The Paranormal Council Complete Series
Laura Greenwood
© 2017 Laura Greenwood
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All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission of the published, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address; [email protected].
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Visit Laura Greenwood’s website at:
www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk
www.facebook.com/authorlauragreenwood/
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Cover Design by Ammonia Book Covers
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Format by Gina Wynn
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The Paranormal Council Complete Series is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contents
The Dryad’s Pawprint
The Dryad’s Pawprint Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
The Vixen’s Bark
The Vixen’s Bark Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
The Necromancer’s Prey
The Necromancer’s Prey Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
The Vampire’s Bite
The Vampire’s Bite Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
The Witch’s Stripes
The Witch’s Stripes Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
The Witch’s Potion Excerpt
Also Set in the Paranormal Council Universe
Also by Laura Greenwood
About Laura Greenwood
The Dryad’s Pawprint
The Dryad’s Pawprint Blurb
He'll give up his happiness to help his people - but can he give up his soulmate? When Kem is called before the Shifter Council, he's told he needs to marry to secure an alliance for them. There's only one problem; a year ago he met a woman he can't forget. After meeting a mystery man a year ago, Lia has a secret. One that she can't even tell her sister, Aella. When fate brings the two of the back together, even the most carefully laid plans get disrupted. Book 1 of the Paranormal Council Novella Series. A shifter romance with a standalone couple.
1
Kem’s memories focused on a beautiful blonde with hair down the small of her back. He’d met her about a year ago, when he’d been dragged out to a new club by his co-workers. Kem had watched from the side-lines, amused as they’d done any thing they could think of to disprove the stereotype that accountants were boring. But, from the moment he’d seen her in the middle of the dance floor, he’d felt different, and he’d known that no matter what happened; he had to have her. And he had. The mere memory of their one night of passion had his blood heating and his attention lagging from the work he should be focusing on. No matter what he did, his mind always seemed to focus on the need to find her again, but all he knew was her first name and what she looked like, both pretty much useless in a large city like he lived in. They hadn’t done much talking that night though, so he wasn’t even sure that she lived here too.
Giving up on any pretence of working, he unfolded the letter that had been burning a hole in his pocket ever since it had arrived three days ago. It was a summons before the Shifter Council and he still wasn’t sure how he felt about it. On the one hand, it was an honour that the Council even knew who he was, on the other, he didn’t really want to be the focus of their attention. While his brother was an Alpha, Kem had managed nearly thirty years without being involved in paranormal politics, and that was the way he liked it; from what he knew, backstabbing and feuding was a way of life among the paranormal elite, and they didn’t give any thought for the lives of ordinary shifters like him.
Kem stretched, cracking his neck out as he did and considering that it might be time for a shift. While living in the city allowed him to have a somewhat normal life, it didn’t allow for late night runs in his panther form, or at least, it didn’t if he didn’t want to create crazy rumours like his cousin had on Dartmouth Moor. They still teased him about that whenever the family got together.
Sighing, he pushed to his feet and shrugged on his suit jacket. He figured he was presentable enough for the Council. The rules about appearing before them were strict, almost as if they were still stuck in the past. He realised that it probably wasn’t down to the current Council members, but it was another good reason to stay out of paranormal politics.
“Night, Kem!” Tony called from his desk, looking a little worse for wear. He was about Kem’s age, though just human as far as Kem knew, but still partied like he was in his early twenties. It showed in his bloodshot eyes and frequent hangovers, but if someone could see past that then they’d find a classically handsome face and a protective nature surrounding a kind heart. His own nature, plus the fact that he was a self-confessed romantic, meant that Kem was always trying to see the best in people, even those that tried to hide it.
