Eat her.
It was he. The totem told her to eat the spirit.
Ametta’s stomach churned. She’d eaten prey before as a bear, but only fish and hare. And this thing, this crazed ghost, looked almost like her now. That was freaky enough on its own.
Sharp claws broke through her skin. Ametta kicked at the spirit with her legs, but she couldn’t throw her off. Any second now the kikimora would push her talons far enough to rip open Ametta’s throat.
The only thing Ametta hadn’t done was bite the kikimora. The thought of putting something so gross in her mouth caused the bile to rise in her throat. She couldn’t. It was too awful. Even more so by the fact Grandmother resembled her.
The demented ghost cried out with her victory.
Squeezing shut her eyes, Ametta opened her mouth. There was no choice. It was live or die here. She chomped down on the head of the spirit. The sensation of bone cracking and blood sputtering made her shudder.
Bite and swallow. She gagged but managed to keep down what she had taken in.
The kikimora was not her.
Bite, rip, and swallow. Don’t taste it. Just do it.
Ametta did not rage at people. She worked with them, made art with them, strove to make their world more beautiful. Harmony through design.
Bite. A shoulder snapped and crunched. Swallow.
But she’d lost the harmony in her own life. With her family. Her home. Her heart.
What a stubborn idiot she’d been! Why did she think she had to do everything alone? Why did she believe everything else had to be sacrificed for her dream? It was so clear now. She could have it all.
Open your eyes.
Ametta snapped her eyes open in mid-bite, and her jaws clamped shut on nothing. No kikimora. No domovoi. Only the elk standing over her as he lowered his head.
She reached up a hand. Not a paw. When did she shift back to her human form? Her fingers brushed his velvety snout. On her knees, she felt as though she were kneeling before a king. And perhaps she was. He was the totem spirit animal. Beautiful and majestic.
The elk dipped down, as if bowing himself, and the necklace slid off his antler and onto her raised hand. She didn’t get a chance to close her fingers around it. There was no coolness of metal. A sizzling warmth flowed from her hand and up her arm over her shoulder to her throbbing neck.
A surge of heat and a bright flash of light.
Ametta found herself on the floor of the kitchen. No trees or snow or elk.
A groan and a few muttered curses came from the entrance. Lucky slowly sat up from where he’d been lying on the floor and rubbed his head.
He was okay! She scrambled over to him on her hands and knees and threw her arms around him, nearly toppling them over. “I’m so sorry, so sorry. Are you all right?”
“What? Yes. Just banged up. What about you?” Lucky eased her back to look her over. His eyes widened. “Mett…”
Not having the words to say everything she wanted at the moment, she cupped his face and kissed him. No peck on the cheek or uncertain liplock. Not this time. Every ounce of passion she’d stored up over the past months, she let loose. She knew what she wanted, and it was about damn time she went after it.
Lucky moaned and caressed her cheek as he broke the kiss. “Hot damn, babe. What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing. Everything. Why did you stop?” Ametta kissed him again, maneuvering herself to straddle him and press herself more firmly against him.
“Not that I want to stop…” He murmured against her mouth. “But your neck. Look.”
She had no doubt the kikimora had done a number on her throat, but when she peered down, it was clean. No wound or even a drop of blood. What was there was an intricate tattoo with the elk at its center. Soft autumn colors stood out against her pale skin and warmed the area around it.
“Oh my God.” She breathed, hesitantly touching it. Smooth, as if she’d been born with it. And yet she could feel its otherness but in harmony with herself.
“The totem. You got the totem.” He laughed and kissed her. “You got the totem!”
Although she was elated by that fact, it didn’t come close to matching the joy she felt enveloped by his arms. “And you have me.” When she kissed him this time, it was slower, more thorough. “Right now. Here. On the floor.”
Fists pounding on wood echoed through the house. “Ametta! Lucky!”
Both of them groaned this time. Her sister had the most perfect timing. Her thrumming body demanded they ignore Saskia and continue with their celebration.
“Open this fucking door!” Saskia hollered as she banged on it.
Lucky nuzzled his nose to hers. “We should go open it. Otherwise she’ll knock it down.”
“I know.” Ametta sighed and kissed him once more. “And the sooner we tell them what happened, the sooner I can get you alone again.”
“Promise?” He smiled, and her abdomen quivered.
“Promise.” As much to him as to herself.
With the water starting to cool, Ametta pulled the plug on the tub and stood as she reached for the towel. She balanced more on her good right foot. Her left ankle still ached, but it healed swiftly. Faster than she’d normally recover from an injury like that. Likely a gift from the totem.
It surprised her she didn’t hurt any more with the rough handling from Saskia and Sedge who seemed determined to get the token off her. They’d whispered fervently to one another at one point, and she thought maybe they were going to tear off her skin to take the tattooed necklace. Thankfully, after a conference call with Kinley and their dad, everyone agreed it was best to let it be.
Finding the totems was vital to saving shifters across the world. Ametta did understand why it was important to safeguard it, but the elk chose her. She would protect the token.
