Erin's Awakening

by Sasha Parker

  “I know, but things change,” Raider said.

  “Like what?” Gage asked confused.

  “Read the letter,” Raider said and then faded.

  Gage stood and screamed loudly. He heard feet pounding on the stairs and the floor, then his door was flung open.

  “What?” Thane roared as he came in the door with a weapon drawn, sweeping the room.

  “This is your fault!” Gage yelled at Alex as he walked into the room, disheveled and sleepy.

  “Huh?” Alex said, rubbing his eyes.

  “You," Gage said as he pointed his finger at Alex. "You started the whole damn thing with all the, 'I see dead people' shit. Now I am talking to dead people! ALL YOUR FAULT!” Gage barked as he shook his finger at Alex.

  Excerpt from Tyrant's Keep

  By Nancy Lommel

  “Princess Ariyona,” he began by letting her know he was all too aware of her identity. “My name is Captain Merrick. You are now the prisoner of My Liege Lord, His Royal Majesty, King Jareth of Ravenwood.”

  Ariyona felt her stomach sink to her toes upon hearing that name and she paled visibly.

  “My Lord has ordered my men and me to bring you whole and unharmed before him. My Lord is very unforgiving of failure, so it is my wish that you cooperate with us so that we may fulfill his bidding. We wish you no harm, but know that we will deliver you. It is in your best interest at this point to cause no trouble. As long as you cooperate, we will do everything possible to assure your safety and comfort on the journey to Ravenwood. Do you agree or would you like to take on the four of us?” Merrick smiled as he spoke the last.

  For a moment, Ariyona did not reply. Jareth of Ravenwood! He was a tyrant king who ruled by fear and force. Many were the tales that had reached King Oberon’s court of the atrocities committed by Jareth upon his people. They had many refugees from his lands. He was a harsh, cruel monarch and the opposite of everything Ariyona believed in. But why was he kidnapping her? Ariyona could not fathom a reason. She looked at Merrick who was still awaiting her answer. She was royalty and they knew it. She knew from his words they would respect and treat her well. Jareth wanted her delivered whole and unharmed. Ariyona preferred it that way as well. She thought of her father’s four rules of being captured. The first was to do whatever was necessary to protect herself. The second was to obey her captors as long as it did not compromise the first rule. Thirdly, she was not to do anything that would bring dishonor to her father or her kingdom. Finally, the fourth rule was to try to escape as long as it did not compromise the first or third rule. As resistance would gain her nothing and escape was not an option at this point, Ariyona forced herself to speak to her captors.

  “I agree,” she said through clenched teeth.

  Merrick smiled. “Very well.” He produced a length of rope that had been secured to his belt. “Please hold out your wrists. I have to bind them, but let me know if it is too tight. As I said, I have no wish to harm you.” Yet from looking into Merrick’s eyes, Ariyona knew he was not a man to trifle with.

  Ariyona held out her wrists and Merrick quickly wound the rope around them. As he did the other three men sheathed their swords, but Ariyona did not doubt that any transgression on her part would have them out in an instant. The rope was very tight around her wrists, but Ariyona’s pride would not allow her to speak again to Merrick to ask him to loosen her binding. Merrick tied the other end of the rope to his belt and they set off deeper into the woods, away from the castle. One of Merrick’s men led the way with Merrick second. Naturally, Ariyona was next in line, as she was tied to Merrick, and the other two soldiers took up the rear.

  As they walked, Merrick explained to Ariyona how she had made their task easier. They had been watching the castle from the woods for several days and had noticed that she fled the castle alone at least once a day. As soon as they were assured that she remained alone, and sometimes stayed in the woods for hours, all they had to do was pick a day and wait. Ariyona walked right into their hands. Merrick and his men laughed at this while Ariyona silently cursed herself for her foolishness. Her father had been right all along and she did have need of a guard. Now she knew for a fact she was wrong to disobey her father on this matter. Why did she not listen?

