Foretelling Read online

  Foretelling

  The Queen's Alpha Series, Volume 9

  W.J. May

  Published by Dark Shadow Publishing, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  FORETELLING

  First edition. January 4, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 W.J. May.

  ISBN: 978-1386701101

  Written by W.J. May.

  Also by W.J. May

  Bit-Lit Series

  Lost Vampire

  Cost of Blood

  Price of Death

  Blood Red Series

  Courage Runs Red

  The Night Watch

  Marked by Courage

  Forever Night

  Daughters of Darkness: Victoria's Journey

  Victoria

  Huntress

  Coveted (A Vampire & Paranormal Romance)

  Twisted

  Daughter of Darkness - Victoria - Box Set

  Hidden Secrets Saga

  Seventh Mark - Part 1

  Seventh Mark - Part 2

  Marked By Destiny

  Compelled

  Fate's Intervention

  Chosen Three

  The Hidden Secrets Saga:The Complete Series

  Kerrigan Chronicles

  Stopping Time

  A Passage of Time

  Ticking Clock

  Secrets in Time

  Time in the City (Coming Soon)

  Mending Magic Series

  Lost Souls

  Illusion of Power (Coming Soon)

  Challenging the Dark (Coming Soon)

  Paranormal Huntress Series

  Never Look Back

  Coven Master

  Alpha's Permission

  Blood Bonding

  Oracle of Nightmares

  Shadows in the Night

  Paranormal Huntress BOX SET #1-3

  Prophecy Series

  Only the Beginning

  White Winter

  Secrets of Destiny

  The Chronicles of Kerrigan

  Rae of Hope

  Dark Nebula

  House of Cards

  Royal Tea

  Under Fire

  End in Sight

  Hidden Darkness

  Twisted Together

  Mark of Fate

  Strength & Power

  Last One Standing

  Rae of Light

  The Chronicles of Kerrigan Box Set Books # 1 - 6

  The Chronicles of Kerrigan: Gabriel

  Living in the Past

  Present For Today

  Staring at the Future

  The Chronicles of Kerrigan Prequel

  Christmas Before the Magic

  Question the Darkness

  Into the Darkness

  Fight the Darkness

  Alone in the Darkness

  Lost in Darkness

  The Chronicles of Kerrigan Prequel Series Books #1-3

  The Chronicles of Kerrigan Sequel

  A Matter of Time

  Time Piece

  Second Chance

  Glitch in Time

  Our Time

  Precious Time

  The Hidden Secrets Saga

  Seventh Mark (part 1 & 2)

  The Queen's Alpha Series

  Eternal

  Everlasting

  Unceasing

  Evermore

  Forever

  Boundless

  Prophecy

  Protected

  Foretelling

  Revelation (Coming Soon)

  Betrayal (Coming Soon)

  Resolved (Coming Soon)

  The Senseless Series

  Radium Halos

  Radium Halos - Part 2

  Nonsense

  Standalone

  Shadow of Doubt (Part 1 & 2)

  Five Shades of Fantasy

  Shadow of Doubt - Part 1

  Shadow of Doubt - Part 2

  Four and a Half Shades of Fantasy

  Dream Fighter

  What Creeps in the Night

  Forest of the Forbidden

  Arcane Forest: A Fantasy Anthology

  The First Fantasy Box Set

  Watch for more at W.J. May’s site.

  Copyright 2018 by W.J. May

  THIS E-BOOK IS LICENSED for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book 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 recipient. 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 the author.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2018 by W.J. May1

  Foretelling, Book 9 of the Queen’s Alpha Series

  Cover design by: Book Cover by Design

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

  Have You Read the C.o.K Series?

  The Chronicles of Kerrigan

  Book I - Rae of Hope is FREE!

  BOOK TRAILER:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gILAwXxx8MU

  How hard do you have to shake the family tree to find the truth about the past?

  Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan never really knew her family's history. Her mother and father died when she was young and it is only when she accepts a scholarship to the prestigious Guilder Boarding School in England that a mysterious family secret is revealed.

  Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?

  As Rae struggles with new friends, a new school and a star-struck forbidden love, she must also face the ultimate challenge: receive a tattoo on her sixteenth birthday with specific powers that may bind her to an unspeakable darkness. It's up to Rae to undo the dark evil in her family's past and have a ray of hope for her future.

