Dianthe's Awakening

by J. B. Miller

  Dianthe's Awakening

  Number II of A Dia Mclearey Novel

  J.B. Miller

  JK Publishing, Inc. (2014)

  * * *

  Tags: Erotic, Fantasy, Paranormal

  Warning: For Mature Adult Audiences. Contain language and actions some may deem offensive. Sexually explicit content. MF with MMM scenes.

  In book two in the Dia Mclearey Novels: Dia thought adjusting to life in two different realities was hard. The day she found out that everything she had ever known was only the surface of a whole new world—well…she dealt with it and all the fallout that followed.

  Now Dia finds herself with the Hunt, but circumstances can be deceiving. While in the presence of the Hunt, she comes to terms with the godling part of herself. And along the way, she learns that her life wasn't complete when she is hit yet again with one of life's surprises.

  While Dianthe learns what life has in store for her with the Hunt, her mates are in Bean struggling with her disappearance. One is deteriorating at an alarming rate while another is missing her, lost in finding his place within their group, and the Puck—well, he sticks to his true form of always having a plan to get the answers.

  Join, Dia, the Hunt, and her mates, as each battle between what they want out of their lives to what the prophesy has in store for them.

  Dianthe's Awakening

  A Dia Mclearey Novel

  Book Two

  by JB Miller

  © Copyright September 2014 JK Publishing, Inc.

  ISBN#

  All cover art and logo © Copyright September 2014 by JK Publishing, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Artwork by Jess Buffett

  Published by JK Publishing, Inc.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales are entirely coincidental.

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  Dedication

  As always, I have to thank my hubby. He is the one who takes over being mom and dad when I lose myself in the written world.

  I want to thank Nic and Sam. You guys rock, and are always happy to listen to me when I twist plots and add kink.

  I also want to give a special thank you to my publisher and editor, Jana and Michelle. When the words stopped flowing, they were there to say its okay and we are here if you need to talk. Don’t worry about it, and it will come. Just knowing you guys were supporting me, helped more than you know!

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Books by J.B. Miller

  Excerpt from Dianthe Rising

  JK Publishing, Inc.

  Chapter One

  Dia

  I became aware in degrees. The first thing I noticed was that I was alive. Everything ached, so I couldn’t be dead. My eyes would not open; it felt as if they had been welded shut. So I lay there listening, trying to take in the things around me.

  Warmth surrounded me. It felt similar to being wrapped in a living pile of heated duvets.

  The sound of the wind whistling through the trees and a fire crackling merrily somewhere close by filled my ears. Soft neighing and nickering came to me from the left; it was so relaxing I almost dozed off again. It had to be a dream, nothing else made sense. My body began to relax and I thought of Robin. How well he would fit into this scenario. The thought of my Puck brought the last few moments of uncertainty to a crashing end.

  Robin! I sat up like a bolt, my head spinning while the memories of the Hunt bombarded me. I could see the image of my father falling beneath the blade of a wicked sword. The moment the leader of the Hunt held out his hand and offered the lives of my mates if I came willingly. I could almost feel the electric charge when our hands touched and he pulled me up before him. Kale’s howl of rage rang in my ear along with the memory of thunder and lightning splitting the heavens around us. It all ended with the sound of my Robin crying out my name in anguish as we disappeared into the night.

  I gasped for air and put my hand to my chest while I looked around me frantically. It was dark and we were in a forest. I was absolutely not in Scotland anymore. You would think the first thing I would notice was the things closest to me. Well, you would be wrong. I was so freaking busy looking around me, I didn’t even think about my warm bed. It wasn’t until said bed began to move that I realized I wasn’t in a nest of cozy blankets like I had originally thought. Several large bodies surrounded me in varying shades of mottled furriness. I quickly shut my mouth to hold back the scream that wanted to claw its way out of my throat. I was in a gods be damned puppy pile with the hounds of the Hunt!

  “They will not harm you, woman,” a resonating masculine voice spoke from nearby. Well, there went any plan I hadn’t come up with yet of sneaking away. Turning toward the direction the voice came from, I saw my captor lounging with his back to the fire. He sat there with eyes steadily watching me.

  “Isn’t it their job to tear people apart?” I asked quietly. I did not want to startle the dogs around me.

