The Immortal's Mate: A Dark and Steamy Viking Fantasy Romance (The Broken Immortals Book 8)

A woman who sees death everywhere, a man who can't be killed, and one week to love a lifetime's worth...

After suffering a devastating loss as a school nurse, Morana Faye accepts a new job in Europe.

When she's introduced to the colorful townspeople, she meets a man who claims to be a thousand-year-old Viking.

Challenged by the mysterious man, Morana feels pulled to him by forces she doesn’t yet understand, but can’t resist.

Giving in to her desires, she falls hard for the ancient immortal creature. Brought together by chance and united by their failures, Morana and Haldir soon discover their fates are intertwined.

When she reveals a dark secret, Haldir seeks the guidance of a friend whom he believes can save her. Left all alone with her demons, Morana is forced to face down the long-forgotten sins of her lover’s past with disastrous consequences.A woman who suddenly wakes up in a strange land, an ancient warlock with a nasty reputation, and a bond she doesn't want but just can't resist…

When Gretchen learns she can never ever go home again, she embarks on a journey to find her family already living in the Realm of the Supernaturals.

A dark presence that haunted her dreams for weeks now stalks her night and day in this upside-down world.

When she finally finds the courage to confront him, Gretchen is taken captive by the dark figure from her nightmares.

After escaping, she tries to put the ordeal out of her mind and get on with her new life. But Damien isn't a man who will be ignored and forgotten.

Will Gretchen ever shake the man who terrorizes her, or will they be forever tormented by the ghosts of the past?

The smooth, green leather seat of Haldir’s favorite booth in the back of the pub glided under the fisherman’s leg as he sat down across from the ancient Viking warrior of island legend. “You never have told me how everything started.” His arm covered the seatback, and his finger gun pointed at him. “When did you realize you were immortal?”

While steely blue eyes and an impressive reddish-blonde beard peered through the window, a low hum came from overhead as the little hopper plane descended from the gray and white sky.

A rush of his hot breath fogged the glass as Haldir’s mind stumbled back through long ago memories while his freckled fingers wiped a porthole big enough for him to peek through again. “That, my friend, is a very long story.”

Many drunken nights were spent listening to his tales. Yet, the man who never aged always skimmed over the beginning of his life. The slick material of Bose’s parka made a flicking noise as he shrugged up his shoulder. “Not like I don’t have the time.”

The loneliness of his reality settled in Haldir’s chest, and a miserable sigh passed through his nose as he glanced back and agreed with a nod. “Alright, then.” The white and red Marlboros pack came to his fingers, and he jerked until a cigarette popped up. “Believe it or not, I was out fishing one day...”

Arctic Norway 1001 A.D.

Between two ice-covered cliffs sat a young man who peeked over the side of a boat into the still and dusky waters.

Dirty fingernails wiggled through his beard to scratch at his cheek as he glared up into the sky and cursed the cruel sun that beat down on him. In all his thirty-some years, he had never experienced a day so warm as this.

As the sweat beaded on his body, Haldir pulled his shirt over his head and threw the tattered cloth to the other end of the tiny fishing boat. Long, strong arms and a chiseled chest seemed as if they picked up a heavy object a few thousand times, the way they rippled and bulged in the blinding light.

After his chapped hands finished tying the knot in the frayed and rotted rope, Haldir tossed the net into the frigid waters and said his prayers to the gods for a plentiful catch.

A deep breath of the balmy air tickled his nostrils as he stared out over the fjord and a gnawing sensation filled his chest. Days had passed since he caught a single fish, and his empty belly made him anxious and sloppy.

If his fortune didn’t change soon, he might be forced to move on to another village. Not that it would matter much. After the last skirmish with the neighboring town, there was barely anyone left that would miss him, not even a woman to keep him company at night.

A curiously strong wind swept through the gap, and the haunting sounds of cracks came from the snow-capped cliffs above him.

Dread washed over the simple man as the mammoth chunks of melted ice plummeted into the surrounding waters. Trembling hands reached for the rope net, and he yanked hand over hand until something caught below.

Like an animal that grunted and gritted its teeth, Haldir pulled with all his might. With a snap and a wail from high above his head, a chunk of ice slammed into the water ahead.

As if the hand of Njord himself reached out to punish him, a dark, unforgiving wall of water rose out of the sea, and the breeze called out his name as it rushed for the narrow gap where he was petrified by the horror.

Haldir’s eyes were a pool of black as he faced down the enormous surge that obliviated the space between them.

The rickety canoe was slapped on its side, and he was tossed back into the icy waters as the wave broke over him.

