“This is Amazing!” In truth, the dagger was beyond anything I could have imagined. I reached a hand out but hesitated, “may I?”
Goibniu (GUV new) gestured for me to take the dagger, and I grasped the handle. A small tingle ran up my arm and I hefted the dagger. It was perfectly balanced, and the grip fit my hand as if it had been molded and tailored for me. “I- its incredible.”
Kiara eyed the blade nervously and Goibniu gave her a knowing grin, “Don’t think I will leave you out lass. If you are going to be hanging around our huntress, I have something for you too. From what Morrigan tells us, this one tends to get herself locked up more often than is normal for a girl her age.”
“Is getting locked up ever normal?” Kiara asked.
Goibniu elbowed his brother, “It can be right fun, if you have the right lass with you!” They both burst out in a round of ruckus laughter.
Kiara’s innocent stared stopped them cold, “Aye lass, one day you will fig
My hand hesitantly reached for the handle, my heart hopefully for who I might find inside. There was only one person I cared enough about for Brighid to even mention, and Morrigan had said he had been seen wandering this plane. Could it be that he was here? Was it really possible? As the door glided open on silent hinges, the familiar profile of long dark hair and tan skin greeted me. He was seated cross-legged before the fire, atop a mound of furs. Warmth flushed my face as I realized he was shirtless. I longed to run my hands over that smooth skin, and dig into those broad shoulders. “Makya?” He turned, those chocolate eyes locking on mine. “Eileen?” He rose smoothly and rushed to me, his hands cupping my face. I smiled as I looked up at him and then wrapped myself around him, burying my face in his bare chest. “Eileen! What are you doing here? I thought you were in Canada! Surely by now, you are back in the village. I don’t understand how you can b
I awoke sometime later, still cuddled against Makya’s chest. His warmth pressed into my back, and I sighed, content.Content but not satisfied. Here, with Makya, I had everything I had ever thought I had wanted. A simple life, with simple desires. Makya satisfied all of that. with Stella, my life was far more complicated now, but in many ways more complete, but that was not the whole of my need. Stella stirred in my mind then.‘Peace, my soul-bond. You are of the Triskele, the witch blood who is bonded by blood and magic to Tír na nÓg. It is not so strange to think that your heart is also triskele. the twisted spirals of triskele loop one in strange directions. But you will find the links in time. You are young still.’The image of the triskele with its three swirling spokes flashed in my mind. Morrigan had cast it over a Triquetra, our eternity knot. To think that so much of our system of magic, and faith was based on th
“Gaia guide me” I breathed as I closed my eyes and tried to remember the lessons Morrigan had shown me. Morrigan had gathered power from all over. She had directed that power to one spot in order to accomplish her goal of growing that tree and not killing the land around it.Then it hit me. The fae of this plane were here, in this grove. They were already channeling power from across Tír na nÓg into the pentagram along the lines of the spirals of ancient trees. I stood, determination straightening my back as I stepped through the wall of magic and across the knotted web of tree roots. Here, power was pulsing from across the plane, and being channeled by five of the most powerful Tuatha Dé Danann at the nexus of a huge sacred grove, fueling this pentagram. I reached my mind out to the earth, calling out for Gaia’s help.I moved to stand next to Kiara, and then stretched at hand toward one of the twelve trees. A vine rose from at my
As the world around us solidified, I felt us both tip forward, landing hard in the snow pack. I looked around and instantly felt weary as if I had run 100km, and my body demanded rest. I reached through the snow to try and touch the ground, but here in our own world, the magic of the land was feeble and weak at best. I didn’t dare take from the earth here, for fear of damaging this forest and sapping it of vital power. I would just have to give my body time to recover and learn to tap deeper into the earth.As I got my feet back under me, and tried to help Kaira to her feet, I was amazed at just how different our world felt compared to the pulsing power that permeated Tír na nÓg. There, every blade of grass tingled with so much power that the very leaves glowed with energy.Now, the winter wonderland around us looked exceptionally gray in comparison, with a few dull greens where the evergreen trees peaked though.“Eileen?” came a
Morrigan! At least I knew she was watching over me. My wrists ached from where the bindings dig in, but as my left palm connected with the dirt, I could feel power flow to my hand. It was a fraction of what I had felt in Tír na nÓg, but it was there. The crow flapped out of the tree, the men in the clearing oblivious to its passing as it flew over my head. A dull thud behind me told me Morrigan had dropped something in the snow. I reached back to find the dagger and sheath Goibniu hand made me. Somehow, Morrigan had gotten into my room and retrieved it. I drew the blade and freed my ankles, and worked on my wrists. The blade was awkward in my bound hands, and trying to keep hidden was a challenge. The men in the clearing were focused on the wolf and Kaira, but several kept glancing with leering gazes in my direction. Arvin continued his rant, pulling out a dagger that looked to be made of crystal instead of metal, “Since no one claims the omega, then we all
