by Rachel Jonas
Or … more than friends.
He loved her. For all I knew, she felt the same to some degree. Neither spoke of it, but I wasn’t blind. And, as someone who’s loved her his entire life, I knew the look of a man who’d fallen. It nearly broke him to hear me explain that his assignment was to take her life, but he’d never get the chance on my watch.
One day, his feelings for her wouldn’t matter. Eventually, he’d forget all the fond memories and his nature would overtake him. And, because of the handy parlor trick that enabled him to hear her heart, there would be no place she could hide from him. He would seek to carry out the task he was born to fulfill at all costs.
But I’d be there to kill him before he succeeded.
I should have seen this coming—the mess, the fallout. The lycans here had no concept of the big picture, of their past, their legacy. They knew so little of their own history it was almost laughable. Clearly, the Elders didn’t trust them with much information, but did they not realize the lack of knowledge would cripple them?
Make them vulnerable?
The oldest wolf I’d sensed in passing, aside from the Elders, couldn’t have been more than a hundred. That was still no excuse for the lack of preparation I’d seen here. Most of the kids who turned didn’t even have a clue what was happening. In recent years, it wasn’t uncommon to hear of clans living in blissful ignorance, pretending to be only human because, sometimes, that was easier. But I couldn’t begin to express how negligent that could be. Unfortunately, the residents of this scenic, Michigan town in the hills learned that the hard way a couple days ago. Right before the mutts showed up, many of the teens shifted years before the typical age of transition—twenty.
The end result? A rash of injuries and homes in desperate need of repair after the newly-turned lycans raged out of control. The fiasco had the clan scrambling for a solution. They settled on sending their young shifters to a facility where they’d be trained to defend themselves, their packs, their clan.
Like I said, ignorance is bliss until it isn’t.
And it was that same ignorance that brought the three witches and an Elder to my doorstep today.
Evangeline being equal parts dragon and lycan meant they had as much stake in protecting her as I did. Their prejudice for my race—a species they’ve always revered as unpredictable, dangerous— was apparent. And Evangeline’s tendency to present more as a dragon than a lycan didn’t help. It made her seem like an outsider to them, but they couldn’t have been more wrong about that.
Yes, her mother, a native of a small village in France, was the original dragon. However, Evangeline’s father, who ruled a kingdom in the heart of Ethiopia, was one of two original lycans. So, with the death of both her parents… that made her queen.
To their race.
To mine.
A once fallen descendant of two original shifters. And, somehow, she’d shown up right here in this town, and all I wanted to know was:
How?
But I couldn’t make it known why I was so curious. Keeping Evangeline’s identity secret for now was, perhaps, the only way to keep her safe.
When I decided I wouldn’t answer anymore of the Elder’s questions, he sighed.
“Very well then.” He was calm. A little too calm.
Taking slow steps, he pressed the tips of his dry, pale fingers together in the form of a pyramid in front of his chest.
“You leave me no choice but to bring Marin, Scarlet, and Lilith back to join our party, but it would be remiss of me not to give you one last chance to share what you know on your own terms,” he added. “Because, once I give them permission to cross-examine you in … their own way … I can assure you their methods will be most unpleasant.”
A flash of Evangeline’s face came to me. It was a memory from so long ago I couldn’t recall the date. We were in one of many gardens within the walls of her father’s kingdom—her favorite because of the large, acacia tree that grew beside the stream. We visited often, but this day was different. It was the day she bound herself to me, and me to her.
For life.
That bond was the reason I could not only find her wherever she was, but… I could feel her. Strongly.
Even now. Which meant she’d wandered inside my head again—a two-way line of communication that had to be initiated by her for now, until she figured out she was capable of allowing me the same privilege.
I wasn’t sure when she popped in, but she was supposed to be home getting cleaned up from our ordeal with the mutts. At least that was the plan when I dropped her off a couple hours ago.
And yet, here she was.
