by Christi Snow
Malcolm cocked an eyebrow at Savannah, but he frowned with concern as he watched her. Then he softened his voice, his concern bleeding through. “Maybe if you unwound a little, you could find a more natural way to fall asleep.” He shrugged. “It’s an option and you need to do something. You can’t keep going like this. You need some rest. You need some sustenance. If you don’t do something on your own, you’re going to end up in my clinic anyway because of pure exhaustion and then you won’t have any say in the matter anymore.”
Savannah tossed up her hands in frustration and looked like she couldn’t decide between taking him up on his offer or decking him. Knowing Savannah’s temper, Lori figured violence was probably winning out on this internal debate so she reached around Savannah to give her a hug and try to distract her. “Hey, you. Why are you guys fighting?”
“He,” she threw a hand and glare at Malcolm, “wants to drug me up to make me sleep, but I’m fine. No. More. Drugs.”
“He’s just trying to help,” Lori told her gently. “He’s a doctor. Drugs are their thing. He can’t help it.”
“Thanks,” Malcolm muttered, running a hand through his hair and looking completely flustered and discombobulated in a way she’d never seen him before.
Lori rolled her eyes at him. “But, Savannah, I know you’re exhausted. We can all see it. Are you having nightmares?”
“Of course I am. How does anyone expect me to sleep when Shar is somewhere I can’t protect her? Lori, you know what they’re like, what they’re doing to her and to your friend.”
Lori suppressed a shudder. Unfortunately, all the Others knew what they were capable of. Nothing good.
Savannah continued. “I’ll be fine until we get Shar back. Then I promise I’ll sleep for days. I just want to know that we’re going to do something soon.”
“That’s the plan,” Marcus agreed. “In fact, that’s why we’re here. We need to talk to Jonah. Is he here?”
Savannah shot a guilty look toward Malcolm. “Um, he needed to go run an errand.”
Malcolm crossed his arms and scowled. “Translation…he saw me coming and slid out the back door like a coward rather than answer my questions.”
Bristling with anger, the much smaller Savannah pointed her finger at Malcolm, thumping his chest with it. “You do not talk about him that way,” Savannah raged. “You have no idea what Jonah’s been through, what he’s had to survive, what he’s capable of doing. He’s an amazing man, much more than you can ever hope to be.”
Malcolm’s expression quickly morphed from desire, to frustrated anger, and then to something else. He turned without another word and stormed out of the cottage.
Wow. Talk about some pheromones. These two together were combustible. Like a flash fire, though, there was no predicting who would get burned.
Lori glanced around the cabin. Where was everyone else? “Sav, where are Tim and William?”
If anything, the lines around Savannah’s eyes increased. “Gone,” she responded, her eyes filling with tears. Her exhaustion made her more emotional than normal. “Tim doesn’t trust anyone anymore and he flashed into the forest. He’s still nearby, living in one of the trees, but he refuses to come back into the village. He doesn’t want to be around anyone.”
“Doesn’t he know it’s dangerous?” Marcus paced the room. “A Predator isn’t something you want to mess with.”
“He’ll be fine,” Savannah reassured him. “He waited until his strength had regenerated before leaving. I don’t know if Lori explained all of our gifts, but he can teleport. If he gets into trouble, he can simply flash himself so that he’s back within the farm walls.”
“What about William?”
“He’s in panther form again,” Savannah told them. “Drake and Shane seem to soothe him better than me, so they took him down to the barn.”
“Is that safe?” Marcus asked.
“As long as he doesn’t feel threatened, it should be fine. I’m monitoring him, too. It’s calming him and at this point, that’s what I think he needs to heal. We just need to make sure he doesn’t stay in animal form long-term or we’ll lose him to the beast.”
“So do you know where Jonah headed?”
“Yes, but he wants some time alone right now. He left a message for you, though. After dinner tonight, he’ll tell you the plan.”
Lori felt the energy shift like light gossamer threads brushing over her skin as Marcus’s irritation surged. He didn’t like being dictated to, but she’d guess it had been a long time since Jonah deferred to anyone. This should prove interesting getting the Warriors to cooperate with him, which is what they needed for them both to get their people back.
Marcus gritted his teeth but nodded. “Okay, I’ll pass along the message. Thanks, Savannah.” He began to turn away but then stopped and tilted his head to look at her again. Lowering his voice he said, “Malcolm’s a good guy. He just likes to take care of people. Don’t hold that against him.” Then he strode out of the room.
Lori gave her a hug. “Chin up, chickie. Try to take a nap this afternoon and I’ll reiterate what the big guy just said…Malcolm really is nice and he’s trying to help. Give him a chance.”
Savannah just nodded.
“See you at the meeting tonight.”
After they left the cottage, they decided to walk along the forest floor by unspoken agreement. The village was quiet today and even though nothing was settled in their lives, she felt at ease. They walked with the fingers of their hands threaded together, a bond that was so much more than just the physical joining between the two of them.
Worry for her friends pressed at her. She hated how much they all had been hurt, still hurt even now. They’d all been through so much. She just wanted them to be happy and content…like she was. The warmth settled in her belly at that thought, until the impact of it truly hit her.
