by Vella Day
Tanner
Hidden Realms of Silver Lake
The Four Sisters of Fate
Book 6
Vella Day
Tanner
Copyright © 2020 by Vella Day
Kindle Edition
www.velladay.com
[email protected]
Cover Art by Jaycee DeLorenzo
Edited by Rebecca Cartee and Carol Adcock-Bezzo
Published in the United States of America
E-book ISBN: 978-1-951430-12-2
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief questions embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Snow leopard, Ella Snowden, has a problem. Her parents are requiring her to mate with a man she detests.
Love is not even an issue for them. For the sake of her clan, Ella is supposed to mate with the up-and-coming Alpha to the panther clan in order to repopulate the dwindling leopard clan. Her solution? Do what any strong-willed woman would do. She leaves her posh and fairly pampered life and sets off on her own.
Too bad Fate interrupts her escape and sends an avalanche her way. Great! Just what she doesn’t need. Buried beneath ten feet of snow, she considers her options—options that are very limited. Does she have any regrets she ran away? No. She’d rather die than mate with that panther.
Tanner McCarson is up to his eyeballs in work building an eco-tourism park in Plux. When he heads to Thedia Province to check on some supplies, he watches as an avalanche buries a car. Being the protective man that he is, he rushes to the rescue, only to discover the woman inside is his mate.
While Ella is thrilled to be rescued by a super-hot dragon shifter, she can’t tell him the real reason she is on the run. Needless to say, when that panther finds her, trouble ensues. What will Ella have to do to convince Tanner her lies were for his own good?
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright 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
Other Books by the Author
About the Author
Chapter One
“I’m leaving—for good. I refuse to mate with that arrogant panther shifter, Moran Blackwood. I’d rather give up my life of luxury and live among real people than be with the man who is next in line to be Alpha of his clan. I don’t love him, nor will I ever,” Ella Snowden announced.
Her mother’s shockingly blue eyes lasered in on Ella’s face as her lips pinched. “Our family is counting on you to join our two clans.”
She’d heard that tired refrain for years: Our snow leopard clan is dwindling. We have to breed with the Blackwood Clan. That was total rubbish. Ella wanted to mate for love, not out of obligation.
“There’s always Mori or Christa.” Her two younger sisters seemed more than willing to marry for prestige.
“Mori is too delicate for the likes of Moran. And Christa? She might consent.” Her mother, who was the mate of the snow leopard Alpha, had been in an arranged marriage. Apparently, she didn’t find it all that distasteful—at least at first. And now her mother wanted to do it to her. How fair was that?
Ella painted on a smile. “There you go! It’s settled. Christa it is. Hug for old times’ sake?” In all honesty, she doubted even her sister would be able to stand Moran.
From the way her mother stiffened, Ella’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on the matriarch. Or it was because she didn’t like to be touched. While Ella loved her mother, the light in her mom’s eyes had dimmed in the last few years. Was it due to the stress of trying to rebuild their clan? Or had all semblance of love gone out of her life? Ella believed it had been a little of both.
Her mother lifted her chin. “You’ll be back. Snow leopards aren’t built for the heat—assuming you leave this province.”
Their kind needing it cold to survive was probably another tale told to all young pups. It didn’t matter. Ella would adapt. Determination and dedication were what allowed her to become a competitive skier—a sport her parents shunned. She would use that same strength to pursue her dream of freedom. “Perhaps I’ll remain in the mountains then.”
Not true at all, but she didn’t want her family to know her plans. Because her father loved her, he might send out the troops to bring her home, and she couldn’t let that happen.
“What will you do for money? Don’t expect us to send you some.”
She’d been taught to be self-reliant her whole life. It had been a hard lesson at times, but her father was right not to coddle his children. “I’ll find a job.”
Her mother barked out a laugh. “You? Work?”
That was insulting. “I might not have earned wages, but I’ve been running the staff in this mausoleum for years.”
“That’s hardly the same. You are practically royalty. You won’t last a week among the peasants.”
Peasants? If her mother went out more, she’d see people weren’t as bad as she believed them to be. Her mom was under the impression that she and her daughters were supposed to remain at the top of the Winger Mountain range so they could rule. Bull.
Ella picked up her suitcase. “I’ve already said goodbye to father.” And her loving sisters, who she would miss a lot.
“He will cut you off, you know,” her mother shot back with ice in her veins.
No, he wouldn’t, though he implied that if she left, she’d be on her own. “That’s the chance I’m willing to take.”
“What will I say to Moran and his family?” her mother asked.
That was the real reason she didn’t want Ella to leave. “You can tell them yourself whatever lie you want to.”
