Stolen Time

By Angela Rae Harris

Tragedy has made Keaira wise beyond her twenty years. Forced to work for
the General, a commanding man who blackmailed his way into her life, she
was ordered to study self-defense and master knife throwing. In the hidden
community of Shifters, falcons are considered weak, a fact which may
ultimately save her life. To escape his cruelty, she will need to call
upon her quick-witted falcon side, but the General has other plans – ones
which involve his only son, Carson.

When unexpected feelings form between Keaira and Carson, the General
quickly moves his pieces into place, launching his quest to take over the
world. If she wants to survive, Keaira must stay one step ahead in the
General’s deadly game and discover his weaknesses. Even if it means
risking her life and the lives of those she cares about most.

With war on the horizon, sides are being drawn. Deadly secrets must be
exposed. Time is running out for Keaira and all of mankind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Angela Rae Harris
• Release date: May 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463370681

Angela Rae Harris

Angela is an author, a wife, mother of two, and owns an in-home daycare. She loves nights when her husband cooks for the family. Her two kids keep her hopping and help her tap into her well of creativity and imagination when playing with them. Family activities include day trips, hiking, going to the coast, and car shows on weekends in the summer. It's possible during the drives around Utah that they've seen the entire state. They enjoy bowling, archery, camping, dirt biking, and exploring Bear Lake on their canoes.At thirteen, Angela read Harry Potter and was reacquainted with books. She reads everything from Steven King to Will Hobbs. She started writing after her youngest was born. The characters started to visit and wouldn’t let her sleep until she wrote down their stories.Her two best friends from high school are a great support and keep her going when she is feeling down.

Book preview

Stolen Time

Tense of Mind Series * Prequel

By Angela Rae Harris

Copyright © 2018 by Angela Rae Harris

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

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Table of Contents

Dedication/Acknowledgements

Prologue – First Semester of College

Chapter One – Flash

Chapter Two – The Proud

Chapter Three – Utah

Chapter Four – Change of Plan

Chapter Five – Work and Play

Chapter Six – Tied Down

Chapter Seven – Life or Death

Chapter Eight – Unfair

Chapter Nine – Fate

Chapter Ten – Too Close

Chapter Eleven – Saying Goodbye

Epilogue – After Graduation

Other Titles by Angela Rae Harris

About the Author/Connect with Angela Rae Harris

This book is dedicated to my wonderful Uncle Ray.

Your advice, humor, and all the gasoline you’ve gone through when the kids and I just need to get out and go for a ride have meant so much to me through the years.

Thank you.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my appreciation to my family and friends for their support and love. They have been just as dedicated to me as I have been to this book. Thank you to my husband and children for their patience with me and their smiles and giggles when I needed them most. I would like to thank my beta-readers for their helpful input. Many people helped me accomplish this amazing achievement and I want them all to know that I could never say thank you enough for helping me reach my dream.

*Prologue*

First Semester of College

Looking over at Keaira, who was sitting in the passenger seat of his 1976 Chevy truck, Shane felt overwhelmingly in love with her. She glanced at him and grinned. Keaira’s whole face lit up when she smiled. Her blue eyes and blonde hair made her outward appearance soft, hiding her I-can-weather-anything attitude. It had been over a year since the first day of senior year and the first time he’d laid eyes on Keaira. His memory went back to that day. It was a day he loved to revisit….

****

Shane leaned back in his seat. The top of the chair dug into his shoulder blades, and his knees touched the underside of the desk. Whoever thought of connecting the chair to the desk in classrooms obviously wasn’t thinking comfort. He bent over slightly to pull down the black fitted shirt that had ridden up his back before letting the metal seat dig into his shoulders again. It was bad enough having to sit still in a crammed, overheated room with the same morons every day. The least they could do was provide a chair that didn’t make the butt tingle with numbness.

His discomfort fed his thoughts – No wonder skipping class is so common at this high school.

Shane surveyed the white walls, plastered with history themed posters. A couple of the boys nodded at him as he glanced around. He returned the gesture along with a smile when a giggling group of girls in the corner stopped talking to wave at him.

The bell rang, signaling another hour of perpetual boredom, and the room went quiet. Mr. Jorgensen stood up from the seat at his desk and moved to the whiteboard. He wrote in sloppy handwriting that went from the upper left corner of the board to the lower right corner – Mr. Jorgensen… but you already knew that. Coach Jorgensen, known to the students as Jorg, was a laid-back teacher. He was really just a big kid who happened to teach history. Shane smiled at memories of being on the football field during a game with Coach Jorg yelling from the sidelines. This year Shane was varsity football captain. He couldn’t wait for the first game, only days away. As Jorg moved, the fluorescent lights bounced off his freshly shaved scalp.

