Ceva's Chance

by Lilli Carlisle

  “Beloved and familiar characters like ogres, unicorns and werewolves…a strong, sure heroine who knows her mind and her place in her world…. I loved the way this story unfolded from start to finish. The much-anticipated HEA did not disappoint.”

  —Veronica Bale, Author of A Noble Treason, on Omega’s Choice

  SHROUDED IN DARKNESS…

  If it hadn't been for King Leonidas, white witch Ceva would have roamed the earth alone and ostracized. She was a biological accident, and her heritage was a curse she'd carry around for all her days. Now she fights for her king and kingdom, a fierce warrior on a mission to prove she is worthy of the trust and friendship the king has afforded. When she meets Lothar, captain of the Black Ridge Wolf Pack guard, she glimpses a future she never thought possible. But once he knows her truths, he will surely reject her.

  ONLY HE CAN SET HER FREE

  Lothar had never met anyone like Ceva. Beautiful, fierce, protective and loyal, she would make the perfect mate for any man. Lothar wants to be that man, but Ceva remains elusive. Sure, she flirts, and they dance around each other, but Lothar wants more. When his team joins hers on a dangerous mission, he learns her secrets, which makes her more extraordinary, not the pariah she believes she is. But her past is about to catch up with her, and only his love can save them from certain death.

  CEVA’S CHANCE

  A Black Ridge Wolf Pack romance

  Lilli Carlisle

  www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

  CEVA’S CHANCE

  Copyright © 2017 Lilli Carlisle

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

  ISBN 978-1-944262-89-1

  E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar

  www.gopublished.com

  This has only been possible with the love and support of my family. Love you Craig, Samantha, Katie and Jason.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you to Virginia for all your help.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek: Karli’s Resolve

  About the Author

  Also by Lilli Carlisle

  CEVA’S CHANCE

  Chapter One

  Another flaming piece of tree flew past Ceva’s wings, almost singeing her feathers. Now she was pissed. They were trying to knock her out of the sky. The sun was setting, and she’d been at this since sunup. Where are they all coming from? The sky was aflame with the yellows and deep oranges of the sunset. Adding to the display were the fireballs being slung into the sky by large catapults. Old technology but effective nonetheless.

  Ceva had been given the task of ferreting out the remaining bands of ogres scattered throughout King Leonidas’s kingdom, which was a great deal of area to cover. She dodged another fireball and dove at the first beast she saw. They were large creatures filled with hate and rage. They had small heads that sat on top of overly large necks and shoulders. Their long, muscular arms caused their knuckles to drag on the ground, and weapons filled each hand. Thick fur covered them from their short, stubby legs to their chests. They stood at over eight feet tall. And, at the moment, their singular focus was destroying the small town they’d surrounded.

  By all rights, there shouldn’t have been this many ogres left after the war they had started, and had ended long ago. For some unknown reason, groups of them had been appearing along the countryside, attacking and destroying every small town they came upon. Ceva hadn’t been able to uncover who was responsible for their renewed numbers. She’d already dealt with the dark wizard who had sent them to attack the Omegas at their yearly celebration, but obviously there was someone else pulling the ogres’ strings now.

  Ceva landed and began slicing her way through the creatures, her swords flying as fast as she could swing them as she moved. No matter how much damage the ogres received, they just kept on coming, unless you cut off their heads. Wave after wave of wolf shifters arrived, and she fought side by side with them. She spun on her left leg and kicked one particularly hairy ogre in his stomach, causing the creature to lean forward, making it easier for her to finish him by relieving him of his head. A second and third ogre took his place and ended up on the ground with the first. Her primary purpose was to push them back away from the town and the innocent people who lived there. The town had already sent out many shifted wolves to fight, but mostly untrained, they were no match for the beasts. Several lives were lost with many more wolves injured. Ceva swore that, as long as she took breath, the creatures wouldn’t reach the small farming town.

  She heard a familiar howl long before she saw the wolves coming up over the rise and ramming into the line of ogres. In the lead was a large, dark gray wolf with green eyes. He moved with precision, darting in and out of the fray, always one step ahead of attack until an opening appeared and he did away with yet another ogre. He was breathtaking to watch, his gray coat reflecting the oranges from the sunset. There was only one wolf that could hold this white witch’s attention.

  Lothar.

  The sight of him caused Ceva’s heart to race and every nerve ending to come to life, exhilarating and dangerous emotions colliding in her heart at the same time. She couldn’t afford to be distracted from her mission, and he was one hell of a distraction.

