“Mine too.” Aura stopped outside the swinging doors to the dining room and galley beyond and turned to face Ketha. “We have a lot to be thankful for.”
“That we do.” Ketha waited, sensing Aura had more to say.
The other woman licked her lips. Color rose to her cheeks. “I’m done feeling sorry for myself,” she said. “For that first little bit of time when everything was a struggle and my mountain lion didn’t return as quickly as Rowana’s bird or your wolf, I really sank into a funk.” She tilted her chin at a defiant angle. “I’m done with that. Getting my cat back made a world of difference. I was afraid it had deserted me.”
Ketha hugged her. “I’ve had Viktor to distract me, but you could have talked with me. I’d have been happy to listen.”
Aura waved a dismissive hand. “Aw, sweetie. Thanks. You were so happy it oozed out of your pores. Last thing I wanted to do was bother you with anything. After the hell we lived through, we deserve every single good thing that comes our way. It all worked out. Once I stopped fussing, my cat jumped in with all four paws.”
“Was it ready to explore a new life with you?”
Aura grinned. “Hell, yeah. More than ready. Eager.”
“That’s the spirit.” Ketha pushed the door open. “My wolf wants to run around the ship after dinner. Maybe your cat can join us.”
“It’s yowling. I’m taking that as a yes.” Aura rolled her expressive green eyes.
“Excellent. Meanwhile, let’s see if we can figure out where things are.”
Aura winked. “I peeked in here a little bit ago. Come on. I’ll show you.”
Ketha followed her friend into the stainless-steel galley. Hope for the future ran strong in her. She had the best man in the world and was ready for adventure—however it unfolded. If they had to take on the Cataclysm again, so be it. They’d beat it once. They could do it again.
Somehow.
Last time they’d leveraged Vampire energy. This time they wouldn’t have that to work with. They wouldn’t have Raziel, either.
If it comes down to it, we’ll figure something out. We have to.
Whistling a cheery folk tune to bolster her spirits, Ketha stood close as Aura opened cupboards, drawers, and food storage bins. “I never knew you had the soul of a chef,” she told Aura.
“Oh, I’m full of surprises. And this is the best kitchen I’ve seen since we left Wyoming.”
Ketha laughed. “How about the only kitchen.”
Aura chuckled. “That too.” She rubbed her hands together. “How does fettucine alfredo with canned green beans and canned peaches sound?”
“Divine. I can open cans with the best of them.” Ketha laughed along with her friend.
“Excellent. I found a greenhouse room with planter boxes full of dirt and grow lights beyond the galley.” Aura extended an arm to point.
“Are there seeds?” Enthusiasm filled Ketha. If they could grow simple things like lettuce and spinach, it would make their shipboard meals far more interesting.
“Didn’t find any, but we could ask Viktor or Juan.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Ketha pulled a large can opener off a board studded with hooks and utensils, and the two women began assembling what they’d need to make dinner.
You’ve reached the end of Deceived, Bitter Harvest, Book One. Please leave a review for it. Doesn’t have to be fancy. A sentence or two will do it, and reviews make such a huge difference. Thanks in advance!
Keep reading for descriptions for the next four Bitter Harvest Books
About the Author
Ann Gimpel is a USA Today bestselling author. A lifelong aficionado of the unusual, she began writing speculative fiction a few years ago. Since then her short fiction has appeared in several webzines and anthologies. Her longer books run the gamut from urban fantasy to paranormal romance. Once upon a time, she nurtured clients. Now she nurtures dark, gritty fantasy stories that push hard against reality. When she’s not writing, she’s in the backcountry getting down and dirty with her camera. She’s published over 85 books to date, with several more planned for 2020 and beyond. A husband, grown children, grandchildren, and wolf hybrids round out her family.
Keep up with her at https://www.anngimpel.com or www.anngimpelaudiobooks.com
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Other Books in the Bitter Harvest Series
Twisted
The sea is the only life Juan’s ever known—not counting the decade he spent as a Vampire. Those years gave him a healthy aversion for anything supernatural, but he’s a shifter now. It’s way better than being one of the undead, but he still doesn’t trust magic. Paired up with Aura to teach him, he falls and falls hard, but she spurns his advances.
What began as an exploratory mission to see if anything is left of the world turns sour fast. A Vampire attack, a possessed priest, and a gateway to Hell mean fallout from the spell gone bad that pinned them in South America is far from gone. Retreat is tempting, but nowhere is safe. Surrounded by hardship, they sail on. Evil is leaching in from somewhere, and they have to find the breach.
Information and buy links: https://anngimpel.com/?portfolio=twisted-bitter-harvest-book-two
Abandoned
Recco misses his cozy lab and well-organized veterinary clinic, but ten years as a Vampire stripped him of any illusions. Life is done handing him everything he wants. He could rail against fate—which never bought him much—or suck it up and keep going. Defeating the Cataclysm broke Vampirism’s hold on him, though. Even better, it threw Zoe square in his path and kicked open the door for him to bond with a wolf.
In a world with few choices, evil runs rampant and none of the old rules apply. Darkness stalks the ship. Harsh and ruthless, it blocks them at every turn.
