Power Of Love Eternal Flames 8

Power of Love

Eternal Flames: Crystal 8

Police Chief Nash Savino and his mate Toby Everly have spent five years teasing and flirting with one another. That is, when Toby wasn’t avoiding Nash at every turn. Nash has had many reservations about letting Toby in and getting close to the little hottie.

One, he knows his mate is lying and hiding things, and as the Police Chief for the town of Crystal, as well as being mates, that is unacceptable. And two, Nash knows that once he lets Toby in, the little Santorini Fox will have him wrapped around his little finger, and that thought scares Nash.

When Toby is brutally attacked and left for dead, everything changes. Nash realizes that all of the games have been useless and he could very well spend the rest of his life alone, never knowing the true love of a mate. Sitting by his mate’s hospital bed, praying for Toby to come back to him, Nash knows that if he is lucky enough for his mate to survive, then he would gladly give his heart to his mate, and all the crap from the past can be worked out, allowing them to move forward together.

At least, that was his thought until a new danger comes to Crystal, threatening not just his mate, but all the residents of Crystal.

The Power of Love

Eternal Flames-Crystal 8

By

Cree Storm and Maggie Walsh

Copyright © 2016 by Cree Storm and Maggie Walsh

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cover by: JP Graphics & Design

Edited by: Avril Stepowski

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Dedication

To all our readers who have been so supportive of this series and our work together. The Eternal Flames Crystal and Maddox would never have grown this big without you.

PROLOGUE

The room was bathed in sunlight, but it still felt dark and cold. Sunbeams danced off the crystal of the chandelier, reflecting thousands of tiny rainbows around the luxurious space. But all he felt was dread and hopelessness. Even with all the extravagant furnishings, pretty flowers, and exquisite trinkets that made up the room his cage was in, it didn’t bring him peace or a sense of security.

He had been here long enough to know that there was evil even in beauty. His captor was a striking man, with silky-smooth green skin, long platinum blond hair, and the most stunning aquamarine eyes. He was graced with feminine features, and a soft, graceful body, but underneath all of that beauty, lived a dark, evil soul that was out for revenge and power. There was nothing more important to his captor than power. Nelson had learned that lesson many years ago.

A gentle breeze blew through the open windows, causing the sheer curtains to blow inward and dance on the wind. The ruffling of tree branches and blowing grass, along with the sweet scent of perfumes from a myriad of flowers, gave him a moment of peace and serenity. Something Nelson hadn’t felt since coming here. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the sounds as he inhaled deeply, taking in all the wonderful smells.

But the miniscule moment of tranquility was not long, as was usual in this place, and his serenity was brought to a crashing halt when he heard the voices approaching. His captor may be stunning in his appearance, but he did not have that same quality in his voice. It was deep, demanding, and harsh, and there was nothing alluring or sexy about it. Cold emptiness was all he felt when he heard that voice. And sheer terror, when he heard the other. Uriel.

Uriel was second to his captor, the fairy leader, Fallon, and was not blessed with his leader’s good looks. The fairy was about five-foot-nine, and a hundred and seventy pounds with green skin and strawberry blond hair. And his aquamarine eyes were even colder than Fallon’s, unless they were looking at his leader. Then the man’s eyes softened and filled with need and lust. The lines of his face were harsher, and his body and movement more...unrefined and crude. He reminded Nelson of a bull in a china closet as his mother used to say. The total opposite of what he had witnessed of all other fairies.

Tears sprung to Nelson’s eyes as the thought of his mother came, but he quickly blinked them away, knowing that it would only make his captor gleeful to see his sorrow. The men walked into the room and Nelson knew he should be paying attention to what they were talking about, but he was afraid to be caught listening. Great pain would come to him if Fallon knew he was aware of what they were saying.

Nelson quickly closed his eyes in an attempt to feign sleep before the two noticed. He could hear them coming deeper into the room as Fallon said something about not needing his spy anymore. Then the name Fallon said next caused Nelson’s ears to perk up in interest and a rush of hope to run through him. Fallon said Toby. Surely it wasn’t the same Toby? There had to be others with that name. Nelson pushed down his excitement so that he could concentrate on what Fallon and Uriel were discussing.

