Hello everyone! Thank you, Addison, for letting me come back on! I’ve written a story, The Blood Witch, for National I am in Control Day which is today, yay! Are you feeling in control?

I have to say that with the world crashing and burning around us, I don’t feel like there is much I have control over. Being in Europe, the war in Ukraine feels very close, and I’m walking around with a knot of worry in my gut – which of course, is nothing compared to what the Ukrainian people have to endure, so I should stop whining.

National I am in Control Day was created because there was an assassination attempt on President Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel back in 1981. Chaos ensued, of course, and Alexander Haig, who was Secretary of State, told everyone at a press conference that “I am in control.” Which added to the chaos since people thought he was taking over after President Reagan.

So National I am in Control Day is mostly about not being in control at all, and that’s the feeling I brought into The Blood Witch.

In The Blood Witch, the supernatural population in every city is ruled by a king or a queen. Conri is the king of Norbridge. He thinks he has everything under control, but he hasn’t. Of course, he hasn’t. It wouldn’t be much of a story if he had, would it?

Then we have Nick, who is a blood witch on the run. A blood witch can change blood – theirs and others’. So, they can make werewolf blood appear human or make their own blood appear like someone else’s, for example.

In the world of The Blood Witch, supernatural beings are treated like second class citizens. They aren’t allowed to own a business, they aren’t accepted into schools, and so on. So having someone who can make the blood sample everyone has to leave appear human is a great asset for the kingdom.

The result of this is that blood witches often are kept prisoner by their kings or queens, so they always can be of service. That was Nick’s fate until he killed his former king and ran away. When Conri figures out he has a blood witch in his kingdom, things have already started to crumble, and he suspects Nick is behind it.

He goes to confront him, and that’s when things become complicated. He knows someone is trying to take him down, he suspects it’s the blood witch who has refused to come to pay his respects to the king as he should, but when he goes to deal with him, he realises Nick is his mate.

I had so much fun writing this one. Conri thinks he can control everything since he’s king. He’s tall and strong, a werewolf, and people respect him. He thinks that since Nick is young-looking and smallish, he’ll be easy to command. There are a lot of things Conri thinks, and most of them turn out to be wrong LOL

Excerpt

Nick watched as Conri left for the kitchen again. This was so surreal. He was having coffee with the king.

When Conri came back with milk, Nick studied him for a few seconds. “I can’t make a body disappear.”

Conri grinned. “I can make a body disappear, but not while it’s in the morgue and part of a murder investigation.”

Nick gave him an unimpressed look. “You don’t have contacts in the morgue?” What kind of king was he?

“Should I have?”

Nick bit his tongue. Criticizing the king wasn’t smart. “I’m not king, I don’t know what you should and shouldn’t do.”

Conri’s eyes narrowed. “Other kings… and queens have contacts in the morgue?”

Nick’s heart beat faster. He should have kept his mouth shut. “I know nothing of other—”

“Where did you say you were from?”

Nick tried taking slow breaths, but ice washed over him. “I didn’t.”

Conri flashed sharp teeth, and Nick did his best not to increase the distance between them despite every fiber of his being telling him to run. He doubted an enraged werewolf was any kinder than an enraged vampire.

“Your last king or queen, were they shifter or vampire?”

“It doesn’t matter—”

“It does.”

It didn’t. “Vampire.” He tried but failed to suppress the shudder going through him.

“Uh-huh.” Conri nodded. “And he or she had contacts in the police department?”

“I don’t… He didn’t share any details.” Though since Nick had tampered with blood tests for several people who’d applied to the Police Academy…

Conri’s eyes blazed. “But you suspect he had.”

Nick grimaced. Talking was stupid. “Evidence tended to disappear, but as a vampire, you can make people believe things that aren’t there, can’t you?”

Conri nodded. “You’re not a cop?”

The laughter spilling out of him took him by surprise. “Look at me.”

Conri’s gaze heated, and Nick’s heart drummed in his chest. Shit.

“I am.”

“I wouldn’t last a day as a cop.”

“Coroner?”

“I’m not gonna be your contact on the inside. I transcribe things, I have no medical training, and I’m not a cop.”

Conri rubbed his face and winced. “I need a contact on the inside.”

Nick took a deep breath. “You do realize we don’t know each other, right? The two of us having this conversation is insane.”

Conri grinned at him. “You’re mine. We’ll share everything.”

Nick’s heart stopped and froze to ice. “No.”

“Yes.” Conri nodded. “You didn’t plant my DNA on the body?”

“I don’t know of any body, and I don’t know the makeup of your DNA. If you left traces on the body, I can’t help you.”

“But I didn’t kill them. If I’d killed them, it would’ve been one thing, but I didn’t. I haven’t killed anyone in ages.”

“And the body is fresh?” Why was he asking?

Conri grinned again. “You’re smart.”

Nick highly doubted it since he was here talking dead bodies and DNA with the werewolf king when he should be on the run somewhere. “Look. I know nothing of dead bodies. I know blood, but DNA can be so much more than blood.”

Conri’s face turned blank. “Hair.”

“Hair, skin, semen, saliva.”

“Semen?”

“Any lovers disappeared lately?” Nick did not picture Conri entangled with another person—he didn’t. He didn’t do sex, and he didn’t care what others did as long as they didn’t include him.

“No, I…” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“This body, is it someone you know?”

Conri frowned. “I don’t know. They never told me who it was, and Urien isn’t here, though if he’d known who it was, he’d have told me before they hauled him off.”

Nick sighed. “Let me get this straight. You hunted me down, forced me off a train because your second in command talked to an officer on the task force who told him there was a body with your DNA on it. You don’t know where the body is, who the body used to be, what kind of DNA we’re talking, and you want me to… fix it somehow?”

