Etched in honor, p.1
Etched in Honor, page 1
Etched in Honor
AN ASPEN PACK NOVEL
CARRIE ANN RYAN
Contents
Copyright
Praise for Carrie Ann Ryan….
Etched in Honor
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
A Note from Carrie Ann
Also from Carrie Ann Ryan
About the Author
Etched in Honor
An Aspen Pack Novel
By: Carrie Ann Ryan
© 2022 Carrie Ann Ryan
eBook ISBN: 978-1-947007-44-4
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-947007-45-1
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Cover Art by Sweet N Spicy Designs
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This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person or use proper retail channels to lend a copy. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
Praise for Carrie Ann Ryan….
“Count on Carrie Ann Ryan for emotional, sexy, character driven stories that capture your heart!” – Carly Phillips, NY Times bestselling author
“Carrie Ann Ryan’s romances are my newest addiction! The emotion in her books captures me from the very beginning. The hope and healing hold me close until the end. These love stories will simply sweep you away.” ~ NYT Bestselling Author Deveny Perry
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes the perfect balance of sweet and heat ensuring every story feeds the soul." - Audrey Carlan, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Carrie Ann Ryan never fails to draw readers in with passion, raw sensuality, and characters that pop off the page. Any book by Carrie Ann is an absolute treat.” – New York Times Bestselling Author J. Kenner
“Carrie Ann Ryan knows how to pull your heartstrings and make your pulse pound! Her wonderful Redwood Pack series will draw you in and keep you reading long into the night. I can’t wait to see what comes next with the new generation, the Talons. Keep them coming, Carrie Ann!” –Lara Adrian, New York Times bestselling author of CRAVE THE NIGHT
"With snarky humor, sizzling love scenes, and brilliant, imaginative worldbuilding, The Dante's Circle series reads as if Carrie Ann Ryan peeked at my personal wish list!" – NYT Bestselling Author, Larissa Ione
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes sexy shifters in a world full of passionate happily-ever-afters." – New York Times Bestselling Author Vivian Arend
“Carrie Ann’s books are sexy with characters you can’t help but love from page one. They are heat and heart blended to perfection.” New York Times Bestselling Author Jayne Rylon
Carrie Ann Ryan's books are wickedly funny and deliciously hot, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. They'll keep you up all night!” USA Today Bestselling Author Cari Quinn
"Once again, Carrie Ann Ryan knocks the Dante's Circle series out of the park. The queen of hot, sexy, enthralling paranormal romance, Carrie Ann is an author not to miss!" New York Times bestselling Author Marie Harte
Dedication
For the Pack.
For those who waited.
I’m back!
Etched in Honor
NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan returns to the world of paranormal in the thrilling and dynamic new Aspen Pack series.
The betrayal that had nearly taken out the Aspen Pack has passed, but the ramifications of starting with a new hierarchy are taking their toll on Audrey Porter. Once traitor to the former leaders for trying to save their people, she’s now the Beta of the Pack and must try to hold their shattered remains together. Only she never expected the man from her past to awaken memories long since buried.
Gavin Powers is the new Tracker for the Aspen, yet it feels as though he’s always been part of the Pack, rather than a newcomer trying to heal a people long since thought forgotten. There are secrets within the den that could alter how the world sees shifters, and if Gavin isn’t careful, his attraction to Audrey could ruin everything.
There is a mysterious new enemy on the horizon, one long since vanquished into myth. As the darkness surrounded the Packs is unveiled, it will take a wolf and a lioness to unbury the past and fight for their future—or risk losing everything before it begins.
Prologue
Malphas had known what the demon Caym had been up to in the human realm. But he hadn’t cared all too much. For if he were to care about what another demon was doing, then others might notice what his plans were with a certain realm. No, it was better to walk away and let the little demon do what he had to within a Pack of wolves.
Malphas snorted as he ran his hands over his dark black suit. No, little Caym had thought small potatoes, as the humans liked to say.
For that demon had wanted to take over a single Pack, so he could destroy another Pack of wolves, and then maybe at one point possibly take over the world.
No, Malphas didn’t care what Caym did. Unless others noticed and started to look into his personal plans.
Then Malphas would have to care.
Neg strolled through the open door and glared at Malphas.
“What is it?” Malphas asked as he adjusted his tie. He’d gone into the human realm a few times since the portal had been opened thanks to the sacrifice of that Central wolf. He always liked getting the best suits and attire from the humans. It was either that or wear the leather and chains that some of the demons liked within this realm. No, Malphas preferred the sophisticated life. After all, his children would enjoy those benefits as well.