Are you sure, my lord? What about the other two, the ones he protects? Should I send out guards to acquire them? Uriel asked.

No, it would do any good. Toby has already stated they are not in the cave any longer and are safe in the bosom of the pixie in that town, Fallon answered, his voice full of anger and disgust. He is no longer of any use to us. Send out Bane and Mathian to deal with him. They know what to do. I will insist on another meeting, and when he arrives, I want him taken care of so that he can’t go blabbing to that insufferable dragon and his phoenix mate.

Yes, Fallon, I will instruct them immediately, Uriel said, then Nelson heard feet hurriedly moving toward the door.

Did he mean to harm this Toby? Were his goons going to kill him? The thoughts spiked Nelson’s heart, causing him to begin to panic. He needed to calm down or he would draw Fallon’s attention. It couldn’t be the same Toby they were talking about. It just couldn’t be.

CHAPTER 1

His head felt fuzzy, like he was in a dream. A dream that was made entirely of fog. Toby tried to open his eyes, but they just wouldn’t budge. Where the hell was he? And how the hell did he get here? Toby concentrated, trying to focus on the last thing he remembered. Something about a vista. Why would he be out on a vista? What the hell was a vista anyway? Oh, yeah, he was out on the mountain, on a trail that had an overlook. The scenery was stunning. He had been standing there enjoying the view, and he could remember being nervous. But why was he nervous? Then he remembered going down. But where did he go? Did he trip and fall off the edge? Not that the edge he was standing by was that big of a drop, but it was big enough. Toby remembered looking down over that edge and thinking he didn’t want to fall down there. The drop had to be at least a hundred feet of sheer rock face and ended at a ledge that had pretty good size boulders scattered around. But then beyond that was another drop off that was a lot deeper, scarier, and would probably kill him.

Sweet. Wait, there was something sweet smelling that suddenly wafted over him as he stood there gazing over the peaks and valleys, then...then...then...Oh crap, he couldn't remember. And now he was getting a headache. Which was odd, because being a shifter, they didn’t get things like headaches, but hell if his head wasn’t throbbing now and pain radiated behind his eyes, causing him to whimper.

A strong, sexy, soothing voice whispered in his ear and Toby found himself wanting to swim in that voice. It’s okay, little fox. You’re safe now. I won’t let anyone ever hurt you again.

Even with all the pain in his head and eyes, Toby found himself relaxing, and that helped to ease some of the pain. He wanted to hear that voice again, but it wasn’t there. Toby tried to speak, asking it to come back, but he couldn’t get his mouth to work. The more he tried, the more the pain returned. Then white-hot agony shot through his head and down his spine, and he suddenly felt pain everywhere. His legs felt like they were broken, as well as some ribs and his right arm. The sensation of a hundred sharp knives slicing through his flesh all over his body came, and took Toby’s breath away. He couldn’t take the suffering another minute, then suddenly the darkness came, taking him away from the agony, but also taking him away from that voice.

There was a beeping sound coming from somewhere, dragging him out of his haze. As he felt his mind climb higher toward it, there was a voice. It was low and soft, and he couldn’t make out what it was saying. Toby tried to relax a little, remembering from the last time, whenever that was, that when he relaxed and didn’t think too hard, the pain had been bearable. So he remained calm and just let the sensation of lifting higher and his brain becoming more aware take him.

Many voices, whispered, questions, sadness, tears. Someone was crying. He could hear them sniffling and the scent of their tears tickled his nostrils. A different scent came closer, wrapping around him. Mmm, he liked that smell. It brought him peace and comfort. Made him feel safe. Mangos, but there was something else. Something not so wonderful mixed in with the sweetness. It was worry, distress, sadness, determination, and a bit of...bitterness, but not at someone, it was more internal, almost like confusion and a great sense of loss.

Toby didn’t like all those scents mixing in with the mango. He wanted to smell just the succulent fruit because within that he felt protection. Something touched his hand. Small and soft, caring, comforting. He felt a connection to the small hand in his. Pascal. He would know that smell of blueberries and sunshine anywhere. It was his brother’s tears he could smell, but why? Why was Pas so sad? And where was Ollie?

Panic