by Charlie Hart
There is a faint weeping in the distance, I hear it because it matches the own cry of my heart. A sorrow I know since I’ve lost the loves of my life. The one who weeps in the distance knows the same pain as I.
“Mother?” I whisper.
“Daughter?”
My heart catches. My soul rejoices.
How can I be glad when I’m broken over so much?
One day can change everything.
This day wrecked my world and also made it whole.
“I’m here,” she beckons me, and I begin to run toward her voice, my bare feet carrying me, my heartbreak propelling me forward.
There she is.
In a gilded cage, her silver hair spilling over her shoulders, her eyes so clear I can see through them.
She looks nothing like me, but Charon said our hearts carried the same kindness.
Is it true?
I long for it in ways I wouldn’t have expected. The need to be the same as the woman from whom I was born. A woman I never even considered a day ago.
But now I see her, and I understand what my heart has always craved.
Her love.
“Daughter?” she whispers as I reach the cage. “Is it you, Shade?”
I nod. “I am yours and you are mine.”
“At last.”
Just then, a great crack breaks through the sky and fire begins to rain down upon the field.
“What is it?” I cry.
“It’s your father. He knows you’ve come for me.”
I nod, reaching for the lock in her cage, but realizing I don’t have a key. “How will I free you?” I ask, terrified as the blazing fire scours the meadow.
She isn’t scared. She reaches through the bars and grips my hand, and a shiver of remembrance covers my skin at her touch.
And our touch breaks the bars, melts them to nothing, and she is able to step through.
“Love breaks all barriers,” she tells me. And I nod, collecting my thoughts, feeling lost and found all at the same time. “There is much to discuss, of course, my daughter. But first, we must go to the safety of Mount Olympus. We will finally take our place in the palace. Where you belong.”
It sounds heavenly. A palace after a life spent in the near dark.
But I can’t go with her. Not if there is a chance, an hour, a minute, a moment that I might have with the men I love.
“I can’t go.”
“You must.” She clutches my hand in hers and begins to push the flames away and draw a cloud, which hadn’t been there a second before, to her.
“I need to return to Styx,” I say as she begins to move to the cloud that is now at our feet. “I need to return to my men.”
Her face softens then. She understands everything, intrinsically.
“Oh, child,” she whispers. “You’ve found love.”
“I have. But I’m going to lose it. Lose them. They are fading to the Elysium Fields.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Please,” I cry. “Let me return. I need to be with them as they pass.”
“I don’t have to power to go to Styx. No God or Goddess does on their own.”
My eyes widen. “That’s why I was there for so long.”
“You’ve been in Styx?” My mother’s face falls.
“Since I was four. I think Gaia took me there. There was a crack in the sky, lightning and then... I was in Styx. Stuck until this week, when everything changed. Hawthorne, Lennox, and South confessed their love and we all began to fade.”
“Your love set you free.”
“No,” I cry, tears welling up in my eyes. “Love killed us.”
She nods, as if she understands. “Love will find a way... or it will die trying.”
“It’s not fair. They were good, true men. And I love them so much it hurts.” I cover my face with my hands, sobs wracking my body.
“Shhh, child. Let me fix this.” She presses her hands together. “I’ve been waiting decades to show you how dearly I love you and now I can.” She looks at me with bright eyes full of hope. “What is the point of all of this if love doesn’t find a way?”
My lips tremble, and though I want to believe her but I’m scared to hold out hope.
She takes my hand and pulls me into the cloud. “Let’s go get the men you love.”
“But how?”
“A goddess can’t go on her own, but Daughter, you’re a Shade, able to travel between worlds.”
“Then let’s do this, Mother, together.”
20
Hawthorne
The three of us leave the toll booth and return to our boat. We’re silent, because with Tennyson gone, what is there to say?
We row down the river, but it’s difficult. We’re fading and it’s hard to push the oars through the murky water. We’re weak, making love to Tennyson seemed to sap our strength.
Finally, we stop. We’re so tired our arms can no longer propel us forward.
“I just want to fade,” Lennox says. “Being here without her is too painful.”
“I know,” South agrees. “She was the light to this place. Without her, it’s nothing but darkness.”
“Let’s go to the field then, maybe we can nudge ourselves into the abyss,” I say.
We dock the boat and begin to trudge up a hill toward the field full of buried spirits.
“I can’t believe it ends like this,” I say. “After everything…”
“I thought Hades was giving you eternal life on the surface?” Lennox says.
I scowl. “He must have learned that I betrayed him.”
We look around, knowing ghouls lurk around corners and behind trees, everyone here hoping for a morsel that will help them bargain with Charon.
We fall to the ground, exhausted. I close my eyes, knowing our time has come.
The light, it comes for me.
It’s so bright and my eyes are forced open, though they shouldn’t be able to move. My body should fade away as my soul is taken. Instead, my body seems to be returning.
