by D. M. Shane
Aeternus
The Immortalle Series Book One
D.M. Shane
Edited by
Telltail Editing
Cover by
Paradise Cover Design
Copyright © 2020 by D.M. Shane
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
NOTE: This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real life is purely coincidental.
www.dmshane.com
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Contents
Aeternus
Warning
Prologue
1. Aislin
2. Aislin
3. Arkkadian
4. Aislin
5. Arkkadian
6. Aislin
7. Arkkadian
8. Aislin
9. Arkkadian
10. Arkkadian
11. Aislin
12. Aislin
13. Arkkadian
14. Aislin
15. Arkkadian
16. Arkkadian
17. Aislin
18. Arkkadian
19. Aislin
20. Arkkadian
21. Aislin
22. Arkkadian
23. Aislin
24. Arkkadian
25. Aislin
26. Arkkadian
27. Aislin
28. Arkkadian
29. Arkkadian
30. Arkkadian
31. Aislin
32. Arkkadian
33. Aislin
34. Arkkadian
35. Aislin
36. Arkkadian
37. Aislin
38. Arkkadian
39. Aislin
40. Arkkadian
41. Aislin
42. Aislin
43. Arkkadian
44. Aislin
45. Arkkadian
46. Arkkadian
47. Aislin
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Coming Soon
For my husband
For twenty years, you’ve sailed the world. You’ve experienced things you’ll never forget. Like Greece and Borneo. Spain. Italy. France. Malaysia. Even the North Pole. You’ve also sacrificed. Missed milestones and many a birthday, anniversary, or holiday just to keep us safe. But through it all, you never stopped being my anchor and have always been my biggest cheerleader throughout this crazy awesome life. I love you deeper than maximum operating depth.
P.S. You start up my reactor.
For L.B.
You, my dear friend, whom I often wish lived closer, are amazing. You are one of the kindest, sweetest, caring, and compassionate women I know, and I am both lucky and grateful to call you friend. Even with all the struggles you have endured, your spirit never gives up. Your light shines bright. Never forget it.
For T.B.
I know I’ve told you many times, but I will say it one more time because it’s true. You inspire me. You gave me advice. You encouraged me. If it wasn’t for you, I’m not sure I’d have ever had the courage to sit down and tell the story. Thank you for being the kick in the pants I needed to find my courage and my confidence. I know you’ll find your Man Bear, and when you do, the journey will have been well worth the wait.
Aeternus
The Immortalle Series Book One
Aislin Barrington is just trying to make it through the day. When a brutal attack claims the lives of her best friend and boss, she is thrust into a new and terrifying world where monsters of legend are real.
Arkkadian Rime is shocked to discover his mate living among humans, clueless about her true nature. When Aislin’s family history is revealed, it not only endangers her life, but that of everyone in the pack. Arkkadian will do anything to protect Aislin, even it it means facing an old enemy.
Aislin is drawn to the beautiful stranger claiming to be her destined mate, but can she accept the twisted turn her life has taken? Will the threats upon her life bring them together as fate demands or tear them apart forever?
Warning
Aeternus is a paranormal romance containing mature themes that might make some readers uncomfortable. Please be advised that this book contains strong language, graphic violence, spanking, and scenes of sexual assault/abuse that may be triggering.
Prologue
Whitewater, Montana. A tiny little town on the western outskirts of Glacier National Park. The first place in a long time where I fit in. Where I had friends I could call family. I hadn’t had that in so long, I’d almost forgotten what it felt like. All the moving from town to town, working my tail off to make ends meet, and never knowing where life might take me had made it difficult to find a home, but when I came to Whitewater, I knew it was the place for me right away.
For three years, I was happy. I finally had a home, and people I loved and who loved me back. I was finally settling in. Finding a life for myself.
And then one terrifying night, everything changed.
That was the night a date with Kane West went horribly wrong. Little did I know, the events of that one night would change my life forever. Little did I know, those events would later thrust me into the arms of a man called Arkkadian Rime and a whole new world I never knew existed.
My name is Aislin Barrington, and this is my story. I won’t lie and tell you it’s all sunshine and rainbows because it’s not. No, mine is a story of fear. Anger. Monsters. But it’s not just those things—it’s also a story of finding courage and love.
1
Aislin
I backed up against the wall, my heart pounding against my ribs like a jackhammer on hard pavement. Fear slithered through me, snaking icy tendrils around my spine. Kane’s hands slapped the wall on either side of my head and his hot breath blew in my face as he tried to force his tongue in my mouth. He smelled of chewing tobacco, and the sickly-sweet scent turned my stomach. I tried to shove him away, but he was so much stronger. Feeling trapped and helpless, my anxiety slipped into overdrive.
