Hunting Gypsy (A Hauntingly Romantic Halloween Novella Book 3) Read online

  Dedicated to Mary B. Moore (aka Thing 1) Thank you for helping me with my Scottish phrases and ya know for just being you!

  Gypsy is not your average witch. She is extraordinary, the first of her kind. a solitary gem.

  Duncan is a big bear shifter with one thought on his mind… His Mate. Come hell or high water, he will find her.

  Once they find each other, Claiming, Mating, and Breeding are the only things that matter until an enemy surfaces.

  Nothing will keep them apart.

  This is MK’s first attempt at paranormal. This is a safe instalove with all the sexiness you can handle, but with a twist.

  Copyright

  Hunting Gypsy

  By MK Moore

  © MK Moore 2018 Flirty Filth Publishing.

  All Rights Reserved

  By the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for brief quotations used in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as an advertisement. Trademark names are used editorially with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  This book is intended for adults only. Contains sexual content and language that may offend some. The suggested reading audience is 18 years or older. I consider this book as Erotic Adult Romance.

  ASIN:

  Cover created by KL Fast

  Scottish Slang

  cannae - cannot.

  didnae - Didn't ("Ah didnae dae that!")

  dinnae - Don't ("Dinnae dae that!")

  The box- tv

  bird- a girl

  lass-girl

  ne'er- never

  willnae-will not

  nowt- nothing

  Isnae-isn't

  loo-bathroom

  scunnered-exhausted

  feck-fuck

  havnae-haven't

  doesnae-does not

  shite-shit

  One

  Duncan McDougall

  Living in Scotland may seem like a dream, and it is, truly, but she isn’t here, which makes it almost unbearable. I am blessed, but I always feel as if something is missing. My expensive flat has an open view of the River Clyde and it is near a subway station, but it isnae enough. I dinnae get to spend a lot of time there, as I am often with my clan up in the Highlands. It is the only place we can be ourselves.

  Can you imagine bears running amok in Glasgow? I do it every now and then, just for a laugh.

  On good days, I am as jolly as you like. But, then I think about her and my mood sours. Especially on a day like today. Our birthdays. I am turning thirty and she twenty, and yet I am still not any closer to finding her. Each day, I feel more and more like I am never going to find her. Despair is not something I am used to feeling, but alas here I am.

  I have been getting glimpses of her. They are the ones that test my resolve and strength. I feel as if I already know everything there is to know about her. But then again, what would be the fun in that? Instead, I want the pleasure of ‘really’ knowing her. Not to mention, I also want the pleasure of pleasuring her. It’s ridiculous that I cannae get her off of my mind. And my bear, the demanding Grizzly, is starting to get on my nerves with that.

  Fun fact, we shifter bears are the only bears in Scotland not in captivity, and we must be extremely careful with our shifts in order not to frighten people. While the world knows of the existence of shifters, it’s best to not rub it in their faces.

  On my tenth birthday, I could feel her being born. I felt it deep in my soul. My Mate. It is the most awe-inspiring moment of my life thus far. Whoever she is, she isn’t one of the two lasses born to my clan that night. Not long after, I started to dream about her. Innocuous at first, with small glimpses of her life. It was her dates, where I had to learn to reign in the rage at someone else touching her. Since her high school graduation, the dreams have gotten increasingly erotic.

  I still don't know what her face looks like, but her hair and body are burned into my memory. Including, her new brown bear tattoo. It makes me wonder if she dreams of me too. It's been twenty years and my bear is itching to find her, claim her, and breed my cubs into her. She is all I can think about, to the point that I have never desired any other woman. Though many women have tried to capture my attention over the years, I simply don’t have it in me to even pass the time with someone who isn't her.

  My only thoughts are of my Mate. She, who completes me, yet I do not know her. More and more I have been dreaming of a haunted house. It’s one of the tourist trap kind, not a real one. Her back is to me with her long dark hair flowing in the cold, moonlit night. There are people everywhere, but she’s all I can see clearly.

  Which is why I am sitting on a plane, leaving my clan behind, to find her. I am done with waiting for her to fall into my lap. When I saw New York on the board, I immediately thought of her and knew I needed to start there. Deep in my gut, I know New York City isn’t right, but I feel as if I should be able to figure it out from there.

  When my plane lands at LaGuardia, I disembark and walk across the concourse. Eventually, I reach the baggage claim and grab my bag. From that point, I walk outside and hail a taxi.

  “Where to, buddy?” the driver asks.

  “Manchester,” I say, but I dinnae know why. I’ve ne’er heard of it.

  “Manchester? That’s over a hundred miles from here. Your best bet is renting a car.”

  “Thanks,” I say, before giving him a twenty and stepping back out. Before turning to leave, I hold the door open for an old woman who is trying to hail a cab.”

  “Thank you, son”, she says as she steps in. I shut the car door and head back into the terminal.

