by Siren Allen
A Very Alpha Christmas Presents...
Her Silent Knight
By Siren Allen
Table of Contents
Title Page
About The Book
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Thank You
My Villain Story: His Beautiful Grimm Reaper
Connect With Me
About The Book
CURSED TO NEVER SPEAK again, Kaede Oshiro hasn’t uttered a word in decades. And then a curvy witch storms into his life and makes him moan her name.
Banished to the Frostlands by his jealous cousin and his cousin’s wife, Kaede Oshiro has spent years fighting to stay alive on a frozen tundra that’s filled with creatures straight out of nightmares. Battling day after day, killing night after night has turned him into a cold-hearted shifter. His hope of returning to the mortal realm and reclaiming his title as pack alpha seems impossible. Then one day, an opportunity for him to regain his freedom arises. All he has to do is kidnap a witch and bring her to The Deciders. He thought finding the witch, Sinclair Rose, and turning her over to The Deciders would be a simple task. She proved him wrong. The moment he touched her, he experienced pain, unlike anything he’d felt before.
When he finally came to, he realized six things:
1. The captor had become the captive.
2. The cottage he was being held captive in was filled with Christmas decorations.
3. The witch holding him hostage was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.
4. When her hands were on him, he was able to speak.
5. Her presence was awakening the dormant dragon inside him.
6. He must protect this woman at all costs.
However, if he chooses protecting Sinclair over completing the task assigned to him by The Deciders, he’s putting both their lives in danger. Obey The Deciders or protect a voluptuous witch who makes his dragon roar? There’s only one answer both he and his inner animal can agree on.
Protect the witch.
And death to any who try to harm her.
Chapter One
SHE’S ABOUT TO DIE.
And she doesn’t even know it. She has no idea death is standing right next to her, watching her, waiting for the right opportunity to snatch her up and deliver her to The Deciders.
They want her because of her blood. Kaede didn’t know what was so special about this witch’s blood in particular. He also didn’t care. Succeeding in this task meant he’d have only forty more tasks to complete.
Once he completed those tasks, The Deciders would allow him to leave the Frostlands Plane for good. He’d be able to return to the Mortal Plane and get his revenge against those who’d wronged him, those who banished him to this unforgiving place.
A place only immortals could be banished to. A place where the worst of the worse existed. Every now and then an innocent like himself would be banished here by someone who wanted them out of the way.
For innocents, there was a way out. You just had to complete one hundred tasks for The Deciders in order to earn your freedom. It had taken him sixty years to complete fifty-nine tasks. The tasks The Deciders assigned were never easy.
Some had taken him months to complete. A few had even taken him a couple of years to complete. This particular task seemed easy. Too easy. Nothing came easy in the Frostlands. Here, a being could die from simply hunting for food or trying to find drinkable water.
The conditions on this plane were horrific. The weather was horrible. Every week there was an epic snowstorm or ice storm or snow and ice tornado. Then there were the earthquakes that happened every few years.
The lack of drinkable water and food was another problem. If you didn’t have connections and people on your side, you would die here within weeks... days. This place was no place for the weak.
Kaede tilted his head slightly left to stare down at the female next to him. His target. Every few days, around this time, she came to this spot to catch the night train. She took the train from the Cold Region of the plane to the Frozen Region.
Once she arrived there, she walked almost one full mile until she reached a small home with a gate around it. Then she disappeared into the home, a home he couldn’t go near due to the protective wards positioned around it.
There she would remain until the sun rose. Once the sun graced the Frostlands with its presence, his target would walk back to the train station and catch the day train back to the Cold Region.
When she arrived, she’d trek through the frozen forest until she came upon another small home that was also protected by wards. He knew the previous owner of that home. The creature had been a real bastard.
He was pretty sure it wasn’t this witch who’d killed him. Someone must’ve done it for her. When she reached that cabin, she remained there until she ventured out a few days later to catch the night train again.
This was her normal routine. She never deviated from it. Most creatures avoided the Frozen Region after midnight. Midnight was when the Frostland Bandits came out. This witch walked amongst those bandits with no fear.
None of them ever approached her. Neither did they approach him. They knew he’d end them quickly if they stepped to him. Over the years, he’d had many run-ins with the bandits.
They quickly learned that it wasn’t wise to piss off an immortal shifter. He had to admit though, their leader, Rhen, was a formidable opponent. Even admitting that in his head stung his pride and pissed him off.
After a few battles, they’d decided on a truce. If they left him alone, he’d leave them alone. Now, he no longer had to worry about them getting in the way of him completing his tasks.
And they no longer had to worry about him taking up any tasks from The Deciders that involved any of the bandits. Though he was still pissed that they’d prevented him from completing some tasks in the past, he was willing to let that slide in order to keep the peace.