Her steps faltered. For the first time in her adult life, she felt right with her place in this world. This thing between her and Marcus was so much better, so much more, than what she’d shared with anyone before. This was it, that thing that songwriters and poets wrote about when they talked about that abstract idea of “love.” How did this sneak up on her?
Marcus caressed her upper arm. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
She looked into his warm, worried green eyes and felt the tears build up in hers. “Nothing’s wrong. No,” she shook her head, “that’s not right. There’s so much wrong. My friends are hurting. Griff and Shar are missing and undergoing who knows what. Things are changing and no one knows if that’s a good thing or not.”
A tear dropped down her cheek and he gently removed it from her face with a swipe of his thumb. She needed to get all this out, although the emotion of it choked her voice. “But even with all that, I’ve never felt like this. This…this thing between us, it’s right. I never expected it, and I sure never allowed myself to even dream of anything this perfect. Our lives, our world isn’t perfect. But Marcus, I love you so much. No matter what I’ve gone through it’s been worth it because it brought me here to this point with you.”
She gave him a watery smile. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that even with the unknown around the next corner, I know I can face it because you’re in my life. You’re the difference for me. You make me strong. You make it so that the bad times are less so. When I know you’re there to catch me, I can make it through anything. I love you.”
Marcus pulled her to him and kissed her, leaving her breathless. When they finally pulled apart, he knelt below her and pressed his face to her stomach for a moment. She carded her fingers through his hair, wondering how she got so lucky to have found this wonderful man in her life. He pulled back and smiled up at her. “That was beautiful, just like you are. We met when you collapsed at my feet and I haven’t had a chance to catch my breath since. You constantly steal it away with your love, your honesty, and your zeal for life even after all you’ve been through. You said it all, but you have to know I love
you, too. You know that, right?” he asked.
At her watery nod, he continued. “I want you to be in my life…forever. Lori, will you stay with me? Here in the WS? I have no idea what the future holds, but there’s promise in it because I can face anything with you by my side. Would you become my partner for life, my mate?”
Tears spilled over her cheeks once more and she knelt down on the ground with him to give him her answer. “Yes.”
THE END
Coming Soon…
Allied In Flight (Through the Veil- Book #2)
Coming Fall, 2015
Chapter One
Alone.
Marcus, Brooklyn, and Lori had only been in Griff Hughes’s head a few days. How had he gotten so adjusted to them being there so quickly? He was supposed to be a loner. In fact, he was quite famous for his ability to go days without talking to anyone. No one would believe he was that same person now, going insane because the voices in his head were gone.
Quiet.
He gave a bitter chuckle that echoed over the bare concrete of his cell, his new home. If he chose to ignore how close to panic it sounded… well, who could blame him? It hadn’t been a very good day. His head hung to his chest.
Series Order:
1. Through the Veil – Lori and Marcus
2. Allied In Flight – Griff and Shar (Fall, 2015)
3. Rejecting Destiny
4. Healing the Chasm
5. Flirting with Desire
6. Discovering New Boundaries
7. Surrender to the Dream
8. Unity Embraced
Thank You…
Thank you for reading Through the Veil. I hope you enjoyed it.
Would you like to know when I release my next book? You can sign up for my newsletter e-mail list at www.christi-snow.com, follow me on Twitter at @ChristiSnow, or like my author Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/christisnowauthor
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This is the first book in what I plan to be an 8-book series. But if you liked it, I have several other books in different genres available and coming soon.
When the Mission Ends Series
(Contemporary Romantic Suspense)
Operation: Endgame (Book #1)
Operation: Endeavor (Book #2)
Before the Mission Begins (Novella #2.5)
Operation: Endurance (Book #3)
When Love Intrudes (Book #4)
Men of Snowcroft Series
(Contemporary M/M Romantic Suspense)
Snowcroft Lost (Book #1)
Snowcroft Safehouse (Book #2 — Spring 2015)
Foxtrot Team Novels
(Contemporary Romantic Suspense)
All Profits Go To Charity
The Shadow of Mudflap (Book #1)
Mudflap Under Cover (Book #2 — Fall 2014)
Mudflap Until Death (Book #3 — 2015)
The Martin Ranch Series
(Contemporary Romantic Suspense)
Right By Your Side (Book #1 — Fall 2014)
Stand-Alone Books
Photo Op Serendipity (Spring 2015)
(Contemporary Romantic Suspense)
Luscious Leather, Scandalous Secrets
(Working Title — Spring 2015)
(Contemporary Erotic Romance)
About the Author
As an avid reader her entire life, Christi Snow always dreamed of writing books that brought to others the kind of joy she felt when she read. But…she never did anything about it besides jot down a few ideas and sparse scenes.
When she turned 41, she decided it was time to go after her dream and started writing. Within four months, she’d written over 150,000 words and hasn’t stopped since.
She’s found her calling by writing about sexy, alpha heroes and smart, tough heroines falling in love and finding their passion. An author of nine novels, she’s truly living the dream and loving every minute of it. Her days in her West Texas home are spent reading, writing, and taking care of her husband, two kids, and two cats.
Her tagline is… Passion and adventure on the road to Happily Ever After. She’s loving this adventure!
Table of Contents
Through the Veil
Other Books By Christi Snow
Dedication
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Coming Soon…
About the Author