  Once inside, I make my way to the first car hire counter I see. Jupiter Rentals. Sounds good to me. I spring for the luxury SUV, an Escalade. By the time it’s brought around, I am tired, hungry, and anxious.

  My bear is pacing, something or someone has him on edge. The fine hairs on the back of my neck are standing up. Then, my nose perks up and I scent her. Pine needles and lavender assault my senses in a way nowt ever has before.

  My bear is starting to freak out. And if I’m being honest, so am I. Suddenly, I hear the amazing sound of her voice before I see her. Following the sound, until the hair and ass I know so well are right before my very eyes.

  “What the fuck do you mean you have no cars left? I reserved one online,” she yells. My cock is instantly hard. It looks like my Mate is feisty as fuck.

  “Those are not guaranteed, lady. You didn’t enter a credit card to pay for the whole rental, so you got bumped. Welcome to New York. Next,” he says impatiently. I clench my fists. How dare that guy act so disrespectfully to my Mate.

  “You gotta be fucking kidding me. I need to get to Manchester today. Please help me.”

  “Taxis are right out front. Next in line, please.” I watch as he points to the doors and she steps out of line, pulling her huge suitcase behind her.

  I wait and two
heartbeats later, her eyes connect with mine. She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Nowt could have prepared me for this. The feeling is so intense, I dinnae notice right away that she has reached me. My Mate, my goddess is standing two inches from me. Finally. My bear is shuffling within me and aching to burst from my skin, but now is not the time. The incredible feeling of her being near me is enough to keep him happy for now, but I know it will not last long.

  Dropping my bag at my feet, I wait as she lets go of the handle on her suitcase and letting it fall. Then, as if our lips are magnetized, they meet with an explosion that goes throughout my body. It makes the incredibleness of moments ago seem like a drop in a bucket. Her lips are soft, pink, and a little wet from when she licked them only moments ago.

  As I pull my mouth from hers, we both need to suck in huge lungsful of air. There is a feeling of loss as she takes a small step back.

  “Why do I know you, sir? I don’t go around kissing strange men.” Her sweet southern accent is surprising, given that she is wearing a Marilyn Manson t-shirt, a short red and black tartan skirt, fishnet stockings, tall black combat boots, and her bangs are bright purple.

  “Ye better not be doing that…”, I trail off, hoping she catches my drift for her name. Which she does.

  “Gypsy. Gypsy Caird.”

  “Gypsy. What a pretty name. I am Duncan McDougall.” When she holds her hand out to shake, I use it to pull her back toward me. “I think we are well beyond that, lass.”

  Two

  Gypsy Caird

  Holy shit! His thick as fuck Scottish accent is making me wetter than I was before. He pulls me back towards him, and once again I am thrown into a whirlwind of emotions as he devours my mouth. My lips tingle with a sensation that isn’t unlike static electricity. His huge calloused hands tangle in my hair, while my hands grip the back of his shirt near his waist. I am trying to climb this man. In freaking public. A man I just met.

  I can tell he is a shifter. His ridiculously bright green eyes give him away, but he feels like everything to me. I cannot adequately explain why I feel the need to leave my coven in a lurch, and so suddenly in the middle of the night. It is time. The five-a.m. flight from Louisville, Kentucky with a six-hour layover in Charlotte, North Carolina was uneventful, but I couldn’t get my mind off the destination: JFK airport in New York.

  I woke at three o’clock this morning covered in sweat and tears. Getting out of bed, I took a shower thinking it would help. Instead, I saw him again. He was on an airplane and everything in me was screaming “it’s time.” The handsome big bear of a man, who graces my dreams. Before I knew what I am, I thought it was odd that I dreamt of him so frequently. Never the same dreams, but the same boy and then the same man. Him and the cutest little brown bear cub.

  Bears quickly became my favorite animal. I studied them like crazy. I even made my parents take me to the zoo every weekend just so I could be near them. Then I would cry because the majestic creature was in captivity. It was a vicious cycle, but I couldn’t break it. When I was older, I went on my own. Every Saturday since I was five years old, including yesterday, I was at the bear enclosure. Suddenly, everything clicks as his bear shows himself to my Light.

  When I turned thirteen and my mama explained ‘everything’ to me, I knew he was mine. Of course, I already knew all about the Light, from years of schooling. How we only use magic for healing and growth. In extreme cases, it can be used to protect our loved ones and kill the evil doers. But, we must never utilize it for ourselves as it can become addictive. Those, whose Light manifests itself in a dark color are cast from the coven, though we haven’t had anyone like that in over sixty years.

  The only issue was that I didn’t know how to find him. When I was fifteen, I tried to conjure him to me, but I wasn’t strong enough.

  I am too different. An outcast, a freak. I never imprinted to any male in our coven, much to my father’s dismay. He was blessed only with girls and his status is completed by the matches that are made by my sisters and I. My Light burns brighter and hotter than any other in my coven, even the elders. It has been a source of contention for years, but all of that is behind me now.

