Stealing Her Heart

by Evangeline Anderson

  But at the time Kaitlyn was being bullied, I can’t say it was my father’s words that drove me to action. It was my own internal fury at seeing her hurt and abused.

  And something else as well.

  For the minute I punched Sanchez and spilled his blood defending her, the Drake inside me woke up. He usually sleeps here in the human world—he might as well—it isn’t as though I can let him out to go flying. But the scent of blood and the threat of violence brought him out of his somnolent slumber and for the first time since I had come to the human world, he spoke.

  I don’t mean he spoke just to me—I hear him in my head often, though he communicates more in emotions than words. My other half can be a restless partner to share a body with. When I say he spoke, what I mean is that he actually came forward and talked using my mouth and looking through my eyes. For a moment, he was in control and I was only watching in the background.

  What he said to Sanchez changed everything.

  “She is mine,” he growled, his voice deep and sonorous in my ears. “Touch this little female again and I will flame you from the sky.”

  That had caused Sanchez to retreat some—he and his Sire are high in the ranks of the Drakes, but my father is the leader of our kind—what some humans call the Alpha or the king. Also, my Drake is bigger, his flame hotter, and his wings fly higher than the beast Sanchez hosts and he knows it.

  Still, he refused to back down completely. I had seen the murderous glint in his eyes, which let me know that Kaitlyn wasn’t safe—which was why I had started following her to and from class—at a distance of course—to make certain she was all right.

  All right—that’s a lie. I followed her and kept close to her not just to protect her, but because I couldn’t help myself.

  Once my Drake had laid his claim on her, my heart followed his. There was something special about Kaitlyn Fellows. I didn’t know what it was but my Drake sensed it and I did too. It was something that drew us both to her—something impossible to ignore.

  “Dios…” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as I felt the tension begin to fade on the other end of the strange connection I had to the little human. “See, she must have had another bad dream,” I told my Drake. “She does that sometimes, you know.”

  I knew it was true because every time she had a nightmare, it woke me up. I would have been annoyed with her if I could have been, but there was no room in me for that emotion—I was too filled with the need to protect her and…other things.

  I felt a sense of questioning coming from my other half—he wanted to go down and check to make certain Kaitlyn was okay.

  I had done that in the past—left my bedroom in the West Tower where the Drake dorms were located and gone down to the entrance of the “Norm Dorm” where the human students who attended Nocturne Academy were housed. It was a trap door in the Dining Hall which led down into the dungeons of the old castle.

  Sometimes I went down and listened at the trap door, making certain Kaitlyn was well, before going back to bed. Sometimes my Drake was too restless and I had to pace around, playing sentry for as much as an hour before he would finally let me go back to my own bed and rest.

  As I said before, it would have been annoying if I wasn’t so filled with other emotions.

  What my Drake really wanted was for me to open the trap door and go down into the Norm Dorm—where I most certainly did not belong—and take Kaitlyn in my arms. He wanted to feel her held close and secure against my chest, to still her night terrors personally and know that she was safe from having them again.

  But that, I could not do, though I admit I wished for it too. She already feared me—at least, if the frightened looks she sometimes shot in my direction were anything to go by. And breaking into her bedroom at night to hold her would only make her more scared.

  Not to mention getting me expelled.

  Only once had Kaitlyn accepted help from me and that was after Sanchez had hurt and bullied her during the PE class we shared. She had allowed me to take her and her friend Megan Latimer to the Healer and she had even worn my shirt, to cover her scars.

  I had waited for days for the shirt to return to me. Once you put an item of clothing into the laundry chute at Nocturne Academy, it gets laundered and returns magically to its original owner.

  But the shirt never came back.

  I wondered if she still had it—if she’d kept it somewhere to remind her of me. It seemed far-fetched but I liked to imagine her keeping it—maybe hanging it in the back of her wardrobe—maybe even putting it on from time to time to feel its fabric against her skin as though the fabric was my arms encircling her…

  I tried to push such foolish thoughts out of my head and speak reason to my Drake, who was still insisting that we must go check on Kaitlyn.

  “She’s not even here—it’s the weekend,” I reminded him. “She’s across town at the Breedlove’s house, remember? Besides, she’s resting easy now—she’s going back to sleep.”

  Which was exactly what I needed to be doing. I had a History of Magic test the next day that I had barely studied for.

  My Drake sent a though message to me—an image of him flying through the dark night sky and circling over the Breedlove’s large, stately home—maybe putting one eye to Kaitlyn’s bedroom window, just to check on her.

  “Hell, no!” I told him emphatically. “Letting you out again will get me expelled for sure. Besides, do you really think seeing a glowing golden eye the size of a dinner plate looking in through her window would make Kaitlyn feel safer? Mierda! You’d scare her to death!”