  Excerpt from Big Bad Alpha

  The Ashland Pack Book Two

  by Bryce Evans

  Damen McDonald knocked on his Alpha’s door.

  “Enter!” Damen walked into Mace’s office frowning.

  “I know why I’m in a bad mood, but why are you?” Damon said as Mace turned back around to face him. Damen was the Beta, but he was also Mace and Adrianna’s cousin. Damen was like a brother to him and he trusted him with his life.

  “No reason. Just woke up like that.” Damen stared at Mace. “What?”

  Damen snorted. “What’s wrong?” Mace shrugged his shoulders. Damen arched an eyebrow at his Alpha’s childish shrug. “Can you explain to me what’s going on with you? You are moping around as if you have been dumped. That can’t be the reason since you haven’t been seeing anyone lately. Maybe you need to get laid.”

  Mace sighed and moved back to his desk, and picked up the piece of paper in front of him. “Nobody interests me.”

  “Never stopped you before, Mace. Never stopped any of us. We are just having fun and the girls understand that,” Damen responded.

  Mace looked up and sighed loudly at his cousin. “What do you want, Damen?”

  Damen didn’t like how his Alpha was looking. He acted uninterested and agitated, which wasn’t Mace. Damen looked down at the files he held in his hand. “Well, we have five more applications to join the pack.”

  “Damn, where are these people coming from?” Mace responded.

  “Well most of them want to be near The Trinity. Some are stagnant in other packs. They don’t like either the Alpha or how the pack is being run. Then you have the Rogues who are tired of being on their own. You name it they’re coming here. Plus they heard what a good-looking Second you have,” Damen said as he arched his eyebrows up and down.

  Mace leaned back in his seat shaking his head laughing at Damen.

  “Yes, buddy, I’m sure that’s it. Okay, I know you have looked over the applications and completed background checks on everyone. Now tell me what do you think about them?” said Mace.

  “Well, everyone checks out except two and that’s what I want to talk to you about.” Mace squinted his eyes at Damen then rubbed his forehead. Damen knew this was a stress reliever for Mace. He only did it when he was stressed out.

  “First, Peter and Mary Redden are friends of Samson’s. Mary is a witch and Peter is a wolf. Mary’s daughter is Lexy Redden and she is also a witch. Peter is Lexy’s stepfather. Lexy’s real father was a human and when she was born, he left them high and dry. Although Peter is her stepfather, he considers Lexy as his own daughter,” said Damon.

  Mace shrugs, “So what’s the problem? We have other people in the pack that are not wolves.”

  “Well since Mary and Lexy aren’t wolves, they also want to petition to be a member of the Ward Clan, too. They grew up with Samson and his family and already consider them as family. But they also want to honor Peter and be part of both. I looked it up and it’s never happened where a family is part of two packs, much less a vampire clan. Now that’s the problem.” Damen sat back as he blew out his breath.

  “I will need to speak with Samson and get his opinion on this. This is very unorthodox, but hey, with everything that has happened this year, nothing surprises me anymore,” Mace said on a sigh.

  “Do you want me to talk to Samson?” asked Damen.

  “No. I’ll do it the next time I see them,” Mace replied.

  “Okay, that’s good. I will accept the other families and get them settled with the pack,” Damen answered. “Now here is the other problem I’m having. We have another person who wants to join our pack.”

  Excerpt from The Eyes Tell No Lies

  Truth Beneath The Lies Boo
k One

  by Marquaylla Lorette

  Cris turned on the water as hot as his body could stand it. He stripped out of his clothes and immediately placed them in the laundry basket behind his bathroom door. Surprisingly, he was a perfectionist and control freak when it came to keeping things neat and orderly, despite living in what was known as the ultimate bachelor’s bat cave, as his friends on the force called his apartment.

  Steam poured out from behind the shower curtain as Cris stepped into the shower. He quickly soaped up his washcloth, washed himself and his hair before walking closer to the showerhead. As he was rinsing himself off, painful memories of his sister invaded his mind.