Stepping out of the huge soaker tub, Ametta dried herself. A candle burned with a light vanilla scent by the sink, and the tension from her body had eased. She hadn’t felt this relaxed in days. No, she hadn’t felt like this in years.
Everything shone clear in her mind now. Why had she been so stubborn before?
She hung the towel on the rack once done and applied a light dusting of body powder. It smelled of chilled berries and held a slight shimmer. Arms, legs, neck, and chest. In her artist’s eye, every detail was important.
Slipping on her silky pajama shorts and camisole, Ametta turned to the mirror and reached for her brush. A squat figure stood behind her.
Her hands flew to her mouth to keep back the scream as she spun around. No one there.
Heart racing, she looked back to the mirror. The domovoi dipped his head to her.
I did not mean to frighten you.
Ametta lowered her hands and gripped the edge of the sink to keep them from trembling as she whispered, “It’s okay. I had hoped to see you again, to apologize…”
Grandfather shook his head and held up a gnarled hand to stop her. It’s unnecessary, child. You did not devour my wife, only the aspect made physical by the elk totem. She rests now and will do so for a long while.
She breathed out a long breath as the final weight lifted from her chest. To think she could have eaten a crazy spirit! It had felt as if she consumed something, but it might have all been an illusion. For both her and the kikimora.
When Ametta had explained to everyone what happened, she’d left out the little fact the kikimora looked like her. It was enough to say she’d eaten her. Her entire family stared at her with shock.
“I’m glad she’s not…” Dead wasn’t the right word. “Uh, eaten. And thank you for your help. You saved my life.”
As you saved my wife from the madness. The domovoi smiled and scratched his beard. Rest easy. The house knows peace once more. And Lucky waits for you not so patiently in the other room.
Grandfather winked before he vanished, and Ametta’s face heated. It was like having her own grandpa egging her on to go get some!
Would the domovoi be watching
them in the bedroom? She shuddered to think it. No, he was too much like Lucky to intrude on their privacy. But he did appear to her in the bathroom. Maybe there was a little bit of a pervert in him!
Ametta smiled and finished up her before bed routine. Correction: her before getting into bed with a man routine. That took longer.
It had been too long since she had shared a bed. And she’d waited way too long for this with Lucky. Her stomach did little flips, and she checked her teeth a half dozen times before opening the door to the master bedroom.
Lucky, who had been sitting on the end of his bed, bounced to his feet and ogled her. He grinned and crooked a finger at her. “Come here.”
She sauntered to him and slipped her arms around his middle. “Your grandfather was giving me tips on how to seduce you.”
“What?” Lucky jerked to run to the bathroom, but she held on and laughed, keeping him with her.
“I’m kidding. He just said he was at peace and so was his wife. I didn’t really eat her.” Thank God! When he relaxed in her embrace, she flashed him a saucy smile. “Besides, I don’t need any tips on how to do that.”
“Sedge didn’t think you really could devour her.” Lucky bobbed his head once before pressing his full lips to hers as he chuckled. “And no you don’t, hot stuff.”
Ametta deepened the kiss, teasing him with a twist of her tongue. Half of her wanted to tear off all his clothes and claim what she wanted while the other half wanted to savor every little touch. She eased her hands up his back, lifting his t-shirt as she did so.
“Are you sure this is what you want, babe? Because I can sleep elsewhere… or I can take it slower. I won’t keep you to a promise made in the heights of victory.” His fingers skimmed along her jaw and down her neck over her collarbone.
She lifted her hands and gripped his shoulders, pulling him so that their foreheads pressed together. “I have never been more certain of anything in my life. I want you. I want to give us a try. To really give us a try. I always had my excuses about leaving Alaska between us. They’re not blocking the way anymore.”
“What about your dreams? I’ll never keep you from them.” His voice lowered, raw and honest.
“Of course you won’t. No one can keep me from what I really want.” She ran a hand into his hair. “And as I said, I want you. You’re part of my dreams now.” She kissed him as she said this, sincerity lining her passion. She would have it all, including Lucky. “I can be a famous designer, still live in Alaska, travel the world, and have a gorgeous firefighter warming my bed. I want it all.”
Before, she’d had tunnel vision when it came to her designer dream, but now she could see the whole picture. The grand majesty of having it all. She could be every Ametta she’d seen in those mirror shards, and she wouldn’t be broken. She’d be whole.
“Just warming your bed, hm?” He purred and kissed along her neck.
“You warm me all over.” Ametta tipped her head back. His lips trailed over the totem tattoo. She could feel it on her, or rather, under her skin. Flowing with magic, subtle yet so strong.
These totems seemed to want her family and friends to find them. The owl and fox came to her sisters before they were stolen away. The fucking hunters. Whether those bastards wanted the tokens to become real shifters or for something else, it didn’t matter. Her team would find the rest of the totems and take back the stolen ones.
Lucky’s mouth returned to hers and washed away those thoughts with a fierce kiss. Oh yes, this was precisely what she wanted. More so, he was what she needed.
She moaned as he directed her to the bed, allowing him to take the lead. For now.
TOTEM SERIES
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Three sisters.
