by Avery Gale
The sound of her own heartbeat pounded so loudly in her ears it nearly drowned out the harsh sound of her gasping for breath. Lara saw both Peter and Fischer turn at the same moment to look at her as if they’d heard her mind racing as worry assailed her. For the first time, Lara understood the fear her grandparents must have lived with every time a stranger appeared on their front porch. Their daughter and her family had been traipsing all over the world and she knew they had to have worried themselves sick. Good God, she really was losing it if she was thinking about people she hadn’t seen in almost a decade. Frantically reaching for her phone, Lara realized it was no longer in her pocket. Why hadn’t she answered it or at least checked it? Anyone who would have called her was already in the room—everyone but those few people who’d been given her number as an emergency number for her parents. The horrible realization that washed over her made her knees buckle, and the last thing she remembered was the sound of chaos surrounding her.
Excerpt from Tempted by Darkness
The Wolf Pack Book Three
By Avery Gale
Kit and Braden rode in silence to the open field where Aradia was said to have been buried. There was no marker per the Queen of Witches request, she’d known her gravesite would become a contentious memorial and she’d been adamantly opposed to the idea. Fearing future persecution of those who would follow, the wise witch had demanded the exact location of her grave never be revealed. From everything Kit had read about the woman, considered the Queen of Witches, she’d been a firm believer in living for the future rather than in the past. Every witch’s Book of Shadows contained bits of wisdom attributed to Aradia that had been passed down generation to generation for countless centuries. Kit’s favorite was the reminder never to be humbled so much that you stumbled over our own past.
As they exited the small rental car, Braden looked over at her and winked, “Remember, individually we are good, but together we are superheroes. And Granny Good Witch promised me a cape when we get Angie back.” When she cast him a sidelong glance, he chuckled, “What? I know I can’t fly with a cape, but it will be fun to mess with the kids back at the estate.” She shook her head, in so many ways he was an adult, but there were still moments when the childhood he’d missed bubbled to the surface. Everyone at the estate relished those moments because in their minds it meant he was healing and maturing into the powerful wizard he was destined to become.
Braden’s childhood had been cut far too short because he’d been the focus of Damian’s obsession from the time the dark wizard learned the child was his grandson. Braden’s father had run away with him after the young boy’s mother was killed. For years, father and son had barely managed to stay one-step ahead of the man obsessed with the young boy, but their luck had finally run out and Braden lost his father too.
As the sun started to sink beneath the horizon, a brilliant ball of orange light shimmered several feet in front of where Kit and Braden stood waiting. For several seconds the light simply hovered and spun slowly around and Kit wondered if it was ensuring they’d come alone. When Devin finally emerged as an ill-defined mist, he scanned the area before focusing on the two of them. Just as Kit opened her mouth to demand he give them proof Angie was still alive, she appeared next to him.
“What the hell is that?” Braden started to step forward as he spoke but Kit placed her hand on his shoulder to hold him back. Devin’s posture had shifted immediately and Kit was worried about the young man’s safety. Even though Angie appeared to be trapped in some sort of glass bubble, she appeared to be unharmed. Braden turned back to Devin and took a menacing step forward before Kit pulled him back once again. “Can she hear us?” Just then they saw Angie waving her arms and she looked as though she was shouting but they couldn’t hear anything. “Well, guess that answers that question. Hey, how long can she stay in there without fresh air?” Kit wanted to roll her eyes, leave it to Braden to shift so quickly to logical and scientific observations. Good Goddess it was certainly easy to see he and Angie were related. Kit was far more worried that none of them were going to live long enough for oxygen to ever be an issue.
“Don’t worry about the bubble. It is soundproof, but she will not come to any harm being in there. She had been treated well as I’m sure she will tell you, assuming you are willing to negotiate with me.” Kit’s interest was piqued because Devin had emphasized the word me and she found it odd he’d make that distinction.
‘What do you make of this, Kit? Why did he say we are negotiating with him? Do you think we were right the last time when we sensed his reluctance to be his brother’s lackey?’
Kit appreciated the telepathic link she and Braden had established. They’d spent many hours practicing the silent method of communication and she was grateful they shared a way to speak without being heard. ‘I was just thinking the same thing. Let’s see where this takes us, shall we?’
Returning her focus to Devin, Kit demanded, “Tell us what you want. Why would you want to kidnap Angie? And who was responsible?” Devin rolled his eyes at her questions and it quickly became clear to Kit that Devin wasn’t particularly interested in discussing the details.
“I can’t tell you everything—at least not yet, but you already know that. And I’m sure you have already figured out that my brother wants to trade the good doctor for his grandson.” When she opened her mouth to speak, he held up his hand in a silent gesture silencing her. “I already know that isn’t going to happen and in truth I’d be somewhat disappointed in you if you agreed to such an exchange. Remember, I said your negotiations are with me, not my brother.” For the first time in days, Kit felt some of the tension leave her body as the possibility that they might get Angie back without extreme violence loomed before her.
During the next half hour, Devin paced so quickly along a line in front of them that he literally wore a path in the grass beneath his feet. There were times as he spoke that Kit wondered if he was still speaking to them or he’d simply become lost in his own thoughts. Devin outlined his brother’s plan to take over the Supreme Council after he was freed from behind the sealed portal—and realizing how close Damian was to making it happen scared Kit more than she wanted to admit.
“Kit, the magic you used the night you sent Damian behind the seal was dark, very dark. And the remarkable thing is you were completely untrained. I know the powers that be are telling you they don’t know how you managed it, but that isn’t exactly true. They know it was dark magic, what they don’t know is how you learned it. Whether it’s innate knowledge or simply natural ability, then they have a really big problem on their hands.”
