The pagan festival of Samhain is upon us. For Melinda Walker, it will be her first festival where she is of age to partake in the ceremonies. But when she is introduced to a dark and seductive warlock, she willing follows him down a path that leads her to trifle with the veil that separates the mortal and spiritual realms. Can she return the natural order of things before the end of all hallows, or will she be stuck in the realm of spirits for all eternity....
Darkness and fog covered me like a blanket. I could barely see my pale hand in front of my eyes through the gloom. Heavy clouds blocked out any sign of light from the moon and stars above casting the worlds into an eery shadow. A raven cawed out in the night close by. Its wind flutter into the night as it took flight.
I step forward cautiously. Trying to make sense of where I was.
The only noise could be heard was the crunching of twigs and dry leaves beneath my feet as I find my way through the darkness. My hands outstretched as I felt for obstacles.
I eventually make my way out of the tree line and into a large clearing, a fire burning bright in the middle of the open space. Stepping towards it, I began to recognise where I was. It was the clearing that my coven used for ceremonial rituals.
The raven sat on a stump off wood that had been cut up to be used a seat, its beady eyes watching me, fire dancing in their reflection. It cawed at once again, taunting me with its high-pitched calls.
The fire burnt bright, roaring up into the dark sky. Smoke filled the air and settled onto the ground. The fog around me wasn't fog at all. It was smoke.
It began to settle into my lungs, depriving me of oxygen. I cough, trying to clear my airways as it felt it start to suffocate me.
My vision began to blur, as a figure stepped out of the fire. I reached out a hand for something to steady myself. Only to be caught by the man before me.
"Melinda!" The voice called at me through the smog and buzzing in my head. "Melinda, you must be careful."
I look at the figure confused. His face was shrouded by a heavy black hood, giving him the appearance of a reaper.
"They are coming for you, Melinda." The voice came again.
"Who? Who is coming for me?" I tried to question the hooded man, but my throat felt thick and the words stuck in my mouth.
"Beware of the man with the tear shaped scar." The voice spoke again, before it started to step back towards the raging fire. "Melinda!"
I shake my head trying to clear the fog settling there. My tongue feeling fuzzy and a headache pounding behind me eyes.
The hooded man had all but disappeared into the night, yet the voice kept coming...
"Melinda!"
The fog and smoke began to draw me under its spell, and light began to penetrate the through the clouds. My vision came back into focus as I force my eyes open only to find my Aunt Tibby stood directly in front of me, a scowl plastered to her face as she shook me until my teeth rattled in my head.
"Melinda Walker!" She shouted, her voice stern and her expression exasperated. "How many times do I need to call your name before you wake up? Honestly Mel, anyone would think you are still a child!"
"Aunt Tibby? I just had the weirdest dream." I rub my eyes trying to clear the last reminisce of clouded vision that still lingered in the corner.
"Oooh." She cooed, "I love a good dream story. Perhaps it's a foreshadowing? Common then, what did you dream about?" She asked settling down on the edge of my bed and staring at me with anticipation. She grabbed a cushion off of the floor and cuddled it as she settled in to listen.
I laugh at her. Only Aunt Tibby could be cross one moment and then act like my best friend the next. At the age of 38, she had never really truly grown up. My mum was always the sensible one of the two. Tibby, well she just wanted to be everyone's friend.
She was two years older than my mother, and about ten years younger in metal attitude. My mum, Cassidy Walker had me when she was 18. She was the best. She was a calm motherly type. She never cross, well not that I can remember. And she loved getting involved in all the "mumsy" type things. Like school projects, cooking, fun crafting activities. Aunt Tibby called her super mum. She was a Water witch, and with it she was graceful and allowed like to just wash up around her.
Aunt Tibby? Well, she was the exact opposite. As I say, she never really grew up. She left Echo Falls straight out of school and moved to Bath where she set up her own organic herbal remedy company. She created cosmetics and creams which tourist lapped up. She was actually quite business savvy. But she also enjoyed a carefree lifestyle and above all things... she loved to have fun!
When she wasn't making lavender face masks and rose hip lip treatments, she was out partying and finding a gazillion different men to take home for the night. So, I'm sure you can imagine her joy when my mother passed away and she was left as my soul guardian.
For once, she had responsibility. Which meant selling up her cosmetic shop and moving back to our sleepy little tourist town in middle of absolutely nowhere. And for 13 years she had tried to be a responsible adult for me.
On the whole, she was great, but on the rear occasion she was pissed off, let's just say you knew about it. My God you did not want to get on the wrong side of Tabitha Walker.
Her power stemmed from the element of fire. And with her power, her temperament matched perfectly. She was feisty, easily angered and blew up when got going. But overall she was pretty chilled out. Not a lot fazed her in general, and she was easy going with what I did in my own personal life. That was as long as I wasn't late for work.
"Common," She pushes impatiently, "lets be having it then."
I reel off the details of the dream. How I felt suffocated and that the strange man with no face told me to be aware of the stranger with a tear shaped scare.
"A tear shaped scar? That's very specific?" Tibby said, her top lip curling up as she thought over what I had said. Oh, by the way, Aunt Tibby was legendary when it came to dream interpretations. Some called her a seer, she even read tarots. The tourists that passed through Echo falls loved it. But this time, I seemed to have stumped her.
