“Are you going to wake up, or are we staying in bed all day?” Jin murmured in my ear some time later.
I rolled over to look at him. It was just the two of us still twisted up in the sheets now.
“Where’s every one?” I asked.
“Breakfast. A delivery arrived about an hour ago. Vlad must have made arrangements at some point last night.”
“You mean Sebastian,” I said.
“So you know real names now?” He smirked. It was a quirk of a half-smile that showed off his cheekbones and sensual lips.
“Yeah, Alex told me.” I nodded.
“Since you seem to know everyone’s name, I feel at a disadvantage here. Or do I keep calling you Gloria?”
“How about,” I wiggled in closer, running my leg up his, feeling his skin against mine, “you do what you did so well last night and then I’ll tell you my name. Hmm? Big guy?”
He laughed, and licked the air with his tongue. Right then it was spine-melting sexy. The rest of me melted when he did that thing with his tongue on my body. After I lay panting, and wrung out, he laughed at me some more.
“I suppose I should get up and go find some clothes,” I whined, not wanting to put on anything from last night. Not wanting to get up and face the day. There was so much to be done. I had to get Vin home. I had to make sure she got a happily ever after with Bollywood. I had to go pack, and start bringing my things over here.
At some point in the night I decided I would take Sebastian up on his offer and move in. I wasn’t choosing him over anyone else. I was choosing the mansion.
“Jin, if I move in here, would you move in with me?”
He gave me that sexy smirk. “Just me or everyone? And what would Sebastian have to say about that?”
“He’s the one who gave me the idea.” I sat up and rubbed at my face and head. I pretended that I looked all hot and sexy, and not like the hot mess I probably was.
“If your apartment is anything like your car, I think moving in here is a good plan. You’re going to have a hard time getting rid of us.”
I smiled, and sighed a happy sigh. I wasn’t going to have to choose. Best option ever. I sighed again. Time to get up and face the world. I had things to do, and hopefully, no more demons to slay.
Where to Find More of Lulu M. Sylvian
You can find Lulu in all of the usual places: Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub
visit her website at http://lulumsylvian.com/about/ to get the links you need.
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Want more paranormal romantic suspense and wolf shifters? Check out the Legatum series.
More paranormal reverse harem, and more wolves? Check out The Wolves of Wet Waterfalls.
Find these and more by Lulu on her website http://lulumsylvian.com/
About the Author
Bio-engineered to be the only redhead in a generation of blonds, Lulu feels that “aliens” may actually be the best answer for a lifetime of being asked, “Where did you get that red hair from?”
She did not come into writing from years of scribbling words on paper. Her background is rooted in visual arts and making pictures. Encouraged to make those pictures out of words Lulu began writing just to see what would happen. What happened was two full-length manuscripts in three months.
Lulu cannot ride a horse, a motorcycle, spin a hula hoop, or play roller derby. Yes, she has attempted all of those, even if it has been decades since she’s been on a horse or a motorcycle. She embraces the crazy that comes with that one little genetic mutation, and attempts to live up to the reputation that proceeds her as a redhead. Lulu would like to apologize for her contribution to the hole in the ozone layer from her use of hairspray in the 1980’s.
Hallowed Night by Charlotte Raven Hart
Paranormal Romance Mystery
Copyright@Charlotte Raven Hart 2020
About
On the night when it is said that the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest, two women lost their lives. A year later, in a fake seance gone wrong, one of them is brought back. Teagan doesn’t know how she came back or even what she is now, all she knows is that she is somehow connected to Ronin, a handsome stranger that was there the night of the seance. He is the only one who knows who she is and can help her piece together what happened. Her murder remains unsolved and finding her killer may be the only chance she has at another life, but when her old boyfriend shows up sowing doubt in her mind, she doesn’t know who she can really trust.
Chapter One
The night was blissfully cool as I walked down the streets of Salem. The shops were deserted and no one was on the street save for a few stragglers from the witch and ghost tours. The Halloween revelry was coming to a close and all the tourists were heading back to their snug hotel rooms. Now was the time for the real witches to come out and play.
I made the turn onto the side street by the cemetery. Before I went to meet the others I wanted to stop and pay my respects to those that came before. The memorial for those that lost their lives in the witch trials all those years ago was an important place for me. Although my ancestor was not commemorated here, she had lost her life in jail once the trials had finished because she couldn't afford to pay her debts to be released.
The truth everyone seems to omit: there were more deaths than just the hangings.
I placed a single rose in the center of the memorial before continuing to the main cemetery, one of the oldest in the country. The breeze picked up, making my velvet cloak dance behind me. Halloween was the best, no one bats an eye here at someone walking around with a cloak instead of a coat.
“Teagan, there you are!” Megan called out as she jogged over to me. “I was beginning to think you had stood us up this year!” She smiled. Her gold eye makeup accentuated her dark skin tone beautifully in the dim light. She had already ditched her cloak and was wearing a deep purple dress.
“You know I would never miss this, Megan!” I replied, removing my own cloak and letting it fall to the ground.
