The Enchanted: Council of Seven Shifter Romance Collection

by Juniper Hart

  Even though her eyes were closed, she inevitably knew where she was; she had spent six years of her life there: she was in the glass room.

  The flies seemed to disappear, and Grace realized that there were no insects about at all. The noise was in her head. The humming was another person singing softly to themselves.

  “Harmony?” Grace rasped. “Harmony, is that you?” She pushed herself into a sitting position, fighting the wild vertigo to look around, but her eyes were swollen shut.

  The light singing stopped. “Mommy?”

  Relief and dismay washed through Grace simultaneously. She’s alive. I’m alive… or is this Hell?

  She choked down the blood in her throat and struggled to open her lids. Just barely, she could make out the shape of her ward on the bed from where she lay crumbled in a pile on the floor.

  “It’s Aun—it’s me, Grace,” she confirmed weakly. “Are you okay?”

  She knew she was no one’s aunt, least of all the woman who was only a couple years younger than her, a kidnapped woman who had been brainwashed by a cruel, heartless man.

  Laboriously, she crawled toward the girl, her heart thudding with every movement. Breathing was difficult, and dizziness consumed her. Grace was sure he had broken bones in her face, but she was not her own concern. Even with her limited vision, she could see Harmony’s terrible color.

  Oh, my God… how long has it been since she’s eaten or had anything to drink? She realized then that had been Randall’s plan. He was going to starve her to death. What a monster!

  Grace crawled onto the single mattress and embraced the delirious girl.

  “Mommy? Mommy, I knew you still loved me,” Harmony murmured. “I knew you didn’t forget about me. Where’s Sam? Sam can bake cookies…”

  Grace held the trembling frame close and rocked her soothingly.

  “Shh, shh,” she whispered. “Everything will be fine. I will get us out of here.” But laying wracked in their individual pain, Grace wondered how she was going to manage such a feat. If Randall came back for them, he would kill them.

  However, something told her he didn’t have the courage to do that. Instead, he would leave them to rot away there, behind the walls of the lobby, where they could watch everyone, but no one could see them. He would take the others and get out.

  The understanding filled her with horror. How had such a sick man gotten away with his ruse for so long?

  Grace turned her swollen head and stared out the window at the unforgiving waves beneath them. Through the window and across the rocks was the only way out. If they slipped, they would inevitably fall to their deaths, and given their weakened states, it was more likely than not that they would not make it.

  She squeezed Harmony tighter. It was the only chance they had, and she had to act before she, too, suffered from malnutrition and dehydration.

  Where will we go if we manage to stay alive? she asked herself, pushing the thought from her mind. She only had enough sanity for one problem at a time.

  “Grace.” Harmony spoke with sudden clarity, and Grace stared at her in surprise.

  “Yes!” she breathed. “It’s me. I’m here.”

  “You called me Harmony.”

  “I know who you are now,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry all this happened, Harmony.”

  Harmony managed to sit up, but Grace could tell it took more effort than it was worth.

  “Grace, we need to get out of here,” she whispered.

  “I know,” Grace moaned, trying to sound optimistic and failing miserably. “I-I will find a way.”

  With bright, unblinking eyes, Harmony shook her head.

  “You’re stronger than you think,” the younger girl said, and Grace was filled with a newfound hope. That was what Mr. Tanner had said. What did it mean?

  “Don’t worry about anything,” Grace told her comfortingly. “I’ll get you out of here.”

  Harmony smiled drunkenly and settled back against her.

  “I know,” she murmured sleepily. “You’re a Lycan, and my mate is finally on his way.”

  Orion couldn’t sit still, and he paced the floor of the plane, a stiff scotch in his hand.

  Dammit, can’t this trip go any faster? He knew the answer to his own question, and he willed himself to remain calm as he took a sip of his drink. Why had they left? He shouldn’t have been scared off so easily. There were so many things he could have done to investigate in Ocean Shores, but he had just opted for the easy way out.

