Saving Eira: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Novel (Fated Seasons: Winter Book 1) Read online

  Saving Eira

  Laura Greenwood

  Contents

  Saving Eira

  Copyright

  A Note on Language

  Warning

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  The End

  Author’s Note

  Related Books

  Chasing Aledwen

  About the Author

  Danny’s Dance by Arizona Tape

  Danny’s Dance

  Saving Eira

  Fated Seasons #1

  Laura Greenwood

  Copyright

  © 2017 Laura Greenwood

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission of the published, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address; [email protected].

  Cover Design by: Arizona Tape (yes, she’s amazing isn’t she? She also might be reading this…I hope so! HI Ari!)

  Visit Laura Greenwood’s website at:

  www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk

  www.facebook.com/authorlauragreenwood/

  Saving Eira is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  To My Future Husband,

  Sorry, how you’re going to live up to the men in my head is a mystery to me. Good luck!

  A Note on Language

  Please note that the author of this book is from the UK, and as such, spellings and some turns of phrase will appear in British English.

  Warning

  Saving Eira is a paranormal reverse harem. There are three love interests, and the heroine doesn’t have to choose between them…is this a warning really? Or more like a promise? Hmm…good question, but Eira’s still not choosing.

  Blurb

  Sometimes life just doesn't seem to go to plan. With having to make sure the frosts come on time, Eira already has her hands full, then she goes and adds a neighbour she's in love with, a cocky vampire, and a pesky half-summer fae that just won't leave her alone...

  As a descendant of Jack Frost, Eira's only job is to make sure the frost arrives on time. Well not her only job, but her most important one. And when they don't, it's a race against time to get them back. Because if the seasons don't change...well it's best not to go there.

  Saving Eira is a RH set in the Paranormal Council Universe and is the first book in the Fated Seasons series.

  One

  Eira glanced sideways at her sister, glaring ever so slightly. Isolde had no idea how easy she had it. There weren’t any expectations on her to continue the family tradition of making sure the frosts came and went. Damn the thirty-two minutes between Eira’s birth and her twin’s.

  “I just don’t know if it’s what I want to do,” Isolde said, letting out a deep sigh.

  “How will you know if you don’t try, Izzy?”

  “I just have a feeling.” Izzy shrugged, the look on her face infuriating Eira.

  “A vision?” she asked carefully, knowing that Izzy’s visions weren’t something to mess with. Well, really, they should have been Eira’s visions. There should never have been two of them, and no one had quite known how the powers of their ancestor, Jack Frost, would manifest in the two girls. As it turned out, Eira had all the powers but one; precognition. Izzy had that, plus a sprinkling of snow magic.

  “No, just a feeling.”

  Eira was torn. On the one hand, she probably shouldn’t be dismissing Izzy’s feelings, but the older sister in her was desperate to. “What are your other options?” she asked, trying to stay level headed and wishing beyond anything that their Mother hadn’t died when they were born.

  “I don’t know, work I guess.” Izzy shrugged again like they weren’t discussing something life changing like her time at university.

  “Stick with it. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” Izzy opened her mouth to respond, and Eira held up her hand to stop her. “No, listen don’t speak. Stick with it, but if you want to work, then find yourself something in the meantime. Maybe it’ll help you decide.” Izzy nodded.

  “You always know what to say.”

  “It’s the big sister in me,” Eira said playfully.

  “You’re thirty minutes older than I am,” Izzy protested.

  “Thirty-two.”

  Izzy rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way that Eira knew was just fun.

  “I’ll see you later sis,” Izzy said, giving Eira a swift kiss on the cheek before leaving through the door behind her.

  Sighing, Eira flopped down onto the faded brown sofa that she kept more for comfort than anything else. It was threadbare, but she didn’t want to part ways with it.

  A sharp knock broke through Eira’s zoning out and she groaned, trying to push herself upright. Before she could, her front door swung inwards and a strong pair of man’s legs entered her vision. She closed her eyes, not wanting to suffer through the normal effects that came from seeing Josh.

  He was her best friend, and therein lay the problem. She hadn’t seen him as just a best friend in three years. Basically, since the moment she turned eighteen and properly came into her powers. Every time he entered the room, Eira’s mouth went dry and her pulse began to pound; clearly not the response she wanted to have to someone who had been with her through everything. Especially when he seemed so completely unaffected by her.

  “Eira,” he said, his deep voice travelling through her.

  “Josh,” she replied, not opening her eyes.

