by Harms, C. A.
Contents
Step in to our world
Sacred Bond
Prologue
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merrick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Taryn
Merick
Epilogue
Author C.A. Harms
Author Evan Grace
Copyright @ 2020 C.A. Harms & Evan Grace All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and other elements portrayed herein are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons or events is coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, storied in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the author. If you should do so, legal action may be taken to protect the authors and their work
Step in to our world
We hope that you enjoy Taryn and Merick as much as we enjoyed creating them. This book was a new venture for the both of us, never before writing Paranormal Romance, but we enjoyed the freedom to create such a hidden world. We are so excited to share this world with you and bring you more stories that will unfold from all the characters that we share in the Secrets of Stone Ridge series.
Prologue
Taryn
“Taryn! Don’t wander off. Stay out of the forest. Daddy hasn’t checked the area to make sure everything is safe. There could be wild animals that’ll try to eat tiny little girls like you for lunch.” Mom tickles my sides, making me laugh as I try my best to inch away from her.
“Staahhp!” I squeal and she finally lets me go. “I’m not little.” I put my fists on my hips, feeling defiant, and hating how they baby me. I swear my parents are the best, but they treat me like I’m a toddler. I’m twelve now and next year I’ll be a teenager, but to them, I think I will always remain young and delicate.
Mom pulls me into a hug. “Oh you’ll always be my baby. Remember don’t wander far.” I watch her walk back into the cabin and once the door closes, I head around the side of the cabin to look around. The mountains look like they’re so close, but Dad says they’re miles and miles away. They’re big and have a magical appearance to them. Almost like a painted picture, perfect, with vibrant colors and a calmness that draws you in. A peacefulness that soothes me.
No more than a hundred yards away, the opening of the forest calls to me. Lined with trees you can’t see beyond leaving so much to the imagination. What lays beyond? A need so powerful beckons for me to seek out the mysteries it holds. I take one step closer and then another, looking behind me, I make sure my mom isn’t watching. I step into the trees and smile, there’s a huge patch of wildflowers in a little clearing up ahead. Petals of blues and purples, almost pastel hug the ground like a blanket. They are all so bright they almost don’t seem real, more like a painting. I’d never seen anything more magical.
I wish I brought the camera Daddy bought me for my birthday. This would make the prettiest picture. The closer I get to the flowers, I see they’re a bluish-purple with delicate-looking petals like velvet. I want to pick some to take back to the cabin, I can already imagine bringing them to my nose and breathing them in. I bet they smell amazing. As I reach for them, I get an uneasy feeling triggering chills that cover my arms and the back of my neck. I pause, with my hand extended out before me. My heart races, my breath quickens.
I look around and don’t see anything, but that unsettled feeling doesn’t subside, so I decide to leave the flowers untouched. A bird sings in the distance and I follow the sound to see what kind it is. The further I go into the forest, I start to feel lightheaded. My body feels like it’s being pulled deeper into the woods, almost as if something is leading me, calling me.
I stop walking and looking around. “Where am I?” I whisper to no one in particular as my heart begins to race faster. “Mom! Dad!” I cry out immediately regretting my decision to defy my mother's wishes. I spin around looking for something that would show me I was not lost. A familiar path maybe, a limb of a tree I may have stepped over on my journey, but panic starts to fill me as I realize nothing looks familiar anymore. I’m lost.
Prickly leaves of various plants and sticks slap at my legs while I run as fast as I can in the direction I think might lead me back to my parents. A small clearing gives me a sense of hope until I realize that I am only running around in circles. My lungs feel so tight when I attempt to breath making the panicked feeling in me grows more intense. Stopping to catch my breath I hear a twig snap only it’s not from my own movements. I push my hair, wet with sweat, out of my face.
My body trembles with fear as a small wolf comes out from the trees. It’s gray and white with the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen, almost black. Slow and steady it moves in closer, watching me. Tears fill my eyes and slide down my cheeks as I remain perfectly still while it stares at me. “P-P-Please d-don’t h-hurt m-me.”
The wolf starts walking slowly toward me and my body becomes rigid with fear. I don’t know what to do or how to protect myself, so I stand as still as a statue. The closer it gets to me, it lowers its head, and a small whimper falls from its mouth. It’s strange, the wolf almost appears friendly. My body starts to relax and the fear is beginning to fade away, only I don’t move as I wait for its next move.
When it finally stops in front of me, it cocks its head to the side and stares. The little wolf lets out another whiny sound just before it bumps my hand with its nose. Continuing to touch me with its cold, wet nose, until I raise my hand and pet it. “Is this what you wanted?” I can hear the shakiness in my voice, I’m still unsure of what could happen next or if the wolf is truly friendly.
