Alpha's Permission: Paranormal Huntress Series, #3

By W.J. May

USA Today Bestselling author, W.J. May, brings you to a new level of fantasy. Fans of Underworld and paranormal worlds will love this story!

"The wise learn many things from their enemies."    

Calen has fallen. Everlore has fallen. And once more, Atlanta Skolar is on the run. Barely escaping the clutches of Adelaide, and believing her mother is dead, she escapes the fires of the ancient city.

Her escape, though, is bittersweet. Coupled with the unknown ability she has recently discovered, and the curious case of her platinum colored hair, she has yet to find a way to defeat the witch and her followers. Joined by her band of trusted friends, Atlanta must work to find the remaining Lunar Books and figure out the secrets within if she wants to stop Adelaide's conquest for complete dominance.

But with hybrids and the compelled hot on her trail, the task seems almost impossible. Atlanta must find the strength within her, and unleash the powers of the Coven Master, if she wants to ensure the survival of her friends…and herself.

Paranormal Huntress Series

Never Look Back

Coven Master

Alpha's Permission

Blood Bonding

Oracle of Nightmares

Shadows in the Night

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dark Shadow Publishing
• Release date: Oct 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386042730

W.J. May

About W.J. May Welcome to USA TODAY BESTSELLING author W.J. May's Page! SIGN UP for W.J. May's Newsletter to find out about new releases, updates, cover reveals and even freebies! http://eepurl.com/97aYf   Website: http://www.wjmaybooks.com Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-WJ-May-FAN-PAGE/141170442608149?ref=hl *Please feel free to connect with me and share your comments. I love connecting with my readers.* W.J. May grew up in the fruit belt of Ontario. Crazy-happy childhood, she always has had a vivid imagination and loads of energy. After her father passed away in 2008, from a six-year battle with cancer (which she still believes he won the fight against), she began to write again. A passion she'd loved for years, but realized life was too short to keep putting it off. She is a writer of Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction and where ever else her little muses take her.

Book preview

Paranormal Huntress Series

NEVER LOOK BACK

Coven Master

Alpha’s Permission

Blood Bonding

Oracle of Nightmares

Shadows in the Night

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 FREE READS!

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Alpha’s Permission Blurb

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CALEN HAS FALLEN. EVERLORE has fallen. And, once more, Atlanta Skolar is on the run. Barely escaping the clutches of Adelaide, and believing her mother is dead, she escapes the fires of the ancient city.

Her escape, though, is bittersweet. Coupled with the unknown ability she has recently discovered, and the curious cause of her platinum-colored hair, she has yet to find a way to defeat the witch and her followers. Joined by her band of trusted friends, Atlanta must work to find the remaining Lunar Books and figure out the secrets within if she wants to stop Adelaide’s conquest for complete dominance.

But with hybrids and the compelled hot on her trail, the task seems almost impossible. Atlanta must find the strength within her and unleash the powers of the Coven Master if she wants to ensure the survival of her friends...and herself.

Contents

Paranormal Huntress Series

Find W.J. May

Alpha’s Permission Blurb

Prologue

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

Epilogue

Note From Author

Find W.J. May

More books by W.J. May

Prologue

Raul raced through the foliage, the sound of death following him.

His breath came in gasps, his heart thundering in his chest. He could still see burning bodies, hybrids tearing at the throats of the helpless, the sound of crackling wood and crashing walls. He couldn’t tell if his senses were still picking up the struggle he’d escaped, or his mind was replaying memories to taunt him. All he knew was that he had to get away.

His foot caught in the twisted roots of a tree, and he fell to the ground in a crash. His instincts told him to jump back up, to keep going, but he couldn’t. He closed his eyes, breathing in the moist aroma of the soil beneath him, his fingers clawing at the earth as he struggled with his emotions. His mind was racing.

They’re dead. They’re all dead, and I could do nothing!

Damian’s face flashed behind his closed lids, and Raul couldn’t help but gasp and cough. He could only hope his childhood friend had found a way out, that in the midst of the horrors he’d witnessed while escaping Everlore there was still a slight chance that Damian had escaped as well. Raul couldn’t handle the possibility that Adelaide’s hybrids might have somehow gotten to Damian and Atlanta. That the witch had finally won.

