Gates of Paradise: Paradise Reborn

By Tianna Xander

 

Threatened with an arranged marriage to a notorious criminal, Aliana Maddock risks everything and flees. Pursued by her father's menacing henchmen, she ventures into the merciless wilderness of the Montana mountains. After a tumble into raging rapids has her fighting for her life, she's rescued by two ruggedly handsome and enigmatic men who vow to protect her, no matter the cost. Can Ali resist the temptation the two men represent, or will their charm shatter her resolve?

 

Griffin Bedard and Dracen Giacomo, two guardians sworn to safeguard one of the weakest gates of Paradise, discover a nearly lifeless yet alluring woman sprawled unconscious on their clan's land. The two shifters' desire for her is so powerful, they're prepared to not only lay down their lives but also unveil Paradise's hidden secrets to defend their beautiful charge from the evil forces hunting her. Can the two men protect Aliana from the evil pursuing her, or will they all succumb to the danger that follows Ali through the gates of Paradise?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tianna Xander
• Release date: May 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223109617

Book preview

Chapter One

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I won’t do it! Aliana scowled and stamped her foot, realizing too late it made her appear as though she were the spoiled child her father so obviously thought she was.

Ali was past caring what he thought of her and if he assumed she was going to let him force her into a relationship with someone she didn’t even like, he was wrong.

Not only that, she refused to marry a man twice her age. Forget the fact that her father’s business associate was a cold-blooded murderer and his first two wives had died under mysterious circumstances.

I will not be his next victim. She vowed to herself.

Besides all that, her mother would have been appalled.

You’ll damn well do what I tell you to do or I’ll cut you off! Leave it to her dad to emulate his name.

Dick fits him well. She suppressed a smile at that thought.

Let him cut her off. He might have temporarily stolen the inheritance her mother had left to her, but he didn’t know about the pre-loaded disposable credit cards and money orders her mom had given to her before she had died.

Then cut me off. I don’t care what you do. I’m not marrying Doug Hamill. Spinning around, she ran up the stairs to her room. She’d pack her things and leave before her father realized she was serious. It wouldn’t surprise her a bit if he planned to hold her in the house and tried to force her compliance.

Don’t you leave this conversation!

Ali would do as she damn well pleased. She was an adult and had been for some time. Perhaps it was time she moved out.

Slamming her bedroom door behind her, she grabbed her backpack, emptied her exercise clothes, shoes, towel, and bathing suit into her hamper, then shoved two changes of clothes and four sets of underwear into the bag.

She’d already sewn the cards her mother had given her into the bottom of her bag below the cardboard insert.

If she made her father and his men believe she was merely on the way to the health club to train, they most likely wouldn’t stop her from leaving.

They wouldn’t think it strange if she took the pack with her. If she wasn’t running the roads or trails, she was at the club training for her first marathon and she always carried a change of clothes with her.

After packing her bag, she slung it over her shoulder and headed back down the stairs. The murmur of voices came from her father’s study.

Don’t worry. He can’t to talk to anyone anymore. I already had him eliminated.

What?

Positive she hadn’t just heard her father say what she thought, Ali stepped closer to the door.

You know what to do. I’ve paid you for the merchandise. You’d better deliver it tonight. Was that Doug Hamill’s voice?

Yes. Her father said. I know what to do with your shipment of heroin, Doug. You’ll have it tonight.

What did Aliana say about our upcoming nuptials? Doug sounded so smug, Ali wanted to storm in there and hit him over the head with one of her father’s fireplace tools.

Don’t worry. She’ll come around. Her father chuckled. I have her inheritance locked down for another three years. I’ve already told her I’ll cut her off if she doesn’t agree to marry you.

Good. The rustle of clothing warned Ali to move before they caught her eavesdropping.

Oh, crap. I’ve got to get out of here.

Ali ran into the kitchen and hurried through the side door and out into the garage.