  “Was that Izzy I just saw leaving?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  “What did she want this time?”

  “To leave university and do something,” she muttered bitterly. She hated how flighty her sister could be at times, especially as it ended up meaning that Eira had to be even more level headed than normal. Josh chuckled.

  “Well thought out then.”

  “That’s Izzy for you.” A nudge came against Eira’s legs and she opened her eyes to find a pair of piercing green eyes looking down at her. She almost shook her head, catching herself just in time. It wouldn’t do to give Josh any kind of idea how affected she was by him.

  “Budge up,” he said. She scooted herself back so that she was just on one side of the sofa. Josh flopped down beside her, seeming to take up far more than half of the space due to his broad shoulders. She didn’t think he even worked out, he was just naturally muscly, making it even trickier to ignore him. “What’s the plan for tonight?” he asked.

  “Do we have to do anything?” She groaned. It’d already been a long day what with her shift at the café, and then dealing w
ith Izzy.

  “Yes, you know you need to blow off steam.”

  “More like you want a blow,” she muttered. Josh gave her a weak smile, almost like he didn’t want to admit it either way.

  “Not as much as you do. Come on, let’s go get you laid.” Pain lanced through Eira’s heart at the words. It wasn’t the concept that she had any problem with, more that he was so happy for her too.

  “I guess so,” she agreed reluctantly.

  “Well that’s enthusiastic.” If she actually looked over at him then she was sure that she’d find a raised eyebrow and an incredulous look on his face. Which she kind of got. Somewhere in her family history there was some succubus blood, and every now and again it came the forefront. It hadn’t in a while, and knowing Josh, he’d probably been tracking the sex cycle. She wasn’t even sure when they’d started calling it that, but it sounded better than referring to herself as a slut, so it had stuck.

  “I’m just not feeling it.”

  “You’re three weeks too late not to be feeling it.”

  Eira sat up and looked directly at him, surprised to find he looked so serious. Normally Josh was the jokey kind of boy next door. He took life as it came and didn’t think too deeply about anything. Except her sex life it seemed. Just not in the way she wanted him to be thinking about it. A flash of the two of them in bed together went through her mind, and she pushed it away. That was the kind of fantasy she should save until she was in bed alone and not when Josh was sitting next to her. Otherwise she’d end up doing something they’d both regret.

  “It hasn’t been three weeks,” she said, pouting at him. Josh smiled knowingly.

  “It has, and we both know it. Now get your sexy ass into your room and put on that slinky silver thing you love.”

  “Thing? You mean dress?”

  “It’s not a dress if it shows off your underwear. Now go.” He looked so stern that Eira let out an involuntary giggle. She’d never admit it to anyone, not even her sister, but she liked it when Josh got bossy.

  She pushed herself off the sofa and walked towards her room, making a conscious effort to sashay her hips. Josh might not be into her like that, but he was still a man, and it really had been three weeks. Her body was primed for seduction and there was nothing that she could do to avoid that.

  She walked over to her wardrobe and opened it, going straight towards the section where she kept her dresses, comfortable in the knowledge that her organisation system made things simple to find. She pulled it out and brushed it down, a smile curling at the side of her lips. Josh was right, this thing barely covered her. And she loved it. She lost the comfortable jeans and t-shirt she was wearing, before deciding to change her underwear as well. Her choice for the day had been pretty lace, but this dress needed something a little sexier. Hell, Eira needed something sexier. Plus, she couldn’t wear a bra with this one. Not that she needed to anyway. Her breasts were certainly erring on the small size, though at least they were pert.

  After slipping on the dress, and a lacey black thong, she shook out her hair from its ponytail, running her fingers through the pale strands. Her hair was just a shade blonder than white, and it was almost impossible to tell the difference in some lights. After a moment’s contemplation she decided that even attempting to tame it wasn’t worth the effort, and left it in it’s natural ringlets. Slicking on some eyeliner and a smudge of lipstick, she shrugged to herself in the mirror. This was as good as it was going to get. Not that she needed anymore. With the pheromones she was giving off, there was next to no chance that she’d survive a night out without getting any attention.

  She walked out into her living room at the same time that Josh came back in, clearly having got changed himself. His dark jeans and shirt suited him perfectly and he ran his hand through his dark hair as she took him in. She nodded once, giving her seal of approval to his outfit and he sighed in relief. It was a ritual they always went through when they were getting ready to go out, though she’d only actually sent him to change once in the entire time they’d known each other.