Escape, Druid. Live and fight another day. This is not your battle.

The words echoed in Raul’s head. He could still see Magnus’ serious look as the large man had cut his chains and set him free. The battle had started already, screams echoing through the large corridors beneath the city, and Raul had instantly known what was causing the turmoil.

He wanted to stay and fight. He wanted to help. But Magnus saw to it that he couldn’t. Raul remembered the wall opening, Magnus pushing him across the threshold, and then letting the large slab of rock slide back in place. It had taken Raul almost an hour to find his way through the darkness, and when he finally emerged from the tunnel he was standing at a high hill, hidden in the trees, looking down at the burning city of Everlore.

He’d wanted to go back. To find Damian and Atlanta, to fight the war he knew he was supposed to be a part of. However, from the top of that hill it was clear that no one in Everlore would survive. The screams, the fires. From the distance, the figures of attacker and attacked seemed like toy soldiers, but he could see everything clearly. He watched Magnus being tossed about, ripped to shreds by the hybrids. He’d witnessed a group of hybrids securing what looked like a woman’s head to the outer walls.

He shuddered now just at the memory of it all.

Raul pushed himself to his feet and began running again. He needed to find a way back home, convince the elders they needed to gather their forces and return with a vengeance. Adelaide was stronger than he and Damian had anticipated. This was no longer a nuisance that needed to be dealt with.

This was an all-out war.

Damian, I pray you found a way out.

Raul squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back a surge of tears that threatened to break free. He wanted to believe Damian was alive. He had to have faith that the leader of the Cast had found a way to get out before the hybrids had started their carnage.

And Atlanta. We need Atlanta.

Raul slowed to a stop and leaned against a tree trunk, breathing heavily, feeling the muscles in his legs scream. He had no idea how long he had been running, or in which direction, but he believed he was far away enough to think about what his next move would be.

A sharp cry of pain cut through the air, making Raul flinch. He turned towards the sound, instantly ready to bolt if needed. His hands balled up and green flames licked out from between his fingers.

If I go down, I’m going down kicking.

He waited. Nothing broke through the foliage, nothing came for him. The woods had fallen silent once more, and it was only then that he realized it was too silent. No birds chirping, no distant sounds of animals scurrying through the underbrush. All was still.

The cry came again, and Raul immediately began to run toward it. He wasn’t under attack, but someone else was. His mind screamed at him to let it go, that Magnus’ words rang true and this wasn’t his battle. If there would be any stopping to Adelaide’s reign of terror, someone had to survive and tell the other Druids.

But Raul didn’t care about that right now. His blood boiled at the sound of the screams, and he was determined to do something. Anything that would make this feeling of helplessness go away.

He crashed through the foliage, now hearing a clear struggle taking place, and pushed harder. The flames in his hands grew brighter, and just beyond the tree line flashes of green and red burst through the air. A body came hurtling towards him, and he quickly ducked in time as it flew over his head and crashed into a tree behind him, breaking it into two. Raul looked at the still figure, a dead hybrid, fangs elongated and red eyes open in a dead stare.

Raul’s head snapped around and he slowly made his way to the edge of the foliage, looking out at the battle ensuing beyond. His heart jumped.

Two figures were fighting an onslaught of hybrids. Raul instantly recognized Damian and Atlanta. The leader of the Cast was being weighed down by a satchel, but the magic that burst forth from him was strong enough to keep the hybrids at bay. Raul’s eyes weren’t fixed on Damian, though; he was staring wide-eyed at Atlanta.

He could barely recognize her, her hair now a bright shade of silver, her maroon suit engulfed in red flames as she screamed in fury and let loose a rage of fire at the surrounding hybrids. They came at her from all angles, but she was just as quick as they were, just as hungry for blood. With every burst of red fire from her came the gleam of her sword, swishing through the air, cutting and hacking at her enemies.

The Coven Master.

The words seemed to come from somewhere deep within his mind, from a place where memories were sent in an attempt to forget them. But he hadn’t forgotten them. The sight of Atlanta, the seemingly-silver hair, the red fire, the incredibly speed and agility.