“Hey,” I shout, reaching for South, but he is already standing, looking up, and so is Lennox, reaching above him as a pure white cloud beams light down on us.
“What the hell?” I say.
But then I see her face, peering over the edge of the cloud. Illuminated and alive and whole and mine.
“Not hell,” she says. “This is heaven.”
And it is.
Tennyson is there, dropping a rope made of white thread from the cloud. Her purple hair glows against the white of the cloud, her eyes shining like the sun I’ve never once seen. I grip the rope, unable to believe this is real.
I climb up to her in the cloud, dropping the rope for Lennox and South. Another woman is here, and one look at the divine creature and I know it is Persephone, Tennyson’s mother.
“You’re sure this isn’t a dream?” I ask, cupping Ten’s face with my hands.
“No,” she says in barely more than a whisper, her lips nearing mine. “This, Hawthorne, is love.”
After
On Mount Olympus, in my rightful place, I call for my daughters.
How long have I waited for this moment?
They arrive together, an army of men at their sides.
The Siren with her four sailors.
Her belly swollen with child, her hand held by a man with dark black hair and bright blue eyes. Serene with pale pink hair whipping around her face, the ocean speaks through her. Not because she pushes the waves, but because she rolls with the tide.
The Wolf with her pack of three.
Her pregnancy no surprise, wolves are made to mate. Her red hair fiery and brows arched, but she’s been refined by the fire. She is no longer a lone wolf, and she knows most importantly, that she is enough. The earth roars and she moves, settling the score.
The Phoenix with her five hawks.
Her body slight, but her feathers announce a majesty that all must abide by. She has risen from the ashes and she is not afraid. S
he is fierce, and she is exact, the sky listens when she calls.
The Shade with her three men, now immortal.
Her power lies not in what she has seen, for her life has been confined to a small space. But her strength dwells in knowing how precious life is. When you’ve lost so much you cherish every moment. Hell must fear a power so true.
They look at me with wonder, with trepidation, with fear.
“You want to know how this has all come to pass?” I ask my daughters.
Their eyes full of questions, they nod, walking closer.
My soul rejoices at the moment I’ve wanted all their lives.
“Come, Daughters, let me start at the beginning.”
BOOK FIVE: THEIR GODDESS
THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO THE DAUGHTERS OF OLYMPUS SERIES TELLS THE STORY OF PERSEPHONE...
She fell in love with four gods.
Poseidon. Ares. Zeus. Hades.
But her story is a Greek tragedy.
With the help of her daughters, can she finally find the love she’s been waiting for?
Or will she spend eternity regretting one choice that changed everything?
Order Now!
Also by Charlie Hart
SIX MEN OF ALASKA
The Wife Lottery is book one of a six book series. Passion and suspense fill the pages of this dystopian romance. The world as we know it may be over, but Tia and her six men of Alaska aren’t giving up without a fight.
I wanted to taste freedom.
In a world where women are seen as a commodity to barter, Alaska promised a sanctuary. But to stay, I have to enter the wife lottery.
Six men, one wife. And I have no say in who those men will be. It's more than a game of chance—it's my life falling into the hands of strangers.
But the men who win my hand are ruggedly handsome and promise to protect me until death do us part.
Fallon and his strong will.
Giles and his protective streak.
Salinger and his easy smile.
Banks and his intellect.
Emerson and his faith.
Huxley and his charm.
I want them all, each for a different reason. My body is awake, my heart beats wild. But I’m also a woman running from a past that’s catching up. Fast. My father is coming for me and he'll make my husbands pay--and that’s not a gamble.
That’s a guarantee.
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myBook.to/thewifelottery
DAUGHTERS OF OLYMPUS:
Their Siren: Available Now
Their Mate: Available Now
Their Phoenix: Available Now
Their Shade: Available Now
Their Goddess release date May 18, 2018
Our Virgin:
Protecting Our Virgin
Craving Our Virgin
Forever Our Virgin
Charlie also writes under the pen name Frankie Love.
The entire Frankie collection:
MOUNTAIN MAN CANDY
MOUNTAIN MAN CAKE
MOUNTAIN MAN BUN
Stand-Alone Romance:
BEAUTY AND THE MOUNTAIN MAN
HIS BILLION DOLLAR SECRET BABY
UNTAMED
RUGGED
HIS MAKE BELIVE BRIDE
HIS KINKY VIRGIN
WILD AND TRUE
BIG BAD WOLF
MISTLETOE MOUNTAIN: A MOUNTAIN MAN’S CHRISTMAS
F*ck Club:
A-List F*ck Club
Small Town F*ck Club
From the HIS Collection:
HIS Everything
The Mountain Man’s Babies:
TIMBER
BUCKED
WILDER
HONORED
CHERISHED
BUILT
The Modern-Mail Order Brides:
CLAIMED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
ORDERED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
WIFED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
EXPLORED BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
CROWN ME:
COURTED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CHARMED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CROWNED BY THE MOUNTAIN PRINCE
CROWN ME, PRINCE: The Complete Collection
Las Vegas Bad Boys:
ACE
KING
MCQUEEN
JACK
Los Angeles Bad Boys:
COLD HARD CASH
HOLLYWOOD HOLDEN
SAINT JUDE
THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
❤️❤️❤️
The Wife Lottery
By Charlie Hart and Chantel Seabrook
The Wife Lottery is book one of a six book series.
