Wynter's Captive
Table of Contents
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Wynter’s Captive
Milly Taiden
Copyright Warning
EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (
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).
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Etopia Press
1643 Warwick Ave., #124
Warwick, RI 02889
Wynter’s Captive
Copyright © 2013 by Milly Taiden
ISBN: 978-1-939194-45-9
Edited by Melinda Fulton
Cover by Amanda Kelsey
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Etopia Press electronic publication: January 2013
~ Dedication ~
For the following ladies who have been awesome in their dedication to helping me succeed, always offering comfort and friendship and telling me how much they like my stories: Jewels Fernandez, Amalfis Liz, Lindsay Avalon, Carrie Fort, Heidi Hutchinson, and Diamond Bermudez. I could not have asked for a better group of fans.
For Melinda, the world’s most amazing editor, and DeAnna, the best copyeditor ever. It is thanks to you both we’ll be able to get Wynter’s Captive out to the werewolf lovers.
I love all you chicas!
And for everyone that loves my shifters, thank you.
Chapter One
“Of all the ideas you’ve ever come up with, why the hell did you make me wear a white dress when I’m the maid of honor?” Lili groaned into her empty car’s interior. The warm leather seat rubbed her back while she drove for what felt like the fifteenth hour. Bluetooth connection allowed her to speak with her best friend and the current bane of her existence, Jaylin. “I hate white! You know I look fat in it.”
Although it was Lili’s opinion she looked fat in pretty much every color. That might be due to her need to lose a few…or twenty pounds, but who the heck was counting, right?
“I swear, Jay, if it weren’t because I love you like family, I’d have taken this thing off and showed up to your wedding naked.” Yeah right! Naked? Now there was a visual that would make Aunt Patricia go blind. A choked giggle escaped her lips at the image of Aunt Patty in one of her usual panic attacks. Aunt Patty, also known as Jay’s mom, tended to hyperventilate over the smallest thing.
“We
are
family you silly girl, or have you forgotten you’re my cousin? And don’t you dare show up naked, Liliana Rojas! I will tell mom, and she’ll kick your butt into next week and probably make you wear one of her dresses. Her old maid dresses. You know the kind. With the million tiny, printed sunflowers and that square flap she calls a neckline.” Jaylin giggled. “Besides, I wanted to wear the red dress to stand out. You girls and every other guest there have to be in white. It’s a winter wedding. Oh, just get here already. What’s taking you so long?” She grumbled.
“Just tell me if you were able to get the decorator to get you some of those crystal snowflakes we talked about? Those will look amazing hanging off the baby pines you’re using as centerpieces. ” She should’ve been there to help Jaylin put everything in order, instead of being a day late to the wedding.
“Of course. What kind of winter wedding doesn’t include snowflakes? I might even make them get me a fake snow machine if the white stuff doesn’t show up soon.” A scuffling noise came through the line and then a panting Jaylin spoke, “Hurry up so you can see it.”
Lili glanced ahead and sighed. It was the perfect day for a wedding. If only Jay had picked the summer months like normal brides. But no, Jaylin had to be different. A white wedding was what she wanted. As in everyone but her had to wear white. Too bad it didn’t look like there’d be any snow. In fact, it was a pretty warm winter so far. A long stretch of empty road, under a cloudless sky and bright midday sun, loomed before her. Thick forest lined up the sides of the road, caging her in. There wasn’t a sign of life for miles.
“Hey, I didn’t tell you to come to the boonies to get married. I’ve been driving forever, and I can’t seem to get there. You know, New York has great wedding locations,” she grumbled. “And you were supposed to drive with me! But instead of a nice scenic drive with my best friend, I am driving alone and have to rush to get to you.”
Running her fingers through her long curls, she looked down at the GPS. It flashed a straight arrow and indicated she still had another sixty miles of driving before she arrived at the cabin retreat where the wedding would be held. Stupid mountain retreat had to be in small-town nowhere.