She’d be speaking soon, but I had a feeling she’d be at a loss for words. With her completely capable of seeing through my eyes whenever she chose to do so, I knew she’d be confused and afraid at the sight of my present company.
“Scarlet,” The Elder’s gruff voice called out. Right after, three sets of footsteps scurried up the porch and then through my front door. They stood before him, waiting for his next command.
Pets.
“It appears our friend here has decided not to answer any more of my questions, so I was hoping one… or all of you, could be of some assistance?”
Having one of them inside my head was bad enough. But all three?
I breathed deep through my mouth, planning to keep them out of my thoughts for as long as I could. If they got in, if they unearthed all my secrets … I wasn’t sure I’d be able to protect Evangeline’s identity from them.
“With pleasure.” Scarlet stepped up first, wearing that sadistic grin again. Her hand lifted from beneath the black cloak that matched the others’, and her cold, clammy palm pressed to my forehead.
“Brace yourself,” the Elder stated. “This will be painful.”
Painful didn’t even begin to describe it. When I yelled out, I felt Evangeline’s presence even stronger. I could only hope she didn’t decide to be brave again. The last time she sensed I was in danger, she showed up and that couldn’t happen today. Not with these four here.
“There, there now, lizard,” the Elder said with a laugh, attempting to taunt me with the insult. “This will all be over before you know it. Once you tell me all I need to know, that is.”
I couldn’t. Not even at the feel of my brain being fried inside my skull.
“He’s a tough one to crack,” Scarlet smiled.
The Elder stared from beneath his hood, a shadow covering his face. There was a chill to the air when he stepped closer and I knew things were about to go from bad to worse.
“Well, if we can’t get him to crack,” he fumed, “… I suppose we’ll just have to break him.”
*****
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“Dark Side of the Moon”
>RIGHT HERE<
SOUNDTRACK
(listed in no particular order)
Music is a very integral part of my writing process and I carefully choose songs that fuel each scene. The lyrics may not always be spot on, but sometimes it’s more about the emotion evoked. While writing The Genesis of Evangeline, I selected music that brought out the intense connections Evie had with various characters throughout her journey. I hope this list enhances the reading experience for you like it did for me writing.
Note: piracy is unlawful and sites where music can be downloaded for free is equivalent to stealing from the musician. Buying the song or album direct will always be the best way to show support and appreciation for the artist’s work.
“Gone”—Phlake, Alina Baraz
“Falling For You”—The 1975
“Run and Hide”—Sabrina Carpenter
“Cut Love”—Hayden Calnin
“Here With Me”—Susie Suh, Robot Kock
“Ends of the Earth”—Lord Huron
“Electric”—Alina Baraz, Khalid
“She Lit a Fire”—Lird Huron
“You don’t Know”—Kaetlyn Tarver
“The Only Heirs”—Local Natives
“Northern Wind”—Liza Anne
“Tunnels”—Liza Ann
“Seasons”—Greyson Chance
“3/3”—The Japanese House
“The Outskirts”—Thomston
“Reprieve”—Vallis Alps
“My Arms Were Always Around You”—Peter Bradley Adams
“In My Veins”—Andrew Belle
“The Breach”—Dustin Tebbutt
“Let Me Touch Your Fire”—ARIZONA
“Sherman Oaks”—EXES
“Easier”—Mansionair
“Restless”—RKCB
“Ignite”—RKCB
“Little Bit of You”—Kevin Garrett
“Letter by the Water”—The Japanese House
“Die Trying”—Michl
“Ocean Eyes (Astronomyy Remix)”—Billie Eilish, Astronomyy
“Harder”-Oliver Riot
“Electric Feel”—Henry Green
The Lost Royals Saga
The Genesis of Evangeline, Book 1 (Available Now)
Dark Side of the Moon, Book 2 (Preorder Today, Coming January 8th, 2018)
Heart of the Dragon, Book 3 (Tentative Release April 2018)
Book 4 (To be announced)
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“The Genesis of Evangeline”
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