  As if to prove that point, a particularly large ogre came up behind Ceva and grabbed her around the waist, squeezing her like a tube of toothpaste. With a precise blow to the ogre’s other arm, the appendage fell to the ground. The creature lifted her high into the air, readying to crush her against the hard ground. Ceva extended her sharp and powerful wings and easily sliced through the beast’s neck. Its demise sent her to the ground, followed by the ogre’s headless body. Landing on the grass of the clearing wasn’t so bad, but having the five-hundred-pound oaf fall on top of her was another matter entirely. She was pinned and about to free herself when Lothar appeared in his human form and rolled the beast off her.

  Of course, he was naked because he’d shifted. Nudity among shifters was commonplace and generally people didn’t even raise an eyebrow. But seeing Lothar in all his naked, muscled glory made her pulse race, her mouth dry out, and she felt a little dizzy. She’d been in the presence of shifters for as far back as she could remember—considering she was immortal, that was a long time—and never once did she have this type of reaction. She was woman enough to admit she wanted Lothar, but with another war looming, if anything were to happen, it would have to wait.

  “What were you thinking? You know better than to lose your concentration during a battle. You could have gotten yours
elf killed,” Lothar yelled, bringing forth a whole new emotion.

  “Back off, Wolfie. I’ve been at this since dawn,” Ceva growled. “And what the hell are you doing here?”

  “King Leonidas sent us to help you in your mission, and I volunteered to lead the team,” Lothar said while scanning the battlefield.

  “Of course you did. Just couldn’t stay away, huh?” She winked and stood on wobbly legs. It had been a long day of constant fighting; she needed it to be over soon or she was going down either way.

  She was in the process of dusting herself off when another ogre came from the right. Ceva went on guard, raising her sword as Lothar shifted into his wolf. They had guns, but that only slowed the creatures down and pissed them off. Lothar went on the offensive and attacked, sinking his impressive teeth in the side of the beast’s neck as Ceva buried her sword to the hilt in its bulging belly. The ogre ripped Lothar from his neck and threw him all the way across the clearing. While its attention was still on Lothar, she leapt in the air and easily removed its head before landing and spreading her wings wide. She dug her fingers into the earth and began an incantation. As a white witch she had a lot of weapons in her arsenal and would use them to their advantage. She’d gained a few abilities from her near-death experience a few months ago, and she intended to break them out. The only drawback: it was going to leave her weakened. But at this point she didn’t care. Too many wolves had been hurt or killed already.

  With one last look at Lothar’s breathing but still figure, her heart sank. She crouched lower and dug her fingers farther into the dirt and continued chanting. The sounds of fighting drifted away as she molded the earth to doing her bidding. The ground underneath each ogre began to tremble and shift. Ceva pushed more power into her incantation and felt it spike as the ground opened under each ogre and became quicksand, sucking each one down, until only the wolves remained. Ceva felt her powers waning and went to her hands and knees to draw breath into her shaking body.

  “Swear to the heavens, you’re going to be the death of me, Ceva,” Lothar growled as he knelt beside her. “You will surely give me a heart attack before this is over.”

  “Wouldn’t want to interrupt your rambling,” she moaned, “but do you think you can help me stand?” Ceva retracted her wings, absorbing them back into her body through the slits in her shirt.

  “I can do better than that.” He lifted her from the ground and held her to his muscled chest. Don’t get used to this. No distractions, remember?

  “My savior,” she joked. “You just wanted to get your hands on me.”

  “Savior, damn right.” She noted he didn’t respond to her other comment.

  “How long will you be here?” She half hoped it was for a while.

  “Until the job is done, we’re at your disposal,” Lothar replied. “Then we can go back to our pack.”

  “Lucky me.” Ceva laughed. “Try not to get yourself killed.” Please be safe.

  “You know you want me here,” he whispered into her ear, his warm breath sending shivers throughout her body. Instead of answering, she crossed her arms, making him smile wider.

  The rest of Lothar’s team gathered around them, a few men still in their wolf form as a defensive measure in case more creatures showed up. Lothar walked toward the town, Ceva still in his arms. All the while, she knew his naked body was rubbing his scent all over her, as if marking his territory.

  Townspeople came out of their hiding spots and houses to greet them, several scanning the area, fear still strong in their eyes. Twilight softly illuminated the area, and Ceva could feel her strength returning. Within a few hours, she’d be back to full fighting power and she would not need Lothar to carry her. Pity.

  “Blessed be they’re gone. Thank you, White Witch, for saving our town,” an elderly woman cried before she was gathered into the arms of the man beside her. She was visibly shaking from the experience.

  “I must share this victory with your brave people who fought beside us. Without them, the town may have been lost,” Ceva answered the woman as the group carried on toward what remained of the town. “When will your Alpha be returning?” The area’s Alpha had been away when the attack occurred.

  “Alpha Reume will be arriving within the hour,” the older woman answered.

  “If we could impose on you and your town,” Lothar asked gently, “we need a place to rest and recuperate for the evening.”

