by Vella Day
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Melting Her Wolf’s Heart
Weres & Witches of Silver Lake
Book 9
Vella Day
Copyright © 2017 Vella Day
Melting Her Wolf’s Heart
Copyright © 2017 by Vella Day
Kindle Edition
www.velladay.com
[email protected]
Cover Art by Jaycee DeLorenzo
Edited by Rebecca Cartee and Carol Adcock-Bezzo
Published in the United States of America
E-book ISBN: 978-1-941835-40-1
Print book ISBN: 978-1-941835-41-8
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief questions embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
What must a dark goddess do to win back the heart of the werewolf she betrayed?
Goddess Vinea Summer wants to make amends to hot and sexy Devon McKinnon—the man she knows is her mate, but Devon refuses to accept her apology, damn it. So what’s a spurned goddess to do? Giving up is not an option.
As much as he wants to put Vinea out of his mind, Devon’s wolf can’t live without her. Her enticing scent, long legs, and sensual allure draws him in like a magic spell. But for his own sanity, he has to keep her at arm’s length. Yeah, right. Try explaining that to a hungry wolf—or a goddess determined to win back her destined mate.
When trouble finds Vinea, Devon quickly discovers he’s willing to risk everything in a life-or-death battle for the woman he loves.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
About the Book
Epigraph
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Excerpt from Melting Her Wolf’s Guarded Heart
Other Books by the Author
About the Author
Beneath the calm and shimmering surface lie intrigue, power, magic, and danger.
Welcome to Silver Lake—where appearances can be deceiving, and what you see isn’t truly what lies below.
Chapter One
‡
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An Unexpected Diversion (book 1 of Hidden Hills Shifters)
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*
Vinea Summer’s best friend, EmmaLee Donovan, leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. Even with her light brown hair hanging down over her face, it failed to block the circles under her eyes.
“You’ve got to go back to Silver Lake, Vinea, or the guilt will eat you alive.”
Vinea jumped off the bed in her efficiency apartment and paced. “And leave you?”
Not only was EmmaLee her best friend, she might be her only one. Vinea wouldn’t feel as guilty about leaving if EmmaLee’s boyfriend didn’t use her as a punching bag. That kind of violence cut Vinea to the core.
To think six months ago she’d never experienced compassion on any level. Now guilt and the desire to make amends were her constant companions. Ever since Devon McKinnon had held her down under the lake water against the pink quartz, she’d changed, erasing the goddess of the dark realm forever. Now she was a down-and-out waitress, taking orders from demanding people then smiling about it. No wonder her boss, Androf, god of the dark, told her killing her wasn’t enough of a punishment for her failures. To him, developing a conscience was worse than death. Well, the laugh was on him. She might be staying in a dump, but at least she’d stopped hurting people.
EmmaLee stood and hugged her. “You have to go back and make things right. It hurts me to see you like this.”
“I know I need to set some things straight with those I’ve hurt, but you need to fix things too.”
EmmaLee waved a dismissive hand. “Slater doesn’t mean it when he hits me. He just drinks too much, that’s all. He’s real sorry afterward.”
In the past, Vinea wouldn’t have thought a thing about such violence, but not anymore. “He’s no good for you. Trust me—I know bad when I see it.”
EmmaLee returned to her chair and crossed her arms. “Slater’s a good man at heart.” She looked up at Vinea. “He’s nothing like the bad gods you were with, right?”
Slater wasn’t much better, especially if he continually felt the need to drink to escape his life and then hit the person he supposedly cared about. She’d have said something, but every time Vinea voiced her opinion, it led to an argument. Her sweet friend was so naïve to the ways of the world, and nothing Vinea said seemed to help.
“He can’t strike someone dead if that’s what you mean. Slater might be a human, but at times, humans can hurt others as much as gods can.” Okay, that was a lie. Slater was a shifter, but if Vinea told her friend, EmmaLee would never leave him.
Vinea sighed. She and EmmaLee made an unlikely pair, but it was her friend’s love of the supernatural that had bonded them in the first place. Vinea could still remember the look of awe when EmmaLee caught Vinea changing her clothes with a wave of her hand. Instead of freaking out, EmmaLee wanted to know more. Desperate to talk to someone about all the changes she had been experiencing, Vinea told her new friend everything, and to her delight, EmmaLee believed her.
Vinea stabbed a hand through her hair. “I should go to Silver Lake. I hurt Devon badly, and I need to explain why.”
