Prowled Darkness (Dante's Circle Book 7)
Page 1
Table of Contents
Author Highlights
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Prowled Darkness
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
A Note from Carrie Ann
About Carrie Ann and her Books
Excerpt: Wicked Wolf
Tattered Loyalties
Delicate Ink
Dust of My Wings
Prowled Darkness
A Dante’s Circle Novel
By
Carrie Ann Ryan
Prowled Darkness
A Dante’s Circle Novel
By: Carrie Ann Ryan
© 2016 Carrie Ann Ryan
ISBN: 978-1-943123-41-4
Cover Art by Charity Hendry
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person or use proper retail channels to lend a copy. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
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Author Highlights
Praise for Carrie Ann Ryan….
“Carrie Ann Ryan knows how to pull your heartstrings and make your pulse pound! Her wonderful Redwood Pack series will draw you in and keep you reading long into the night. I can’t wait to see what comes next with the new generation, the Talons. Keep them coming, Carrie Ann!” –Lara Adrian, New York Times bestselling author of CRAVE THE NIGHT
“Carrie Ann Ryan never fails to draw readers in with passion, raw sensuality, and characters that pop off the page. Any book by Carrie Ann is an absolute treat.” – New York Times Bestselling Author J. Kenner
"With snarky humor, sizzling love scenes, and brilliant, imaginative worldbuilding, The Dante's Circle series reads as if Carrie Ann Ryan peeked at my personal wish list!" – NYT Bestselling Author, Larissa Ione
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes sexy shifters in a world full of passionate happily-ever-afters." – New York Times Bestselling Author Vivian Arend
“Carrie Ann’s books are sexy with characters you can’t help but love from page one. They are heat and heart blended to perfection.” New York Times Bestselling Author Jayne Rylon
Carrie Ann Ryan's books are wickedly funny and deliciously hot, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. They'll keep you up all night!” USA Today Bestselling Author Cari Quinn
"Once again, Carrie Ann Ryan knocks the Dante's Circle series out of the park. The queen of hot, sexy, enthralling paranormal romance, Carrie Ann is an author not to miss!" New York Times bestselling Author Marie Harte
Praise for the Redwood Pack Series…
“You will not be disappointed in the Redwood Pack.” Books-n-Kisses
“I was so completely immersed in this story that I felt what the characters felt. BLOWN AWAY.” Delphina’s Book Reviews.
“I love all the wolves in the Redwood Pack and eagerly anticipate all the brothers’ stories.” The Book Vixen
“Shifter romances are a dime a dozen, but good ones aren’t as plentiful as one would think. This is one of the goods one.” Book Binge
“With the hints of things to come for the Redwoods, I can’t wait to read the next book!” Scorching Book Reviews
“Ryan outdid herself on this book.” The Romance Reviews
Praise for the Dante’s Circle Series…
“This author better write the next books quickly or I will Occupy Her Lawn until she releases more! Pure romance enjoyment here. Now go put this on your TBR pile—shoo!” The Book Vixen
“I, for one, will definitely be following the series to see what happens to the seven.” Cocktails & Books
“The world of Dante’s Circle series is enthralling and with each book gets deeper and deeper as does Carrie Ann’s writing.” Literal Addiction
Praise for the Montgomery Ink Series…
“Shea and Shep are so cute together and really offset each other in a brilliant way. “ Literal Addiction
“This was a very quick and spicy read. I really enjoyed reading about Sassy, Rafe & Ian. I really hope there will be more of these three in the future.” Books n Kisses
Praise for the Holiday, Montana Series…
“Charmed Spirits was a solid first book in this new series and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.” RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Thoughts
“If you’re looking for a light book full of magic, love and hot little scenes on various objects, then this book is for you! You’ll soon find that tables are no longer for eating meals of the food variety … Bon appétit!” Under the Covers
“The book was well written and had the perfect setting the steamy bits where really really hot and the story one of sweet romance. Well done Carrie” Bitten by Love Reviews
Dedication
To my Readers.
Thank you loving this series even more than I thought possible.
Acknowledgements
I can’t believe its over. I started the Dante’s Circle series years ago thinking it would be fun to write as many as paranormal creatures as possible. And yet each time I started a new book, I got to find so many new worlds, I knew I’d fall in love over and over again.
Thank you Kennedy Layne, Stephanie, Charity, Chelle, and Dr Hubby for helping me with Prowled Darkness. You guys pushed me to finish this one the way it should have been!
Thank you for following me through this journey and I hope you love this story as much as I do.
Happy Reading!
~Carrie Ann
Prowled Darkness
Humans aren’t as alone as they choose to believe. Every human possesses a trait of supernatural that lays dormant within their genetic make-up. Centuries of diluting and breeding have allowed humans to think they are alone and untouched by magic. But what happens when something changes?