Betrayed
Karin’s watched magic ebb and flow over her long life. A healer by nature, as well as a wolf Shifter, she fixes what she can and buries her personal needs deep. In a race against time, she and a small group of Shifters and humans are sailing toward a gateway in the Arctic. If they can’t close it, Earth will be doomed.
Vampires, Witches, high-handed gods, Kelpies, and a host of others all want either the ship or the Shifters’ magic. Even the simplest tasks grow thorny edges, and misunderstandings threaten to destroy everything.
Redeemed
Alpha for the few remaining Sea Shifters, Leif’s been playing fast and loose with death for years. Plagued by a poisoned ocean, treacherous sea gods, illness, and bad bargains, he’s learned to roll with the punches. Setting ancient antagonism aside, he joined a group of land Shifters, pledging both his help and that of his pod.
Leif yearns for Moira, but Sea Shifters don’t mate with their land cousins—ever. Besides, they have their hands more than full. Not only is there no time for love, there’s barely space to breathe as they wend their way through a volatile obstacle field littered with demons, hostile gods, and ancient horrors bent on their destruction.
Sea Dragon’s Hunger
The Fada Shapeshifter Series
Rebecca Rivard
Four years ago, dolphin shifter Cassidy O’Byrne fell hard for a sexy shifter from another clan. Nic was dark, brooding—and irresistible. But Nic was keeping a secret, and in the end he left, unknowingly leaving her expecting their baby.
Cassidy loves her daughter with everything she has. But Nic’s secret—he’s that rarest of shifters, a sea dragon—makes the little girl invaluable to the fae. When a powerful fae comes for her daughter, Cassidy takes her and runs to the only man who can save them.
Nic never expected to see Cassidy again, but he'll do anything to keep her and his daughter. He just has to convince Cassidy to give him a second chance—and keep his newfound family safe from the fae.
A steamy second-chance romance that will melt your panties…and your heart.
Sea Dragon’s Hunger
: A Fada Shapeshifter Story
The Fada Shapeshifter Series
Copyright ©2018 by Rebecca Rivard
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Editing by Katherine Teel
All rights reserved.
The uploading, scanning, and distribution of this book in any form or by any means—including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions of this work, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Sea Dragon’s Hunger/ Rebecca Rivard. — 1st ed.
ISBN 978-0-9985826-1-0
Chapter 1
The Fada
Shapeshifters created during Dionysus’s infamous bacchanals from a mix of fae, human and animal genes.
They’re ruthless, untamed—but when they love, it’s forever.
*Best Shifter Series of 2018 ~ Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Awards*
The fae were closing in.
Cassidy’s entire body prickled. She dragged a hand over her cropped hair and stared out the grimy motel window. But the parking lot was empty save for a few cars.
She unconsciously rubbed the scab on her right calf. The center was a starburst with lines snaking around her leg, a souvenir of her last encounter with the fae. The bastards had hit her with a fae ball.
A small hand touched her hip. “What’s wrong, Mam?”
“Nothing for you to worry about, love.” She swung Rianna into her arms and planted a kiss on her worried little face. “How about a swim?”
At three, her daughter was still easy to distract. “Yes!” She pumped a fist.
Setting her down, Cassidy moved swiftly around the room, stuffing clothes and other necessary items into a waterproof rucksack. She’d have to leave whatever didn’t fit behind, but there was pitifully little, anyway. She and Rianna had been on the run for three weeks, crossing the Atlantic from Ireland and then zigzagging across America from Maryland to California.
Making their way to Nic.
She scowled, because she’d sworn never to ask him for anything. But she had no choice. Besides, Nic owed her. Big time.
“Let’s go.” She pulled on the rucksack and took Rianna’s hand.
The two of them raced down the hill toward the Pacific, a half mile distant. A human child couldn’t have kept up, but like Cassidy, Rianna was a sea fada, with a shifter’s strength. She ran alongside Cassidy for a good quarter-mile, sturdy little legs pumping. When her energy flagged, Cassidy swung her into her arms and continued running.
Cassidy’s injured calf burned. It should have healed by now, another worry. Normally the fada healed quickly, but the fae ball had left an angry scab that still hadn’t healed.
The sense of impending doom increased. Her heart pounded in her ears.
Hurry, hurry, hurry…
She drew a sobbing breath and picked up speed. Their pursuers were closer than she’d realized. She raced down the road and darted across the Pacific Coast Highway.
Above them, heavy gray clouds rolled in. On the TV in their room, the forecast had been for a near-typhoon. Between the storm and the fact that it was Thanksgiving Day—a big American holiday, apparently—they had the beach to themselves.
Cassidy halted on the edge of the sand, her breath scraping in and out of her lungs. But there was no time to rest. Setting Rianna down, she shrugged out of the rucksack and tore off both their clothes. She shoved everything into the pack and sealed it back up.
Donning the rucksack again, she crouched down, her back to Rianna. “Climb aboard.”
The little girl wriggled into the special straps Cassidy had sewn onto the rucksack for her.
“All set?”
“Yep.” Small arms wrapped around Cassidy’s neck as she rose to her feet.
