Lilith, page 1
LILITH
SPEED DATING WITH THE DENIZENS OF THE UNDERGROUND
BOOK FIFTEEN
CARRIE PULKINEN
CONTENTS
Lilith
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
Excerpt
Watch for the other books
Read More from Carrie Pulkinen
About Carrie Pulkinen
Lilith
Speed Dating with the Denizens of the Underworld
Book Fifteen
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Copyright © 2022
Carrie Pulkinen
ISBN: 978-1-77357-409-7
978-1-77357-410-3
Published by Naughty Nights Press LLC
Cover Art By King Cover Designs
Edited by: Kerri Keberly
Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.
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Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as "unsold or destroyed" and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it.
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No part of this book may be adapted, stored, copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
LILITH
World’s first woman. World’s first vampire. World’s worst at finding love.
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Lilith doesn’t believe in soulmates. If she couldn’t make it work with the man she was literally created for, how could they possibly exist?
She goes to speed dating on the hunt for a man to quench her thirst. What she finds instead will either rock her world or be the final stake in the Queen of the Night.
Owl shifter Spencer has learned his lesson with powerful women. After his last girlfriend derailed his career and nearly destroyed him, he’d rather have his feathers plucked one by one than let another woman sink her talons into his heart.
When his sister convinces him to go to speed dating, he can’t deny his attraction to the gorgeous crimson-haired vampire who captures his attention. But he refuses to get burned again.
Can two people who don’t believe in love find happiness together? Or will their colliding worlds go up in flames?
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Lilith is book fifteen in the Speed Dating with the Denizens of the Underworld shared world, filled with sultry vampires, sexy shifters, and more.
CHAPTER 1
Lilith. She was the world’s first woman. The Queen of the Night. The mother of all vampires.
She got credit for none of it, but after a few millennia of existence, praise…or even acknowledgment…for her contributions to society didn’t matter. It all happened so long ago, and Lilith didn’t hold a grudge against anyone.
Well, except for Adam, but that little weasel didn’t count. He got her exiled from Eden, after all, and for what? Because she wanted to be on top for a change. Because she refused to obey him and wanted to be his equal. His partner.
Whatever.
Apparently, that was too much to ask because he’d kicked her to the curb and had her cursed to rely on the blood of mortals for sustenance. Of course, back then, Adam was the only mortal. Her curse was supposed to be a death sentence, but Lucifer had been kind enough to take her in. Demon blood had sustained her just fine…made her more powerful than those nitwits could have imagined. Now there were plenty of mortals topside to feast on.
Fuck you and the being who cursed me, Adam.
She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. Why did she have to wake up thinking about him? Squeezing her eyes shut, she rolled to her side and willed herself to go back to sleep and have a pleasant dream for once. If only her magic worked on herself. She could glamour a heavy-weight boxer into eight hours of slumber, yet she couldn’t sleep for shit.
It was time she dragged her butt out of bed and started her day…or night…whatever time it was. Lucifer controlled the “skies” in the Underworld, so who knew?
Percival called for his breakfast, and the gentle caw, caw, caw brought a smile to her lips. Lilith sat up, stretching her arms over her head, and her crow familiar flew from his perch to the bed before hopping across the deep blue comforter.
“Hello, moonlight. How are you today, my pet?” She stroked his sleek black feathers, and he answered with another caw.
“Okay, okay. I’ll get up.” She scooted to the edge of the mattress and placed her feet on the marbled concrete floor. Wiggling her toes, she focused on the smooth, cool surface, feeling the chill all the way to her spine. With a deep inhale, she stretched her arms over her head one last time before rising and padding to the pantry.
She filled his bowl with trail mix and gave him fresh water as he danced across the counter in anticipation. Dipping his head, Percival pecked at his meal, and Lilith strode to the terrarium, where Esther, her magical snake familiar, lay sleeping. Much like a chameleon, Esther could change her coloring to match her environment, her mood, or whatever the occasion might require. Most of the time, she took on the coloring of an overgrown scarlet king snake—red with black and yellow bands—a harmless, non-venomous creature. At four and a half feet long, she could be intimidating to some, but she was the sweetest, most adorable animal ever created.
Today, however, Esther had donned an albino white aesthetic. That’s new. She’d coiled herself on top of a large, flat rock beneath the heat lamp, her face pointed toward the wall. Lilith stood in front of the terrarium and crossed her arms, waiting for the snake to lift her head.
