Awaken

Awaken: A Scottish Paranormal Romance Asta Horne Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Asta Horne Books All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Dedication This book is dedicated to all you witchy weirdos out there. Based on True Events The scenes depicted in this series are based on true life events. Names have been changed, but the events themselves are from the author's life. Also By Asta COMING SOON Prologue She is mine. I shall have her. Possess her. Feel the fire that burns deep within her soul. It is mine for the taking; yet with that taking comes the relinquishing of my own power. For it is hers to do with as she wills. And she will do such great things with it. Of that I am sure. Much time I have wasted, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. A moment I fear may not come in this lifetime if left for the gods to decide. Too long I’ve been forced to sit idly by, watching from afar as she gives herself to those who are not worthy. They ken not what gift they hold in their hands. Who they toss aside once their hunger is sated. Sometimes it is she who casts them out quickly and I wonder, nae pray that it is in those moments she realizes what more she deserves. What she is capable of achieving, of harnessing! My own soul, which I shall gladly offer. Only I can give her what she needs, what she truly desires. Alas, what I desire. Yet I have forced myself not to act upon my own base needs until the time comes for us to be together. I feel it is too soon. She may not be ready. I must wait and watch. For now. Chapter One My name is Sarah Phillips. At least that’s what my mother told me. I’ve never quite felt like a Sarah. And I certainly don’t look like one. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. But have you ever known a Sarah with flaming red hair and eyes so green you swear you could get lost in the forest of them? Perhaps. Yet, I ask you, has that Sarah ever known what you are thinking without asking? Or willed a dying animal back to life with merely a glance? Or turned someone’s clothing to a pile of ash with a flick of her finger? Didn’t think so. For the record, that someone was Billy Madigan, a mean-faced bully who haunted me through my two years of elementary school in Boston. Wish I had the power to haunt someone, really haunt them. He would be the first on my list. I moved a lot as a child. My mother said it was ‘good for my character,’ but being the new kid in seven different schools only built a wall in my heart that has yet to be demolished. I think she finally got the hint because we’ve been here in Linville since back in high school. I’m now 28 and live a hermit life alone in the middle of nowhere with just my mother for company. And my best friend, Cecelia. But I don’t know anyone like me. And I need people in my life who know what I’m going through. So, that’s why when I saw your ad on Craigslist I knew I had to reach out. I wasn’t even looking for… Covens. It’s so strange to hear that word in my head. Coven. Anyway, I wasn’t even looking for a Coven, not really. I don’t even know why I was on Craigslist that day. But I’m glad I was because I saw your ad and just knew I had to reach out. And I can’t believe you’re here, in my town. All this time I could have been with people like me. How lucky am I? P.S. Also, I think someone’s following me and I need help! *** “I don’t know,” I say, showing the email to Cece. She’s been looking over my shoulder the whole time so it’s merely a formality. “I think that last part sounds too desperate.” She tugs at her long brown hair, a sure sign that she’s deep in thought. My mom says her sister used to do the same thing and it kinda freaked her out the first time she saw Cece do it. That’s also the only thing I know about my mom’s family, or her past. Or my past for that matter, aside from the things I can remember from childhood. Mom’s not one for divulging. But that’s all a blur, really. Probably something about moving around so much. Mushed all the people and places into one big gray mess. “We are desperate,” Cece says. I love how she refers to us as one unit. It’s what I’ve been searching for my whole life. She’s what I’ve been searching for. I don’t have that with my mom. She took good care of me, of course. But she was always so worried that some mysterious other shoe would drop on our lives. This doesn’t make any sense. What are you doing? I shake my head. “I don’t know,” I say again. “Maybe it was all in my head.” Cece had begun to pace and stops. “Sare, you’re the least ‘in my head’ person I’ve ever met. Aren’t you the one who told the entire first grade that there was no Santa?” “Well, I was right. And I shouldn’t have told you that if you were going to use it against me every chance you get.” I smile because I actually kinda love that she remembers everything about my life. One of us should. “I just can’t believe they would suspend a first grader!” I shrug. That was already my second school and I could already tell my mom was getting antsy