With that, Ella spun around and headed out. She wanted to get the hell away before the guards could track her down. As for money, her parents had no idea the number of jewels they’d given her over the years—jewels she planned to sell in order to support herself. While Ella would be heartbroken to get rid of them, she would have to if she wanted to eat something besides another animal.
She placed her suitcase in the trunk of her car, slipped in the front seat, and took off. Where she was headed, she had no idea other than far away from Thedia Province.
“I promise I will look into it right away, Mr. Danton,” Tanner McCarson said. Gerard Danton, the managing director for EcoWide Corporation, was driving Tanner crazy with his incessant nitpicking phone calls. “The supplier was caught in a snow storm yesterday, and the road was closed. It’s not anyone’s fault but nature’s that the material won’t arrive on time.”
“Then find another supplier,” the man shouted through the line.
“I’ll check around, but it might be faster to wait until the roads clear.”
“We have a deadline to meet, and that means you’ll need to put all of your men on this job.” Tanner could imagine the man shaking his fist.
He wanted to remind this client that he was the McCarson in LaMont, Sand
ers, and McCarson Construction, but he didn’t. Jace Sanders—the man who gave him his big break in this business—had pounded into his head that the customer was always right.
Tanner had been running the Plux, Grindale division of the company for almost a year now. He didn’t need some rich developer telling him how to run his crew, but he swallowed his retort. “Yes, sir, I will.”
“See that you do.”
Once Mr. Danton disconnected, Tanner dragged a hand down his cheeks. Damn, he needed a shave, a shower, and some food. Before he could mentally regroup, his office door opened. Clint Singletary, his second-in-command, came in, carrying coffee with the New Frontier Diner logo on it. Relief from the intense, rich smell, eased some of the tension in his shoulders.
“I hope that’s for me,” Tanner said.
“Yes, but I’m not sure it will be enough. You look like shit. You need sleep. And a shower.”
“I’ll get some rest when this project is complete.” Which would be in about two years.
“Did you even go home last night?”
They had a breakroom with a sofa, and Tanner had been sleeping there more than at his home. “Not last night.”
“You can’t go on like this, Tanner.”
“I know, but there have been delays in getting the wood from Thedia Province and the cement from Hearndon Province. Sometimes, it’s the roads, and at other times, it’s just bad timing. I have to keep on top of things.”
“How about hiring some office help?”
Tanner kept his business on line as much as possible, but invoices seemed to arrive in paper form. The number of documents he needed to scan and then shred was piling up to the point where he wasn’t able to find anything. Gone was the time when he was super organized and efficient. He wanted those days back.
Tanner attempted to set the coffee on his desk, but there was no room. Crap. He swallowed some first and then placed the cup on top of a stack of papers. “I put an ad in the paper last month, but the candidates who showed up were not qualified.”
Clint pulled up a chair. “Not qualified? How hard is it to scan some documents, answer the phone, and take a message?”
“It’s more than that. Just last week, we were supposed to meet with that window salesman, but you and I had other commitments. That might have cost us a good deal.”
Clint’s eyes widened. “You want someone who can do data entry, answer the phone, and who can take some supplier out to dinner?”
“That’s exactly what I want. You know I hate going to those shindigs to schmooze. Remember when I hired Melinda Albert’s mom to help out in the office three days a week? She was so curt with everyone that it took months to smooth things over.”
“What you’re saying is that you’re looking for a dedicated, gorgeous, and technically talented secretary? One who can be the poster child for LaMont, Sanders, and McCarson?”
Clint finally understood. “Yes!”
His second-in-command laughed. “What realm do you live in? Someone like that doesn’t exist.”
He was right. “Then I guess I will continue to work one hundred hours a week until this project is done.”
“You’ll be dead before that if you don’t take a break. When was the last time you went to Edendale to visit Jace and Slade?”
“My associates came here last month, remember?”
“If I recall, it wasn’t much of a social call. The four of us worked throughout the night.”
Crap. Tanner sipped the coffee, but the smooth drink didn’t soothe like it usually did. “You sound like my mother. You work too much,” he mimicked.
“A wise woman.” Clint slapped his thighs and stood. “I just came to tell you the zipline attraction passed inspection.”
He sank back in his chair. “Thank goodness for something going right for a change.”
“I’ll put the word out that we are looking for a super woman.”
“Or man. Either is good for me.”
Clint tapped two fingers to his forehead and left.
Tanner’s brain was tired, and his body ached. Dragon shifters were supposed to be super heroes. With the roads closed around Thedia, there wouldn’t be much progress at the site today anyway. Maybe he should take a break. Leaving the office for one day wouldn’t hurt. Actually, it might help.
He finished off his coffee, shoved back his office chair, and headed out. When he stepped into the fresh air, the bright sun actually hurt his eyes. Maybe he had spent too much time inside. There had been a light sprinkling of snow in Plux last night, but this morning the sky was a deep cerulean blue, and the air was almost warm. It was the perfect day for a flight.
