Only this time, my foot didn’t connect with anything. The door wrenched open and my body flew, following my foot, through the empty space I wasn’t expecting. I fell straight to my hands and knees in a huge pile of glass shards and broken ceramic. I felt the thick chunks of debris dig and slice through my skin immediately. My jeans would be completely irreparable after this and, with my luck, as soon as I was able to stop bleeding, I was for sure going to get gangrene.
What the hell?
“What the hell, Reagan?” Haley practically screamed at me as soon as she was through the doorway. She slammed the door behind her and braced her body against it; meanwhile, I was still doggy style in a pile of glass I was too afraid to stand up from.
The damage was going to be annoyingly excessive.
Before I could answer her though, I heard the signature click of a bullet being loaded into the chamber. More dread slithered through my body; other humans were just as deadly and dangerous as Zombies these days. And apparently we were trespassing.
“Don’t move,” a deep, masculine voice ordered in a quiet, steely tone.
“Out of the frying pan,” Haley mumbled resignedly.
“And into the fire,” I finished for her.
I would never complain about eyeliner again.
Keep reading for a sneak peek of Into the Fae by Quinn Loftis.
And after that, a sneak peek of Stormy Smith’s Bound by Duty.
Excerpt, Into the Fae
Book 1 Gypsy Healers Series
Quinn Loftis
Prologue
“It has been said that with great power comes great responsibility and that is true. However, what should have been added to that saying was that with great responsibility must come even greater self-control. For those with great power often seem to lack the power of self-control. Not that I have any such difficulty.” ~Perizada of the Fae
I am over three thousand years old. I have seen civilizations rise and then crumble like sand beneath the evening tide. I have watched kings be exalted on their thrones, only to be ripped down and trampled upon as the next great name is being written over the fallen. I myself have fought in battles and felt the warm spray of my enemy’s blood upon my face as I cut them down. I have laughed in the face of danger, danced on the edge of death with the warlocks, played chicken with the wolves, riddled with the pixies, and yet, the thing I fear most does not come at the end of a sword. The thing I fear most comes at the will of another. It is not something I can force, it is not something I can change, and it is not something I can control. So, in short, I don’t like it.
At this point you might be asking yourself who I am and why anything I say matters. Well listen up and listen good because I’ll only say this once. Don’t bother to point out to me that you can come back to these pages and read it over again, it will only piss me off, and the last thing anyone needs is a member of the high fae pissed off at them.
I am Perizada, a member of the council of the high fae. I was chosen long ago by the Great Luna, the creator of the werewolves in case you were wondering, to be an ambassador if you will—between the fae and the wolves. You see, the fae are the most powerful of all the supernatural beings. Therefore, the Great Luna saw fit to make us the overseers and law enforcers of the supernatural world. I did as the Great Luna asked and became the go between for the Wolves and the council of high fae.
As time passed, the werewolves’ vulnerabilities as a species, their tendencies toward divisiveness and territorialism, began to weaken the packs. In an effort to aid the wolves, the Great Luna, in her infinite wisdom, presented the packs with a gift—gypsy healers. These are humans with an affinity for healing magic. So it was that a gypsy healer was chosen from the tribes of gypsies and given to each pack. It was then that the Great Luna decided that it would be best if the high fae were assigned a certain number of packs and healers to oversee. I was given the packs in the region of Romania. At one time they were divided into two packs but after the werewolf wars, the two became one and now are under the rule of one great Alpha, Vasile Lupei. That is how I came to be the liaison to the Romanian pack. But that is not really where this story begins, for that we must go back a little further. Now I will condense this as much as possible to bring you up to speed so that you don’t feel the need to stab yourself in the eye out of boredom.
Before the great werewolf wars, there was a powerful fae, the most powerful in fact. His name was Volcan. You might say he is our dirty little secret, yes, even we mighty fae have them. His power—and lust for more of it—became an obsession. Unbeknownst to the high council, he began to create witches with his dark magic and began releasing them into the human population. By 1605 it was evident that the witches were out of control and we, meaning the Fae council, knew we needed to step in. This is where the story gets hazy. Not many know that once the Great Purge, that’s when all the witches were wiped out, happened, Volcan was not destroyed. His power was so weak that we, the council, decided that a more fitting punishment was to let him wither away in his castle in the dark forest. So for an entire century we left the evil wizard to his own devices, checking on him occasionally to make sure he was still harmless. Towards the beginning of 1700, we began to feel so magic growing around the dark forest once again. We continued to monitor it and even attempted to put some binding spells around it. By 1705 it was evident that Volcan was once again attempting to create witches. We had underestimated his determination and ability to fly under the radar. We realized our mistake in having not destroyed him during the Great Purge and we knew we couldn’t be lenient again, he had to be stopped. A desperate battle was fought between Volcan and an alliance of wolves and fae. Volcan’s castle was raided, and at the cost of many lives, he was defeated.
