Seduced by Lies Vol. 1
VOLUME ONE
SEDUCED BY LIES
ELYSIUM
KIMBERLY KINRADE
DMYTRY KARPOV
Daring Books Publishing
Copyright © 2013 Kimberly Kinrade and Dmytry Karpov
Cover Art Copyright © 2013 Dmytry Karpov
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interior by Dmytry Karpov
Edited by Tracy Riva
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Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.
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Other books by Karpov Kinrade
The Seduced Saga (New Adult Paranormal Romance)
Forbidden Passions. Deadly secrets. A love that will stand against it all.
Seduced: Rose's Story (Books 1-3)
Seduced by Innocence (Book 1, Rose's Story)
Seduced by Pain (Book 2, Rose's Story)
Seduced by Power (Book 3, Rose's Story)
Seduced by Lies (A serial novel)
Volume 1
The Forbidden Trilogy (Young Adult Paranormal/Sci-Fi)
She reads minds. He controls minds. Together, they might get out alive.
Forbidden Mind (Book 1)
Forbidden Fire (Book 2)
Forbidden Life (Book 3)
The Forbidden Trilogy (Books 1-3 with special content)
Kiss Me Series (New Adult Contemporary Romance)
Travel the world with the Deveauxs as they find love, and trouble, in all the right places.
Kiss Me in Paris (Winter & Cade's Story)
The Three Lost Kids (Children's Fantasy Lower Grade Chapter Books)
Join the Three Lost Kids as they embark on magical adventures where they learn important real life lessons.
Lexie World
Bella World
Maddie World
The Death of the Sugar Fairy
The Christmas Curse
Cupid's Capture
To all the Seduced and Forbidden
fans who encouraged us to keep this world going.
This one's for you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 – Derek O'Conner
CHAPTER 2 – Rose O'Conner
CHAPTER 3 – Drake Davis
CHAPTER 4 – Derek O'Conner
CHAPTER 5 – Rose O'Conner
CHAPTER 6 – Drake Davis
CHAPTER 7 – Rose O'Conner
CHAPTER 8 – Drake Davis
CHAPTER 9 – Rose O'Conner
CHAPTER 10 – Drake Davis
CHAPTER 11 – Derek O'Conner
CHAPTER 12 – Rose O'Conner
CHAPTER 13 – Derek O'Conner
CHAPTER 14 – Drake Davis
CHAPTER 15 –Rose O'Conner
CHAPTER 16 – Derek O'Conner
CHAPTER 17 – Derek O'Conner
Important Message from the Authors
Seduced by Lies is a serial novel, not a stand-alone, full-length novel. What does this mean? It means there will be multiple (5-7) volumes published of this novel, each around 20-30k words, each with a mini story arc, each building to a bigger climax.
Once complete, it will be much longer than one stand-alone book (in terms of retail value, it will be the equivalent of several novels). This is not one novel broken into chapters and published separately. Each volume is crafted to be its own story within a story. Think of it like episodes of your favorite television drama, with all the volumes together being the season, and each volume being an episode. But it's the kind of television drama that always ends on a cliffhanger, so keep that in mind as well.
Serial novels have been around a long time, going back to Charles Dickens, so this is nothing new. We've chosen to write this as a serial because we enjoy fan feedback as the story develops, and because we love playing with the mini-arcs and more epic storylines that this format allows. We also know our fans enjoy having access to these books faster, which shorter pieces like this allow.
This is a sequel to Seduced: Rose's Story and brings in storylines and characters from the first three Seduced novels (Seduced by Innocence, Seduced by Pain and Seduced by Power.) It also brings in characters from The Forbidden Trilogy (Forbidden Mind, Forbidden Fire, Forbidden Life) but you don't need to have read all of those to enjoy Seduced by Lies. Keep reading, and you will find a summary of what has happened prior to this book, so whether you've read everything or not, you can dive right in and enjoy this story.
We hope you enjoy Seduced by Lies. To get updates when we have a new release, sign up for our newsletter at: http://sunriseandnightfall.com/newsletter/
We write in many styles and lengths, so if serial novels aren't your thing, consider checking out our full-length novels, trilogies and stand alone novels. You can find everything at http://SunriseandNightfall.com
Happy Reading.
A Prologue for Newcomers or Those Who Need A Refresher
In the world you know as normal, as ordinary, as mundane as doing dishes and taking out the trash on Thursday mornings, lives another, secret world, where men shift into beasts and witches brew spells that change lives.
In this world there are some with paranormal powers, not witches or shifters, but different. Others. They can bend minds, control fire, or read your deepest thoughts.