  My coven whispers behind my back, because they dare not say anything to my face. I am the Light for the Monster. First of my kind to present this way. It made no sense at the time as the rest of my coven is Light of the Light. What we were not able to decipher was how my Light pertains to the Monster.

  My mama said that the answers would come to me in time. She helped me as I learned my craft the best way she could. But, when I told her I was leaving this morning, she simply said that she has taught me all she can. I was not to worry, because I would be back before the frost, married and with a baby in my belly. The first frost in Kentucky is in late December. This excites me as I know I would never sleep with anyone but him. I kissed her beautiful pale cheek and left. However, as I stand before this giant bear of a man, my bear, it makes complete sense.

  I am not one hundred percent sure how all this works, but I have no choice. He calls to me on a primal level. Forming an unbreakable bond with Duncan is all I have thought about for years now. It looks like it's about to be a reality.

  “Are ye goin’ to say something, Gypsy?”

  “Do I really need to say anything? This is a done deal, right? You can explain the particulars to me later.” I know nothing of how to be his Mate. How to please him and if the things I am feeling right now are chemical or I’m inexplicably in love or both. As far as I know, a witch has never mated or married a shifter, so I am going into this blind. Blind, but excited and ready to leap.

  “I suppose not,” he says running his thumb along his bottom lip. Fuck, that accent is gonna be the death of me. “Ye know what I am? What I am capable of?”

  “I do. Do you know what I am?” I question, and he stares at me for a minute.

  “There isnae an animal in you,” he says quietly.

  “No. Is that a problem?”

  “Not at all.” His smile makes me weak in the knees.

  “Do you have a car? I feel like we are supposed to be at a haunted house upstate.”

  “I feel it as well and I have a car. We should go, people are staring.”

  “And? At least you didn’t mount me right here in the terminal with that massive cock I felt digging into my stomach.” For some reason, I thought he would be mad about my foul mouth and lack of filter, like my father and his friends, but he surprises me by moving his lips to my ear.

  “Don’t fecking tempt me, lass. I will claim you here and now if you keep talking like that,” he growls in my ear. The goosebumps on my arms and the shiver down my spine at the sounds of his deep masculine voice is enough to tighten my core. I can feel my juices running down my thigh. Before I have a chance to be mortified, Duncan inhales deeply. When our eyes connect again, his are even greener than they were a few minutes ago. So bright and full of lust. I want to give myself to him right the fuck now.

  “God damn Gypsy. Dinnae fecking tempt me with that. We have got to get out of this airport before we are arrested. Is this yer only bag?”

  “Besides my purse, that’s everything I own.”

  “You brought everything you own?”

  “Yes. I somehow knew that Louisville would never be home again,” I reply shrugging.

  He just nods and picks up his tiny duffel bag, slinging the strap over his shoulder and grabs the handle of my giant suitcase like it’s nothing. It almost seems not fair because I was really struggling with it, even with the wheels. His free hand takes mine and as we walk to the parking garage and I marvel at the size difference between us. He doesn't seem like a monster, but I know that can change in an instant and I have never wanted anyone the way I want this man right now.

  Three

  Duncan

  Once we are settled into the SUV and are on the road, I can hear her stomach growling. I cannae help chuckling.

  “Sorry. In my haste to get here, I manage not to
eat anything today.”

  “That's not good, you must take care of yersel’.” Her soft fingers are delicately stroking my rougher ones. The light touch is a soothing balm, which is completely unexpected.

  A few seconds later there is a pale light from the passenger side of the car. Much like from a mobile phone. Suddenly, I ‘have’ to work hard to control a shift from happening in the SUV. I have never had such a strong urge to shift unless there was some kind of danger. Taking my eyes off the road for a split second, I glance over and realize the pale light is emanating from her fingertips.

  “You are the Light,” I chokingly whisper. This startles her and causes a chain reaction. She pulls her hand away from mine, which makes the light go out and I look back at the road in time to narrowly miss a deer.

  She clutches her chest as I swerve hard. Due to the heavy rain that has been steadily falling since we left the airport, the SUV starts to hydroplane a bit, but I am able to correct it.

  “I am the Light. Specifically, I'm your light.” Her answer doesn’t make much sense to me.

  “What does that mean, exactly?” I ask, paying close attention to the fucking road.

  “Well, that’s the thing. As far as I know, I am the first of my kind and have no basis for comparison. My ‘understanding’ is that I am supposed to help you.”

  “The first of yer kind? Do you have any idea how powerful our cubs will be?”

  “No, but I can’t wait to find out,” she pauses. I glance over again. She looks mortified. “I mean-”

  “I know exactly what ye mean, lass,” I growl at her. She absentmindedly strokes my hand again. I drive until I find a roadside diner. It is lit up with neon signs. After parking, we get out of the car and walk hand in hand inside. Following the sign to please be seated, we head to a small booth in the back of the restaurant. I hate having my back to the door, so I sit on the side facing it.