The Touch of Snow

by Anna Edwards

  THE TOUCH OF SNOW

  A Glacial blood SERIES NOVEL

  Anna Edwards

  Copyright © 2017 by Anna Edwards

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  www.AuthorAnnaEdwards.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase.

  In addition, this book may contain content which could cause triggers to certain readers. You read at your own discretion.

  Disclaimer: Please do not try any sexual practice, without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from the use of the information contained in this book.

  Cover Design by www.CharityHendry.com

  Logo Design by Charity Hendry

  1st Editing by Dayna Hart, Hart to Heart Edits

  2nd Editing by Heather Guimond

  Proofreading by Sheena Taylor

  Formatting by Charity Hendry

  The Touch of Snow/ Anna Edwards – 2nd ed.

  ISBN 978-1548135140

  Dedication –

  To anyone that is different from what the norm is.

  You are unique.

  That is your power.

  Acknowledgements:

  Firstly, and always to my great friend Charity Hendry for always being there for me. For entertaining my crazy ideas and helping me bring them to fruition. Love you to bits.

  I want to give special thanks to Heather Guimond of AFWB who helped me no end in getting this book into order after a difficult time. You really gave me my confidence back.

  To my street team, Becca, Susan and Sheena. Thank you so much for all your fabulous posts.

  To my beta’s, who all really embraced this story from the start. Thank you Maggie, Michelle, Maria, Becca and Barb.

  To my team of ARC readers, many that have been there with me since the beginning, especially Tanaka, Becky (looking forward to coffee), Chrystal, Teresa, Jessica and Sandra.

  To Yvonne and the Heart of Steel Crew for hosting the release party.

  To my family, thank you for all the support that you give me. Especially my children who helped me decide what shifting animals to have. Kas for my little boy and Brayden for my cat obsessed princess. You’re still not reading mummy’s books until you are eighteen though.

  Finally, most importantly, to all the readers that have embraced me as an author. I’m so glad that you enjoy the stories that my mind creates. I hope I’m able to give you many more years of pleasure.

  CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  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

  EPILOGUE

  BOOKS BY ANNA EDWARDS

  DEAR READER

  PREVIEW OF CONTROLLING HERITAGE

  ABOUT ANNA EDWARDS

  CONNECT WITH ANNA EDWARDS

  PROLOGUE

  They have been by our side for millennia, but very few humans know they exist. Through the ages legends and myths arose of werewolves, and the like, powerful witches who could look into the future and possess the spirit of a man. The ancient Egyptians worshiped gods such as Anubis, Horus, and Isis.

  In truth, these creatures are the link between animals and humans. They are able to shift between their human and animal form at will - only ever to the one animal though. What if shifters existed who could become anything they wanted?

  What would someone be willing to do to possess that power? The power to be any animal with only a thought.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The barren desert wasteland with its hues of gold, orange, and red sped past the car window. The rock formations were a testament to years of erosion, beaten down by forces greater than he could understand. As a shape-shifting snow leopard, Brayden Dillon knew a lot about the ways of Mother Nature. Considering he spent most of his time exploring the snow-capped peaks of The Glacial National Park he already had the air-conditioning turned up as high as it would go. The brand-new Ford Mustang he drove had been a gift from his alpha, Kas, in recognition for a job done well; so was the break from duties as pack Enforcer. Why his mother had to live just outside Death Valley was beyond him. You really couldn't get a hotter place on Earth. She'd told him it was because his father had always lived in the snow. When he died, she decided to get some sun. She hadn't looked back.

  He pulled his Mustang up outside the café and shut off the roar of the high-powered engine. The disapproving looks from the locals soon vanished when he climbed out of the car. His height of six foot five silenced any potential disagreement. He purred to himself in contentment, but that was quickly lost when the heat of the midday sun hit him. He was not designed for this weather. He had all the usual snow leopard attributes: thick black hair with smoky gray flecks, small ears, and big feet that helped with balance. He was pale because he rarely spent time sunbathing like the lions and tigers in his pack. Dusk to dawn was when he was the most active. He made quick steps towards the café and into the air-conditioned building.

  He didn't see his mother, only a fresh-faced waitress. She wore the café’s uniform: a barely-there skirt and a tank top that was almost a second skin. She was pretty, in a timid sort of way. Every time someone came near her she flinched, and he could smell her fear. Well, he assumed it was fear. His judgment was slightly clouded by the fact that he needed a drink, preferably ice cold and dumped over his head. She approached the seat he had taken near the counter.

  "Hi. Welcome to the Last Stop. I'm Selene, and I'll be your waitress today. Can I get you an ice water to start with? It sure is a hot one out there today." Any sign of her nerves had disappeared, replaced with a business-like smile.