The paranormals and magical beings lived separate, each thinking they were alone in the world. The paranormals were bred as weapons, as tools, as a way to make an evil man wealthy and give him control of the world. The magical beings were born into a world that wasn't ready to accept the gifts they wielded.
And so these two groups have joined together, to protect and teach others like themselves, to offer a safe haven to those who are different.
Rose and Derek are druid shifters who guard the secrets of a magical rosebush. They met as enemies and found love. Rose's mother, her former coven leader, betrayed her and tried to sacrifice her for more power. In the course of her struggle against her mother, Rose discovered that the dark gift she had that sucked the soul out of others and cast them into a demon realm had been her mother's doing. When Blake, a demon-turned-human, sacrificed himself for her, he took the taint of her magic with him, freeing her true powers.
Derek, the heir to Rose Botanticals and his family's pack, came to terms with his destiny and took Rose as his wife, completing their family.
They now live and teach at a secret school for paranormals led by a retired journalism professor and a Catholic priest.
Most of the students in this school were raised in secret, used as spies and ultimately sent off as breeders of more paranormals when they turned 18. This is how Drake and Sam meant. Sam reads minds, and as she reached her 18th birthday, she linked minds with a boy being held captive in the school she'd always trusted.
&nb
sp; With her best friends, she uncovered the truth of the evil organization and discovered she'd already been implanted with a child against her knowledge and will. Drake was the father, and together they broke free of the group they called Rent-A-Kid and helped free their friends and destroy the organization once and for all.
In the process, Sam discovered her true heredity, that her father, Mr. Steele, was the mastermind behind it all.
Now Sam and Drake work to help others like them.
This is the world you are about to enter, a world where the ordinary and extraordinary meet. Where anything can happen and where secrets and lies are never what you think.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
—William Shakespeare
CHAPTER ONE
DEREK O'CONNER
THE AFTERNOON SUN warmed my shoulders as I dodged a round-house kick. “Good. Just remember to snap your knee when you kick.”
Curtis rebalanced and nodded, then pulled back and launched into a flying sidekick that nearly knocked me on my ass.
Blocking, I pivoted and swung my leg low to knock him down before he regained his stability. “Excellent form and strength, but remember those kicks don’t always help in a fight. If you don’t nail it, you’ll likely give your enemy the opening he needs to take you out.”
To prove my point, I pinned him as he fell, mocked shoving my elbow into his chest. “Checkmate.”
I lifted myself off of him and held out my hand. He reached for it, and I pulled him up. We both dusted dirt and grass off of ourselves.
The blond former bully had become a leader in this school since his graduation and willingness to come out of the closet as a homosexual. Even amongst a school of paranormals, who by definition are different than the rest of the world, some things were still hard for more narrow-minded students to accept.
Curtis drained a water bottle and looked toward the entry that stood open during the day.
“Are you expecting someone?” I asked. We had class in thirty minutes and he was my assistant for the beginning martial arts students. As we took on more students, I couldn’t keep up with the demand and needed him to take over all the beginning classes.
He nodded. “A new kid I’ve been talking to. He’s fifteen and anxious to get out of public school and join us here, but his mom is pretty opposed to it. His dad finally agreed to give him a ride to at least check it out and talk with Father Patrick. Having our own priest on hand helps with some of the more conservative families, though I do hope Professor Shaw gets back soon.”
I wiped my forehead with a small towel, and we sat under the Weeping Willow, enjoying the shade and a gentle breeze. “How’s the conference going for him?” Curtis was point person for the local Paranormal Recruitment and Retention program, or PRR. It was actually his idea and it had gone global. He fought to make sure everybody with paranormal powers was protected and had a place to go and options for their education if they wanted. Our official Headmaster, Professor George Bernard Shaw, was at an international conference in Europe to argue for the unification of paranormals under a common goal.
“It’s a mixed bag,” Curtis said. “So many people are scared of us, it’s been hard to convince everyone to unite. But, this is just a first step. Even if we don’t get everything we want, we’ve at least laid a foundation for more work in the future.”
A car pulled through the gate and Curtis stood and jogged over. I joined him, curious about a potential new candidate for our school.
Rose and I first found this place last year when Rose's dark power threatened to consume her, and me, each time we touched. Getting sex advice from the priest who ran this special school had been… interesting. By the time we left, we knew we belonged here, that we could make a difference with these kids. It hadn't taken us long after our wedding to move into the small cottage they'd set up for us. Now I taught martial arts and Rose taught computers and design.
Rose and I were here not just as teachers, but as protectors, so that these kids could grow up safe.
