by Amy Lane
Of course, the fact that Grace’s grandsons were here and insisted that every morning started at dawn didn’t really help either. They were leaving this morning, which made me sad because I loved them—they were domesticity and sweetness and excitement. And Bracken and Green were nothing short of breathtaking when they were dealing with the boys. I loved watching that. Someday they would make wonderful fathers.
This thought was interrupted when Bracken and Green came into the living room, shoulder to shoulder, from the hallway Leah had just disappeared into.
Something about their twin sober expressions and the similarity of their gaits told me two things. One was that they’d been waiting for Leah to come out, and the other was that they had something they wanted to talk to me about.
“Where are the boys?” I asked, sitting up and trying to look healthy. I hadn’t complained about the tiredness and the queasiness—I was still trying to make up for the night I had saved Teague’s life. Bracken’s anger could still make me shiver, and reminding them that I was human wouldn’t get me any points.
“Outside, playing with Arturo,” Green informed me. For a moment they stood there together, looking down at me studiously, and I started to grow uneasy.
“What?” I asked, smiling at them tentatively. “Seriously, what did I do now?” I’d been very, very careful in the past two weeks—I hadn’t even ripped Bracken’s face off when he’d stood in front of me during the Monterey op. I had, in fact, tried very, very hard to never ever ever make them sorry they loved me—not even for a second, not even a little bit.
Because that thing that had changed, whatever it was, still scared me.
Green laughed a little and looked tired at the same time. Bracken scowled at me, but he, too, looked weary. They were elves—they needed very little sleep and pretty much spontaneously regenerated any energy they lost. It occurred to me to wonder about whatever the hell could make the two of them look exhausted. Together they sat down on the couch, one on either side of me, and put their hands on my thighs.
“Guys,” I said, worried by now. “Seriously, what is it? You’re starting to freak me out. I mean, I’ve been good, right? I haven’t taken any risks, I haven’t gotten weepy about the shit I’ve had to do.” I had, in fact, been the model of emotional health, for someone who had spent a whole lot of time watching old Supernatural episodes and weeping copiously for no reason at all.
I looked at them helplessly. “I’ve been good….”
My voice trailed off, and Green took my chin in his hands.
“Yes, ou’e’eir, my Anyaen.”
Oh no… Anyaen. He never used that word. It was the one endearment he was afraid to use in front of Bracken, because it was so… so all encompassing, and neither of us could be exclusive.
“Anyaen?” I squeaked. Oh, Goddess… we were far too bound to have some sort of preternatural divorce, no matter how mad at me Bracken might be.
“Don’t panic, beloved,” Green said with a smile. “We just have some news for you, that’s all.”
“News.” I blinked, not panicking as he suggested. “Uhm. Does it have anything to do with….” Oh. Crap. How did I say this? “I, uhm, you know. I lost control….” I blushed. “After we got back from Redding. Did…” More blushing. “Did that bother you? I’m sorry. It was sort of an….” I quailed, because of all things, this seemed to be lightening the mood. “It was an emotional time,” I finished in a small voice, and both of them smiled together and rolled their eyes.
“Bracken?” I asked as a last resort.
Bracken snorted, the sound so normal and so a part of Bracken that I was reassured in spite of myself. Brack wouldn’t sound like that if it was something really dire, right?
“I still don’t see how she doesn’t know,” Bracken said to Green, shaking his head and stroking my thigh. Both actions were supremely gentle.
Green smiled—his kind, amazing smile—and replied, “The same way she’s panicking about our love. She knows so much about the world, but not so very much about the magic going on in herself.”
“Magic?” I said, calming down a little. I could deal with magic, and they both obviously still loved me, so this was something that we could handle together, right?
“Yes, beloved,” Green murmured, putting his hand over my stomach. Bracken echoed the gesture, and their hands, warm, strong, and protective, cupped something inside of me I had not known was growing.
“Magic,” Bracken finished for him. Then, together, they managed to tilt the universe on its axis and turn the world upside down on my head.
More from Amy Lane
Little Goddess: Book One
Working graveyards in a gas station seems a small price for Cory to pay to get her degree and get the hell out of her tiny town. She’s terrified of disappearing into the aimless masses of the lost and the young who haunt her neck of the woods. Until the night she actually stops looking at her books and looks up. What awaits her is a world she has only read about—one filled with fantastical creatures that she’s sure she could never be.
And then Adrian walks in, bearing a wealth of pain, an agonizing secret, and a hundred and fifty years with a lover he’s afraid she won’t understand. In one breathless kiss, her entire understanding of her own worth and destiny is turned completely upside down. When her newfound world explodes into violence and Adrian’s lover—and prince—walks into the picture, she’s forced to explore feelings and abilities she’s never dreamed of. The first thing she discovers is that love doesn’t fit into nice neat little boxes. The second thing is that risking your life is nothing compared to facing who you really are—and who you’ll kill to protect.
Little Goddess: Book Two, Vol. 1
Cory fled the foothills to deal with the pain of losing Adrian, and Green watched her go. Separately, they could easily grieve themselves to death, but when an old enemy of Green’s brings them back together, they can no longer hide from their grief—or their love for each other.
But Cory’s grieving has cut her off from the emotional stability that’s the source of her power, and Green’s worry for her has left them both weak. Cory’s strength comes from love, and she finds that when she’s in the presence of Adrian’s best friend, Bracken, she feels stronger still.
