Reaching for My Angel [The Royal Wolves 5] (Siren Publishing Allure) Read online

  The Royal Wolves 5

  Reaching for My Angel

  Quiet, laid-back, and the easiest going of all his siblings, Benedek Farkas prefers his books to people. A collector of old and a reader of new, he is well read and well educated, but nothing could have prepared him for her to enter his life. Who knew that she would be the paradox of his existence or that she would be the savior of his soul?

  Evangeline “Evan” Farmer's life was not what one would call normal or what any woman would ever dream of when she enters into a relationship till death do they part. But time can change anyone, and for some it only makes them less than what they should have been. Free at last, she roams the country, the open road her world. But a small lapse in memory brings her a whole new set of problems or the way to finally and truly be free. Can she take the chance and open up to him? Can she let him in where no man has ever really been?

  The demons of the past haunt her daily, each movement, each breath, and every waking moment. Together they will fight them for a chance at happiness and a life together. Her heart is the carefully guarded jewel that he seeks. And, for a moment of bliss, he'll sweep her off her feet into the romance of her life...

  Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 46,492 words

  REACHING FOR MY ANGEL

  The Royal Wolves 5

  Honor James

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

  REACHING FOR MY ANGEL

  Copyright © 2013 by Honor James

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-725-0

  First E-book Publication: October 2013

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Reaching for My Angel by Honor James from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Honor James’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. James’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  I would like to dedicate this book to all of my fans. You have all been there from the beginning and without you I couldn’t do this thing I love, telling a story. Thank you for being a part of my life.

  I would also like to dedicate this book to the countless women, children, and even men that go through life in agony, fear, and pain. This is to the untold and countless beings that suffer at the hands of their loved ones. For victims of domestic violence across the nation, know that all it takes is one voice. One whisper for help and it will be there for you.

  There is help. On the web at: http://www.thehotline.org/ or toll-free at 1-800-799-7233. I urge you to seek help should you need it.

  Please see my website or Facebook for a special event that surrounds this book alone. www.honor-james.net or www.facebook.com/author.honor.james.

  Peace and blessings to you all.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  About the Author

  REACHING FOR MY ANGEL

  The Royal Wolves 5

  HONOR JAMES

  Copyright © 2013

  Prologue

  Early Spring 1819 - 5 months after death of the Royal family

  Handing the cup of water to his brother Laszlo, Benedek frowned slightly at his distracted manner. Stepping away he moved to the oldest of them all and nudged him lightly with his elbow. “What’s bothering Miklos?” he asked in a low tone. Ever since they had settled in northern England near the Scottish border, Miklos had been closing himself off. He only spoke when spoken to and rarely if ever smiled any more.

  Shaking his head Laszlo’s eyes turned on their middle brother. “I don’t know. He’s been becoming more distant with every day, Benedek, I’m worried about him.”

  “Do you think he’s finally in mourning?” Benedek asked softly. All the rest of them had gone through their periods of anger, fear and sadness over the loss of their parents while Miklos had seemed to just continue along in a haze for a time before the slow shut down.

  “Maybe,” Laszlo conceded though if it was mourning he thought, it wasn’t the healing kind. “Keep an eye on him Benedek. He’s more likely to talk to you than me as it is. See if you can’t help him through whatever is pulling him down and from us. I won’t lose another member of our family, especially one of my brothers,” the pre-teen boy said in a voice that had the authority of a fully mature adult.

  “I’ll try,” Benedek told him softly. Turning his eyes back to his brother Benedek worried for him. He was too pale, too thin, and he wasn’t sleeping as he should. Maybe a run in the woods in his other form would help and he decided in that moment it would. Just before full night set, he’d take Miklos out to see if that helped at all.

  Chapter 1

  Here and now…

  Rubbing a hand over his face, Ben drove slowly through the little town of North Lynbrook, just north of New York City. Thankfully it was early still, pre-dawn as a matter of fact, so there
really was no one but him, the paper boy, and a few early risers out and about. Last night had been another restless and nearly sleepless night. While he knew the reason for his restless nights, he couldn’t really place the blame there as it wasn’t truly fair. Course, his mind didn’t care if it was fair or not, it just was what it was and screw the distinction.

