Read Online Bitten By Deceit by Shawntelle Madison - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Shawntelle Madison
Tags: paranormal romance
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darkness.
Should I huff and puff to blow the three little piggies house down?
“You might as well come out.” I took a confident step forward, even though my heels wobbled a bit in the soft dirt.
The doorway opened even further, and a scaly hand as brown as the mud around me appeared. The four fingered-claw was deceptive though. Something far larger attached to that hand emerged, or should I say, attempted to squeeze itself through the door.
Three heads came first. Very slowly. Its body was brown and thick, snakelike with tiny arms and legs attached. For several sections, the tiny arms dragged out. My mighty foe stopped twice to catch its breath—via two of the three heads. Based on what I could see, since it’s rear end was still inside it’s home, it was about the size of a giraffe. Something about this creature tugged at my memories until everything clicked. My grandma had told me about such things from her homeland. Even Bill had mentioned a dragon or two had stopped by the store. None of the zmee , or Russian dragons, Grandma had mentioned looked like this one. This pudgy zmee had a better chance of taking down a pizza delivery man than a light-footed werewolf.
It didn’t take long before I realized this couldn’t be the creature that took my package. So what the hell was going on?
“What do you want, Wolf?” Its third head gasped out the words. Evidently, leaving its dwelling had overwhelmed it. The second head was fast asleep, while the first one stared me down with all the fierceness it could muster. A bit of smoke drifted from its nostrils but not enough to even send a smoke signal.
“You know what I want. There’s no need for us to dance around the conversation,” I replied.
The oak tree above us rustled. My head whipped up, and I scanned the tree line. Nothing moved, so I used my nose. Something new had closed in to spy on us. Now that scent was familiar. That creature was my target.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the first head said. “This is private property. I have no quarrels with the South Toms River pack, so I suggest you take your threat somewhere else.”
This zmee was hiding something, so I decided to play its game for a little while. Maybe the first and third head would get tired like the second and give up.
“So you weren’t on my property this morning? Even though I tracked a particular scent stinking of earth magic to this very place?”
The third head did what could be considered a shrug with a slight grin. “Even if you did have a good enough nose to come find me, what makes you think you can take it back? It rightfully belongs to me.”
So there it is. That sneaky little bastard was the other bidder, and he thought that he deserved the prize. We’d clashed back and forth online, with one person making a bid, and then the other one immediately making a counter bid. At first, I thought when I’d made a bid of around $200 that the other zealous bidder would back off, but based on all the clutter I saw, I had a worthy opponent who was just as eager as I was to own the figurine.
“I’ve been waiting nine years for that kobold to sell that thing. Hours and hours of research.” He gestured upwards. “Nine months to get that nymph up there to go down to the local Quick Trip and use a payphone to get that conniving house sprite to auction it off.”
Even if I did have him to thank for the win, I still got it fair and square. I also paid for it. “Well, thank you very much,” I said. “Now give me back what I bought.”
Above us, the branches rustled. My gaze drifted to the lithe, yet pale woman who sat on the tree above. She must be the guardian for this area. She didn’t have on a stitch of clothing, yet she appeared comfortable with the light breeze.
The zmee tried to slide forward, but failed miserably. Then the third head jabbed the second with its snout until it woke up. With a grunt and barely an eye open, the second head inhaled to
Should I huff and puff to blow the three little piggies house down?
“You might as well come out.” I took a confident step forward, even though my heels wobbled a bit in the soft dirt.
The doorway opened even further, and a scaly hand as brown as the mud around me appeared. The four fingered-claw was deceptive though. Something far larger attached to that hand emerged, or should I say, attempted to squeeze itself through the door.
Three heads came first. Very slowly. Its body was brown and thick, snakelike with tiny arms and legs attached. For several sections, the tiny arms dragged out. My mighty foe stopped twice to catch its breath—via two of the three heads. Based on what I could see, since it’s rear end was still inside it’s home, it was about the size of a giraffe. Something about this creature tugged at my memories until everything clicked. My grandma had told me about such things from her homeland. Even Bill had mentioned a dragon or two had stopped by the store. None of the zmee , or Russian dragons, Grandma had mentioned looked like this one. This pudgy zmee had a better chance of taking down a pizza delivery man than a light-footed werewolf.
It didn’t take long before I realized this couldn’t be the creature that took my package. So what the hell was going on?
“What do you want, Wolf?” Its third head gasped out the words. Evidently, leaving its dwelling had overwhelmed it. The second head was fast asleep, while the first one stared me down with all the fierceness it could muster. A bit of smoke drifted from its nostrils but not enough to even send a smoke signal.
“You know what I want. There’s no need for us to dance around the conversation,” I replied.
The oak tree above us rustled. My head whipped up, and I scanned the tree line. Nothing moved, so I used my nose. Something new had closed in to spy on us. Now that scent was familiar. That creature was my target.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the first head said. “This is private property. I have no quarrels with the South Toms River pack, so I suggest you take your threat somewhere else.”
This zmee was hiding something, so I decided to play its game for a little while. Maybe the first and third head would get tired like the second and give up.
“So you weren’t on my property this morning? Even though I tracked a particular scent stinking of earth magic to this very place?”
The third head did what could be considered a shrug with a slight grin. “Even if you did have a good enough nose to come find me, what makes you think you can take it back? It rightfully belongs to me.”
So there it is. That sneaky little bastard was the other bidder, and he thought that he deserved the prize. We’d clashed back and forth online, with one person making a bid, and then the other one immediately making a counter bid. At first, I thought when I’d made a bid of around $200 that the other zealous bidder would back off, but based on all the clutter I saw, I had a worthy opponent who was just as eager as I was to own the figurine.
“I’ve been waiting nine years for that kobold to sell that thing. Hours and hours of research.” He gestured upwards. “Nine months to get that nymph up there to go down to the local Quick Trip and use a payphone to get that conniving house sprite to auction it off.”
Even if I did have him to thank for the win, I still got it fair and square. I also paid for it. “Well, thank you very much,” I said. “Now give me back what I bought.”
Above us, the branches rustled. My gaze drifted to the lithe, yet pale woman who sat on the tree above. She must be the guardian for this area. She didn’t have on a stitch of clothing, yet she appeared comfortable with the light breeze.
The zmee tried to slide forward, but failed miserably. Then the third head jabbed the second with its snout until it woke up. With a grunt and barely an eye open, the second head inhaled to
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