  He could play the “what if” game until he drove himself to the brink of madness, and it would still not accomplish anything. All he could do was hope for the best.

  Grace had said she’d lived there for years. If something bad was going to happen, it would have happened by now. Vera was probably right; Greg Stanger wanted to unload the house to avoid more of an investigation. But there were aspects of that theory that didn’t sit well with Orion either. If Eden had been used as a drug house, wouldn’t it have been guarded better, even if the drugs weren’t addictive? Obviously, they were worthwhile to someone, or Greg Stanger wouldn’t have manufactured them. Were there no cameras anywhere? He and Vera had roamed through the halls unattended for over an hour. And what about the fertility drug?

  Picking up his cell phone, he dialed Vera.

  “Are you there already?” she answered, her voice filled with surprise.

  “No,” he answered. “We’re just flying over Idaho. We’re landing soon.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I want you to send me the blueprints of the hotel. I think there are rooms we didn’t see when Abram took us on the tour.”

  “I can do that,” Vera agreed, her voice taking on new life. Orion felt a flash of guilt for not having allowed her to come. After all, if it hadn’t been for her, he would never have known about Eden in the first place.

  Then again, if anything happened to her there, Sirius would kill me. Hell, I’d never forgive myself. No, it’s better this way. Lane is probably there by now, anyway. We’ll get to the bottom of this ourselves.

  “What do you think they’re hiding in the rooms, if they in fact exist?” Vera asked.

  “I don’t know,” Orion sighed. “All I know is that there is no way a guy is going to put a house on the market if he’s got things going on behind the walls, and I’m going to find whatever it is they’re hiding before they can move anything.”

  There was a slight pause on the phone. Orion heard Vera’s fingers tapping against the keyboard.

  “I found something.” Her tense voice forced him back to the moment. He hadn’t realized he had slipped off into a reverie until she spoke.

  “What is it?”

  She cleared her throat, pausing like she was choosing her words carefully.

  “It’s heavy, Orion,” she warned. “Maybe I should tell you when you land.”

  “What the hell difference does it make when you tell me?” he snapped with too much anger.

  “I just don’t want you jumping out of the plane to get there faster,” Vera replied dryly.

  “Just spit it out, Vera,” he told her crossly, hating how biting he sounded.

  She sighed deeply and told him in a rush of breath. When she had finished blurting out the news, Orion felt his knees buckle where he stood. He understood why she had wanted to wait to deliver such a blow. He slumped onto a chair and exhaled slowly.

  “Are you sure?” he asked her quietly.

  “As sure as we can be at this point,” she confirmed. “Hence me wanting to wait to tell you.”

  Orion swallowed the lump in his throat. “All right, Vera. I will keep you posted as to the outcome.”

  “Please do. And Orion?”

  “Yes, Vera?”

  “Be careful.”

  As the afternoon fell, the room grew hot, but Grace was less aware of the stifling heat and more conscious of the fact that Harmony lay breathing shallowly in her arms.

  Conversation had died out almost the s
econd Harmony had blurted out the nonsensical statement that she was some kind of supernatural being, and Grace chalked it up to her delirium. Yet as Harmony drifted off into a deep, uneasy slumber, she began to think of the times when things had happened to her, things that didn’t make sense. All the beatings that Randall had administered on her, the floggings, they had all healed much faster than anyone else’s.

  Was that the reason Grace had been the first girl in the glass room? Because Randall was afraid of her? Was that why her parents had been cast out or worse?

  She hated how many more questions she had now that her eyes were open, especially because she realized that she might never know the truth, what with she and Harmony being trapped in a room forever.

  Grace couldn’t put any stock into what the girl had said. She hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink in days, she wasn’t thinking clearly.

  “Harmony,” she murmured, trying to open her eyes better. The swelling had only increased as the day wore on, and her head was pounding. “Harmony, wake up,” Grace urged, but the younger girl did not move. Grace shook her. “Harmony!” she cried. “Harmony, please wake up! You need to sit up.”