He had enough enemies in the Frostlands. Scratching the bandits off that list worked in his favor. However, he couldn’t figure out why those troublesome outlaws left this little witch alone. For two weeks, he’d been trailing her.
During those two weeks, he’d watched her come and go as she pleased. Granted, she only ventured out at midnight and only returned when the first rays of the sun touched the ice. Yet, this female walked these icy roads and bridges with no problems.
That was saying something. The females of the Frostlands barely ventured out. Most paired up with a male or two, just so they’d have protection from the creatures who lived here. This witch didn’t appear to have a protector.
However, on more than one occasion, he’d watched the bandits follow her on their snowmobiles. He’d been prepared to protect her from them. He couldn’t have them attacking his target.
Turns out, she hadn’t needed his protection. The bandits followed her for a while, then went on their way. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think they’d been protecting her. Which was ridiculous.
The bandits only protected their own. Their all-male group consisted of shifters, magic users, and vampires. He’d never
seen any of them protect someone outside of their clique. Why would any of them want to protect this little bundled up witch?
He didn’t know why they avoided harming her. And he’d never know because soon, he’d be delivering her to The Deciders and crossing this task off his list. His target turned her head in his direction.
Kaede stared straight ahead and pretended to admire the flashing lights hanging from the train station’s sign. Wrapped around the white columns on either side of the sign were tiny green and red flashing bulbs.
Someone who used to live on the Mortal Plane must’ve strung up those lights. Creatures from the Mortal Plane were the only ones who celebrated Christmas. That would make this month December.
That was good to know. Kaede had long ago ceased tracking the days. Over the years, doing so seemed pointless. One day melted into the next. There was nothing special about any of them. There was nothing to differentiate one from the other.
There was only one day he was looking forward to. The day he completed his one-hundredth task. That would be a memorable day. A day worth celebrating. Until then, he would focus on surviving.
It would be a shame for him to die before he had a chance to kill those who’d wronged him. This task would bring him closer to achieving his ultimate goal. Kaede chanced another glance at his target to find her staring straight ahead at the flashing lights.
This was the first time he’d gotten this close to her. Though he had a rough sketch of her in his pocket, he’d never seen her face in person. The Deciders didn’t even have a good picture of her.
She stayed bundled up in layers of clothing. Plus, she kept a huge red scarf wrapped around her neck and her hoodie pulled low over her head, shielding her face. The only reason he knew she was the woman in the sketch was because of the red scarf at her neck.
And the fact that she rode the night train at midnight. No other creature in the Frostlands matched that description. A gust of wind blew, kicking up snow. Kaede zipped up his leather jacket then pulled his black cap down lower on his forehead.
He wasn’t fond of the cold. He was able to endure the temperatures here in the Cold Region. However, he hated venturing into the Frozen Region. There, everything was covered in ice. Being in the Frozen Region was the only time his dormant inner animal would perk up.
The temps there made his dragon shiver. It didn’t wake him, it simply made the creature protest his discomfort by shivering so hard that Kaede’s teeth would rattle. For that reason, he tried to avoid the FR.
His plan was to capture his target tonight before she boarded the night train to the FR. Kaede scoped out the area again. In about ten minutes, the night train would appear. So far, the bandits were nowhere to be found.
Neither was there any other creatures lurking in the shadows. Tonight, was the perfect night to snatch his target. Kaede reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the needle that contained a sleeping toxin.
It would knock her out instantly. She’d remain that way for three hours. Long enough for a runner from The Deciders to meet up with him, take her, and give him his task completed coin.
Forty more coins and he’d be out of this frozen hell hole. Moving slowly, Kaede began pulling the needle from his pocket. A noise sounded to his left. He froze with the needle halfway out of his pocket.
His gaze darted left. He didn’t see anyone. Yet, the faint sound of snowmobiles could be heard in the distance. Bandits. Damn it. Kaede glanced down at his target. Did he have enough time to drug her and rush to the Ice Forest to hide before the bandits arrived?
Time ticked away with each beat of his heart. It had to be tonight. And it had to be before the night train arrived. Shit. He hated rushing a job. Too many mistakes could be made when a job was rushed. Tonight, time wasn’t on his side.
Though he had a truce with the bandits, he didn’t know what deal this little witch had made with them to keep them from harming her. Kaede had no way of knowing which deal they’d honor, hers or his.
Fuck it. He’d grab her now. Moving swiftly, Kaede used his thumb to uncap the syringe as he pulled it from his pocket. The female was bundled up nicely. Thankfully, there was a spot just behind her ear that was visible.
Aiming for that bit of flesh, Kaede whipped his syringe around and brought it toward her neck. He struck nothing but air. The force of his swing caused him to stumble forward. The witch had moved. He hadn’t even seen her do it.
One second, she’d been standing next to him. The next, she was standing directly in front of him. Gripping the needle, Kaede faced forward. His target’s red scarf still covered up the lower half of her face. Her hoodie covered up the rest.