  Trying to redirect the pain he was feeling, he slammed his hands against the tile hard enough that a throbbing pain shot up his arm. Cris leaned forward until his head rested on the cool tile, water continued to cascade down the back of his head and body. He stood under the showerhead until the water began to turn lukewarm long after the pain in his arm and hand had subsided.

  ‘Get dressed, she is waiting for you, Cris, and remember, the eyes tell all,’ a voice whispered against his ear as the temperature in the bathroom suddenly dropped.

  Cris quickly turned around, his eyes opened wide in shock. He knew that voice, but it couldn’t be real, could it? It was just a figment of his imagination.

  Damn, I need to get out of this house, he thought as he shut off the water and climbed out of the shower.

  His cell phone rang just as he was slipping his shirt over his head. The ring tone gave him a sense of urgency, it was the one he programmed for Lynn, the police dispatcher, for emergencies. Lynn was a sweet older lady who became a police dispatcher after she retired from the force over twenty-one years ago.

  “Lynn,” Cris answered with a bit of panic in his voice. Lynn had never called Cris on his personal time unless she thought it was a true emergency.

  His mind quickly drifted back to the first time Lynn had hooked him up with a caller that would only talk to him. The caller was a young boy whose family he had helped out of a domestic case a week earlier. The kid’s father was an alcoholic who only stumbled home when he ran out of money to take out his anger on his family. By the time he got there, the kid’s father was already on top of his mother pounding out his frustration on her. Cris had quickly detained the father upon entering the home and whisked the kid, his younger sister, and mother to Heart of a Lion, a nonprofit shelter his mother and father had started after his father was clean and sober for over five years, and went through family counseling.

  Cris’s father was an alcoholic for many years until one day his mother took him and his sister, Grace, to a women's shelter over a hundred miles away, since it was the only women's shelter close yet far enough from their home. Having his family leave him was a wake-up call for Cris's father and he quickly got help. He went through a twelve-step program from there, and he had his sponsor set up family counseling with his wife and children.

  When Chane, Cris’s father, realized what he did to them and the pain he caused them during his alcoholism, and how they had no place to turn to, he started the Heart of a Lion along with his wife, Daya, and a few of their close friends.

  Anyone could utilize the shelter and its services, whether it was a woman, a woman and her children, a man, or a man and his children. Heart of a Lion firmly believed women weren’t the only ones suffering from abuse. They opened their doors to anyone in need, but the women and their children were housed separately from the men and their children.

  “Sorry to bother you on your vacation, Christoph, but a woman called for help and said she would only let you in. I would have sent someone else if I didn’t hear the fear in her voice,” Lynn said.

  “No problem, Lynn, I needed to get out of the house. What is the address?” Cris asked as he slipped on his shoes, grabbed his gun, badge, and cuffs.

  Christoph was already in his car and pulling away from the curb by the time Lynn finished giving him the address and everything else she knew.

  ****

  Christoph checked the address on the paper twice before stepping out of the car. As he approached the home, the memory of the bad news he had delivered Arie almost a year ago invaded his mind. She was the only woman who made his heart skip a beat and consumed his thoughts. He couldn’t help but think about what they could have become now if he hadn’t signed up for that undercover assignment a few weeks before they met. The assignment took a little over six months to complete; he had ripped apart an underground trafficking ring. He would have called her as soon as he got back if he had her number but he didn’t, so instead he decided to head over there. However, before he could make it back to Ari, his partner was shot. He went after the men who shot Derrick and then soon after that his sister was murdered. The sound of glass shattering caught his attention, causing him to pick up his pace. When he heard what sounded like a woman’s muffled screams, he quickly alternated between banging on the door and ringing the doorbell. Seconds to him felt like hours and he couldn’t wait any longer. Cris drew his gun and was about to kick down the door when it quickly flew open.

  “Step outside quickly, Ms. De’Laross,” Cris said as he tried to move around Arie to peek into the room.