/>   “They are my creatures and obey my command,” he shrugged. “I ordered them to keep you safe, so until I tell them otherwise, that is what they will do.”

  “O… Kay…” I drawled out. “I know you’re part of the Hunt, but that’s about it. Is it all right to ask who you are?” This was my first kidnapping and I didn’t know if there was some sort of etiquette or anything.

  He nodded to me regally, his massive rack bowing gently with him. I almost giggled at my own mental pun, massive rack ha-ha, I thought.

  The stress must be getting to me.

  “I am Cernunnos, Lord of the Hunt.” Nodding back to him, I absently worked the sound of his name on my tongue.

  “Keir-noo-nos,” I sounded out. I had read about him in my studies. There was tons of history on the horned god in many different cultures.

  “Yes,” he replied. His lips lifted at the corner. “You have heard of me?"

  “Umm…yeah.” I pushed some of the hair out of my face. “You are a pretty prominent figure in mythology, and I study history and myths for a living.”

  “It is a good thing to know, one’s history. We often repeat our past mistakes,” Cernunnos replied seriously. I laughed softly and replied without thinking.

  “Yeah, but we never seem to learn from those mistakes.” His laughter joined mine and the hounds raised their heads at the disturbance.

  “You are correct, little female, it takes a very wise man to learn from his mistakes. They seem to be far and few between.”

  One of the hounds lifted his giant head and looked at me. A whine came from his throat and I watched, terrified, as he scooted closer to me, nearly climbing into my lap.

  “Cú,” Cernunnos said threateningly. The dog whimpered as it looked at his master and laid his head upon my lap. I glanced at the watching god warily and asked.

  “Is that his name, Cú?”

  Grunting derisively, he replied, “No, Cú means hound. They are the hounds of the Hunt. That is all the name they need.”

  Taken aback, I regarded the poor animal. “None of them have names?” Shaking his head, he looked at me quizzically.

  “They are hounds and do their work, not pets.”

  I gathered my courage and asked Cernunnos. “Can I name him?”

  He just looked at me as if I were daft and waved his hand in my direction. “Name it if you will, just remember he is the Hunt’s beast and if ordered will rip you apart. It matters not if you name it. The beast will not be kind to you for giving it one.”

  I nodded my head in his direction and turned my gaze to the dog slowly working his way into my lap. “What shall we call you, boy?” I watched him for several minutes, racking my brain for a name. Nothing would come to me. Closing my eyes, I let my mind clear. I brought up an image of the dog and thought toward it. “What is your name, boy?” I exhaled and with it, a name whispered out, “Caomhnóir.”

  Cernunnos raised his head and eyed me sharply. “What did you say, woman?”

  “His name,” I whispered. “It’s Caomhnóir.”

  He stood and walked over to me before squatting down in front of us. The horned god grabbed me by my arm and shook me gently.

  “What made you call him that?” he demanded.

  A low growl, almost timid in its nature, startled us both. A look of shock passed over Cernunnos’s face before he let me go.

  “You have bewitched my hound," he spoke very lowly and calmly. “It seems he is your beast now.”

  “What do you mean?” I stammered. His teeth gritted together when he answered me.

  “Caomhnóir, it means guardian. The creature gave you its name and declared itself your hound.”

  He stood and watched me intently.

  “Never in the eternity I have been lord, has anyone changed the loyalty of my hounds. You however,” he waved in my general direction once again, “on your first eve of being with the Hunt have pulled a hound to you. I must think on this.” A new light had entered his eyes and I wasn’t sure I liked it.

  Caomhnóir, a look of relief on his doggy face, nuzzled his way up to me, his great tongue licking at my neck as he whined to be stroked. I absently caressed his thick fur and kept my eye on the Lord of the Hunt. With exaggerated motions, I tried out the sound of his name on my tongue. "K(uh)eeoo-nór", I whispered. He whined and thumped his tail before wiggling closer. "Sorry for butchering your name, boy, I'm really not a native Gaelic speaker." Sighing, I glanced to the lord watching me. I really hoped he didn’t get angry at me for stealing his dog.

