Gifts of Fate [Kindred of Arkadia 7] (Siren Publishing Classic)

Kindred of Arkadia 7

Gifts of Fate

It’s Christmas in Arkadia. Which could only mean one thing. Chaos! The babies are due any minute and

Rian is on a rampage trying to get the Pride House ready to be featured in the Council newsletter.

Even though it’s supposed to be the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" the newly mated couples are

finding it hard to get into the spirit. Tempers are running high and nerves are frayed. Fear and doubt linger

throughout the town like an oppressive, dark cloud. Will the mated couples be saying Merry Christmas or

good-bye to the ones they love? Can the town avoid death and tragedy?

Will Fate bless these couples twice in one year? Who will receive
Gifts of Fate
?

NOTE!
Gifts of Fate
is a holiday reunion book in the Kindred of Arcadia series and includes mixed

romantic pairings. It is not stand-alone. We recommend reading this book after books 1-6.

Genre:
Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Vampires/Werewolves

Length:
21,734 words

GIFTS OF FATE

Kindred of Arkadia 7

Alanea Alder

EROTIC ROMANCE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

GIFTS OF FATE

Copyright © 2013 by Alanea Alder

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-034-2

First E-book Publication: December 2013

Cover design by Harris Channing

All art and logo copyright © 2013 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.

PUBLISHER

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of
Gifts of Fate
by Alanea Alder from BookStrand.com or its official

distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction

rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading

entertainment.

This is Alanea Alder’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Alder’s right to earn a living

from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

www.SirenPublishing.com

www.BookStrand.com

DEDICATION

I hope that you are curled up somewhere nice and toasty with a mug of your favorite cuppa.

It’s not a very long book, but I hope it brings Arkadia to your home for the evening and helps you deal

with your own personal chaos that is the holiday season.

From my home to yours, Happy Holidays!

Much love,

Alanea

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Epilogue

About the Author

GIFTS OF FATE

Kindred of Arkadia 7

ALANEA ALDER

Copyright © 2013

Prologue

“Prince Gabriel, I have contacted all of the regional coven leaders, they have already sent us whatever

blood they had stored. We’re running out of options.” Roman removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Gabriel sat at his desk in his office at the coven house, elbows on the desktop with his crossed fingers

covering his lips.

“We’re out of time. Baron gave us a month before he came for Rhys, it’s already been that long. He’s

probably giving us some leeway due to Christmas being right around the corner, but I fear he will be

coming soon. He will come and there won’t be anything I can do to stop him.”

“It won’t be the same without hearing Rhys at Christmas,” Roman said in a pained voice.

“It was the reason why I turned him.” Gabriel sighed and stared down at the council paperwork that had

been sent back to him, a faint smile on his lips.

“You still haven’t told Ashby, have you?”

Gabriel shook his head.

“It all happened so fast. With everything going on with Rhys and the Inner Court about to give birth, I

haven’t really had the chance. The timing couldn’t be worse.”

“What are we going to do?”

Gabriel looked up and Roman was shocked at the depth of sadness and hopelessness that he saw.

“I don’t know.”

Chapter 1

Rebecca

Dec 20th
- Afternoon

“Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.” Rebecca sang cheerfully as she hung

fresh garland and wreaths up in the diner. She loved Christmas. The snow outside reminded her of the

magical day when she first came to Arkadia. So much had happened in the past year, it felt like she had

lived here all her life.

The diner smelled like Ma’s beef stew, homemade bread and cinnamon from the desserts baking in the

oven. She was about to get on the stepladder when she heard a low growl from her mate. She looked

behind her to see Liam already standing from where he sat with his mates to come over and assist. He

winked at her and took the garland from her hands. She turned to Aleks.

“You don’t have to be so growly.”

“You should know better than to be climbing around on a step ladder. You’re due any day now. You’re

so big you’d probably topple off to one side.”

Rebecca gasped and looked down at her stomach. She secretly complained to Ashby and Sebastian

about how big she was because she didn’t want to worry Aleks, but damn the man for calling her out on it

in the diner.

“I’m not that big. I’m perfectly healthy.” She sniffed.

Liam leaned down and whispered, “You know he’s just worried. We all are. You’re just so tiny and let’s

face it, your tummy is not.” He kissed the top of her head, arranged the last section of garland, and stepped

down.

“I’m fine. We both are. Drill sergeant over there has been keeping track of how many steps I take from

the den to the bathroom, how many ounces of water I drink and all my pre-natal vitamins.” She smiled

sweetly at Aleks before sticking her tongue out at him and rubbing her tummy.

“Have you picked out a name yet?” Ashby asked, grinning. Rebecca could kiss the man. He always

seemed to know exactly what she was feeling and what to do to make her feel better. Bringing up choosing

a baby name would be a fun way to bring her overbearing bear down a notch or two. He had been dogging

her every step for the past month and restricted her visits to the diner. Torturing him was her only form of

entertainment.

“I think I have.”

“It has to be an ‘A’ name,” Aleks jumped in. She had been teasing him about naming the baby Gabriel

for weeks.

“I found the perfect name. Aloisius. It’s Liam’s middle name and I think it will suit my baby right down

to his little purr,” Rebecca said, taking a seat across from Ashby who had his back to Aleks. He caught her

eye and winked.

“That’s a fine name,” Liam exclaimed, jumping on the bandwagon.

“Like hell! We are not naming my son Aloisius! And he does not purr, he growls!” Aleks rumbled.

“Hmmm I don’t know, it feels like a purr to me,” Rebecca said innocently.

“It’s a growl.”

“A purr could sound like a growl,” Kaden added.

“Especially from her tummy like that,” Rex chimed in with a straight face.

Rebecca looked around and realized most of the pride was in the diner.

“It’s a growl, dammit!”

“It’s okay, Aloisius, daddy loves you no matter what, even if you purr.” Rebecca made kissy noises to

her stomach.

“He is not going to be Aloisius!” Aleks roared.

“You said I got to pick the first name since you picked the middle name,” Rebecca reminded him.

“That was because of a family tradition,” Aleks protested.

“Not my problem. Oh!” Rebecca rubbed her stomach and looked over to Sebastian who had also

grabbed his midsection.

Liam, Kent, and Aleks both jumped up and went to their mates.

“What is it?” Aleks ran a gentle hand over Rebecca’s stomach.

“Are you okay, kitten?” Liam asked.

“That felt funny,” Sebastian said, frowning.

“I feel fine now,” Rebecca said, tilting her head back for a kiss. No matter what was going on Aleks had

a way of making time stop every time their lips touched. He didn’t disappoint. He delved into her mouth

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