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  Betrayed

  Nancy Corrigan

  Contents

  Introduction

  Wild Hunt Dictionary

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter Thirty-Five, plus next book preview

  Also by Nancy Corrigan

  Please read

  About the Author

  He was born to kill her…but he’ll risk everything to save her.

  Calan, the leader of the Wild Hunt, was created for one purpose—to hunt the Unseelie Court and return the depraved fairies to Hell. He’s not supposed to fall in love with one of them, but Harley, a half breed fairy, captures his heart and soul with only a glance.

  Harley always knew she was a little…different…but when the monsters start calling her family, there's no ignoring the truth. She's evil too. Dying is her only escape, but the sexy, blue-eyed hunter who saves her won't let her take the easy way out.

  Everything Calan knows about the corrupted fairies who prey on humans should make his choice easy – betray Harley and damn her to Hell. The way she touches him doesn't feel evil, though. Actually, it feels incredibly good.

  But falling for the enemy has consequences both for his heart and for the world. Harley has the potential to be very, very bad, and if he fails to save her soul everyone will be damned.

  Join the Wild Hunt and get lost in a passionate story of betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption where beauty is soul deep, not skin deep.

  Calan and Harley's story has a guaranteed happily ever after with no cheating.

  Wild Hunt Dictionary

  Huntsmen – the immortal riders of the Wild Hunt; also known as the Teulu

  Teulu – family of Hunters; members consist of the bastard children of Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, and those humans invited to ride in the Wild Hunt

  Wild Hunt – the endless nightly hunt of those beings infected by Chaos

  Chaos – the raw power from which the world was formed; disorder in its purest form

  Fairy – an otherworldly creature; either Seelie or Unseelie

  Seelie – a fairy who is “good” or “pure”

  Unseelie – a Seelie who has either willing or unwilling been infected with Chaos; a fairy who is “bad” or “evil”

  Seelie Fairy Court – the ruling faction of the Seelies; no known members; once led by Dagda

  Unseelie Fairy Court – the ruling faction of the Unseelies; included are the Unseelies and the redcaps; led by Dar (formerly known as Dagda)

  Redcap – a human who has sold his soul to an Unseelie in exchange for immortality and power; leaders of the Unseelie Fairy Court’s army of sluaghs

  Sluagh – the walking dead; a human who has been tricked into a redcap’s fairy ring

  Glamour – the magic of the fairies (both Seelie and Unseelie)

  Acknowledgments

  Intense chemistry between the hero and heroine adds a sexy spark to this unique take on demon and fae mythology.

  RT Book Reviews

  Chapter One

  Nine Years Ago

  Harley Callahan peered through the windshield. No lights shone in her house. She scanned the windows for movement. Nothing. She grinned and barely resisted doing a little dance in her seat. Another successful escape from the mansion of solitude. She wished she’d started sneaking out sooner. The past seven days had been the best of her life.

  Tomorrow would be even better. She was moving out. Harley couldn’t wait to turn her back on her privileged life and the secluded three-hundred-acre estate she called home. Deep in the Catskill Mountains of New York, her parents’ country retreat offered walking paths, gardens, a lake, and a greenhouse. It was beautiful. It had also acted as her prison for as long as she could remember.

  No more, though. She’d never allow anyone to lock her away again.

  The decision she’d made tonight was the right one. Harley knew it in her soul. She allowed the conviction to settle over her and continued her survey.

  Darkness covered the grounds she knew by heart. Nothing unusual grabbed her attention. She opened the car door and listened. Only the sounds of insects and the hoots of owls carried over the quiet of the night. She scanned the windows once more, and the tension drained from her muscles.

  Her mother still slept.

  Harley breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t get caught outside after dark. It was against the rules. She’d be barricaded in her room or sent to the basement.

  A chill ran down her spine. She shoved away the memories of her youth before the recollections of solitary confinement took hold.

  Part of her was tempted to just drive away, but she needed the stash of money she’d collected over the years if she expected to make it on her own. Besides, she wanted to leave a note for her brothers—telling them good-bye.

  She slipped out of her car and took several steps across the lawn before a dull ache spread through her—familiar and unsettling. Harley pressed a balled fist to her chest, where the hollow feeling she experienced nightly flared, worse than she’d ever endured. She didn’t know what caused it or why it had gotten worse over the years. Her mom refused to take her to a doctor. A trip to the clinic would involve leaving the estate, and Harley wasn’t allowed around other people.

  She had to stay at home where it was safe.

  Anger rose and made the burning sensation worse. She wanted to hit something. The wall, her mother’s prized sculptures, their china—she didn’t care what as long as she left the world around her in chaotic shambles.