  “Damn, E, there’s no chance you won’t get any tonight.” He wolf-whistled and she tried to scowl at him, but failed, giving him a half-smirk instead. She knew Josh too well to actually take.

  “Damn is right,” she said, grabbing a clutch bag from her coffee table as she passed. While she was normally a neat person, she seemed to have forgotten to put it away. Luckily, it matched her dress and already had money and her ID in it. All she needed to do now was add her phone and she was all set to go.

  Two

  Eira slammed the shot glass down on the bar, reaching instantly for the next one until Josh’s hand closed around hers.

  “Enough.”

  “Nuh-uh.” Eira shook her head. No way was Josh going to interrupt her drinking.

  “Eira...”

  “You wanted me to come out and get laid, so that’s what I’m doing.”

  “This isn’t getting laid E, this is getting so drunk you can’t stand.” He looked so concerned that she almost caved. She also almost told him all the things she’d kept bottled up inside for the years they’d known each other. But that was probably better saved for another time. Instead, she chose to ignore him, and pushed her way past onto the dance floor, swaying her hips and enjoying the music as she did. It must be something to do with her succubus side, but music really tended to get her going.

  Josh scowled at her from his place by the bar, his eyes not leaving her body. She secretly enjoyed it, but mostly because it meant that he wasn’t looking at other women.

  Strong hands rested on her hips, and she leaned back into the hard chest behind her. Swaying with the music, she felt the tell-tale hint of arousal pressing into her back. She closed her eyes, enjoying the attention. Opening them again, she looked back over at Josh to see him glaring daggers at the man behind her. Good. If he didn’t want her, then he couldn’t stop her wanting anyone else.

  Kisses trailed along her neck before the man nipped her skin. Lost in the sensations, and the booze she’d drunk, she went along with it, leaning her neck to the side to allow him better access.

  “No,” a male voice shouted, and a swift brush of air passed Eira’s cheek had her eyes flying open to see a blond-haired man’s fist fly into the face of the man behind her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Josh pushing away from the bar and making his way towards them as quickly as possible.

  “What the hell Rueben?” the man from behind Eira asked. They looked similar, almost as if they were brothers. But she couldn’t really be sure in the dim light.

  “Outside,” Rueben hissed through clenched teeth. His eyes swung to meet Eira’s and, even though there was a dangerous edge to them, she felt something between the two of them click. “You too,” he said softer. She glanced at Josh who’d placed his hand on her arm in reassurance, and he nodded. She was glad, it meant that Rueben could be trusted. One of Josh’s powers seemed to be knowing if people were trustworthy. Not that he’d ever actually told Eira about his powers. She pouted just thinking about it.

  She followed Rueben and the other man outside, with Josh following behind. She wasn’t too sure what to expect once they were there, but she was eager to find out. She didn’t even feel that drunk anymore, not that it was actually possible. Once a paranormal decided they were going to get drunk, they were as stuck as any human was and had to wait for the alcohol to wear off naturally. Unless they had healing powers. Eira’s eyes widened. Or unless they were a succubus and had sex, that’d clear up the haze pretty quick. She looked around the three men, options seemed to be good tonight at least. Not that Josh would ever go for her. Otherwise he would have already.

  Rueben and the other man faced off against each other, leaving Eira and Josh to watch from the side. Rueben lunged for the other man, and the two grappled, each trying to get the upper hand. His eyes flared and his face took on a slightly feral look. The other man moved around and she could see that his face had taken on the s
ame sinister look. Which is when it hit her. They were vampires. She’d never actually met one, but she’d always kind of wanted to. She longed to know what was true about them and what wasn’t, though from the blood now pouring out of Rueben’s nose, they did indeed bleed. He took another swipe at his opponent, a slash of red showing across the other man’s face.

  “Enough,” Eira half-shouted and Rueben instantly stilled. The other man did not, and when he lunged at Rueben, the blond man simply stepped to the side, allowing him to fall to the floor. “Tell me what’s happening?” she asked, keeping her voice as soft as possible. She scrunched her hands into fists, it was taking everything she had not to run to Rueben and kiss him better. Which was weird, even for a part succubus in need.

  “He was about to drink from you,” Rueben said, his voice deep and kind of reassuring despite the blood running down his nose. To Eira’s surprise, Josh handed the other man some kind of wadded up tissue and Rueben nodded his thanks before mopping up the blood. The two of them turned to stare at the other vampire on the floor.

  “You clearly want to do the same,” the other vampire said. He pushed himself up on one arm.