Pursuing Paige

By Anya Bast

SMASHWORDS EDITION

PUBLISHED BY:

Anya Bast for
Smashwords

Pursuing Paige © 2013
Anya Bast

Smashwords Edition
License Notes

This ebook is licensed
for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook 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 and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the
hard work of this author.

~*~

A Note from the
Author

Hello, fair
readers ~ I am New York Times bestselling author, Anya Bast. This
is the second novella in an ongoing series that I will be
self-publishing. This is brand new, never-before-published
work.

If you have
found this novella after reading my Elemental Witches or Dark
Magick series, you will find this story to be more erotic.
Be
warned!

If you’re not
eighteen yet, please return when you are. This story is for adults
only.

I hope you
enjoy the men of the Lycaon and their mates.

~*~

Notice to people who
“share” ebooks

Writing is my
livelihood. It’s how I support my family. Pirating or “sharing” is
stealing. Please don’t do it. I’m deliberately pricing these
novellas in a range that I hope will discourage pirating.

If you do
happen to see one of my books pirated and have the time and
inclination to tell me about it, I’d love to know:
[email protected]

Thank you for
your honesty and kindness. It is greatly appreciated.

Happy
reading!

www.anyabast.com

-----------------------

“
When,
” Kaiden
gritted out. “When will she be ours?”

The woman brought to
mind a slender tree as she moved, long limbs reaching, dappled in
sunlight. Slender and graceful, she moved her body to the music
like a birch tree in the wind. It was called
ballet
, Kaiden
recalled from his study of her culture.

He fisted his hands,
his fingers itching to stroke her pale, delicate skin and
experience the silkiness of her dark hair. Her hair drove him more
insane than anything else. Long and lush, he imagined it brushing
across his bare skin while he pulled her beneath his body.

“It’s been a month of
these peeks past the veil. It should be any day now.
Any
moment.
” The way Jarek’s body tightened every time they were
treated to a view of her made his torture clear. His voice faded
into a low growl. “I hope it’s any moment. I don’t know how much
longer I can wait.”

She pranced gracefully
near them. Kaiden reached out as if to touch her and grabbed only
air. On the stage before them, she danced away, long legs
stretching, arms extended. She had no idea they were there, getting
a glimpse of her through the veil of reality that separated them.
She knew nothing of the Lycaon, the veil, or her mate bond with him
and Jarek.

She danced. They
watched...and wanted.

* * * * *

Paige came to a stop in
the center of the floor, perspiration glistening on her warm skin.
Despite her exertions, she shivered. There it was again, that
sensation of being watched. It should have been creepy or alarming,
but it wasn’t. A benevolent ghost, perhaps? Did such a thing
exist?

Grabbing a towel from a
nearby chair, she wiped off her face and neck. Her body ached from
the dance she’d been doing, her part in the upcoming production of
Giselle. It was a sweet ache, a good ache. The kind she strived for
every day, just as she strived to be the best dancer she could
be.

Glancing at the clock,
she saw it was five thirty; her slot for the floor was over. She
had just enough time to shower and get to her dinner appointment
with her sister, Caroline. Nodding at the dancers who were warming
up at the bar, she headed out to get ready.

As she changed her
clothes, she fought a wave of melancholy. The same melancholy that
always seeped into her on the nights she met Caroline for
dinner.

She had another sister
besides Caroline, or, at least, she’d
had
another sister.
Kaitlyn had disappeared about a year ago. At first she and Caroline
had assumed the worst, assumed foul play. Then, a short time after
Kaitlyn had disappeared they'd received a mysterious letter from
her, clearly and unmistakably in her hand. Wherever Kaitlyn had
gone, apparently it had been her choice and she was happy. That
made enduring her absence only slightly better.

Kaitlyn had left them
both pendants, too, in the shape of three individuals intertwined
with a ruby at the center of each. She and Caroline never took them
off. Somewhere, she felt certain that Kaitlyn was also wearing
hers.

The last year had been
hard on both her and Caroline. They'd all been very close. With
Kaitlyn gone, she spent more time than ever with Caroline. They
went to dinner at least twice a week. Neither of them was married,
although Caroline had a new boyfriend. Paige hadn't been in a
relationship in years. She'd rather dance. Every Wednesday she and
Caroline met for dinner, but today was a more special Wednesday
than usual.

Freshly showered and
changed into her favorite dress, a short one with a multicolored
pattern, and a pair of cream colored heels, she made her way down
the street to Maxine's, one of her favorite restaurants. Caroline
was already there, waving through the large window. Paige slid into
the chair opposite her and slipped her coat off. Her gaze landed on
the wrapped present in the center of the table and the smile faded
from her lips.

She swallowed down a
sudden rush of emotion. "You got her a present?"

Caroline tucked a stray
bit of her blond hair behind her ear. "Yes. Dumb, right?"

Paige tried for a smile
and failed. "I wonder if somewhere, someone is spoiling her rotten
today."

"I think so." Caroline
smiled and it lit her delicate features. "I feel in my gut that
someone is. Who knows, maybe she has a whole bevy of gorgeous men
waiting on her hand and foot today."

Paige laughed. “Kaitlyn
would love that.”

“Wouldn’t anyone?”

She laughed again, but
didn’t reply. She wouldn’t love it. Instead she raised her glass.
“Happy birthday, Kaitlyn, wherever you are.”

Caroline raised her
glass. “We love you, sis.”

