by Diane Darcy
Soulmated
(The Witches of Hemlock Hotel Book 1)
Diane Darcy
www.DianeDarcy.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Diane Darcy
The Witches of Hemlock Hotel series © 2018 Diane Darcy
All rights reserved. ~
Cover artist Kaylee Young
Cover Art design by Kelli Ann Morgan
Contents
Books in the Series
Book description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Up next!
Also By Diane Darcy
Books in the Series
1. Soulmated
2. Frustrated
3. Twitterpated
4. Fascinated
Book description
Soulmated
It’s the wedding of the century … and the groom’s been stabbed.
When Las Vegas psychic, Lena DeVille, reluctantly allows her sister to sign her up for the dating web site, Soulmated, she isn’t expecting to get matched with a werewolf. Seriously, why can’t she catch a break where her love life is concerned?
William Murray, head of security for The Hemlock Hotel and Alpha of his werewolf pack, has waited seven hundred years for a mate to call his own, and he’s not letting Lena slip away.
Add in the death of the groom by wedding cake knife, a close look at Lena’s ancestors, and a new and interesting world most people overlook, and things just keep getting more complicated.
FRUSTRATED IS NEXT!
Chapter 1
“You’re going to get so lucky!” Olivia’s gleeful voice rose from behind the huge computer screen that was feng shuied so the desk faced the family room.
Lena DeVille, sprawled out on the couch, shot a glare in Olivia’s general direction. Her sister’s face was hidden from view, the sound of her furious typing punctuated by the occasional giggle.
Lena, feigning nonchalance, flipped through the pages of a Las Vegas fashion magazine. “I’m not listening to you. I’m really not.”
“Why is she going to get lucky, Mama?”
Olivia continued to tap on the keyboard. “What I meant to say is that Aunt Lena is going to get a date.”
“You’re going to get a date!” Her sister’s adorable four-year-old daughter, all dark-haired curls and big brown eyes, clapped her hands.
Lena melted at her niece’s excitement. Tabitha, now staring at her in admiration, was one of the reasons Lena was willing to sign up for the dating website and put herself through the humiliation, and possible rejection, again. Tabitha was making Lena’s biological clock tick. Loudly.
But that was no reason to make things easy for her sister. “I just want to go on record as saying that I’m having some reservations. Mostly, because every guy I’ve ever dated has turned out to be a waste of time in the end.”
The only acknowledgement her sister gave was a snort as she continued to type on the keyboard.
Lena tried not to feel irritated, or even hopeful for that matter. She was convinced nothing would come of this, anyway, so why did she feel so nervous?
Lena couldn’t leave it alone. “You know, with all the dating websites out there, I don’t see why you had to choose that one. It looks a little fishy to me. Soulmated? Even the name is cheesy. What about a different website, or one of those meet-and-greet things?”
At that, her sister peeked around the computer screen, her long hair hanging to the side. “You seem to know more about this than you’re letting on.”
Lena rolled her eyes, then looked down at the magazine, unwilling to comment either way.
“Anyway, my friend did one of those meet-ups last year and it didn’t work out,” Olivia said. “This is better.”
“What friend?”
A hand waved above the computer screen. “No one you know. How’s the truck coming along?”
Lena let her sister change the subject, because if they argued too much about it, they might actually have to start all over again on another website. “It’s not. I’ve scheduled Mike to send a tow truck to pick it up tomorrow. He’s supposed to call me.”
“Ugh. Mike.”
“Yep.”
Lena’s phone rang, and before she could glance down to see who it was, her sister shouted, “Don’t answer it. Not until we’ve finished filling out your profile!”
“We?” Lena looked at the number and saw Grandma had transferred the call from downstairs. “No dice. It’s one of my regulars so I have to take it.”
In one movement she dropped the magazine on the couch, stood and answered.
Her sister leaned over to the side of the screen so she could give Lena a narrow-eyed glare.
Lena ignored her and walked to the large, second-story window that looked out over downtown Las Vegas. Just off the strip, she could see the usual crowds walking toward Fremont Street even in the heat of the afternoon. “Hello, Mrs. Miller! It’s good to hear from you again. Is your cat, Fluffy, still coming around?”
“I must say, you’re a genius, Lena.”
“Well, that’s always nice to hear.” Lena stuck her finger in each plant she had growing in front of the window, checking each for moisture. Olivia appeared in front of her, snapped a picture with her phone, then vanished again. No doubt Olivia was uploading the photo to Soulmated. Had Lena even combed her hair today? Was her sister trying to sabotage her? Way to make sure she didn’t get a date!