Where’re you going? Mark, one of her father’s men, asked as he moved to block her way.

Just to the club. I wanted to hit the treadmill for an hour or two.

Isn’t it kinda late for that?

Not really. The club is open until midnight. She pushed past him. You know I’m training for a marathon.

Yeah. Right. The guard smirked and moved back to his usual position. I forgot. That’s in July, isn’t it?

Yes, it is. If he asks, tell my dad I should be back before ten if I don’t swim some laps afterward. If I do, I’ll definitely be back by midnight.

Leaving them to think she was heading to the club should buy her a few hours to get out of town.

Ali climbed into the SUV she’d just purchased and tossed her backpack onto the passenger seat, as was her habit.

No use changing the way she usually did things. It might make her father’s thugs suspicious.

Mark must have pressed the button for the garage door, because it opened just after she started the vehicle.

Her mind raced as she put the SUV in gear. She only had to stay hidden for three years. After that, she’d have her inheritance and she could tell her dad what he could do with his wedding plans.

Turning, she looked through the back window as she backed out. Ali pressed her lips together and did her best to keep the grin she felt from climbing up her face.

It would be hours before her father discovered she’d gone and by then it would be too late for him to stop her.

Her only regret was she wouldn’t see her father’s expression when he discovered what she’d done.

What would he tell Doug Hamill? Should she care?

Chapter Two

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Are you just about ready to go? Griffin glanced at his best friend, Drace, and tossed down his pack on the sofa.

Drace’s pack was nowhere in sight, which was strange. He was usually Johnny on the spot when the sheriff assigned them a cabin during sabbats and other times when spells on the gates needed bolstering.

Sure am, Drace said from his desk in the corner. His fingers flew over the keys on his laptop while he typed up something before closing the top. Sheriff Colby wants us to layer the spells over the gate again as soon as we get to the cabin.

What’s up? Is he expecting an issue?

I don’t know. Maybe he just wants to make sure Camulus Alsen’s men can’t get through without raising an alarm.

That would make sense. The former council leader’s men had been systematically stalking the ley lines, and the gates set along them for the last several years.

From the intel they had gathered, their enemies had stalked the perimeter of Paradise for some time, looking for a way in that wouldn’t alert the townsfolk to their presence.

They would never breach their security as long as they could keep renewing the charms along the gates during the sabbats and equinoxes.

I’m ready. I have the food stored in the truck, along with some towels and linens. Drace gestured to the front door.

Thanks for that. I don’t want to rely on using what’s stored in the cabin again.

The last time the sheriff asked for their help, not only did Camulus’s men find a way through, but squirrels had made nests in the linens stored inside and they’d spent the weekend sleeping on the floor, since the rodents had also chewed holes and made nests in the mattresses.

Since then, Adam, their leader, had put large metal lockers in the cabins where they stored the mattresses and blankets, but they’d stored sheets and towels in the cabinets.

It wouldn’t be my first choice, either. Drace grabbed a pack from the counter. Some emergency rations, just in case we can’t cook over a fire.

They’d never had to use the freeze-dried meals they brought along, but there was a first time for everything.

Their time spent in a line cabin most usually ended up becoming more of a mini-vacation than anything else. However, if Drace had thought to bring extra emergency rations, something was likely to go down.

Drace was anything but paranoid. The other man also had a sixth sense about things.

Griffin didn’t know if it had something to do with his friend’s ability to shift his shape into anything he wanted, or if it was some other genetic anomaly which gave Drace the ability of occasionally predicting future events.

Are we expecting company this time around, or are you just being overly cautious?

I don’t know. Drace looked thoughtful. I just had the feeling we’d need the extra food.

Shit. That meant they’d probably have company at the cabin, and they wouldn’t be able to shift their shapes and get to stretch their beasts’ legs after their long hike up the mountainside.

Well, we won’t get to the cabin before dark tomorrow if we don’t get our asses moving.