“Come on, baby, you know you want this. Give me some sugar, Ash… lynn.” Kane leaned forward, pushing my body into the wall, and inhaled deeply. I loathed the way he spoke my name. “Mm… you smell… divine. It’s been a long time since I came across a scent as delectable as yours. Too bad you’re not mine. Not that I care.”
Not his? What did that mean? Why was he sniffing me like that? A shudder racked through my body. I tried to squirm free of his grasp, but he pushed me harder up against the wall and forced a leg between mine.
“Get off me!” I begged. “I said no!”
I placed both of my hands on his chest and shoved him again, but it was futile, like trying to shove a boulder back up a steep mountainside. I was trapped.
Kane gripped both of my wrists and spun me around to face the wall, pinning my hands painfully behind me. I shouted for him to stop again, but the side of my head being shoved against the wall prevented me from speaking. I whimpered in pain when Kane gripped a handful of my hair and yanked, forcing my head back.
“I took you out for a nice dinner. I fed you. I bought you drinks. And you think you can repay me by denying me? Well, you thought wrong! I’ve waited ages for this. You will give me what I want and you’ll like it. You don’t get to tell me no,” he ground out, lukewarm spittle landing on my skin and making me gag.
“Taking me on a few dates does not entitle you to sex! Get off!” I tried to push
off the wall, but with my arms pinned so painfully behind me, it was physically impossible. “Let me go!”
“You’ll give me what I want. You don’t get nice things without giving something back.” Kane let go of my hair and snaked a hand around the front of my blouse while the other kept my arms restrained behind me. He gave a yank on the fabric. Little white buttons flew, bouncing off the wall, plinking as they hit the hardwood floor.
Suddenly, he released my arms and reached around with the other hand to rip the cups of my bra down, exposing my breasts. Tears streaked down my face. My breathing was rushed and heavy, and my chest felt tight. Kane leaned his head over my shoulder and moaned at the sight of my bare breasts. His rough, calloused hands pinched hard at my nipples, and I cried out at the pain.
“Look at those tits. Baby, I’m gonna have so much fun tonight!” He buried his face in my neck and inhaled again. I cringed as he ran his tongue up the side of my neck, leaving a disgustingly wet trail along the way. My stomach flipped. I wanted to throw up.
“No!”
It was now or never. I had to fight.
I crashed my head sideways into Kane’s face, but it didn’t have the intended effect. At that angle, I only succeeded in smashing my head against his cheek. Kane raged. He picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and stormed down the hall. I screamed and kicked, raining my fists down on his back as he carried me toward a dark room near the back of the house.
“You’ve done it now, bitch! I’m not playing nice anymore,” he growled.
That was playing nice?
He hit the light switch and tossed me onto a king-sized bed. I tried to scramble away, but Kane grabbed my ankle and yanked me back. “Yell all you want. Nobody’s gonna hear you. These walls are soundproof.”
My heart sunk, and I feared the worst. Tears continued to pour down my cheeks. Kane crawled on top of me, his legs straddling my hips. He leaned forward, pushed my head to the side, and took another sniff just below my ear. I tried to slap him away, but he grabbed my wrists and squeezed so hard, I thought my bones would snap. I struggled to pull myself free, but his grip was inescapable.
“Why do you keep smelling me?” Keep him talking. Maybe if I could do that, it would give me time to think.
“As if you don’t know.” Kane hovered directly above me, nose to nose, his foul breath hot on my face. His long brown hair swept over me, making my skin crawl. “You know damn well why. I knew the first time I saw you.” When I stared back, utterly confused, a creepy grin crossed his face. “Wait. You really don’t know, do you?”
“What are you talking about?” I didn’t understand. I just knew I needed to find a way out before he hurt me.
Kane barked an obnoxious laugh at my question. The moment his grip lessened, I yanked my arms free and tried to shove him off again. His eyes flared bright green, and I found myself pinned to the bed in a flash. What the fuck was wrong with his eyes?
The distraction only lasted a moment before I remembered to fight, and I tried again to pry myself free of his grasp.
“That’s it! Fight! I love it when women fight. It makes me that... much... harder,” he growled above me. He actually growled. Like a beast.
I turned my head and screamed as loud as I could in his ear. Kane jerked away just before he slammed his fist down on my cheek.
“Shut up!” he snarled.
My head jerked to the side with the blow. Dazed, I lay there as rough hands groped me everywhere, fingers digging painfully into me, bruising my flesh. He pulled my torn shirt and bra off before making short work of removing my pants. The sound of tearing fabric filled my ears as my panties gave way. I tried to sit up, but the room spun in circles around me, and I fell back onto the bed, still dizzy. I scrunched my eyes shut to stop the room from spinning, but it didn’t help.