“What did I do?” Lena asked as she shot her oblivious sister a dirty look.
“Oh, my dear,” Mrs. Miller gushed. “I have to congratulate you, once again! I thought I was going crazy, but knowing that my dear, departed cat is nearby and trying to comfort me has been a huge, huge relief. I’ve seen her several times darting around the house out of the corner of my eye. And I’ve definitely felt her presence.”
“Oh, I hope so.”
“I can assure you it’s true. I’m eager to talk about my sister, Lillian, today. As you know, when she was alive she wasn’t a very nice person, and I’m hoping … .”
As Mrs. Miller continued, Lena glanced up to see her own sister lean forward to shoot her a look of triumph, and so she rushed around to the other side of the monitor to see what Olivia was doing. She was just in time to see her click the submit button.
Twin feelings, part horror, and part excitement rose within her. She pulled the phone away to hiss at her sister, “I can’t believe you did that! You didn’t even let me see it first!”
“What’s that, my dear?” She heard Mrs. Miller’s tinny voice as if from a long distance away.
“You can thank me later.” Her sister grinned, co
mpletely unrepentant.
A panicky feeling enveloped Lena as she stared at the screen showing the recently taken photo, which actually wasn’t so bad after all. She looked a bit surprised, but her green eyes really stood out, and her dark hair hung over one shoulder.
She heard Mrs. Miller’s voice, rising on the phone once more, and she lifted it to her ear. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s nothing. It’s just that your sister … I’m sensing she’s very sorry for the way she treated you when she was here.” She glared at her own sister. “Relationships with sisters are so difficult at times, so you have my sympathy. But frankly, I’ve been overcome with the emotion of regret. Lillian is very contrite over the way she left things.”
“Oh, truly? You don’t know how happy that makes me! My goodness. What a welcome relief. I’ve got to go, my dear. I’ve got to tell my other sister, Sarah, what you said. I’ll be calling back later.”
“All right, talk to you then.”
Lena hung up the phone and glared at her sister, but she couldn’t deny she also felt a bit excited. What if this actually went somewhere this time?
She glanced over at her niece. What if it led to: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage? Maybe she needed to stay positive for once.
Anyway, she could always take her profile down if it became a nuisance.
“I think the words you’re looking for are, thank and you. And so, you’re welcome.”
Lena arched a brow at her sister’s complacent expression, noted the sparkling green eyes and dark hair so similar to her own, and wondered, once again, how they could be so different in all other ways.
Olivia, outgoing and confident, was a year older, married young, and had Tabitha at twenty-two. She’d never had to wade through the dating pool as she’d met her one and only, Sean Jordan, in high school. The man adored her.
Lena walked toward the stairs. “Break is over. Gotta go downstairs and help Grandma in the shop.”
“Fine. You’ll thank me later.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?”
“Stay here!” Tabitha said.
She rubbed her nieces head on her way across the room. “I’ve got to make some money because I see a mechanic bill in my future. See you later, alligator.”
Tabitha grinned. “In a while, crocodile.”
Lena went down the stairs, feeling optimistic and lighthearted.
Not that she’d ever admit it to her sister.
Chapter 2
Werewolves tended to be very territorial, and he was no exception.
William Murray stood above the crowd, his hands relaxed on the wooden balustrade, as he surveyed the players down below. The jubilant sounds of music, loud beeps, chimes, and spinning reels drifted upward as he waited for the thieves to make their final move, knowing his men would easily catch them.
If they only knew how simple it was for werewolves to sniff them out — the sweat, the nerves, the fear — they wouldn’t come within a hundred miles of the place.
He glanced around, making sure his men were in position. The Hemlock Hotel was home to Las Vegas’ most popular casino in a town full of them; a place where both humans and immortals mixed, though the former didn’t have the foggiest. This was his domain, and no one was ever going to rip him off.
He enjoyed the waiting game, his wolf relishing the chase, as it were. The moment they acted, he would as well. He had every intention of jumping into the thick of it, the chase and capture being one of the few things that brought him pleasure these days.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and, before he’d even turned, knew by touch and smell it was his friend and cohort, Caleb MacLean. “Is it just me, or did ye hear there is someone around here who is about to have a major birthday? One of those important ones with a big fat zero on the end? Or, in this case, zero, zero. Next week, am I right?”
“Drop it. Now.” William, after noting that Caleb looked shaggier than usual, returned his attention to the casino floor.
