(Taken 5): A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novella
Paranormal Women's Fiction / Urban Fantasy
Date to be Published: February 16, 2024
Publisher: Changeling Press, LLC
Preston, son of Hermes, has a secret. He’s been cursed to live as a satyr -- a monster with a dubious job he hates. He knows love is not in his future. Can’t be.
Then he meets Lulu -- the daughter of a witch and Elf. A woman unsure of her place in the world. Luna has come back to Eerie to hide and heal, but a chance meeting with sorcerers and being thrown together with Preston changes everything. Love may be possible if only Luna can open her heart and change Preston’s mind.
EXCERPT
Copyright ©2024 Megan Slayer
Back to the old homestead. Lulu snorted and pulled onto the dirt road leading to the witch enclave. She wasn’t a witch herself. Hell, she wasn’t even sure what she was -- the daughter of a witch and an elf. Did that make her a Wilf? An Elch? She had magic, but she wasn’t good with spells. She couldn’t bake for shit and refused to live in a tree.
She drove the mucky path passing for a street to the house she’d grown up in. When she’d left for college, she’d been so wide-eyed and excited. So ready to embrace the world.
Then Tom happened. He’d consumed her life. He made her feel things. Showed her there was more to life, but most of it wasn’t good. He needed control.
Of course, he did.
Being a sorcerer, he lived for control.
Every time she looked back on her last few years, she winced. She’d been so naive. She’d let him do all the things he’d done because she thought she loved him.
He’d never loved her.
But that didn’t matter now. She’d broken free from his control, and he’d moved on to his next victim.
She stopped in her parents’ driveway, but her thoughts clogged her mind. She’d considered his next girlfriend a victim. God. What a piece of work Tom was!
That didn’t matter. She’d come home. She’d gone back to what she knew so she could heal her heart.
She left the car and strode over to the barn. Poofs of colored smoke shot from the chimney. Her mother must be creating.
She spied the plants in the field. Her father had finally got the crops out on time. Good for him. A smile pulled at her lips. At least someone had their life going in the right direction.
She’d figure hers out soon enough.
She diverted from the barn and made her way over to the field. She breathed in the clean scent of the crops. Eerie was a hot mess at times, but it was also the place for paranormals to be themselves. It was a safe place.
She’d thought she needed a place to run away to, but not when home called. It wasn’t like she had a lost love back home. She’d never had a boyfriend when she’d been in Eerie. She hadn’t been enough of a paranormal -- not looking like an elf or witch. She’d been too normal and teased for her appearance. Being different hadn’t bothered her, though. She shook her head. She’d pulled herself up and grown. She wasn’t the same girl who’d left town.
“You made it.” Daff, her father, bounded up to her. “Got a lot to move in?”
“I’m not moving in, Daddy.” She’d found an apartment on March Avenue, above a bakery. Sue her for liking the smells.
“I didn’t think you would be, but I cleaned up the second floor just in case.” He wiped his hands on a towel hanging from his pocket. “What are you planning to do?”
“I’m living in the Towers. Fourth floor. I’ll get the keys this evening. It’s furnished so I don’t have to move anything but my clothes.” She’d worked out a deal with Marina, her second cousin, to get the last furnished unit.
“Good. I’m glad.” Her father hesitated. “Are you having a roommate?”
“No.”
“Are you sure? A witch alone?” Her father shook his head. “We have room.”
“You do, but I need to do this on my own.” She hugged him. “But I appreciate the concern. I’m only a call away.”
“I know,” her father said. “Got a job yet?”
“At Linc’s.” She wasn’t sure working at a bar was smart, but it was a job.
“The bar?”
“In the restaurant. I head there next.” She stepped back. “Just wanted to see you and Mom. I can use all the anchors I can get.” She needed them.
“You’re always welcome here.”
“I know. Is Mom around?” She hadn’t seen her and her mother tended to be the center of attention.
“She’s mixing spells with Grinella.”
She should’ve guessed. “She spends a lot of time there with her.”
“She does.”
Sadness tinged his voice and she hesitated. “To the exclusion of you?”
“A bit.”
“Daddy.” She wasn’t sure what to do to help him.
“She needs to find herself, so I’m letting her.”
“But you’re unhappy.” She would be, too.
“I am, but I’ll be here for her.”
“What do you want? For you? Not for Mom?”
He stared at her. “I never thought about it.”
“I know.” She sat beside him on the fence. “What do you want?”
“To farm. To have my animals and work the land. To feel the earth in my hands. To be loved,” he said. “All those things.”
“Then that’s what you should do. All of those things. Have you told Mom you don’t feel loved?”
“She’s never home and when she is, she’s drifting. It’s like I can’t reach her.”
“You need to try and tell her.” She hugged him. “I didn’t tell Reuben how I felt and it made life miserable. It would’ve changed so much and might have kept me from dating Tom.” Might have made her life better.
“I will.”
“You need to.” She sighed. “I’ll check on you, but I need to get to work.”
“Go ahead. I’ll be okay.” He nodded. “It’ll always be okay.”
“You’re sure?”
“I am.” He offered a sad smile. “Go. Get your life going.”
“I will.” She hesitated before heading to her car. She wanted to be there for her dad. To help him have the best. For both him and her mother. She loved them and they did love each other, but they weren’t good at communicating. Right now, they seemed pulled apart. Sort of like her situation with Reuben. He’d felt abandoned and used that feeling to walk away. He claimed he had to find his happiness. He hadn’t cared that she was confused by her own feelings and overwhelmed. He didn’t care that she wasn’t sure how to deal with stress, but he wanted what he wanted when he wanted it, and if someone argued, they were wrong. Not him.
She’d been wrong often. But she hadn’t told him how she’d felt.
She slid behind the wheel, then left the farm. Dust swirled in her wake. Gravel crunched under her tires. A sense of freedom washed over her. She was her own woman. No Tom or Reuben to stand in her way. A single lady. And it was time she found her own happy.
Not at a bar, but that was a job. She drove across Eerie, passing the woods, the lake with light sparkling on the water and so peaceful. She’d never been much of a nature lover, but she appreciated the solitude and ability to get lost in the woods to center herself.
She continued to the east end of town. Most residents hated the east end because of the rough crowd that tended to frequent the area. The bars and dance halls were there. So was the bail bondsman’s office.
She parked in the lot behind the bar in the staff area. The hotel stood behind the bar and seemed to groan in the late afternoon sun. She didn’t know many of the vehicles, but she hadn’t worked there yet. She hadn’t met the gang. Being hired the day before made knowing people difficult. She left her car and locked it, then ventured into the building.
“Hi.” A blond man with a dirty T-shirt stood by the kitchen sink. “First day?”
“It is.” She recognized the man. The satyr. She thought his name was Stav. Or something like that. “You’re here today?” She’d been warned against him.
“Always.” He grinned and dried his hands. “My brother owns the bar. I’m sure Lance hired you.”
“He did.” The easy conversation reassured her. “He mentioned his baby brother.”
“Good or bad?” A wicked glimmer filled his eyes.
“A little bit of both.”
About the Author
Megan Slayer, aka Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and white hot themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been nominated at the LRC for Best Author, Best Contemporary, Best Ménage, Best BDSM and Best Anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on various e-tailer sites.
When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice. She’s an active member of the Friends of the Keystone-LaGrange Public library.
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