by Jen Talty
“Someone either has to go in and get Gabe.” Hunter stared at the picture with his hands on his hips. “Or you girls need to give us that thing.”
“No. We need to cast Roger out first,” Savanah said.
Willow didn’t want to leave Gabe in the picture any longer than she had to, but if they didn’t destroy Roger, this would all be for nothing. “The cauldron must be turned off.”
“Well, how the fuck do we do that? Because Gabe is dying in there.” Hunter held the picture up in front of Willow.
She reached out and touched it again. Flames jumped out at her this time. “Don’t you think I know that?” She gritted her teeth. Fire filled her belly. “Hold on tight to the cauldron.” She turned and raced to her sisters. She reached into the cauldron and yanked out the organic particles that made up Roger. As soon as she had all the pieces out, the cauldron stopped vibrating.
She rolled the cosmic material into a ball that had tiny little lightning bolts firing from the sides.
“Look,” Hazel said, pointing to the second picture. “It’s changing.”
“And levitating,” Savanah said.
“Maybe you should put Roger in there,” Hunter said.
Before she had a chance to even consider the concept, Doyle shot to his wolf feet and raced on all fours in her direction. He nuzzled the ball with his nose and tossed it into the picture. He howled, scraping at the dusty ground before racing off behind the cabin.
She had no idea what happened, and she didn’t care. She stretched out her hand and tentatively touched the canvas. No flames and it didn’t burn. Nope. This time, her fingers slipped right inside. “Hold on to me. I’m going in.”
“Be careful,” Brett said, holding on to her waist. “Maybe I should go with you and help pull him out.”
“No. Just hold on to me and stay in contact.” She held her breath and leaned closer. The picture tried to suck her in deep, but Gabe’s brothers held her tight.
The positive energy inside the picture made her want to stay forever. The tightness in her chest made her want to get the fuck out as fast as she could.
Gabe lay on a wave in the middle of the lake. Spirits all around him, not wanting to let him go.
A few eased closer to her, making their wishes known through the way they weaved in and out of her blood. It was amazing how they crossed into her body and took over her mind.
But it was terrifying as well, because she would consider staying. The spirits made her happy.
However, she knew they’d kill her in the long run if she didn’t get out, and get Gabe out.
She reached out and grabbed his arm.
His body jerked and the lake wrapped around him, rolling him further away.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” She tugged harder. “Gabe. Come on. Open your eyes, damn it. I need your help getting you out of here.” She pressed her hand over his chest and a piece of his pink aura peeked out from under the special black shirt. But that part of his aura shouldn’t be pink.
It should be purple.
The shirt.
She clawed at it, ripping it open, tearing it off his body.
He sat up, gasping for air as his aura expanded, filling out as it should have been.
The image spit them out, their bodies flying through the air.
She landed on the ground, just missing the SUV.
Gabe knocked over two of his brothers. “That fucking hurt,” he mumbled.
“How the hell do you think I feel?” Brett said, brushing the mud from his leg.
“I’m going to have a big bruise on my arm.” Hunter rubbed his biceps.
“You boys are a bunch of big babies.” Alexis stood over Hunter and held out her hand. “I think we did it.”
“Anyone know where Doyle is?” Gabe jumped to his feet, lifting Willow into his arms and hugging her so tight she thought she might suffocate.
“I’m right here.” Doyle leaned against the railing on the porch. “Roger won’t be bothering you ever again and with me going back to my old life, the Elite Brotherhood has taken a serious hit, but don’t become complacent. They are still out there. Lurking. Waiting to take us all out.”
“Wait a second.” Gabe set Willow on her feet but kept his arm tight around her waist.
She didn’t mind. She never wanted to let him go again.
“Didn’t you say you were part of the Collective Order?”
Doyle nodded. “Our paths will cross in about a year. Hunter and Alexis won’t like the reason for it, but they will get over it.” Doyle winked. “I’m so glad I won’t ever be having a little girl.” He slapped Gabe on the shoulder. “You, on the other hand, while you saw those two boys, girls are still in your future, and they will be a handful; trust me.”
“I don’t want to know,” Gabe said.
“Neither do I.” Willow leaned into Gabe. Sometimes knowing the future took away half the fun.
“I know saying I’m sorry for all that you’ve had to endure and for all that I’ve personally put you through isn’t enough.” Doyle ran a hand through his thick hair.
“You’re right, it’s not.” Hunter stepped forward, Alexis on his arm.
“I suppose the only good news in all of this, besides that we’re all alive and our children will see their future, is the fact that the Raven sisters will be reunited with their parents.”