When the ripples stilled, Haldir erupted from the blackness like a volcano as he gasped for breath and warmth. While he frantically tried to turn his boat right side up again, the cold abyss staked its claim on the doomed man inch by inch, and he sank back down into its deadly embrace.

The blood pressure drop from the blast of icy death made his heart desperately struggle to continue its right pace. As the final beats of life sparked across his chest, Haldir’s fingers gave up and lost their grip and sent him backward into the dark chasm.

Before his human eyes caught the last few images of this world, a burst of brilliant gold and white light came from above and comforted his panicked mind. No more worries, no more battles, no hunger. Only peace, or so he thought.

The frozen corpse floated face-down in the frigid waters and bobbed back and forth on the settling waves as they smacked against the rocky shore. While the bright glow of the princely Seraph warmed Haldir’s back, the angel lifted him from the water and slung the pulseless man over his shoulder like he was nothing at all.

Tiny drops of water splashed up into the Viking’s face as Michael walked across. Although being dead, Haldir didn’t mind at all. “Your struggles are only beginning, my friend.”

When he got to the humble, thatched-roofed shack, he dropped the body on the ground and kneeled beside him. Frozen hairs snapped like twigs as the master angel pushed them from the poor soul’s face.

The thunder of a hundred blaring trumpets blasted through the land when Michael bent down and placed his mouth on Haldir’s, and the breath of life filled his lungs again. Little by little, his eyes fluttered open, and the reborn man threw up his hand to shield them from the light of a brand-new world.

To catch a better look at the bronzed stranger bathed in gold who kneeled by the fireside and broke branches over his knee, he pushed himself to his elbows. “Who are you?”

As he offered him a kind grin, the angel answered back to him in Haldir’s native tongue as he brought his hand to his chest. “I am Michael, the gatekeeper of the human world.”

While he struggled to remember what happened, the cold man pushed his numb fingers through his crunchy hair. “I thought I was dead.”

Another pile of sticks dropped into the fire. The angel received many orders over the entirety of his existence. Still, giving life back to a mortal was never requested of him before. “You were.”

If not for the pain that radiated from his wakening nerves, Haldir would swear he was dreaming. “But I’m sitting here talking to you now.”

Though the day was warm, the dirt floor under Michael’s bottom was frozen, and he shifted from side to side to relieve himself of the chill. “The mortal man you once were is gone, and you are something else now.”

The truth never was so hard to swallow for Haldir as he tried to make sense of his guest’s words. Merely a simple man, the only education afforded him was the survival skills he picked up as he went along in this life. “I’m a spirit? A sorcerer? A god?”

Michael’s lips curled under as his shoulders came to his ears. “A bit of all of those things, maybe. I can’t give you many answers, I’m afraid. I only follow orders. Your new gods and my master made an arrangement. You, my friend, are the recipient of their covenant. A gift, if you will.”

As his humble mind searched for something tangible, Haldir’s eyes darted around his shabby hovel. No one ever gave him anything he didn’t have to pry from their dead hands. “What gift?”

A similar endowment was thrust on him many millennia ago, and Michael’s apologetic look spoke volumes about what living forever was really like. “You will live among the Others in their world. Since you can never truly be like them because you were born of human blood, the gods gifted you immortality. No weapon ever used against you will succeed. You will not age, and you will never fall ill.”

The sound of Haldir’s raspy laugh bounced around the shack as he nodded and his finger pointed to the ceiling. “That is quite a gift. Give them my thanks.”

A heaviness that made the room even dimmer swept between them as Michael sighed and he gazed into the flames. “Is it? Since the beginning of all things, I have lived, and it can be horribly lonely.” A fingertip that glowed in a warm glimmer motioned at the Immortal. “Someday, you will have to leave this little island and seek out people like yourself. I will be back to check on you from time to time until you grow used to your new life.”

With his hand pulling down his still thawing beard, Haldir thought about the possibility of a different life outside this unforgiving land. The loneliness of the island was unbearable during his living days, and the idea of meeting other exciting people sparked his curiosity. “So, there are others like me, you say?”

A wiggle of Michael’s chin no answered him. “There are supernaturals in the world, but none like you. However, the gods did not forsake you to be alone forever; you may travel to their world at will to have adventures amongst them. You’ll find it difficult to continue living among humans. I caution you to never become too close to them; it will only lead to pain.”

Little spurts of white mist left his nose with each shiver of his body as the man hugged at his legs for warmth, and he couldn’t imagine anything more painful than his life to that point in time. But he was wrong. Very wrong.