  “Of course, of course. You and your team are more than welcome to join us as long as you need,” the woman replied.

  “Thank you,” Ceva responded groggily. Exhaustion was setting in. Another side effect of using a large amount of power: her body conserved energy by putting her to sleep. When she woke, she’d be back to full strength. Typically, she wouldn’t allow herself to fall asleep in public, but the sway of Lothar’s steps and the heat from his body were calming her to the point where she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

  “Joseph, please take a few men and return to our vehicles on the side road and bring them into town,” Lothar ordered. Joseph, a young warrior, and four other men shifted and went back into the woods. Lothar was the warrior captain from the Black Ridge Wolf Pack, and he excelled at his job. He taught and led a team of highly trained men and women to protect the pack lands and its wolves.

  It was becoming increasingly difficult for Ceva to concentrate on the activity going on around her. The spell must have taken more out of me than I originally thought. She allowed the darkness to take her, confident she was safe in his arms.

  Lothar knew the moment Ceva’s body relaxed into sleep and felt honored she believed herself safe enough to rest in his arms. No matter how much she teased and joked, he knew she felt something for him, and he couldn’t understand why she chose not to make their relationship more real. But he wasn’t known as a stubborn wolf for no reason. He knew what he wanted, and that person was sleeping in his arms. From her long black hair, golden eyes, and small fangs, to her kind soul and courageous heart, she was spectacular, and all wrapped up in a black leather package.

  So he would make the first move.

  Months ago, she’d been so close to death in the fight to save a group of Omegas, it hammered home just how much Ceva meant to him. It had taken the entire group of Omegas combining their powers to save her life. Omegas were born with many different powers, ranging from healing to control of the weather, and they typically mated with Alphas; and the Omega had the choice of who to mate, Alpha or not.

  As they reached the town, Lothar noticed several triage areas set up in the park in the town square. Shifters could take a great deal of damage, but they still could be killed, evidenced by the covered bodies lining the far wall. Family and friends gathered around, crying and paying their respects. There must have been at least a dozen poor souls who gave their lives protecting their home today. Senseless deaths caused by beasts that shouldn’t even exist any longer after their defeat all those years ago. If any had survived, they’d gone into hiding, never to be heard from again until now. Why are they rallying their forces now? Better yet, how do they even have forces to rally? Could there be another war?

  Ceva squirmed in Lothar’s arms, as if sensing his troubled thoughts. “Easy, beautiful, all is well.” She calmed, just as he expected. She may hide her true feelings when she was awake, but in sleep she couldn’t restrain them. She cared for him, and he knew it. It had been several months since his Alpha, Aldric Forst, found his Omega, Princess Helena. That was how Lothar had first met Ceva, who was Helena’s godmother, and had moved to the Black Ridge Wolf Pack with her goddaughter, along with a few other Omegas whose homes had been destroyed by the ogres. The minute he’d seen her, Lothar had thought Ceva was stunning. When she began hitting on him, he was shocked and intrigued.

  The five SUVs they had been traveling in pulled up to the square. He and his team gathered their clothing and got dressed. It may have been the fastest he’d ever dressed. Lothar didn’t like anyone else holding Ceva. The moment he’d
pulled his shirt over his head, he took her back from Joseph and went in search of a safe place for her to rest. He would leave warriors to watch over her while he led the others and helped the town clean up.

  The older woman who had spoken with them earlier seemed to be the spokesperson for the town, so he approached her first. “Excuse me, ma’am.”

  The woman turned. “You may call me Phanuk.”

  “If I may, Phanuk.” Lothar bowed. “Do you have a place where Ceva may rest?”

  “Of course, my home is only a few steps away. She may have my bed. We were fortunate to have your team and a powerful white witch to protect our town,” Phanuk replied.

  “Thank you.” Lothar turned. “Joseph, you and Rowl will stand guard until I return.” He chose those two because they were his most trusted. If he was forced to leave Ceva, he’d make damn sure she was safe.

  “Yes, Lothar.” He didn’t need to explain the seriousness of guarding Ceva to his men; they already knew.

  Lothar and the two men followed Phanuk to a modest home just off the town square. The two-story house was yellow with white trim. Each pillar on the front porch was covered in intricate filigree. Ceva was resting comfortably in his arms, and he wished he could remain with her until she woke, but he needed to lead his men and help the town put things to rights after the attack.

  They entered through the side door into a bright, airy kitchen before turning left to walk up the stairs. Phanuk led them to the bedroom door, and his warriors took up position in the hallway. Phanuk turned down the comforter, smiled at Lothar then left. He laid Ceva on the queen-size bed, careful not to wake her. He removed her combat boots and covered her with a soft, pastel blue duvet. Gently, he kissed her on her forehead before he left the room. She’d probably electrocute him if he tried kissing her when she was awake.