Cover Copy
For four centuries Magnus has lived according to the dictates of the moon, his heart isolated by the domination of his wolf nature. Now fate has brought the beautiful, independent Sian to his house at Darnwell and their irresistible attraction has exploded into a white-hot passion. Yet she is not wolf, and the time has come for her to embrace the change. But once she completes the ritual and claims her place next to Magnus, the rivals will appear on the horizon…
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Books by Daisy Banks
Timeless Series
Timeless, Book One
To Eternity, Book Two
A Matter of Some Scandal
Fiona’s Wish
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
To Eternity
Timeless Series
Daisy Banks
LYRICAL PRESS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
Copyright
Lyrical Press books are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2014 by Daisy Banks
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First Electronic Edition: January 2015
eISBN-13: 978-1-61650-617-9
eISBN-10: 1-61650-617-2
First Print Edition: January 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1-61650-632-2
ISBN-10: 1-61650-632-6
Printed in the United States of America
Dedication
To my husband.
Prologue
A little outside the village of Darnwell, in England, stands an ancient estate. The woods are dark, the wrought iron gates black, the vista hidden. A foggy haze rises both dawn and evening along its quiet cinder paths. The majestic house, beyond a wealth of trees, carries within a cruel secret, or so, after a pint or two in the pub, the Darnwell villagers will tell any traveler. Most visitors smile or nod at the tales, one or two might seem interested, a few even take a walk to try to see the house, brave enough until they arrive at the gates. Often then, business commitments force them to leave.
One woman has ventured to this place. Sian lingers where she has discovered love, but with the rare, precious sweetness, she’s found a fearful threat lurks. If she can’t learn to control the danger, her love will be nothing more than dreams. If she can’t control the dreams, her love will be nothing more than danger.
Lust and love battle for ascendency. Autumn mist rises like smoke from the dark water of the lake. A horror reaches out to be assuaged. Love, tenderness, and hope linger in the daybreak, in the evening shadows, too, for not all evils are without redemption.
Chapter 1
Thank God. No claws.
Magnus examined his hand, a man’s hand, before he clasped Sian’s offered palm and met the massive dark pupils in her gaze as she set the padlock down. Naked, grimed by the process of transformation, he used her help to haul himself up from the floor.
She slipped the silver necklace with the key to his chains inside her shirt.
He grimaced as he wiped the scraps of crusty dust left after his transformation from his arms. October’s full moon had proved nothing like the last. This time there was no delightful shared dream.
Instead, Sian had met more of the wolf he carried within him.
Heaven help him, tonight she bore an injury to attest an encounter he couldn’t recall.
God.
He gritted his teeth. His gaze fixed on her. “What happened?” He nodded to her bandaged arm dreading her answer. “How did you get hurt?”
“Here, Magnus.” Sian draped a warm robe around his shoulders. “I’m fine.” She glanced to her arm. “This, it’s not more than a scratch.”
He staggered away from the cage, where the beast spent his days, leaning on her for support. “I scratched you?” he managed to ask, begging for confirmation of his fears.
“It was my fault. I got too close to the bars. We’ll get you to the bathroom, then I’ll go make us something to eat.”
He dragged one slow step after another. Sian slipped her arm around his waist, and with her help, he made it along the corridor to the bathroom. She opened the faucet on the bath while he drank two glasses of water. All the time, he kept his gaze on her.
“You bathe, I’ll go cook. Please, Magnus, don’t worry.” She smiled. “We’ve survived this month’s full moon.”
He ached to kiss her, but not like this, not with the grime of transformation ingrained on his skin. She deserved better. Sian—his goddess, the woman he’d die to protect—deserved the best he could give her. “We’ll talk after I bathe.”
She nodded so her thick brandy-colored curls moved to lure his fingers. “Yes. Don’t be troubled.”
Reaching out, he touched the bandage on her forearm. She winced.
“Impossible,” he whispered. “I adore you, but I’ve hurt you.”
“It’s not what you fear. I remain mortal.”