  Find W.J. May

  Website:

  http://www.wanitamay.yolasite.com

  Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-WJ-May-FAN-PAGE/141170442608149

  Newsletter:

  SIGN UP FOR W.J. May's Newsletter to find out about new releases, updates, cover reveals and even freebies!

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  Foretelling Blurb:

  USA Today Bestselling author, W.J. May, continues the highly anticipated bestselling YA/NA series about love, betrayal, magic and fantasy. Be prepared to fight, it's the only option.

  I will fight to the death for those I love.

  How do you turn back the tide...?

  When the ship that was supposed to be taking the
m to safety ends up on hostile shores, Katerina and her friends find themselves in more danger than ever before. Caught in the clutches of an old foe, they must band together in a way they never thought possible. But is it already too late?

  The darkness creeps ever closer, trying to get in. Some battles must be fought with iron and flame, but how do you defeat an enemy you can’t see? How do you fight back against the monsters that rage within? And when the dust clears, how much of you will be left?

  Can the friends unite against all that stands against them? Will ancient feuds and fresh adversity drive them apart? More importantly... can they get to the crown in time?

  Some curses should never be broken...

  Be careful who you trust. Even the devil was once an angel.

  The Queen’s Alpha Series

  Eternal

  Everlasting

  Unceasing

  Evermore

  Forever

  Boundless

  Prophecy

  Protected

  Foretelling

  Revelation

  Betrayal

  Resolved

  Contents

  Have You Read the C.o.K Series?

  Find W.J. May

  Foretelling Blurb:

  The Queen’s Alpha Series

  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

  Revelation Blurb:

  The Queen’s Alpha Series

  Find W.J. May

  More books by W.J. May

  Chapter 1

  Nothing puts things quite in perspective like being adrift on the open sea.

  Katerina dreamt that night of everything she was afraid she would. Sightless demons leaping out of the shadows. Richard and Helen slumped over their plates. Tiny children who grew fangs and claws, eyes black as a void, tasting the air and reaching towards her...

  But when she awoke, there wasn’t an evil soul in sight.

  She sat up slowly, blinking in the salty air, gazing out at a grey, sunless sky. It was impossible to tell what time of day it was, or whether the ship was moving at all. She assumed that it was. A gentle breeze had cupped the sails and, judging by the sound of waves lapping up against the hull, they were cutting smoothly through the water. A single speck of life on all that endless horizon.

  Tanya was snoring loudly beside her. Over the course of their travels the tiny shifter had developed the sleeping habits of a despondent koala, able to fall in and out of consciousness in a matter of seconds. It didn’t matter if they were at the castle or in a poorly-ventilated barn. If left undisturbed, Katerina was quite sure she could sleep her way all the way to Taviel—waking up only sporadically to demand whiskey and food.

  The young queen extracted herself delicately, taking care to stay outside the range of the shifter’s ready blade before pushing stiffly to her feet.

  The deck of the ship was slick with salt and brine, and her shoes scraped loudly as it lurched beneath her. She threw out a quick hand. Catching onto a low-hanging rope before setting off at a slow pace to find her missing friends, she cautiously placed one foot in front of the other.

  Most of what happened the previous day had been lost in shock. It would come back slowly, in messy little pieces that would take years to sort into their proper place.

  Had she ducked into an apothecary, or had it been a store selling candles? Had Cassiel been kissed by some sort of tenacious giant, or had it been Tanya all along?

  She hardly remembered the river boat and had no memory whatsoever of getting onto the ship. Dylan had carried her aboard. The only fleeting image that had lodged in her brain was the face of the captain, nodding politely as the two walked past. They were paying customers—bloodied and broken, travelling with no luggage, at a time when alliances were still shifting and travelers were granted privacy as long as they had the coin to see it through.

  She hadn’t expected any animosity from the crew. She had clearly been mistaken.

  “—there’s one of them now.”

  Katerina came upon two shipmates when she rounded a corner, both flushed with exertion and shining with sweat. They fell silent when they saw her, but didn’t bother lowering their eyes.

  “Um...good morning.” She was abruptly nervous, and puzzled as to why that was. “I was just looking for my friends. Have you seen them?”

  The men stayed silent for so long, she wondered whether they spoke only some foreign language. Then she remembered they’d been gossiping just moments before.

  Maybe they know who I am. Maybe word from the castle has spread.

  Again, she didn’t know why that would be considered a bad thing, but the looks on their faces set her teeth on edge. Had she just imagined the kind smile of the captain? The gracious manners of the crew? Or were all unnamed passengers treated this way?