  My Drake grumbled and I got the very strong feeling from him that he thought if Kaitlyn was only allowed to meet him, he could win her over. Which of course couldn’t happen here in the human world, as I pointed out to him. Then he wanted to know why we couldn’t take her to the Sky Lands, where he was free to be himself and he could spend as much time with her as was needed for her to get to know him.

  Dios, sometimes the stupid beast inside me had no fucking common sense.

  I shut him down and turned over in bed, determined to get back to sleep. But it wasn’t until I felt Kaitlyn slip back to sleep herself—somewhere across town—that I was finally able to relax.

  As my breathing deepened and my Drake at last was silent, my last conscious thoughts were of her. And my last feelings were those of possession and longing.

  She was mine, at least as far as my Drake was concerned—I just didn’t know how I was ever going to claim her.

  Want more? Fear not—FANG AND CLAW, the second book in the Nocturne Academy Series is coming soon. To be the first to find out when a new book releases, sign up for my new YA newsletter HERE. Or if you're interested in my sci-fi romance, you can sign up HERE.

  Guarding the Goddess

  Deleted Chapter

  Author’s Note:

  I wrote this chapter and loved it, but then realized that it would give away the fact that it was Tisa, Ty’s chewchie, who actually called for help. But it was so cute, I wanted you to be able to read it. So here it is—the deleted chapter of Tisa being adorable and bossy and telling Asher to get his ass over to Helios Beta and help his friend, Ty. Enjoy!

  Hugs,

  Evangeline

  Deleted Chapter

  Sixty light years away, Commander Asher of the Kindred Elite Espionage Corps and his new bride Lisa were woken from a peaceful sleep by a high, piercing wail.

  “Oh my God—what is it?” Lisa sat bolt upright in bed.

  “Lights!” Asher roared, also sitting up and fumbling for his blaster.

  Brilliant light flooded their bedroom, blinding them for a moment. When they were finally able to see again, they were treated to the sight of their chewchies—Gruff and Isabel—sitting up at the foot of their bed and wailing with all their might.

  “Oh, no! What is it? What’s wrong with them?” Lisa asked. Her heart was pounding and she pressed a hand to her chest, trying to still it.

  “I don�
��t know.” Asher looked as perplexed as she felt. “Maybe it’s some kind of chewchie ritual?”

  “Maybe—” Lisa began but just then both chewchies started speaking in unison—in a voice they had never heard before.

  “Listen up,” the new voice, which was high-pitched and definitely on the bossy side, Lisa thought, began. “Now that I have your attention, I need your help. I am Tisa, the Sacred Blue chewchie sent by Thufar himself to be the companion of the Lan’Glaver—the Savior of the Goddess.”

  “Who?” Asher asked, frowning.

  “You know him as Commander Ty’rial—your friend, Ty,” the voice that had called itself “Tisa” went on, issuing eerily from the mouths of both Gruff and Isabel at the same time. “Anyway, Ty is the rightful consort of the Goddess in the Flesh—the Potentate of Helios Beta. But he is being held in the dungeons below the palace on orders of the evil traitor, Lord Kikbax—the High Priest of Thufar.”

  Lisa still felt like she was half asleep. Could their chewchies really be broadcasting an SOS for Asher’s friend from light years away? Or was she still dreaming?

  The chewchie called Tisa who was still speaking through their own chewchies dispelled that idea almost at once.

  “Well?” she demanded. “Why are you both still just lying there? There’s no time to lose—the High Priest is planning to rule the planet through the Potentate and use Ty as leverage to make her do whatever he says. Also, they want to kill me! Me—a Sacred Blue chewchie! Which is an unspeakable sacrilege!”

  She sounded outraged, Lisa thought as she came more awake. Also bossy. She had never met such a headstrong chewchie before. But then again, she really only talked to Isabel and Gruff and neither of them were as articulate as Tisa.

  “Get up—come on!” she demanded now. “Get in a ship and come help Ty right now—he needs you!”

  Asher was already pulling on his clothes.

  “Tell Ty I’m on my way,” he told the chewchies.

  “Not by yourself, you’re not. What about me?” Lisa demanded.

  Asher paused for a moment and took her by the shoulders.

  “Sweetheart, you know very well that it’s not safe for a female who’s pregnant or might be pregnant to fold space.”

  Lisa bit her lip. He was right. And though she had no idea if she was “riding the preggy train” as her friend Kat put it, or not, she thought the chances were good that she might be. After all, she and Asher had been making love every spare minute for the past month—it was like they couldn’t get enough of each other.

  “But… I’ll worry about you,” she said in a small voice.

  “Don’t worry,” Asher said grimly. “I’m not going on my own. I’ll take a Think-me and bespeak a whole company of warriors to come on my way to the Docking Bay. We’ll get Ty to safety and take care of this coup in short order.”

