Redemption: The Rending, #1

By Cara Carnes

There’s no soft in war…

Mira survived years in a secret prison, one she must return to and somehow rescue the people she left behind. The so-called peace treaty between the Paraspecies and humanity is fracturing, but she must seek help from the Alpha wolf she left behind. But how can she prove an imprisonment she barely believes herself?

He’ll risk anything for another chance…

The Impure female from his past returns with a tale too gruesome to be false. The human government has imprisoned the genetically tainted humans they ostracized. Adrik wants to help, but the pack and Redemption are in turmoil. Dare he risk them all for one woman?

 Author’s Note: This work was previously titled Hell’s Playground and appeared in the Under a Wolf Moon anthology. This version has been expanded, retitled and reedited. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heartscape Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Jun 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513080604

Book preview

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

The Rending Glossary and Characters

Proclamation To The Paraspecies

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Author’s Note

The Rending Glossary and Characters

Adrik—Quadrant Alpha Wolf for quadrant A.

Alliance—Impure resistance forces formed to protect Hell’s Highway borders from the NAH and succubae.

Alpha Commander—Head Alpha appointed to represent shifter species at Command Central.

den—term for either a dragon’s familial bloodline or those with whom they’ve chosen to align themselves.

golden dragons—considered the strongest of the Paraspecies because they possess all powers of the other species—healing, telepathy, shielding, mage and succubae abilities.

gryphons— possessing powerful shielding abilities, they are the appointed protectors of the ancient bloodlined golden dragons.

Hell’s Highway—a corridor between the NAH and the Others where the Impures have been forced to reside.

Hell’s Playground—lawless land south of Hell’s Highway where the dregs of all factions reside in a kill-or-die existence.

Impures—humans deemed by the NAH to be genetically impure and therefore unsuitable to reside with humanity.

King Bredon—ancient bloodlined golden dragon who ascended the throne after King Sashi and his family were slaughtered.

King Sashi—ancient bloodlined golden dragon who unified all the Paraspecies before The Rending occurred.

King Trent—half golden, half red dragon who ascended the throne after King Bredon was killed in a battle at Rum River.

King Varden—succubae king who masterminded The Rending in order to destroy golden dragons and force the Paraspecies to recognize him as the supreme leader.

NAH—Northern American Humanitarians—human governmental body who quarantined all humans found to be genetically impure and then unified with the succubae to destroy the Paraspecies.

Outlands—an area south of the Paraspecies lands where all Paraspecies who chose not to fight in The Rending relocated to.

Outsiders—Paraspecies who chose not to fight in the decades-long war, The Rending, when King Sashi was killed.

Pack—a term for a wolf’s family or chosen group.

Paraspecies—term to refer to all species of non-humans: gryphons, succubae, mage, dragon, big cat and wolf shifters.

Quadrant Alpha—appointed commander of the quadrant, or territory. There is one dragon and one wolf Alpha in each quadrant.

red dragons—powerful telepaths who are known for their fierce battle skills.

Redemption—a safe haven created within Quadrant A by Adrik’s pack with the specific purpose of assisting the Impures trapped within Hell’s Highway.

Rum River—a savage battle that occurred within the Forbidden Zone where King Bredon and his entire squadron were slaughtered.

sentinels—second in command within the quadrant. All packs/dens contain six sentinels charged with security and daily pack/den life.

Shifter Council—an appointed body of species representatives who make critical decisions that would affect the future of the Paraspecies. Created by King Sashi to ensure a unified foundation for all those charged to protect and lead.

Succubae—able to drain energy from living beings, they are considered the bottom feeders of the Paraspecies. They now reside in the Succubae Stronghold, located to the north of Hell’s Highway. They feed by hunting the Impures.

The Rending—decades-long war between the Paraspecies and the NAH/succubae, started by the slaughter of King Sashi and his family.

white dragons—possessing rare healing abilities, they are peaceful creatures who remain off the front lines as much as possible.