Kane climbed off and stripped. His muscles bulged. Veins popped out of his neck. An ominous tattoo of a snarling wolf covered the entirety of his chest. His face was as red as the devil himself.
I sobered quickly when I noticed his eyes still emanated a sinister green glow. Something wasn’t right. Eyes didn’t glow!
Kane pulled his pants off, and his erection stood at attention. He was huge. I tried to scoot backward off the bed, but Kane grabbed my ankle and yanked me back again. In an instant, he was back on top of me, pinning me down. His dick twitched where it lay across my bare stomach. Oh, God. This couldn’t be happening. I continued to struggle, doing everything in my power to shove him off, but Kane only growled in response.
“Get off me! Please stop! Let me go!” I screamed through the tears as I pushed at his chest.
He ran a hand down the jagged scars on the left side of my body, moaning as he touched them, before suddenly flipping me onto my belly. “Well, what do we have here? It looks like someone already left his handiwork on you already, girl. He even left his signature. Look at that. Huh.”
When I tried to pull away, he jerked my left arm behind me and wrenched my shoulder. I wailed as the pain stabbed through me like a knife. Any harder and he would probably dislocate it. Kane placed his other hand in the middle of my back and forced me back down onto the bed.
“Just where did you get these scars? Hm? They make me so hard.”
“Fuck off!”
“Oh, I fully intend to fuck you. You know, I just wanted a piece of ass, but you’ve pissed me off. I think I’m gonna take you and make you mine. Forever. It’s not every day a rogue comes along. Oh, the things I can do to you once you’re mine for all eternity. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
His? Forever? What the hell was a rogue? I still didn’t have a clue what he was referring to, but I knew I was in danger.
Kane pushed his knee between my legs and forced them open. In the next instant, his hand was on my backside, spreading my cheeks. The second I realized what he was doing, another wave of panic hit me. A low growl issued from his throat as he leaned forward to sniff at my neck again. Then I felt it. Something hard rubbing against my back entrance. No! This couldn’t be happening!
“Please, no! Please stop! Not that. Anything but that,” I begged through wrenching sobs, only to be met with dark laughter.
Kane let go of my arm and more pain seared through my shoulder as I pulled it around and tucked it under me, trying to catch my breath. His fingers dug into my flesh again. Tears of humiliation ran down my face at knowing what he was about to do and that there was little I could do to stop it.
“I’m gonna tear your virgin ass up and I’m gonna love every minute. You won’t be able to sit for a month when I’m through with you.”
My head felt fuzzy, and I suddenly wanted to puke. I tried to push the feeling down. I needed to find a way out of here. I needed to fight.
“Well, isn’t that interesting? What’s going on in that head of yours?”
I couldn’t respond to anything with my shoulder screaming, but with both hands free, I reached for the lamp on the nightstand. Grabbing hold of it, I swung the lamp as hard as I could and slammed it into the side of Kane’s head. The ceramic base shattered and sliced his face. A few shards lodged in his skin. He reared back onto the bed, an angry snarl ripping out of his throat. His eyes raged, the emerald glow intensifying. It was terrifying.
“You fucking bitch!” Kane violently roared.
Freed from his grip, I rolled over onto my back just as he leaned above me, his face an angry scarlet, blood pouring from the cuts. I pulled my leg back and kicked straight at his groin. My foot connected with its target, and he screamed in agony. Kane cupped himself and rolled to the floor, muttering profanities as he curled into the fetal position.
I jumped from the bed, grabbed my torn clothes, and fled down the hallway. I stopped in the living room and pulled on my pants, but before I could put my blouse on, a loud crash sounded from the bedroom. The door flew open and slammed against the wall. Kane launched himself through the opening and crashed into the opposite wall of the hallway. The force of his body punched
a giant hole through the drywall. His face boiled with rage, and furious snarls rumbled from his throat. He sounded more like a beast than a man. Blood poured down the side of his face where the lamp shards had been and dripped onto his bare chest. Kane stood stock-still and glared. I couldn’t look away from his glowing eyes.
“You are mine, you fucking whore! Binding you to me will be so much fun. Then I’ll punish you for what you’ve done.” Kane spoke so quietly, I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right, but I wasn’t sticking around to find out. He slunk toward me, stalking me from down the hall like a hungry predator honed in on weak prey.
I scrambled for the front door and yanked it open. Covering myself as best I could with my torn shirt, I ran for dear life. I ran down the street screaming for help, with only fear driving me forward. I didn’t look to see if he followed.
A light flicked on up the road. The front door swung open, and a man stepped out onto his front porch. I ran straight for him.