“Explain why they consider it their problem.” As much as Kit wanted to deny his words, she honestly wasn’t sure she could. Something about his observation resonated in her soul as the truth. She didn’t like it, but she’d never been one to deny reality even if it didn’t fit well with the way she wanted to see herself. Her passionate response to Jameson’s dominance that first night at the club was a perfect example. As much as she had wanted to be outraged by his high-handed behavior, she hadn’t been able to deny her body’s intense response to his dominance.
“There is a battle coming, Kit, you already know this, but what may surprise you is how quickly the scales are tipping in Damian’s favor.”
Excerpt from Casius & Macon
Meridian Warriors Book Two
By Jana Leigh & Zach Collins
Macon walked into the hallway and froze. A large man and a shorter but still tall woman were arguing with their secretary, Gale. He paused at the sudden feeling he had by seeing these two people. It was like he knew them, what the hell was going on?
“I need to see William Bernard V,” the woman said.
“He is in a meeting, like I said,” Gale said desperately.
“Well get him out,” the man barked and Macon frowned.
“Hey,” he called. “I am Macon Bernard, William is my father. What can I help you with?”
The two people
stopped and turned at the same time and when their gazes hit his they all froze, you could have felt the snap of electricity in the air as they stood still just staring.
“Macon?” his father said behind him and then pushed him a little so he could follow him out into the hallway. He heard his father gasp and then walk forward quickly but the pair’s eyes never left his, even when his father was trying to talk to him.
“Dad?” he heard his siblings whisper. He knew they were standing waiting for him to react like normal, but something wasn’t allowing him to get angry at the disruption. Macon usually prided himself on being professional in the work place, even with his siblings, but for some reason all of the normal barriers he had to remain professional were dropping.
He was drawn to these people, he didn’t know why, but he was. It was crazy, he wanted to pull them into his office and find out what the hell was going on. However, his family was standing right with him, and they were all asking questions at the same time.
“Macon,” his dad whispered and pulled his arm. “We need to talk, now.”
“Who are these people?” his sister asked.
“Do I need to call security?” his brother barked.
He finally snapped out of it and turned to look at his father who was pale. “What?”
“Please come into the conference room,” his father said loudly to the two people standing in reception. “Macon, come on, I missed the chance to keep things to myself until you could all handle it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Macon snapped. This was too much, his father talking in riddles, and two strangers affecting him dramatically. It was nuts, and he’d had enough. Right about now, Macon wished he had a bottle of Jameson and a really large glass.
Once they were all in the conference room and away from prying eyes, Macon finally allowed himself to look at the couple in front of him. They looked normal. But then he had no idea how an alien was supposed to look. Shit, alien, his father totally had lost it and he had too have since he was believing it. How could he not, seeing the men in the middle of the ocean like they had. It was crazy he hadn’t believed it. Even though he saw it with his own eyes. When they had come back to the mainland, Macon had left his father and siblings and then went home to process the information. Ha, like he had actually done that, Macon had gotten drunk instead, because he couldn’t sort it out in his head.
Truthfully, he had been wondering if somehow it had all been a hallucination, maybe his father had told the story and they had actually all just been caught up in it.
This morning he had it sorted when he came into work, but now, everything was blow away yet again. Damn, this was not okay. He needed to have another drink, because this shit was just crazy.
“Please,” his father said, holding out his hand asking the two strangers to sit. The man was huge, and muscular, and Macon felt himself get hard, dammit, he was bi-sexual and had known for a really long time, although he had never acted on his attraction to men, mostly because he had always found a woman who he was equally attracted to before he acted on it. It didn’t change the fact he was attracted to this man. The man stared at him intently, ignoring his father as they just stared at each other.
“Casius,” the woman whispered and then smiled at Macon. His eyes went to her, and yep, he was attracted to her as well. Hell, this was turning into a fucking fucktaculous day.
Finally, the man looked away from him and then nodded to his father and took the woman’s hand and stepped further into the room.
Casius knew who Macon was, shit; this was going to be difficult. They had a mission, but the only thing he wanted to do was grab Gabby and the man they called Macon and run. He could feel the vibrations of Gabby’s body, she was feeling the same. Crap this was not going as planned, they were going to need to hurry this up, get back home, and then figure this out without causing a huge scene.
“I am Casius, and this is Gabriel,” the man said and his father jumped forward, holding out his hand and offering a greeting.
“Please sit,” his father said quickly. “I am shocked to see you here, but it is just as well. We need to talk.”
“Yes we do,” Casius growled and put his hand on Gabby’s back and guided her toward the conference table.
Macon’s father sighed and said, “Let me explain.”
When they were seated, Macon’s brother, sister, and father on one side, and the two strangers on the other with Macon at the head of the table right in the middle. He felt comfortable here like it was someplace he belonged. Weird. The woman’s eyes called to him, he was drawn into her gaze, and shit, everything seemed to fall to the wayside as they stared at each other. He pulled his gaze from hers reluctantly and tried to focus.
“Please,” his father started. “You must believe me when I say we knew nothing about my father’s betrayal until recently. He was a mean selfish bastard who I never got along with. I didn’t even know the whole story until after he was dead, and then it was only because I found his papers. My father betrayed you, not me or my children, and if he were alive, I would kill him myself.”
“How did he betray us?” Casius growled. Macon’s eyes went to the man, he felt the same pull. Shit, he looked around the room, trying not to stare at the duo.
“Here, this is what I know, even though some of it is unclear,” Macon’s father said quickly, handing over a stack of papers.
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