Authors: Victoria Danann
Tags: #Romance, #Fantasy, #Vampires, #Science Fiction
Gathering Storm
Gathering Storm,
BLACK SWAN 5
(
Black Swan 5)
Victoria Danann
Copyright 2013 Victoria Danann
Published by 7th House at Smashwords
Read more about this author and upcoming
works at
VictoriaDanann.com
Smashwords
License
This ebook is licensed for
your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or
given away to other people. If you would like to share this book
with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each
reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it
was not purchased for your use only, then please return to
Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting
the hard work of this author.
Early reviews…
"This is definitely the
best book of the series so far. It was a complete rollercoaster
ride. Victoria Danann is the one of the best storytellers I have
ever come across." -
Hooked on
Books
"...these books they are
sexy, very exciting, but humorous moments makes them a really fun
read." -
Vampire Romance
Books.com
"These books are like a
many layered dessert. Tickling your senses, making your emotions go
nuts, and keeping your heart pounding." -
A Tale of Two Books
“The pace in GATHERING
STORM had me moving from page to page, gobbling the words as fast
as my brain could take them in.
” –
Fangs, Wands & Fairy Dust
Special THANK YOU'S...
Thank you to my assistants, Judy Fox and
Sarah Nicole Blausey.
Thank you to Kelly Danann who gave me the
confidence to publish the first book.
Thank you to Julie Roberts, world's best
editor.
Thank you to my friend and bridge partner,
native French speaker, Michele Murphy, for translation.
Thank you to my husband, my biggest
cheerleader, who values every book sale and gets excited about
every milestone.
Victoria is a big fan of the Black Swan A
Team.
Anna-Marie Coomber
Anna Salamatin
Brandy Ralston
Cheryl Lewis Fennimore
Cristi Riquelme
Crystal Lehmann
Dawn Dow
Dee Bowerman
Elizabeth Quincy Nix
Ellen Sandberg
Gina Whitney
Jennifer Tracy
Joanette Fountain
JoBeth Sexton-Harris
Kim Staley Schommer
Laura E. Wolf
Laurie Johnson
Laurie Peterson
Leah Barbush
Leslie Miner
Lisa Jon Jung
Maggie Nolan
Michelle Stein
Mountain Crew
Nelta Baldwin Mathias
Pam James
Patricia Smith
Rebecca Stigers
Robyn Byrd
Rochelle Taves
Shan Harris McKinney
Shanna Rankin
Susan Blanford Westerman
Sylvia Ashford
Tabitha Schneider
Talisa Martin
Teri Zuwala
Ticia Morton Hall
Tifinie Henry
Tori Whitaker
Vicki Turner Simpson
T
ABLE OF CONTENTS
This series is also a
serial saga in the sense that each book begins where the previous
book ended.
READING IN ORDER IS
STRONGLY
RECOMMENDED
in order to fully enjoy
the rich complexities of this tapestry in book form.
There is a very old and secret society of
paranormal investigators and protectors known as The Order of the
Black Swan. In modern times, in a dimension similar to our own,
they continue to operate, as they always have, to keep the human
population safe. For centuries they have relied on a formula that
outlines recruitment of certain second sons, in their early,
post-pubescent youth, who match a narrow and highly specialized
psychological profile. Those who agree to forego the ordinary
pleasures and freedoms of adolescence receive the best education
available anywhere along with the training and discipline necessary
for a possible future as active operatives in the Hunters Division.
In recognition of the personal sacrifice and inherent danger, The
Order bestows knighthoods on those who accept.
BOOK ONE.
My Familiar Stranger: Romancing the Vampire
Hunters.
The elite B Team of Jefferson Unit in New
York, also known as Bad Company, was devastated by the loss of one
of its four members in a battle with vampire. A few days later
Elora Laiken, an accidental pilgrim from another dimension,
literally landed at their feet so physically damaged by the journey
they weren't even sure of her species. After a lengthy recovery,
they discovered that she had gained amazing speed and strength
through the cross-dimension translation. She earned the trust and
respect of the knights of B Team and eventually replaced the fourth
member, who had been killed in the line of duty.