  No. Harley breathed through the discomfort and pushed the violent thoughts away, exactly as she’d done all her life. Good girls weren’t supposed to act that way, and she was good, no matter what her mom said.

  Harley took one more steadying breath, then made her way across the lawn. The thin piece of plastic she’d shoved between the sliding glass door and the doorframe still held her escape route open. With her lip caught between her teeth, she pushed the door and squeezed inside.

  Heart pounding hard, she waited. Nobody came running or shouted accusations at her. She tiptoed across the room. The grandfather clock next to her chimed. Midnight. She jumped, a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry.

  “Harley Marie! Where have you been?”

  Shit, shit, shit. Harley turned and came face to face with the woman who ruled the house—supermodel, actress, and tyrant.

  Harley flashed a hopefully innocent smile. “Hey, Mom. What are you doing up?”

  “Where were you?”

  At the livid glare stamped on her mom’s flawless features, Harley groaned. “I went to see a movie.”

  “In town?”

&n
bsp; Harley nodded.

  “How did you get there?”

  “I drove.”

  Her mom’s eyes widened. “Drove? You don’t have a license.”

  “No.” Harley sighed. “I don’t, but I borrowed one of the cars and taught myself.”

  Curses fell from her mom’s mouth. She threw her arms up in the air. “You disobeyed me. Put yourself in danger. Why, Harley, why? You need to be a good girl. Can you—”

  “I’m not a girl. I’m eighteen!” Her chest heaved. All her pent-up rage and resentment spilled over. “You keep me locked away in this prison, barely talk to me, and when you do it’s to reiterate your stupid rules! I’m sick of them. I’m moving out!”

  Her mom stepped closer. “Those stupid rules are the reason you’re still alive. You should thank me, you ungrateful little brat. I could’ve aborted you or given you away, but I didn’t because it wasn’t your fault you were created from that monster who raped me!”

  “R-raped you?” Her heart stuttered. Here she’d thought she was an oops from one of her mom’s numerous affairs.

  “Yeah, and it’s about time you learned the truth. You’re not hu—”

  Breaking glass drowned out her mom’s words. A hulking man stepped over the shards of the sliding door. Harley swept her gaze over him, from his motorcycle boots to his black baseball cap. Something about him drew her, both intriguing and repulsing her at the same time. She locked her knees to stop from going to him.

  The guy faced her. Black pupils swimming in red locked on to her. He grinned, showing off a mouthful of pointy teeth.

  She screamed and backed up.

  Her mom yanked on her hand. “Run, Harley, run!”

  She couldn’t. Her body wouldn’t obey her mind. Fear locked her in place.

  The man shifted his gaze to her mom. “Hello, little maiden. Long time no see.”

  Her mom shook her head. “No. I’m not—”

  “Don’t bother. I know who you are. What you are.”

  Her mom sucked in a sharp breath. “I—”

  “Stop. I don’t want to hear your denial.” He curled his hands into fists. Blood dripped from where his nails pierced his palm. “It’s time we end this, don’t you think? Finally free each other?”

  Harley glanced between them. What were they talking about? End what? She didn’t get the chance to figure it out. Her mom stepped in front of her and faced the intruder.

  “You don’t understand. I had no choice. I made a deal. I—”

  “Sorry, maiden. I made a deal too, and now it’s time for you to say good-bye. You lost.”

  He leapt at her with outstretched, clawed hands. Her mom whipped her head to stare at Harley, fear in her eyes.

  “Please, baby, r—” Her mom’s command turned into a shriek.

  Harley pivoted on her heel and ran.

  More screams resounded—her little brothers’, the butler’s, her dad’s. She pressed her palms to her ears and kept running. In the front yard, monstrous men prowled—misshapen, hunched, and frightening. They all turned at once. Garbled roars added to the pitiful cries spilling out from behind her.

  Harley turned her back on them and fled across the grass to where she’d left her car parked farther down the driveway. Her lungs squeezed and muscles burned. Still she ran. Her mother’s last plea to her urged her forward.

  At the edge of the front lawn, a charley horse contorted her calf. Her pace faltered. The grunts and groans from behind her grew louder. Fear choked her. She bit her lip to muffle her cry, and the bitter, sour taste of her blood filled her mouth. She swallowed it down and pushed forward, but a sharp pain radiated up her leg. She stumbled.

  No, no, can’t die. Not now.

  But she would die. The monsters were gaining on her. She bent and rubbed furiously at the hard lump in her calf. A gust of wind swept over her back, tousling her curls over her face. The breeze calmed the burn tightening her muscles and filled her with strength.

