Drawn to an unconscious woman, two shifters risk all to keep her by their side.
Aliana Maddock runs for her life when she discovers the gift her father plans to bestow upon her for her twenty-fifth birthday. It isn’t the inheritance her mother promised before her death, but a contract for a marriage to a man twice her age—a criminal associate of her father’s.
Sent to guard one of the gates of Paradise during the Sabbat when the veil between their world and the humans’ becomes thin, Griffin Bedard and Dracen Giacomo find a half dead woman lying unconscious on clan land. Drawn to her in a way they can’t explain, they risk their lives and the discovery of Paradise to keep her.
Can the two men protect her from the evil that follows Aliana or will they all succumb to the danger that follows her to the gates of Paradise?
Excerpt
Aliana dashed through the woods, not daring to look back. Sure that her father’s henchmen were close on her heels, she kept running despite her exhaustion. Her feet pounded a steady rhythm through the forest. Branches slapped at her face and shoulders as she charged through the brush, barely taking the time to push them out of the way as she forged through the bramble. The dark, insidious feeling of evil grew increasingly closer and made her desperate. She had to get away.
Her breaths came in little more than short, strangled gasps. Why had she allowed herself to get so out of shape? Pain stabbed at her side. Her muscles burned. The farther she ran, the more she felt the illusory sensation of her father’s men breathing down her neck. Why couldn’t she shake them? First, she’d lost her hotel room and luggage, next her car. What next?
She wouldn’t do it! Aliana refused to marry a man she’d never respect. Who could have a high opinion of a man who gave no thought to others? He exploited those with less power and took advantage of the system. In short, the man was an opportunistic jerk. Not to mention a criminal of the worst sort. The real clincher had been when she’d walked into her father’s home and accidentally heard them discussing a drug transaction and murder. She could have believed it of Doug Hamill, but…her father? That had been an unexpected blow, ripping away her innocence in a way nothing else could have.
Rounding a corner, she bent at the waist and rested her hands on her knees. She gulped great lungs full of air as she concentrated on listening for the pounding of footsteps behind her. Aliana rubbed her side, the burning pain almost strong enough to bring her to her knees. The cool air burned her lungs as she drew in each breath.
“Some twenty-fifth birthday present.” She panted, still bent over. “I expected my trust fund not a fiancé.” No wonder her mother had committed suicide. The reasons were clear now. She hadn’t been able to live with Ali’s father’s source of income.
Aliana knew she surely couldn’t. How many lives had been lost supporting her father’s expensive tastes? How many children died or were orphaned because of overdoses or bad drugs?
She fought off the urge to retch, knowing she couldn’t keep up her frantic pace much longer. Either she found help or a ride soon or those hunting her would find her passed out on the trail. No, dammit. She refused to give up, to be an easy catch.
A dog bayed in the distance, seemed to grow closer every second.
She took off running again. It was only a matter of time before they found her. She needed to get some money and a car before she collapsed in a heap.
The last thing her father would do was let her go if they managed to capture her. She held no illusions as to what he would do if he couldn’t control her, make her marry his business associate—a man at least twice her age. He was a murderer after all. Ali still had the prepaid credit card her mother had loaded and slipped to her before her death. Keeping it was her only hope for survival. She had it and a change of clothes in the backpack strapped to her shoulders.
The setting sun nearly blinded her when she stumbled into a clearing. Bright light shone in her eyes, a shock after the darkness of the thick forest. Pebbles rolled beneath her feet as she slid down a rocky incline. She tried to reach out, to stop herself from sliding down the mountainside, but it was too little too late.
Aliana screamed, barely thinking to suck in a gulp of air before she plunged feet first into the icy water of the rushing river below. Cold water swirled around her head. It pulled at her clothing, yanking her deeper and deeper as it dragged her over sharp rocks and tree limbs below the surface. Her lungs burned, ached. She needed to breathe! Opening her eyes, she clawed her way toward the light, glad the setting sun hadn’t yet dipped below the horizon.
Breaking the surface was a feat. With the heavy backpack strapped to her, the rushing water tried to pull her down. Her wet clothes were heavy, a hindrance to her survival. Kicking off her shoes, she wriggled out of her wet pants, allowing the current to strip the wet denim from her legs before she drowned. She couldn’t afford to lose her pack. She may as well die if she let that go.
It was almost full dark before she’d finally struggled to the shore. Battered and bruised, Aliana dragged herself from the freezing water and collapsed onto the rocky riverbank.
Synopsis
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