She was also forced to choose between three
suitors: Istvan Baka, a devastatingly seductive
six-hundred-year-old vampire, who worked as a consultant to
neutralize an epidemic of vampire abductions, Engel Storm, the
noble and stalwart leader of B Team who saved her life twice; and
Rammel Hawking, the elf who persuaded her that she was destined to
be his alone.
BOOK TWO
.
The Witch’s Dream: A Love Letter
to Paranormal Romance
Ten months later everyone was gathered at
Rammel's home in Derry, Ireland. B Team had been temporarily
assigned to The Order's Headquarters office in Edinburgh, but they
had been given leave for a week to celebrate an elftale handfasting
for Ram and Elora, who were expecting.
Ram's younger sister, Aelsong, went to
Edinburgh with B Team after being recruited for her exceptional
psychic skills. Shortly after arriving, Kay's fiancé was abducted
by a demon with a vendetta, who slipped her to a dimension out of
reach. Their only hope to locate Katrina and retrieve her was Litha
Brandywine, the witch tracker, who had fallen in love with Storm at
first sight.
Storm was assigned to escort the witch, who
slowly penetrated the ice that had formed around his heart when he
lost Elora to Ram. Litha tracked the demon and took Katrina's place
as hostage after learning that he, Deliverance, was her biological
father. The story ended with all members of B Team happily married
and retired from active duty.
BOOK
THREE
.
A
Summoner’s Tale: The Vampire’s Confessor
Istvan Baka was captured by vampire in the
Edinburgh underground and reinfected with the vampire virus. His
assistant, Heaven McBride, was found to be a "summoner", a person
who can compel others to come to them when they play the flute. She
also turned out to be the reincarnation of the young wife who was
Baka's first victim as a new vampire six hundred years before.
Elora Laiken was studying
a pack of wolves hoping to get puppies for her new breed of dog.
While Rammel was overseeing the renovation of their new home, she
and Blackie were caught in a snowstorm in the New Forest. At the
same time assassins from her world, agents of the clan who
massacred her family, found her isolated in a remote location
without the ability to communicate. She gave birth to her baby
alone except for the company of her dog, Blackie, and the wolf
pack.
Heaven was instrumental in calling vampire
to her so that they could be intercepted and given the curative
vaccine. Baka was found, restored, and given the opportunity for a
"do over" with the wife who had waited for many lifetimes to spend
just one with him.
BOOK FOUR.
Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf
Ram and Elora moved into temporary
quarters at Jefferson Unit to protect mother and baby. Sol asked
Storm to prepare to replace him as Jefferson Unit Sovereign so that
he could retire in two years. Storm declined, but suggested
twenty-year-old trainee, Glendennon Catch for the job.
Litha uncovered a shocking discovery about
the vampire virus by accidentally leading five immortal host
vampire back to Jefferson Unit. Deliverance struck a deal with
Litha to assist Black Swan with two issues: the old vampire and an
interdimensional migration of Stalkson Grey's werewolf tribe.
In the process of
averting possible extinction of his tribe, the king of the Elk
Mountain werewolves, Stalkson Grey, fell in love with a cult slave
and abducted her with the demon's assistance. He eventually won his
captive's heart and took his new mate to the New Elk Mountain
werewolf colony in Lunark Dimension where the wolf people’s
ancestors had settled centuries before.
Throughout this portion
of the story, Litha's pregnancy developed at an alarming rate.
Since there had been no previous instance of progeny with the
baby's genetic heritage, no one knew what to expect. The baby
arrived months ahead of schedule. The birth was dramatic and unique
because Storm's and Litha's new daughter, Elora Rose, "Rosie",
skipped the usual delivery with a twelve inch ride through the
passes and appeared on the outside of Litha’s body.
PREFACE I
Stagsnare Dimension
Archer jerked awake when
the science fiction book he was reading fell from his hand. He'd
been having trouble sleeping ever since a team of twenty of the
Ralengclan's finest had left on a mission to assassinate the last
surviving member of the Laiwynn clan, Elora Laiken. That was three
weeks ago. None had returned. All were presumed dead.