“Night, Tony,” he replied with a wave, walking from the office and onto the street outside. The moment the cold night air hit him, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had nothing against being inside, but there was something about the open air that called to the panther within him. Despite living in a large city, the constant calls from the government to keep pollution down helped to keep the air fresh and clean, for which he was constantly grateful. Kem glanced at his watch, relieved to find that he still had an hour before his summons from the Council, enough time for him to walk across the city and enjoy the crisp night air rather than having to catch a cab. It wasn’t a shifted run, but it was as close as he was going to get, though he could tell that he’d need to p
ress some weights in his home gym later just to use up some of his pent-up energy.
As he walked, Kem relaxed, taking in his surroundings without being conscious of it. A movement in corner of his eye caught his attention as a slight woman with pale blonde hair walked by. His pulse sky rocketed and the pounding of his heart could surely be heard from a mile away, at least it would be by if there was a vampire or another shifter about.
“Lia!” He couldn’t stop himself from calling out to her, even if he’d wanted to. It was almost as if something deeper within him was pushing him to do it. He just needed to talk to her. Even if it meant discovering that he was the only one fixating on their night together. To his disappointment, the woman didn’t turn around and the only thing stopping him from running after her was the logical part of his brain that told him it probably wasn’t actually her, and he’d be accosting some other woman. That, or she didn’t recognise his voice and didn’t want to acknowledge a stranger; he didn’t blame her. It was sensible not to put herself in a vulnerable position.
Kem continued walking, a slight sense of dejection flowing through him and the night air no longer refreshed him like it should. His thoughts were now solely focused on Lia, not that that was really any different from normal. He’d thought a lot about what that meant too, but didn’t want to get his hopes up, especially if he was building her up in his head to be something that she wasn’t.
Before he knew it, Kem stood outside the Council’s building. It had an old stone facade, one of those that had stood the test of time and still managed to claim attention, even amongst the taller, more modern, buildings that surrounded it. Most members of the public thought that it was just another government building, and he supposed that in a way, it was. And yet, no one from the human government would be able to tell them what went on inside; that was just for the Paranormal Councils to know. The entrance hall was just as grand, and he supposed that it had been originally built with the intention of making any visitors feel intimidated. Quite a feat considering the typical personalities of a lot of paranormals. Seeing nobody about, Kem began to pace up and down the wide corridor, trying to burn off some of the nervous energy that had built up within him.
“Kemnebi Davis,” a bored voice called from a room to the left. Kem stopped his pacing and entered through the grand double doors. He hated the ceremony that they seemed to insist on standing on; there wasn’t really any need for it. The room was dim, with the only windows almost as high up as the roof itself. The vaulted ceiling was covered in scalloped stone work, which gave the room a grand feel, fitting in with the rest of the building that Kem had seen. The five members of the Council were seated in a semi-circle on a dais that placed them well above him, dressed smartly but not in a uniform way. The dais left Kem unable to do anything but stand at ground level and look up at them. He gave each of the Council members a deferential nod; these were shifters after all, and if they wanted a true show of his respect then they would have to earn it. The two female Council members nodded back politely, their natures meaning that they were more aware of social niceties, whereas the male members of the Council did nothing; their alpha sides refusing to show Kem the respect he hadn’t yet earned. That didn’t mean the women were weaker, in fact, both of them would probably be able to best Kem in some way, they wouldn’t have gained a seat on the Council otherwise.
“Good evening,” the light lilting voice of the woman sat to the far left broke through the silence. She was small in stature, with dark auburn hair and a sly look in her eyes. If Kem had to guess, he’d say that she was most likely a fox shifter and he made a mental note not to get on her bad side, if there was one thing to remember about fox shifters, it was that they fought dirty. That, and they were generally exceedingly intelligent, especially when it came to tactical thinking.
“Good evening,” Kem responded evenly. He didn’t want to reveal just how nervous he was, but knew that at least one of them could probably smell it on him. It was impossible to know for him to know for sure though, it all depended on what kind of shifters they were.
“Do you know why we’ve summoned you?” the woman continued, almost as if he hadn’t spoken. The question confused Kem slightly, he wasn’t sure why they’d think he knew, their summons had been a single sheet of paper with the time and date on it.
