Sedona Salvation: Southwestern Paranormal Romance with Shifters, Psychics, and Secrets

By Lisa Kessler

The epic conclusion to the Sedona Pack is coming, and the stakes couldn't be higher...

Jett Kendrick has one last mission: to save the Sedona Pack and all werewolves from being exposed to the world as monsters by their own government. The debilitating psychic power he gained from the military’s super soldier research is now their last chance at safety. He’s weary, but more than ready to meet the task.

Instead, he meets Hope Hanson.

Hope has spent her life training for this moment, for the day the monsters came for her father, Senator Hanson, but she had envisioned a war, not this sexy solo warrior with battered determination in his eyes. Since Hope was a child, she could call lightning with her mind, but the deadly gift might not be enough to protect her from the secrets her father has hidden away.

Secrets that forged Jett into the solitary hunter he’s become.

When Jett discovers the woman hunting him is his one true mate, he’ll be forced to face dark decisions in order to protect shifters across the globe. Maybe this time fate has finally made a mistake, because loving her isn’t an option. Jett’s on a collision course with destiny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Publishing
• Release date: Oct 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9781094461137

Lisa Kessler

Stay up-to-date on new releases and giveaways by subscribing to Lisa's newsletter here: https://goo.gl/56lDla Lisa Kessler is a Best Selling author of dark paranormal fiction. She's a two-time San Diego Book Award winner for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror and Best Published Romance. Her books have also won the PRISM award, the Award of Excellence, the National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Award, the Award of Merit from the Holt Medallion, and an International Digital Award for Best Paranormal. Her short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award. When she's not writing, Lisa is a professional vocalist, and has performed with San Diego Opera as well as other musical theater companies in San Diego. You can learn more at http://Lisa-Kessler.com

Book preview

1

HOPE

W hat do you mean we’re postponing the wedding? I hated to admit the relief washing through me at the news. Hopefully it didn’t show on my face. If I was honest, my father had been much more excited about my union with Spencer Lowe than I ever was.

He stopped pacing and finally met my eyes. My father had been a US senator for the state of Massachusetts my entire life, and usually all that power wrapped around him like a plush robe of decisive confidence, but today he seemed…edgy.

Outside the window, snowflakes drifted down from a dark moody sky. I should have known when my dad told me he was flying up to Boston that it wasn’t for a social call. It wasn’t that he didn’t miss me, but our relationship was…complicated. The tips of my fingers crackled with nervous energy. I sucked in a slow breath through my nostrils, cooling the power storming inside me.

He came toward me, regret lining his eyes. I’m sorry, pumpkin. If there were any other way, you know I’d take it. I hate disappointing you. He started to reach for my hand and stopped himself. Even though I’d learned to control my powers by the time I was ten years old, my father still hesitated to touch my bare skin. We can’t move forward with the event until we deal with the threat that’s circling us.

A threat? My brows pinched together. Why am I just hearing about this now?

There was no need to worry you. He resumed pacing in front of the plate glass window. I thought I had everything worked out, but they’ve forced my hand. I can’t declassify the research without them exposing you in the process.

Them. The monsters.

The lights flickered, and he gasped. Shit.

I rolled my shoulders back, releasing some of the building electrical storm inside me. Sorry. Tiny tendrils of electricity bowed between my fingers, small charges of the lightning that was never far from me. I cleared my throat. Are you in danger?

I didn’t think so, but now…I’m not so sure. His gaze locked on mine. My sources alerted me that General Sloan has been sighted in Salem, but…it’s not him I’m worried about this time.

General Miller Sloan was one of the monsters—a werewolf capable of ripping a human to shreds. The Department of Defense used to believe shifters might be the key to super soldiers for the military, but as my father discovered, shifters were more animal than man. He’d been trying to warn the world about them ever since, but declassifying the military’s research was more challenging than he had anticipated.

I can protect you, Daddy. I clenched my fists. First I need to know everything about the threat.

No. He shook his head. You’re my daughter. I won’t put you in jeopardy.

I rolled my eyes. I’m not a kid anymore. And werewolves are tough, but they can’t survive a lightning strike.

He broke eye contact, staring at the blanket of white trees and streets out the window. We were the third generation of the Hanson family to live in this sprawling, eleven-thousand-square-foot, hundred-year-old brick home that boasted a view of the water out the back windows and the Boston skyline out the front.

It won’t be so simple. He turned to look at me again. Jett Kendrick was spotted coming out of the airport in Washington, DC. A muscle clenched in his cheek. It’s too dangerous for you to be involved.