  “What are you doing here, Detective Crow?” Arie asked as she glared at him with a hint of confusion on her face.

  She would remember that voice for the rest of life, she had heard it in her dreams right before waking up in a cold sweat. Now she was finally able to put a face with the name of the detective who informed her of her parents’ deaths. Her eyes fixated on his deep, chocolate brown, almond shaped eyes. His body was built like a runner’s body, muscled but not too big, he was sleek, just the way she liked a man’s body. He had deep Cherokee features with a dark olive tone skin and a dimple in his left cheek. Arie knew if she were to walk up to him, she would be able to fit under his chin perfectly, making him somewhere around six foot two. A spark of electricity shot through her when their eyes connected. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, it was as if he had a spell put on her and she just couldn’t gaze away.

  Quit looking at him like that, Arie thought as she fought to tear her gaze away.

  Cris was dazed for a few moments, unable to speak. She was just as he remembered her. Jet-black hair flowing down her back with strong, high cheekbones that reminded him of his beautiful ancestors. Full lips that instantly pulled you in and if that wasn’t enough, light brown eyes with green specks in them that seemed to draw him in as if he was prey. Eyes that looked familiar. Smooth dark caramel skin that had him wishing he had the courage to reach out and caress her face just once.

  “I got a call from dispatch saying you needed an officer here and would only let me in,” Cris finally answered.

  “I never called dispatch, Detective Crow,” Arie said with a raised eyebrow.

  “Either way I have to check your home now, so please step aside and stay right here,” Cris said as he stepped around her and into her home.

  Normally she would have protested, but she didn’t have the energy at the moment so she let him by.

  Wow, somebody likes sail boats, Cris thought five minutes later as he walked back to the front of the house.

  “All clear, you can come in now,” Cris called out to Arie as he walked toward the door.

  “I could have told you that, now how about you leave my damn house,” Arie said. She knew he was doing his job, but she was still pissed. She hated when people just stepped in and took over for her without listening.

  “How could you when you cannot even see, and what is with the glasses? Plus, there is still the matter of the phone call.” Cris knew the signs. He wasn’t leaving until everything got sorted out.

  “One, the glasses are from my eye surgery, and two, I can see again. Three, I repeat, I never called dispatch or anyone else today, and four, none of this is your damn business,” Arie said as she slammed the door, crossed her arms in front of her body, and stared at Cris with a death
stare.

  Cris ignored her and made his way over to the laptop on the living room table. He hated when people tried to protect their abusers, especially when someone was trying to help them. He didn’t want to outright confront her about it and have her close up any more than she already was.

  “Hey, what are you doing with my laptop? Just because you’re a cop does not mean you can barge your way into my home and act like you live here,” Arie said as she made her way toward him.

  “I am about to prove you called dispatch a few minutes ago and then you are going to stop lying to me,” Cris said as he logged into his account to look for the report of the call Lynn had sent to him.

  When he found the report, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and began to dial the number from the report.

  “Hello,” Arie answered her ringing phone.

  “If you didn’t call, then why is your number in the report?” Cris asked as he stared at her.

  “There is no way my number is in the report,” Arie said.

  “Let’s listen to the call since you still insist it wasn’t you,” Cris said as Arie sat down next to him trying to peek over at the computer as he pressed play.

  Cris grew angry as the report played, someone was playing a joke on him, and he didn’t find it funny.

  “Did you have anything to do with this?” Cris growled out as he stood and began to pace when the call was over.

  “No, I have no clue what you are talking about,” Arie answered.

  “My sister, that is my sister’s voice,” Cris hotly said as he balled his hands into a fist, tight enough to cut off his circulation.

  “I don’t see what the problem is, maybe your sister is playing a trick on you, but I don’t see why she would send you to my house,” Arie said with a shrug of her shoulders.

  “You don’t get it! My sister is dead!” Cris yelled out as he punched the wall closest to him.