A Leopard's Path
Authors: Lia Davis
Tags: #Romance, #Fantasy, #Multicultural, #Paranormal, #Werewolves & Shifters, #Multicultural & Interracial
A Leopard’s Path
An Ashwood Falls novel
By
Lia Davis
A Leopard’s Path
By: Lia Davis
Published by Fated Desires Publishing, LLC.
© 2014 Lia Davis
ISBN
:
978-1-62322-143-0
Cover Art by Scott Carpenter
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.
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
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Table of Contents
Dedication
To Tony, thanks for all your love and support
Acknowledgments
It’s seems I can’t say thanks enough to my readers for their ongoing support. A huge thank you! I feel so blessed to have your support as well as that of my whole team who makes each book possible. Thank you, Dani, Nicole, Chelle, and my friends Kerry and Milly for helping to keep me somewhat sane. Love you guys.
To the Ashwood Falls fans, I hope you enjoy Ana and Kieran’s story as much as I do. Thanks for sharing my love for what has become a wonderful world to be in.
A Leopard’s Path
Stolen from her family as an infant, Ana Darwin-Andrews has to piece together her past and present. Her whole life is a lie. There’s only one man she feels she can trust, but even he has secrets.
Kieran Michaels keeps a tight lid on his past, but the Onyx Alpha knows his darkest secrets. Kieran will stop at nothing to destroy the rogue before the past is reveled. Ana can never discover his hands are as bloodstained as their enemy’s, because life without her is not an option.
The Ashwood Falls Pack
Keegan Andrews
- Former leopard Alpha, now an Elder of Ashwood Falls. Father of Baline, Alec, Shayna, and Ana. Mated to Addyson Lewis. Story told in Surrendering to the Alpha
Addyson Lewis
- Snow leopard and Pack Scribe. She has no surviving family. Mated to Keegan Andrews. Story told in Surrendering to the Alpha
Blaine Andrews
– Former leopard Marshal, now the leopard Alpha. Keegan’s eldest son. Brother to Alec, Shayna, and Ana. Mated to Graham Griffin and Cameron Nickels. Story told in
A Mating Dance
Cameron Nickels
- Black jaguar, a Sr. enforcer. Sister to Jared Nickels. Mated to Blaine Andrews and Graham Griffin. Story told in
A Mating Dance
Graham Griffin
- Puma, architect by trade. Son of Sarah Matthews. Nevan Matthews’s stepbrother. Story told in
A Mating Dance
Alec Andrews
– Leopard Beta until another one can be appointed and the new leopard Marshal. Brother to Blaine, Shayna, and Ana
Shayna Andrews –
White tiger
.
Keegan’s adopted daughter. The Pack princess and a den mother. Sister to Blaine, Alec, and Ana. Story told in
A Tiger’s Claim
Travis Hunter
– Wolf. Former Alpha to Hunter Ridge until Onyx invaded the den and destroyed his Pack. Now he is the Ashwood Falls Pack Tracker. Father to Jocelynn, aka Josie, and son to Robyn Hunter. Story told in
A Tiger’s Claim
.