Sometimes I wished I could read minds so I could see through all the twists and turns of my father’s plots to get to the heart of whatever it was we were dancing around. What’s so special about Jett Kendrick?

His phone buzzed. Dammit. He took it out of his pocket and frowned. I need to take this. He focused on me again. Spencer can fill you in about Jett, but I’m serious about you staying away from him. He’s enhanced, Hope. It’s too risky for you to engage. Do you understand me?

Yeah. And I did understand, but I had no intention of obeying him. I was Senator Carl Hanson’s daughter, and I’d inherited his ginger hair, hot temper, and very hard head.

My father’s voice echoed off the eleven-foot-high ceilings until the front door finally opened and closed. That was apparently the end of our visit. He’d flown up to Boston to tell me to stay away. Sadly, it was on brand for us. He’d spent most of my life away from home.

I took out my cell and sent Spence a text.

Daddy wants to postpone the wedding. Call me.

A few minutes after I hit send, the bell from the gate rang. I frowned and walked through the maze of the house to the security panel next to the door. Spence’s face filled the tiny screen.

I smirked and pushed the button to open the wrought iron gates. His car rolled up the cobblestone driveway as I opened the front door. The icy wind stung my cheeks, but I was Boston tough, born and raised. I could handle some cold weather.

Spence parked his Mercedes and got out with a bundle of roses in hand.

That was fast, I called over the wind.

He hurried over and bent to kiss my cheek as he handed me the bouquet. I was already on my way over when I got your text.

I stepped back to allow him inside. And?

He took off his overcoat and hung it on the rack while I closed the door. I think the senator is right to be cautious. We can have a fall wedding. He reached out to run his fingers through my long, red hair. The foliage in Salem will complement your hair.

Spence was about six feet tall, and his black hair was peppered with gray mostly around his temples. He looked distinguished instead of nearly twenty years older than me. I never experienced a rush of heat when I saw him like the heroines in the books I read did, but he was handsome enough. He worked out and stayed fit, and though I didn’t really love him, our relationship made sense.

He and my father had been friends since I was a little girl. Other than my father, Spence was the only person who knew the truth about my gift. I’d overheard them calling it a curse, but over the years I started to see my ability to channel lightning as a gift that I could use to protect myself and my father.

While my father did his best to hide me from the world with private tutors and very few social engagements, I had used that time to train. I was a black belt in karate, proficient in jiu jitsu, and while I had been perfecting my fencing technique, I’d discovered I could focus my lightning onto the blade, making my sword even more lethal.

I was hardly the defenseless daughter in need of a security team, but when my father looked at me, he still saw his little girl weeping with her lifeless nanny. I shoved the painful memory aside and took Spence’s hand, walking him through the oak hardwood-floored entry into the mahogany walls of the library. He said you could tell me about Jett Kendrick.

Spence sighed as he settled into one of the black leather armchairs. I’d rather not.

I took a vase off one of the shelves and filled it with water from the wet bar. He said Jett’s ‘enhanced.’ I put the flowers in the water and set the vase on the table as I looked over at Spence. What exactly does that mean?

Hope, please. He ran a hand down his face and looked at me with tired eyes that suddenly showed his age. I came over here to work on new dates for the ceremony.

I narrowed my eyes. Wait. You already knew he wanted to postpone the wedding?

Spence lifted his eyebrows. Does it matter? It doesn’t change the outcome. Let your father handle this threat. It’s not our concern.

Not our concern? I arched a brow, and suddenly heat did flush my body, but this wasn’t a rush of desire like in books. This was a more familiar heat. Anger. I’m not a porcelain doll to be locked in a protective glass case. I can help stop the monsters from hurting my father. I sat in the chair across from him. I’m going to fight so you can either tell me what I’m up against or I’ll figure it out once I find this guy. Your choice.

Even if you had the strength of a shifter, you couldn’t beat this one. Spence shook his head. He’s the sole-surviving member of the Codename Wolf project. He rubbed the back of his neck. We believe he walked away from the Nero Organization with mind-control abilities. He stood up and came to me. Kneeling beside my chair, he took my hand. He could force you to use your power against us. You need to stay as far from this fight as possible.

I blinked, my brows pinching together. That’s impossible.

I assure you it’s not. That’s how he got away. Spence moved to stand behind me, massaging my shoulders. The experiments were supposed to stimulate the neurotransmitters in the parietal lobe of the brain, to enhance the intuitive and potentially psychic abilities of these super soldiers. Sadly, it caused brain bleeds and psychoses in all of them except Jett Kendrick. Using his new enhancement, he was able to force General Sloan and the head of the Nero Organization’s research unit to sign his discharge papers. He went home to Sedona, Arizona, and I never saw him again.

