Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Dealing with the wreckage of her personal life will have to wait, though, because the only chance at a hopeful future is deciphering an obscure prophecy, and she means to solve it. This quest will take her crew to a nest of primal vampires and the fierce world known as The Under. Filled with fantastic creatures and wonders she never imagined she would see, this new discovery leads her to something she is all too familiar with—a murder to solve and a killer to catch.
Trying to reconnect with her husbands and her son is already challenging enough, but as she begins piecing together the story behind the crime, it becomes clear that this mystery may tear down The Under and everyone who calls it home.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
“Hey, Mom. You ready? Eddie’s packed up all our sh…stuff, and he says he feels better and is ready to work his magic.” Fenrir strode into my room, a backpack on one broad shoulder.
Five days ago he’d been nine and Eddie—our butler/all-around keeper—would run behind him in the magnificent apartment we lived in, trying to make sure the kiddo kept his pants on.
And now he stood before me, a young man. Technically an adult, though I thought it would take me a while to process that hard truth.
I had to force a smile on my face because if I didn’t, Fen would see the depths of my pain, and he didn’t need that. He needed a mom who loved him, who was happy to see him as he was today. Not one who longed desperately to turn back time and never have gone into that painting. “Almost good to go. I’m not taking much. Your dad promised he’ll take me shopping when we get to Atlanta.”
I needed that shopping trip since I didn’t have much. I hadn’t exactly packed for the excursion to the outer planes, and my condo full of clothes and shoes was now occupied by a bunch of witches who’d taken over the supernatural world, including the building I’d planned to raise my kids in.
I’d had to shut out every emotion that flooded my system the minute we’d come back through the painting and we’d realized that twelve years had passed here on the Earth plane. In our time, it had been mere days. Not even a week. We’d expected to return to a familiar world, to hold our children close and be happy to be home.
Instead, we’d found our world utterly changed and our places in it dangerous.
It had been less than twenty-four hours from the time we’d found ourselves in that basement staring down at the wanted posters to walking into the city of Frelsi, located deep inside a mountain on the northernmost part of Iceland. But it felt like I’d aged years.
My wolf, the one I’d finally properly integrated with, was rattling around inside me. She was not handling the situation as well as my human self was, and it was getting harder and harder to keep her in check.
I needed to see Trent.
Fenrir—the little wolf I’d adopted years before—was twenty-one years old. He looked more like his wolf now. Big, predatory, dangerous. But I could still see the little boy who’d just wanted someone to love him.
“I doubt you’ll need a parka where we’re going. The primals keep it pretty warm in their nest.” Fen leaned against the dresser as I checked over my pack one last time. “Did you talk to Lee?”
Oh, I’d definitely talked to Lee Donovan-Quinn. Lee had changed, too. He’d been one of my favorite people as a kid, one of the first people I’d really connected with and for some of the strangest reasons. “I’m still processing the fact that he’s a latent vampire. Is the king sure? How did he not know? It’s not like he didn’t live with Lee for eleven years.”
I’d been hit with so much change in the course of a few days that I was still trying to keep up. The kids were adults and warriors, and they’d spent the majority of the last decade off plane training to fight. Fenrir was in love with the queen’s daughter, Evangeline, and apparently he was also at war with a whole bunch of wolves who were either pissed with him because he wouldn’t assume their throne or afraid that he would.
And Lee—little Lee, whose small body housed my father’s soul—was now big Lee, and he loved a lot of people because he didn’t discriminate when it came to sex. He would turn into a vampire when he died, which could be any day now, from what I’d heard. He was every bit as reckless an adult as he’d been a child.
I’d asked him if he wanted to come with me to Atlanta. Beyond Fenrir, I was most concerned with Lee. He’d turned me down and said he was needed here.
Fen ran a hand over his shaggy hair, shoving it back. “Apparently puberty has something to do with it, though I got the feeling the king has always had his suspicions. Lee is being perfectly annoying about it. He’s going to be an obnoxious vampire. I hope he’s an academic and his primary skill turns out to be math or something. A supercharged Lee will be unbearable. I wonder how many years it will be before he stops whining about food. He hasn’t even turned and he’s already worried about missing pizza.”
Fen and Lee had a whole deep, familial relationship I hadn’t been a part of. They bickered like brothers. It was the relationship I’d wanted them to have, but the fact that I hadn’t seen it bloom made my heart ache.