For more information, including the most up-to-date glossary, check out www.therendingseries.com

Proclamation To The Paraspecies

My dear brethren,

I accept my duty to assume the throne as King with a heavy heart. My soul bleeds for the loss of Bredon—my friend, my Alpha—the king who salvaged us from the internment camps two decades ago and led us to victory in The Rending.

Everyone knows King Bredon was a formidable force on the battlefield, but he was so much more. He was the destined mate to King Sashi’s daughter and the eldest son of the fiercest warrior any of us knew. The first strike that nearly destroyed our kind killed all those Bredon held dear.

His bravery in the midst of his loss has served as a beacon for us all. Few could imagine losing our bloodline, our den and our destined mate and her entire family in such a gruesome manner. The fact he honed such despicable suffering into a weapon is a feat I pray to follow.

I will not rest until I know what recently occurred at Rum River. I battled alongside Bredon as a fledgling, perfecting my skills beside a man destined to be my king one day. But I am not the warrior Bredon was. I must ask for your assistance, and patience.

We have survived more in the past couple of decades than our ancestors could’ve imagined.

When the Paraspecies unanimously agreed to align ourselves under the golden dragon King Sashi over two decades ago, we could’ve never predicted the unmitigated gall of succubae King Varden. His kidnapping of Sashi’s mate and children halted forward movement for two years. A weaker warrior would’ve surrendered to Varden’s demand to cede the throne, but Sashi protected us from the succuba’s tyrannical reign at a colossal loss to us all. When we located Varden’s compound, our actions had consequences many of us still feel.

I was there the day The Rending began, watched as Sashi held his dead mate and mourned the ashes of his children. Though we defeated Varden, he had already exposed our kind to humanity’s government, the NAH—the North American Humanitarians—the human purist group determined to purge anyone not ideal per their interpretation, including their fellow humans with flawed DNA.

Although he’d lost his mate and children, King Sashi was determined to protect us, his people. We had expected a confrontation with the NAH, but we could’ve never envisioned the voraciousness of the fateful attack on us three days later. It was a rare event—almost every ancient bloodlined golden dragon was present to mourn the loss of the Queen. A mourning species was easy prey for the NAH and succubae. The slaughter left few of the amassed alive and began the decades-long war known as The Rending. I hold the day we lost so much as a reminder. No matter how impossible the fight may seem, it must continue.

For King Sashi. For his family. And now for King Bredon.

We mourned the loss of our pure-blooded dragons, including King Sashi, as we were bombed as well. Those fortunate enough to survive bled and suffered in internment camps, watching brethren be slaughtered for the NAH’s twisted agenda.

The loss of Sashi, his mate, and their children catapulted our warriors into a primal need for vengeance. I believe with all my heart this feral instinct drove my predecessor. Bredon mourned the loss of his destined mate and her family and weaponized his rage into a palpable toxin our enemy couldn’t withstand.

Many of us bled in battle as we purged the world of every succuba and NAH soldier we could, with a common goal—secure our people. When the treaty was struck to end The Rending, we learned the value of compromise. None of us wanted to be confined to the lands west of Interstate 35. The solution, however, ensured not only our kind’s security but the protection of the unfortunate humans betrayed by their own kind.

Let us never forget how the NAH rounded up their own people and tested them. Herded like cattle into internment camps like the ones we were in, these humans (Impures) were as innocent as we were. Their only crime was anomalous DNA.

We must now endeavor to heal from yet another terrible loss, that of King Bredon. We must remain vigilant in aiding the Impures—the unwitting buffer between our kind and the enemies determined to slaughter us. Their survival ensures our safety. They are in Hell’s Highway, the corridor between our border (Interstate 35) and the NAH’s perimeter (Interstate 55). Their protection is imperative while we move forward. Their unfortunate existence within this lawless region is threatened by the NAH to their east, the succubae to the north who prey on them and the vile region of Hell’s Playground to the south. No matter the threat to our people, I vow to maintain the provisions and medical attention they receive in the bartering town known as Redemption within Quadrant A.

Many of you may not be aware of the increased threats within Quadrant A. Wolf Alpha Adrik and Dragon Alpha Daryn have been tremendously successful in keeping the region secure, but recent threats require more attention.