Eliana Sawyer’s life was rocked from its foundation twice in as many years. She risked her heart and had it shattered into a thousand pieces when Malik left her with no warning. While she’d normally raise her chin and ignore the pain, she can’t forget what he gave her before he disappeared from her life.
Malik Ward is a prince amongst the lion shifters and knows that one day he will have to take a mate. Only, his people can never mate with humans. Under the mistaken impression that Eliana was only human, he forced himself to leave before they’d crossed a line and he broke his vow to his people. Now that he knows the truth about Eliana, however, it will take more than groveling to win back the one woman fated to be his.
While Eliana and Malik embark on a new sensuous path that might lead to disaster, the realms aren’t ready to allow the final lightning-struck human to be enveloped into their fold. The couple will have to combat those plotting against them, as well as the broken promises and heated emotions they share.
Warning: Contains a Leo with a bite that’s worse than his roar, a woman with one last chance at the life she’s always dreamt of, a flame that could extinguish with the wrong sacrifice, and the final journey in the bestselling Dante’s Circle series.
Chapter One
Time changed in an instant. One minute, you’re drinking a beer with your friends, talking about the increasingly scary storm outside; the next, you’re flying through the air with your body slamming into the nearest wall when lightning strikes. Or rather, when lightning strikes inside the room and hits you and six of your friends dead center.
Eliana Sawyer’s life changed the moment she felt the energy of the gods ricochet through her body. The world as she knew it became grey, and the things that went bump in the night became all too real. The paranormal world wasn’t that of fiction anymore; now, she lived it. The way she saw the world, the way she saw life and fate changed. She couldn’t plan a future the same way she had. She couldn’t fall in love the way she’d thought to in the past.
After the lightning strike, six of her friends had found out the hard way what happened when they fell in love with someone paranormal—they became paranormal themselves.
Now, years later, here Eliana was—alone, all too human, and on the outside looking in.
Of course, she wasn’t that alone anymore. She never would be again. While her friends had fallen for angels, demons, dragons, and wolves, she’d fallen for a mere human. A human that had taken her heart and shattered it into a thousand pieces, all the while leaving her with nothing but an echo of what he had once been, what they had once been together.
That wasn’t the only thing he’d left her with.
He’d also left the life currently growing in her womb.
Eliana pressed her hands over her belly and tried to not think about everything that had happened in the past, and instead, worry about the future. Of course, the only thing she’d been doing for the past eight or so months had been worrying, but she couldn’t seem to do anything else. Her emotions ran from excitement over the new baby because, damn it, she was going to be an amazing mother; to dread over the fact that she’d be doing this alone. The stops between the two emotions weren’t picnics either.
Malik had left her high and dry with no way to contact him—going so far as to change numbers so his friend—and Eliana’s friend’s mate—Tristan couldn’t even get ahold of him. Tristan had tried to reach out as soon as he’d heard about the pregnancy, but Malik was nowhere to be found. She didn’t want to think about the fact that he’d so clearly cut all ties with the part of his past that was about her, but it was hard not to when the evidence of their relationship was currently doing a little dance on her bladder.
The little squirt tended to do that at all hours of the night. And the day for that matter. She’d heard stories from her friends about how some of them had sleeping little babies during their pregnancy. How those babies had been content to hang around and only perk up with a dose of caffeine. Yet her squirt was apparently a future soccer star.
Why wouldn’t her baby be? It wasn’t as if anything else in recent years had gone easily for Eliana, so why would this?
Little squirt decided to do one last kick straight to her bladder and Eliana winced. There would be no holding back the literal floodgates if she didn’t get out of her chair and waddle her way to the bathroom. Whoever said pregnancy was a gift and women glowed during it clearly hadn’t met her. Of course, maybe if she’d had a partner during it instead of freaking out all by herself, it would be different.
And that was enough of that. No more pity party. So what if Malik didn’t want her and didn’t know he was about to be a father. Or rather, a sperm donor since he’d actually have to be there to be a father. She’d do this on her own like she did everything else, and she’d live her life while trying not to ruin her baby’s.
Easy.
She gripped the arms of her chair and tried to lever herself up. Only, when she made a grunting sound, nine men of varying sizes and species came at her, arms outstretched.
So maybe she wasn’t so alone.
Since all six of her friends had found their mates and three of them had happened to find two mates, they didn’t lack for men in their group. Only single men.
Eliana tried to wave them off but ended up wincing as little squirt did a summersault.
Seth was the closest to her and gave her a little grin.
She wanted to punch his face. Dimple and all.
