New Beginnings (22 page)

“You stress too much, sis. Fallon isn’t
going to give you grief. Now let’s go so Vic and I can go find a
little action of our own.” She wrinkled her nose. “By the way, you
two are so sickeningly in love it’s disgusting. Just thought I’d
mention that.”

“You’re just jealous,” she snorted. “You
should have seen Fallon when she realized Gregory was why I
left.”

Victoria took her arm, and gently pulled her
toward the door. “I have a feeling that had more to do with that
pathetic excuse for a wolf than the fact Gregory was an Alpha.”

“You don’t know Fallon,” Jess shook her head
and snapped her gaze to Jamie. “Just promise. Please.”

“Fine. Now let’s go.”

“Alright.” She wanted this to be perfect for
Slater. It was his idea to go through with a wedding, and the idea
had grown on her.

* * * *

She was taking forever. Slater glanced at
his watch and realized she still had ten minutes to be on time. He
took a deep breath and called Brody again. The only reason he
didn’t bring Brody was because he hadn’t been keen on coming to
Vegas for a wedding.

Brody answered with an amused tone, “Slater,
give the woman a chance. It’s not even time.”

He grumbled, “How do you know that’s why I’m
calling.”

“I hear you pacing. Maybe I should have
come.”

“No, you were right. You just became second,
and it might give the wrong impression if I took the next in
command with me. There’s always some uproar after a change like
that, but so far things seem to be going smoothly.

Brody sighed. “Well, nothing is going on out
here. So, don’t worry about us. And Jess will be there anytime. You
won’t want to be on the phone for that.”

“Right. I’ll talk to you later, Brody.”

“Enjoy your wedding, old man. I’m sure it
will be your last.” Brody hung up, but at least he sounded
okay.

Slater nodded and slipped his phone back
into his pocket. After a deep breath, he walked up to the
altar.

Now if Jess would just hurry up. He was
worried she might change her mind at the last second. She fought so
hard in the beginning, and he thought she was done. What if he was
wrong?

Then the music started, and the doors to the
chapel opened. She stepped through and he only saw her. He knew in
theory that Victoria and Jamie were with her, but wow, Jess just
took his breath away.

She walked in like a dream come true, and
Slater could only stare as his whole world walked towards him. Her
radiant smile stole his breath, and he knew that this moment was
worth it. There would be no forgetting their wedding.

She stepped up beside him, and he felt
Victoria nearby but couldn’t look away from his bride.

Biting her lip, she reached up and pushed
his chin back up. “Thank you, babe. That’s a great compliment.”

“Oh wow.” He would have closed his eyes, but
then he couldn’t absorb the vision she made.

She grinned, and rose up to brush a kiss
over his lips. “Ready for the officialdom?”

“Yeah. It was my idea. What about you?” he
whispered back.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” She glanced at the
pastor. “Go on, we’re ready.”

The little man smiled at Jess and began the
ceremony. It flew by, but he was so lost in her crystal blue gaze,
that he didn’t care.

As soon as the words, “You may kiss the
bride,” were out of the pastor’s mouth, Slater took her in his arms
and laid a slow sensuous kiss on her.

Victoria finally cleared her throat. “We
best leave before you two sully the nearest surface.”

Jess pulled away with a breathless chuckle.
“Mmm, but maybe first we should enjoy a toast.” She frowned over at
Victoria. “Just one question, what are you drinking?”

She smirked, “Don’t worry, I have my drink
of choice waiting at the bar.”

“Ooh, does he have a friend?” Jamie asked
with a twinkle in her eye.

Slater leaned in and breathed in Jess’
scent. Then he whispered in her ear, “I hope Victoria finds someone
to occupy your sister so I can get you alone.”

“Jamie will find a man on her own. She can
always find the horniest bastard. It’s part of her gift.”

He couldn’t help wondering what that meant
as his brow wrinkled.