The wolf snorts at me and so I keep petting it. The fur tickles my hand, it’s softer than I expected. “Are you a boy or a girl?” I ask like it can answer me. It does the snort again. “Boy?” He snorts. “Okay you’re a boy. I don’t know if you really understand me, but I’m Taryn. My parents just found out they have a cabin here, left to them by some family I’ve never met.” I look around wondering how far I’ve wandered into the depths of the forest. “Well somewhere nearby. I’m lost.”
He snorts again and starts pushing me with his wet nose. “What? Do you want me to follow you?”
Again, my new wolf friend pushes me with his nose. He leads me through the forest and even though I know he can’t really understand me, I decided to talk to him as if he could get to know me. Maybe it is driven by nervous energy, or the unknown of what is to come, or possibly because I feel so comfortable and protected in the presence of my wolf. I was not a girl lost in the forest any longer, that worry had long escaped me. A calm has settl
ed over me as I walk along his side, his soft coat skimming over my arm with each step, the sound of his breaths and huffs the further we move along, it is all consoling.
“I always wished that I had a brother or a sister, but Mom says she almost died having me and they didn’t want to risk it. When I grow up, I’m gonna get married to the man of my dreams and we’re going to have lots and lots of babies.” I shake my head feeling foolish for talking to myself. “I know it’s stupid, but that’s what I want.”
I reach out and pet the top of his head. “You’re so soft. I could just cuddle you for hours. When I was little, we had a poodle named Pookie, but she got sick and went to dog heaven. I miss her.” It’s like I can’t stop talking. I’m not a talker, ever. Maybe it’s because he’s an animal and I’m assuming he can’t understand me.
“Do you have a family?” He snorts. “Good, I’d hate for you to be all alone out here”
Up ahead I spot the flowers I saw earlier and suddenly I felt sad. I slow my steps, wanting to prolong our walk. “Will I see you again?” I swear he shakes his head, maybe I’m delusional and losing my mind. I drop to my knees in front of him and start to cry, throwing my arms around his neck. The adrenaline I felt earlier has crashed and my emotions are now flooding my mind. I don’t want to let him go, what if this is the one and only time I am gifted time with him. Was this a dream? If so, I’m not ready to wake up. I know I should be scared, after all this is a wolf, a wild animal, an unpredictable predator, but nothing about him scared me.
What is happening to me?
My wolf friend licks my face, his tongue is rough, and not like I was expecting. “I’ll never forget you,” I whisper. “I hope you have the best life.”
Suddenly I feel sleepy. I try to fight it, not ready to say goodbye. I blink rapidly seeing him fade as my eyes grow heavier. Exhaustion overtakes me and I give in to and let go of my magical wolf and the comfort he has provided.
“Taryn? Taryn honey, wake up.” I peek through my slightly opened eyes. “Sweetheart?” Opening my eyes fully, I find my mom standing over me. Feeling dazed and heavily confused I glance around, realizing that I’m on the porch. “Baby, are you okay?”
“Umm…” what is going on? "I think so,” I say, though my heart is screaming otherwise, “I must’ve fallen asleep.” I look around and immediately feel lost. He’s gone, was it even real? It felt real, I swear I could still feel the tickle of his soft coat. My throat burns when the reality that I may never be able to have his powerful presence soothe me hits me hard.
“It’s time for dinner.” I follow her inside but pause at the front door looking back out toward the forest and wonder if that whole interaction was a dream. I see nothing, just a small clearing in the line of the trees and I wonder more than anything what lies beyond.
Merick
12 Years Later
“You are being careless.” I pause with the phone held to my ear registering the disappointment in my father’s voice becoming evident. Staring out the large fogged windows that line the east side of the abandoned warehouse. I’ve called this place home for months at a time throughout the years. “Someone will see you, they’ll grow curious and then—”
“What?” I bark, lifting my hand and running it through my long dark hair, tugging on the ends.
Even if Taryn saw me now, she would not recognize me. It was so long ago when I found her in the forest, scared and alone. That day I felt it, the instant pull, a connection so deep that every single day since I’ve felt as that a part of my being has been missing. She is in my soul, flowing through my blood, part of me. “I can’t walk away and you know it.”
“If you’re going to make this happen you need to move quickly.” I know my father is right. His voice is strained, so distant and weary. “You know what you need to do, Merick, she belongs to you.”