“This is not the boonies.” Jaylin laughed. “I’m sorry I had to fly, but Brandon got it in his head to bring me in much earlier than the wedding called for. If you would have taken the plane ticket I offered to buy you, you’d be here by now. But nooo you had to be all Ms. Independent I-can-get-my-own-ass-there-alone. Shit, you could’ve flown all my guests on a private jet if you’d used your trust fund. So now I’m left without my maid of honor until who knows when! Thank god the wedding isn’t until later this evening. You have enough time to make it here even in the event of any traffic delays.”
Guilt made Lili wince. She knew it was her own fault she was running late. If she hadn’t been called in to work at the real estate office, she would’ve been at the wedding site the day before. “I’m sorry, Jay. I’ll be there soon, and it all will be absolutely perfect.”
Jaylin sighed loudly. “I know. But I can’t get married without you here. Brandon is already freaked out because I told him without you there’s no wedding.”
The image of her cousin’s big, sexy fiancé freaking out made Lili burst into laughter. Brandon Hayes did not look like the type to let anything worry him. He was tall, blond, and so cute he made her eyes hurt. Personally, Lili preferred a more rugged look. Any man that looked better than her made her worry. “Listen, you and I both know Brandon is the last person to worry about your wedding. He’s got you locked so tight to him you two don’t even need to get married.”
Jaylin gasped. “We do if he wants me to sleep with him again. There is no way in hell my baby is going to be born out of wedlock!” An underlying panic came through along with Jaylin’s threat.
Lili rolled her eyes. She knew their family was old-school traditional, but if Jaylin didn’t want the possibility of a baby being born out of wedlock, then she shouldn’t have been doing the chandelier-dangling mambo with pretty boy Brandon. She wasn’t as stuck in tradition as Aunt Patty. However, she had never really done anything to call attention to herself like Jay, who tended to always get the family riled up with the men she’d dated. If they weren’t from the bad side of town, they were wrong for her in every way possible. Until Brandon came along, she honestly thought Jay was just trying to upset Aunt Patty. “Relax. Does Aunt Patty know about the baby yet?”
“Are you crazy? You know she would’ve had one of her panic attacks by now if she did. Not to mention she would’ve been pushing for this wedding to happen much sooner than now. Oh! My makeup and hair person is here. I’ll see you soon my love. Call me if you run into any problems. I’ll have Brandon’s sexy brothers go get you.”
The only thought more uncomfortable than having to wear one of Aunt Patty’s dresses to the wedding was possibly having all those tall, handsome guys come to her rescue. “Sure, I’ll call you in case I run into any trouble, but by the looks of the road and the fact that my hybrid needs nothing, I think I’ll be fine. See you soon!”
Different voices sounded in the background on the other side of the line. Jaylin made lip-smacking noises. “OK. Kiss, kiss, Lili. Can’t wait to see you!” The line disconnected a second later.
Lili glanced down at her radio. Maybe it was from driving alone for so many hours, but a slow shudder crawled up her spine. She needed music. The humming of the heater was not filling up the eerie silence enough to help her relax. Oh why did she have to love horror flicks so much? They always came back to haunt her when she found herself alone. She clicked buttons, continually taking quick glances back at the road. When she couldn’t find the song she wanted to listen to, she kept her gaze on the radio tuner a little longer than normal. When she glanced up, she saw a man standing in the road, and she was driving right toward him.
“Oh my god!” Slamming her foot on the brakes, she attempted to stop before hitting the guy. Bile rose up in her throat, choking the air out of her lungs. Tires screeched. Gripping the wheel with all her might, she jerked forward and slammed back in the seat. The car skidded to a stop in the middle of the street. Angry pants and her own heartbeat was all Lili heard. It took her a moment to make her fingers let go of the wheel. With shaking hands, she looked out the front window. The man who’d been crossing the street was in front of her car on the ground.
Oh no
!