“I’m afraid not.”
“We wish to form an alliance with the Nymph Council.” The man’s deep gravelly voice conveyed a sense of danger to Kem, and the way he looked did nothing to dispel the notion. Even seated, the man looked tall, with the wide shoulders and muscle-bound physique that came naturally to a lot of shifters, even if it was just because they exercised a lot of burn off all the pent-up energy they seemed to have. Kem wasn’t sure what kind of shifter he was, but the mere size of him suggested he was some kind of bear. Except that bears tended to be the solitary kind of shifter, much like their animal counterparts, and it seemed unlikely to Kem that one would sit on the Council.
“What does that have to do with me?” Kem nerves kicked up a notch, there were only a few ways in which Councils aligned themselves with one another; a takeover, a treaty or a marriage. And as archaic as it seemed, marriage was the most common. Which was what worried Kem, it wasn’t likely that he’d be needed for the first two.
“We wish to propose a marriage between yourself, and the Dryad leader’s daughter, Aella.”
“I’ve heard she’s extremely beautiful,” the other female Council member broke in.
“No.”
“This isn’t a request.” The larger man’s words sent a shiver down Kem’s spine, keeping him on the edge.
“Why me? Surely there’s a better choice?” he blurted before he could think about what he was saying.
“Is there?” The man gave a sly smile that filled Kem with dread. “You’re the panther alpha’s brother, though from what I’ve heard there’s no doubt you could be alpha in your own right. And, you’re the only shifter of the right age that isn’t already married.” Kem gritted his teeth, hating that the man was right. Technically, his brother was also the right age and unmarried, though Kem would be reluctant to subject any woman to him. The death of their parents had hit Vic hard, and he’d yet to recover.
“I won’t marry anyone that isn’t my true mate.” He rose to his full height, not taking his eyes off the large man who was trying to control his fate. He suspected that some of the effect was lost considering how much higher the man was sat, but he’d never forgive himself if he didn’t try.
“We need this Kemnebi, without the alliance we risk being pushed out of the High Council’s decisions.” That shocked him. He knew that shifters were rare compared to the other races, mainly because finding their mates had seemed to become ever harder as the years passed, but he hadn’t realised that it was quite that bad.
“I will think about it.” The large man scowled, but the white-haired woman next to him held up her hand to stop him.
“That’s all we ask Kemnebi. She is not aware of the marriage pact yet, but she will be in attendance at the reception tomorrow evening. I suggest you introduce yourself to her.” The woman’s voice was smooth and calming, making Kem wonder if she had mixed heritage. He’d heard that there were some paranormal races who could influence emotions with just their voice.
He wanted to growl. To refute what they were saying and pretend that it wasn’t true, but he realised that there was very little he could actually do. Without his true mate, they could argue that this was his duty, and he knew that eventually he’d do it. But the image of a certain blonde was emblazoned at the forefront of his mind, and that was enough to keep him resisting.
2
“I have a good feeling about tonight,” her sister said from her position lounging on Lia’s bed.
“You have a good feeling about every night!” She laughed. While everyone knew that Aella had a temper, she was also surprisingly optimistic, and her announcing that she ‘had a good feeling’ before an evening event w
as completely normal for Lia, so much so that she tended to ignore it. She also tended to have much more realistic expectations than her sister. Though there was one night, a year ago, that Aella had been right about. Lia forced herself to concentrate, knowing that she couldn’t get lost in her memories of that night while her sister was in the room. And memories seemed to be all she could have, she hadn’t seen the man since, no matter how hard she looked for him whenever they went back to the club.
“This one more than normal. Have you picked a dress yet?” Lia sighed at Aella’s question. She loved wearing formal gowns as much as the next woman, but she hated heels and had never quite got used to them. Her dryad nature had never allowed her to get past the preference for bare feet, even at formal events like this one.
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