Taken by the Siren

By Megan Slayer

Michael Blessing thought he had everything he ever wanted when he met his wife. Then he found out the truth, and his world was shattered by a car accident. Coming home to Eerie was supposed to be his time to heal his broken heart.

The siren had other ideas.

Lia Darling never forgot the shy, handsome young man she’d known when they were children. Seeing Michael again awakens a need within her she can’t explain or deny, but she’s been hurt before. She doesn’t want another dead end, and when she looks into his eyes, she sees forever.

Maybe this second chance is just what they need to heal, move forward and find love… together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changeling Press
• Release date: Jun 28, 2023

Megan Slayer

Megan Slayer, aka Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and BDSM themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been the runner up in the Kink Category at Love Romances Café as well as nominated at the LRC for best author, best contemporary, best ménage and best anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on Amazon.com. When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice.

Book preview

Taken by the Siren (Taken 3)

A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel

Megan Slayer

All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2023 Megan Slayer

BIN: 010831-03522

Formats Available:

Adobe PDF, Epub

Publisher:

Changeling Press LLC

315 N. Centre St.

Martinsburg, WV 25404

www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor: Katriena Knights

Cover Artist: Bryan Keller

Adult Sexual Content

This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

Legal File Usage -- Your Rights

Payment of the download fee for this book grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file, and to maintain private backup copies of the file for the purchaser’s personal use only.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this or any copyrighted work is illegal. Authors are paid on a per-purchase basis. Any use of this file beyond the rights stated above constitutes theft of the author’s earnings. File sharing is an international crime, prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice, Division of Cyber Crimes in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, and Interpol. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by seizure of computers, up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 per reported instance.

Table of Contents

Taken by the Siren (Taken 3)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Megan Slayer

Taken by the Siren (Taken 3)

A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel

Megan Slayer

Michael Blessing thought he had everything he ever wanted when he met his wife. Then he found out the truth, and his world was shattered by a car accident. Coming home to Eerie was supposed to be his time to heal his broken heart. The siren had other ideas.

Lia Darling never forgot the shy, handsome young man she’d known when they were children. Seeing Michael again awakens a need within her she can’t explain or deny, but she’s been hurt before. She doesn’t want another dead end, and when she looks into his eyes, she sees forever.

Maybe this second chance is just what they need to heal, move forward and find love… together.

Chapter One

Home, Michael Blessing murmured as he drove past the city limit line into Eerie. He hadn’t been back in so long. Seemed like the day he left was the last day he thought about his hometown. Silly, really. Eerie wasn’t a bad place. It was quaint. Like a storybook town. The buildings were whimsical, full of gingerbread and swirls, plus glitter and bright paint. The streets were clean and the sidewalks wide. The flowers blossomed brighter, and the people seemed to welcome everyone back.

There wasn’t a stranger in Eerie -- except humans. They were all strangers, but he wasn’t a human. His Fae father had married a woman who knew witchcraft. They’d been a good pairing, and Michael had the best childhood. Everyone thought his mother was human, but he hadn’t cared. He was loved.

His parents were still alive and still cared about him. He was their son, and they’d always love him, but they had no idea the depths of loneliness he felt. They didn’t understand the grief he dealt with on a daily basis.

The woman he loved was dead. The moment he’d seen Chloe, he knew he wanted her for the rest of his life. She’d be the best partner and eventually would make him a father.

Then she had, but she died.

He hadn’t been able to manage the grief, not even a year and a half later. He needed somewhere to hide. Eerie wasn’t the place to hide. Most everyone in town stood out. Witches, Elves, Faeries, gargoyles, shifters and every other kind of paranormal creature was there.

But he had a cabin in the woods on the other side of town, with a pier on the lake and plenty of space to be quiet, to hide and regroup. No one would bother him. He could write and be alone with no one bugging him, making him come out of himself or pleading with him to be social.

He didn’t have any social in him.

Not today. Not this week. Maybe not ever.

His magic had dried up, too.

Did he care? A little, but not as much as he should. He drove through town, then onto the side road leading to the woods. The beauty of Eerie was that everyone had a space. The lake, the village, the little cottages, the woods… If a paranormal creature wanted a space, there was one. If he wanted to hide at his cabin and write, then practice his magic, then he could. No one would annoy him.

He pulled into the dirt path that led to his cabin. The second he wound through the trees to his little house, he felt better. Like he belonged.

But that was always the way he felt when he came here. His heart was in the woods, among the trees and peace. Maybe he was always meant to be alone. Chloe had seen the most in him -- more than anyone -- but she was gone, and he had to pick up the pieces.