Mind control seemed impossible, but to most people my ability to call lightning would be equally as fictional. It didn’t make it any less real. A chill shot down my spine. There must be a way to block it, right? A helmet or something?

I don’t know. He was gone before they could test his limits. Spence crossed to the wet bar and poured himself a scotch. Why don’t we shake things up and take our honeymoon before the wedding? We could spend a couple of weeks in Australia and leave the snow behind us.

And just toss my father to the wolves? Literally? I shook my head. No. I’m staying.

Spence looked back over his shoulder. If Jett gets to you, the danger to your father would go up, not down.

I would never hurt him.

He shrugged and knocked back the rest of his drink. He set the glass on the bar and met my eyes. And Sloan would never have allowed an asset like that to leave the military. But he did. He sighed and turned to face me. Just think about Australia. I’ve got a meeting I need to get to, but I’ll call you tonight, okay?

I nodded as he came over and bent down to give me a peck on the lips. Talk soon.

He let himself out, leaving me to think about everything. Maybe he was right. If this werewolf could force me to use the lightning to hurt my father, I could be the monster’s most dangerous weapon.

But if I went to Australia, I’d be deserting my father. He’d be unprotected. And if Jett could use mind control on me, who was to say he wouldn’t use it on my father’s head of security? Any member of his security team could put a bullet in his brain as quickly as I could strike him with lightning.

I rubbed my forehead. If the werewolves wanted to keep the super soldier research classified, it must be to ensure their existence stays secret. Would they risk killing a sitting senator to do it?

Not if staying secret was their ultimate goal. The FBI wouldn’t stop searching for a senator’s killer.

What if the goal wasn’t to kill my father?

What if it was to force him to kill himself?

Oh shit.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

2

JETT

Ifucking hated Washington, DC. The city dragged dark memories I’d rather forget back into the spotlight. Sirens wailed outside my hotel as I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up. Hopefully it would help loosen my tense muscles. I stepped inside and tipped my head back into the stream. The sooner I finished this, the sooner I could leave the past behind me and rest.

Or at least that’s what I told himself. The truth was this mission would probably be the end of me. I was so damned tired, I almost welcomed death. My entire pack had found their mates, and the next generation was already filling the pack with joy and hope for the future.

And they were all counting on me to protect them.

If the senator declassified the super soldier research, none of those little werewolf kids were going to be safe. They’d be hunted and rounded up like monsters to be studied and destroyed.

Not on my watch.

I clenched my jaw, finished rinsing out my hair, and turned off the water. This wasn’t going to be an easy mission, but I’d see it through. If killing Senator Hanson had been a viable option, my Alpha would’ve sent Vance. He was a trained jaguar-shifting assassin, but the murder of a sitting senator would attract too much attention and we couldn’t risk it leading back to the Sedona Pack.

My ability was harder to trace. I was here to dig into Hanson’s mind and erase the memories of the super soldier research altogether. I’d never done anything like it before, but I was willing to try. Asher, my Alpha, didn’t know this operation would probably kill me. He never would have asked me to go if he knew. Every time I used my psychic ability to force my will on someone it hurt me. It usually started as a sharp stabbing pain like an ice pick jabbing me in the head, tearing apart the tissues, and each time I pushed, the tear grew. The nosebleeds that came with using my power were getting worse, and I’d almost lost consciousness last time.

But I didn’t die. Not yet anyway. I hadn’t tried to use my power again, and I kept my condition to myself. I was alone, and I didn’t see that changing. No family and no real future. I was expendable. If I could protect shifters from being exposed to the world, then it would be worth the sacrifice.

After I toweled off, I got dressed in black cargo pants and a black Turtleneck. I put on my shoulder holster and checked the chamber on my Glock before sliding it in. I grabbed my jacket and stepped out of my hotel room.

Since forcing others to bend to my will taxed me, I needed to be sure the senator was alone before I pushed my command into his mind. I’d track him today, learn his routines and his movements, and once he was by himself, I’d push with all the mental power I had left.

I still had nightmares of being locked in that underground research facility, holding my brother’s head in my lap while he’d bled out through his nose, eyes, and ears. Jax had been one the last of my unit to die. Eventually, I was the only werewolf left standing.

For whatever that was worth. I was a shell of the man I used to be.

I parked my rental car in the lot closest to Hanson’s office and waited. He finally exited the building a few hours later. Two bodyguards flanked him on either side all the way to his black town car. Between the security team and the way he kept looking over his shoulder, he must’ve gotten word I was in town. Fuck.

This was