Song of Midnight Embers

by Dana Marie Bell

  Song of Midnight Embers

  By Dana Marie Bell

  Book four of Maggie’s Grove

  Fire elemental Mollie Ferguson is on the wrong side of a group of enraged shifter wolves. She’s been secretly investigating a plot that could destroy the small-town supernatural haven of Maggie’s Grove. But when a beloved pack member is killed, everyone thinks she’s the murderer. In desperation, she turns to the one person who will help her—the true mate she rejected. His presence rekindles an old, irresistible desire, and makes her wish she’d chosen differently.

  Without Mollie as his lover, the dryad Greer Berkley is dying, the leaves of his birch turning to autumn shades. But he will not allow himself to fade until he has ensured Mollie’s safety. All know Greer as a healer, but few know the true depth of his power as a defender.

  Greer and Mollie must complete her investigation and clear her name before the pack demands vengeance. And if they are to know each other’s touch at last, the only chance is now, before it’s too late for Greer.

  83,180 words

  Dear Reader,

  This week, my ten-year-old daughter looked woefully at her Kindle and then at me and said, “I have nothing to read!” I asked her about several recent books I’d uploaded for her and if she’d read those yet, and of course the answer was no, but she still had nothing to read. It’s hard for me to get too upset with this sentiment, since I’m a bit of a book hoarder, and I own more books that I haven’t read than I care to admit, but...I’ll get to them someday! As someone pointed out to me, “nothing to read” is much like “nothing to eat” and “nothing to do.” It’s not a statement of literal fact, it’s a statement of mood and feeling. I don’t know if you’re in the same boat as my daughter and feeling as if you have nothing to read, but if so, one of our June 2015 releases should strike just the right note for you.

  Lisa Marie Rice thrilled fans and new readers alike when she returned to the world of her popular Midnight Series with Midnight Vengeance and Midnight Promises. This June, in Midnight Secrets, we get to fall in love with her cracktastic and sexy romantic suspense series all over again. Former Navy SEAL Joe Harris nearly died—twice—on a medevac helo after being blown up by an IED. He’s not moving too great these days, but if there was ever a woman designed to jump start a man’s hormones, it would be his new neighbor. Meeting Isabel—loving Isabel—brought Joe back to life, and he’s not going to let anyone take her from him, not even a high-powered politician who needs to keep Isabel from remembering what he’s done.

  Julie Moffett is back with her hit mystery series. Geek extraordinaire Lexi Carmichael is more comfortable with computer code than commandos, but in No Woman Left Behind, she’s about to undertake her most dangerous case yet with a little help from the Navy SEALs.

  We also have several authors in the contemporary romance lineup this month. In Alison Packard’s latest book in her Feeling the Heat series, Stealing Second, Tom Morgan and Katherine Whitton, once deeply in love and planning a future together, now work together and are finally forced to confront their long-held belief that each one was betrayed by the other.

  Elizabeth Harmon’s Turning It On brings us a new stand-alone romance in her Red Hot Russians series. On a steamy reality show, shy book editor Hannah Levinson fights to keep her fiancé from the clutches of a scheming dental hygienist with the help of an unlikely ally, sexy former figure skater turned stripper “Vlad the Bad” Shustov. Can she trust there’s more to Vlad than meets the eye?

  Spoiled college student Olivia Christakos experiences the ultimate fall from grace when she’s hit by a car (losing her memory in the process) and catches her family (who she’s supposed to be able to trust at a time like this) lying to her about her past. Find out what happens in Olivia Christakos and Her Second First Time by debut author Dani Irons.

  If male/male contemporary romance is what you’re looking for, check out previously released In the Raw and In the Fire from the In the Kitchen series by writing duo Nikka Michaels and Eileen Griffin. In that duology, we met Ethan and Jamie. In their latest stand-alone romance, In the Distance, Trevor Pratt and Tyler Mitchell just might have a shot at love—if, that is, they choose to follow their hearts, instead of letting their ten-year age difference and the three thousand miles separating them keep them apart forever.

  Dana Marie Bell gives us paranormal romance Song of Midnight Embers, the next book in her Maggie’s Grove series. To prove she’s not a murderer, Mollie Greer will have to turn to the one person she’s been longing for—and avoiding—her whole life: Greer Berkley, the Singer of the Forest.

  And last, this June I’m excited to introduce you to a new direction for author Julie Rowe with the first romantic suspense in her new Biological Response Team series. American Sniper meets the worldwide Ebola-outbreak response meets romance in Deadly Strain. A sniper tries to protect an infectious disease specialist while they combat a deadly new bacterial strain, but he might not be able to stop from her from making the ultimate sacrifice in order to save him.

  I hope you find something from Carina Press to help you cure your “nothing to read” mood. And don’t forget our extensive romance, mystery, science fiction and fantasy backlist is also always available where ebooks are sold.

  Coming in July: A dragon-shifter romance trilogy from a brand-new author, the next book in Stephanie Tyler’s postapocalyptic motorcycle club world and a new male/male romance from A.M. Arthur.

