My salvation bewitched a.., p.1
My Salvation (Bewitched And Bewildered Book 14), page 1
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
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
Epilogue
About the Author
Coming Soon
Other Books by Alanea
My Salvation
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Bewitched and Bewildered
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ALANEA ALDER
Copyright © 2023 Alanea Alder
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address below.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents 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.
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Digital ISBN- 978-1-941315-46-0
Print ISBN- 978-1-941315-47-7
Sacred Forest Publishing
Dedication
~Omnia Vincit Amor- Love Conquers All~
~Sometimes the best love is the quiet comfortable moments between shared laughter.~
PROLOGUE
Priest rolled out of bed and landed on the floor on his hands and knees. He fought back the urge to vomit as he gulped down air, trying to slow his breathing.
In his nightmare, his mate, his beautiful mate, was ripped apart by hundreds of grasping hands. He tried to reclaim each piece of her from the faceless shadows but couldn’t.
A knock at the door had him looking up. He dare not answer. With his head hanging, he prayed that the person would go away.
Seconds later, he heard a static crack, and the door opened, revealing Heath Clover, Upsilon’s witch.
“Gods above,” Heath whispered. He shut the door behind him before he knelt down at his side. “I want you to concentrate on my voice. Conquiescere, frater meus. Be at peace, my brother. You are not alone, and the darkness will not win.”
Heath rose and gently helped Priest stand to his feet before easing him over to the bed. Priest rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. Heath sat next to him. “Talk to me Priest, or I’ll get Zoe to purify the room of negative vibes, and knowing her, she’d torch the place.”
Priest smiled, though he felt like raging. His chuckle was without mirth and sounded empty even to himself. “How’d you know?” he asked, sitting up to face his unit brother.
Heath’s eyes were filled with compassion. “I’ve picked up a thing or two over the years.”
“Empathy?”
Heath shook his head. “Not quite. It’s more like my healing abilities have a barometer. Elevated temperature, heart rate, that sort of thing, has gotten a boost that added an emotional flavor to it. Sheer terror was flooding the hallway in waves from your room,” he explained.
Priest exhaled. “You know how Ari and Gage had dreams about their mates?”
Heath nodded. “Ari saw Bri walking away, and Gage saw Zoe surrounded by flames” He shrugged. “Makes perfect sense now.”
Priest clasped his hands together in his lap to keep them from visibly shaking. “I see her. Gods, Heath, she is so beautiful. Silky blonde hair, eyes the color of the sky at sunrise, but it’s her smile that pulls me in.” He tilted his head to look at his unit brother closer. “Her eyes are like yours, filled with… I don’t know, compassion.”
Heath nodded. “She could be a healer.”
Priest shut his eyes, trying to recall her face again. Immediately the images began to taunt him.
“Priest. Open your eyes,” Heath ordered.
Priest swallowed hard and looked directly at Heath. “She’s ripped apart right before me. I can’t save even a single piece of her.”
Heath’s eyes widened. “Gods above. Why would you be shown such a thing?” He placed his hand on Priest’s shoulder, and the terror, anxiety, and tension seemed to melt away.
“Thanks, Heath.”
“Maybe you should go to Aiden with this?” he suggested.
Priest shook his head. “That man has more shit on his plate than anyone.”
Heath went to speak, hesitated, then continued. “Go to Meryn.”
Priest stared. “Excuse me?”
Heath winced. “I know, it sounds a bit crazy, but by now, we’ve all seen her in action. Besides the commander, she’s the only other one who was present as each couple came together. She may have some insight into your nightmares.”
Priest felt the stirrings of hope. “Do you really think so?”
Heath chuckled. “Either she’ll be able to help or implode the situation so badly that your nightmares will be the least of your worries.”
“I fucking hate you,” Priest muttered, a smile tugging at his lips.
Heath laughed outright at his declaration. “I know, eaglet, I know.” He stood and stretched. “Get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow should be interesting.” He walked to the door and opened it. “If it gets this bad again, come to me. Don’t let the darkness get a foothold.”
Priest nodded. “I will. Thanks again, Heath.”
“Anytime.” Heath waved and shut the door behind him.
“Meryn, huh?” Priest wondered out loud.
He lay back down and stared up at the ceiling.
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
Chapter One
“But, I just miss her so much, you know?” the old man sniffled.
Cas laid a hand on his, mindful of the bruising he sustained from his last hospital stay. Since he was diagnosed with Stage Two cancer, Mr. Clemson had been coming to her on again, off again for the past six months. Then three weeks ago, just when he got that beat and was in remission, his faithful cat of sixteen years had passed away in her sleep. The poor man was awash with the color blue, which she always associated with sadness and despair. He was on the verge of giving up.
