by Maia Dylan
The Shifters of Freedom Springs 4
The Bear and His Water Goddess
How do you convince a stubborn bear shifter that you can be his second chance? Neve Hale has no idea. And Armageddon is coming fast.
Neve finds herself in a battle to save the Earth from a demon with a god complex the size of Texas. She knows she will stand and fight, but can she convince the bear shifter who has graced her dreams since childhood that they are meant to be together?
Neve is everything Liam Barrett could have ever asked for in a mate. The only problem is, six months ago he already found, claimed, and lost his fated mate, all on the same day!
Can they fulfill the ancient prophecy, save the Earth from a demon, and find a way to be together? Or will everything the Shifters of Freedom Springs have been fighting for be lost forever?
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 40,532 words
THE BEAR AND
HIS WATER GODDESS
The Shifters of Freedom Springs 4
Maia Dylan
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
THE BEAR AND HIS WATER GODDESS
Copyright © 2015 by Maia Dylan
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-944-5
First E-book Publication: December 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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DEDICATION
For my bear—who fights for me and alongside me every day.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
About the Author
THE BEAR AND
HIS WATER GODDESS
The Shifters of Freedom Springs 4
MAIA DYLAN
Copyright © 2015
Chapter 1
Our lady Olwen, on lilies she treads
Hides in the Otherworld, from a fate that she dreads
When Carnage threatens to overwhelm
The Elementals must rise to save this realm
Earth comes first, as spring takes hold
To altar the future and watch it unfold
A key must be found to unlock the door
Or Aeron and carnage will reign once more
Fire comes next, as summer descends
With a heat and a rage that may never end
Fire takes two to calm the beast
And extinguish the fire that burns in the east.
Air is third when the autumn leaves fall
The power of blood could win or lose all
A champion must rise and bring forth a shift
To hold them in light and close off the rift
Water is last as winter sets in
To fight in a battle they all must win
Carnage will know his chances are done
When Spirit and Water are united as one
“Three times, you have gone into battle with my Elementals,” Olwen’s pain-filled voice echoed around the walls of the dungeon she was housed in. But despite the hopelessness of her situation, Aeron could hear the smug satisfaction in her tone. “And three times they have banished you from the Earth realm. Surely, you must be getting tired of being beaten. Perhaps it is time to simply, give in.”
Aeron grinned into the darkness. Even though there was very little light in the room, he could see clearly where she sat slumped against the wall. “Oh, my dear Olwen. You place such faith in your, Elementals.” Aeron infused all the hatred he had in that word. “They are nothing but a nuisance. They have stood in my way until now, but things have drastically swung in my favor, don’t you think?”
Aeron waved a hand and the cage doors that held Olwen in her cell disappeared, wondering into the room, he grimaced in disgust at the filth in the room. “Look at you! You are a goddess, and the daughter of a king and worthy of so much more than this cell. I offer you a chance to live in luxury. To rule at my side for eternity, and what do you do? You run from me at every turn, dismiss me as nothing more than an irritation! And for what! Do you wish to live in this squalor forever?”
Olwen glared at him from her position on the floor, covered in blood and filth, her once gloriously shiny blonde hair, now hanging in bedraggled matted ropes. The white dresses that she favored and he had supplied for her in the beginning, long since replaced with the gray rags worn by Otherworld slaves. Her skin was now a convoluted map of scar tissue, old and new.
“I would rather die in this squalor than live with you!” Olwen spat the words. Her voice was stronger than before, and positively pulsed with rage. “You call
yourself a god? There is nothing gods like about you. You are nothing more than a demon, cast out from all realms and made to live here in this hell! You deserve nothing more than what my Elementals have been handing out to you. Do you think I could not scent your pain? I have lived in this realm for centuries, and I know more about you than you think. You underestimated my Earth Elemental. You were scarred by my fierce Fire Elemental. And my beautiful brave Air Elemental sent you packing by making the ultimate sacrifice!
