Free Colour Me Undead by Mikela Q. Chase

Chapter One

    Cora was going to kill her cousin. It wasn’t a big problem—few people would miss her, and as one of the undead, odds were good she would rise again. Still grumbling to herself, Cora pulled up in front of the spooky castle. Taking a deep breath, she tried to ignore the chills dancing up and down her spine and the goose bumps popping up across her flesh.
    She couldn’t believe she let herself be talked into this, organising a wedding for an undead bride and groom. If she thought suicide would get her out of this she would willingly jump off a bridge. Unfortunately, her aunt—the voodoo queen—would then calmly bring her back to life and hand over her wedding planner.
    Some days she hated her family. Today looked to be one of those days.
    Sitting in her car, she stared at the forbidding castle. Gloomy grey brick—check. Gargoyles grinning down in a macabre manner—check. Lightning storm beginning…
    Yep, it was like she was on a movie set. She could hear the director now. “ Take one of ‘Scare the Crap out of Cora’. ”
    Shaking her head at her silliness, Cora snagged her pink laptop case and opened the door of her lemon yellow Volkswagen Beetle. She climbed out and slammed the door behind her. If she didn’t use enough force the door didn’t always close completely. It was an old car and even with a full restoration it still had its quirks. The sound echoed in the unnaturally quiet courtyard, rattling her already shaky nerves.
    Cora didn’t know why she was so nervous. No one would harm her. Her cousin was marrying the second-in-line for the vampire throne. If anyone touched Cora, Melinda would rip off their head and show it to them.
    Still, that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t try something. She almost wished she’d taken the stake that her assistant, Becka, offered earlier. The perky blonde had popped into Cora’s office minutes before she had to leave and plunked down a suitcase full of anti-vampire paraphernalia. Her friend meant well and right about now Cora was yearning for those night vision goggles, but she didn’t think it showed good faith to come to a meeting equipped to kill your customer…even if they were family. Not that she planned on becoming known as the undead wedding planner, but money was money and the amount of cash her cousin promised her would more than finish paying off her mortgage.
    “Are you going to stand here all night or do you plan on coming in?”
    Cora screamed.
    She spun around and came face to face with the most gorgeous creature she’d ever seen. Creature indeed, because she could tell he was a vampire from his pale skin and glowing eyes. Still, he might be undead, but her libido worked perfectly fine. Despite the startled hammering of her heart, she had no problem imaging the tall, dark and undead cutie curled up next to her at night or maybe, in his case, the day.
    Beneath his glowing gaze, Cora straightened her spine. “Of course I’m coming in. I was trying to figure out the best way to enter.”
    “I suspect the steps would be a good choice.” The right corner of his mouth twitched as if he could barely contain his amusement.
    Cora resisted the urge to kick him. It was close, but she didn’t think her cousin would appreciate the assault on a member of her clan.
    “Good thinking. Melinda wouldn’t approve.”
    “Reading a person’s mind is extremely rude.” She glared at the tall vampire. Really, wasn’t anything sacred around here?
    “Very little,” the vampire countered. “However, I apologise if I made you uncomfortable.” His gaze took in her car, his mouth twitching again. “Do you have everything you need?”
    Cora looked up at the creepy castle and thought about hopping back into her Volkswagen and making a break for it. Surely it wouldn’t be too difficult to hide from her cousin for the rest of her life? Every good instinct she had screamed against going inside the monstrous stone building.
    A cheery ring from her phone told