  *****

  Cernunnos

  Is this why the Hunt was summoned for the female? She had called my hound to her and claimed it with ease. Did she steal powers and use them for ill will? I watched her while she mollycoddled the beast as if it were a pampered pup. I had observed that creature rip apart larger prey than her with apparent glee. Yet, here it was, drowning her in affection and treating her like a member of its pack. Indeed, I was confused. This required much more thought than I had originally planned.

  This Hunt was unusual in its entirety. Whereas we would normally track our game and run it to ground before killing it, this was a capture mission. The only other reason for not killing our target was to drag it in and make it part of the Hunt. When I felt the call, it was a true call. Confusion played at me and I did not like it. There was something off. A raven had brought the message and asked for the quarry delivered alive and whole. We did not even know who had sent the call. Only that it had been dispatched.

  No one had ever played the Wild Hunt as a fool. I had no intentions of it beginning now. This woman, I shook my head. I did not even know her name. This woman would stay with us until I had made a decision. Here in our wood, I was lord and my word was law.

  “Female, what is your name?” I called.

  She paused in her adulation of the useless mongrel. What good was a hunting hound that cared only for belly rubs?

  “My lord?” she asked hesitantly. She appeared meek but I could see the fire in her eyes. She played a game with me, biding her time until she was confident to strike. A smile almost crossed my lips. Her hidden audacity forced an unwanted admiration from me.

  “Your name, unless you prefer me to continue calling you female.” An indrawn breath escaped her before indignation rose in her cheeks.

  “You mean to tell me you freaking kidnapped me, nearly killed my mates, and took a sword to my father and you don’t even know my name?”

  A twinge of something unknown ran through me at the mention of the other males. “Yes, that is what I am saying. The Hunt is called and we chase our game. We do not ask its name.”

  “What are you going to do with me?” her voice had strengthened and her fist balled in Caomhnóir’s fur.

  “I do not know yet.” I rubbed my fingers over my chin while I observed her. “Something is off about this Hunt. Until I am satisfied, I have decided to keep you until I come to a decision.”

  She stood disturbing the other hounds. They looked around waiting for my word but I waved them back down again. Caomhnóir remained standing at the ready by her side. I had truly lost the Cú. “What do you mean something is off,” she demanded.

  I raised a brow at her imperious tone of voice. So much for the meek and mild maiden. “Just what I said, I am not happy with the situation. Something rings false. Once I have determined what that is, then we will have a proper Hunt.” Ahh…she did not look so sure once again.

  “What is a proper Hunt?” Her fist tightened in Caomhnóir’s fur. A vicious smile spread across my face.

  “A proper Hunt, dear girl, is when I find the true prey. We will lose them in the forest and run them down. The hounds will rip them to pieces where they will lie until dawn. They will rise again so we can begin anew.”

  I watched in dispassion, as she grew pale and sat down amongst the very hounds that would likely tear her apart. Caomhnóir nestled protectively against her and for a moment, I thought she had gone mute with fear. Her voice rose quietly in
to the night.

  “Dianthe, my name is Dianthe and I am the daughter of Belenus. I will not go down without a fight.”

  My grin turned into a full-blown smile. This female, Dianthe, was a godling, and she thought herself my equal. I will enjoy bringing her to heel, I mused.

  Chapter Two

  Dia

  The sun was shining down on my face when I opened my eyes. The sounds of the camp were much louder today than they were last night when I spoke to Cernunnos. Caomhnóir was still sleeping peacefully beside me but the rest of the hounds were gone.

  With a stretch, I rolled my neck trying to get the kinks out from sleeping on the ground. I took the time to look around me and get a picture of where we were. In the light of day, the forest looked much more inviting. We were in a clearing approximately sixty feet wide with trails leading into the forest from several directions.

  Caomhnóir raised his shaggy head and looked at me. “Okay, boy, it’s time to stretch our legs. Let’s hope the natives are friendly,” I told him as I scratched behind his ears.

  I stood, finished my stretch, and completed a three hundred and sixty degree circle around me. I had no idea in which direction to head. There were men and women all around me but they paid me no mind. Many were caring for their horses, which by the way, looked like normal steeds in the bright light of day. They were just enormous members of the equine race. I guess they only did the fire and brimstone thing when hunting some poor soul down.