Chimera's Edge: Crimson Moon Hideaway, #1

By Renee Hewett and Crimson Moon Hideaway

When a chimera meets a dragon, sparks will fly... but will someone get burned?

Effie Follett is on a business trip to Crimson Moon Hideaway… but she has some extra time to enjoy some rest and relaxation at the newest hot spot for paranormals. But unlike the other guests, she won't be letting her shifter side out. Chimeras tend to scare people, and she doesn't want to make anyone's vacation unpleasant.

Jace Argyros is a silver dragon shifter, prince of a Greek island and heir to his clan, but all he wants to do is escape his duty and have some fun for a weekend. When he runs across Effie, he's instantly drawn to her.

But both are keeping secrets that could get the other one singed.

Can chimera and dragon find their happily ever after? Or will Jianna regret conspiring to bring these two together?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Celtic Hearts Press
• Release date: May 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223288787

Book preview

Chimera’s Edge

A Crimson Moon Hideaway Novel

By Renee Hewett

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement (including infringement without monetary gain) is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Chimera’s Edge (A Crimson Moon Hideaway novel)

Copyright ©2020 Renee Hewett

Published by Celtic Hearts Press, LLC

Cover art designed by Beautiful Mess Graphics

All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the Author. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Manufactured in the United States of America

The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of any wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction.

A close up of a logo Description automatically generated

When a chimera meets a dragon, sparks will fly... but will someone get burned?

Effie Follett is on a business trip to Crimson Moon Hideaway... but she has some extra time to enjoy some rest and relaxation at the newest hot spot for paranormals. But unlike the other guests, she won’t be letting her shifter side out. Chimeras tend to scare people, and she doesn’t want to make anyone’s vacation unpleasant.

Jace Argyros is a silver dragon shifter, prince of a Greek island and heir to his clan, but all he wants to do is escape his duty and have some fun for a weekend. When he runs across Effie, he’s instantly drawn to her.

But both are keeping secrets that could get the other one singed.

Can chimera and dragon find their happily ever after? Or will Jianna regret conspiring to bring these two together?

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the Black Hollow Series authors for creating this world and letting me play in it! Cassidy K. O’Connor, Sheri Lyn, Gracen Miller, Jennifer Wedmore, J.C. Layne, and Robbie Cox, you’ve all set up something amazing here!

Thank you, Teri Dees Edney of Beautiful Mess Graphics for the beautiful cover. Thank you Devin Govaere for your patience, and for helping make the book shine!

And thank you to all the readers who give this Chimera a chance!

Table of Contents

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

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

About the Author

Also by Renee Hewett

Chapter One

Effie Follett took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of wood and magic mixed together at Crimson Moon Hideaway.

Despite her nervousness, the place spoke to her soul, telling her that she was in a place where she could finally relax.

She’d passed the inviting rock walls with lovely waterfalls and now drove up to the main building. It was an impressive structure made up of logs so huge she couldn’t imagine what the trees had looked like. She pulled her car up through the circular driveway and stopped at the front doors. She would have parked herself, but there weren’t any signs pointing her to a parking lot, so she figured valet must be the only option.

A tall woman with short purple hair shaved on the sides opened Effie’s door for her. Welcome to Crimson Moon Hideaway, the woman said as she held her hand out.

Effie reservedly put her keys into the woman’s hand and noticed the nametag. Thank you, Kashi. She quickly pulled out some cash from her purse to hand over to the woman as a tip.

Behind her, a voice thick with a Scottish brogue spoke up. Can I take yer bags for ye?

It took her a moment to process the words before she could figure out what the man had said. She turned toward a tall, skinny man with a huge smile standing by her trunk. Yes, okay, sure. She wasn’t used to such attentive service and fumbled a little with her keys before getting the trunk open. The man, whose nametag said Mayhew, pulled out her bag and shut the trunk just as Kashi came over and handed Effie a numbered ticket.

Enjoy your stay! Kashi called as she hopped into the car and drove away.

Thanks, Effie responded, though Kashi likely didn’t hear her. At least Mayhew, with his large smile, heard.

Yer very welcome. I can take your name, and we’ll deliver the bag up for you.

After giving Mayhew her details, she made her way into the hotel lobby.

And then stopped short at the absolute feast of the senses that the lobby provided. Just like the outside, the inside was constructed of exposed redwood. In addition, there were large crystal chandeliers spread throughout, which made light sparkle and twinkle everywhere.

Milling around, guests of literally all shapes and sizes looked like they were enjoying their time at the resort. At Crimson Moon Hideaway, they weren’t forced to stay in their human forms or to use glamors to hide their true paranormal self.

In the lobby area, elves, dwarves, shifters, trolls, and more lounged or walked around in their true forms.

Between the beauty of the place, the freedom the guests had, and the lovely magical essence all around them, Effie couldn’t believe she was there. Actually, she couldn’t believe the place existed at all. Their kind was a secret in the world, and there were only a very few places where they could relax and let their true selves out. The Hideaway was the newest of such exclusive places.

She’d likely never have built up the courage to make the call to the resort’s owner, Jianna, had it not been for her best friend’s encouragement.

The place is brand new. That means they don’t already have their shelves full of other artists! Ariella had exclaimed.

I’m sure she knows plenty of people and has arranged it ahead of opening, Effie had responded cynically.

So? Then you call, you ask her, and she tells you no. But I’m telling you, I have a good feeling about this.

And Ariella hadn’t been wrong. Of course, Effie’s harpy friend rarely was. She’d called Jianna and asked if she might be interested in seeing some of her glasswork samples to consider selling them at the new Crimson Moon Hideaway gift shop. Jianna had proven Ariella right by not only saying she’d love to see the samples but by also offering Effie a complimentary weekend at her recently opened resort.

Effie couldn’t believe it. Reservations were impossible to obtain, yet the owner and manager had given her a paranormal person’s dream weekend!

And Effie sure needed it. Since losing her corporate job, she’d started to doubt whether she could make a real go of her crafty glass business. She knew there were artisans out there who really made a living off doing what they loved, but so far, she wasn’t making enough to pay her bills, and her compensation package from work was going to run out soon. Being granted some shelf space at the Crimson Moon Hideaway gift shop would give her a new level of exposure, which would hopefully lead to new fans and clients.

She hugged her large tote purse closer to her. She had her most precious pieces carefully packed in it, with some of her larger ornamental pieces in the bag Mayhew had taken up. She really hoped Jianna liked them.

She really hoped this would work out.

Because she didn’t know what she would do if it didn’t.

Effie took in the giant fireplace, the focal point of the lobby, and resisted the urge to collapse