"No words of wisdom for me Aunt Tibby?" I ask her sarcastically. She knew that I was always a little dubious of her "gifts". We may me witches, but even witches were renowned for exploiting their abilities and profiteering from them.
"Well, actually yes I do." She replied, with her tongue sticking out at me. "Firstly, the raven is an omen, generally a bad one. It can mean that evil will soon be crossing your path. Secondly the man without a face. Well, I would have said that he is someone who is either in your life, or that you will soon meet, but he is not yet ready to reveal himself. All in all, I think its pretty obvious that the dream was a warning, even to those of us that don't believe." She said with a roll of her eyes and cushion launched in my direction.
I laugh at her, rolling back into my bed as the cushion hit me in the face.
"Gee, thanks Aunt Tibby, I feel supper better now."
"Just get up, lazy bones! You have 30 minutes until the store is due to open and it is the start of the October half term, so its gonna be a busy one." She scolds me as she jumps up off of the bed and heads for the door.
"What do I look like to you? It's you turn to open up this morning anyway!" I respond with foe annoyance.
"Nuh-huh, I opened up last weekend. Its your turn Mel." She stops at the door and turns back to me adding with a smile. "Oh, and don't forget to stay away from strange men with weird scars." She gives me a wink and disappears, shutting the door behind her.
I roll back with a sigh and pull the covers over my head.
"I hate working weekends!" I moan into my duvet, before forcing myself to get up and start getting ready for the day.
Rosalie has crossed over the void of time, and overcome a mountain of obstacles to find her one true mate Alexander Black. She has given up everything she holds dear to be with him. But fate is now beginning to catch up with the Black family. Whilst Alexander is faced with a rival from the past, baying for his crown, Rosalie is dealing with a foe much closer to home... Rosalie is a white wolf, the Goddess' own assassin and protector of the werewolf species. Will Rosalie find the power within to defeat a new dark evil? In order to save the life she has made for herself in the past, she will now have to once more leave everything she loves behind and venture back to the future to defeat what lurks in the shadows..... Landon Coombes has know that Rosalie Summers was his second chance mate the moment that he laid eyes on her. But when she mysteriously disappeared without explanation, he begins to fear that he will be alone forever. That is until Rosalie reappears just as unexpectedly as she left. Landon finds himself doing all that he can to help Rosalie defeat a new dark evil which threatens to destroy the Eclipse pack forever, all in the hopes of proving how much he cares for her. But Rosalie is nursing a broken heart, can Landon be the glue to hold her together once again, or are somethings just too hard to put back together?
At 28 Rosalie Summers has still not found her mate, she has all but given up looking. With her brother now Alpha of the pack, Rosalie is free to follow her own path. But when her path takes her to the heart of the rugged English countryside her life changes in more ways than one. Has her mate been hiding in a completely different century? What will she do when she discovers him, return home to her own time and loving family, or give up everything to live in a more rugged and simplistic way.
Avalon Taylor is one of the best Hunters that has graduated from the academy in a century. But when her past life collides with her new she realises that the world was not so full of darkness as she was lead to believe. Are the true monsters those who have raised her for the last 10 years? Her fate is entwined with another, will she find out the truth of her parents death before the world of creatures is snuffed out forever?
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
For three years, Shane and Yvonne were wed, sharing heated nights, while his devotion clung to his ex. Yvonne strove to be a dutiful wife, yet their marriage felt hollow, built on desire rather than real warmth. All changed when she became pregnant, only for Shane to thrust her onto the operating table, warning, “Either you or the baby survives!” Broken by his cruelty, she vanished in grief and later returned, radiantly accomplished, leaving everyone awestruck. Haunted by remorse, Shane begged for another chance, but Yvonne only smiled and replied, “I’m sorry, men no longer interest me.”
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."
"Carroll Brown is dead! But you have to marry him in your sister's name." My mother said to me in a cold tone. My sister was engaged to the hottest billionaire. It should have been a perfect marriage. Unexpectedly, Carroll was dead in an accident. My sister didn't want to become a widow, so she forced me to marry her dead fiance. And I had no right to refuse her. Actually, I was the biological daughter of the Smith family. My sister was an adoptive one. My sister and I had been swapped at the hospital when we were just born. My parents had already had a deep relationship with her. So they chose to sacrifice me. On the wedding day, I was taken to the mourning hall. "Ma'am, please keep Master company and let him feel warm." The housekeeper said with a cold expression. I couldn't help but look up at the portrait above the coffin, and my heart skipped a beat at this glance. The man in the portrait was more handsome than the superstars in Hollywood. Carroll Brown? My dead husband? Wow, he was really handsome! I didn't know how long had passed when my stomach began to rebel. After one glance at the coffin, I swallowed my saliva and then begged with my fingers crossed. "Mr. Carroll, I'm starving! May I eat your pastries? You don't mind, do you?" "I do." "Ah!" Scared, I broke out in a cold sweat. My legs went limp, and I fell to the ground. I shouted, "Ghost!" Carroll curled his lips, leaned over, and touched the black coffin. "Mr. Carroll has risen from the dead. What do you think of this headline tomorrow?"