by Erin R Flynn
She pulled a large squeaker ball out of the bag she’d been holding, squeezing it and bursting out laughing when the leopards gave her an are you serious look. She threw it, and two took off, still wanting the fun. She threw some more, laughing and teasing them when they brought them back to her.
The affection she gave them seemed genuine. Not as pets in a demeaning way, but as trusted and beloved friends. Yes, she was teasing them, but there was no maliciousness in it at all.
“I know where your head is,” Jaxon muttered as he sat next to me, offering me a cold bottle of beer. Shit, that alone made the journey worth it. “You see this, her, and you think it has to be fake, that no princess could ever be as she is.”
“And I have seen much, much more than you, so of course I doubt it,” I said before tipping the bottle back. We were quiet a few minutes, simply enjoying our beers and watching them play.
“She woke on her eighteenth birthday and remembered nothing,” he said quietly. “She didn’t get the gift of memories, but lost all of the ones she had.”
“That’s a first.”
He let that sink in a bit. “We believe she’s a new house, Aether’s champion.”
I almost dropped my beer. I swallowed my next gulp louder than the others. That was quite the pill and idea to swallow. “Why?”
“She’s a blank slate,” he answered. “She was alone, no clue on any of this until Darius found her and could talk to her.” He blew out a harsh breath. “She wasn’t even feeding. She took iron supplements, thinking her iron was low because she wanted rare meat and blood tempted her. All of this is a huge bomb dropped on her.”
“Her name?”
“Inez Garner. That’s what the US passport said that she found with her. She was alone, somewhere abandoned, and had to figure out everything, survive for years on her own.” He shot me a glance. “The corrupted will come for her tonight. They avoid us, but they race to her. Tell me that doesn’t sound like Erebus trying to take out Aether’s champion. And the seeds. Each house came from the seed of life.”
I sat with it, finishing a beer and accepting another. “Inez means ‘pure’ in Portuguese.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Do you know the meaning of Garner?”
“Keeper of grains or something, right? Yeah, she keeps the seeds, it makes sense.”
I shook my head. “That’s how many interpret it now, and yes, it does still fit, but it came from a derivative of the French word for ‘germinate’ or ‘bother,’ meaning the agitation or flowering. That is what she is. If you’re right, she’s going to agitate the system and bloom a new house, a new way in the aftermath of the fucking apocalypse.”
“Yeah, she will, because there’s more,” he admitted.
“Of course there is.” I snorted. “You know how many will come for her.”
“Yes, but she has to be protected, even you can see that already. Once you see what you need to that this isn’t a con or tricks you’re used to of a princess’s court, that this is honestly her, you’ll know that.”
“You’ll probably all die trying to protect her.”
“So be it,” he whispered. “Even if she didn’t already have my heart, I couldn’t think of a more worthy fight than helping Aether’s champion and giving the world a chance to be reborn and survive.”
“Sounds like fun,” I chuckled, a fire burning in me that I had long since thought died from boredom and numbness as to always seeing more of the same. Not even the fucking apocalypse and so much death could snap me out of it, but this young princess and her path made me feel something.
We ate heartily, the meat and potatoes meal landing well given the group. Also, the baked apples on the grill that she’d come up with for dessert.
“We found a farm with pigs, chickens, and wheat,” she announced, gesturing between herself and Callum. “And we have no clue how to handle any of that.”
“Well, I would shift and eat the animals, so no clue might be harsh,” he chuckled. “But we were thinking eggs and bacon for breakfast and maybe bread if we find a grinder?”
“That would work well with the top line camper we found,” Vance purred, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “You fired up those electric pickup trucks, and if you can fix the camper, we’ll have a toilet, shower, and more when we park at places like this. The pumps on the camper will handle getting the water.”
“The damn thing had a small washer and dryer,” Jaxon snickered.
“That is so awesome!” she exclaimed, wiggling her butt on the log she was sitting on. “How cool are we? This is worlds better than squirting expired mustard on expired tuna in cans.” She burst out laughing. “I’m never the one driving that sucker around. We can’t risk losing it!”
Apparently she wasn’t the best of drivers. Good she admitted it at least.
They worked as a team to clean up after dinner and get ready. Not long after night came, Jaxon announced corrupted were coming, letting me know his range was far less than mine but still impressive for his age. I watched as she danced over to him and gave him a deep kiss, thanking him for her gift.
Which was a long range sniper rifle. Yes, that was a present most women wanted for sure, even those who were into shooting and hunting.
He helped get her up on top of the trailer, tossing up another rifle and a bag of ammo she caught. Once he pointed out the direction, she settled herself and set it up as if this was a regular occurrence she was used to.
“I got high count yesterday,” Vance told the others, reminding them of something, then he joined her up on the trailer. Interesting, so those who killed the most on the ground got the detail of protecting her as the last line of defense.
“We’ve got sharp weapons or guns, which do you want?” Asher asked me as he checked the handguns in front of him and started loading himself with clips.
“Sharp.”
He nodded. “Jaxon’s the same. He moves too fast where the reloading loses time. He uses Inez’s short katanas, but they’ve got more options at the cargo van.”