“I see something peculiar in your aura Samuel.” She’d give him hope even if she had to fudge things a bit.
“Something new? I know I’ve been bringing ya down with my blues as you call ‘em,” he teased, with very little mirth in his eyes.
To the humans who visited her little shop she was one step up from a palm reader. She held many psychology degrees but ultimately used her fae gift to get people talking about their feelings. She ‘somehow’ always knew what to ask to get people to acknowledge their hearts, which made them grow and feel better. Word of mouth had developed her client list until she was scheduling people months in advance.
“There’s a small cafe not far from your apartment, isn’t there?”
He nodded and let her continue.
“I see a small black cat huddled in a corner. He’s an absolute terror, hissing and half-feral, but I see your paths crossing.” She prayed this was the right thing to do. For all her gifts, she wasn’t omniscient.
He scowled. “What’s a cat doin’ in a cafe?”
She smiled. “It’s one of those new cat cafes. You go in, buy a cup of coffee and you get to pet and play with the cats. If you get along with one, you can adopt them.” She rubbed her forehead only slightly dramatically. “Now, this little boy is withdrawn, and I feel like his time is running out. If he keeps hissing at the customers, he may end up on the kill list.”
“Why is he hissing?” Samuel asked indignantly. “Cats don’t hiss for no reason.”
Cassie knew little Dow’s story as she had stopped in the cafe just two days ago for coffee. “He’s sad. His human child, whom he loved with all his heart, died. The parents didn’t want him around as a reminder of their lost daughter, so they gave him up to the cafe. He’s scared.”
Samuel rubbed his chin. The blues swirled faster and faster before blossoming into a pretty yellow. Hope, purpose. “Well, maybe I could head over there and sit with him a bit. My old girl was feisty at the end,” he chuckled. “They are their own selves, you know.”
She nodded. “Ask for Shadow. That’s his name on file at the cafe. But, his human was young when they met. She could only manage to say, Dow, he’ll respond
Samuel stood, knees popping. “I reckon I got time now.” He smiled, and this time there was warmth in his eyes. “You really moving away? You do you a lot of good to a lot of people, myself included.” He held out a hand to help her stand.
Cas fought back a sigh as she stood. Her Queen had issued the decree for all fae to return to Éire Danu a while ago. She packed up her apartment but had a hard time leaving with so many ‘last’ appointments. She was thankful that Samuel looked to be turning a corner now.
She nodded. “I’m needed back home.”
This time he was the one to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Anything I can do to help?”
She patted his hand on her shoulder. “Samuel, you are a rare gem amongst men.” She winked at him, causing him to guffaw. She shook her head. “It’s just jitters about returning after having been gone so long. I imagine I’ll settle in quickly enough.”
He gave her one firm pat, then headed for the door. “Home is always the place you can return to, no matter what. I hope that it goes well for you.” With a final wave, he walked out, leaving her alone in her shop.
Sighing, she looked at the empty shelves where she once sold handmade crafts from community artisans. Samuel had been her last appointment. Now, she had to figure out how to get her things to the portal outside the city.
With a heavy heart she locked up her small business for the last time and walked less than half a block to her apartment building. It was a gorgeous old building that had been well-maintained. She had an apartment on the third floor. The landlord was an older lady who didn’t need the money. She was just renting to keep the building occupied. When Cas first applied there, the sweet older woman gave her a discounted rate because there wasn’t an elevator. Running those stairs kept her fit over the years.
She had just put the key in her lock when a loud booming voice exclaimed. “Cassie! What in the hell are you still doing here?”
“Ilian!” she screeched and threw herself into the arms of the seven-foot fae she hadn’t seen in over a year. “You’re back! Did the whole squad return? I watered your plants like you asked me to.”
Ilian swung her around in a hug, then set her on her feet to rub her hair every which way.
“Hey!”
“Cassie, you know the edict went out weeks ago. Why are you still here?” he demanded, his hands on his hips.
“I couldn’t just leave when I still had appointments. I managed to cancel most of them, but the ones coming up had people who really needed me.”
Ilian ran his hands over his face. “What do you know?”
“About what?” she asked, feeling slightly concerned.
Ilian looked up and down the hallway, then pulled her into his apartment.
“Cassie!”
“Oof! Dammit, Reston, put me down!” she yelled as Ilian’s squad leader squeezed the daylights out of her. “Why in the hell are you still here?” he demanded, setting her on her feet.
She rubbed her left ear. “It’s like there’s an echo or something.”