  Until next time, here’s wishing you a wonderful month of books you love, remember and recommend.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Editorial Director, Carina Press

  Dedication

  To Dusty, who reluctantly acknowledges my superiority in sniper-type video games. That’s all right, baby. You go play SMITE and capture that whatever over and over again. I’m just gonna go save the world.

  Also Available from

  Dana Marie Bell

  and Carina Press

  The Maggie’s Grove Series

  Blood of the Maple

  Throne of Oak

  Of Shadows and Ash

  Song of Midnight Embers

  The Nephilim Series

  All for You

  The Fire Within

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  When you were a fire elemental, heat rarely bothered you. Cold, on the other hand, was a stone-rotten bitch, but Mollie Ferguson had gotten used to it over the years of living in Maggie’s Grove, Maryland. Temperatures in the winter often dropped into the teens and below, and the wind coming off the mountains would make it feel even worse.

  The tail end of summer, however, wasn’t too bad. The nights only dropped into the sixties, making it cool rather than cold. Or so she kept reminding her
self as she walked quietly through the forest on one of those cool August nights, trying to figure out what one of the Maggie’s Grove residents was up to. She’d been following the shifter for an hour now, but the woman seemed to be leading her on a wild goose chase.

  Mollie shivered, the breeze moving through the trees making goose bumps rise on her arms and legs. She didn’t dare make a light to ease her way in the dark forest. The wolf shifter in front of her would see that for sure. Hell, it was a serious pain just staying downwind of her.

  If her suspicions were correct, Bernadette “Bree” Alden was the one who—

  “I know you’re there, Mollie.” Bernadette stepped out from behind a tree with a smirk on her face. She was naked, a fact that made Mollie silently curse. It meant the shifter was ready to turn into her wolf. A cousin of Noah Wulfenbach, the shifter alpha, Bree had the same warm brown eyes and dark brown hair, and was often seen with both Noah and his brother, Allan, the beta of the pack. She was considered one of the inner circle of wolves and always had a friendly smile and a helping hand.

  Mollie had suspected her from the start, but taking one of the wolf pack’s most beloved members and accusing her of betrayal without proof was a sure way of making yourself kibble. So Mollie had been watching her, studying her movements, and almost had the proof she needed.

  Meeting Bree now could only mean one thing: kibble.

  Well. Fuck me sideways. “Going for a run, Bree?” Of course, Mollie knew that was a lie. Bernadette was going to fight her, and there was no way Mollie could stop it. For the first time she cursed the fact that she’d asked Carter to follow their other suspect tonight, leaving Mollie alone and vulnerable.

  “Something like that.” Bree straightened and shook her head. “You know, you and your friends seriously fucked things up for me. I had a sweet deal going, and you had to fuck it up.” The slight tinge of annoyance in Bernadette’s tone was a faint echo of the rage in her gaze. Her wolf was ready to attack if Mollie made one move it didn’t like.

  “I’ll bet.” Mollie slowly began heating herself up. The wolf could kill her easily if she wasn’t careful, and Bernadette had a hell of a lot to lose. Mollie had finally figured out that Bernadette was selling the town out to the Van Helsings, sending blood samples to the hunters of their kind. It was a betrayal of the worst sort, because now the hunters not only had their DNA, they had their names, addresses and species. The town was still recovering from the time the Van Helsings had kidnapped several of their members. Not all of them had recovered from the experiments the Van Helsings had run on them, and they still didn’t know what those experiments were all about. If Bernadette did, then sending in those blood samples could be potentially deadly for the ones whose blood she’d stolen.

  But Bernadette had to have had a reason for doing it, and there was only one thing Mollie could figure that a strong wolf shifter would want more than anything. “Let me guess. You want to be alpha.”

  Bernadette snorted. “Not on a bet. No. I want to be beta.” She sighed, fur sprouting on her arms. “The real power is there. The pack listens to the beta, trusts the beta to intercede for them with the alpha. Noah should have picked me, but instead he gave it to someone else.” Bernadette shrugged. “That won’t be a problem for much longer, though.”

  “What did you do?” Mollie was pissed. She couldn’t imagine betraying her people the way Bernadette had. She flicked her fingers, fire dancing along their tips. Good. She was ready for whatever Bernadette threw at her. It was just a shame Carter wasn’t here with her. If this went down the way she was afraid it would, things could get dicey. Bernadette was a beloved member of the pack and one of Noah’s favorite cousins. That she’d betrayed them all for power would be a shock to all of them.

  “When Noah’s away, the new beta will play.” Bernadette yawned, looking bored out of her mind. “Do you know how to kill a water elemental, Mollie?”

  Mollie’s fire sizzled around her. If Bernadette had done what Mollie suspected, the elemental’s death would have been excruciating. “What did you fucking do?”

  Bernadette examined her nails. “Do you think they’ll blame you?” She tilted her head. “I can say I tracked you down and killed you on behalf of the pack. The beta will pine to death soon, and I’ll become the new beta.” She sniffled dramatically. “Of course, I’ll mourn my cousin’s loss, but the pack will bravely carry on with myself at the head of it.”