“From what you said, you hurt a lot more
people than him.”
Vinea laughed. “You’re not going to let me forget, are you?”
EmmaLee jumped up again and rushed over. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up that touchy topic.”
“It’s okay. I was a bad person back then, a really bad person. When I was a goddess in the dark realm, I thought nothing of doing unspeakable acts. It’s hard for me to even believe I was that person.”
“What can I do to help?” EmmaLee asked.
Vinea didn’t deserve her friendship. “Tell Slater to go to hell.”
*
Once EmmaLee went back home after delivering the promise of leaving the SOB, Vinea changed into some warmer clothes. Billard might not be very far from Silver Lake, but the Tennessee mountains were a lot colder than north Georgia. Now that she was living in the human world, she had to deal with the different temperature changes.
Before Vinea left Billard, she called her boss at the diner and explained that she needed some time off.
“How long will you be gone?” Warren asked. Thankfully, he sounded more concerned than pissed.
“I’m not sure.” How long did it take someone to right a lot of wrongs—a week, a month, or would it take a lifetime? “I want to be fair to the girls. Maybe you should get a replacement.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Vinea, but I lost Carol because so many waitresses needed more time off. Poor girl had a breakdown after working double shifts for a month. If you come back sooner than planned, stop in. I might be able to squeeze you into the rotation.”
Vinea smiled. “I appreciate it.”
What a change Warren was from Androf. One was kind and accommodating and the other pure evil. While it sickened her to leave EmmaLee and the rest of the staff at Billard Eatery, it could take weeks if not months to do what she needed to do.
Because she didn’t have a car, she figured no one would be harmed if she teleported to Silver Lake. Thankfully, she still possessed a few of her goddess talents.
Picturing her destination, she disappeared from Billard and reappeared across the street from McKinnon and Associates in Silver Lake, Tennessee. Darn. Her aim was a little off. Even though she’d pictured the front entrance, she landed a hundred feet away. It seemed the longer she resided on earth, the more erratic her talents became. Glancing around, she was pleased she hadn’t appeared in a crowd of people. That would have been really hard to explain. The humans weren’t even aware of shifters, let alone goddesses.
At least she was here—ready to confront her past. The outcome might not turn out to be what she hoped for, but she had to try. A lot depended on whether Devon would even be in Silver Lake. From what he’d told her, he only came when his brother needed an extra hand. Most of the time, he worked in Pittsburgh. Either she’d have to visit him there once she learned his address, or she’d have to wait in Silver Lake until he returned.
Stop procrastinating!
As she crossed the street, she surveyed the cars in the lot. Tucked behind a larger vehicle was a white truck like the kind Devon drove. Vinea crossed her fingers, hoping this one belonged to him.
Once at the front door, Vinea rang the bell. A lot could happen in six months, but she expected Lexi would be manning the desk. Vinea might have lied to Devon repeatedly, but at least she hadn’t tried to steal his powers—like she had from Sam Pompley—Lexi’s mate. While she hadn’t harmed Lexi, she doubted the woman harbored any positive thoughts toward her. More than anything, she wanted to help Lexi in some way to show her that she was no longer an evil goddess.
“May I help you?” asked a voice that came through the intercom.
Vinea looked up at the camera. Didn’t Lexi recognize her? “Hey, Lexi, it’s me, Vinea. Is Devon around?” Good. That sounded a lot calmer than she felt.
“Vinea? What the hell? You have some nerve to come and—”
A muffled voice sounded in the background. It was deeper, lower, and commanding. Sam perhaps? Or was it Devon?
“Never mind, Vinea. Give me a minute, and I’ll check.” Her tone came out professional, and while Vinea detected a blend of anger and disappointment, she didn’t blame Lexi one bit for her distrustful attitude. Actually, Vinea deserved a curt no and a quick disconnect.
Chills raced up her spine at the anticipation of seeing Devon McKinnon once more. Sure it was cold out, but this was more than a reaction to winter. This was more sexual in nature—a feeling she had yet to understand.
Picturing their last encounter, however, doused the pleasant feeling. Okay, only part of it had been bad—the part where he’d almost drowned her—but the part where he was naked had been oh so good.
The intercom crackled, and Lexi’s voice came through. “Devon is in an important meeting and can’t be disturbed.”
“Can’t be disturbed or doesn’t want to be?” That came out snarky, but it couldn’t be helped. She was trying to make amends here and needed to make it past the door.
Sure, she expected some hostility, but she had hoped curiosity about why she was there would have gained her access.