“The higher-ups have finally taken notice of Caym.”
Malphas froze and turned ever so slightly to the one demon that he could possibly call his friend. “And we have our orders then?” Malphas asked. He was a general for the one true demon, but he only took orders from that one. No one else. Unlike little Caym.
Neg shrugged. “We have to pick him up. We’re also taking Trail with us.”
Malphas frowned. “Do they honestly think it’s going to take the three of us to bring that little demon back to our realm? It took an entire Pack of magic and sacrifice to bring him to the human realm. He had no power to do it on his own. And yet we are supposed to take him in force?”
Neg just grinned. “They want a show. I do believe they don’t want this to happen again. Caym was a little loose with his magic and wasn’t listening as he should have.”
Malphas sighed. “And I suppose we’ll put on that production, and another wolf or human or even a little witch will never think to use that spell again to call us forth.”
“They think to bind us,” Neg growled.
Malphas sneered. “They think to own us. But they will never. They don’t understand the power that we wield.”
Neg grinned evilly. “They don’t. But they will.”
Malphas adjusted his tie one more time, slid his hand over the silk, and nodded tightly. “Let’s go pick up that little demon. The one who tried so hard,” he teased.
Neg just shook his head, another smile playing on his lips, as they made their way to pick up Trail and find that woebegone demon. Thanks to the magic of the wolves on the other side of the rift, and their own, they opened a portal to where the Redwood Pack lay.
There was shouting and screaming. It seemed as if there had been a battle of some sort. Malphas didn’t care, but he still stepped through the portal in a V formation with Neg and Trail. They did bring the image of power, didn’t they?
Malphas raised his head as Caym began to scream. However, the demon didn’t have that power. He couldn’t overtake them.
The wolves surrounded them as if they were ready to take on three demons from the hell realm. They didn’t know much, did they?
Instead, Malphas stepped forward and gripped Caym’s arm. Caym struggled, trying to get away, but Malphas didn’t care.
Neg and Trail continued to help, and they pulled Caym through the portal.
Malphas couldn’t help himself though, he looked over his shoulder, directly at the wolves with the bright green eyes, and winked.
One little wolf’s green gaze narrowed as their mouth dropped, and Malphas held back a smile.
The demons slid through the portal, and as it snicked partially closed, Malphas knew soon a little minion would come to finish closing it from their end.
Or… Malphas thought. Maybe he could have a little fun.
After all, they say revenge is best served cold, or was it patience saves the day? He wasn’t sure what the humans said. All he knew was that he had necessary plans.
Plans that had nothing to do with the hell dimension and everything to do with the children he planned on sending into the human realm.
But they would have to wait to see exactly what happened next.
Chapter
One
AUDREY
I dodged the blacked-tipped talons handily but nearly tripped over the wolf to my side. I winced as I jumped over Ronin and didn’t let the fact that he cowered beside me insult my cat. After all, he was a new wolf. And he didn’t know exactly how to fight yet. This wasn’t exactly the training I had planned for the day, but there was no going back now, not when I needed to fight whatever these things were.
It looked like a man, a normal man, with excessive strength. Its eyes were dark-rimmed, but I couldn’t see its irises to tell what color they were. And its fingernails had turned into claws, or perhaps the talons I had once thought. But they looked as if they had been dipped into black ink. The nails were black for sure, but even the fingertips seemed to radiate that darkness.
I had never seen the like, but as I was part of the Aspen Pack, I knew that not all was what it seemed, and there were many unknowns out there.
I let my claws push through my fingertips and raked the nails down the back of one. The man in front of me let out a shocked gasp, then fell to his knees. I didn’t want any of that black tar or whatever it was to touch me. My cat didn’t like the scent of it, and frankly, neither did the human part of me.
I was a lion shifter in the middle of a wolf Pack, a wolf Pack that was like none other.
And my cat already had enough and arched its back up.
There were two of these creatures in front of me, and they didn’t scent of the rogues that we had been fighting for years, nor did they scent of wolf.
I wasn’t sure if they were a witch gone bad or not, but whatever they were, we needed to deal with it before it was too late.
I grumbled a bit, then found a branch to toss at Ronin. Ronin gave me this odd look, his human face looking puzzled, and I sighed before I made sure he held the stick, and I pulled the dagger out of my boot.
I used my claws on the creature’s back, but I wasn’t about to get anywhere near its mouth.
My senses told me it wasn’t a good idea, no matter what it was.