“Nice dress,” she said with a sly grin.
I glanced down at my own crimson dress. “Thanks, I thought it would be nice for the occasion.”
She laughed and we both headed to the back corner of the cemetery where three other girls from our little coven--Astor, Vanessa, and Kori--waited, candles already lit around them.
It wasn’t necessary for us to do this in the cemetery, it was just a ritual to bless the harvest and offer good fortune moving into the darker months, but it was our way of honoring those that came before us, and who falsely lost their lives. Salem always seemed to have special energy, like a spiritual nexus, in my opinion the tragedy that happened hundreds of years ago was no mere coincidence.
Megan and I joined the others and took our places in the circle. We laid out wheat in between us to form a pentagram and put items representing the harvest, fertility and good fortune in the center.
I lost myself in the simple ritual. Something about this time of year, the spirits, the rare full moon, it called to me. Like whispers in the stiff breeze. I relished it.
We finished up and said our goodbyes, but Megan hung back and pulled me aside.
“You all right, Tea?”
“Yeah, why?” I asked, grabbing my cloak and putting it back on.
“I don’t know. I just got this strange feeling while we were doing the ritual. Be careful, OK?”
“Of course,” I said with a smile. She turned and walked out into the narrow street. Something in the shadow of the building across the street caught my eye, but I didn’t think anything about it. It was probably just one of the other girls, right?
I turned to go the opposite way on the street when a heart wrenching scream shattered the silent night. I turned.
Nothing about the scene in front of me made any sense; my mind couldn’t comprehend it. I registered individual details--a darkened figure, a glin
t of metal, a puddle on the street where there hadn’t been one before, Megan on the ground--but none of them seemed to fit together.
The figure moved closer to me and my natural instincts kicked in. I ran back inside the cemetery, thinking I would escape out the path to the side. A tug on my cloak pulled me back, making me stumble. Fumbling with the clasp, I let it drop lurching forward and hitting the large central crypt. As I pushed myself off of it and turned, a sharp pain slashed through my left arm.
A cry rang out that I only distantly registered was from me. My heart raced, panic rushing through my mind.
Just move! Move move move!
A thump behind me, A force making me stumble and fall to my knees. I was frozen, eyes wide, blood draining from my face. Only when the knife was violently yanked out did the pain begin to flood through me. I collapsed and the figure stood towering above. A dark boot kicked me over onto my back. I couldn't speak, I couldn’t move. A gloved hand came down. The knife went in again and again. I never could see his face, hidden in the shadows of a dark hood.
When I closed my eyes, all I saw was Megan’s lifeless face.
Wait for me, my friend, I’ll join you soon…
Chapter Two - One Year Later
The night was chilly, but the large fire fought it back well. Ronin loved the simplicity of a roaring campfire in autumn. He could do without all the parties, drinking, and costumes. Just give him a calming fire on a brisk October night anyday. He leaned back in his chair and breathed in the sweet, smoky scent of the fire.
“Yo, Ronin! You’re not falling asleep on us are you? It’s Halloween and the night is still young!”
Trey approached him from behind and shook his shoulder.
Ronin laughed and sat up. “No, no, of course not! Just enjoying the festivities.” Although, honestly he could have easily enjoyed them on his own.
“Matt and I were thinking about doing something fun and a little different this year,” Trey said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“And what would that be?” Ronin was leery about anything those two might come up with that they would consider “different” and “fun.” When they were younger, they were always causing trouble and not all of that had dissipated when they reached adulthood.
“Come on! Let’s head downtown.”
“And do what?”
“If I told you that would ruin the ambience of the surprise we’ve set up.” Trey laughed as he jogged ahead.
I don’t like it when he does that…
Every inch of Ronin was on alert, filled with an unknown sense of dread. Sighing, he doused the flames and slowly trudged after him. After all, someone had to make sure they didn’t wind up dead in a ditch.
They weren't far from Trey’s intended destination, easy walking distance for those accustomed to it. As they walked the streets, Ronin watched the kids, sleepy from trick-or-treating, head towards their homes and the teens and tourists holler loudly, all in bright costumes.
By the time they got to the main stretch, passing by the Witch Museum and the Hawthorne, most of the people were clearing out.
Ronin walked with his head down and his hands stuck in the pockets of his leather jacket. The entire time, the dread never went away. A ball of dark anxiety festered in the pit of his stomach and grew until Trey turned and raised his arms to indicate they had arrived. Looking up, Ronin thought that pit would burst.
“The cemetery?” he asked dubiously.
“Yeah, man! What better place to spend Halloween night?”
Matt took that opportunity to jump from the shadows onto Trey’s shoulders, causing him to let out a surprised shriek.
“Got you!” Matt called out, laughing.
They burst into raucous laughter, leaving Ronin standing in bewildered silence, arms crossed.
“OK guys, if you don’t tell me why you dragged me here, then I’m just going to leave.”
“No, no, man, this will be worth it!” Matt said.
Ronin ran his hand through his dark hair and sighed.