Curtis smiled as the car door opened. Neither of us expected the angry woman with tears streaming down her face to emerge, screaming at us. “You bastard!” She pointed at Curtis. “You killed my boy. You and the other freaks here. You killed him!”
Leaving the car running and door open, she lunged at Curtis, slapping his face hard before either of us had time to react. Despite my training, I wasn’t expecting an assault from this woman, but I responded quickly and pulled her into a hold that wouldn’t hurt her. “Ma’am, I need you to step back.”
She struggled against me with more strength than I expected given her petite frame. Her mousy brown hair hung in strands over her face, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
Curtis put up his hand. “Let her go. She’s not dangerous.”
I didn’t agree with his assessment, but I let her go, staying close just in case.
“Mrs. Kirkly, what happened? Where’s Taylor?” Curtis asked.
She scowled at him. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know. He’s dead, and you all killed him.”
Curtis’ face went pale. “Dead? When? How?”
“Murdered. They found him this morning.” She spit on the ground at his feet.
A man exited the car and ran up to her. “Honey, this isn’t their fault. I never should have agreed to this. Let’s go home.”
She spun on her husband. “You! You always take their side. These paranormal freaks. They aren’t natural. They aren’t of God, and now He’s punished us for our faithlessness.”
Mr. Kirkly’s shoulders sagged. “An animal killed him, not these kids. Come on. We have our son to bury.”
He looked up at us. “I’m so sorry. For everything. Tyler was killed last night, attacked by an animal while hiking.” He looked at Curtis. “You know how he liked to go into the woods, away from all people, and practice his levitation. They found his body this morning.”
Mr. Kirkly dragged his wife back to the car before we could respond, and they drove away.
Curtis looked sick. “I need a few minutes alone.”
I nodded. “Go. I’ll handle class today.”
"I'll see you at the meeting later."
"Sure." Father Patrick had called an important school meeting after this lesson, but refused to tell us it's purpose. "Take care of yourself."
Curtis thanked me and left for the mansion as kids ran out to our practice area and started their stretches.
I took ten students through a series of kicks and punches as I tried to put aside the grief I’d just witnessed. As much as I wanted to protect everyone here, this reminded me that life still happened, and I couldn’t foresee every possible threat to those I’d grown to love.
Is that what the meeting was about? Did a paranormal really murder Tyler?
A fluffy white cat sat under the weeping willow grooming herself and blatantly ignored me. When I paced too close to her spot, Angel's feline senses caught my wolf scent, and she hissed, hair raised and tail pointing in the air.
Serena broke form to run over to her. "I'm sorry, Mr. O'Conner. I wish she wouldn't react like that with you."
The young girl soothed her cat, running her hands over the white fur until Angel curled up and purred, eyes averted from me as if I no longer mattered.
"Don't worry about it, Serena," I said. "She can't fight her nature on this one. Why don't you rejoin class?"
She sighed. "Okay, but you know I'm no good at this. Never will be. Why can't I skip it and do something else?"
I sat on the bench under the tree to talk face to face with her. "You don't have to spar or fight anyone, but these classes give you discipline and strength, which will help you control your powers. That's important for everyone, but especially for you." I thought about Taylor and wondered if he’d be alive now if he’d lived here and had been given a safe place to practice his powers.
Her head dropped. "I'm sorry. You're right. I was just trying to help."
I
used a finger to tilt her face up. "Don't be sorry. You have a big heart, but your power is the most dangerous, at least to you. If you overextend yourself, it will kill you."
A tear trickled down her cheek. "That's what my dad used to say. Before he died. He said I could never tell anyone about my healing powers, that they'd take me away and use me up until it killed me."
My jaw hardened. "That will never happen. That's why we're here, Serena, to protect you and all of these kids, to make sure no one can use you like that. But you have to do your part and learn how to control you power and defend yourself if necessary."
She nodded and slipped back into the group, going through the motions with the rest of her friends.
Serena had lost so much. Her father had died trying to save Sam, my best friend’s wife, and then her mother was killed right in front of her, but she never gave in to despair, and for that I admired the hell out of her and knew she had an inner strength most people lacked.
All of these kids had gone through their own hell. Some had lost parents, most had lost their home, the school where they thought they were safe.
When my class finished their lunges, I took them through a series of stretches. “You always want to stretch before and after working out to keep your muscles from cramping up. And don’t forget to drink a lot of water.”
We had no bells at this school, but I could tell classes were letting out as kids of all ages ran out of the grand mansion, some heading out to play in the woods, others going to their next class in one of the bungalows we’d just finished building.