The New Age: Book 5 of The Bloodmoon Wars (A Paranormal Shifter Romance Series) Read online

  The New Age

  Book 5 of the Bloodmoon Wars (A Paranormal Shifter Romance Series)

  Sara Snow

  Contents

  1. Will

  2. Elinor

  3. Elinor

  4. Cain

  5. Elinor

  6. Elinor

  7. Elinor

  8. Skye

  9. Elinor

  10. Elinor

  11. Elinor

  12. Elinor

  13. Will

  14. Elinor

  15. Cyrus

  16. Faelen

  17. Elinor

  18. Elinor

  19. Will

  20. Elinor

  21. Immediately After the War

  One Year Post-War

  Present Day

  Have you read the Bloodmoon Wars Prequel?

  Also By Sara Snow

  Enjoy This Book? I would love to hear from you…

  About the Author

  1

  Will

  I regained consciousness slowly, and the first thing I noticed was the silence. It was as if there were no life anywhere in the world around me.

  I knew I was lying in the snow, but I didn’t have the strength to move or even open my eyes to see where I was. So I stayed there, unmoving, as if I were dead.

  Cain’s attack didn’t kill me, but it had done damage, wounding me severely enough that I’d blacked out. No doubt, he used a spelled blade on me.

  The burning pain in my chest was now a dull feeling as the wound froze from the below-zero temperatures, but still, it wasn’t healing. And even though it no longer gushed blood, I knew it would become a problem if I didn’t deal with it soon.

  Since I hadn’t fed, my heart was beating, and I wasn’t in my vampire form. Had I been, I could have handled the cold a little better. As it was, I could barely feel my fingers and toes, and my limbs felt stiff.

  Still, I’d survived worse.

  Thank the Goddess that the lightning bolt Elinor had thrown at Cain probably ruined his concentration, resulting in our separation within the portal. I could still hear Elinor’s scream now, the sound branded into my memory, prompting me to gather what strength I had. I couldn’t lie here forever. I did not know how much time had passed, but I knew I needed to get back to her.

  With great effort, I managed to open my eyes. I gazed up at a slightly cloudy sky, the sun a light shade of orange beyond the clouds as it set. Around me, I saw snow-covered mountains and a world of pure white.

  I was oceans away from Elinor.

  I hissed as I got to my feet, my hand clutching at the hole in my chest. A strong wind blew, almost knocking me over, and I coughed up blood, the liquid bright crimson on the snow.

  You can do this. You must get back to her.

  Clearly, I’d lost far too much blood and would have to feed before my thirst got out of hand. I tried to focus on my surroundings, doing everything I could to take my mind off my hunger. I knew dwelling on it would only make it worse. So I walked. But even after an hour of dragging myself around, all I could see was snow.

  A snowy owl hooted overhead. I looked up and saw the white bird circling me from above.

  It descended after a moment, its wings flapping to keep it suspended in the air before me, and its large yellow eyes pierced mine. It hooted once before flying off again but returned moments later when I hadn’t moved.

  “Okay,” I said, my breath a cloud of fog. “I’m coming.”

  Walking in a direction I certainly wouldn’t have chosen, I followed the bird for half an hour until we reached the foot of a mountain. Built into the rock at the base was a small door.

  The bird dove through an opening in the door, but I dropped to my knees just before it. I couldn’t walk another step. I fell face forward into the snow.

  The door opened as my vision blurred. “Elinor?”

  The owl hooted again, and the world went black.

  Will

  I loved the sound of a crackling fire. It was something I hadn’t enjoyed in so long. I released a breath as warmth enveloped my body, and I recalled the days I’d spent with Vivian’s coven, sitting before the fireplace and waiting for nightfall to see Elinor.

  “You’re awake.” A woman to my right spoke. I turned my head to gaze into her honey eyes. “How do you feel?”

  I was inside a house carved into the mountain, the rock walls polished smooth. There was a living room, dining room, and a kitchen visible from where I was lying on the floor in a pile of quilts and blankets.

  It resembled an actual home, including a fireplace—albeit without a proper chimney— where flames danced, probably with the help of magic.

  I placed my hand on my chest and found a bandage wrapped around me. “Better, thank you.”

  The woman nodded, her salt and pepper hair in a messy braid down her back. She smiled warmly and her eyes crinkled, then she walked over to the fireplace. She picked up a kettle hanging above it and poured tea into a cup.

  By the door, the snowy owl who’d led me here hooted and turned to stare at me.

  “Where am I?” I inquired as I pulled myself up, feeling only slight discomfort.

  “Alaska,” the woman answered as she crossed the room and handed me a cup. I eyed it for a moment, and her smile widened. “You need not worry. It’s not poisoned. It’s to help with the discomfort you might be feeling. You have frostbite around your wound.”

  I took the cup and eyed the leaves that were floating around in the green liquid. She returned to where she was sitting across the room, leaning forward in her chair. We sat in silence as I drank the tea and she continued to knit what appeared to be a sweater.