The waitress arrived
just in time. Paige was fighting tears. They each ordered one of
their regular meals and stopped talking about Kaitlyn. Paige missed
her sister, but she also couldn't help but feel a little abandoned
by her too. If Kaitlyn had left of her own free will to a happier
life, one in which she knew true love, why hadn't she at least said
goodbye? Didn't she and Caroline deserve that?

They spent the rest of
the meal talking about their lives, Paige's upcoming show and
Caroline's new guy, Eric. All the while, Kaitlyn's gift sat on the
table in an empty third place. When they said goodbye outside the
restaurant, Caroline pulled her close and whispered in her ear,
"I'm glad I still have you." Then she pushed the gift into Paige's
hands.

With the gift in her
hands, Paige watched Caroline drive away from the restaurant then
started down the street toward her apartment. The air was cool on
her bare legs as she watched the busy streets—lights of the shops
still bright, cars numerous, and late night strollers dotting the
sidewalks. A couple blocks down and the shops faded into a
residential area. Her shoes clipped on the pavement as she walked.
She enjoyed the dappling of the streetlights through the leaves of
the gigantic trees lining the street. Her apartment wasn't far from
the dance company.

Again she had the
strange sensation of being watched. It made all the hair along the
back of her neck stand straight up, like she was being haunted.
Over dinner, she'd almost told Caroline about these odd episodes
she’d been having lately, but she didn't want her sister to worry
about her. They'd had more than enough drama in the last year. No
need to add more.

Flipping the collar of
her coat up, she glanced around. There was no one even remotely
near her, no reason to feel observed. It was creepy, but didn’t
feel threatening. It was like she had two people she trusted
walking on either side of her. Like she could feel the heat of
them, their strong presence. Maybe they really were ghosts. Had she
somehow picked up a couple spirits somewhere?

A gust of wind came out
of nowhere and blew her skirt straight up. She yelped and pushed it
down, not really feeling inclined to show the world her underwear.
The wind gusted again, harder this time, and stole her breath. She
gazed into the sky. No clouds, no storm brewing, just a moon and a
whole universe of bright stars.

The wind blew even
harder. Now the gusts were gone, replaced by a steady gale.
Suddenly she had the sensation she’d been caught up in a tiny,
personal hurricane. The wind threatened to pull her purse from her
shoulder, the gift from her hands. Her skirt now blew around
wildly, but she couldn’t stop it. She inched her way over to the
steady comfort of a massive tree trunk and huddled into it,
searching the street for any passersby having the same experience
to verify she wasn’t going insane. Unfortunately, it seemed she was
alone in this strange weather event.

She closed her eyes,
unable to move, to speak. Sinking down, she crouched at the base of
the tree and endured it, the gift tucked against her stomach. Above
her the branches creaked and groaned under the force of what had to
be hurricane force winds. Her hair whipped crazily around her face,
the wind pulling at her clothes.

Then, just as abruptly
as the wind had begun, it stopped. Warm light touched her eyelids.
She opened her eyes to day. She stood, the gift tumbling to the
ground as she stumbled back. “What the—”

“Paige!”

She turned at the sound
of her sister’s voice to see Kaitlyn standing behind her. “Katie?”
Dropped her purse, she launched herself into Kaitlyn’s arms. They
hugged like they would never let go. Tears streamed down Paige’s
face. This had to be a dream, but Kaitlyn felt so real.

“Happy birthday,
Katie,” Paige whispered.

“This is the best
present I could have ever wished for,” she answered in a
tear-filled voice.

After a moment, they
broke their embrace. Kaitlyn wiped her eyes and picked up the
pendant she wore around her neck, gently clinking it against her
own. “You kept it.”

“Of course I did. It
was the last thing I had of you.”

The metal colliding
made a real sound, as did the birds twittering in the trees. The
warm sun beating down on her back was real, too. Paige looked
around at the stand of trees not far away, the gently swaying tall
grasses of the meadow. “Kaitlyn, what happened? Am I dead? Did that
wind knock a branch down on me and—”

Kaitlyn took her by the
shoulders. “I know exactly what you’re thinking right now. I know
because I went through the same thing. You’re not dreaming and
you’re not nuts.”

She wrinkled her brow.
“Well, that only leaves reality and that can’t be possible.” She
looked around her. “Where the hell am I?”

“You’re
in a country called Selaryica.”

“Sell-lar-re-ca?”

“It’s a land with
several races, though there’s only one you need to be concerned
with—the Lycaon.”

“Katie, what the hell
are you talking about?”

“I have so much tell
you.” She glanced around. “But this is not the time or place.
You’re in another dimension, Paige.”

Paige hesitated a
moment, then laughed. “Nice one, but a bad joke. That’s
impossible.”

“It seems like it
shouldn’t be possible. We’ve been taught our whole lives that
alternate dimensions are only found in science fiction. Yet, here
we are, standing in one of the many, many different realities
layered on our own.”

Paige stared up into
the blue sky. It was a sky and it was blue, but, somehow, it seemed
different than the one she’d stared into every day of her life. She
shifted her gaze to Kaitlyn’s. “So you’re saying I was sucked
through a worm hole and am now in a different world?”

Kaitlyn nodded. “But it
wasn’t a worm hole you went through. It was more like the force of
two magnets drawing together, certain powerful energies finding
alignment. Since you are one part of a three part energy system,
you were the one who was pulled through the fabric of our reality
and into this one.”