  Yawning as he passed the local diner with its lights blazing he was tempted, for a moment, to stop for a refill on his coffee. If it hadn’t been hunting season he would have, but with that many bloodthirsty humans armed with high caliber weapons in there, he really wouldn’t be comfortable. So, with a hint of regret, he kept on driving and made a note to stop on the way back out of town to the city.

  Once more, now that the thought of fresh and strong caffeine passed, his mind returned to the reason for his sleepless night. Not even the dulcet tones of Faith Hill coming through the speakers could truly distract him from where his mind was determined to lead.

  Three of his brothers had found their mates. It likely would have been all four, he speculated with a hint of dry humor, except that Kris, the only other of the Farkas’ who hadn’t found a mate, couldn’t be bothered right then. The true “geek” of the family, Kris was once again closeted away in his lab working on a cure for something or other and wouldn’t surface until it kicked his ass and he needed a break to see straight again or until he kicked its little ass if it had one.

  While Ben knew that the chances, statistically speaking, of finding a mate was just that side of slim, the fact that Laz, Mik, and Janos all had found theirs made him…well, nervous, quite frankly. They’d found their mates by chance, through fate, by happenstance, the luck of the draw or whatever damned term one wanted to place on it. The fact was they had their mates while Ben on the other hand had been actively looking and had not had a single ounce of luck. Hell, he was so damned unlucky that the four women he thought might be his mate had all ended up dead after one date. Not exactly a glowing recommendation for going out with him.

  Changing lanes with a quick glance, he sighed. It wasn’t that he wasn’t thrilled for his brothers, he was. They had their mates, something every Wolf wanted, needed and yearned for no matter who they were or the life that they happened to lead. But it was seriously screwing with his sleep when all he could do upon closing his eyes was worry all night long.

  Would he ever find the woman meant to be his? Was she even on the same continent, let alone in the same state as he was? What if she wasn’t even born yet? Or, and this was the real nightmare that had him jerking awake in the wee hours of the morning with his heart pounding, what if she had already lived her life and he’d missed his one and only shot?

  Pulling into his spot at the side of the bookstore, Ben turned off the engine and sat staring out the windshield. His greatest nightmare, the biggest fear he had, and the very real possibility was eating him alive from the inside out. Ever since Laz and Des had mated the thought he’d never find his mate was a constant ache in his gut, the fear his new and seemingly permanent companion. While he was holding out a small amount of hope he’d find the woman for him, he was also he’d recently realized, beginning to resign himself to never finding her.

  Sliding out of the car, he grabbed his briefcase, laptop, and almost-empty travel mug. Pushing the door shut he frowned as he realized that there was a large truck at the loading dock. The engine was idling which meant it was either just getting there or just leaving. God he hoped it was leaving. Heading inside he locked the door behind him and greeted one of the girls that worked for him.

  “Morning, Mr. F.” Heather, a nineteen year old resident of the town smiled as she set the box in her hands down on the counter.

  “Delivery taking longer than normal?” he asked, putting his briefcase and laptop behind the counter out of the way before shucking off his jacket and folding it over his arm.

  “No, well”—Heather grinned—“not really. Our regular driver quit so they had to pull someone else in off a different route. We’re just a hair behind schedule is all, but we’ve been busting our asses.”

  “Damn,” Ben muttered as he looked at his watch. “How much longer do you figure it’s going to take?” he asked as he did a quick calculation. By the town bylaws the big rigs that brought in his shipments were only allowed on the streets at certain times, and they were damned close to getting a fine. Ten minutes close to be exact.

  Heather was going to say something but stopped when Carl, another resident that did stock for Ben came in and passed over the clipboard with the order checklist clamped to it. “We’re all done, Mr. F,” he told him. “Driver’s just locking down the door and pulling out.”