  She glanced at me from time to time but never spoke.

  Seeing the dried herbs hanging from hooks and a shelf with filled glass jars in the kitchen, I could tell she was a witch.

  “If you treated me, you must know what I am.” I placed the cup on the ground beside me.

  “I do,” she answered, not looking my way.

  “And you’re not afraid? Or curious? Don’t you have questions?”

  “Am I supposed to?” She glanced at me while her hands continued to work. “You were wounded, and my Vinny led you to me.” The bird hooted. “I helped you, and that’s all. All I want to know is how you got here.”

  “I was pulled into an unstable portal.”

  “Ah . . .” She bobbed her head. “Be careful of those. You’re lucky it didn’t rip you to shreds.”

  “Yes,” I drawled. “Lucky. So, why did you choose to live in a place like this?”

  She looked around and rested her hands on her lap. “It’s quiet. I come and go as I please, and I don’t mind the cold.” She smiled sadly. “I wasn’t always alone. Vinny was my husband.” I glanced at the owl—it was still staring at me. “He fell ill, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t heal him. He begged me to turn him into an owl so he could stay with me as my familiar.”

  Vinny flew across the room to land on the arm of her chair.

  “My name’s Will.”

  She ran a finger down Vinny’s head. “I’m Rosa.”

  “There is someone I need to get back to, someone I need to help. Are you able to make portal potions?”

  “Definitely. That’s how I get around. Walking to the closest town would be very hard on my old back.” She chuckled, but then her smile faded. She stood up and walked over to her glass shelf. “This is for you. It’s not a lot, but it should keep you until you get back to the person you need to help.” She held out a small bottle fi
lled with blood.

  I swallowed hard, and the beast in me that hadn’t fed in far too long hissed. “Rosa, I can’t take this.”

  “Nonsense. The way you’re staring at the bottle tells me you need to. Take it and drink. I’ll get started on the portal potion.” Her pulse was so loud, my gums began to hurt as my fangs elongated. She removed the cork, and I turned my head away.

  Once the bottle was open, there wasn’t much resistance left in me. I didn’t just want it—I needed it. After feeding, my vampirism would awaken, and more of my strength would return. I took it from her and tried not to touch her hand in the process. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel the warmth of my skin.

  I gulped it down in seconds, letting my head fall back as the rich liquid slid down my throat. I felt my eyes grow red for a moment, and my heart slowed down until it stopped. My warm skin turned cold and a little paler. I took my last breath as the rest of my organs stopped working. When I removed the bandage surrounding my body, I was all healed up.

  “There are others like you?”

  I hadn’t realized Rosa had been watching me. She didn’t look afraid or disgusted, only curious. By the door, the owl hooted twice, and she looked his way. They stared at each other for a moment, and I knew they were silently communicating.

  “No,” I answered. “Someone powerful turned me, and as a result, it granted me certain powers. One of them is the ability to walk in the sun. As far as I know, I’m the only one who can.”

  She took a deep breath, then released it. “Then it is good that you were the one who received this power,” she said as she turned away to search through her shelf of goodies.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “If you were like other vampires, I’d be dead and drained already. If a typical vampire had such a gift, the world would have ended a long time ago.”

  Will

  It took less than an hour for Rosa to finish making the potion. All the while, she told me about the life she had lived with Vinny before he’d fallen ill.

  Her coven had never accepted their relationship. She came from a high-ranking family who’d expected her to do her duty and marry a warlock who would strengthen her bloodline—not a human like Vinny. So Rosa renounced them all and ran away with Vinny the second she got the chance.

  They never had kids, but they had lived happily together, traveling the world. It was similar to the life Elinor and I had talked about. When I told her that, she had chuckled, saying that our duo was an even stranger one than hers, but she loved it and wished us the best.

  “Thank you, Rosa.” I shook her hand as Vinny flew onto her shoulder. “You as well, Vinny, thank you. I’d have been in a sad state if you hadn’t found me.”

  He hooted, and Rosa pulled her fur coat close. “Let’s agree not to meet again under these circumstances.”

  “Agreed.” I smiled, then threw the potion to the ground. When a portal opened, I pictured the place I’d left Elinor and the others, then stepped through.

  While I’d needed—and appreciated—getting the chance to rest and recuperate, now it was time to get back to business. I stepped out of the portal and found the forest in ruins.

  Trees had been uprooted, and I could still see where blood soaked into the earth, but there was no one in sight. There were no bodies, just bits and pieces of clothes. Still, the stench of death was thick in the air. I took a deep breath, searching for Elinor’s scent among the countless others.

  Once I found it, I began walking.

  I had no doubt that Elinor and the others won the battle. But thinking of her somewhere, worried and searching for me, made me pick up my pace. I didn’t want her weakened and wondering what had happened to me any longer than she needed to be. As for my brother, I doubted her attack would have killed him . . . unless he hadn’t been as lucky as I had been by coming out of the portal in one piece.