“She only knows that we’ve been called home. Civilians weren’t told anything,” Ilian explained.
Reston nodded. “Probably to keep panic to a minimum.”
Cas swallowed hard. “Why would there be a panic?”
Ilian held up his phone and pointed to a small ‘V’ app. “Sit down, Cas. I’ll try to explain as gently as I can.” Ilian led her to a cardboard box and had her sit.
Twenty minutes later, Cas ran for the bathroom and threw up her lunch.
“Oh hells Cas, I’m sorry!” Ilian said, dropping to his knees to hold back her hair.
“I don’t think there was a good way to explain things,” Reston said, holding a sleeve of crackers, looking worried.
“Why are you both in the bathroom?” a male voice asked.
“Cassie is sick,” Reston said, pointing with the crackers.
“Kill me now,” she moaned.
“What? Let me through!”
“Hey, Luca,” she greeted weakly.
Warm hands rubbed her back as the witch whispered his spell. Suddenly, her head felt a bit clearer. “Thanks, buddy.”
Luca helped her stand. “Let’s brush those teeth. You can use Ilian’s toothbrush,” he offered.
“Hey!” Ilian protested.
Luca gave him a flat look, then slammed the door in his face. Reaching under the cabinet, he pulled out an unused toothbrush and handed it to her.
“Couldn’t you just spell this away?”
“Of course, but you’ll feel more normal using a routine,” he explained.
She nodded, feeling silly. Of course, something like that would help her deal with shock. She added toothpaste to the brush and began brushing her teeth.
Luca took advantage of her inability to talk. “Please tell me you’re at least packed?”
She nodded.
“Good. I knew you were still here but didn’t tell Ilian or Reston. They’d probably have gone AWOL early to get home.”
She tilted her head, giving him a questioning look.
He snorted. “You really didn’t think we cared about that dinky little succulent, did you?”
She continued to stare.
He sighed. “We set up a camera in the kitchen. As long as you were coming once a week, we could keep an eye on you.”
“Whaaa!” she protested.
Luca laughed. “I was the one checking the camera for the past two weeks, so I knew you stayed behind.” He gave her a severe look. “You had to have known something was happening, Cas. Why didn’t you move in with Cam and the Monroe squad?”
She spit into the sink. “Because they’re slobs.”
“And?”
“I can’t live like that, Luca.”
“Did Ilian and Reston get you caught up?”
She nodded solemnly. “How is this happening?”
Luca wrapped an arm around her shoulder and opened the bathroom door. Ilian and Reston were waiting for her in the hallway. “Because evil exists, baby girl, plain and simple.”
“Cas, are you okay?” Ilian asked.
She walked over to him and gave him a hug. “Sorry to scare you.”
Ilian exhaled. “I’m just glad Coop and Link weren’t here.”
Cas couldn’t help but laugh. Ilian, Reston, and Luca shared the apartment next to her. Lincoln and Cooper had the apartment below hers on the second floor.
Ilian Ri’Elwin was a fellow fae, and Reston O’Brien was the wolf-shifting squad leader. Luca Brambles was their witch, while Cooper Braxton and Lincoln Allard were the squad's heavy hitters. Coop was one of the largest men she had ever seen, which made sense as his animal was a polar bear, and Link was pure muscle. What he lacked in bulk, he made up with compact sinew. Coop said punching him was like punching a steel plate.
“Why is she still here?” a deep voice asked.
“There goes that echo again,” Cas observed sourly.
Coop stomped over to her and held out his hand. “Key.”
Sighing, she dropped her apartment key in his hand.
“Come on, Link, we have to carry Cassie’s stuff to the van,” Coop said, walking back out of the apartment.
“Why is she still here?” a male voice asked before the door shut.
“Ugggh!” she yelled, throwing her hands in the air.
“Ilian, she should eat something before we head to Cam’s,” Luca recommended.
Ilian steered her back toward the kitchen. “Why are we going to Cam’s?” she asked, plopping a slice of pizza from the open box onto a paper plate before heading over to the microwave.
Ilian pulled his phone back out and set it in front of her. “The Unit Commander’s mate created a Vanguard app for us to register. She posted updates as to what’s been going on in our world,” Ilian’s face darkened. “It’s more than we’re getting from the council.”
Reston clapped a hand on Ilian’s shoulder. “You know why things have been kept quiet.”
“Because people would freak out,” Cas said, watching her slice of pizza spin in the microwave.
“Exactly,” Reston said.
Cas turned away from her spinning snack. “Why do you have to go to Cam’s to register?”
Reston exhaled. “We have to be verified before we’re allowed to register.”
