Gifted by the Gods

By Jennifer Wedmore

Breya Westfall was firmly in the Wanderers category until one day when everything changed. She’s had a hard life, tossed from home to home with no real family. Always fighting for every meal, every scrap of decency she could find in life. Now, she targets the wealthy men around her and takes what she needs. Until her latest conquest knows what she is….A Zodiac with powers, ones he wants to take for himself. In their fight, she kills him and becomes a Fallen. She fears the Zodiac Enforcement Agency will be after her, she goes on the run, and there's only one place she knows of that she can find the help she needs.
Dawson Drake runs the biggest Underground black market. Anything you need he can get, but for a price. Sometimes it's a fight in his gladiator ring, sometimes it's a payment. It's all up to his whim, after all, he's favored by the Gods. They gave him his powers and he lords it over the humans who happen to get in his way. Nothing pleases him more than watching humans battle to the death. When Breya is brought to him, he is intrigued by her. He offers her the chance to escape to another planet, but she has to fight in his gladiator ring.
When word gets to Dawson that the Zodiac Enforcement Agency is about to raid his arena. Breya has a choice to make. Dawson offers Breya the chance to run with him or go to prison and never see each other again. She has to decide if he's worth taking a chance on with her heart and her safety.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Celtic Hearts Press
• Release date: Jun 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9781949575774

Book preview

Chapter

One

Breya ran the brush through her long black tresses, she loved the color. In the right light, you could see a blue sheen to the strands, but she had a date that night and it was time to make a change.

She leaned her chin on her hand and stared into the mirror, red? Blonde? Black? She couldn’t decide and absently flipped through each to see which color appealed to her. With a roll of her eyes, she pushed away from her dressing table. With a wave of her hand, she moved her now brown hair behind her shoulder. She took a moment to admire the blond streaks that went through parts of her new hair. 

This will do. She smiled and cocked her head. Vinny will love it. After approving her new hair color, she moved onto her eyes. Hmm I wonder if green eyes would stand out too much with this hair or should I go bold and say they are contacts if anyone asks?

Breya glanced over her shoulder to the bed, where her dress for that evening laid. She didn’t want to clash with her clothing either. With a sigh, she went with a light brown eye and studied her overall appearance. There was a time in her life when she changed the appearance of her whole face, even her body. Now, she realized simply changing her hair and eye color was enough. Humans didn’t pay attention to the small details, and no one was looking for her yet anyway. She knew one day she would be on the radar of the Zodiac Enforcement Agency though, after all the goal was to catch all zodiacs who committed any crime.

But Breya thought her crimes were minor enough that they wouldn’t rush to find her. A few cons were harmless in the grand scheme of acts committed each day. 

Her phone rang, and she picked it up with a smile. hello love, I can’t wait for our date tonight. Tell me you aren’t calling to cancel. I had such fun planned for us.

My lovely Linda, would I dare to do that to such a charming lady?

Very cute my darling, but since we haven’t met yet, you don’t know me, other than what I’ve told you. Maybe I lied to you. She grinned and walked back to the dressing table to touch up her makeup.

You have the voice of an angel. You can’t be anything but stunning. She heard shuffling on the other end of the phone.

You called because you couldn’t wait to hear my voice? She purred into the phone and dabbed at her lipstick in the mirror.

That is part of it, but my last meeting ran a bit late. I was hoping to postpone our date for an hour?

That’s fine darling. I’ll be ready and waiting for you. She quietly said bye and hit the end button. No reason she couldn’t head to the restaurant and see if anyone looked like a good next prospect. She opened the rideshare app and ordered a car. She never took her own vehicle. She didn’t want anything traced back to her. 

Fifteen minutes later, she arrived at the restaurant and headed inside. The hostess smiled and asked if she had a reservation. 

Breya smiled and looked around. Yes, but my date won’t be here for another hour. If it’s alright, I’d like to have a seat at the bar in the meantime.

Of course ma’am. Have a seat anywhere you’d like. The hostess gestured to the bar, and Breya nodded her thanks and eyed the area. She wanted to have a view of the restaurant, but if she was lucky, she could find an open seat next to someone who could potentially become her next target.

There, at the end of the bar, an open seat with a man on either side and it appeared to have the best view of the whole place. She smiled and walked over, making sure to put a little extra swing into her hips. It couldn't hurt to draw a bit of attention before actually making contact with anyone. Of course, she hoped no other zodiacs were around. She really didn’t want to talk to one of her brethren. She’d had enough of them at the academy. Not that she held ill will towards any of them, but she really didn’t want to have a conversation that could lead to her real name being outed.

Excuse me, gentleman, is this seat taken? She nodded at the stool and glanced at either man, waiting for them to respond. 

The man on her right, with salt and pepper hair, stunning blue eyes, and broad shoulders, grinned at her and pointed. It’s all yours.

The man on her left glared at her through dark brown eyes and shrugged. She smiled her thanks and sat, but made sure to angle her body toward the right. Breya knew when she was being dismissed and when she was being welcomed. 

Thank you, sir. I appreciate your consideration. 

So formal. My name is Brendan. Are you by yourself tonight, or can I monopolize your time for the rest of the evening? Brendan threw his head back and laughed, and Breya took a moment to appreciate the way his whole face lit up with his laugh.

I’m actually killing a little time while I wait for my date to show up. Breya glanced over her shoulder to see the brown-eyed man staring at her. She frowned at him and turned away.

Well ma’am, I’d love to keep you company while you wait for your date. Brendan signaled for the bartender. Drinks on me, what would you like…?

Thank you very much. My name is Linda, and I’ll have a Manhattan. She heard the man behind her make a coughing sound and glanced back at him again. He shook his head with a laugh. Breya wasn’t sure what was so funny, but she wasn’t about to engage him. He was putting off major asshole vibes. 

Manhattan really? You struck me more as a white wine drinker. Brendan said with a grin, and the man behind her snickered. She heard him mutter, Don’t worry Brendan, it’s all a lie anyway.

Breya sucked in a breath but didn’t take her eyes off Brendan. On occasion, tonight felt like the time to switch things up. She raised her eyebrows and grinned at him. Really, she hated wine and fruity drinks. If she was there as herself, she’d have ordered a draft beer and savored every sip. But she had an image to protect, and Linda was an upscale businesswoman with refined tastes.

I’ll have whatever you have on draft, please. The man behind her said, and she swore he was laughing at her. She tried to ignore him, but something about him was setting her on edge.

Breya, pretending to be Linda, leaned toward Brendan and put her hand on his arm. So, tell me what brings you here tonight? Meeting a lucky woman?

Brendan grinned and shook his head. No, I’m as free as they come. 

Well, my date will be here in a bit, but it’s our first. Maybe if things don’t work out, you and I can get a second chance. Breya looked up at him from under