I used the dagger to stab the closest creature at the base of the skull and twisted. It let out a scream, one abruptly cutoff, before it fell to its knees, its body at an odd angle on the ground.
I went to the other one, but it came at Ronin quickly, ignoring me. I cursed under my breath, my cat ready to slice at those who endangered our people. Ronin was under our watch, and we refused to let him get hurt because we weren’t strong enough.
I kept moving towards it, but Ronin smacked the thing with the branch.
Well, that was one way to fight it. Probably not the best way, but we were getting somewhere. At least I hoped so.
Ronin smacked it again, but then the creature gripped the branch and shook it. He tossed Ronin twenty feet back, and my brows winged up.
Well then, that was some strength. He probably could even beat Hayes when it came to strength, and that polar bear was the strongest person I knew.
It seemed it was time for me to stop pussyfooting around, as it were, and take care of this thing.
It was bleeding from the claw marks, and the blood was red, so I counted that as something to take note of, but I wasn’t sure what it meant.
I didn’t want to wait to find out, so I moved forward and tossed my dagger directly into the creature’s eyes.
It screamed, pulling at the dagger but not falling down.
That image would haunt my nightmares for years to come. Considering the number of things that already haunted my nightmares, that was saying something.
“Okay then. Why won’t you die?”
“This is only the beginning,” the creature growled as he pulled the dagger out of its eye.
I swallowed hard. I hadn’t been aware it could talk. I had no idea what it was, but it wasn’t dead from a dagger to the eye, and it stepped forward once, twice, and fell.
Oh good. It was dead. Thank the goddess because I wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to do now.
I sighed and then went to take my dagger back.
Ronin sat on the ground and looked up at me before lowering his gaze.
His wolf was in the golden glow surrounding his iris, and my cat wanted to reach out, bat him on the head, and then hug him close.
Ronin wasn’t submissive by any means, nor was he a paternal wolf. He was a dominant, but so in the middle of the chain that he could wobble either way depending on who was around him. And my cat was one of the most dominant shifters in the Pack.
It didn’t matter that the rest of them were wolves except for a select few. My cat was Beta of the Aspen Pack and had held that title longer than any other leader within the Pack. Everyone else had gained their connection and responsibility after everything had changed.
I alone remained.
My heart ached, but I pushed away the pain.
Just because the rest of the hierarchy was relatively new in the past year and a half didn’t mean we were falling or breaking.
I just happened to be the only one with experience.
Experience that was met with hatred in some eyes, but I was good at ignoring that.
I leaned down in front of Ronin and gripped the back of his neck as I would a pup. He looked up at me then, meeting my gaze for an instant before lowering his eyes but not his chin.
My cat purred in happiness. That was showing who was more dominant, but not lowering. And that I counted as progress.
“Are you okay? Did their claws or teeth or anything else out of the ordinary touch you?”
Ronin shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I’m fine, but I messed up.”
I shook my head. “Whatever that was, was far stronger than either one of us was prepared for.”
He looked up at me then for just an instant and blinked in surprise. “You don’t know what that was?”
I didn’t want any more lies in my Pack, not after years of pain and sacrifice and nothing but lies. So I told him the truth. Chase would have to find his own path and tell me exactly what he wanted the rest of the Pack to know in general. After all, he was my Alpha and had once been my friend.
I pushed that thought away and squeezed the back of Ronin’s neck again. The younger wolf relaxed marginally, and I knew he liked the action. “I don’t know what that was. We’re going to find out, though. It was strong, so strong that I had to use my dagger rather than my claws or strength. You did what you could, and while you aren’t ready to hold a weapon on you at all times like that, we’re getting there.”
“I nearly tripped you,” he grumbled.
“We were just finishing a long training session when those whatever they were slithered out of the trees as they did. They came on us out of nowhere, and we’re both exhausted after our training.”
He wrinkled his nose, and I knew he smelled the lie on that.
“Okay, you were exhausted. I’m tired. Does that make your wolf feel better?” I asked, putting a lighthearted note in my tone.
Ronin nodded. “Yes. Sorry. I’m still getting used to all these scents and everything.”
My heart ached for him, and my cat wanted to reach out and lick his face just to make sure that he felt better. Doing that in human form with a new wolf, one that didn’t know me well, was probably not the best thing.
“Everything’s okay. We are going to figure out what these are and put them in the basement so that way our Healer can take a look at it.”
“Maybe the other Packs know?”
That made me smile. “Hopefully, the others do. They’ve all dealt with many strange things.”