  "Yes please, lots of ice. In fact, just bring me a big bowl of ice."

  She laughed, her tiny nose crinkling up and dimples appearing in her cheeks. Up close, she was even prettier than he'd originally thought. "Let me guess." She took a step back and looked him up and down. "Well, the fact you seem as if you're melting, I take it you're not a southerner. The lack of a tan confirms that but I can't quite place the accent?"

  "Montana."

  "No wonder you're hot. I'll bring you ice cream as well." She spun around in her little ballet pumps and started to stride off. Something stopped her. She turned back and took another long look at him; an eyebrow raising in question.

  "Brayden?"

  "Yes." His reply was tentative. Not many people knew who he was. It was his job to be secretive and stay in the shadows.

  "Your mother said you were coming. She had to go to a meeting in Pahrump. She should be back soon, but she said that you could go up to the apartment if you wanted. My God, now I really look at you, you look like the pictures she has of
your father. God rest his soul." She bowed her head. Brayden couldn't help feel a little unease. This girl, she couldn't have been more than eighteen from the looks of her, knew far too much about him. He just hoped she didn't know everything. His mother would never tell her that, would she? "You head on up. I'll get your water, ice cubes, and ice cream, and bring it to you. It's my lunch break, I'll keep you company till she gets here."

  He did as instructed. Mainly because he was freaked out by the insistent waitress, but also because his mother had the biggest freezer known to man. If he didn't get cold air on him soon, he was going to dissolve into a pile of fur on the floor.

  His mother's apartment hadn't changed one bit from when he visited last year. It was decorated in a minimal style with clean lines and equally clean surfaces. She had always liked the latest trends in interior design. It had apparently annoyed his father, to no end, because he preferred to take things as they came, which, in his case was usually wild and chaotic. While he waited for Selene, Brayden opened the freezer and stuck his head in it. The blast of icy, cold air surrounded him, and his inner beast jumped for joy at finally getting away from the inferno that was the Mojave Desert. It was definitely scolding him for coming to this place. He'd introduce it to a snack of jackrabbit later. That would keep it happy.

  "Damn, you are hot." Selene's voice came from the doorway. How had he not heard her? She blushed. "I mean..."

  "I know what you meant. I spend a lot of my time in the mountains in Montana. I’m more acclimatized to snow." He watched her while she placed the food on the table.

  "Come on and sit down before the ice cream melts. You look like a cookies n’ cream guy. I hope you like it. I'll turn up the AC."

  "I can do it."

  Surprised, she dodged out of his way when they both reached for the air-conditioning remote control. It was such a quick movement, almost cat-like.

  "Please sit. I've already got it."

  He took a seat at the table and downed the glass of ice-water in one mouthful. Its cold liquid reduced his body temperature. Selene pressed a button on the remote control, and another icy blast hit him. He purred, as he finally felt relaxed with the cool air washing over him. Thankfully, it was quiet enough that the young human female would not hear him.

  "Your mom called when I was downstairs. She shouldn't be long. There was an accident just as she came on the route one-ninety by Death Valley Junction. That's less than half an hour away."

  "Great." He needed to have a few words with his mother.

  "When was the last time you saw her?" Selene took a seat at the table with him, with a small salad she’d brought for herself. No wonder she was tiny if that was all she was eating. The ice cream was good, but he couldn't wait for his mother to cook him a steak, or three or, hell, he was on holiday, make that four. Who was he kidding? He wanted the whole cow laid out on his plate. His inner leopard approved of that idea with a smacking of it’s lips.

  "It must have been a year now. I don't get here as often as I would like."

  "She said your job keeps you busy; park ranger, isn't it?"

  "My mom seems to talk about me a lot," he chuckled.

  "She's really proud of you." She shrugged. "I think I've pretty much seen all your baby, kindergarten, and graduation pictures, as well as all the school reports. I love the mullet you had going on in high school." It was her turn to laugh.

  "Puberty hit me hard."

  "You've still got a bit of a mane to you."

  "This is nothing in comparison to my friend." He ran his fingers through his hair. He kept it long because it did its own thing most of the time. "He has the full fluffy thing happening, no sooner does he style it, than it goes poof into a mess again."

  "Poor guy."

  "What about you?"

  "My hair? It does as it's told." She tucked a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear.

  He raised an eyebrow at her.

  "Oh, you meant who am I?"

  "I did. I feel at a disadvantage. You seem to know a great deal about me."

  He finished his cookies n’ cream, placed the spoon back in the bowl, and popped an ice cube into his mouth to suck.

  "There isn't much to know. My name is Selene Harper. I've been working for your mother for six months now, ever since I arrived in Death Valley. She's given me a room in the apartment with her. It means I can look after the place when she needs to go out."

  "How old are you?"

  "Twenty-one."