Seven totem tokens.
One chance to save their world.
DARK DAWNING (TOTEM #1)
It’s a dark day when someone murders one of their own.
Shifters across Alaska are going missing. When up and coming interior designer Ametta Dorn rescues the gorgeous Kodiak shifter Lucky Osberg, she comes into the crosshairs of two relentless hunters. While Lucky sets his sights on wooing her, the killers seek to not only capture her in her powerful polar bear form but to also take her skin.
To prevent her murder and the deaths of other shifters, she must work with Lucky to track down and stop these merciless hunters. After all, their enemy’s plan for shifter skins is something much more terrifying than collecting mere trophies.
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Release date: October 17, 2016.
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SILENT WHISPERS (TOTEM #2)
It’s not only the dead who whisper upon the wind.
An ancient totem pole has gone missing, and its pieces are scattered across Alaska. Restoring the seven totem tokens may be the only way to save every shifter in the world.
Kinley Dorn, a geeky architect with a heart of gold and a polar bear shifter, jumps at the opportunity to help her family find the lost pieces. Their idea of “helping” involves staying indoors to research online. Work leads Kinley to sexy lynx shifter Ransom Averill. He coaxes her away from the safety behind her computer and into the path of a rampaging giant. Terrifying as the monster might be, she must brave its mountain because the owl totem is calling to her through silent whispers.
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Release date: October 31, 2016.
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CLOAK OF SNOW (TOTEM #3)
No one messes with Saskia Dorn’s family and gets away with it.
The same murderous shifters who had hunted her sister have attempted to steal a magical totem pole. Since the pieces are scattered across Alaska, Saskia, a polar bear shifter, takes her search to the tundra for any signs of the lost totems.
Instead she finds Sedge, the latest reincarnation of the old Inuit Bear god, who just happens to be the man who broke her heart.
They come across a small native village tormented by the Jinxioc, evil gnomes with an appetite for human flesh. Sedge declares he will rid the people of the menace, believing a totem token is nearby affecting the devils’ behavior. At his side, Saskia battles to save the tribesmen, but it could mean sacrificing herself.
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Release date: November 14, 2016
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GHOST CAT (TOTEM #5)
Bigfoot is rampaging through a small fishing town, and he has friends.
The whispers say a boy is missing. Kinley Dorn can’t ignore them. The last time she did, a giant almost killed her. Her investigation in the boy’s disappearance leads her and her boyfriend, Ransom Averill, to a village on Lake Iliamna. Unfortunately, that boy isn’t the only child missing.
Some folks claim Bigfoot is taking the children, but the gentle creature usually stays away from humans. Kinley believes a totem is making Bigfoot act strangely, but can she and Ransom find it before more kids are abducted?
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Release date: January 23, 2017.
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DEEP CURRENT (TOTEM #6)
Always read the fine print when making a bargain with a sea hag.
Lost to the clutches of her grief of losing her mentor, Saskia Dorn welcomes the opportunity to take down a warehouse of drug dealers. When their leader makes a break for it, Saskia and her ex-boyfriend, Sedge, chase the criminal shifter into the sea off the coast of northwestern Alaska. Not only do they lose their quarry, but a vicious sea hag snatches Sedge.
Saskia can’t take another loss and attempts to bargain for Sedge’s life and the salmon totem the witch has trapped in her cave. The sea hag wants only one thing: her long lost love. Who is dead. And living under the freaking ocean with the Salmon People. Find the Salmon People and return with the witch’s love before Sedge’s lif
e is forfeit. Simple, right? Yet she can’t leave the Salmon People’s land without finding herself first.
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Release date: February 6, 2017.
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TOTEM #7, #8, and #9 release dates yet to be determined.
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OTHER WORKS BY CHRISTINE RAINS
Paranormal Romance
Of Blood and Sorrow
Fearless
The Marquis (The 13th Floor #1)
The Alpha (The 13th Floor #2)
The Dragonslayer (The 13th Floor #3)
The Harbinger (The 13th Floor #4)
The Oracle and the Vampire (The 13th Floor #5)
The Ghost (The 13th Floor #6)
The 13th Floor Complete Collection
Paranormal Erotica
Ghost Dancer (The Paramours #1)
Poltergeist’s Pleasure (The Paramours #2)
Lovelorn Spirits (The Paramours #3)
Big Yearning (Sasquatch Susies #1)
Big Longing (Sasquatch Susies #2)
Big Burning (Sasquatch Susies #3)
Horror
L’il Gal Al and the Zombies of Amarillo
Geeky Erotica
Loose Corset (Dice & Debauchery #1)
Layers of Lace (Dice & Debauchery #2)
A Masked Kiss (Dice & Debauchery #3)
UNTETHERED REALMS
Tap into worlds, wings, and spec fic things!
Untethered Realms is a group of speculative fiction authors. We reside in the weird and fantastical. For more information about the Untethered Realms authors, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to my team of awesome critique partners and beta readers: T.F. Walsh, Tara Tyler, Patricia Lynne, and Clare Dugmore. You help bring out the best in my writing.
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