Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More Read Online Free PDF Page A

curry.
    Emma rolled her eyes. “But until then, Victoria can live quite comfortably working for her family’s party-planning business. They’re one of the top companies in Wales, and Victoria goes home every other weekend to help out. If we’re lucky, she’ll take us. Her family has an amazing country house. And her mum’s roasts are super.”
    “That’s true; my mum is a fabulous cook. So is my sister. The whole family loves to cook, really. Well, my dad grills. I bake – I’m not much for the regular kind of cooking. Just the sweet stuff.”
    “Tell me about it. Dinners in our flat are nothing to get excited about.” Emma admitted.
    “I can cook,” I volunteered. “I’m actually pretty good at it.”
    “Thank God,” Victoria breathed. “You cook. I’ll make desserts.”
    Emma laughed. “Guess that leaves me to clean up.”
    Well, that was settled easily enough.
    “So you spend a lot of time with your family?” I asked Victoria. I’d barely seen my own parents growing up; the idea seemed foreign.
    “Victoria’s family does everything together,” Emma explained. “It’s kind of weird.” Victoria rolled her eyes and Emma laughed. “I can’t hate her too much, even though she’s a beast of a fashion critic.”
    “Of course, it’s still nice to get back to Uni.” I liked her word for University. “Everyone needs their space, even fabulous, future fashion designers.”
    “Future being the key word. When are you going to give my wardrobe a break?”
    “Hey, enjoy me now while you can still afford me. That goes for you too, K,” Victoria winked, and I couldn’t help but smile.
    We finished our meal and paid the bill. We were walking the short distance to Victoria’s car when I saw him . At least, I thought it was him. I stared at the window of the pub across the street, nearly positive I was looking at the blond from the British Museum. He sat in profile, laughing at the animated gestures of a brown-haired guy sitting across from him. He looked relaxed and happy, nothing like the cranky Viking I’d met the day before. The darker-haired guy had one arm slung around a ridiculously hot, blonde girl. Viking’s side of the booth was empty. I wondered where his date was.
    “Coming Kristia?” Emma and Victoria were shivering at the car.
    “Sorry,” I hustled to join them, “I thought I saw somebody I knew.”
    “Who was it?” Victoria started the car and cranked the heater up to full blast.
    “Just some guy I saw in London. But it probably wasn’t him. What are the odds, right?”
    “Stranger things have happened.” Emma shrugged. “Now how about some hot cocoa?”
----
    B ack in our flat , we said our goodnights and headed to our rooms. I lay in bed listening to the occasional car pass outside my window, too wound-up to sleep. My first day was under my belt, I was making friends, and I hadn’t had an unwanted vision since yesterday. This year might just be okay. My mind drifted to the blond stranger, and my stomach flipped. Was he really here in Cardiff? What was he doing in the pub? Obviously, he was having dinner, but what did that mean? Did he go to school here? Would I see him again?
    I forced myself to stop asking questions. The guy hated me on sight. He obviously had issues. And Cardiff was a huge school – we’d probably never run into each other. There was no point in barking up that tree.
    Eventually, I fell asleep, and it didn’t take long for my recurring nightmare to begin. It was different this time. The sun was low in the sky, and the wolf and the snake were moving across a field. I was mercifully absent. As the earth was covered in frost. As the light began to dim, a lone figure stood in a field of English lavender. He faced the onslaught without a hint of fear: my devastatingly handsome, ill-behaved, blond stranger.

Chapter 3
    M y mood was jubilant when I slid into a seat near the middle of the lecture hall on Tuesday morning. It was my first day of school, and