  “All right.” Lisa pulled him in for a hug and clung to him for a long moment. “Be careful,” she whispered in his ear. “I love you.”

  “I love you forever.” Asher gave her a swift kiss and then he was gone.

  Lisa looked at the chewchies, who still sat at attention at the foot of her bed.

  “All right, Tisa, whoever you are,” she said, “You’d better keep me informed. I want to know that my man is safe.”

  “So does Her Highness the Potentate,” Tisa responded, only speaking through Isabel this time. “But don’t worry—if all else fails, I’m still here. I won’t let that nasty Lord Kikbax get away with his evil plots!”

  Lisa wondered what in the world a tiny chewchie could do against the High Priest of Thufar, whom she remembered as a rather pompous, power-hungry man who hadn’t liked the fact that the new Potentate had a mind of her own.

  “Please, Goddess,” she prayed, looking up to the ceiling and sending the prayer skyward with all her heart. “Please help Asher to rescue his friend and the new Potentate and bring him safely home to me."

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  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  Below you'll find a list of available and upcoming titles. But depending on when you read this list, new books will have come out by then that are not listed here. Make sure to check my website for the latest releases and better yet, sign up for my newsletter to never miss a new book again.

  Brides of the Kindred series

  (Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

  CLAIMED (Also Available in Audio)

  HUNTED (Also Available in Audio)

  SOUGHT (Also Available in Audio)

  FOUND(Also Available in Audio)

  REVEALED (Also Available in Audio)

  PURSUED (Also Available in Audio)

  EXILED (Also Available in Audio)

  SHADOWED(Also Available in Audio)

  CHAINED (Also Available in Audio)

  DIVIDED (Also Available in Audio)

  DEVOURED (Also Available in Audio)

  ENHANCED (Also Available in Audio)

  CURSED (Also Available in Audio)

  ENSLAVED (Also Available in Audio)

  TARGETED (Also Available in Audio)

  FORGOTTEN (Coming Soon in Audio)

  SWITCHED

  UNCHARTED

  UNBOUND

  SURRENDERED

  VANISHED

  IMPRISONED

  TWISTED

  DECEIVED

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME ONE

  Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME TWO

  Contains Revealed, Pursued and Exiled

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME THREE

  Contains Shadowed, Chained and Divided

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FOUR

  Contains Devoured, Enhanced and Cursed

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FIVE

  Contains Enslaved, Targeted and Forgotten

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SIX

  Contains Switched, Uncharted and Unbound

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SEVEN

  Contains Surrendered, Vanished, and Imprisoned

  All Kindred novels are now available in PRINT.

  * * *

  Also, all Kindred novels are on their way to Audio, join my Audiobook Newsletter to be notified when they come out.

  Kindred Tales

  The Kindred Tales are side stories in the Brides of the Kindred series which stand alone outside the main story arc.

  These can be read as STAND ALONE novels.

  MASTERING THE MISTRESS (Also Available in Audio)

  BONDING WITH THE BEAST (Also Available in Audio)

  SEEING WITH THE
HEART (Also Available in Audio)

  FREEING THE PRISONER (Also Available in Audio)

  HEALING THE BROKEN (a Kindred Christmas novel) (Also Available in Audio)

  TAMING THE GIANT (Also Available in Audio)

  BRIDGING THE DISTANCE (Also Available in Audio)

  LOVING A STRANGER (Also Available in Audio)

  FINDING THE JEWEL (Also Available in Audio)

  BONDED BY ACCIDENT (Also Available in Audio)

  RELEASING THE DRAGON (Also Available in Audio)

  SHARING A MATE (Also Available in Audio)

  INSTRUCTING THE NOVICE (Also Available in Audio)

  AWAKENED BY THE GIANT (Also Available in Audio)

  HITTING THE TARGET (Also Available in Audio)

  HANDLING THE HYBRID

  TRAPPED IN TIME

  TIME TO HEAL

  PAIRING WITH THE PROTECTOR

  FALLING FOR KINDRED CLAUS

  GUARDING THE GODDESS

  STEALING HER HEART

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 1

  Contains Mastering the Mistress, Bonding with the Beast and Seeing with the Heart

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 2

  Contains Freeing the Prisoner, Healing the Broken and Taming the Giant

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 3

  Contains Bridging the Distance, Loving a Stranger and Finding the Jewel

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 4

  Contains Bonded by Accident, Releasing the Dragon, and Sharing a Mate

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 5

  Contains Instructing the Novice, Awakened by the Giant, and Hitting the Target

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 6 (Coming Soon)

  Contains Handling the Hybrid, Trapped in Time, and Time to Heal

  Born to Darkness series

  (Paranormal / Action-Adventure Romance)