Hurry, hurry, hurry…
A jeep screeched to a halt on the side of the highway.
Cassidy sprinted into the ocean. Icy water slapped her naked legs.
“Stop them!” someone shouted. A bullet pinged into the surf to their right.
Rianna flinched and whimpered. A blinding rage gripped Cassidy. She knew it was only a warning shot—they wanted the little girl too badly to shoot directly at her.
But bullets could go astray, and even if they didn’t, they’d scared her baby. At that moment, if the arse with the gun had been any closer, Cassidy would’ve ripped his bloody throat out.
A chill blue wave towered above them.
“Take a breath,” Cassidy shouted to Rianna—and dove into the wave’s center.
Chapter 2
Nicolau do Rio gazed out at the ocean from the California sea caves he called home.
Trouble was on the way.
The Pacific was in a wild mood. A storm was blowing in from the west, whipping the waves to an icy froth that called to his animal. He dropped back his head and howled, long and mournful, letting the power of the coming storm wash over him.
Behind him, the other three men barely glanced up from their card game in the high-ceilinged cavern that served as their kitchen/dining hall.
Marlin and Joe were both water fada like Nic—Marlin’s animal the blue marlin that was his namesake, and Joe a cold-eyed mako shark. The third man was Ben, a burly Navajo earth fada whose animal was a cougar.
All three men outcasts—like him.
Marlin appeared at his side. “Going for a swim?”
“Thinking about it.”
The other man nodded. Tanned and wiry, with blond dreadlocks halfway down his back, he’d grown up in a California sea fada clan, but had been eking out a living as a Ventura bartender when they’d met. Marlin hadn’t told Nic why he’d been kicked out of his clan, and Nic hadn’t asked.
But a week after their meeting, Marlin had arrived by kayak at Nic’s hideaway on an uninhabited island off the California coast.
Nic had snarled threateningly.
The wiry blond just laughed and spread his arms wide. “Kill me, then. What do I fucking care? I’m done living with humans.”
Nic had scowled at him, baffled. Then he’d turned back to the fire where he was roasting fish. “You have to catch your own damn fish,” he muttered in a voice rusty from disuse. “I’m not sharing.”
Marlin had dragged his kayak onto the cavern floor and unloaded his belongings into one of the half-dozen caves that honeycombed the island. By then, the tide had come in, and the entrance was underwater. Marlin dove into the ocean, returning a half an hour later with four spiny lobsters.
He roasted them in the fire and cracked open a bottle of red wine. “Here.” He handed Nic a metal cup and a lobster.
Nic had taken it with a curt nod of thanks.
The wine slid down his throat, reminding him of home. In Maryland, his clan—the Rock Run River Fada—owned a large, successful vineyard. And the lobsters were a welcome change from the fish.
Despite what he’d said about sharing, Nic had reciprocated by cracking open a can of corn and another of black beans. Mixed with onions and chili peppers, they made a tasty side dish.
The two of them had been friends ever since. If Nic was the alpha, Marlin would be his second.
But Nic wasn’t the alpha. He didn’t even have a clan, just a motley crew of rejects like himself.
Outside the caverns, the wind rose to a howl. Marlin stirred. “Gonna be a big one.”
“Yeah.” Nic’s grin was ferocious.
“But you’re going out into it anyway.”
“Yeah.”
“Have I told you you’re one crazy amigo?”
“Not today.”
“Enjoy.”
Marlin clapped him on the back. “I’m going to win the rest of Joe’s cash.”
“You can try, mofo,” the shark shifter called back.
Joe was a lean, mean, ukulele-playing sea fada from Hawaii whom Nic had met when they were both in the Merchant Marines. Joe had shown up on the island one day not long after Marlin. Like Marlin, he’d said he was tired of the human world, but his scarred body told a different story. Nic suspected that after the Merchant Marines, the shark shifter had become a freelance assassin. Those scars could only have been left by iron knives, and fada frequently hired themselves out as assassins and mercenaries to the fae.
And then there was Ben Nightwarrior. Nic wasn’t sure how or why a desert-born half-Navajo shifter had ended up on the island, but he suspected Ben had lost a dominance fight and left his clan. The big, soft-spoken man was a world-class cook, and so was welcome to stay as long as he wanted.
Now Nic pulled off his shorts and tossed them on a shelf carved in the cavern wall for that purpose.
All day he’d been restless. He’d blamed it on the coming storm, but it was growing worse. His Irish mother had been a powerful Seer. Nic couldn’t see the future like his mom, but he’d learned to trust his premonitions.
Trouble was on the way.
He dove into the water. The tide was low enough that he could stay on the surface as he passed under the archway to the open sea.
Out here, the ocean was a seething mass. A wave crashed over Nic’s head. Even in his man form, he could hold his breath much longer than a human.
But his animal wanted out.
Nic dove deep and let the shift take him. Energy rippled over his skin. For a few seconds, his body was a cluster of incandescent lights—blue, purple, green—then it shaped itself into the powerful body of his sea dragon.
Shifters Gone Wild: A Shifter Romance Collection Page 98