Midnight of the Fae Read online

  Tangere Tales 2

  Midnight of the Fae

  After discovering an odd little canine while exploring a cave, Caresse stumbles into a world where fae magic and shape shifters are commonplace. She even has her very own distractingly handsome faery bodyguard.

  On notice that the queen will pick a bride for him if he won't cooperate with her plans to become a grandmother, Prince Sebastien wants nothing to do with any of the debutantes his mother keeps pushing at him.

  Sebastien's fae cousin Leandre has a bombshell of a secret. Her name is Caresse, he's her faery bodyguard, and he loves her even though she's meant for Sebastien.

  Caresse is unaware that she hasn't just stumbled into the mystical Southern Kingdom of Tangere, she's actually returned home.

  A powerful bond develops between the three of them as she comes into her own unique powers, jeopardizing the plans of an old, malevolent enemy.

  Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal

  Length: 59,970 words

  MIDNIGHT OF THE FAE

  Tangere Tales 2

  Heather Rainier

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  MIDNIGHT OF THE FAE

  Copyright © 2017 by Heather Rainier

  ISBN: 978-1-64010-664-2

  First Publication: November 2017

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2017 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: 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.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

  [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  These stories required a stretch outside of my comfort zone. As long as I’ve wanted to be a writer, I’ve wanted to pen my own versions of these classic fairy tales. I didn’t know if I had what it took to step out of the contemporary world of Divine, Texas and give readers something a little different. But step out I did, and I am blessed to have several people to dedicate this series to.

  The Tangere Tales are dedicated to my husband, who has taught me more than any other person about what it means to stretch out of your comfort zone.

  They’re also dedicated to my friend, Morgan Ashbury, who checked all my French and verified that there is definitely a difference between “fucking French” and “French fucking.” (No offense to the French intended.)

  And for the first time ever, this dedication extends to my very own lovely daughter, Juliet. She helped me plot the trilogy, laughing over dialogue, devising original fantasy places and names, and assisted in crafting secondary characters that are as entertaining as Fleur, Doop-Doop, and Flappy hopefully are.

  Lastly, this series is dedicated to Lily, Angie, all the Facebook group admins, all the readers and bloggers, a phenomenal editor, and to my absolutely fantastic publisher, Diana. She was the one who told me, “Anything can happen!” She was right.

  Seize the day, baby!

  Love, Heather

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I live in South Central Texas, writing the type of novel I love to read: more erotic and edgy than the mainstream, with plenty of sweet romance mixed in. My love of romantic fiction began as a teenager when my mom gave me copies of Kathleen Woodiwiss’s “The Flame and the Flower” and Bertrice Small’s “Skye O'Malley.” To this day I'm pretty sure that was her idea of the “birds and the bees” talk.

  My husband and I met in a scenario very much like the ones I’ve written about. He was the alpha hero who stepped in when this “damsel in distress” needed rescuing from a nefarious pervert. It’s no wonder I went on to write erotic romance when I had him to inspire me.

  When not pounding on my keyboard, I'm usually busy corralling my kids or loving on my smokin’ hot husband, who thankfully loves to cook.

  For all titles by Heather Rainier, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/heather-rainier

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  About the Author

  Prologue

  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

  Landmarks

  Cover

  MIDNIGHT OF THE FAE

  Tangere Tales 2

  HEATHER RAINIER

  Copyright © 2017

  Prologue

  Mount Rainier National Park

  With hands that were clammy and shaking, Caresse braided her hair to keep the heavy length out of her face. The daylight from the cavern entrance only extended so far, and she shivered as she stood with her friends before the three dark passages the cave had branched into. Imagining whatever creepy-crawlies lurked in the darkness getting in her hair sent a ripple of fear coursing over her skin.

  Turning at a touch on her shoulder, she nodded her thanks when Elaina offered her a hair elastic from her backpack—the modern version of a big mama handbag. Elaina rifled through the contents one more time and pulled out a small flashlight and handed it to her. Caresse was grateful Elaina believed in being prepared for just about anything.

  The dark scared the wits out of her, but walking away from the inky blackness that waited before her was, inexplicably, something she simply could not do. She blamed her soft heart and compassion for the poor cat they’d been trying to rescue somewhere in that cave—lost, alone, and scared. She just hoped those attributes didn’t land her in dire straits.

  Elaina said, “Each of us could take a passage. We’ll follow it for five minutes. If we reach a dead end, or haven’t found her by then, we’ll meet back here.”

  “Sounds good. I won’t be able to sleep in my warm sleeping bag tonight if she’s trapped in the dark and afraid.” Caresse’s attempt at a brave tone was pathetic, but she still balked at the concern she saw in her friends’ eyes. They knew how she felt about being in the dark…but not the reason why. She couldn’t even explain it to herself, much less anyone else.