A disgusted huff came over the mic. “Does it really matter? Please leave. You’re not wanted here,” Lexi said. With that the intercom went silent.
That didn’t go well, but she didn’t need an open door to get inside. After she made certain no one was watching, she disappeared. Too bad when she reappeared, she was in Connor’s office, though she swore she’d pictured where Devon worked. Whoops.
Connor looked up. To his credit, he managed to school his features. “Vinea?” He shoved his chair back and stood. “Get out! Haven’t you done enough damage?” Well, so much for him not showing any emotion.
Her stomach burned hot at the censure. Sure, she deserved it, but being the recipient of such disdain still hurt. “I’ll admit I lied a few times.” And stole, and…
“You did a lot more than that. You tried to ruin Sam, not to mention Devon.”
Devon? “I might not have been honest with him, but I never tried to hurt him.”
“You hurt him just the same.” Connor stepped toward the door and held it open. “Just leave.”
“I think I’ll go the same way I came.”
With a nod, she disappeared. This time, her aim was better, and she appeared in the correct office, not that she expected the reception to be any better.
Devon’s head was down, and it was as if he wasn’t aware she was there. Her body, however, was going crazy with spikes of sexual need. He looked so fucking hot. His dark hair was cut even shorter, which on him looked good, but she didn’t like that he had more lines around his eyes. While he had lost weight, he still was a hot, sexy man.
“Devon.” Her throat nearly closed up at saying his name.
He didn’t look up. “I told Lexi not to let you in.” His words came out harsher than she had hoped.
A sarcastic remark shot to her lips, but she stopped herself. Now wasn’t the time for the old Vinea to surface. “She didn’t let me in. I just kind of appeared.” When he didn’t look up, she continued. “I came to apologize.”
“Apology accepted. Now go away.”
Damn, but this was harder than she thought. “When you dipped me in the water, the pink quartz cleansed me.”
He finally looked up, but his eyes were angry swirls of black, laced with that deep rich brown she found so attractive.
“Is that so?” Devon said. “Is that why you held Missy captive in a cave while you lured Zane to his death—after this dunking occurred?”
The words wouldn’t form. “Zane died?”
When she’d left him, he was merely unconscious. Surely his bear would have healed him.
“No. He survived, but you thought about killing him. Why?”
Her quick comeback seemed to have disappeared. “It took a while for the cleansing to work. Like I told you that day six months ago, the pink quartz works well on Changelings; maybe I was so evil that it took longer for me, but eventually, all my bad thoughts disappeared. I swear.”
Something in her voice must have resonated with him, because his features softened. “I’m happy for you then. I suppose you came here for my help?”
“No! I want to help you.”
He leaned back and laughed, though she doubted it held any joy. “You? Help me? That’s rich. Unless you can infiltrate the Changeling’s headquarters and take them all out, I don’t see how you can be of service.”
She stood up straighter. “I don’t kill anymore.”
“Oh, really? Well, that’s good to know. What about stealing and lying?”
“No.” It was better to keep her answers short. “Listen, can we grab a cup of coffee or something. We really need to talk.”
A knock sounded on his door, and Kip Landon stuck his head in. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you had company.” His eyes narrowed slightly before he returned his focus to Devon. “Connor wanted to let you know the meeting’s about to begin.”
Devon pushed back his chair. “Do everyone a favor and get the hell out, Vinea. You can leave the same way you came.”
The hatred rolled off him. Each wave cut her deeply, but it was what she deserved. She’d hurt him more than she’d realized.
She had to find a way for Devon to see how much her heart and soul had changed, and that meant this journey was going to take a lot longer. “I’m not leaving until we talk.”
Chapter Two
‡
“Kip, watch her,” Devon said.
It took all of his resolve to walk out of his office and not strangle Vinea first. His claws were attempting to break through the skin, and his teeth had already sharpened. Had he not ordered his wolf to stand down, no telling what might have happened. This whole attraction thing was absurd. Why couldn’t his wolf understand what an evil, wicked person she was?
She’s changed, his wolf shot back.
The cleansing doesn’t work on goddesses. Even Vinea said that.
She said it was a delayed reaction. Remember, she’s still your mate. Give her a chance.
Devon refused to continue this discussion with his horny animal. Six months ago, he thought he had found the woman of his dreams. Then he learned how she’d lied and deceived him in order to gain more power. Good thing her attempt failed or his good friend Sam wouldn’t be the same person he was today.