  I doubted it. Cain was like a roach. He wouldn’t die easily.

  Twice now, I’d held back, not wanting to kill him. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. But first, I needed to find Elinor.

  2

  Elinor

  A light drizzle of rain started, then stopped minutes later. The scent of fresh rain was usually something I loved, but right now, I couldn’t feel joy.

  I locked the window but remained sitting in front of it, watching the water droplets slide down the glass.

  Elinor.

  Will’s voice echoed in my mind, and my eyes fluttered closed. I inhaled deeply and then released the air through my mouth. I couldn’t keep my eyes closed for long because each time I did, I relived Will being sucked into the portal.

  A day had passed since we’d rejoined the rest of my pack, and I was fighting to stay calm and to not go in search of him.

  “We have no idea even where to start looking for him,” Cyrus said. My father had agreed with him when we’d first arrived. “My first thought is that Cain took him to the Queen. If that’s the case, we can only go to the castle once we’ve gathered everyone together and are ready to attack.”

  “Will’s a tough one, you know that. He’ll hold on,” Skye had added.

  Still, while I knew they were right, I’d stormed out of the room, furious with the world.

  “Hey, kid.”

  I turned around and saw my father had entered the room.

  From the moment our eyes met when I’d first arrived here, I couldn’t contain my tears. I ran to him the way I had when I’d been a child, throwing myself into his arms, desperate for his comfort and reassurance.

  At the time, he was stunned but recovered swiftly and led me inside one of three houses.

  After my sobbing had stopped, I wasn't able to speak for hours. I felt numb to the point where I could only sit and stare out the window. Love was a beautiful thing, but it could make you suffer like nothing else.

  “Aren’t you hungry?” he asked now as he joined me at the window.

  I held my head back to look up at him. “You’re getting gray hair.”

  He gave me a sheepish grin and combed his dark curls back. “What about it?”

  I smiled weakly before turning to face the window again. “Nothing; it suits you. It makes you look old and wise.”

  “I’m wise, but not old.”

  “Hmm.” I hummed, and he poked me with his elbow.

  We stood in silence for a moment as it started to rain again. Then he crossed his arms over his broad chest and began tapping a finger against his bicep. “You didn’t answer me.”

  “Sorry, what did you ask?”

  He glanced down at me. “You need to eat. You haven’t eaten since you arrived yesterday. I understand you’re worried about the vampire, but you need to look after yourself.”

  I hadn’t yet told him about what had happened, but no doubt Darian had brought him up to speed. “Darian filled you in, huh?”

  “Well, you weren’t being very chatty,” he grumbled, and I gave him a tightlipped smile. “I already knew there was more between you and the vampire than you were letting on.”

  I turned to him. “Oh, did you?”

  “I’m your father, Elinor. And despite what you think, I do know you. So I trusted your judgment when you told me he was on our side. And I still do.”

  I heaved a sigh. “Okay. Well, at the time, I didn’t think telling you I was in love with a vampire was a good idea. After all, vampires are the ones we’re fighting against.”

  His jaws clenched at that. “Love.”

  “Yes.”

  “How long?” He uncrossed his arms. “How long were you secretly seeing him?”

  So Darian hasn’t told him everything.

  “I met him shortly before I was attacked by vampires in the forest. You remember? The night I’d run out during the full moon . . .” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “When I found out I’d failed the Werewolf Guard’s examination because of you,” I reminded him. Realization struck, and his lips formed a thin line. “He was the one who saved me that night
.”

  He covered his mouth with his hand as if wiping something off his face and walked away.

  “It’s been a while then,” he grumbled under his breath, then stopped in the middle of the living room. “I wish I could say you should have told me, but it’s good you didn’t.”

  I chuckled. “I know.”

  “Goddess, you’re hell-bent on never doing anything the normal way, aren’t you?” he laughed. “But I mean that in a good way. You’re a white wolf—a healer, from what the others have told me—and now you’re in love with a vampire.”

  “All of those things fell into my lap, really.”

  He hummed and sat down, his elbows on his knees as he stared across the room.

  The smile on my face faded because despite his calm, I knew he was battling all of this inside his head. I understood he’d imagined a specific life for me, and my choice to be with a vampire, a creature werewolves hunted, definitely wasn’t a part of it.

  “Forget about what species he is,” I said. “Just focus on the number of times he’s risked his life for me and for the people we love.”

  His head tilted to the side, but he didn’t look at me.

  “He loves me,” I pressed. “I know he does. He’s proven that. I fought him—for a long time, I fought him and what I felt for him. Because of you.”

  He looked at me, frowning.

  I walked over to him and sat down in front of him. “I don’t mean that in a bad way,” I added. “I didn’t want to anger you or disappoint you. But in the end, I realized I needed to think of myself. I deserve to be happy in the way I wish to be happy.”