The fate of our world is relying on me. I’m the chosen one to carry on and rebuild what we lost. To build an army, create a force, that this time, cannot be destroyed. It has been a long time since I’ve seen my father. We all still mourn the loss of our people, of my mother, it’s raw and I know it will always be. But this time, we will be indestructible.
“I will tonight,” the lights of the city mingle in the darkness. “I’ll go to her.”
The idea of being near Taryn, breathing in her scent and touching her excites me. Even if only a brief encounter, I feel as though I have been on edge for years waiting for my mate. But the waiting is over, it is time to claim what’s mine, finally time to build a stronger clan than any other before ours.
“Our future is all in your hands, Merick.”
I can almost picture my father sitting in a darkened corner, quickly and quietly observing those around him. His silver hair, silver beard, and those intense, dark, interrogating eyes that are the mirror image of my own. I can feel the loneliness in his words, feel his heartache. He will never love again, never move on from my mother. She was his everything and while his need for revenge may be crippling every other emotion, but I feel it too. My mother was a goddess, a kind generous woman that held together all those around her. I would avenge my mother’s death, her sacrifice to protect me came at the cost of her life.
“Goodbye, father,” I say, ending the call. I cross my arms over my chest and again stare out at the city before me. I’ve never been one for flashy and extravagant things — I prefer the solitude of the small town hidden deep in the forests of Montana. Our village was much smaller now, and far too quiet. That would soon change, I’d make sure of it. Nothing about Chicago appeals to me, the loud bustle of people, the traffic and sirens. The tall buildings, the constant flashing of lights, it is all too much. The only reason I’m here, the only reason I’ve stayed, is for her. To protect her, to ensure that she remains safe.
Taryn is meant to be mine. There is no denying it. The day I found her in the forest, I was miles upon miles away, and I could feel her. The force I felt was too strong to ignore and it was as though everything had fallen into place. The loss I’d felt, the anger and fear, it all was soothed by one person, her.
The time has come for me to show her who she is, where she belongs. It all starts now.
I move through the thick crowd of people, bodies pushed so tightly together that it is impossible to maneuver through the room. I don’t have to see her to know she is here—I can feel her.
“Hey handsome.” Looking to my left, I see an alluring blonde staring back at me through her long fake lashes. “Do you want to buy me a drink?” I glance down at her glass which is already full and again reconnect my gaze with hers. Nothing, I feel absolutely blank. No attraction, no explicit thoughts of what she and I could share if given five minutes alone, there was nothing.
“I’ll have to pass.” Her once inviting look is taken over by a displeased one. Her nostrils flared, her brows wrinkled and the hard line her tightly pressed lips were now forming, all signs I’d offended her. She lets out a little huff before spinning around and giving me her backside. Fully accepting my dismissal, I push on seeking out the one I’m here for.
The crowd parts, half moving to the crowded dance floor and the other still lingering near the bar and that’s when I see her. Dark hair, much like the color of my own hanging long and loose down her back. Silky waves stop right above her waist, and I crave the feel of it between my fingers, over my chest, against my face. She is wearing a form fitting dress, the hem hitting in the middle of her thighs, leaving me a view of her long, toned legs. That length mixed with the heels give her height, but she is still nowhere near my six-foot-four frame.
I stand off to the left side of the expansive wrap around bar watching her and observing from a distance. Taryn couldn’t blend into a crowd even if she tried to, she is far too unique. The beauty she holds is riveting, and the knowledge that I am not the only one in the room that notices inflicts a wave of anger within me. Suddenly, I am watching the men around her, waiting and hoping for their sake they remain at a distance.
&n
bsp; Now is not the time for me to reveal who I truly am, I know this, but the need is crippling me.
Laughter and loud conversation fills the space around me but again I am lost in all things Taryn. The group she is with has moved closer, but she dawdles behind, looking around. She lingers, shifting around almost as if in search of something, or maybe someone.
I know she feels it, the same connection I do.
One of her friends says something to her and she looks up, that’s when it happens. She sees me, and I simply wait. I see her breathing speed up, the quick rise and fall of her chest. As she lifts her hand, she brings it to rest at the base of her neck and I know without a doubt it’s because of the flush that is rising to her cheeks.
She doesn’t turn away from me, but she doesn’t move closer either.
I smile, feeling pleased with the way she can’t look away. Again, one of her friends says something but this time she ignores her. My own heart rate picks up and I feel my temperature rising. Just when I am about to descend upon her, she chooses her next move, and that’s toward me.
Shifting through the last few people that separate us, she steps up to my side and leans into the bar. “Have we met before?”