  There was no response, and Grace choked back a sob, her hand flying to her mouth. Harmony’s breaths were jagged, and a wave of indescribable terror overcame Grace. The girl was far too weak to make any kind of escape, least of all one so dangerous. She would certainly slip, even if she regained consciousness. Grace would have to go alone and find help.

  The realization was horrific. Who knew how far it was to town? She had never left Eden, certainly not in any memory she’d ever had.

  How do I know if anyone will help us? If I do manage to get away without plunging to my death, will I run directly into the arms of someone who works with Randall? What if… what if… what if…

  She had no way of knowing the answer to any of those questions, and she wouldn’t until she made her way out of their prison.

  Crying softly, she disentangled herself from Harmony’s slender frame and tried to pry her eyelids apart. Her vision was restricted, yet she could not let that deter her from acting. Time was running out for Harmony, and the longer Grace waited, the more likely it was that they would never get free.

  Inhaling sharply, she turned to stare around the room for something heavy enough to shatter the window. Her eyes fell on the nightstand, and she rose painfully from the bed, sliding it from the wall. She removed the lamp from the top and lifted the nightstand.

  Will this work? The antique wood seemed incredibly heavy in her weak arms, but Grace knew that had more to do with her incapacitated state than the item itself. Grunting, she dragged it toward the window and stared back at Harmony, who remained unconscious.

  “I’m going to get us help,” she promised the sleeping girl. “I will be back, Harmony.”

  I will. I will come back for her. I should have come for her days ago. This is all my fault.

  She lifted the nightstand and threw it against the window, cringing as it impacted the glass. To her shock, the wood only crashed to the floor without making a single crack in the pane. Grace gaped in disbelief.

  Harmony stirred slightly, and Grace hobbled back over the table, but as she moved, she realized that she was healing, her body recovering from the beating she’d taken earlier. Her vision began to clear.

  Again, she picked the nightstand up, heaving it with all the strength she could muster against the glass. Once more, it fell harmlessly to the ground, only marring the hardwood flooring.

  The glass would not break.

  Grace sank to her knees, sweat beginning to pour from her forehead, the salt burning at the fresh cuts on her face.

  If the glass won’t break, there is no way out. Oh, my God. We’re truly dead.

  “Drop me off here,” Orion instructed the driver, Leo. He stared at the vampire CEO with concern.

  “Are you sure, sir? It’s half a mile to the hotel.”

  “Here is fine,” Orion assured him. “I can walk it.” He did not want to forewarn anyone of his arrival, and he assumed that Lane had done the same after his explicit description of the goings on inside Eden.

  The truth was, he really didn’t know who or what he was dealing with. He didn’t know all the players in the game, and the reality made him nervous.

  He climbed out of the car and started up the road toward Eden, his hands shaking slightly. He couldn’t remember the last time he had found himself nervous about anything.

  He walked faster, and soon, the hotel came into view through the treeline.

  Orion froze in his tracks, taking in the scene with interest. Men were milling about, more than he had ever seen in his previous visits. Ducking out of view, he took in their old-fashioned clothes, their simple homespun pants and straw hats. From where he stood, he couldn’t see if Lane Aldwin had arrived, but he reasoned he would find her soon enough.

  His breath caught when he saw a blonde woman in their midst. She was wearing a long, brown dress with a lace apron, her hair flowing freely against the ocean winds. He inadvertently stepped forward, but when she turned, Orion realized it wasn’t Grace.

  They’re dressed like the Amish, he thought, stealing back along the bushes. They weren’t dressed that way when we came before. Whatever front they had put on for them before was nothing close to the reality of what was happening inside the hotel walls.

  Straining his ears, he listened for their conversation. He wasn’t even aware of how intensely the sun burnt his fair skin, his mind far too consumed with the matter at hand to care about pain.