“Ye see, the birthdays with two zeros, those would be considered super significant, am I right?”
“Nae, I cannae say ye are.”
“Seven, zero, zero.” Caleb whistled. “What do ye think that is in days, hours, minutes?”
“Leave it alone.”
“I’m thinking there’s a party in order.”
“Ye’d better no’ do anything.” William’s voice edged on a growl.
“Mayhap some balloons,” Caleb chuckled.
“Have ye got eyes on those jokers, or havenae ye?”
“O’ course I do. I’m multitasking.”
“What about the Cameron/Tuckerman wedding? Is everything in order?”
“Of course.” Caleb leaned on his elbows atop the balustrade but the casual pose didn’t fool anyone. William knew Caleb was ready to leap into action when the time came.
William watched the three men trying to game Kaia, one of their best baccarat dealers. He’d told her to let it play out, and it was amusing to watch. Kaia was tiny, curvy, and her short, dark hair covered pointed ears. Large blue eyes had many a man gambling more than he’d intended.
Did they truly believe they’d be the first to try and steal from him? That they were smarter than all the others?
His phone dinged, and he lifted it to see fireworks and confetti flying across his screen. He gritted his teeth. If this had anything to do with his birthday … .
When the colors faded, he saw it was a notification from Soulmated, the matchmaking site. His brows drew together even as his breath caught in his chest.
After all this time had Soulmated found him a match?
He swallowed and his heart started to pound. He looked left, then right, and then tried to read Caleb. Was this a joke?
His friend, still talking nonsense beside him, suddenly stopped, his gaze turning from the players to William. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
He swallowed again, hard. Dizziness assailed him and the words on his screen blurred until he was almost unable to read them. He lifted the phone to show the banner.
Caleb gaped at it. “Soulmated? They’ve matched ye?”
William felt like he couldn’t breathe, but he managed a nod.
“Weel, take a look at her!”
William seemed to move in slow motion, his thumb finally coming to rest on the look button. He’d waited centuries for this. Had declared the recent technology ridiculous even as he’d signed on to use it over a decade ago. He pushed the button and her picture popped up, and he was instantly smitten. There was no other word for it.
Her beautiful face was pale, and a wealth of dark hair floated about her shoulders. She stood before a window, the light behind her making her seem like she was glowing. Or, who knew, maybe she was? The camera must’ve had a flash on it, because her green eyes lit the screen, and she looked a bit startled, as if she’d been taken by surprise.
Caleb looked over his shoulder and whistled. “A beauty, then. She doesnae look like a werewolf. Is she a pixie? Or a witch? She’s no’ a vampire, is she?”
William didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was his.
A choice of buttons flashed on at the bottom. Green for accept, red for pass. He quickly pushed the green button.
Seconds later, two of his men exploded into action to take care of the three card sharks down below. As they dragged them away, he barely registered it.
He’d been Soulmated!
And just like the legends said, it was like she was the moon, and he couldn’t take his gaze from her.
Chapter 3
Lena sat downstairs in her grandmother’s shop, only half her attention on the teenage girl sitting across the table from her, and the slight hand she held within her own.
Her grandmother, a total believer in the gypsy arts, was behind the large glass counter, pulling out wares for another customer to peruse. She looked far younger than her years, her flamboyant red hair piled high on her head, bobbing as she chatted
with a middle-aged woman.
This job was second nature to Lena, and it was also second nature to be very convincing. Mom and Grandma assured her she had the gift, and Lena did get impressions off people, but believed that came from practice and observation more than anything.
Her gift was that she was a regular Sherlock Holmes.
The family was from Ohio, and apparently, the young teen had talked her parents into bringing her inside.
The father appeared skeptical, as well he might.
But his wife looked enthralled, and she and her daughter were having fun with it, which was what mattered most.
The girl, probably all of fifteen, with orange-red hair, and an explosion of freckles on her made-up face, leaned forward slightly. “So, tall, dark, and handsome is in my future?”
Lena smiled, wondering if she herself had ever been so young. “Definitely.”
She glanced at the father’s sour expression, released the girl’s hand, and looked at the Tarot cards she’d laid out after the girl had shuffled them three times. She’d already been paid, but was determined to get a tip. “Oh, you’re not going to like this.”
“What is it?” The teen reacted with drama, her hand flying to her heart. “He dies in a horrible car accident, doesn’t he? Or falls off a cliff while rock climbing? I knew it.” The girl sighed dramatically, apparently taken with the romance of it all, because she also had a slight smile on her face.