Santa's Curse by T. A. Moorman
Published July 1, 2018 by GothicMoms Studios
Parnormal/PNR Short
Blurb:
What if Santa was a
vampire?
Jacquelyn, an enchantress with an overprotective streak,
thinks it's up to her to protect her older sister, Jadine, an enchantress who's
also a paranoid hypochondriac. So, whenever a male comes along trying to use
Jadine, Jackie gets rid of them, in a non-conventional way. When the last
person Jacquelyn expects, a certain vampire she's had a not so little crush on,
seems to be creeping around on her sister, she has no choice but to get rid of
him, too. In front of witnesses. Only to find out one second too late that she
had it all wrong.
Victor, like many males, has issues expressing how he truly
feels. When he finally decides it’s time to stop running from fate and claim
his mate, he goes to her sister for advice. But, creeping in and out of
Jadine’s place like a thief in the night leads the very person he wants to win
over to draw all the wrong conclusions. Which leads to him trading in his pale
good looks for a white beard and a red velvet suit.
Now that the town knows Jacquelyn is the one behind all of
the disappearances, and thinking she’s killed all of those that are missing,
they're out for her blood. And the only one who can save her is, well, Santa.
But will he be able to make it back to her before it’s too late?
Enjoy a brand-new tale of how Santa Clause came to be.
Prologue
The Yule log crackled in the fireplace, making the
room feel nice and warm. While the smells of apple, cinnamon, and other fresh
baked holiday treats permeated the air. The only sound to be heard was the
creak of the rocking chair as the children jumped onto her lap. “Listen
closely, and I’ll tell you the tale of how Santa Clause truly came to be. Once
upon a time, there was a beautiful enchantress. Her ebony locks cascaded in thick,
black waves down to the middle of her back. Her skin was the same color of the
sweetest chocolate, with curving eyelashes surrounding shimmering, golden eyes
encased in a rounded, angelic face that belied a look of innocence. She
possessed a voluptuous body that most humans would call overweight, but her
weight was in all the right places, and made most of the other supernatural
beings fall in love with her at first sight. If not love, at least lust. Her
name was Jadine Lanstross.
She was a fun and loving free spirit, and her
powers were more than formidable, though she didn’t use them very often. Jadine
was forever afraid that if she overtaxed her powers, one day she might no
longer have them. Most thought her silly for it, thought it was a waste to let
so much magick go untapped. Jadine figured if she was going to be alive for at
least a millennium she wasn’t taking any chances of doing so without magic.
Yes, even an enchantress can be paranoid and a hypochondriac; it’s not just a
human thing.
Her sister, Jacquelyn, thought she was a waste of
magic and space. It wasn’t always that way, because Jacquelyn used to adore her
older sister. When Jacquelyn was a small child, she used to look up to Jadine. She
followed behind her like a lovesick puppy dog, wanting so much to be just like
her. But, just as human females had the tendency to turn into cold-hearted
bitches during puberty, Jadine did not, but Jacquelyn did. Unlike most human
females, Jacquelyn didn’t grow out of it. Everything became convoluted in her
mind and took on a new, much darker light. Even though their parents loved them
both equally, Jacquelyn grew tired of the way they doted on Jadine, acting as
though she was a piece of fragile glass they had to keep protected because of
how sensitive she was. Just because Jacquelyn didn’t cry at every drop of the
dime like her big sister, it didn’t mean she didn’t want to be shown the same
amount of attention. The knowledge that Jadine’s powers surpassed her own, yet
she hardly ever used them, felt like a slap in the face. Jacquelyn thought her
sister was a fucking idiot for even thinking she would run out of magic, which made
her wish she could just syphon it from her and use it for herself. They say there
is a thin line between love and hate. Jacquelyn both loved her sister, and
hated her fucking guts.
What really heated Jacquelyn’s blood was the fact that
she was model-thin, perfect latte complexion, with eyes the color of a metallic
midnight blue sea, and thick, luscious dark brown locks of hair flowing down
her back. Yet it was Jadine that all the males fawned over, competing for her
devotion as they continuously attempted to court her. If it wasn’t for fickle
human men, Jacquelyn would probably still be a virgin, and she was already
pushing one hundred years of age, which was more like twenty-five in human
years.