  Impossible, but she wouldn’t question it. She shoved the platinum locks of her hair out of her face, grabbed hold of the power, and ran, faster than she ever had. The trees around her blurred. At the butterfly garden, she turned right, caught her toe on a tree root and fell face-first toward the ground. She never hit it. Hands at her waist stopped her. She spun, ready to do battle, and came face to face with a pair of pale blue eyes, floating without a body.

  She screamed and scrambled backward, using her hands and feet to put distance between them. More warm air washed over her, and her breaths slowed. The vise squeezing her chest eased, along with the trembling in her body. She frowned at her reaction and the sudden quiet of the world around her.

  The screams and grunts of monsters had faded. She tore her gaze from the ghostly eyes to the woods. A shimmery veil covered everything. She waited for her fear to return. It didn’t. More peace settled over her.

  “That’s it. Be calm. I won’t hurt you.”

  The man’s deep voice caressed her as if it had a living touch. Her skin tingled. She glanced into his eyes. So pale she might’ve considered them cold if it weren’t for the intensity burning in them.

  His focused gaze made her lower belly quiver. She ignored the feeling, unsure what it meant, and studied his mesmerizing eyes. The longer she stared, the more dimension they gained. The oval surrounding them widened too, allowing her to see his darkly tanned forehead and the top bridge of his nose. Long and straight, she’d guess. Gorgeous. She had no doubt in her mind. He’d be ruggedly handsome in person. Hard where she was soft. Her perfect complement.

  She shook her head to clear it of the crazy thoughts.

  “Wh-who are y-you? What…” Harley focused on where his chest should be. The outline of the trees behind him showed through the fuzzy screen surrounding them, not the strong body she envisioned he would have. “What are you? A g-ghost?”

  “Not a ghost. I’m alive. I’m just not here.”

  Something brushed her arm. She looked down, expecting to see his hand on her body. Nothing. The sensation of his roughened fingertips on her skin didn’t diminish, however. He slipped his invisible hand around her waist, then down to her ass and drew her closer. She gasped at the press of his body to hers and pushed against his invisible shoulders. The hard muscles under her palms flexed, but he didn’t budge.

  “You need to run.” He focused on her. “You cannot allow them to steal the goodness you’ve managed to retain.”

  “Yes. Run. I need to run.” Harley shoved at him, desperation fueling her. His hold on her never wavered. “Let me go!”

  “In a minute. You need to understand first.”

  He slid his hand up her spine to the back of her neck and urged her even closer. The soothing scent of a campfire enveloped her. Unable to resist, she buried her nose in the crook of his neck and dragged in deep lungfuls. Something inside her clicked, and a sense of rightness seized her. She wanted him to cradle her against his chest and hold her close. Never let her go. He couldn’t carry away from this place, however. He didn’t have a body.

  She choked on another sob and pulled his invisible form closer, not wanting to think about why she could touch him but not see him. Ghost man or not, he made her feel safe.

  “They want to kill me.” She whispered the words against his neck.

  “Not intentionally. They want your power and will feed off you, uncaring that doing so will kill you.” He pressed his lips to her ear. “I will save you, my flower, but you must promise me you won’t let them touch you until I can. They’ll dirty you, and you need to live for me. Be strong. Hold on to your goodness.”

  Harley tipped her head back, and his pale blue eyes ensnared her. The sight of them triggered a memory. No. A dream, one she’d had forever. In it, Harley was told she had to endure. Her hero was coming for her. He’d protect her.

  Unleash her.

  Make her more powerful than any other.

  “I promise.” The words came out of her mouth before she could think better of it. She shoo
k off the worry over why they seemed easy to say and focused on practicalities or more importantly—the hope he offered. “But how can you save me? You’re not really here.”

  “Words have power, and a vow made should not be broken. Doing so will damn you. You must remember this.”

  She nodded. “Okay, but how…?”

  A roar cut through the quiet that had descended around them, stopping her question. She tore her gaze from his. The veil around them wavered. Her fear rushed back. “They’re coming.”

  “Yes. I can’t hold you close much longer”—he cupped her face in his hands—“so you will take my knowledge and strength with you.”

  He covered her mouth with his and breathed into her. His air expanded her chest. She gripped his shirt, ready to fight him, but he didn’t hurt her. More strength filled her, along with a rush of information about the monsters after her and a slew of promises: he’d love her, protect her, and save her. The tension in her body faded once more. The truth of his vows echoed within her soul. He broke their lip lock, and dizziness gripped her. She swayed.