Out of the dense forest, wolves began appearing. We pulled up short as they surrounded us.‘Follow us if you want to live.’ We heard over the mental tether. It was a strange dialect, clearly not the same as that of the Clearwater pack. These must be members of the glacier pack Arvin had yelled about.‘Why should we trust you?’One of the larger wolves stepped forward. He had a gray coat, not the black I had seen in Arvin’s wolves. ‘For now, don’t. simply trust that we are more interested in causing the Clearwater pack issues that we care about you. Removing you from their care is simply the easiest way to piss them off.’We glanced at Sierra/Kiara and made our decision. We all needed time to recover, and so long as this other pack didn’t try anything right off, perhaps we would get the day or two we needed to be at full strength. The fact these wolves were not the solid
A dainty arm wrapped around me and I gripped the hand, hugging it close to my chest as morning light streamed through the canvas of the tent. The warm body pressed against my back and I longed for a warm bed so Makya could press me into it. I kissed the fingers gently, wishing for so much more, but the hard floor of a tent, in the cold of winter was not my idea of a good time. And soon enough we would be back home and we could find his bed and enjoy the warmth of his cabin.“Eileen?” a soft groggy voice asked, the hand pulling away from me slightly. A feminine voice. NOT Makya.I froze, a sense of horror and shock gripping me as I slowly opened my eyes and glanced down at the hand I held. Definitely female, and not Makya’s native tan. I did my best to pretend nothing had happened, “Morning Kiara.”“Where are we?” she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, apparently unperturbed by anything I had done.“I ho
The run down the far side of the mountain was swift and at times a harrowing experience as we plunged down steep cliff sides, sliding through thick snow drifts. Stella and Sierra’s thick fur was all that kept us from being torn to pieces as branches and brambles flicked overhead. As the sun began its decent in the afternoon, we finally crashed out of the woods and onto a well traveled road. Tucker in his wolf form led us to the rear of town to a small barn where his wolf crashed into his chest.Tucker had been sitting cross legged in the barn atop a pile of straw and suddenly opened his eyes as Kiara and I shifted back into our human forms.“Ah, ladies. Good to see you whole.” He smiled at us both as he rose to his feet and pulled on his shirt. My gaze lingered on those rippling aps as his shirt slid into place, hiding them from view. I then noticed his gaze locked on my feet. “Have you two been without shoes this whole time? Come, there is a sh
My readers have spoken and I need to finish this tale and do it right. I will not be releasing new chapters for a while yet, but know that I have finished book one of Rejected Billionaire so now my goal is to FINISH this book before the end of 2022. it now has my undivided attention and I will be writing as often as I can. I have learned that it is better for me not to release chapters untill I am done, so I will be rough drafting for now, doing a hard edit and then working with some beta readers to make sure this ends up being the best tale I can offer. Again, you all are amazing. please keep holding on a bit longer and I hope to complete this tale for you with some great chapters. I will not be starting any other tales until this one is complete. I would LOVE to see in the comments anything you want to see happen, who you are shipping hard, and how much spice you want.
Back in my room, Kiara collapsed on the bed, “Everything I grew up knowing feels like a lie! You said he was one of the Tuatha Dé Danann? You mean he is like Morrigan, and the others?” I simply nodded. “You know I still have not wrapped my mind around all of that. I grew up thinking Ballar was like a god to our pack. There was some mention of Herne but we never learned about the rest. If I had not gone there myself and seen them face to face, I don’t know I would ever believe all of that.” Kiara said, holding her head in her hands. I realized just how much insanity had happened in the last few weeks. We both had enough life experience with things that were out of the ordinary that our minds were open enough to accept some of this but it was still massive. “I think it is a lot for both of us. I honestly didn’t believe in half the things my coven taught up until a few weeks ago. I guess I always believed in Morrigan, but it was more of a guardian angel
As we walked into the dining room, the aroma of roasting venison and hardy stew wafted from the kitchen. My appetite rushed back with a vengeance and I was eager to sample Caleb’s hard work. Then I noticed a man at the end of the table dressed in buckskin with long brown hair. I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at one of my patron gods, Cernunnos, horned lord of the hunt. “My lord, Cernunnos,” I said, curtsying and pulling Kaira down into a curtsy as well. The man snorted and stood, “I see you know my half-brother. While I like to think I have the better looks, he is still better known with the ladies. I am Herne.” I looked at him again, taking in his build and dress. He looked to be in his prime, perhaps mid-thirties, but his eyes held a timeless quality, full of deep knowledge. “Forgive me, I didn’t realize any of the Tuatha Dé Danann were here.” I said, trying to give Kaira as much studdle information as I dared. “That is a tale for after dinner.
I awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright. I was alone in a large bed, in a decent size room with a big bay window. Sunlight was streaming in as I glanced down to find I was dressed in a large shirt and little else. I scanned the room and found my green dress draped over a chair. Next to it was a red dress in the same fashion and what looked like the black one Morrigan had given us. I briefly wondered where they might have come from, but dismissed it, realizing if Morrigan wanted us to have them, she would have found a way.I stood up, and grunted at the pain that rocked my body. As I dragged my body out of its sleepy stupor, I realized my arms and legs were covered with bruises and nearly healed cuts. If my experience a few weeks ago with the wolf bite was anything to judge by, I must have been in a serious state not long ago to still be seeing this much damage to my body. My stomach made itself known then, the pangs of hunger gurgling forth. I quickly pulled on the red dre
The brief nap in the tub gripped my body, my eyes begging for more rest. It had been too long since we had been able to sleep in a comfortable and secure place. The large bed called to me, and I laid down, my hair still wrapped in a towel. Kiara joined me a moment later, sliding under the sheets as I made room for her. I opened my arms, and she snuggled in close against my robe. As I held her tight, I thought of Mayka, and what he might do to me, the pleasure he could inflict upon my body if he could join me in this luxurious room.The next morning I awoke to the early morning light. Being east of the mountains for the first time in my life, the sun streamed through the windows far earlier that I was used to. Kiara was cuddled against my chest, her cheek pressed to my bare breast. Sometime in the night, she had snuggled into my robe and we were now pressed together. I wasn’t about to wake her, enjoying her warmth, when a loud pounding sounded on our door, startling the
Kiara leaned against the door as I began to explore the room and I heard a small snick as she bolted the door and added the chain and deadbolt for good measure. “That one was a bit bold.”I smirked, the tension slowly seeping from my shoulders as I took in the grand room we had been put up in. a huge king size four-poster bed took up a good bit of the room, but there was also a couch, a desk, a small table, and a large widow with thick curtains that looked out over the town. “You interested in what he is offering? He may be a few years older than us but I bet he could show you a good time if you wanted.”“No.” she said plainly, not a hint of interest. Her voice almost sounded revolted at the idea.“Is there someone special you are hoping for?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the plush bed and flopping back onto its luxurious comforter.“There is… someone,” She said carefully.&ldquo
The run down the far side of the mountain was swift and at times a harrowing experience as we plunged down steep cliff sides, sliding through thick snow drifts. Stella and Sierra’s thick fur was all that kept us from being torn to pieces as branches and brambles flicked overhead. As the sun began its decent in the afternoon, we finally crashed out of the woods and onto a well traveled road. Tucker in his wolf form led us to the rear of town to a small barn where his wolf crashed into his chest.Tucker had been sitting cross legged in the barn atop a pile of straw and suddenly opened his eyes as Kiara and I shifted back into our human forms.“Ah, ladies. Good to see you whole.” He smiled at us both as he rose to his feet and pulled on his shirt. My gaze lingered on those rippling aps as his shirt slid into place, hiding them from view. I then noticed his gaze locked on my feet. “Have you two been without shoes this whole time? Come, there is a sh
A dainty arm wrapped around me and I gripped the hand, hugging it close to my chest as morning light streamed through the canvas of the tent. The warm body pressed against my back and I longed for a warm bed so Makya could press me into it. I kissed the fingers gently, wishing for so much more, but the hard floor of a tent, in the cold of winter was not my idea of a good time. And soon enough we would be back home and we could find his bed and enjoy the warmth of his cabin.“Eileen?” a soft groggy voice asked, the hand pulling away from me slightly. A feminine voice. NOT Makya.I froze, a sense of horror and shock gripping me as I slowly opened my eyes and glanced down at the hand I held. Definitely female, and not Makya’s native tan. I did my best to pretend nothing had happened, “Morning Kiara.”“Where are we?” she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, apparently unperturbed by anything I had done.“I ho
Out of the dense forest, wolves began appearing. We pulled up short as they surrounded us.‘Follow us if you want to live.’ We heard over the mental tether. It was a strange dialect, clearly not the same as that of the Clearwater pack. These must be members of the glacier pack Arvin had yelled about.‘Why should we trust you?’One of the larger wolves stepped forward. He had a gray coat, not the black I had seen in Arvin’s wolves. ‘For now, don’t. simply trust that we are more interested in causing the Clearwater pack issues that we care about you. Removing you from their care is simply the easiest way to piss them off.’We glanced at Sierra/Kiara and made our decision. We all needed time to recover, and so long as this other pack didn’t try anything right off, perhaps we would get the day or two we needed to be at full strength. The fact these wolves were not the solid