“No, I wanted to make sure you weren’t the one who had planted my DNA on the body. You know I’ve been wanting to see you, you’ve avoided me, so what better way to get rid of me than to make sure I stay locked up for the rest of my life?”

Nick was stunned. Conri believed him capable of murder—he was, but not to murder someone only to frame someone else for it. “I think you’ve overestimated your role in my life.”

Nick watched as Conri left for the kitchen again. This was so surreal. He was having coffee with the king.

When Conri came back with milk, Nick studied him for a few seconds. “I can’t make a body disappear.”

Conri grinned. “I can make a body disappear, but not while it’s in the morgue and part of a murder investigation.”

Nick gave him an unimpressed look. “You don’t have contacts in the morgue?” What kind of king was he?

“Should I have?”

Nick bit his tongue. Criticizing the king wasn’t smart. “I’m not king, I don’t know what you should and shouldn’t do.”

Conri’s eyes narrowed. “Other kings… and queens have contacts in the morgue?”

Nick’s heart beat faster. He should have kept his mouth shut. “I know nothing of other—”

“Where did you say you were from?”

Nick tried taking slow breaths, but ice washed over him. “I didn’t.”

Conri flashed sharp teeth, and Nick did his best not to increase the distance between them despite every fiber of his being telling him to run. He doubted an enraged werewolf was any kinder than an enraged vampire.

“Your last king or queen, were they shifter or vampire?”

“It doesn’t matter—”

“It does.”

It didn’t. “Vampire.” He tried but failed to suppress the shudder going through him.

“Uh-huh.” Conri nodded. “And he or she had contacts in the police department?”

“I don’t… He didn’t share any details.” Though since Nick had tampered with blood tests for several people who’d applied to the Police Academy…

Conri’s eyes blazed. “But you suspect he had.”

Nick grimaced. Talking was stupid. “Evidence tended to disappear, but as a vampire, you can make people believe things that aren’t there, can’t you?”

Conri nodded. “You’re not a cop?”

The laughter spilling out of him took him by surprise. “Look at me.”

Conri’s gaze heated, and Nick’s heart drummed in his chest. Shit.

“I am.”

“I wouldn’t last a day as a cop.”

“Coroner?”

“I’m not gonna be your contact on the inside. I transcribe things, I have no medical training, and I’m not a cop.”

Conri rubbed his face and winced. “I need a contact on the inside.”

Nick took a deep breath. “You do realize we don’t know each other, right? The two of us having this conversation is insane.”

Conri grinned at him. “You’re mine. We’ll share everything.”

Nick’s heart stopped and froze to ice. “No.”

“Yes.” Conri nodded. “You didn’t plant my DNA on the body?”

“I don’t know of any body, and I don’t know the makeup of your DNA. If you left traces on the body, I can’t help you.”

“But I didn’t kill them. If I’d killed them, it would’ve been one thing, but I didn’t. I haven’t killed anyone in ages.”

“And the body is fresh?” Why was he asking?

Conri grinned again. “You’re smart.”

Nick highly doubted it since he was here talking dead bodies and DNA with the werewolf king when he should be on the run somewhere. “Look. I know nothing of dead bodies. I know blood, but DNA can be so much more than blood.”

Conri’s face turned blank. “Hair.”

“Hair, skin, semen, saliva.”

“Semen?”

“Any lovers disappeared lately?” Nick did not picture Conri entangled with another person—he didn’t. He didn’t do sex, and he didn’t care what others did as long as they didn’t include him.

“No, I…” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“This body, is it someone you know?”

Conri frowned. “I don’t know. They never told me who it was, and Urien isn’t here, though if he’d known who it was, he’d have told me before they hauled him off.”

Nick sighed. “Let me get this straight. You hunted me down, forced me off a train because your second in command talked to an officer on the task force who told him there was a body with your DNA on it. You don’t know where the body is, who the body used to be, what kind of DNA we’re talking, and you want me to… fix it somehow?”

“No, I wanted to make sure you weren’t the one who had planted my DNA on the body. You know I’ve been wanting to see you, you’ve avoided me, so what better way to get rid of me than to make sure I stay locked up for the rest of my life?”

Nick was stunned. Conri believed him capable of murder—he was, but not to murder someone only to frame someone else for it. “I think you’ve overestimated your role in my life.”

Blurb

Nick Adore has been in hiding for six years. He does his best to pass himself off as human and only wants to be left alone. But one day, he walks in on a robbery. Instead of quietly walking away, he reveals himself as a blood witch, and now the werewolf king demands to see him.

Conri Biast is king. He has been the king of Norbridge for eleven years, but someone is trying to take him down. For months, he’s known there’s a blood witch in his territory who refuses to pay his respects, and that puts him on the top of his list of suspects. But when he goes to confront the witch, things don’t turn out the way he’d planned. The witch is his mate.

 Nick doesn’t want to be anywhere near Conri. Being close to kings always ends with him getting hurt, but he finds himself sucked into the power struggle. Conri doesn’t know who he can trust, but he knows he needs Nick by his side. Together, they’re strong, but are they strong enough to keep the throne?

About Holly Day

According to Holly Day, no day should go by uncelebrated and all of them deserve a story. If she’ll have the time to write them remains to be seen. She lives in rural Sweden with a husband, four children, more pets than most, and wouldn’t last a day without coffee.

Holly gets up at the crack of dawn most days of the week to write gay romance stories. She believes in equality in fiction and in real life. Diversity matters. Representation matters. Visibility matters. We can change the world one story at the time.

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