“You see, this place was already pretty cool, I mean it's an ancient cemetery in Salem! Enough said! But last year, something happened that makes this place even more special,” Trey began.
“How much beer have the two of you had exactly?” The fact that they were acting like a couple of idiotic teenage jocks was not lost on him, but he was reluctant to just leave them. He always felt like the big brother of the trio, he always wanted to watch out and make sure they didn't get hurt, even if he was never interested in their antics.
“I dunno,” Trey said and Matt gave an equivalent shrug for his answer.
“Fine, what happened here last year?”
“You didn’t hear? There was a double murder, right here!” Matt answered.
Ronin thought for a moment. “Hm, seems like I might remember hearing something about it. Two girls right?”
“Yeah, and they never were able to catch the killer!” Trey said.
“Interesting, but why are we here?”
“We thought, it might be nice to try and grant these lovely ladies some closure.” Matt put his arm around Ronin and led him to a place with candles set up in a triangle.
“And you plan to do that how? A seance?” Ronin looked between his two friends, eyebrows cocked.
“Something like that, yeah! I read that they were witches who came here to do some kind of ritual. Since their murders are still unsolved, their spirits are probably still hanging around here somewhere, so all we have to do is to tap into their magic and find them!” Trey said, excitement filling his voice.
“I don’t think that’s how it works…”
“Well, what better time to try than on Halloween when they say the veil between life and death are the thinnest. Plus, it’s the one year anniversary of their deaths, so extra chance it will work.”
Matt was already sitting down next to one of the candles. Ronin decided not to point out that all of that was just a gimmick of the holiday and sat down as well, Trey following soon after.
“Did you bring the pictures?” Trey asked.
“Yep, right here!” Matt pulled out a couple of portrait shots of what Ronin could only assume to be the two girls who died. After some finagling, he set them up with some rocks at the top of the candle triangle. The girls were both really pretty, but his eyes were instantly drawn into the one on the right. It was shot in winter, snow flying in the background of the image. The girl was wearing a bright red scarf that really brought out the caramel glints in her dark hair. She was smiling and Ronin thought how sad it was that she would never get to be that happy again. He didn’t really know what to believe when it came to the afterlife, but whatever awaited them, he doubted she would be smiling like that.
“What was her name? I mean, their names?” Ronin asked.
“This one was Megan, and then that one Teagan.” Matt pointed to each photo as he spoke.
Teagan…
“OK, I’ll start,” Trey said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. “I looked up the instructions to a basic seance online.” He skimmed over the paper for a minute before continuing. “All right, we gather here today to call upon the spirits and natural essences left behind by…” he made a gesture for Matt to interject.
“Oh! Um, Megan Turner and…” he glanced at his own crumpled paper, “Teagan Croft.”
“Right, Megan Turner and Teagan Croft. We know a great wrong was done to you here in this place, and we want to make it right. Help us now by appearing before us and blessing us with the knowledge to capture the one who did this.”
It sounded ridiculous to Ronin, but he had to admit that right then, looking at Teagan’s picture, part of him hoped that it worked.
Why do I feel like I’ve seen her before?
The wind picked up, ice cold like tiny daggers slicing across his cheeks. “What is that?” Ronin turned his head, thinking he heard a gentle whisper feathered in the breeze by his ear.
“What?” Trey as
ked as Ronin stood up and approached the center crypt on unsteady feet.
“Where are you going, man? It’s just a little wind.” As the words left Matt, the wind picked up, taking the photos of the girls and sending them flying with the autumn leaves. The picture of the brunette, Teagan, landed in front of Ronin. Bending down to pick it up, he once again heard something, like someone calling to him from far away.
“Where’d this wind come from? Damn, that’s cold!” Ronin thought he heard Matt say. He wasn’t sure, he was no longer thinking of them. Ronin placed his hand on the crypt and a sharp pain shot through his arm, like a knife slashing him.
“Ow!” He looked back and thought for a moment he saw a cape fluttering to the ground. “What?” Nothing was making sense.
“Ronin! Get out of there!”
“Move!”
His friends’ voices sounded a million miles away or through a veil, muffled. Blue shadows filled his vision, taking strange shapes, almost like a shadow puppet play. He saw two girls in the street. Then one on the ground. Two people running. And finally a girl on the ground with a figure standing above her.
Could this be what happened that night?
He stumbled forward, toward the scene. Reaching out to touch the standing shadow, he was thrown back as a burst of blue light erupted from the misty image. When he looked up again, the world had returned to normal, although Trey and Matt were nowhere in sight, the candles left overturned and abandoned on the ground. Back in the direction of the strange vision however, was someone else: a brunette in a crimson dress crumpled on the ground.
“That’s not possible… Teagan?”
***
The world was dark and my body always felt heavy. I had to have surgery once, and the feeling of the drugs was a lot like what I felt then. My mind was confused and everything seemed distorted. Opening my eyes was a titanic feat in and of itself, and every second I had to continue to fight to keep them open. Everything was a misty blue and trying to walk made me feel like a lumbering zombie.
A Cursed All Hallows' Eve Page 49