“I see the future,” Jess said before
glancing at her twin. “She feels what you feel. It made for an
interesting childhood.”

“An empath? I thought they were rare.”

“We are,” Jamie snickered. “Don’t forget,
I’m a wolf too.”

The pastor chuckled, “Good luck you two. May
you have many happy years.” He left and Victoria nodded toward the
doors.

As a group, they went to the bar. Victoria
pulled Jamie down the counter with her.

Jess tiptoed up, and breathed into his ear,
“Now is our chance.” She threaded her fingers through his and
pulled him toward the elevator.

* * * *

They barely made it into the elevator before
his mouth was on hers and his hands were under the long skirt and
smoothing up her old fashioned stocking legs. Jess was going to
have to thank Victoria for that wonderful idea because his
impatient growl proved he liked them.

His fingers found the end of the stocking,
and traveled the strap up to the garter belt that matched the rest
of her undergarments. Sliding his fingers into her slick heat he
groaned, “Oh Jess, why didn’t you tell me you were bare here.” He
pressed two fingers deep, wrenching a moan from her lips.

“Need you, now,” she whimpered.

“Not in here,” he pulled his hands from her
and let her dress fall into place as he sucked her juices from his
fingers.

The elevator stopped and he dragged her out,
and when she didn’t move fast enough in her heels, he threw her
over his shoulder and carried her to their room.

It gave her one nice view of his ass. She
reached down to smack it as he fumbled with the key to get the door
opened. Then he stepped inside, popped the Do Not Disturb sign on
the knob and then kicked the door shut.

When he set her down, he raised a brow as he
walked around her, but he was frowning when he stepped in front of
her. “I want to savor you, but I don’t see a way to get you out of
that dress without tearing it.”

She licked her lips and reached up to where
the zipper was hidden on the side. He stepped closer and moved her
hands with a devilish smirk.

“Let me,” he told her. Slowly, he slid the
zipper down and let the silk gown fall to her feet.

“Mmm, Jess.” His voice was rough but he
touched her tenderly as he traced the outline of the white lace
strapless bra. She loved the way he devoured her with his gaze.

“Now, Slater.” She started to remove all the
layers of his tux, one by one with a little smile, “As much as I
love you in a tux, it will be so much better without.”

“We’re taking our time,” he purred in her
ear. “We have plenty of that now, love.”

“We do.” She got his cufflinks off and
pushed the shirt, vest and jacket off before running her nails down
his chest and every ridge of his abs to his belt.

“Good, because I don’t think I’ll ever get
enough of you,” he promised.

“You never have to.”

Brandy L Rivers is the author of the Others of
Edenton Series. She wrote the series slightly out of order because
In Too Deep was just the first one to come to her. This is the
prequel. In Too Deep was the first book, but it takes place two
years later.

Shadows of the past will hopefully be out late
November. It will cover Hayden and Amethyst.

As an avid reader, Brandy has always loved writing.
She became serious about it as a stay-at-home-mother. She has a
file full of manuscripts she plans to edit and put out there
eventually.

She lives in Western Washington with her husband and
three kids, where she is already working on the future stories in
the series.

If you are interested in receiving emails about
future book releases, please sign up for her email distribution
list by visiting her site at:
www.brandylrivers.com

You can also find her on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/brandylrivers

And at Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BrandyLRivers

Abyss -
Faerie version of hell. It is a dark,
desolate wasteland. Also used as a swear word by fae.

Alpha
– The leader of a werewolf pack. Usually
the most dominant wolf in a group.

Alpha Voice
– A command given by the Alpha
using pack magic. The command forces a single or multiple wolves to
obey.

Dales
– Group of vampires and dark mages that
run an illegal fighting ring for Others. The majority of the
competitors are Others that have been abducted and forced to fight
either through blackmail or mind control. They were a problem ten
years before but disappeared until recently.