Our feral brethren, who preferred to relocate to the Outland region to our south rather than align with King Bredon during The Rending, have begun infiltrating the border. This compounds the already complicated protection of the area surrounding Redemption.

The success of the quadrant and the efforts within Redemption require that I call on you to assist in securing the threatened regions along the border we share with Hell’s Highway.

Let us embrace one another as we mourn Bredon’s loss. Our warriors are fueled by a need to avenge his death, but I pray we all temper the thirst for revenge with vigilance for what must be done. The success of a united Paraspecies was my dear friend’s greatest wish. Together we will ensure its success and heal.

Onward,

King Trent

Chapter One

Three years ago

Mira’s finger itched to pull the trigger. Eron might be her older brother, but he’d proven to be dumb, trusting wolf shifters with their camp location. Great. It had taken months to get everything functioning. Now they’d have to rip it all up, trudge to a new location, fight whatever freaks got in the way.

The last thing Mira wanted was more fighting. No one in Hell’s Highway had gotten the memo about The Rending’s end. The bloody war between the Paraspecies and the fucking purists leading humanity’s NAH may have officially ended, but the humans stuck between their newly established lands still suffered like they had for two decades.

Mira had lived most of her life in Hell’s Highway. Unlike her older brother, she didn’t remember the internment camp. All she knew was everything her family suffered was because the NAH wanted them obliterated from existence.

The NAH discovered the existence of people like the ones in the crosshairs of her scope. Paraspecies. Shape shifters, mages, and succubae. The ones marked for her bullet were wolves—tall, dark and deadly. Three of them had sauntered into the camp as though they owned it.

Eron had told her to stay inside, they were cool. Yeah, right. Like she was trusting her brother with people who could shift into an animal. Mira studied the one she assumed was the leader.

Way taller than her brother, twice as muscular. All male. Awareness fluttered in her pulse as she slid the sight downward slowly, guiding it down his broad shoulders, down his bare torso. She’d thought her brother crazy for ordering them to remove everything but their pants to make sure they had no weapons. Each glorious, sun-kissed inch of the man in her scope proved one vital flaw in Eron’s plan—the men were the weapons.

Strong, powerful thighs encased in snug denim. Her mouth dried, her palms sweated. Life in Hell’s Highway didn’t offer men like this one. As she focused the sight on his face, he turned in her direction.

Full lips upturned into a feral grin that highlighted his cinnamon gaze. She shivered under the intensity. Thank goodness she was a hundred yards away, tucked behind an overturned vehicle on the hillside. They’d never notice her.

Unfortunately. In a different, warless time she could spend an eternity wrapped around a man like him. Strong. Virile. Commanding. She shivered under the intensity of her need. God, she was pathetic.

The lonely, dark nights of terror-filled battle had worn down her defenses. The hope offered in each sinewy inch of his golden body made her ignite. He was everything she needed. Strength. Security.

Hope.

He was also everything she feared. Her finger trembled on the trigger. Unlike most in the Highway, she’d never killed. But she would if necessary.

Eron coddled her. Sooner or later he’d have to see reason. It was time she took her rightful place within The Alliance. The movement to protect Impures from the succubae and the NAH needed fearless, fast people like her now that they’d secured assistance from the man in her crosshairs.

Redemption was a long way away from The Alliance’s primary base of operations. Supplies and munitions were impossible to come by. Fortunately, the wolf shifters running Redemption had offered their assistance. Whatever provisions they needed would be theirs, in exchange for whatever intel The Alliance gathered.

It was a good deal.

Assuming they could be trusted.

Not that the tight-lipped paranormals bothered to offer any intel in return. They never spoke to outsiders about Paraspecies business. Ever. Eron never really knew who was in charge when he spoke to a group of them, like the one that’d arrived just now.

They’d spoken with Eron before, and he’d finally gained their trust. It was the only reason they knew who in the group was their leader. Mira respected the protectiveness within their pack, the way they held things important to them close. What would it be like to live among a group so tight knit? Adrik. The name suited the man. As he shook hands