Jared Nickels
- black jaguar, Pack Justice, brother to Cameron
Zorana (Ana) Darwin-Andrews
– Leopard. Daughter to Keegan
Kieran Michaels
– Leopard Elder of Ashwood Falls. Former spy inside the Onyx den. No surviving family
Luna Raines
- Wolf Alpha. Mother to Hayden, Dane and Tanner. Mate is deceased
Hayden Raines
- Wolf Marshal. Brother to Dane and Tanner. Mated to Christa Baker. Story told in
Divided Loyalties
Christa Baker –
Human mate to Hayden. Former rebel hunter. Caretaker to her twin niece and nephew, Brenna and Bryce. Story told in
Divided Loyalties
Dane Raines –
Wolf Beta and an enforcer. Brother to Hayden and Tanner. Son to Luna
Tanner Raines
, a wolf sentry. Brother to Hayden and Dane. Son to Luna
Danica Welsh-Matthews
– Leopard Pack Healer. No surviving family. Mated to Nevan Matthews. Story told in Winter Eve
Nevan Matthews
– Human Pack Empath. Stepson of Sarah Matthews and stepbrother to Graham Griffin. Mated to Danica. Story told in Winter Eve
Glossary of Terms
Alpha –
Leader of the Pack
Marshal (First born no matter the sex) –
Leader of the enforcers and sentries. The Marshal will also step in to aid the Alpha in his duties when needed. If there isn’t an heir then a Marshal is appointed by the Alpha
Beta –
Second born to the Alpha and/or second in command to the heir/Marshal. Generally takes care of Pack issues
Enforcers –
Enforces Pack laws and secures the safety of the den
Sentries
– Generally guards the outer boarders of the Pack property. They can be called in to aid an enforcer in fighting and enforcing the law
Trackers
– Skilled in tracking down rogues and eliminating them
Den mothers/maternal females
– Strong and protective, yet not dominate by nature, they watch over the youth in the Pack. Generally work in the nursery and schools and other programs where the children and teens are concerned
Justice
– Pack lawyer with the special psychic ability to read memories through touch in order to place fair judgment on the accused and see the intent of outsiders that come to the den
Empath
– Can connect to the Pack though their emotions and offers comfort when needed and advices the Alphas and Marshals of potential issues between Pack members
Scribe
– Keeps the Pack history through the rare ability to pick up visions through touch. The ability works on objects and people. Many are loners and only like the company of other Scribes
Rebels
– There are two groups: shifters and humans. Shifter rebels had banned together to stop the Onyx and other rogues by force. Human rebels had banned together after discovering the shifter communities and seek to destroy all of them, good or bad
Council of Elders
– Past Alphas and Marshals that form a united ruling body over all Packs to ensure the laws of secrecy from humans are kept and enforced
Chapter One
Revenge would be his sweetest victory.
Fury burned through every pore of his soul. Ashwood Falls would pay for getting in his way. Somehow. Someday. Soon.
Over fifty percent of his Pack had been destroyed, and his daughters, along with most of the survivors, had fled like traitors. It was time for Felix Darwin—Alpha of the Onyx Pack—to take shit into his own hands and do something he should have done centuries ago.
Seek out his mate and free her. Only he hadn’t known she was still alive until recently.
He faced a bunker built into the mountain about a mile north of the Tennessee border. It hadn’t taken him long—only about three months of tracking her magickal signature—to find the prison that housed one of the darkest and most powerful creatures he’d ever known. The Council of Elders, what there was left of them anyway, thought they’d hidden his mate from him. They’d succeeded for the last two hundred years, and if it hadn’t been for her awakening, Felix wouldn’t have found her so soon.
His only explanation was that the Council had kept her in some kind of sleep; muting the bond she shared with him. Therefore, making him believe they had killed her. He didn’t understand why they’d never used magick to break the mating bond completely. An oversight on their part. An asset for him.
Idiots
.
They would pay for their mistakes.
Focusing on the stone face of the mountain where the bunker was hidden, he drew in the earthy aromas of the forest, along with the floral scent of his mate. Yes, she was inside. He chuckled, rough and wicked.
Silently, he crept to the entrance and studied it. The large boulder appeared as if it hadn’t been moved in the two centuries it’d been there. Vines and other weeds grew out of the cracks, covering most of the rock. Brushing aside the foliage from the edge, Felix pushed against the boulder. It didn’t move, so he tried again with all his inhuman power. Still, the rock didn’t budge.
He ran his hand along the seam where the rock met the mountain face. A static-like energy tingled through his hand, making him jerk back at the sudden charge of magick. Yet, he wasn’t surprised by the ward. He’d expected it.
Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a small linen bag of salt—a natural neutralizer. Pinch after pinch, he sprinkled the salt around the seam of the entry. Instantly, the ward broke down, and he tried pushing the boulder out of the way again. To his satisfaction, it moved. Once the entrance was cleared, Felix waited; not trusting the Council to not set traps.
“Who’s there?”
He closed his eyes and smiled at the small, yet husky sound of Savannah’s voice. They’d been separated for too long, and too much time had passed since he’d heard her voice, smelled her soft rose scent.
Before he answered, she let out a low growl. “Felix. What the hell are you doing here?”
She was pissed, and had every right to be. But not at him. “I’m freeing you, love.”
He rounded the curve of the cavern and stopped as he spotted her in the middle of a cage barely big enough for her to stand. Her waist-length black hair had streaks of white running through it, contrasting with the mocha color of her skin. When her ice-blue eyes met his, he hardened, and his palms itched to touch her. She wore the same peach-colored gown from the night the Council had attacked their home and taken her.