Druids
- Humans who possess mostly nature
magic. They aren’t as common as mages. Most tend to stick to other
druids. They cast mostly earth and air spells, though most can
manipulate fire and water. Druids can shift into most animals with
practice.

Earth Faerie
– A fae descended from the earth
kingdom of faerie. Their powers include superhuman strength and
super sensitive hearing, smell and sight. Most can manipulate the
earth itself, or create compounds of rock from dust or dirt. Some
are able to communicate with animals.

Mages
– Humans who possess elemental magic.
They can either sling spells like weapons or heal, though it is
rare for a mage to be a healer.

Mate
– Werewolves, and some other creatures
sometimes create a bond with their soul mate. The bond is nearly
impossible to break unless one party dies. The bound couple will
sometimes feel what the other is feeling, or sense the danger the
other is in.

Others
- Any being that isn’t quite human.
Werewolves, vampires, shaman, druid, mages, witches, warlocks, fae
are just some examples.

Pack
– Or werewolf pack is a group of
werewolves in an area. The size of the pack determines to size of
the region. Werewolves in a pack have a hierarchal structure based
on the creature’s innate dominance. Usually there is an Alpha who
is the leader, and several enforcers who enforce the will of the
leader, and the rest of the werewolves. Every pack is run
differently

Pack Enforcer
– Werewolves high in the pack
hierarchy who carry out the alphas orders or discipline.

Sealed Bond
– Some mated werewolves will form
a sealed bond that is stronger than that of a ate bond.

Silver
– Wereanimals have an aversion to
silver. It burns, and wounds caused by silver weapons or bullets
are much slower to heal than a normal wound

Shaman
– Humans who possess nature magic.
Similar to druids, but not the same. Most shaman can shift into a
specific animal.

Silver Council
– Organization of mages. They
are the governing force of most Others. Not everyone recognize
them, but they try to police all Others. The Silver Council is
mostly made up of formally trained mages. They occasionally will
employ other casters.

Silver Council Enforcer
– The mages who police
Others.

Wereanimal
– Any type of wereanimal.
Werewolves are the most common. Werecats probably second. They are
stronger and faster than your average human. There are rare cases
of other wereanimals. Each species varies in what it may or may not
be able to do. These creatures heal most wounds incredibly
fast.

Werecat
– Any wereanimal that turns into some
form of cat. Lion, tiger, leopard are just some examples. Werecat
strains of lycanthropy are harder to catch. They tend to be more
patient than most wereanimals. They are extremely fast. Unlike
werewolves, they tend to be solitary, though sometimes form clans
that are spread out over great distances, and will sometimes meet
and hunt together, but for the most part have no structured
clan.

Werewolves
– Specific type of wereanimal. A
werewolf is created when a werewolf in either its beast form or
half-man form bites and sometimes scratches a human. They are
incredibly strong, and faster than a normal human. Powerful
werewolves can not only shift into their wolf form but a form
bigger than human, covered in fur with enormous claws and bestial
head. Their sense of smell and sight are very strong, especially in
their beast forms.

Witch
– A human who is highly sensitive to
magic, and can cast a limited amount of magic. Abilities vary from
clairvoyance, empath, telekinesis, various other psychic abilities.
Most are adept at potions that combine natural ingredients with
magic.

Vampire
– There are several varieties of
vampire. They live off human or Other blood. For the most part, are
highly allergic to sun. They are incredibly fast, and each breed
possesses a different set of abilities.

Others of Edenton: Book 1

Preview Chapter 1

Copyright 2013 Brandy L Rivers

The night was fitting. Cold and dark, just
like her mood. She was finally leaving all the drama behind. Fallon
had no clue where she was going but she had put an entire day’s
motorcycle ride between her and all of Isaac’s shit.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, but she
was in no mood listen to Isaac beg her to come back. Because
really, who else would it be? The prick had only called about
twenty times, and she had already heard all the weak-ass excuses
she could stand from the weretiger.