The coldness grew, as did the ache in my chest, until finally the creature started to rapidly descend. He eventually landed on the rooftop of an old brick building. He held onto me, carrying me through a large window inside what appeared to be an opulent bedroom. The walls were painted a dark dramatic blue, and sconces were hung on either side of the double doors.
While still holding onto me with one hand, he used his other hand to quickly bind my hands and feet before I could even react. I was in serious trouble, and I had no clue how I was going to get out of it.
He picked me up and tossed me onto a king sized, four poster bed that felt twice as tall as a normal one would be. He pulled out more rope and tied my bound hands to the headboard.
I got my first good look at him and my mouth dropped open. It was the man in the suit, only it wasn’t. A pair of huge black feathered wings stretched out from his back.
I screamed.
He laughed.
I screamed louder.
He seemed amused. “Keep screaming all you want, no one is going to hear you.”
I blinked, hoping if I blinked enough this nightmare would disappear.
“I’ll give you a few minutes to acclimate to your new home.” He walked through a double doorway and closed the door behind him.
I gazed around at my surroundings, both terrified and confused. All of my senses were heightened as I waited for the winged stranger to reappear. Surely he wouldn’t leave me by myself for long. Who was he? What did he want with me? And if he wanted me why did he wait? Why not simply take me when we were at Mrs. Peterson’s?
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as the door slowly opened, and the man walked in again. His wings were now gone, but he was still shirtless.
“Making yourself at home yet?” He strolled into the room and over to where I lay on the bed.
“This isn’t my home.” I wasn’t sure where my home was anymore, but I knew who I wanted with me. Ian had seeped under my skin. I craved him in a way I’d never wanted anyone before, and the craving went beyond the physical. He wasn’t exaggerating the connection, and it was only growing stronger.
“It’s going to be for a while.”
“So this is Willem’s house?” I threw out a question, hoping to get some idea of where I was.
The man laughed. “No. I decided to take you myself first. I’m keeping you here with me until you do what Willem promised. After that I’ll decide if I’m going to uphold my part of the bargain.”
“What bargain?” I knew it wouldn’t be a bargain that benefited me.
“It’s a long story.”
“Who are you?”
He walked closer. “We met once.”
“Uh…”
“A long time ago. Your father did my father a favor. You starting to see a pattern here?”
“Unfortunately.”
“You were tiny though. And I was young myself.”
“Oh…” I had no memory of meeting him, but I also had no memory of my parents.
“But now neither of us are all that young anymore.”
“Why am I here?”
“No one’s told you yet?”
“Told me what?” I asked with dread.
“What you are.” He leaned over the bed, pressing his hands onto the mattress beside me.
“I’m not actually a Séancer.” I decided to clear the air. Maybe Connor was right, and that knowledge would help me out.
“Yes, you are.” He smiled.
“How would you know?”
“We’ve been watching you for a long time.” His eyes ran over me.
“I can’t talk to dead people.” That wasn’t exactly something one would forget they had the ability to do.
“You can.”
“I can’t.” I glared at him. “I know better than you do.”
“You haven’t tried hard enough, or someone used a spell to block your abilities. Either way we’ll fix that for you.” He straightened up. “That’s my part of the bargain I made with Willem. He knew I was looking for a Séancer to bring someone back, and he had one that needed some assistance. I get your abilities to work, and then I get to use you.”
“I don’t want it fixed. I’d prefer to only communicate with the living.” I also had no interest in being used in any way. Especially not by this guy. Even if he hadn’t kidnapped me, I’d have never trusted him. Everything from his smirk to his eyes screamed untrustworthy.
“Are you sure?” He ran a hand through his black hair that fell nearly to his shoulders. “What about your grandfather? I’m sure you have lots of questions for him.”
I remembered the letter in my pocket. “How do you know about him?”
He sighed. “Mara, come on. Follow along. I know everything about you.”
“That’s not true.” Real fear swelled through me. This wasn’t a case of mistaken identity, or a joke Connor was playing. I needed to find an escape.
“Not everything, but everything relevant to me.”
“Who are you?” He hadn’t told me anything.
“I suppose I should introduce myself.” He held out his hand. “Oh wait, I forget. Your hands are bound. Silly me.” He ran his hand down my cheek. “I’m Bryant. Bryant Florence.”
“Should that name mean anything to me?” I’d never met a Bryant before, and neither Ian nor Connor had mentioned him.
“Not from your past, but moving forward it will.”
“What do you want from me?” I asked fearful of any response he had.
“I need your help with something.”
“What kind of something?” I shivered.
“How much do you know about bear politics?”
“Nothing.” Up until a few hours before I hadn’t even known that bear shifters existed.
He laughed. “I love the honesty. So refreshing. I think I may just have to keep you around.”
“What about bear politics should I know?”
“There are lots of packs and clans. Depends who you talk to. Some are rogue, but most answer to one higher clan: the bears of Norco.”