If this story were a movie then that would be the end, the happily ever after for the wolves and fae alike, but alas real life often sucks sour lemons. The happily ever afters never come or if they do it is at too high a price. Unfortunately somehow evil continues to rule in the hearts of those who think they are superior to everyone else. Volcan’s evil had permeated the dark forest so completely that it had to be sealed off, and the knowledge of it blocked from the minds of those who had been involved in the battle. There is more to that part of the story which will surely unfold as we continue forward.
For my part, which this is about me so really the most important information you need right now is my juicy details. When we sealed the dark forest, we unknowingly imprisoned a pack member of the Romanian wolves and not just any pack member. We unknowingly confined none other than Lucian, Vasile’s brother. For centuries he lived in darkness, surrounded by malevolent magic that has no place in the fae realm. Now, ages later, circumstances, horrible circumstances mind you, that involved my own sister trying to kill me, for which she will pay, led to his release. Now I am not begrudging Lucian of that, far from it. I am however disturbed, rattled beyond anything I have faced before, and let me tell you I have faced things your puny minds cannot even begin to fathom, because upon his release and thanks to the Great Luna and her bloody love-fest, the wolves are able to find true mates with the fae and you guessed it―yours truly is the true mate to one Lucian Lupei. In the words of the great John McClain, Yippee Ki Yay, Mother--, and I’ll stop there lest someone get their panties in wad.
So now that you’re up to speed, for the most part, I suppose we can get this party started. Things are going to be moving fast so if you need to get some beauty rest before you start this journey with me, I suggest you do that right about now. But if you’re ready and you think you got what it takes to keep up with me, then keep reading, (insert creepy voice), my pretties. We have a psycho bitch fae to catch, a mate to deter, and lives to save. There is no time for dilly dallying or wishy washy pansy ass whining. If you’re in this with me, then you are in it ‘til the end. And the first one of you that cracks a joke about the whole being mated to a werewolf thing will be farting out of their mouth every time they hear the word gas and burpin
g from their butts every time someone laughs for the rest of their stinky, noisy existence.
As my good friend Jen would say, let’s do this. Okay she would say him, but we’re going to go with this in an effort to keep things rated PG.
Chapter 1
“There’s so much noise, so much life and light and chaos. For so long I have been trapped in silence, surrounded by death and darkness. Even though I’m now surrounded by all this light, I find that all I want is her. In the midst of all the reunions, there is only one my soul cries out for, but she is the only one who won’t let me near.” ~Lucian
“I’m tired, Costin,” she whispered to him.
“Lay down, Sally mine. I’m here with you.”
Peri watched helplessly as the little healer lay on the ground, her breaths growing shallower by the second. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t get to her no matter how she tried. She was pleading with the Great Luna not to let this light be taken from the world, but her only answer was the final breath that rattled from Sally’s lungs.
“She shouldn’t have done that,” she heard herself say as she stared at Sally’s still form. “Not for me.” These young ones had no idea how old she was, how long she had lived and how many lives she had spent. They couldn’t comprehend fifty years, let alone thousands. She had screamed at Sally to stop, to not put the pill in her mouth and just like the bloody wolves were apt to do, the healer had ignored her wishes. And now she was dead, taken from this world much too early in her young life and it was Peri’s fault. As she watched Costin wrap his arms around his mate, tears stained his face and pain that Peri knew she’d never experience, wracked his body. She didn’t have a mate. She had no clue what it would be like to lose someone that you loved so completely. And as she watched the wolf before her crumble over the loss of his female, she knew she would never want to love like that, not if it meant experiencing that kind of pain.
“Wake up, beloved. It is only a dream. The healer lives, and you have a mate,” a deep voice rumbled into her consciousness pushing away the heavy sleep.
Peri sat up abruptly in her bed. The material of her sleep clothes clung to her sweaty skin as her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing came in shaky gasps. It had been the same dream she’d been having for weeks. And just as always, the same deep voice had interrupted it, pushing her to wake from the nightmare.
“I have asked you politely to stay out of my head,” she spoke into the dark room.
A chuckle whispered through her mind causing goose bumps to break out across her skin.
“So telling me to get a damn life and leave you the hell alone is your version of polite?” Lucian asked.
She rolled her eyes and began gathering her long shimmering white hair into a pony tail and then twisting it up until it was all tightly gathered. She used her magic to hold it in place.
“I didn’t throw anything at you and I didn’t stab you. So yes, that is my version of polite,” she snapped at him. She felt silly talking to her empty room but then she didn’t want to use the mental link between them, something that only happened between true mates; it felt much too intimate. She had tried to block him and been successful for a while, but their bond had only grown stronger despite her neglect. Eventually, he had been able to force his way in. When she had pointed out how rude that was, he had pointed out that it was rude of her to yell and curse him. He was right, of course, but she wasn’t about to tell him so.
“I do not know why you are fighting this, Perizada. You are my true mate; you have the other half of my soul and I have yours.”
“You can keep it. I’ve gotten along fine without it for all this time.”
“I could help you with the nightmares,” he murmured into her mind.
“I don’t think my nightmares are afraid of the big bad wolf—sorry to disappoint.”
