Goddess and Talon have fought before but now the only battle worth winning is one for love.

Chapter One

“Stupid woman, coming here alone, and at night.” Gray exhaled and cracked his wings, relishing the exquisite warmth of his muscles rippling. The resulting boom of air resounded where the woman stood and he smirked as he saw her jump.

“And that’s only the beginning,” he muttered to the human far below.

He spread his arms to match the shape of his wings and dropped into a stoop dive, one of the best features of this Falcon shift. The movement sent the noise of his giant blue-grey wings echoing again through the night as his lean body carved the air.

The council had sent people out before her, although not for a long time. But there was something special about this one.

Gray shook his head. Was it her radiant heat that was getting to him? Or the ample curves that a Talon woman would never let soften her silhouette.

“It is neither. Her looks matter not at all,” his voice whispered through the cool night air.

A human female out here in the Landing was more than just out of her depth. The last human had surprised him with how fast he’d managed to run away. And he’d been almost twice the size of this frail woman. Gray swooped over to a sturdy branch and allowed the sound of his claws ripping the bark to reach her before he stilled himself.

She was already shivering. Excellent.

Night vision perfectly adjusted, he watched the woman as she strained her pathetic human eyes upward. She would see nothing of course, even if the cloak of night departed, his body would merge with the tree he now sat in. His feathers provided excellent camouflage. Gray’s sharp eyes were the only things that moved. He waited.

****

“Ridiculous darn thing.”

Yasmin Freeman tried to shake off the creaking and groaning sounds of the night as she fought a losing battle with her map.

“Why don’t they come with instructions, or a map to show you how to fold the map,” she muttered. “And why the Delaware Parks Department gave me such an old one is just…argh.” She gave up trying to refold the useless piece of paper and swung her flashlight around again.

“There’s nothing out here except wind and trees.” She straightened her shoulders. At least talking out loud made her feel a little better.

All around her, the trees leered in, creeping up to the edge of her flashlight. Every time she swung the beam, it seemed as if something moved, like the darkness trying to claw its way up her back and tangle its fingers in her hair.

There was something wrong with the Landing. Something no one talked about, but which she had sensed as soon as she arrived. Stepping out of her shoes, she let the warmth of the earth seep into her bare feet. Better. She always felt more grounded with real dirt beneath her instead of shoes and concrete.

“Fine. I’ll just camp right here. Maybe the campground sign fell over.” She waited for some reaction from the night. None came.

Stalking back to her compact hatchback, she popped the trunk and dragged out the ancient, council-issued, canvas tent.

“Shit.”

Looking at the assortment of poles and pegs and lengths of rope, Yasmin felt her heart drop somewhere close to her toes and wished, again, that she had passed on this assignment. The sense of something not being right was getting stronger, and she had a nasty feeling about the whole thing.

What would’ve been wrong with a project that included staying in a nice, comfy hotel? Or even a caravan? She shook her head. She hadn’t been given a choice. “Yas. You need this job.”

Combing her fingers through her thick curls, she sighed and forced herself to move. “Five minutes to set up,” she muttered, flicking through the instructions before struggling with the tent for a good half hour. After poking herself in the eye only twice, she stood back and admired her handiwork.

“Should be fine. As long as the wind doesn’t pick up.” She ran a finger over the flimsy canvas. “And it doesn’t rain—”

A stray drop of moisture fell on her shoulder “No!” Resisting the urge to stamp her foot like a small child, she squinted upward. Words froze in her throat, along with the flow of blood in her veins. The black night curled its fingers tighter around her nerves, and she swallowed as she caught a glint of something dark and sharp in the trees.

There was definitely something out there. She wasn’t alone.

****

What are you waiting for? The caustic accusation echoed around Gray’s head.

I will know when the time is right, he sent back. Then he growled as he caught the sound of the Talon speaker on the wing. Perl what are you…? He started, but too late. His sister continued her wing-speak, regardless of his authority.

Break her neck, she commanded, or would you prefer I did it?

There were few who could send their wing-speak over such a distance, but those Talon who were members of congress shared more than this one secret gift.

Gray drew himself up tall. His sister might stand beside him as one of Congress Ten, but he was her senior and superior. There is no reason for attack and you know it. The human has shown us no cause to reveal our strength openly.

She’s built a…what is that thing? Perl hissed in his head.

A tent.

She’s built a tent in the clearing. And she comes from the Human Council.

And soon, she will try to sleep. He sent back. Her dreams will be full of me, and she will run terrified from the Landing.

Gray heard his sister sigh, but he cut her off. Your impetuousness will be your downfall, sister. He tossed his head as his anger rose at her blatant insubordination, resenting a need to explain his actions to her. This human is weak. Just as weak as every other the council has sent out here. She will leave by morning.

Yet even as he spoke, Gray wondered about the woman below. Her soft curves, the spiraling hair threaded with gold, the almost luminous pale skin, they were all in such contrast to the features of the Talon women he was used to. But there was something more than that in this one. The radiant heat he’d noted when she first arrived was different now. When she’d taken her shoes off, something had altered in the earth around her. Something old and powerful.

He looked down again. The woman fussed around her tent, hammering pegs into the ground with no style and certainly no connection with the earth. Gray rolled his shoulders. His concern was nothing. Once she settled down for the night, he would begin. And she would never return.

“Go back to your duties,” he hissed at his sister. “This woman is mine.”