  “Noah will kill you.” Of that, Mollie had no doubt. When he discovered that his own damn cousin had killed not only his beta’s mate, but had done so in order to take Allan Wulfenbach’s position, he would be livid. The beta was his brother, a good man, a good father. There would be hell to pay when this came to light.

  Of course, odds were good Mollie was going to be forced to kill Bernadette herself. She just hoped Noah believed her when she told him Bernadette had betrayed him.

  “Noah will never find out.” And with that, Bernadette shifted, much faster than Mollie had expected. Bernadette lunged, sinking her teeth into Mollie’s leg.

  Mollie screamed, the searing pain nearly dropping her to her knees, but she couldn’t allow herself to fall. If she did, if she hit the ground, Bernadette would be able to kill her that much faster.

  Mollie lit herself up, her flames licking up and down her body. She smiled savagely when Bernadette howled and let her go. Bernadette’s muzzle was singed, the stench of burnt fur overcoming the smell of her own blood. “Eat fire, bitch.” She was the goddamn leader of the fire elementals, one of the strongest elementals in Maggie’s Grove. No way was she going down under the claws of this trumped-up wannabe.

  Mollie began shooting fire at the wolf, being as careful as she could not to hit the trees or the underbrush. The very last thing she wanted to do was start a forest fire. Some of the town’s residents considered the forest their home, especially the local dryads.

  And if she wound up killing them, Greer would never forgive her. One of the four ruling dryads, Greer Berkley took the care of his people very seriously. It might be the only thing the man took seriously. He was known for his fun-loving nature and quirky antics.

  He was also, gods help her, the man of her dreams. If she harmed his people, even by accident, she might never forgive herself. He might not want her the way she needed him, but she’d die if he hated her.

  Unfortunately, this hobbled her ability to fight Bernadette. The wolf danced back and forth, avoiding most of Mollie’s blasts. She darted in now and then to slash and bite at Mollie’s vulnerable, uncovered legs.

  Mollie managed to get a shot in, the fire grazing Bernadette’s ear. The wolf snarled and lunged. She bit down on Mollie’s arm and shook her head, her teeth sunk deep into Mollie’s flesh.

  Mollie shrieked as her arm snapped, her vision going white as the pain rocked through her. She tried beating on Bernadette’s nose to get her to let go, but the shifter held on tight despite Mollie’s repeated blows.

  Mollie burned, her inner fire making her glow blue-white as she desperately tried to get Bernadette to let the fuck go. Bernadette dropped her arm with a yelp.

  It took all of her concentration not to sear her wounds closed. If she could get to Greer, she might come out of this without scars. But if she couldn’t, if she thought she’d die of the blood loss, she’d live with the scars of this battle for the rest of her life.

  The wolf growled at her, and Mollie gave her the finger. “Didn’t like that, did you? Gave yourself an epic case of pizza mouth, huh?”

  The wolf jumped, and Mollie barely staggered out of the way. It had tried to knock her down, drive her to the ground and leave her throat and belly exposed to the predator before her.

  Bernadette howled, no doubt calling the pack to her. If they came, this would be all over. They’d fight Mollie, believing Bernadette was defending herself. Pack First was their motto, one Mollie usually admi
red. Today, it could literally bite her in the ass.

  Mollie slashed her good arm down and out, the line of fire keeping the wolf back. It was a waiting game now, to see who would fall first. And it wasn’t looking like things were going in Mollie’s favor. She was losing blood fast. At this rate, Bernadette would win, and Mollie would forever be labeled a traitor.

  Mollie took a deep breath. There was only one way out of this, one way she could think of to make Bernadette vulnerable to her attacks without risking the trees. But there was a chance Mollie wouldn’t survive either. If it worked, Bernadette would die, and Mollie would be wounded but able to seek help.

  Gods help her, she prayed this worked.

  Mollie deliberately stumbled, landing on her back as Bernadette howled in triumph. The wolf launched herself at Mollie, landing over her just as Mollie planned.

  Just as Bernadette’s teeth snapped on Mollie’s neck, Mollie struck. She thrust her burning hand against the wolf’s stomach, heating her hand until it burned white-hot.

  Bernadette began to scramble away, striking Mollie repeatedly on the arms and head before she got off. The screaming howl coming from Bernadette was pitiful, but Mollie couldn’t afford to back off now. Bernadette would kill her without any remorse.

  The stench of burning flesh and fur made Mollie gag, but she kept the flame going, firing it at the wolf until it collapsed in a smoldering heap of burnt fur and bones.

  It was over. Bernadette was dead.

  Mollie took a deep breath and waved her arms, dousing the fires by pulling the heat into herself. In her death throes, Bernadette had touched off some small fires, and Mollie needed to control them before they spread too far. It took a lot of her concentration to do that, especially when she was in so much pain, but it had to be done.

  When the fires were out, Mollie sagged. She probably looked like a victim of a zombie apocalypse. Her head and face were covered in blood, her stomach was bruised all to hell and the wound in her leg was still trickling blood, soaking her skin. If there were any non-shifter predators in the woods tonight, Mollie was toast.