  “You sure?” Angel asked. “I know you don’t like the dark. If you want to stay here and wait, then we can all go down your tunnel together?”

  She’d posed it as a question to Caresse, giving her an out, but Caresse shook her head. Capable at camping, fishing, hiking, and even hunting and scuba diving, she hated this one weakness she had. Even though she was shaking in her hiking boots, she wasn’t going to let the phobia get the best of her. She might lose every drop of moisture in her body in a cold sweat, but she was going to summon her inner badass and face this fear.

  “I can handle five minutes there and five minutes back. I just hope there aren’t any bats.” Caresse shuddered. The ca
t, an extraordinarily beautiful animal with sleek, pure white fur and a pendant dangling around its neck, had looked completely out of place as it had flitted through their remote lakeside camping spot in Mount Rainier National Park.

  Caresse couldn’t fathom where the cat had come from, besides someone else’s campsite. The odd thing was that the feline had the appearance of a pampered pet that visited the groomers as often as its owner visited a salon. Not what she’d expect to see on a camping trip. Intrigued and a little concerned that the animal might become lunch for a predator, the three of them had set off from the campsite after it.

  Their girls-only camping trip was starting off with an adventure, a thought that had pleased her until the darned feline had wandered into a cave. Communing with Mother Nature, sleeping under the stars, rafting to a remote location, pottying in the bushes, watching for bears? Caresse could handle those things. Heck, she’d been dying to go camping in this very area for months, and she’d jumped on the idea when Angel had broken up with her fiancé and proclaimed that she’d needed time away with just her closest friends. But being in the dark, enclosed and alone? That was truly terrifying.

  The plaintive meow recaptured her attention. With the echoes, it was impossible to tell which tunnel she’d entered, but she sounded scared.

  Poor baby. Come on, girl. We need to help her before she becomes bear breakfast. Oh fudgecicles. Bears? In the dark?

  Her mental dialogue swirled faster in her head but was cut off when Elaina touched her shoulder again. “Hey. Breathe. You got this. I’ll see you in a few minutes. We’re starting the getting-over-the-cheating-asshole-ex-fiancé-camping-weekend with a big bang.”

  She replied in a whisper. “Five minutes there and five minutes back. You’re right,” she said, drawing a slow, steadying breath. “Thanks.”

  “You got this, girl. See you in ten,” Elaina said, pulling her shoulder-length black hair into a messy bun with a ponytail holder before she entered her chosen tunnel, making kissie noises and sympathetic baby talk to attract the cat. Angel took the one in the center.

  Gripping the flashlight, Caresse turned down the passage to her left, telling herself that it looked like it ran along the outer perimeter of the hill. It probably exited right back out just a few yards down the way from the opening they entered through.

  “So, nothing to get all worked up and panicky over,” she said to herself, calling, “Here, kitty-kitty-kitty.” Her voice echoed oddly as the tunnel narrowed, and it seemed that the temperature dropped the farther in she walked.

  Then the tunnel made a twisting turn to the right, into pitch black.

  “Heck.” With hands that still shook, she fiddled around with the flashlight until the beam of light bounced off of her retinas, temporarily blinding her. “Good job, Ace,” she muttered as she blinked and waited for the white spot in her vision to clear. She inhaled slowly while counting to five and then released the breath, willing her heart to stop racing. Though Caresse continued to feel butterflies swirling in her middle, her breathing eventually evened out, and she steadied herself with a hand on the damp rock wall.

  Besides the echoes of her breathing and the rush of her heartbeat in her ears, she heard nothing for several yards, and then a draft brushed against her ankles, startling her. “Kitty?”

  Shadows bounced on the cave walls, caused by the rapidly bouncing flashlight beam. Caresse tried to steady it, but her hands were shaking too badly. Another draft brushed her cheek, almost tickling her lips, and she inhaled a sweet scent.

  “Must be flowers or fruit trees growing beyond the other end of this tunnel,” she told herself. “Just a draft blowing through.” She tipped the flashlight at her watch and looked ahead. If the cat had already proceeded out the other exit, there was no telling where she might be, and Caresse’s time was half up.

  “Come on, kitty. I don’t want you to be lost and alone tonight in the dark. I know how scary it can be.”

  The sweet scent returned, only this time stronger, more herbal and tangy, drawing her. “Are you rolling in the flowers? Or did you find catnip?”

  A soft rasping sound caught her attention, and she turned the flashlight beam in that direction, to a shadowy alcove in the rock wall. “Kitty?”