“Norco?”
“It’s a small Island up north, but it doesn’t matter.”
“So what does matter?” I was tired of everyone brushing off my questions.
“What matters is their leader made a really bad decision.” He ran his fingers over my lips.
I considered biting him, but I figured the fall out could put me in an even worse position. I’d watched enough movies to know it was better to wait for the perfect opportunity to escape, or to convince my captor to let me go. “What kind of decision?”
“A misinformed one. One she’ll regret for the rest of her life.”
She? A female leader? That was kind of a relief; except that she was obviously in trouble. “What did she do?”
“She took my brother for a mate.”
“And that was bad? Wouldn’t that be good for you?” I tried to follow his logic.
He laughed. “Good? Wait. You don’t know what I am, do you?”
“I know you have wings. So maybe a fallen angel? Maybe those stories are true since everything else I never believed seems to be.”
“Not a fallen angel. Something much stronger.” He stepped back from the bed.
“What?” I shuddered.
In a whoosh he released his long black feathery wings again. Even in the giant room, they seemed to dominate. “I’m a Pteron.”
“And that is?”
“We’re highly evolved bird shifters. There is no one stronger or more powerful than us.” His hands balled into fists at his sides.
“So why exactly am I here?”
He retracted his wings. “Remember that leader I told you about?”
“Yes, the one who’s with your brother.”
He sat down beside me on the bed. “They have a very powerful group on their side.”
“I thought you were the most powerful.” I rolled my eyes.
He smiled. “You do listen.” He patt
ed my head patronizingly. “But this other group is full of powerful Pterons. I want to take them down too, but we’ll start with the bears. It will be more fun that way.”
“But you’ll hurt your brother.” Even bad people protected their family. Didn’t they?
“That’s the point.”
“You’re crazy.” He was even crazier than the others I’d met so far. He exuded this frightening level of confidence and amusement that made him seem completely off-balance.
“Who isn’t, honey?”
“I can’t help you. I’m not a Séancer.” I had few useful skills outside of being particularly good at writing legal memos and briefs.
“I’ve already assured you we’ll take care of your little problem.”
“I still won’t help you.” I gritted my teeth.
“Yes you will.”
“Why?”
“Because your life will be hell if you don’t.” He put a hand around my throat and squeezed it until I nearly blacked out. Then he removed his hand. “Got it?”
I took a few deep breaths. “My life kind of sucks anyway.” I had lost my grandfather months before, but the loss felt ten times worse now that I knew how much he’d been keeping from me. Connor had been lying to me too.
“Then I’ll go after everyone else in your life.”
“There’s no one left.”
“No?” He watched me. “What about Connor?”
“He betrayed me.” He was the reason I was even in Montana.
“Fair enough. But what of the other bear? Ian, is it? You appear rather attached to that bear.” Bryant’s eyes twinkled. “I seemed to have caught you in the middle of something.”
“Wasn’t that a weak way to kidnap me? You couldn’t fight like a man?” Maybe insulting my captor was a mistake, but I was angry.
“I may be strong, but I didn’t feel like fighting a giant grizzly when I could easily grab you.”
“I just met Ian. You can’t use him to make me do anything.”
“Are you sure about that?” He leaned over me.
I nodded.
“You wouldn’t mind if something happened to him? And don't think your Séancer abilities could save him, because as any good Séancer would know, someone brought back from death is never ever the same.”
I shivered.
He grinned. “See, I got you there, didn’t I?”
“He can protect himself.”
“Do you want to test that theory out and take the chance of losing your little lover boy?” He put his hands behind his head.
“No.” I shook my head. “Leave him alone.”
“Good. I knew you’d come around.” He laughed and rose from the bed. “I’ll be back soon and we can start work.”
I closed my eyes and waited for the sound of his laughter to disappear. I thought of Ian, and the intense connection between us. He made me feel alive and strong in a way I’d never imagined possible. A rush of confidence and anger swelled through me.
I’d never help Bryant. Even if it were possible that I was a Séancer or whatever they thought I was, I wouldn’t help this winged creature who’d taken me from the man I’d already fallen head over heels for. I’d find a way to escape and return to Ian, and then I would unravel exactly who and what I was.
Afterword
Please keep reading for a preview of Dire (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #1) a New Adult Paranormal Romance by Alyssa Rose Ivy and Hope(Less) by Melissa Haag.
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Dire: The Dire Wolves Chronicles
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Gage was the first guy I ever wanted. He was my first crush and my first fantasy, but he wasn't my first in any other way because he never saw me as anything more than a friend— at least not until the night that changed everything.
It was all Gage's fault. He insisted we drive through the storm and take the back roads. By the time the storm hit full force we had no chance. One night of snowbound sex changed our relationship forever. The problem was at the same time I caught another guy’s attention. This other guy happened to be the alpha of a pack of shifter wolves. I thought the wolves were the worst of my problems, but I was wrong. When things went from bad to worse I had to make a lifelong sacrifice to save Gage, but what price is too much to save the one you love?