But defeating their enemy is by no means a sure thing. As the attacks against Cory and her lovers keep coming, it becomes clear that their love might not be enough if they can’t heal each other—and themselves—from the wounds that almost killed them all.
Little Goddess: Book Two, Vol. 2
Green and Bracken’s beloved survived their enemy’s worst—with help from unexpected vampiric help.
But survival is a long way from recovery, and even further from safety. Green’s people want badly to return to the Sierra Foothills, but they’re not going with their tails between their legs. Before they go home, they have to make sure they’re free from attack—and that they administer a healthy dose of revenge as well.
As Cory negotiates a fragile peace between her new and unexpected lovers, Green negotiates the unexpected power that comes from being a beloved leader of the paranormal population. Together, they might heal their own wounds and lead their people to an unprecedented place at the top of the supernatural food chain—a place that will allow them to return home a better, stronger whole.
Little Goddess: Book Three, Vol. 1
Humans have the option of separation, divorce, and heartbreak. For Corinne Carol-Anne Kirkpatrick, sorceress and queen of the vampires, the choices are limited to love or death. Now that she is back at Green’s Hill and assuming her duties as leader, her life is, at best, complicated. Bracken and Nicky are competing for her affections, Green is away taking care of his people, and a new supernatural enemy is threatening the sanctity of all she has come to love. Throw in a family reunion gone bad, a supernatural psychiatrist, and a killer physics class, and Cory’s life isn’t just complex, it’s psychotic.
Cory needs to get her act and her id
entity together, and soon, because the enemy she and her lovers are facing is a nightmare that doesn’t just kill people, it unmakes them. If she doesn’t figure out who she is and what her place is on Green’s Hill, it’s not just her life on the line. She knows from hard experience that the only thing worse than facing death is facing the death of someone she loves.
Loving people is easy—living with them is what takes the real work, and it’s even harder if you’re bound.
Little Goddess: Book Three, Vol. 2
Cory’s newly bound family is starting to find its footing, which is a good thing because danger after danger threatens, and Green can’t be there nearly as often as he’s needed. As Cory learns to face the challenges of ruling the hill alone, she’s also juggling a ménage relationship with three lovers—with mixed results.
But with each new challenge, one lesson becomes crystal clear: she can’t be queen without each of the men who look to her, and the people she loves aren’t safe unless she takes on that queendom with all of the intelligence and courage in her formidable heart.
But sometimes even intelligence, courage, and steadily increasing magic aren’t enough to do the job, and suddenly the role of Cory’s lovers becomes more crucial than ever. Nobody is strong enough to succeed in every task, and Cory finds that the most painful lesson she and her lovers can learn is not just how to deal with failure. Cory needs to learn that one woman is only so powerful, and she needs to choose wisely who sits outside her circle of family, and who is bound eternally in her heart.
Readers love the Little Goddess series by Amy Lane
Vulnerable
“What can I say about Amy’s writing that I haven’t already said? Not much. She’s fantastic, I love everything she writes. Her plots are complex, as are her characters.”
—Love Bytes
Wounded
“There is much darkness in this book, but there are rays of light as well. I look forward to furthering this series.”
—Prism Book Alliance
“It’s another great read, so full of emotion and drama, magic and mystique.”
—Jeannie Zelos Book Reviews
Bound
“Once again I am drawn to this well-crafted story with these amazing characters, not wanting it to end, waiting with frustration for the next volume. I highly recommend each book in this series…”
—MM Good Book Reviews
“As usual, Amy Lane blew my socks off with this story and left me in a huge book hangover because there simply isn’t other books out there written like hers.”
—Inked Rainbow Reads
AMY LANE is a mother of two college students, two grade-schoolers, and two small dogs. She is also a compulsive knitter who writes because she can’t silence the voices in her head. She adores fur-babies, knitting socks, and hawt menz, and she dislikes moths, cat boxes, and knuckle-headed macspazzmatrons. She is rarely found cooking, cleaning, or doing domestic chores, but she has been known to knit up an emergency hat/blanket/pair of socks for any occasion whatsoever, or sometimes for no reason at all. Her award-winning writing has three flavors: twisty-purple alternative universe, angsty-orange contemporary, and sunshine-yellow happy. By necessity, she has learned to type like the wind. She’s been married for twenty-plus years to her beloved Mate and still believes in Twu Wuv, with a capital Twu and a capital Wuv, and she doesn’t see any reason at all for that to change.
Website: www.greenshill.com
Blog: www.writerslane.blogspot.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amy.lane.167
Twitter: @amymaclane
By Amy Lane
The Green’s Hill Novellas
LITTLE GODDESS
Vulnerable
Wounded, Vol. 1
Wounded, Vol. 2
Bound, Vol. 1
Bound, Vol. 2
Rampant, Vol. 1
Rampant, Vol. 2
Published by DSP PUBLICATIONS
www.dsppublications.com
Published by
DSP PUBLICATIONS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dsppublications.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Rampant, Vol. 2
© 2016 Amy Lane.
Cover Art
© 2016 Anne Cain.
[email protected]
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact DSP Publications, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dsppublications.com.
ISBN: 978-1-63477-181-8
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63477-182-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016906205
Published November 2016
v. 2.0
First Edition published as Rampant: The Fourth Book of the Little Goddess Series by iUniverse, 2010.
Printed in the United States of America