“Now, you must face the last of my warriors, and even though you taunted my Water Elemental, telling her I thought she was the weakest, you couldn’t have been further from the truth! Winter has fallen in Freedom Springs, and it signals the beginning of the end for you. My Elementals will end you! I will finally be free, and you? You will die, knowing that you failed! You failed to take Earth, and you sure as hell failed at winning me!”
Something within Aeron snapped. He had long since determined he wasn’t in love with this woman, hell he was fairly fucking certain he wasn’t capable of love. But he craved power. He longed for the dark pleasure that came with exerting his will over anything and anyone he desired. And for the longest time, he had desired to return to the Earth realm and claim it for his own.
Stepping forward with a growl, his eyes danced with pleasure when Olwen’s eyes widened with fear for a brief moment, before she closed herself off from it. Reaching her, he swung his hand. The crack of the back of his hand connecting with her cheek reverberated around the room. His heart soared at the small grunt of pain she was unable to contain.
Pushing his hands into her hair, he pulled her straight up. He held her at arm’s length from him so that her feet dangled a foot in the air, but her eyes were level with his. He had hoped to see more of the pain and desolation he would have thought she would be feeling when he stared into her eyes. But, all he saw was determination and a deep-seated hatred.
“You stupid bitch,” Aeron snarled as he shook her back and forth three times in quick succession. “You think you have this all worked out? Fuck, you honestly think that I would have left anything to chance? I have known about how this fucking prophecy should end from the very beginning! I played the card that will lead to my victory in our little battle of wills a long time ago! And you? You are going to continue to help me, whether you want to or not!”
He wanted to howl with pleasure as dread flickered in Olwen’s blue eyes before she managed to clamp down on her emotions once more. Dropping her down so that he could drag her from the prison he kept her in, he made sure to slam her against the bars of her cage, the walls of the dungeon and each and every stair he climbed. He had hoped she would cry out or grunt at the pain of it, but the bitch remained steadfastly quiet.
At the end of the hall he reached the room that had become his own personal little pleasure cave, and Olwen’s torture chamber. Throwing her to one of his demons, he waited until they had her secured against the table. When he had first started bringing Olwen to this room, he had been pleasured with her cries of anger and her curses of rage. She had fought admirably against his demons, but now it was like she knew he gained pleasure from that and refused to give it to him. The bitch!
Once she was secured arms and legs to the table, Aeron strode toward it. Sweeping his arms out from his body, he used his powers to pull the table up so that she stood in front of him. He walked straight up to her so they were nose to nose. He grinned when he caught the alluring scent of something coming from her that had his heart beating faster, and a grin forming on his face. Her fear. She was doing an admirable job of hiding it from him, but he caught it none the less.
“Scared, little one?” Aeron dropped his face into her neck, inhaling deeply and caught the same scent again, dragging it into his lungs. “Mmmmm, I do love the smell of fear on my women.” He pulled back so he could smile at her. “Makes me feel young.” He leaned into her slightly and licked her cheek, reveling in her flinch and slight intake of breath.
“We only have a short time left together, my dear, and I find myself in need of something only you can give me.” Aeron stepped back and held his hand out in front of him, his palm turned out in her direction. “You have suffered more than any other being I have ever known. Yet you still hold strong to the belief, that these Elementals will be able to free you, and stop Carnage from reigning in the Earth realm. Why is that?”
Olwen gave him a strange look, and if Aeron wasn’t mistaken, it was pity. “Because they have something that you will never have. Love. They love with everything within them, and they are loved unconditionally and above all things. That is rare. I should know how rare that is because I have had that in my lifetime, and I let the jealous actions of my sister lead me to turn from that love. I will never do that again. You say that I have suffered more than any other being you have ever known? But I have also loved, and been loved more than any other being in this entire realm. And that creates a bond that can never be severed.”