He pulled into the dirt patch next to the cabin and parked. As the engine cooled, he debated what to do. He needed to put up the carport to protect the Jeep -- not from the falling branches, but the leaves, rain and debris. He supposed he could use his magic to protect the vehicle, too. Probably should do that. It’d be a reason to practice his magic and prevent too much damage to his Jeep.

Despite needing to put the carport together, he left his vehicle and headed into the cabin. The place would need a lot of cleaning up, but he could use those tasks to procrastinate instead of writing.

He carried his bag into the cabin, then set about to put the tarp, PVC and canvas carport up. If nothing else, the carport would hide his vehicle, and maybe if anyone saw the lights on, they’d leave him alone.

He hated being so despondent and crabby, but he’d been hurt and had no idea how to get over his loss.

An hour later, he managed to secure the Jeep in the carport and even cleaned up the living room enough for living. He added a bit of magic to the carport, adding extra strength to the canvas to protect his vehicle. He’d murmured the words and checked to ensure the spell had gone correctly. Sure enough, it had, and he grinned.

At least one thing had gone his way.

He headed back into the house, and his stomach grumbled. He should eat, but there wasn’t anything in the fridge. Hell, the fridge hadn’t even been turned on. He needed to make a run to the store, but also should set up the Internet, too.

He cleaned the dust from the living room, then set about getting the kitchen in order. He removed the sheets around the house to reveal the furniture and, as he worked, he swore he heard music.

A familiar song. Sweet, too.

He paused, and his thoughts turned to a song he remembered from his childhood. A girl he’d known had sung the song, but probably never where she thought anyone could hear her.

He chuckled to himself. He hadn’t thought about that girl or the song in ages. What was her name? She’d been a sweet young woman, with flame-red hair and fiery eyes. She rarely spoke, but she’d filled out quickly and wore revealing clothes. She grabbed attention wherever she went, but no one really got to know her.

He knew her name. He’d lusted after her the entire time they were in school.

Lia.

How could he forget? She was beautiful, but hard to approach. He’d spoken to her a few times, but he’d been like everyone else and given her a wide berth. If he remembered correctly, she lived around the lake. The rumor was she lived in a cave, but he wasn’t sure. He’d never bothered to look for her house. The rumors also claimed she turned tricks -- mostly because of what she wore. Had anyone seen her do such things? He doubted it. It was easier to condemn her than to be a friend.

He should know. He’d been less of a friend than he could’ve been.

Besides, the paranormal children liked to tell stories. Hell, he’d been known to puff his own ego up by claiming to have more experience than he really had. According to the rumors he’d populated on his own, he had such sexual prowess. He was a Fae, and experienced.

Except he’d only ever slept with three women, with one of them being Chloe. He wasn’t that experienced and only claimed he was to get attention. So much for that.

He ignored the music still filtering through to him and finished cleaning up the living room, then moved to the bedroom. The moment he stepped into the room, memories hit him hard. He’d never brought Chloe here. This was his private space, and she didn’t want to be there.

He wasn’t sure why -- why he’d never brought her or why she never demanded to be there.

Chloe liked camping, liked being outside. She liked nearly everything he did, which was good, but also boring. They never had to worry about finding something to do because they liked the same things, but it kept him from trying anything new. Did he want someone who was the exact opposite of him? Not necessarily, but he’d like to meet a woman who was a little different. That’d be good. She’d bring something to the table.

He chided himself. Chloe had been good to him. She listened and cared, but she didn’t like him talking about his Fae side. She shunned his music. She believed magic was bunk. His powers were sleights of hand and not real. If he made flowers appear, then they were rigged to grow. If he made it rain, then it was supposed to.

Not magic.

He’d loved her and wanted to spend forever with her, but she hadn’t allowed him to be his authentic self. Back then, he hadn’t wanted to, either. He wanted to be a regular guy. Wanted to blend in, not stand out. Chloe helped him to do that, but he’d always felt a piece of him was missing.

He heard the singing again. If he wasn’t mistaken, the voice sounded like Lia.

She hadn’t known he’d heard her a few times. Always in the woods and always out of her sight. He loved the smoky quality of her voice. The way she sounded sultry and sensual, yet beautiful. He’d been snagged from the first moment he’d heard her.

But he worried if he approached her, she’d never talk to him. She’d remember how he’d been dismissive to her back in school.

His thoughts turned fully to Lia as he pulled the sheets off the bed. She was odd in a good way. She kept to