The fusion of Witch and Druid. The offspring of magic.

Raul stood frozen in place. He had heard the stories, had memorized the scant instances when a Coven Master appeared in the world, but he had not expected to see one in his lifetime. The sight of her made him warm and cold at the same time. A rush of excitement mixed with a deep sense of fear coursed through him.

Atlanta!

Damian’s cry brought Raul out of his stupor, and he watched as his friend began to lose ground against the hybrids relentlessly attacking him. Raul willed the green fire back and moved to join the battle, when a heavy hand grabbed him by the shoulder.

Raul whirled around, ready to attack, when his body froze and the fire in his hands died. The large figure standing behind him towered over him, covered in a dark robe, the face hidden by a massive hood. Raul tried to step back, but his body wouldn’t respond.

Quiet, Druid, the figure spoke. The voice was deep, raspy...commanding.

Raul tried to fight the invisible force holding him in place. What is this? he hissed. Who are you?

A friend, the figure replied. Something shifted in the hood, and Raul could imagine the head hidden inside looking out at the battle behind him. And it seems you need more and more of that of late.

Then let me go, Raul said. My friends need me.

Your friends need more than that, the figure replied, the hood shifting again. Raul could feel eyes boring into his.

The robed figure raised a gloved hand in the air and a bright light burst forth, blinding Raul completely.

Then all went dark.

Chapter 1

Atlanta woke with a start.

She sat up quickly, instinctively reaching for her sword while a ball of fire burst around her clenched fist. The world around her swam in and out of focus, and she struggled to find her bearings before blindly lashing out at the darkness around her. In her mind the hybrids were everywhere, and the only thing holding them back and away from Damian and the Lunar Books was her.

She blinked several times, shaking her head quickly as her chest heaved with rapid breaths and her heart hammered. Slowly, her surroundings grew sharper, and she realized that she wasn’t in the woods outside Everlore anymore.

She was home. In her basement. Sitting in her uncle’s makeshift bed in the closed-off room where he had spent nights working. She looked at the closed door and frowned.

What the...?

She grasped for her sword again, remembering all too well what had happened the last time she had been brought to the basement of her house. But her hand found nothing. For the first time since waking she looked down and realized she’d been stripped of not only her weapons, but her clothes as well.

The fire around her fist quickly went out as she grabbed for her blanket and covered herself. She sat completely still, staring at the chamber’s closed door and listening for any threatening sounds from outside, waiting. When she was sure she was alone and that no one would come barging into the room, she slid out of bed, carefully and silently. She wrapped the blanket around her, letting her feet rest on the cold floor. A dim light pierced the chamber, allowing her to see very little, but her night vision had gotten better over the years and she knew the room inside out. She didn’t need any more light.

A few feet away, on the table where she had often found her uncle crouched over one project or the other, were her weapons and suit. They had been laid out carefully, as if waiting for her to wake up.

Why am I here?

How did I get here? Who brought me here? A flurry of questions raced through her head. Her last memory was of her fight outside Everlore, and then nothing. Now she was naked, wrapped in a blanket in her old basement, surrounded by darkness. She needed to figure out what was going on.

But first, get dressed.

She didn’t even want to think about who had undressed her in the first place. She crept towards the table, and cried out in surprise when she stubbed her toe against something hard. She hissed, taking in a sharp breath and wincing against the slight pain.

The door to the room flew open and she whirled around in surprise, momentarily dropping the blanket as she readied herself to face her attacker.

Ryan stood at the threshold, light pouring into the room from behind him, his eyes wide in shock. Atlanta felt her heart stop for a second. The last time she’d seen him he was attacking her uncle on the tower rooftop, compelled by Adelaide, a foe rather than a friend. She stared at him in horror, instantly looking at his eyes, wondering if he was still compelled and had come to try to kill her.

Atlanta? Ryan asked, his eyes briefly shifting downwards before coming back up quickly.

Ryan? Atlanta breathed. "Is that really you?"

From behind Ryan a second figure rushed to his side. Damian took one look at Atlanta, then quickly turned around and pulled Ryan back, slamming the door closed. Get dressed, please, Atlanta, Damian said from outside.

Atlanta frowned, then looked down