They headed out to their truck. Griffin tossed his bag into the bed, then closed the sectioned fiberglass cover. There wasn’t rain in the forecast, but one never knew when the weather would change so high in the mountains.

After a ninety-minute drive up the trail, they parked in a clearing and pulled their packs from the bed.

They wouldn’t reach the cabin until they hiked up the mountain another day or so, depending on their pace.

How fast do you want to get there?

Does it matter? If your feelings are spot on as usual, we’re going to have company when we get there anyway, aren’t we? Nick hiked his backpack and the bag with the linen higher onto his shoulders.

"They aren’t always spot on."

Seventeen times out of twenty is close enough, if you ask me.

You’ve been counting? Drace sounded half amused and more than a little annoyed.

Well, only for the last twenty times you’ve made a prediction. Nick grinned and moved out of the way before he got himself punched. I’m sure the odds are better than that.

I’m not psychic, Drace practically growled the words.

Relax, will ya? It’s not something you should be embarrassed or angry about. Everyone has their talents. For me, it’s kicking ass and taking names.

And you’re saying my superpower comes from my mind? Drace growled at that.

No. Everyone knows your main superpower is you can kick ass and take names, too. Only you do it using several animal forms.

Just so we have that straight.

Grinning, Nick shook his head and started up the trail. Drace needed to get over the fact that he didn’t know exactly what his base form was before he picked a fight with the wrong shifter.

The goddess only knew what trouble Drace could get himself into if he picked a fight with a grizzly bear or something equally as strong.

Hell, he could get himself killed or something.

Chapter Three

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Aliana dashed through the woods, not daring to look back. Her father’s henchmen were close on her heels. She was sure of it.

It didn’t matter how exhausted she was, Ali had to keep running, despite it.

The marathon training she’d done had stood her in good stead for the last several weeks.

Her feet hammered against the forest floor, pounding a steady rhythm through the trees and brush. Branches slapped at her face and shoulders. She charged through the brush, barely taking the time to push them out of the way as she forged through the brambles.

The dark, insidious feeling of evil grew increasingly closer, and the feeling of oily malevolence on her trail made her desperate.

Imagination or not, she had to keep moving. Her father’s men had been ruthless, hunting her since the beginning, and Ali was still as determined to get away.

Her breaths came in little more than short, strangled gasps. Why did it feel as though she was out of shape? Pain stabbed at her sides. Her muscles burned.

The farther she ran, the more she felt the illusory sensation of her father’s men breathing down her neck and the feeling of evil lurking in the mountain mist. Why couldn’t she shake them? Why couldn’t she breathe?

First, she’d lost her luggage, then her car. What would she lose next, her freedom, maybe her life?

I won’t do it!

Aliana scowled as she ran. She refused to marry a man she could never respect.

Who could have a high opinion of any man who gave no thought to others? He exploited those with less power and took advantage of the system.

In short, the man her father expected her to marry was an opportunistic jerk. Not to mention a criminal of the worst sort. The real clincher had been when she’d heard them discussing a drug transaction and murder.

She could have believed it of Doug Hamill. Rumors ran rampant about Doug and his business dealings. But her own father? At first, she couldn’t believe her ears.

Hearing the conversation and discovering her father’s involvement had been an unexpected blow, ripping away her innocence in a way nothing else could have.

Rounding a corner, she bent at the waist and rested her hands on her knees. Ali gulped in lungfuls of cool air as she concentrated on listening for the pounding of heavy footsteps behind her.

Ali rubbed her side, the burning pain almost strong enough to bring her to her knees. The cool air burned her lungs as she drew in each labored breath.

Some twenty-fifth birthday present. She panted, still bent over. I expected my trust fund, not a criminal for a fiancé.

No wonder her mother had committed suicide. The reasons were obvious now. She hadn’t been able to live with Ali’s father’s source of income. Aliana knew she surely couldn’t.

How many people had died supporting her father’s expensive tastes?

How many children