  Harmony is in there. Grace is in there. That’s all that matters.

  “—have not seen Father for hours,” a dark-haired man was saying. “He is growing more and more secretive.”

  “Where is Grace?” the woman questioned, and Orion felt the hairs on his arm rise as the group looked about, shrugging nonchalantly. He raised his nose to sniff about, but he could not sense another Enchanted being in the midst.

  They were sprawled on the veranda, some weeding at the small garden in the front and none of them affording Orion the opportunity to enter the property unseen.

  “I haven’t seen her since this morning,” the dark-haired man replied. “But she is likely doing penance for bringing the plague upon our house.”

  The woman scoffed openly. “Joseph, you are delusional if you believe that Grace has brought a plague here. Father only tells us these things to scare us. There is no plague. All is well.”

  He shook his head vehemently.

  “No,” he insisted. “Since the devil’s minions have left, I can feel the evil in the air. Grace did not do her duty, and Father will make us pay for her failure!”

  Orion’s eyes became slits, and the goosebumps became hard chills which dug into his bones. What were they talking about? Had he and Vera been the devil’s minions? Was that what this so-called “Father” had told them? This was undoubtedly a cult—but a cult as a cover for something even worse?

  He had a feeling he knew the answer.

  “You’re foolish if you think we will be spared,” Joseph continued. Some of the others nodded in agreement, though Orion could read the skepticism in some of their faces even from where he stood.

  He felt bile rise to his stomach as he realized what they all must have endured at the hands of the man they called Father. Grace was a Lycan. Harmony was a fox. How powerful could this man be to have overcome them both?

  In all fairness, he wasn’t entirely sure of the power of the Vulpes, but he had to believe that they weren’t easily manipulated by a snake-oil salesman.

  Yet here we are, he thought grimly.

  “Are you getting all this?” The voice caused him to whip around, his eyes wide in surprise. He relaxed instantly when he saw the tiny redhead at his side. “I’m Lane,” she volunteered, and Orion exhaled.

  “I know,” he replied curtly, turning back to the group.

  “I can’t get a feel on what’s happening in here,” L
ane confessed. “I’m trying to get a read, but there’s a darkness…” She trailed off.

  “Tell me about it,” Orion muttered. “I guess we’re going in blind.”

  She nodded at the weapon on his waist. “Are you going to use that?”

  “Better that than shifting,” he retorted, unsure of why he was so testy with the witch hybrid. She was helping him, after all.

  “Good thinking. Let’s do this.” Without waiting for his agreement, Lane stepped forward, and Orion sprung forward after her, reaching for his weapon.

  “Nobody move,” he told them conversationally.

  There was a collective gasp as they took in the pair.

  “No one needs to get hurt,” he explained, waving them into a group where he could keep a closer eye on them. “I’m only here for the women.”

  “Satan, get back!” Joseph hissed. He turned and glared at the woman who had defended their presence earlier. “Do you believe me now, Rachel?” he snarled. “Grace has brought strife to Eden, just as Father has predicted!”

  “Where is the man you call Father?” Orion demanded. Rachel pointed inside without hesitation.

  “I believe he is in the library,” she offered, a sardonic expression on her face. It was at that moment that Orion noticed she was pregnant.

  An eerie feeling filled his head as he looked at the group again and shot Lane a wary look, which she seemed to understand.

  There are no children here, he realized. Where are all the kids? He forced the disturbing question from his mind and returned his focus to the group.

  “No one do anything stupid,” he told them. “I only want to speak to Father and find the women. Are Harmony and Grace with him?”

  A deep silence followed his query.

  “Well?” he snapped. “Where are they?”

  “Who is Harmony?” one of the men demanded. “There is no such person here.”

  “No one has seen Grace in hours,” Rachel added. “Maybe she’s with Eve.”

  “Silence!” Joseph roared at her. “How dare you speak of the treasure with a minion of the devil?”