“Good morning, love. It’s time for breakfast.” She tapped on the glass, but Esther refused to acknowledge her. “Come on, my little danger noodle. We have things to do. We have to…”
Lilith pressed her lips together and drummed her fingers against her biceps. What, exactly, did she have to do? Lucifer didn’t require her to work, so she had no job. She had plenty of blood in the fridge, so she technically didn’t need to go hunting—though, nothing beat a meal straight from the vein. Grabbing her phone from the nightstand, she opened the calendar app, and her shoulders slumped as she took in all the empty squares on the screen. Her schedule had been wide open for weeks. There wasn’t a damn thing she had to do today.
“Maybe we can meet Eve for a drink.”
Esther still didn’t move, so Lilith used telepathy to send her thoughts to her familiar. “Don’t make me traipse through the streets of Purgatory without my favorite accessory.” Lilith was rarely seen without her snake draped over her shoulders. Percival traveled everywhere with her as well, but her crow preferred flying as his mode of transportation.
The snake started to lift her head, a minuscule movement that stilled as quickly as it had begun.
“I feel you, sister.” If Percival didn’t need to be fed, Lilith would’ve been in bed as well.
Her crow glided into the room and perched on the edge of the terrarium before leaning in and cawing at the snake. Esther’s skin rippled as if she were going to move but thought better of it.
“Come here, nope rope. Stop playing.” Lilith reached inside and slipped one hand beneath Esther’s head, the other a foot down below her belly. Normally the snake would have coiled around her arm before slithering up to her shoulder. Now her body hung like a wet noodle.
“Esther?” A sense of dread tightened Lilith’s chest, dragging her heart down into her stomach. “What’s wrong, my sweet?”
She laid the snake on the bed and crouched in front of her, running her fingers over her head. “Connect with me.” Focusing her magic into her familiar, Lilith tried to become one with the snake. Esther was an extension of Lilith, created by Lucifer himself to be her companion in the early years of her cursed existence. She should have been able to bond her consciousness to her familiar, seeing through Esther’s eyes as if they were the same being.
Something was wrong. Okay, that was an understatement because, as Lilith reached into Esther’s psyche, instead of the loving little snake she adored, all she found was a void. Emptiness as dark and cold as the rumors about Lilith’s heart.
“Percival, what’s wrong with her?”
The crow landed on the bed and gently pecked at Esther’s back. Her muscles crawled in reaction, but she didn’t lift her head. Pressure built in Lilith’s eyes as she dragged in a breath. Esther had been her companion for millennia, and she’d never seen her behave this way. Sure, she got moody every now and then, but who didn’t? This was something else entirely.
“Esther, please.” She slipped her hand beneath the snake’s head, and Esther finally opened her crimson eyes. “There’s my girl.” Lilith tried to smile, but the fear making her muscles tense wrapped around her heart, squeezing it until she thought it would burst like a tapioca pearl
Esther’s forked tongue darted out, lapping at Lilith’s wrist before the snake closed her eyes and stilled.
“Oh, my baby. Let’s get you back under your lamp.” Lilith gathered her familiar into her arms and returned her to the terrarium before looking at Percival. “We need a doctor. Are there any vets in Purgatory?”
She tapped a finger against her lips. What exactly could a vet do for a magical snake? Esther was no ordinary serpent; she was an immortal, created by magic. Lucifer’s magic. It was time she paid the ruler of the Underworld a visit.
Lilith sank into a blue velvet chair and folded her legs beneath her. Closing her eyes, she focused her magic on Percival and formed a connection with him instantly…the way it should have happened when she tried with Esther. Her consciousness melded with the bird’s, and she stared back at herself through his eyes.
Her long red hair, which usually flowed in silky waves, was a matted mess, and her skin, which was always pale because she was a vampire, had taken on an ashen pallor. Whatever illness was affecting Esther appeared to be affecting her too. She shuddered at the sight of herself before taking control of her crow familiar and flapping his wings.
She soared out an open window, gliding over Purgatory toward Lucifer’s palace. The Underworld used to be all fire and brimstone, which Lilith preferred—not that anyone asked her. Now it was a quaint little village with shops and cottages, and the ruler of the Underworld had done it all for Chloe, his “soulmate.”
Lilith blew a puff of air through Percival’s nostrils. What a crock. Soulmates didn’t exist, and she was undead proof. If they did, she’d still be head over heels for that alphahole, Adam, but she wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot stake…unless she could ram it through his chest.
Anyway… When Lucifer met Chloe, he transformed Purgatory into what it was today so she’d be more comfortable, which wasn’t surprising. The ruler of the Underworld had a soft heart beneath all those muscles and devilish good looks. He’d taken Lilith in, after all, given her a home and enough demon blood to keep her going until she could venture topside for the delicacy of humanity. And Esther… He’d given her Esther, and now he would heal her.
She arrived at Lucifer’s palace and circled the medieval castle. Ivy climbed the silvery gray bricks, and three massive towers ascended into the sky. Finding an open window, she soared past the ruby red curtains and landed on a chandelier, cocking Percival’s head and listening for sounds of movement.