Needing space to shift, he walked to the alleyway behind his building. Down the road, a warehouse had been demolished a few months back, leaving a large empty field. He walked there, shifted, and took off. Tanner had no real destination. He just needed to be in the air to clear his head.
After an hour, guilt at taking a day off prompted him to head toward Thedia. He wanted to see for himself if the roads really were closed due to bad weather or if his suppliers had been telling him a tale.
The trip would take another hour, but he didn’t mind. While he enjoyed running the construction firm, life had been a lot easier when Jace had been there. The two of them had made a good team. Tanner had only been at the firm a short while when Jace’s mate came into the picture. Since she lived in Edendale, his boss followed his heart and moved. As happy as Jace seemed, especially now that he had a new baby, Tanner promised himself that he’d never fall prey to his hormones. It messed with work too much.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the air, because he’d been feeling a bit sorry for himself and hadn’t been paying attention. When Tanner finally focused on the landscape below, the level of snowfall had dramatically increased. In fact, it had blanketed the area. The roads appeared to be open, but no cars were anywhere to be seen. Interesting.
Intrigued how bad things were in Thedia, he continued toward the mountains. Only when he dipped lower to better check out the conditions, did Tanner hear it—the low rumble of snow. Needing to find the source, Tanner soared higher. The closer he flew to the mountains, the louder the sound.
There!
A cascade of snow was tumbling between two mountains. Holy goddess. It looked as if the realm was crumbling. No homes appeared to be in the way, but the avalanche was aimed for the road and one unsuspecting driver.
Chapter Two
In her self-driving car, Ella was able to spend time enjoying the beauty of her home world. Sadly, she’d never had the opportunity to travel and see much of it. It wasn’t something Snowdens did—at least according to her mother. To Ella, the open road screamed freedom. Not that she wouldn’t miss her sisters and her father, but the isolation of staying on top of one mountain for the rest of her life was too much to bear—that and being forced to mate a total ass.
Her location panel told her she was headed toward Grindale Province. Having no idea what to expect, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, dreaming of a new life. She might have fallen asleep had the car not started to vibrate, causing Ella to jerk open her eyes. What the hell?
Everything appeared to be perfect, however. The sky was devoid of clouds, no wind was buffeting any trees, and the road in front of her was rather clear. But it was the loud roar that caused every muscle to tense. What prompted her to look to her left, she didn’t know, but when she did, she saw an avalanche heading toward the road—the one she was on.
For the next few seconds, she stared at the majesty of it all. Living in Thedia, she’d seen a few large slides, but none that had been close to her. Taking over the automatic function of the car, she pressed on the accelerator, trying to outrun the fast approaching disaster. Her heart pumped harder when she realized the impending avalanche was traveling too fast—way too fast.
Her animal instincts wanted her to stop the car and race for her life, but even she realized that would be futile. She could
run up to thirty-five miles an hour, but only for short bursts and only on hard ground—not through several feet of deep snow. An avalanche traveled more than twice that fast.
Oh, crap. There was nothing she could do about the inevitable but hold on. When the snow slammed into the side of her car and spun her around, she grabbed the wheel to keep from being tossed against the window, but she failed. Her head hit the roof and then the window, cracking the glass—or else that was her head breaking. Her breath caught as she was deafened by the thunderous noise. Her pulse soared. The roof bent. White surrounded her.
And then there was nothing but quiet.
Ella sat there stunned, not quite comprehending that she’d just been buried alive. The side of her head pounded, but when she ran her hand over her scalp, she didn’t detect any blood. She’d been lucky.
Ella didn’t bother trying to open the door. Even if she could roll down the window, then what? She had to be buried under a good ten feet of snow. Damn. Even if her father’s guards attempted to locate her, it would be days or weeks before it melted enough for them to find her. People would know the road was closed, but no one would have any idea where to look for her. Her air would run out long before any rescue team arrived.
She needed to find a way to signal someone. Ella pulled out her phone and turned it on. Great! The battery was dead. In her haste to leave, she hadn’t taken the time to charge it. Maybe the engine had enough power. She plugged in her cell, turned on the car, and leaned back to wait.
At least being a shifter, the cold wouldn’t bother her too much. Worst case, she’d shift, though the small space would make that difficult. It was food that might be an issue. And water—though she could always eat the snow. Eventually, her body would give out. To conserve energy, she closed her eyes and focused on lowering her heartbeat.
She had succeeded until what sounded like water dripping, roused her. The snow couldn’t have melted that fast. Ella sat up and took in her surroundings. She was still entombed, but it sounded as if a blast-furnace was going full force above her. Or had the intense silence created some kind of illusion?