“I’ve got you, Eliana,” Seth said smoothly. He was a big man, all lean muscle and youthful features. He may be older than her since he was a merman and all, one who’d been around the block, but she was pretty sure she was the one who looked her age. He and Tristan had mated Amara around the time Eliana had found herself pregnant, and Seth had therefore declared himself keeper of Eliana.
One of many.
She hadn’t missed the pitying looks on the others’ faces. One of them was a ten-thousand-year-old dragon, but she could still see the sadness in his old eyes. They all felt sorry for her as if she were nothing but an incubator, all alone and manless. What they should have figured out was that plenty of women were single moms; she wasn’t exactly an outlier.
Except for the tiny detail that she was the last lightning-struck without a mate, and therefore, human. Eventually, she’d start to age and the rest of them wouldn’t. They’d pop out even more babies than they already had, and she’d have to watch as they made their families and thrived in new realms as well as the human one.
She’d die as a human while the rest of them mourned her.
But they’d be able to watch over squirt when she was gone. And squirt’s children, too.
There may still be a chance that she’d find her mate, but it didn’t mean fate would align for her perfectly. She was single and pregnant, so clearly fate had fucked with her already. If Malik hadn’t been human, she would have thought he was the one for her. She hadn’t had that same weird connection the others had felt, but he still could have been the one for her. He’d never met her friends since everyone had always been so busy with their own realms and she’d wanted to keep him to herself. Since he was human, she’d known he wasn’t her mate, wasn’t her true half, so it would have been weird to introduce him to a new world if he wasn’t ready for it.
And, thankfully, she’d never trusted him with the secret of the paranormals since he’d clearly been on a different page than her.
“Eliana, honey, didn’t you need to get up?” Seth somehow put his arms under her knees and behind her back and had her out of the chair and on her feet in the next instant. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head as Lily and Amara stood up as if to come closer. “I’m fine. Just thinking, and I have to pee.” She inhaled through her nose and let out the breath. “Thank you.”
With that, she waddled past Seth and the others, knowing if she didn’t get out of there she’d make a fool of herself—and not just by peeing her pants.
She hadn’t even closed the bathroom door before she heard the others start to speak about her. She might not have supernatural hearing, but it wasn’t hard to figure out whom they were talking about.
The others had somehow gotten it in their brains that they needed to take care of her so they were all at Dante’s Circle, the place where it had all started, to try to have a normal night. Most of them had babies with them or were pregnant.
Lily and Shade had their little Kelly, who wasn’t so little anymore since she was walking and talking and going to an angelic preschool. Ambrose, Balin, and Jamie had Sami, who went to the angelic school with Kelly. Hunter and Becca had little Hazel, who kept wanting to shift into her little wolf form even in the human realm. Apparently, Hunter’s dominance was helping her keep her shifting under control.
Dante, Jace, and Nadie were pregnant. Or rather, Nadie was, but her dragon and bear mates hovered like no other. If Eliana weren’t so pregnant herself, she might have found humor in that. Faith and Levi weren’t pregnant yet, but Eliana had a feeling it would happen any day now. The same with Amara, Tristan, and Seth.
It was scary to think that just a few short years ago, she and her friends had met up at the bar where Becca had worked, one that happened
to be owned by a dragon, totally unaware of the inner workings of what truly went on around them. Now they were having babies, saving the world, and finding mates.
Eliana washed her hands when she was done letting the baby take care of her bladder and tried not to scowl at herself in the mirror. She didn’t like acting as though she hated the world. She might not be as sweet-tempered as Nadie or soft-spoken as Lily, but she’d never been as…hostile as Faith. She’d always figured she landed somewhere in the middle of the pack when it came to personalities. Not too harsh, but not too sweet.
Forgettable.
She closed her eyes and tried to push the doubt away. It wasn’t easy when all she saw when she did was Malik’s face when he’d kicked her out of his place. He hadn’t physically touched her, but he might as well have thrown her away with the day’s garbage.
She hadn’t been good enough for him and, apparently, she’d just have to deal with it.
Eliana splashed some water on her face and let out a breath. “Stop it,” she snapped at her reflection. “He’s gone. He left you. So the fuck what? You’re going to be a mom. So stop acting like a little fool and learn to be an adult.”
“Some pep talk,” Faith said from the doorway.
Eliana flipped her friend off and rubbed her back with her other hand. She was due in a couple of weeks, but the doctor had said it could be any day now. She wasn’t ready for this, and no matter how many times she lied to herself saying she was, she never truly believed it.
“Your back hurt?” Faith asked as she moved toward her.
Eliana held out a hand. “I’m fine. Just the normal pain from lugging around squirt.”
“Pain and fine don’t usually go together,” Faith said dryly as she pushed her way toward Eliana. When her friend rubbed Eliana’s back, tears sprang to her eyes.