Passion and suspense fill the pages of this dystopian romance.
The world as we know it may be over, but Tia and her six men of Alaska aren’t giving up without a fight.
Chapter One: Tia
The room is full of men. Most are tall, all well-built, a mass of muscles and testosterone.
The rough and rugged men of Alaska.
I’ve counted seventy-two already, and more continue to pile in. Each one here for one thing. Me.
Well, me and the other two women who have come here by our own free will to find sanctuary in the wild north. The only cost - our lives.
After tonight, I’ll belong to six of these men.
And they’ll belong to me.
I swallow the anxiety that creeps up my throat, not wanting to reveal my apprehension to anyone. I’ve never been one to be ruled by fear. It was one of my father’s greatest frustrations, that he could never bully me into the docile child he wanted.
But right now, fear presses heavy against my chest, as a hundred what ifs race through my mind. The scariest - what if choosing a life here, with these strangers, is worse than the life I would have had back home?
No. That’s impossible. I had to run. If I wanted to taste freedom, of any kind, I had to take this chance.
Of course, when I escaped home on a cargo ship, after hearing rumors about this wild land where honorable men roamed, I didn’t realize I would be forced into marriage - and with six men, instead of one.
I close my eyes, steadying my breath. These men can’t be as horrid as Lawson. A life with him would have been pure hell. At least here, I’m giving myself a chance at a life that has more meaning than being a trophy, owned by a man I loathe.
Still, fear crawls up my throat. There is so much unknown. The Lottery Council explained the situation after I arrived. Nearly dead from exhaustion, and a lack of resources on the ship, I’d signed the papers, agreeing to their terms.
After health and background checks, the men of Alaska are free to purchase lottery tickets, as many as they like, and then add them to the pot for each bride listed.
Tonight, there are three of us.
I look over at Kate. She’s an exotic dark-haired beauty, with olive skin and almond-shaped eyes. Both her and Lilah were on the same ship I arrived on. But of all the rumors we’d heard about this place, being part of a wife lottery wasn’t one of them. I’m not sure I would have come if I’d known.
Kate reaches for my hand clutching it. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll be safe here.”
I pray she’s right and hope that I’ve done a good enough job covering my tracks getting here.
Because if they find me….
I blink rapidly, not wanting to cry on stage with so many men watching me.
Breathe, Tia.
“Besides, you’re gorgeous, Tia. ” The delicate blonde, Lilah, on my right, looks at me with her wide, innocent blue eyes as she speaks. I didn’t know either of the women before I boarded that cargo ship, but there’s a bond between us, a friendship that gives me strength. “You’re going to make your husbands very happy.”
I bite hard on my bottom lip. I know there are harems in the world. In Liberia, I hear it is common for one woman to have upwards of twenty husbands. In France, people say women have at least a dozen. But in America, the rules are different. Only the richest men get wi
ves. And only one.
American men don’t share. But apparently, Alaskan men do.
And that thought makes me feel faint.
Back home I was confident in who I was. The daughter of one of the world’s most prestigious scientists. Educated. Well-groomed. I knew exactly how to act. How to lower my eyes and feign submission, despite the wildness that ran through my veins.
But here? I exhale slowly, so entirely outside of my comfort zone.
This is not what I expected.
Six men.
I knew coming here would mean marrying. But I’d thought I’d have one husband, a man I’d choose, and together we would forge some sort of frontier life in the woods. That side by side we would work to better a world that had turned upside down. A man who would learn to love me for my mind. That was the dream I followed coming here, the hope that led me to risk everything, even my life.
I see now that it was a far-fetched fantasy. No one gets that sort of happily ever after.
Not anymore.
Not when only ten percent of the world’s population is women.
We are coveted. Our lives, no longer our own. The freedom women once had only a memory.
Standing on stage, overdressed and underprepared, I still hold out hope, albeit small, that maybe, here, things can be different.
As I glance around, I wonder if fleeing for a better life is all a ruse. Maybe I’m just running into the arms of a new enemy. What if I only traded one prison for another? Or what if my real identity is found out? What if I made a terrible, irreversible choice?
But at least it was a choice. My choice. The first one I ever really made.
“Aren’t they handsome,” Kate says beside me, squeezing my hand in hers, black hair tumbling in waves across her bare shoulder. “Can you believe this is really happening. That we’re actually marrying men our own age, and not...” She glances back at the old men sitting behind us, lined up like a jury, and wrinkles her nose. “That.”