A single howl made me stop short. “The wolves!”
“Let’s hope they are farther away than they sound.” Gage tightened his hold on my hand and pulled me forward.
Three more howls filled the night. “They sound closer.”
We picked up the pace, and I chanced a glance behind me. That was a mistake. Several large grey wolves came into view. “Run!”
Gage didn’t need to be told twice. He broke into a run without letting go of my hand.
I ran as fast as possible over the frozen snow, but we didn’t get far before the wolves started circling around us. “Oh my god.” Could things get any worse?
“You have to make a run for it.” Gage’s voice quivered. “They’re going to kill us.”
“I’m not leaving you.” I tried to stay strong, and I kept my eyes locked on the wolves. There were five of them. All of them were massive, much larger than any wolf I’d seen before, but one of them was even bigger and had a large silver streak running down its back. That wolf seemed to be staring right at me.
“I’ll distract them. You run. I’ll catch up.”
I spotted an opening next to one of the smaller of the wolves and went for it. I didn’t make it far before one of the wolves stepped in front of me. I froze, paralyzed with fear, before my legs were knocked from under me. Suddenly, I was lying in the snow with a giant wolf hovering over me.
“We’re fucked.” Gage voiced exactly what I was thinking.
The silver streaked wolf stared down at me. It’s almost glowing eyes bored into mine. Was I really going to die as half-frozen food for a giant wild animal?
Then things got hazy and the air seemed to buzz. Moments later it wasn’t a wolf on top of me—it was a man. A completely naked man with a faint scar across his face.
“What the heck?” I tried to scurry back, but Hunter didn’t move. His very exposed parts nearly touched me. I didn’t want to notice his size, but I did. He was huge. He also didn’t look remotely concerned with the cold.
His lips brushed against my ear. “Were you going somewhere?”
Mary Anne
He wore black athletic shorts that sat low on his hips and gave me a fantastic view of his perfectly sculpted abs. I had a strong desire to touch those abs with my hands and quite possibly my tongue. His bare chest was equally as alluring, all muscle with just a little bit of sweat sliding down.
“Thanks for waiting up for me.” He walked into his room and closed the door. “I was worried you’d have fallen asleep already.” He slipped off those black shorts and walked toward his bed that amazingly enough I was already tucked into. He pulled back the blanket. “And you’re wearing the lingerie I like best.” He grinned wickedly as he slipped in beside me.
“Isn’t the best part taking it off me?” I bit my lip, knowing that it would only turn him on more.
“You remembered.” He slipped the strap down off my right shoulder.
“I remember everything about you. I always have.”
“How’d I get so lucky?” He slipped off the other strap as he left tiny kisses from my shoulder up toward my neck.
“You know you’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
“I know.” He pushed my top down and out of the way. “I feel exactly the same way.” His mouth closed around my breast.
“Mary Anne!”
My eyes flew open as someone pounded on the door to my dorm room. I blinked a few times, trying to hold on to the remnants of m
y dream.
“Mary Anne!” The voice yelled louder.
I grudgingly dragged myself across the room and opened the door. I wasn’t surprised to see Genevieve standing there.
“Finally!” She pushed into the room. I closed the door and cut her off before she could sit on my bed. I needed to make it first. I pulled back my jersey knit lime green sheets and navy blue comforter. As soon as I smoothed out the comforter, she took a seat.
I sat in my desk chair and watched her. “As lovely as it is to see you, I’m guessing there’s a reason you’re here?”
“Aren’t you a little grouchy this morning?” Suddenly her glossy lips twisted up into a smile. “Wait….you were dreaming about him again.”
“Why do you have to say it like it’s a bad thing? Most women have some sort of sexual dreams. It isn’t at all abnormal.” I ran my fingers through my long red hair to get out the tangles.
“Mary Anne, I’m only saying this because I’m a friend and I care about you, but you’re obsessed.” She crossed her legs. “Most women may have sex dreams, but they’re about celebrities, not a guy they actually know. Plus, the frequency is the crazy part.”
“There’s nothing wrong with dreaming about Gage.”
“There is. If you want him so bad, just get with him. It’s not like he’d say no. He’s gotten with half the girls on this campus already.”
I groaned. “That’s not entirely true. I admit he has a reputation, but he doesn’t actually sleep with everyone. Plus, I can’t just sleep with him. We have a history. We’re from the same town.” Maybe claiming we had a history was a bit of an overstatement, but I had known him practically my entire life.
“Is he still driving you home for break?” She leaned back on her hands.
“Of course. Why would that change?”
“I thought you might have considered taking Roy up on his offer to drop you off on his way home.” She raised an eyebrow.
Hunt (The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles Book 1) Page 18