Leviathan

Nobody expects the eldest Morrow brother to do much against a menacing magical beast. They’re about to find out how very wrong they are.

Fully human, non-magical, but Special Forces to the core…

Deke is the designated heir to an ancient legacy that he doesn’t fully understand. Being non-magical in a family of powerful water elementals hasn’t always been easy, but he loves his brothers and sister and will do anything to help them defeat the leviathan – including risk his own life to find and use a legendary magical artifact.

A wood nymph with no real idea what she is…

Magical and mysterious, Cece has lived alone on her mountaintop since she was eighteen and her parents were killed in a wreck. She doesn’t know much about the power that awakened within her, but she takes her role as guardian of her woodland home very seriously. When Deke asks to search her forest for Poseidon’s Trident, she watches from the shadows, fascinated by the most intriguing and ruggedly handsome man she’s ever met.

Together, they will end the leviathan come hell or very high water…

Pursued by enemies, they fly to Grizzly Cove, there to join forces with the others who have gathered to try to defeat the leviathan once and for all, including Deke’s entire family. He never expected to fall in love with a woman of power, but Deke knows – if he survives the battle to come – he will never love another. Cece is his fated mate, if a human can have such a thing, and he plans to ask her to marry him once the business of the leviathan is well and truly settled. With that kind of incentive, the leviathan won’t know what hit it.

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just lay it out for you. Bare bones, so to speak. Deke is researching something for his father and needs to make a search of the woods on your land for a clue that’s been lost here for many years. Possibly centuries. I know it sounds a bit strange, but we were all hoping you would indulge our eccentricity.” Mr. Wulf gave her an oddly sheepish smile. “I can guarantee you that no harm will come to the trees, the forest, or the creatures in it from Deke. Far from it. What he’s trying to do is retrieve a lost item. It’s either here or there’s a clue here that will lead him to its location. All we ask is that you let him search for it.”
Cece wasn’t sure what to make of this odd request. She didn’t like the idea of a strange man she didn’t know roaming about on her land. Whatever was here should remain here, she thought. If it was something valuable, it belonged to the forest, not to any individual. At least, that’s how she saw it. She was sure others wouldn’t be so altruistic. What did she really know about this man, except that Mr. Wulf vouched for him?
“I can tell you’re skeptical,” Mr. Wulf said as she remained silent, thinking hard. “This is coming out of left field, I know. But it is important. If it helps, Deke’s father in an admiral in the Navy, and a finer man I have never known. Deke is a soldier too. A Green Beret, if you know what that means.”
“Army Special Forces,” she said aloud. She’d been fascinated by the documentaries she had watched about those special warriors who were given the most dangerous missions. “If your father is Navy, why did you go Army?”
“The admiral is my stepfather,” Deke told her. “He married my mother when I was a kid, a few years after my biological father died on a mission. They had three more children, my two brothers and sister. The admiral adopted me, and I took his last name, but I decided to go into the Army, rather than the Navy, to honor my birth father, who was also a Green Beret.”
There was something he wasn’t telling her about all this, but she knew essentially what he’d said was the truth. She had a sixth sense about people lying to her, and so far, this man had been truthful. She appreciated that, even though he was withholding something. It wasn’t a lie, exactly, but rather a judicious parsing of his words so as not to reveal something he obviously wanted to protect. For now, she wouldn’t push to know what it was he wanted to keep hidden, but if it became necessary as their conversation evolved, she would. She would spare nothing when it came to the protection of her land and her forest even if this man’s yummy chocolate brown eyes seemed so honest and worthy.
“Cece,” Mr. Wulf said, recapturing her attention, “you remember those discussions we’ve had about the eternal struggle between good and evil? This is one of those kinds of things.” He grimaced, as if unsure what to say. “I can tell you that myself, my family, and the admiral’s entire family, including this young man, are securely on the side of good. But you know that. At least about me and Millie. You understand us and know that we would never ally ourselves with anything of evil intent.”
Cece remembered those in-depth discussions with fondness. She had learned a great deal about the world from the Wulfs and had always enjoyed discussing philosophy and current events with them. When she was younger, they had gotten together almost weekly. Millie had invited Cece to dinner at their place, and for a while, as Cece was adjusting to being alone, she would often go down the mountain to join them.
In recent years, she hadn’t been quite so dependent on them. She’d gotten used to being alone. Even so, she didn’t necessarily enjoy the loneliness. Of course, she always knew she was welcome at the Wulfs’. She could easily walk down the mountain and just drop in on them. Millie was the kind of woman who welcomed everyone at her table. About every other month or so, Cece would take the walk, picking wildflowers along the way, if they were in season, to give to Mrs. Wulf.
In the winter, sometimes, she would bring dried herbs and things she had made from them. Salves, tinctures, and oils infused with the herbal essences of the forest that was her home. Mrs. Wulf always welcomed her little gifts as if they were something magical. She had a way of making Cece feel special. Millie wasn’t much like Cece remembered her mother being, but Millie filled a spot in Cece’s heart where she supposed a grandmother-type might fit, even though Millie didn’t seem old enough to be anybody’s grandmother. She just had that nurturing maternal vibe about her.
“I only want to walk around your land and look for a clue,” Deke put in, his low voice holding a persuasive tone. She needed to resist that voice, though she wasn’t sure why.
She’d been alone a long time, and she felt like objecting to his request just on principle. It didn’t make sense. It was just that she was scared of change, and this man represented a big change. Someone else in her forest was a huge deal. She didn’t allow anybody to trespass on the peace of her woodland.
“And, if you find this clue, what then?” she challenged. “What if you find the object you’re looking for and not just a clue? Will you want to take it away with you?”
Deke paused before answering. “I have to.” His words were spoken like a vow. “I need to find the…artifact…to use in the ongoing battle.”
“It’s a weapon?” She couldn’t believe something violent had been hiding in her forest all this time. It seemed impossible. Her land was sacred. Good to its core.
“It’s a tool,” Deke said, seemingly almost against his will. “It belonged to one of my stepfather’s ancestors, and even though I’m not a blood relation, he says I’m the one who’s supposed to find it.”
That surprised her, but she tried not to let it show. It still sounded like he was looking for a weapon, no matter that he couched it in other terms. She honestly didn’t think he’d find anything, but she had the feeling he’d be persistent in asking her to let him search. This man didn’t look like the type to give up easily on anything he set his mind to accomplishing.
“How long?” she asked. He seemed surprised by her words, so she clarified. “How long do you propose to search? A few hours? A day? A few days?”
In his eyes, she saw her answer. He would search until he found what he sought.