Did they ever. They explained they’d found some when picking up knives for cooking and handling animals, and then they’d stumbled upon a collection of replicas. Darius seemed happy with the sabers he chose, obviously trained on them. I chose a sword that looked like what humans thought knights used in the Crusades or from movies, but the balance was good and the craftsmanship well done.
And then the princess fired the first shot. She was glued to her scope and took out the first in the pack to thin the herd as they turned to eat their fallen. She did it in several other groups, as they had camped close enough to the populated area that they came from two sides, as they tended to group together, hunt in packs like animals.
She kept reloading and firing until Jaxon gave some signal and then raced out with the others. That didn’t seem to make her happy, like she didn’t help more or she had to sit out, but I heard Darius remind her that they were going to stay here for a few days so the further back the dead, the less they had to smell later.
That and the bodies decomposed at a much faster rate than normal dead humans, so by morning there wouldn’t be that much of a stench in such an open area.
She wasn’t kidding when she’d warned they would come for her. They seemed almost desperate to get her, and I thought about what Jaxon had said of Erebus’s minions coming for His sister’s champion. It did fit, even to me who thought most people saw signs where they wanted, not necessarily where there were really signs.
When the enemy was all dead, she came back down and thanked Jaxon again. Others cleaned up, handling weapons or just a bath, but I hid in the darkness and watched as she thanked him, giving herself to him as she fed like he wanted. She enjoyed it, of course, but she clearly bit him because he wanted it.
She really was breathtaking, every inch of her perfection as she rode him, working her hips to bring them both pleasure. She truly was unlike any princess I had ever seen before. Especially when she asked him
to write on her as well, smiling with joy when he spelled out “Mine” on her skin, loving it because of how much they wanted to.
Everything I’d learned, everything I’d witnessed, all rattled around in my brain as I helped them during the night, needing next to no sleep with how old I was. It was as if I couldn’t process the information or fit it into all I’d known over thousands of years. It simply didn’t fit.
The next morning she was all smiles and laughter as she checked out the camper and enjoyed the bacon, breakfast potatoes, and eggs with some cheese seasonings. She turned on music and danced, clearly having no idea how to dance but moving with them in celebration at achieving something better.
And somewhere deep inside of me I wanted to be a part of that, of what they were building.
I cornered her when they were getting ready to head out, leaning in more than was polite. “I have stayed at many courts and lent aid, my strength, and more, but that is all I will ever give. Even if the greatest heaven is by your side or between your legs, I won’t ever swear myself to a princess. Do you understand?”
She nodded. “Welcome to…” She ducked around me. “What are we calling our team?”
“Team Inez,” a few shouted back.
“We’re not calling it that. That’s a stupid name,” she drawled. She turned back around and extended her hand, shaking mine when I gave it. “Welcome to Team To Be Determined Name, glad to have you.” She dropped my hand and headed towards the others, glancing at me over her shoulder. “I think the swearing an oath thing to people is nuts and it’s like, hi, forever and death consequences.”
I watched her walk away, and for the first time in at least a thousand years, I just stood there with my mouth hanging open, not having a clue as to what to say. She was definitely unlike any princess that had come before her.
And we’d all most assuredly end up dead trying to protect her.
The End
THANK YOU for reading this book!!
Thank you so much for trying a new series of mine and coming on Inez’s journey with me. I woves all of you lots for your continued support and wanting more of my books. If you want more of Inez, please leave a review. It really helps me out to know which series people are looking for more from and it’s encouraging to get back to series when people are excited for more. I appreciate the time it takes and hopefully you guys love Inez as much as I loved writing about her!!
Erin
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About the Author
Erin is a Midwest girl at heart, born a Chicagoan with the mouth to prove it, a loyal Cubs fan, but still a die-hard Green Bay Packers gal who cheers for her alma mater, the Illini from Augusta, Georgia, where she lives. She has always been interested in the darker aspects of life and mythologies—especially vampires, shifters, the occult, and anything paranormal.
To date, she has published over 100 paranormal books in different genres with dedicated readers who await each release to her numerous series under any of the three Flynn names she writes under.
ErinRFlynn.com
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Supernatural Script Inc.
Other Titles by Erin R Flynn
Seraphine Thomas
Accidentally Wolf
Allure of the Wolf
Siren’s Battle
Abusing the Alpha
Siren’s Kiss
Hunted Wolf
Shattered Alpha
Rebuilding the Wolf
Invading Alpha
Recovering the Siren
Provoked Wolf
* * *
The Enchantress
Demon of Death
Thieves About
Striking Souls
Enacting Revenge
Culling Damnation
* * *
Untraceable Succubus
Undisclosed Assets
Savvy Negotiator
* * *
House of Garner
No Longer Alone
* * *
Dr. Kelly Murphy Novels
The Turning
&nbs
p; The Transition
The Decision
* * *
Karma Bakery
Rough Beginnings
Opening Struggles
Turbulent Expansion
* * *
Secure Settings
Owned
Claimed
* * *
In My Dreams
Wounded
Alone
Broken
A Supernatural Script Inc. Book
Copyright © 2019 Erin R Flynn
House of Garner 1: No Longer Alone
eBook ISBN:
First E-book Publication: April 2019
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