  “All right then,” Ben said with an internal sigh of relief as he looked over the list, seeing everything had been properly documented. “I’ll be in the back if you two want to start shifting around the main display so we can put out the new books.” At their nods he snagged his travel mug and headed for the back and his office. Dropping his jacket in his office, he quickly hit the staff room and refilled his mug before going into the storage bay. Nearing the back roll up door he came to a sudden halt as a scent tickled at his nose.

  Turning slowly he frowned at the ball cap sitting on top of a crate next to the controls for the roll-up door. Picking it up he caught the same clean and tart scent of tropical fruit. “Must be the driver’s,” Carl commented from behind him on his way past. Nodding, Ben set it aside with a thoughtful look and a mental note to let the shipping company know that the newest driver for his store had likely left it behind if they happened to be looking for it.

  * * * *

  She had cut it far too close. She hated to be in the city at this time of the morning since it made driving a big rig even more challenging than it already was. She hated New York. No, correction, she hated that she was in a big rig in the city. She actually loved the city, but hated to do her job in it.

  Pulling the radio handset down, she clicked the button and said, “Farmer Jane here, doing a smokey check on I-9er.” She had a small home outside of the city in a very small town called Valley Stream and it was time for her to have some time off. This last load was the last one she had for a while.

  “All clear, Janey. Hurry back to us, Farmer, we are going to miss you at the Pilot Stations!” came the voice of Tenner Henry.

  “Thanks, Tenner. I will be back, when I have found myself.” Evan, or Evangeline as her momma named her, had no need to work now. Just after getting rid of the loser ex of hers she hit the Powerball lottery and now was a millionaire three hundred seventy five times over. She would miss Tenner, though. He was one of the only people that called her Janey, saying that she was all woman and shouldn’t have a man’s moniker for a nickname. Instead he called her Janey, in reference to the last part of her first name. She hadn’t simply quit however. Nope, she ran all her loads and even took on the last minute one because Knight Transportation had been damn good to her, even going so far as to helping her pay for her divorce from the ass and even firing him when he beat the shit out of her on company property.

  “Take it easy, Janey, we all will miss you,” he said just before he clicked off and left Evan to her thoughts. She touched her head and frowned. “Now where the hell did that go?” she asked and brushed her hand through the short black locks. Evangeline Farmer was not the typical truck driver. She was small, her Asian heritage showing in the dark, almost blue-black hair, her olive complexion, her almond-shaped brown eyes, and her height of just over five foot one inches.

  She sighed and shook her head. “Oh well, I guess that I can find it in me to actually let my hair grow.” It was cut short to her head. He had always liked her to have very long hair, but as soon as her divorce was final, she had actually shaved it all off.

  “Yeah, I guess I got issues,” she said with a smile as she moved through the gears and was very soon on the final stretch to her home.

  * * * *

  Finally home, Ben dropped his briefcase and set his laptop
down as he locked down the house. Padding through he stripped down as he went tossing all his clothes into the hamper in his room. Deciding to grab a quick shower before bed, he went into the bathroom and groaned as the hot water pounded at his aching muscles. His brothers always claimed he had the cushiest of jobs since he owned the bookstores he ran, but they weren’t the ones that had to haul around five hundred pounds of books in a day.

  Ten minutes later, feeling warm and sleepy, he slid into his bed with a happy sigh. Tugging up the blankets he rolled onto his stomach and idly scratched at the only scar on his body, the large four inch and angry looking gouge on his lower back near his spine. Most wounds healed on a Wolf, but that one had been particularly bad and, though there was no medical reason for it, it itched from time to time. Pulling his pillow closer he let his eyes close and slid into sleep praying as he did that he’d get an undisturbed night for once, just once.

  Her eyes opened. She was in her small house and in her bed but she knew she was dreaming. “This is unusual,” she whispered as she felt the pound of the waterfall against her skin as she tread water in the crystal-clear lake. “I haven’t had a dream of swimming in years.” She breathed but swam for the shore. It was the oddest thing, to be in a dream this realistic.

  She saw the man, or she thought it was a man, at the edge of the lake and swam toward him, her eyes watching everything, uncertain as to why she would be having such a vivid dream.