy story truly matter in the big scheme of things?

Without my friends, family, and numerous Facebook supporters I think I may have just stopped after the first book. I was halfway through
The Hunt
when Eric died. I didn’t want to write the scenes pertaining to his werewolf character. My other nephew, Asa, admitted he couldn’t read the first book because the sex scenes freaked him out and the book didn’t interest him.
So, what was really the point?
I wasn’t reaching a lot of readers yet and here I was pouring my heart and soul into this new career.

Well, I’ll tell you—the point is to
never
give up.

Sure, Asa may never read my work, and I’ll tease him endlessly for not doing so, but you know who did? Eric’s best friend,
Patrick Larson
. When he wrote to me and shared how much he loved
Vampire Vacation
and how he
knew
Eric would have loved it, too, I just had to keep going. That young man made me feel like what I was doing did matter. In the end my work may be only a simple fantasy novel, never worthy of critical acclaim, but to the people who matter to me, like Pat, it’s huge.

Thanks to each and every one of you who reached out to me on Facebook and shared your thoughts and kind words of encouragement with me this past year. With the release of
Vampire Vacation
and the ongoing battle with my health issues, your continued support kept me strong and on track.

Michelle Pazdan,
one of my Beta readers, was the first person to read the entire manuscript, even before my editor and my husband. She did so in one sitting the very night I sent it to her. Now that’s passion. Thanks, Chelly, for always believing in my work, you rock GF.

A special shout out of thanks goes to the rest of the Beta readers who gave me their thoughts on the novel as well:
Theresa Dowd,
Debbie Chapdelaine, Elsa Cisneros, Tara Hayes, Anna Mills, Oliver Sayers, Adriene Gabriel,
and
Katrina Whittaker.

I had three editors on this book,
Shontrell Wade
,
Sydney Jelinek,
and
Hope Rice
. Thank you both for working on a tight deadline and always having a kind word to say about the manuscript. You helped to make the book really shine.

Last, but never least, thank you,
Peter
. Without you, there’d be no point in writing about hot monogamy.

The following individuals inspired names for characters. They either thought the name up, volunteered the use of their name, I stole their name because I liked it, or they supported me so much I wanted to thank them:

Andy Lipshultz:
It started as an April Fool's joke, but then I twisted things and named a character after him (and basically stole his name, too).

Angie Linne:
I named a character after her.

Asa Monson:
My nephew, on whom I based a character and stole his name.

Brett Monson:
My sister-in-law’s ex, and my nephews’ father in real life. You knew you couldn’t escape the love, right?

Cali Blackadder, aka Julie Jewell:
I based a character on her Second Life persona, and named the character after her.

Cy Whitfield, aka Michael Stern:
My brother, whom I based a character on his Second Life persona, and named the character after him.

Debi Singleton:
I named a character after her.

Diane O’Neill-Mason:
She volunteered to have her name used.

Donald Swanson, Sr:
I named a character after him.

Elsa Cisneros:
I named a character after her.

Eric Monson:
My nephew, on whom I based a character and stole his name.

Frank Natsuhara:
I stole his last name for a character.

Jerry Stern:
My dad, on whom I based a character and stole his name.

Helena Gardella:
I named a character after her.

Lori Anderson:
I asked to use her name and her nickname Lor-Lor: she graciously agreed.

Margery Stern:
My mom, on whom I based a character and stole her name.

Michelle Pazdan:
I named a character after her.

Miranda Blevins:
I stole her name.

Patrick Larson:
I gladly wrote him into the story, with his permission, so he and Eric could continue to have adventures together forever.

Paul Ocker:
I named a character after him.

Rolando Ray:
He thought of the name Ivan, which won in an online vote—and I stole his name.

Romeo LoGiurato:
I stole his name.

Stan Logan:
I named a character after him.

Stephanie Groot:
My friend, who gladly volunteered to be a character in the book.

Stephen Grantham:
I named a character after him.

Theresa Dowd:
I named a character after her and she picked Dria/Vivian's original first name, Ceara, which won in an online vote.

Vikram Savkoor:
I stole his name; his only request was his character be cool ;-)

Angie
~
a human guest who stayed at the inn eight years ago with her first husband, Ivan.

Asa
~
the fledgling vampire sent by Cy, who was turned in Afghanistan while serving in the Army.

Bebe
~
one of the vampire hunters.

Blood Bond
~
a term used to describe the exchange of blood between either a human and a vampire, both ways, or a master vampire and a member of their seethe. It enables telepathic communication between them through the bond, if desired.

Blood Coffee ~
a mixture of half-blood and half-coffee, favored by undead everywhere.

Blood Donor ~
a person who willingly donates blood via a bag, or direct from their body, to a vampire for sustenance.

Bob
~
an employee, he works on the grounds-keeping crew.