Aeron shook his head at the woman he had once thought worthy of ruling by his side. “You are as pathetic as your ridiculous army of Elementals. You speak of love as if it were a weapon, something that can be yielded and used for protection against what you consider to be evil.” Aeron grinned. He had always had an end game in mind. It was ironic that it involved the very emotion Olwen claimed would save them. “But it can be manipulated. Love can be turned from one person to another with ease.” He leaned into her again and placed his mouth against her ear. “And that is why I will win this war, Lady Olwen.” He bit into her ear lobe, hard, rejoicing in the burst of coppery blood that filled his mouth and Olwen’s sharp cry of pain that came with it.
Smiling at her, knowing that his teeth were stained with her blood, he moved back and held his arm out once more, palm facing toward her chest. Then he unleashed his power, aiming it straight for her heart, pulling her life force from her and absorbing it into his body. At first she shook, slammed her lips together to keep her pain to herself, but Aeron knew it was only a matter of time. He closed his eyes as he absorbed the rush of power filling his body. Just when he thought she had finally succeeded in withstanding the pain of having her very life force pulled from her body, she inhaled sharply and Aeron grinned. He loved what came next.
Olwen threw her head back, and screamed.
Chapter 2
“Just breathe, Neve. You’ll be fine.” Neve tried to calm herself and dispel the claustrophobic feeling that seemed to be suffocating her.
She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the water in the creek bubbling over the rocks. Ever since she was a kid, the soothing sound water made as it moved had always had a calming effect on her. She breathed deeply and took the cold sting of the air deep into her lungs, shivering a little in the bitter cold. She wasn’t far from the path that would lead her back to the house, but she was far enough into the forest that she could pretend she was alone.
Because that was just it. She was alone. She was very much alone.
Today was Christmas Day, and she had spent all of it in Maggie and Kingi Rika’s house, talking and laughing with her newly found Elemental family and friends. Despite the fact she had only been in Freedom Springs for a couple of months, she felt like she had found her place in the world.
She had arrived here not knowing anyone, but as soon as she met Casey and Ariana Rika, and Fiona Aideen, she had known they were connected. It turned out they were all Elementals, and chosen warriors for the goddess Olwen. They had to solve an entire prophecy to save the Earth from a demon called Aeron. Neve had missed the first two battles, but had been here to help Ariana solve her portion, leaving only Neve’s unsolved.
All three of the women she now considered sisters had found they were Fated mates to brothers who called Freedom Springs. Micah Winters was a park ranger and had claimed Casey the Earth Elemental over eight months ago. Fiona had been the second Elemental to turn up and no one was more surprised than Fiona when it turned out she was mated to not one Winters brother
, but two! Cole and Travis were twins and treated Fiona like a queen. Then had come Ariana, and she and Ryan had traveled a pretty hard path to get to where they were today. Three days ago Ariana had paid the ultimate price to defeat Aeron and stop him from crossing into the Earth realm, and as a result she was now a bear shifter.
Courtesy of the man who was the cause of her anxiety attack this afternoon. When she had felt heart chest tightening, she knew she was on the verge of an attack, so she had made a lame excuse about taking a power nap before dinner to let her lunch settle, and slipped out the window in her room. Clambering down silently from the second floor balcony certainly had some scary moments, but she managed to find her way to the ground safely enough.
“Hey.” Neve jumped at the voice behind her and spun to stare at the man who had spoken. Her heart stuttered at the sight of him, and she had to fight to keep her hand at her side, and not press it to the ache that had formed in her chest. “I thought I saw you head out here without a jacket. Here.”
Liam passed her a jacket with a hesitant smile and stepped back once she took it from him. Neve sent him a small smile, and shrugged the jacket on, tilting her head to the ground under the pretense of zipping it up she shivered when she realized the jacket was his. She had to roll the sleeves up in order to reach the zipper, but she still struggled.
“Let me,” Liam murmured as he stepped into her, fit the zip together and slid it all the way up. Neve bit her lip to keep from moaning as his knuckles brushed against the underside of her chin. Jesus, she was so fucking pathetic. “You look like a little girl playing dress up in this jacket. What are you, like five foot nothing?”