Willow took her seat at the Collective Order table that had magically appeared on the waterfront of the cabin they had rented on Lake George. Oddly enough, they had found out that the brothers owned the land, and that made everyone ecstatic because they could all use a change of scenery, and they all agreed moving from Baltimore to Upstate New York seemed like the perfect geographical cure. “I can’t believe they are still alive,” she said.
“I don’t understand how they faked it,” Alexis said. “How did I not know?”
“Witchcraft.” Brett wiggled his fingers before he snagged his beer and brought it to his lips.
“I look forward to learning about how to be a better witch, but I really hope I never meet a vampire. The werewolf was weird enough.” Hazel set her phone on the table and glanced around. “This is kind of amazing.”
“I won’t argue that.” Willow took Gabe’s hand. “How much do you want to bet we’re all pregnant?”
“A month ago I would have said that was one hell of a scary thought,” Savanah said. “But now, I welcome the idea.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but me too.” Chad laughed. “And the best part is we can all live here. Have our own cabins, and Doyle’s pack is only a few miles away.”
“I don’t understand why our paths won’t cross for a year,” Hunter said. “And my daughter isn’t mating with a werewolf.”
The entire table burst out laughing at the absurdity of the conversation, except Willow.
She glanced over her shoulder as a car approached. “They’re here,” she whispered. Her heart lurched to her throat. She never thought she’d see her parents again. Much less be able to hug them. Tentatively, she stood. Her sisters followed.
Hazel, being the oldest, led the way.
The brothers stayed at the table.
Willow swallowed her breath as the driver’s side door opened and her father stepped from the vehicle. She gasped, covering her mouth. “Daddy,” she whispered.
Seconds later, her mother appeared.
“Mom?” Alexis questioned.
“We’re so sorry we had to put you through this,” her father said. “If there were any other way, we would have done it.”
Willow broke from her sisters and raced to her father, hugging him tight. “All that matters is that you are here now.”
Her father kissed her temple before she turned to embrace her mom.
“You girls have a lot of explaining to do.” Her mother laced her fingers through her hair.
Willow jerked her head back. “What?”
“What is this making me a grandmother before getting married? Really
? I thought I raised you better than that,” her mother said with a bright smile. “I’m so glad you found your other halves.” She cupped Willow’s face. “It was so funny to watch you crush on Gabe all those years knowing he was your fated mate.”
“Do you have any idea how creepy that sounds?” Gabe asked.
“Are you complaining, son?” Willow’s father asked.
“No, sir.”
“Good.” Her father took all his girls into a big hug. “Now, what’s for dinner? I’m starving.”
Chapter 10
Gabe set the last dish in the drying rack and wiped his hands. Everything he’d sacrificed had been worth it to get to this day.
And if he had to do it all over again, he would.
The door to the cabin flung open and Willow waltzed in with a beaming smile.
“If all I had to do was bring your parents back from the dead to make you this happy, I would have done it a long time ago.”
She tilted her head and gave him her best sarcastic smile. “You don’t want to have a fight about the things you could have done to make me happy.”
“You’re right, I don’t.” He tossed the towel to the counter. “But I do have something I want to discuss with you.”
“What’s that?”
He took her by the hand and led her into the family room.
“You’re being too serious.”
“This is a serious matter.” He waved his hand in front of the sofa. “You know I love you, right?”
She nodded, taking a seat. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m terrified.” He chuckled as he took a knee and pulled out the ring his mother gave him the she died. “I have no idea what my brothers’ intentions are with your sisters, but I want to make this legal. I want us to be married. I’m old-fashioned like that. I love you more than life itself. Will you marry me?”
“Oh, my God. Yes. As if you had to ask.” She took the ring and shoved it on her slender finger. “When did you get this?”
“My mom gave it to me the day she died. I really don’t know where she got it.”
“Don’t care. I love it.” She kissed his cheek. “I know Brett and Hazel were talking about getting hitched at the county courthouse. We could join them because I don’t want a big wedding.”
“We should ask if all our siblings want to join us, considering all the events of the last few days.”
“Works for me,” Willow said. She reached up and cupped his cheek. “I love you and I want you to know that through it all, I never stopped.”
“That means a lot,” he said. “So, when do you want to do this?” He pressed his hand over her tight stomach. “Because I don’t want to waste another second. I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy.”
“You don’t have to try.” She pressed her lips against his and her aura wrapped around his body like a warm blanket, connecting them together…forever.
Thank you for taking the time to read The Lost Connection. I hope you enjoyed all the Raven Sisters. If you want to find out more about their future please check out A New Order.
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Terminology and Definitions
Precognition/Premonition/Visions: the ability to see the future in a vision before it happens.
Retrocognition: the ability to see the past.
Remote Viewing: the ability to project one’s mind into a distant or unseen target.
View VS Vision: When I refer to a “view” it’s when a character is using Remote Viewing abilities which happen in the present, real time. When I refer to a “vision” a character is seeing a possible future outcome or event or a past event as it happened.