But, none of them meant her sister any damn good, but
Jadine was too rainbow-eyed to ever realize it. The ironic part? Jadine was in
such fear of using up her magic that she failed to notice how the males she
bedded all walked away a little more powerful. While most men adored Jadine,
her poor fool sister tended to choose all the wrong ones—the rule breakers,
heart takers, and just plain assholes. She was so busy seeing the best in
everybody that she became blind to their worst parts. Since Jacquelyn loved her
sister more than she hated her, she did away with the fucktards who hurt her
one by one.
Oh, she didn’t kill them, if that’s what you’re
thinking. Jacquelyn was far more creative than that. Since the majority of them
acted like children anyway, she cast a spell on them to look the age they acted
like, and threw in pointy ears for good measure, so they couldn’t even attempt
to mix in amongst humans. Wouldn’t do to have any of the vampires or shifters
confused for regular humans. She also cast them far away from their alcove,
that was hidden from human eyes, to the coldest, most desolate land in the
north.
She had a special dislike for vampires in general, due
to how they always teased her, saying how she didn’t have enough meat on her
bones to hold the amount of blood needed to feed even a baby vampire. So, she
tacked on an added extra to their spell; they would only feed on one night out
of the year, and only a small amount from each victim they fed from. She did
give them the ability to flash or teleport, so they could do so undetected, but
they had to leave a small gift for each human. And what better day to do that
than on the eve of the humans’ most famed holiday, Christmas?
But there was one vampire in particular that set her
blood boiling. He had been a thorn in her side since grade school. Enchantress’
were a different sect of witches—more powerful, more long-lived—and they were
practically immortal, like the vampires. Which is how many of them ended up
being together, most quite literally grew up together. This particular asshat
was the ringleader of all of the teasing, and he continued to pester her well
after their schooling was finished.
Then the tall, handsome, drool-worthy fucktard had the
audacity to start seeing Jadine in secret. He never took her sister out on a
proper date, always met with her alone. She would catch him coming in and out
of Jadine’s home with a dumbass grin on his face. Would catch them together in
various places talking, then they would quickly stop as soon as they saw her.
Honestly, who did he think he was? With his long,
thick, jet black hair that sat just past his muscular shoulders. His hard but
beautiful features looked as though he had been chiseled from stone and brought
to life. He had gunmetal grey eyes, surrounded by eyelashes so thick and long
any male or female would envy them. And his body? It was no wonder he was such
an arrogant, cold-hearted, jack—”
“Woman, are you telling that story again?”
“Of course, dear. It is their favorite Yuletide story.”
“Well, could you at least lay off on calling this
poor, misunderstood male so many cruel names?”
She laughed a little at his mock outrage, then replied
with a smile as she winked at him, “Anything for you. Now, children, where were
we?”
About the Author:
When you become a Mom, you begin to put yourself last, and your
combat boots begin to collect dust. Going to your child's PTA meetings in full
Gothic, especially industrial, regalia is pretty much frowned upon. Especially
by your own children, and your teens would die of a heart attack. But, one
should not have to completely stop being themselves, uniqueness is greatness.
So all of that darkness is put into words in her books, and designs in her
jewelry sold in her Gothic Moms Dark Charms shop on Etsy and Rebels Market.
Single mother of five beautiful children, but by
far more than just that. T. A. Moorman is an artist, a former violinist, a
seamstress, a crafter, a writer, a blogger, a reviewer, a dark confidant and a
darkly dangerous, fiercely protective friend. She still hopes to one day find
her Dark Knight in shining armor, since Prince Charming would never be able to
handle her. And currently broke, so go buy something of hers and tell everyone
you know how much you love this book.
Author Links:
THE FIRST INSTALLMENT IN THE CHRONICLES OF ARCANA SERIES BY USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR DEBBIE CASSIDY.