Bonded Mate
~
a deeper connection than a servant, this bond allows the non-vampire to stop aging and share a significant amount of power associated with the bonded vampire. A complex ritual and exchange of large amounts of blood must take place for this bond to occur. The only way to break the bond is through death or a rare, deep mind manipulation severing the link.

Bunny
~
Paul's wife.

Cali
~
Cy's bonded mate, and a werewolf. She's also Asa's aunt.

Charlie
~
one of the inn’s bartenders.

Companion
~
a human who has donated blood to a vampire and been accepted into the vampire's care for future feedings.

Coraline
~
a member of the Inner Circle who cares for and guards the Tribunal of Ancients.

Cy
~
Vivian's contact in New York, whom she turned when she discovered him close to death in an alley outside his bar over forty-five years ago.

Debi
~
an employee at the inn, who also doubles as a blood donor.

Diane
~
Dr. Cook’s adult daughter and a witch.

Donald Swanson
~
one of the vampire hunters.

Dr. Margery Cook
~
the onsite doctor on the property should a problem with a human arise.

Drew
~
one of the new member’s of Vivian’s seethe.

Dria
~
the master vampire who narrates the first book, aka Vivian and Alexandria.

Eric
~
a new werewolf from Romeo’s pack.

Elsa
~
Romeo’s werewolf mate.

Emiko
~
the rogue designated by the Tribunal to be hunted this week on the resort.

Enforcer
~
a highly skilled vampire assassin, used as an instrument of justice by the Tribunal.

Fledgling
~
term used for a vampire under the age of five years.

Francesca
~
Liam's bonded mate and human spouse.

Helena
~
A gardener who works in the greenhouse.

Ivan
~
Angie’s first husband and bonded mate.

Jerry
~
an engineer and sharp shooter employed twenty years on the property.

Jet
~
a master vampire, from Japan, one of the hunters.

Joanna
~
one of the new members of Vivian’s seethe.

Jonathan
~
Vivian's werewolf servant and the Head Groundskeeper on the property.

Liam
~
a master vampire, from Scotland, visiting the inn with members from his seethe.

Liebling
~
German endearment, meaning darling.

Lori
~
a werewolf in Romeo’s pack.

Manipulator
~
a rare breed of vampire able to mind control other vampires. Usually hunted down and killed by their own kind to ensure they do not gain power over their fellow vampires.

Master Vampire
~
a vampire who heads his or her own seethe, or is independent of a seethe. One not requiring the blood of a master to gain in power, but has accumulated enough strength to hold their own in a battle where an older vampire may try to drain a younger one for his or her blood.

Mate
~
see
Bonded Mate.

Matt
~
the bonded mate and human spouse of Jet.

Melvyn
~
a werewolf from London, traveling alone for the hunt.

Michelle ~
aka Chelly, an employee at the inn, who also doubles as a blood donor,

Miranda
~
an employee, originally from the UK, who mainly works the front desk.

Pat
~
a new werewolf from Romeo’s pack.

Old Blood
~
a term used to describe the blood a seethe member gets from a master to increase an individual’s own power. Contains the added benefit of increasing a vampire’s perceived undead age if the blood is strong enough and consumed regularly.

Paul
~
a gourmet chef imported from the lower forty-eight, married to Bunny and a newly-turned vampire who is also part of Vivian’s seethe.

Rafe ~
Vivian's bonded mate for sixty-five years, and co-owner to the inn.

Rogue ~
term used to describe a vampire who has either gone a little bat-shit crazy or who has been deemed a criminal by the Tribunal.

Rolando
~
part of the Tribunal of Ancients, located in Argentina.

Romeo
~
Jonathan's old Alpha, but not the Were who changed him.

Sanji
~
one of the vampire hunters.

Seethe
- A vampire family, or group of vampires, with a master vampire at its head.

Servant
~
see
Vampire Servant

Spike
~
A werewolf in Romeo’s pack.

Stan
~
one of the vampire hunters.

Stephanie
~
one of the chefs at the inn.

Stephen
~
one of the vampire hunters.

Tommy
~
an employee, originally from Australia, who mainly works the front desk and organizes the blood donor list for the guests.

Tribunal of Ancients
~
the governing body of ruling ancient vampires, entrusted with maintaining the secrecy of the existence of vampires from the human race.

Turning
~
term used for when a human has been changed into a vampire.

Vampire Servant
~
a human, or Were, who has donated to and ingested the blood of a vampire. A mind connection can be established (and broken), allowing telepathic communication. The servant feels a desire to protect and serve the vampire above his or her own needs.

Vikram
~
A vampire from Sanji’s seethe, not participating in the hunt.

Vivian
~
the nickname for Dria, a play on words from
The V V Inn
.

Were
~
shorthand for werewolf.