The Collective Order: the four Raven Sisters and Quadruplets boys separated at birth coming together to help unit psychics across the globe.
A New Order: The Raven Sisters and The Quadruplet Brothers Children offspring.
The Collective Order
Once feared to be witches, psychics of The Collective Order were forced into hiding. Ever since, they have lived in secrecy, waiting for a powerful vision to become a reality.
The founder’s daughter holds out hope when a premonition shows her a future where they’re no longer condemned to die, and instead sought after, their talents cultivated to be used for the greater good. The future of the Collective Order rests on four sisters finding quadruplet brothers separated at birth. With each union, they’re one step closer to restoring the unique talents the descendants of the Collective Order once held.
The rise of The Collective Order is only the beginning. While the Order grows and adapts with the demands of humankind, it reveals covert factions wielding special talents and the ability to pass on coveted powers to the chosen few.
Welcome to the Collective Order.
The Global Alliance Coalition
In the early 1970’s, the US Government created a secret division, Assisted Viewing Reconnaissance, designed to cultivate extrasensory perception. Within AVR, Operation Windsong specialized in the practice of remote viewing to help guide troops on the ground with infiltrating enemy lines to locate and extract American prisoners. When the operation failed killing twenty American soldiers, the government was forced to shut down the program.
Armed with the knowledge that the project failed due to inferior recruitment for the program, retired General Harold Armstrong set out to reinvent the program. He took the idea to G.A.C. or the Global Alliance Coalition whose mission is simple: Save lives, even if it means bending a few rules.
The Perception Project, now led by Farrah Milestone, is a division of G.A.C. pursuing excellence in training of ex-military men and women possessing known extrasensory perception skills. Their talents are utilized mostly to aid the military in strategic planning, exfiltration, extraction, and unsanctioned missions. However, they are also contracted by private business and citizens, working in conjunction with other divisions of G.A.C. when their special talents are needed.
About the Author
Welcome to my World! I'm a USA Today Bestseller of Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, and Paranormal Romance.
I first started writing while carting my kids to one hockey rink after the other, averaging 170 games per year between 3 kids in 2 countries and 5 states. My first book, IN TWO WEEKS was originally published in 2007. In 2010 I helped form a publishing company (Cool Gus Publishing) with NY Times Bestselling Author Bob Mayer where I ran the technical side of the business through 2016.
I'm currently enjoying the next phase of my life...the empty NESTER! My husband and I spend our winters in Jupiter, Florida and our summers in Rochester, NY. We have three amazing children who have all gone off to carve out their places in the world, while I continue to craft stories that I hope will make you readers feel good and put a smile on your face.
Sign up for my Newsletter (https://dl.bookfunnel.com/6atcf7g1be) where I often give away free books before publication.
Join my private Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/191706547909047/) where I post exclusive excerpts and discuss all things murder and love!
Never miss a new release. Follow me on Amazon:amazon.com/author/jentalty
And on Bookbub: bookbub.com/authors/jen-talty
Also by Jen Talty
BRAND NEW SERIES!
With Me In Seattle
INVESTIGATE WITH ME
The Monroes
COLOR ME YOURS
COLOR ME SMART
COLOR ME FREE
It’s all in the Whiskey
JOHNNIE WALKER
GEORGIA MOON
JACK DANIELS
> JIM BEAM
WHISKEY SOUR
Search and Rescue
PROTECTING AINSLEY
PROTECTING CLOVER
PROTECTING OLYMPIA
NY State Trooper Series
IN TWO WEEKS
DARK WATER
DEADLY SECRETS
MURDER IN PARADISE BAY
TO PROTECT HIS OWN
DEADLY SEDUCTION
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS
NY State Trooper Novella
HIS DEADLY PAST
THE CORKSCREW KILLER
Brand New Novella for the First Responders series
A spin off from the NY State Troopers series
PLAYING WITH FIRE
PRIVATE CONVERSATION
THE RIGHT GROOM
AFTER THE FIRE
The Men of Thief Lake
REKINDLED
DESTINY’S DREAM
Federal Investigators
JANE DOE’S RETURN
THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS
The Aegis Network
THE LIGHTHOUSE
HER LAST HOPE
THE LAST FLIGHT
THE RETURN HOME
THE MATRIARCH
The Collective Order
THE LOST SISTER
THE LOST SOLDIER
THE LOST SOUL
THE LOST CONNECTION
A Spin-Off Series: Witches Academy Series
THE NEW ORDER
Special Forces Operation Alpha
BURNING DESIRE
BURNING KISS
BURNING SKIES
BURNING LIES
BURNING HEART
BURNING BED
REMEMBER ME ALWAYS