Just after Jorg began to check attendance, a blonde wearing dark jeans and a light-blue blouse stopped short, just inside the doorway. Jorg turned to look at the latecomer, and the whole class followed his gaze. She caught Jorg’s stare, then immediately looked to the ground.

Nice of you to join us Miss….

She looked up, ignoring the class. Judging by the way her arms flexed around her books, she knew there were over thirty pairs of eyes in the room. All on her.

Jaquins.

Her voice was soft but firm. Shane sensed the curiosity of the students surging through the room like the kind of static electricity that makes hair stick up right before a lighting strike.

I see you’re new here. Well, as it’s your first day, we’ll let it slide Miss Jaquins. Please, find a seat. Jorg directed his words to the girl then scanned the room pausing for a minute to look directly at Shane.

Shane watched as the beautiful girl moved to sit in the empty seat behind him. His gaze followed her carefully down the aisle, mentally willing her to look up. He nonchalantly looked back to the front of the room as she brushed past him. It took everything he had not to turn around to get a better look and ask what her first name was.

Jorg cleared his throat.

You may talk among yourselves while I take roll. He started making marks again in the folder he was holding as he called each student’s name.

Deciding to make his move, Shane twisted in his seat. He extended a hand.

Hi, I’m Shane.

The girl looked at him for a minute as if she was just going to ignore him but then moved to shake his hand.

Keaira.

Shane felt a spark of electricity shoot through him when their hands met. Keaira

tried to pull her hand away, but Shane wouldn’t let it go. At that moment nothing else existed.

Keeping his focus on her dark-blue eyes, Shane leaned closer and whispered, First day, huh?

Keaira’s gaze seemed to relax, losing the deer-in-the-headlights expression, but her face betrayed no further emotions.

That was sixty-four percent of the reason I was late.

Shane gave a soft chuckle.

What was the other thirty-six percent?

She leaned in over her desk and one side of her mouth tightened into a half smile.

This place is more like a warehouse than a school. I’m not used to covering so much ground between locker and classroom.

She slowly slid her hand out of his as she sat back in her chair, a mischievous look on her porcelain-doll face. Shane wondered about what she said but didn’t ask her to elaborate. He just smiled at her like a love-struck monkey. The whispering around them grew as the other kids’ chatter registered for the first time. He almost laughed out loud when he realized that he didn’t care.

If you let me see your schedule, maybe I could help you out, he said.

Keaira didn’t reply as she sat there, arms crossed, watching him warily and with the intensity of a curious hawk.

Shane simply stared into her eyes. He took the opportunity to really study her, taking note of the freckles dusting her nose and cheeks. She had pale skin. Thin, subtle white lines, a scar perhaps, were visible under her left eye. Mostly it was her eye color that intrigued him. He had never seen blue eyes so dark. He could sense sadness swimming there. Shane didn’t particularly like his response. He bit his lower lip to keep from saying something that would probably sound completely inappropriate.

Keaira had apparently made up her mind that he wasn’t going to attack her and, without a word, opened her notebook to scribble on a piece of paper. She handed it to him without a word. The class’s attention was brought back to the front of the room where Jorg started going over the year’s syllabus.

Shane glanced down at Keaira’s handwriting. Her chicken-scratch was almost as bad as his. He tried to listen as the teacher explained what was expected from them when it came to homework. Despite his attempt to focus on the lesson, Shane kept looking down at the eight subjects listed on the lined paper. He and Keaira shared three classes, including this one. The other two were in the afternoon. He began plotting ways to see her in the hallways.

When the bell rang, everyone in the room stood at the same time. Shane tucked Keaira’s schedule between the papers of his notebook and turned to her.

Can I walk you to your next class?

Keaira gave him a confused look. She answered with a shrug.

They walked down the hall in silence. Shane had never known a high school girl as quiet as Keaira. As they strolled down the middle of the crowded, animated hallway, Shane didn’t really notice the people around them. He was content walking next to Keaira, a comforting calm between them. The school still smelled like bleach from being deep-cleaned over the summer. The fading odor made Shane’s nose itch.

He tried to ignore that as he chanced a glance over at Keaira. She was hugging her notebook, looking at the ground. Her steady gait, along with her calm expression, made Shane think that she wasn’t nervous about being the new girl, just shy. Keaira was focused on each step she took.

Shane would have given anything at the moment for her to be that focused on him. He had an urge to tuck her long, straight locks behind her ear so he could see her face better, but his hand wouldn’t move from his side to do it. He decided that was probably best. He’d just met her. He didn’t want to send her any creepy vibes. He was