But it was her stance that let him know he’d been wrong about her. Her stance was a fighting stance. Feet shoulders width apart. Gloved hands balled into fists. She was ready to fight. Normally, he was good at reading humans, supernaturals, and immortals.
Yet, he’d misjudged her. She wasn’t going to be an easy target. The sound of the snowmobiles was louder. Soon, the bandits would be within sight. This had to end now. Easy or not, he had to capture her. Kaede stepped forward.
“Sleep, wolf.”
Kaede froze. That voice. Her voice. It washed over him. It awakened him. It made him feel alive. So why the fuck couldn’t he move? Frozen in place, he felt the needle slip from his fingers.
There was nothing he could do to stop it. All he could do was stare straight ahead at the female who was slowly lifting her hood from her head. Those eyes. Brown, with a hint of gold at the center that seemed to glow.
This was no ordinary witch. He’d known there was something different about her. Why else would The Deciders want her? Even so, he hadn’t expected her to have the power to stop him.
He was an immortal dragon, an alpha. Many witches had tried, unsuccessfully, to defeat him. Both on this plane and the Mortal Plane. Their magic tricks didn’t work on immortal alphas. It would take a powerful sorceress to bring him down.
“You’re a strong one,” she whispered, voice like a melody. “I don’t have time to admire your strength. I said sleep, wolf. Now!”
Wolf? He was no wolf? Still, her words forced him to his knees. He could hear the low hum of the snowmobiles he’d hoped to avoid. The female leaned down to speak to him. That hint of gold in her eyes seemed to glow brighter.
“You’re messing up my schedule, shifter. I don’t like it when my schedule gets messed up. Now, I have to deal with them.” She nodded in the direction of the snowmobiles. The female sighed. “You give me no choice. I must force you to sleep. You’ll feel a pinch.”
A pinch, my ass!
As soon as the female’s hand touched his cheek, pain unlike anything he’d ever experienced ricocheted over his body. Even though every nerve ending in his body felt like it was on fire, that wasn’t what surprised him the most. What surprised him the most was the word he uttered as his body dropped to the ground.
“Fuck,” Kaede whispered, head hitting the concrete hard. His eyes drifted shut. As darkness reached out to claim him, his mind replayed a scene from his past. A scene he often had nightmares about.
I curse you, to never utter a word until you meet your fated mate. Which you never will, because soon, you’ll be banished to the Frostlands. There’s no way you’ll find your fated one over there. My dear Kaede, I have a feeling you’ll never speak again. You’ll never be able to tell the pack what was done this night. Mighty alpha, look how far you’ve fallen.
Those words had been uttered by his cousin’s wife. A jealous witch, powerful enough to steal the voice of an alpha. The bitch who’d banished him to this plane after framing him for a crime he didn’t commit.
And he’d been unable to speak the truth, unable to speak at all. Because of her and his rotten cousin, his pack now considered him a traitor. Because of her, Kaede hadn’t spoken a word in sixty years. Until today. Until this witch touched him. Had he done the impossible? Had he found his fated mate?
“Damn it,
wolf, I said sleep.”
More pain. Then, there was nothing but darkness.
***
HE’D FINALLY MADE HIS move.
After two weeks of stalking her, he’d finally revealed his intent to her. Though she’d known he was another agent sent by The Deciders, part of her hoped he wouldn’t go through with his task.
That part of her was now disappointed in the male called Kaede. She didn’t know his last name. Not yet. But she would. Soon. The snowmobiles were closer now. Took them long enough.
If she’d been depending on them for protection, she’d be dead right now. Or worse, drugged and carried off to some unknown location to be handed over to The Deciders. That thought sent a chill down her spine.
Shivering, Sinclair Rose wrapped her arms around her body. The heat from her fire within warmed her up instantly. Sometimes, scratch that, most of the time, it was great being a Fire Witch. Especially in an icy place like this.
Squatting near her would-be captor, she stared down at the latest agent sent by The Deciders. Why wouldn’t those fools just give up? She’d been on this frozen plane for two years now. Two long, exhausting years.
In those two years, they’d sent over a dozen agents after her. All of those agents had failed to capture her. Why wouldn’t they just chalk it up to a loss and leave her alone? It wasn’t like she was hurting anyone here.
Hell, she wouldn’t be here if her younger sister wasn’t so bad at magic. Sin sighed. She couldn’t blame it all on Shade. Shade was a young fire witch who wanted to prove to the elders that she was capable of handling charges as a Guardian Witch.
It wasn’t even time for Shade to start her Guardian training. Her baby sister was just sad because Sin had passed her training and was now able to leave their small Mississippi town and travel the world, protecting her charges.
Females born to their coven couldn’t move out of their parents’ home until they passed their Guardian Trials and became an official Guardian. That was one of the many rules of their coven that Sin hated.