  Almost a full minute passed. She was about to just walk away, when the taller of the two men turned to his companion with a muttered, “It’s a small ship.”

  She flushed and took a step back. “You’re right. I’ll just...find them on my own.”

  They moved on before she’d even finished the sentence, bending their heads together and speaking too low and quickly for her to understand. One was coiling then un-coiling a rope. The other didn’t seem to notice that his hand was resting on an upturned nail.

  Feeling strangely unsettled she skittered around them, glancing over her shoulder as she continued making her way around the ship.

  Okay, what the heck? They were already headed in this direction, so it’s not like we pushed them that far off course. Nerves had given way to defiance. Defiance mixed with a strange kind of pride. And we haven’t been any trouble! Model passengers, in fact! Perfectly normal! Just a couple of ordinary—

  That’s when she saw Cassiel talking to a dog. A very big dog.

  Seven hells.

  It was truly one of the strangest conversations she’d ever seen. And this was coming from a girl who’d spent the better part of a week negotiating safe passage for a trio of goblins transporting a ceremonial yak. It wasn’t just that the fae was talking to a wolf—both of them sitting on the stern of the ship with their feet dangling over the side. It was that the wolf seemed to be talking back.

  “—knew you would say that, but I’m telling you it would have felt a lot different if you’d actually been there. And, yes, that’s an underhanded reprimand for being late.”

  The wolf let out a sigh, fixing its eyes on the rolling waves.

  “It isn’t even the perpetual tardiness—it’s the lack of effort in your excuses.” Cassiel shot him a look. “Attending to matters of state? I’d sooner believe you’d taken up Jakarshan dance.”

  There was a pointed silence.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’d be a terrible dancer.”

  The wolf let out a canine snicker, shaking out its long fur.

  “It’s not funny,” Cassiel retorted, but he grinned in spite of himself as the wolf gave him a playful shove. “The man was nothing like I was expecting. You meet one Ank warrior, you assume you’ve met them all. But this was...I actually don’t know the name of it in the common tongue.”

  The wolf turned with a serene expression.

  “Ah, yes. A paradox.”

  And that’s my cue to leave.

  Taking great care not to make any noise, Katerina doubled back the way she’d come. One half was trying to hold back laughter, the other was depressingly aware that the man she’d fallen in love with had already given his heart to someone else.

  Just something Tanya and I will learn to regulate. Curfews. Supervised playdates. Missions to save the world will be allowed to happen no more than twice a year...

  “Oh, come on!”

  She spok
e without thinking, sliding to an abrupt stop as Kailas and Serafina looked up in surprise. The lovely couple was perched on the railing of the ship. One was holding up his cloak as the other sewed what looked like large strips of flesh back into place.

  “Do you have to do that out here?” the queen demanded. “Right in the open?”

  Kailas glanced down at his mangled skin as Serafina stared back with wide eyes, completely oblivious as to why it might be a problem. “There’s better lighting than below deck.”

  Hard to argue with that logic. And yet...

  “Tanya’s snoring louder than a tropical hurricane, Dylan and Cass are redefining the limits of canine telepathy, and you guys are performing open-air surgery on the main deck!” Katerina threw up her hands in exasperation. “No wonder the crew thinks we’re all crazy!”

  There was a beat of silence.

  “It can’t help that your dress is on backwards.”

  It...what...?

  Katerina looked down in confusion, then hastened to pull it the right way around. Her twin’s eyes danced with sarcasm, and she made the supreme mistake of trying to save face.

  “What happened to you, anyway?” she muttered. “You’re a wreck.”

  He cocked his head with a tight smile. “I collapsed a building to distract a mob of villagers intent on eating you.”

  Another beat.

  At that point, Katerina thought it best to excuse herself. Again.

  Without further interruptions she continued her circle of the ship, searching for the final member of their gang. It was a slow process. Like Kailas, she seemed to be completely missing the supernatural gene that allowed the others to heal so quickly. Dylan had been in the worst shape of them all, but she suspected that after having shifted for so long he’d be basically good as—

  “Aidan!”

  The tall vampire had his back to her, gazing out at the ocean waves as he stood with perfect balance on the crisscrossed ropes of the rigging. He startled when she spoke, glanced swiftly over his shoulder, then forced his face into a neutral expression. A second later he leapt down.