“You underestimate the healing power of love. Love mends many things; it could mend the brokenness inside of you.”
“Bloody hell, did you get that off a Hallmark card?” Peri laughed, unable to stop herself as she imagined the big, intimidating Lucian, with his six foot four frame, blonde unruly hair, and stoic glacial stare, standing in the greeting card section of a store scanning cards for the perfect words.
“What’s a Hallmark card?” The confusion in his voice only made her laugh harder.
This time she heard a low growl before he spoke. “I’m glad that my ignorance amuses you. At least you’re laughing instead of cursing at me.”
Peri’s laugh was halted immediately, not because of what he’d said, but because of the way he sounded when he said it. He was hurt by her efforts to push him away. She closed her eyes and let herself open up to the bond just a little, just so she could feel him, feel what he felt. But though she had opened it just a fraction, the power of his emotions was like a tidal wave. They crashed into her, busting the door wide open. Then, he was everywhere.
He surrounded her, his love, his fear, his confusion and pain—it was all there—pushing into her, causing her to fall from the bed to the floor under the sheer weight of it. How does he live like this, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes and tried to breathe. How could anyone feel so intensely and not be buried under it all? She clenched her hands into fists and bit her lip to keep from crying as his grief washed over her.
“Bloody hell,” she rasped as she leaned forward, pressing her forehead into the cold, stone floor of the room she used while staying at the Romanian pack mansion. The door to the room flew open just as the darkness that lived inside of him smothered her, driving away all of the emotions and leaving something even worse, utter despair and loneliness.
“Peri,” Lucian’s voice pierced the silence as his arms came around her. He picked her up effortlessly and held her in his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry, beloved. I didn’t know that would happen. I didn’t know our bond would open all the way.”
Peri knew she should push him away. She shouldn’t encourage such touchiness, but she found herself buying her face in his chest and relishing his big, warm hand rubbing her back with a gentleness that she knew he had not been shown in a very long time. She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears, tears she had still not allowed herself to cry. Wrapped safely in Lucian’s arms, however, she found herself finally letting go. She gripped his shirt tightly as the sobs broke through the usually tightly controlled appearance. His arms tightened around her and she felt his breath on her neck as he whispered to her in Romanian. She was familiar with his language and caught a few words but she was too far gone to get it all. Instead, she latched onto the sound of his voice and used it as her center, to refocus herself as she tried to pull it together.
“You have to let it out,” Lucian told her even as she tried to lock it all back up. “You can’t keep carrying all of that inside of you. You can let go, Peri. I’ve got you, and I won’t let go. I won’t let you fall apart.”
Peri choked back a sound that she was sure would have had all the wolves headed their way as she fully grasped what it was Lucian was saying to her. She wasn’t alone.
“Never again,” he whispered and then pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Whether you want me or not, I am yours and you are mine.”
The tears continued to fall as she finally let go of the grief she had been carrying ever since she had been in the dark forest. She cried for the things she had seen, for the pain she wasn’t able to prevent and for the loss that she could never restore. She cried for the sister who had turned her back on her and their people. She cried for fear of all the emotions that were swirling around her, comforting her and protecting her. All the while, as the tears continued to fall, Lucian held her.
∞
Lorelle slowly pushed the door to the old castle open, cringing at the loud, creaking hinges in the silent, deserted forest. With Reyaz, the warlock she had aligned herself with in order to destroy Perizada, out of the picture, and her betrayal known to, well, everyone, she’d had to make a hasty r
etreat and the dark forest, empty of all her enemies was the perfect place for her to lie low. She knew the council would be coming for her. They wouldn’t let her crimes go unpunished. After all, how would it look to the rest of the supernatural world if the ones who are supposed to be in charge can’t even police their own?
She took a step through the doorway, half expecting some sort of residual magic to strike her. But when nothing did, she took another step, and then another, until she was all the way into the foyer. She turned in a slow circle and whistled appreciatively at the grandness of the entryway. At one time, before Volcan had been attacked by the wolves and the fae, his castle had been magnificent. As she took in the now drab, grey stone walls, the torn window dressings and dusty floor, she had to admit it was a far cry from the majestic palace it once was. Still, it had potential.
“Potential for what?” She asked herself out loud as she walked over to the staircase and sat on the third step up. “I mean, what do I honestly plan to do here?”
Her sister was dead, that’s what she had wanted, right?
“Yes, but I hadn’t planned on getting found out by the council,” she answered herself. “I had planned on getting my sister out of the way so that I could become the powerful high fae that I should have been. Instead, I’m still living in her shadow.”
Lorelle felt a rush of cold air blow across her face and ruffled her hair. She stilled, barely breathing as the air continued to swirl around her. She wanted to think that it was nothing, just a breeze because she had left the door open, but she was no fool and she knew the touch of magic when she felt it.
“Show yourself,” she demanded.
“I would…if I could,” a deep voice rasped at her, only slightly louder than a whisper.
She felt the air brush the back of her neck and she abruptly stood, hoping to put some space between her and whatever it was that had joined her.
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