  Throughout their entire conversation she'd been keeping eye contact with him, but now she looked down at the salad. Was that a lie? He took a deep inhalation and felt a shift in her scent. She was nervous again. There was something this human was not telling him. He would play along, for now, but when his mother returned he would be demanding answers. Who was this woman living with his mother? Was she safe with her?

  "Where did you live before?" Brayden asked.

  Selene put her fork down on her plate.

  "Look at me stuffing my face and all I've given you is ice cream. I'll tell you what, I'll go and get a burger for you. I’m sure the chef knows how you like it." Was she deliberately avoiding his question?

  "There's no need."

  "No, no I insist. My lunch break is over anyway. I'll send someone up with it when it's done." She hurried out, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

  His mother had emailed him a few months back asking if he would visit her, when he could get away. Brayden was the pack's lead enforcer, basically the assassin for the Glacial Blood pack. A pack, well a family really, brought together by choice, not blood. He was damned good at his job. Recently, he'd been kept busy enough that, this was the first chance he'd had to get away.

  He’d bet money that whatever his mother wanted to speak to him about, it was related to the waitress. Brayden wasn't going to sit around in his mother's apartment, he was going to go down to the café and observe. His instincts were telling him something was not right here, and he'd learned at a very young age to trust them.

  Brayden had just sat in the café, with his burger, when his mother arrived. He gave her a great big hug, and a contented thrum left his throat. He heard her own hum of pleasure at having her son close.

  "I'm sure you've gotten even taller," his mother exclaimed and took a seat opposite him.

  "Compared to Kas, I'm like an ant."

  "He always was freakishly big. Your father always said it was the seal blubber. I remember the day I roasted some for him with my grandma's secret spice mix. I don't think I've ever seen a grown man drool so much with anticipation."

  "Which reminds me… he wants me to bring another packet of the mix back with me. He's got a hunting trip planned."

  "Please tell me he is not going to eat it raw again?" Jane raised a questioning eyebrow.

  "He likes it that way," Brayden huffed.

  "Philistine." His mother rolled her eyes in disgust.

  Their conversation quieted when Selene brought his mother a coffee. "Thanks, Sel. How have things been?"

  "No problems at all," Selene said. Brayden sat back and started on his burger while the ladies spoke. A perfect medium rare, just as he liked it.

  "I see Stuart is in." His mom nodded her head towards a table full of jocks. Their team jackets were thick, despite the high temperature.

  "Yes, he wants me to go out with him tonight." Selene stood with her shaking hands clasped in front of her.

  "Hi, Mrs. Dillon," one of the men called out. His hair was slicked with gel into a fashionable style and he had a smug smile on his face.

  "Hi, Stuart," his mom shouted back, before reverting her attention again to Selene. "I thought we might have a nice meal with Brayden?"

  "I turned him down last week. I can't really say no again."

  "You don't have to go out with him."

  "He is good to me," Selene stated quietly.

  Brayden could tell by the sudden look of disgust on his mother's face that she didn't believe that.

&nbs
p; "And besides, you and your son probably have a lot to catch up on."

  "We will do dinner tomorrow. Don't make any plans, please." There was a hint of desperation in his mother's plea.

  "You have my word." Selene turned her attention to another patron who had arrived.

  "What is going on, Mom?" Brayden asked.

  "We'll talk tomorrow, please. Here isn’t the place."

  "You are worried. We'll talk now."

  Someone from the table, at which Stuart sat, loudly called over to Selene. She timidly went over to them.

  "Can we get another round of sodas, please? We better get them to go. Don't want to be late for practice. Why don't you see if you can get off and come and join us?" The loud-mouthed idiot, Stuart, grabbed Selene's hand and ran his other hand up her naked leg. Instead of looking like she enjoyed it, the panic-stricken girl looked like she would be sick. A growl formed in Brayden’s throat and his fingernails started to shift to claws.

  "Brayden, no. She knows what she is doing." His mother placed her hand over his, hiding the sharpened talons. All he could do was watch and keep the reverberations in his throat as quiet as possible. It was his natural state; he couldn't help it. Selene nodded toward where he and his mother sat.

  "I wish I could, but Miss Jane needs me." Selene removed Stuart's hand from her leg and kissed it. "But I'll be there when you finish practice, and you can show me that lookout point you wanted to. How about that?"

  All Brayden could think about was, how could she be all sweetness and light when it was evident, to anyone with half a brain, that this man made her skin crawl?

  "I suppose that’ll do. Make sure you wear a short skirt and show me some skin. That gothic stuff you wear is awful. I never get to see anything with those long skirts.”

  "I think after a day here it will be a little dirty, but I will see what I can find." With that, Selene disappeared into the back and Brayden could relax. He sheathed his claws again.