  A small dog, built like a tiny terrier, with soft browns and golds in the mixture of its fur, came forth from the shadows. Its ears perked up, and it wagged its little tail in greeting.

  “Well, hi there. You’re not Kitty.” Crouching down, she held out an open hand for it to sniff. “Where did you come from?” The gold tag dangling around his neck shimmered in the light when he canted his head to the side, and then the flashlight went out, rendering the cave black as pitch.

  “Shit!” She whimpered as panic returned a hundredfold, the darkness closing in around her as she huddled down in her squat. The flashlight fell from her suddenly slippery fingers, and she listened as it rolled away. She patted around on the rock floor, but all she felt was dust.

  With her inner badass in retreat, she began backing away. The girls would understand. Elaina probably had another flashlight in her backpack, along with who-knew-what-else. They could search the rest of this passage together and evidently rescue two pets that were entirely too cute and precious to be wandering on their own in the wilderness.

  But as she crawled backward, the aroma of sweet, ripe citrus enticed her to stop her retreat, and then she felt a tiny warm breath in her face, and a raspy tongue licked the tip of her nose.

  She stopped again, and over the sound of her own fearful gasping, she heard the rapid panting of the tiny creature, a decidedly…perky sound. It doesn’t sound terrified, so maybe you shouldn’t either, ninny. Sliding a hand forward over the floor, she encountered a tiny furry foot, connected to a petite hind leg. Sitting back on her haunches, she reached out and touched the little warm furry body sitting right in front of her.

  “H-hi there. Sorry, I must seem silly to you, cowering here. I-I’m afraid of the dark. Don’t know why. Always have been since I was little.” Cease your blathering, ninny!

  A tiny raspy growl was her reply, and then she felt a tug on her braid.

  “Cutie-pie, this is hardly the time to play. I’m barely holding off the mother of all freak-outs, and the last thing I want to do is go farther into this cave.”

  His canine reply, a cheerful yip, was accompanied by a play-bow, judging by the way he’d moved between her hands, backing away and tugging gently at her long braid.

  She had no idea how much time had elapsed, but she reached out for him, at least she assumed it was a “him,” not wanting him to get away. He backed out of her reach and challenged her with another playful growl that said come and get me.

  Disoriented in the dark, feeling chilled, but also a little less fearful, she recognized the sweet scent as oranges. The fact that she was nowhere near an area where citrus would grow well was not lost on her. Must be one helluva greenhouse somewhere close.

  The soft pad of little footsteps neared again, and then he placed both paws on her knees and nuzzled against her hand and licked her. Then it shimmied against her in the same manner a cat would, as if enjoying rubbing against her. Just as she reached up to stroke him, and grasp him, he darted out of her reach. His raspy, playful growl seemed to cajole her, and she crawled forward one pace and then another.

  He coaxed her forward like that several paces, and when she glanced up, she noticed a dim light, filtered as if through trees in the distance. As her eyes adjusted, the light gave her a point of reference. The disorientation began to fade, but the butterflies fluttering in her stomach increased. There must be a garden or meadow beyond the cave because she could hear the buzzing of honeybees.

  As the tiny dog moved closer to the opening, she got a look at its silhouette, backlit by the sunlight. He moved out of her reach each time she came close, and she whispered, “You’re like no dog breed I’ve ever seen. You must be a hybrid. Where did you get those cute curly ears?” she murmured, hoping to
keep him from running off like the white cat had done, which reminded her that her five minutes had to be up by now.

  “I have time for one peek outside, and then I have to get back, fuzzy what’s-it.” He approached her on his stubby little legs, licked her nose again, and jauntily trotted away, looking expectantly over his shoulder at her.

  “Wait until Elaina gets a look at you. She’ll probably give you some goofy name.”

  Giving her a doggy grin, he tilted his head as if he was curious what she was jabbering on about. The tight feeling in her chest eased somewhat, and her heart was no longer in her throat. In fact, she felt downright calm. Gazing at her, he made a tiny persuasive woof.

  “You’re curious what she would name you?”

  He panted and sat, doggie grin firmly in place as his curly tail thumped the dusty floor in expectation.

  “Oh, probably something like…” She stroked his soft head and the fur on his ears that ended in wispy curls, imagining Elaina’s reaction to him. Caresse could almost hear her making silly sounds and talking doggy-talk about how he doop-doop-dooped around on his stubby little legs.

  “Curly-eared Doop-Doop, that’s what she’d call you,” she said with a giggle, and this time he let her pick him up. “One little look out the opening, and then we have to go back. I need to find that flashlight, and I don’t want the girls to worry about me. They’re probably headed back by now. You’ll like them. Elaina is an animal lover and will probably want to carry you home in her backpack. She might even have doggy treats in that bag for all I know.”