A deep belly laugh echoed from the corridor to her right, so she followed the noise and found Lucifer sitting at a table with Chloe. Her long, white hair glistened in the lamplight, and whatever she’d said must’ve been hilarious because she had Lucifer in stitches. Lilith had never seen the man so…happy. Must be nice.
She landed on the table and squawked, and he finally got control of himself. With a deep inhale, he wiped a tear from his eye and took Chloe’s hand. He glanced around the room, leaning back in his chair to peer through the doorway.
“Hello, Lilith. To what do I owe the pleasure…I would say of your company, but it appears you’ve sent only your familiar.”
“I need your help,” she said into his mind before vocalizing, “Caw, caw!”
He rubbed his thumb and forefinger on his chin. “I see. Well, I am a busy man.”
“You speak crow?” Chole gave him a quizzical look.
Lucifer chuckled. “Lilith is using telepathy. I hear her thoughts.”
“Now that would be a cool power to have. Hi, Lilith.”
“Hello. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I desperately need Lucifer’s help.”
“Indeed.” Lucifer waved a hand at Percival like he was trying to shoo her familiar away. “Leave us, Lilith. Chloe was in the middle of a hilarious story.”
She narrowed the crow’s eyes and pecked at his hand before letting out an ear-piercing squawk. “Damn it, Luce, it’s an emergency.”
Lucifer’s eyes turned molten red, and if it were possible for steam to shoot out of his ears, it would have. In hindsight, pecking the ruler of the Underworld wasn’t in her best interest. She’d known the man for eons, and his temper was like lightning. Thankfully, Chloe stepped in.
She rested her hand on his shoulder, and his anger visibly simmered, the red in his eyes dimming as he covered Chloe’s hand with his. “Hear her out, honey. She flew all the way here.”
“Anything for you, my love.” He tugged Chloe’s hand to his lips and kissed her fingers before focusing on Lilith. “What seems to be the problem?”
“It’s Esther. She’s sick.”
He laughed. “Nonsense. I created her.”
“She’s not moving. I barely got her to open her eyes this morning, and I can’t connect with her.”
His brow furrowed, his forehead pinching as if her words perplexed him.
“What’s wrong?” Chloe asked.
“She claims her reptilian familiar is ill.”
Chloe gasped. “Oh my. How can we help? Do you need me to call a vet? Do you need help getting her topside?”
Finally, someone was listening to her. “I don’t think a vet can help. I need Lucifer to look at her.”
Chloe smacked him on the arm. “You’re not too busy to aide an ill animal, are you, dear?”
“No, my love. I suppose I’m not.” Lucifer arched a brow at Lilith. “Give me five minutes to say goodbye, and I will be there.”
“Thank you, oh great one.” The sarcasm she tried to lace into her words didn’t sound quite as good through the filter of Percival, but Lucifer smirked, so the message was received.
Lilith released control of her familiar—she’d be sure to give him extra raisins in his trail mix tonight—and returned her consciousness to her own body. Rising to her feet, she paced to the front door, though why she bothered, she wasn’t sure. Lucifer appeared in her living room a minute later, bypassing the formality of knocking. Not that Lilith could complain. She’d done the same thing to him through Percival.
“Thank you for coming.” She held his gaze, waiting to be berated for barging in on his quiet time with Chloe, but Percival flew in through the window and perched on the back of the couch to caw at Lucifer.
“Percy.” Lucifer ran the backs of his fingers over the crow’s feathers. “I’m glad to see you’ve returned to your old self, my friend.” He looked at Lilith. “Lead the way.”
“She’s in the bedroom.” She strode down the hall and tossed her hair behind her shoulder, but her fingers caught in a tangle. She nearly ripped out a lock by the roots trying to free her hand, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from shouting profanities at the rat’s nest she’d allowed her mane to become.
“How long has it been since you left your house?” Lucifer stopped in the doorway, crossing his arms and raking his gaze up and down her form.
She gaped at him like he was crazy. “I was just in your palace. I know you’ve only got eyes for Chloe these days, but we had a conversation.”
He shook his head, clicking his tongue like a disappointed father. “Percival was in my palace. How long has it been since you left your abode?”
She shrugged a shoulder and lifted Esther from her rock. “A while. Please, you have to help her.” She shoved the snake into his arms.
Lucifer cradled her familiar, closing his eyes and stilling, focusing his magic into Esther. His mouth pinched, and he carried her back to the terrarium, returning her beneath the heat lamp and running a finger along her scales. “I can’t help her.”
She laughed, unbelieving. “What do you mean you can’t? Of course you can. You’re Lucifer Fucking Morningstar. You can do anything.”
