Dawn unearthed, p.1
Dawn Unearthed, page 1
Dawn Unearthed
A RAVENWOOD COVEN NOVEL
CARRIE ANN RYAN
Contents
DAWN UNEARTHED
Dawn Unearthed
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
A Note from Carrie Ann Ryan
About the Author
DAWN UNEARTHED
A Ravenwood Coven Novel
By Carrie Ann Ryan
Dawn Unearthed
A Ravenwood Coven Novel
By: Carrie Ann Ryan
© 2021 Carrie Ann Ryan
eBook ISBN: 978-1-950443-51-2
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-950443-52-9
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Cover Art by Sweet N Spicy Designs
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This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person or use proper retail channels to lend a copy. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
For Lillie.
Witches, magic, covens, girl power, and bear shifters galore.
Praise for Carrie Ann Ryan
“Count on Carrie Ann Ryan for emotional, sexy, character driven stories that capture your heart!” – Carly Phillips, NY Times bestselling author
“Carrie Ann Ryan’s romances are my newest addiction! The emotion in her books captures me from the very beginning. The hope and healing hold me close until the end. These love stories will simply sweep you away.” ~ NYT Bestselling Author Deveny Perry
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes the perfect balance of sweet and heat ensuring every story feeds the soul." - Audrey Carlan, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Carrie Ann Ryan never fails to draw readers in with passion, raw sensuality, and characters that pop off the page. Any book by Carrie Ann is an absolute treat.” – New York Times Bestselling Author J. Kenner
“Carrie Ann Ryan knows how to pull your heartstrings and make your pulse pound! Her wonderful Redwood Pack series will draw you in and keep you reading long into the night. I can’t wait to see what comes next with the new generation, the Talons. Keep them coming, Carrie Ann!” –Lara Adrian, New York Times bestselling author of CRAVE THE NIGHT
"With snarky humor, sizzling love scenes, and brilliant, imaginative worldbuilding, The Dante's Circle series reads as if Carrie Ann Ryan peeked at my personal wish list!" – NYT Bestselling Author, Larissa Ione
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes sexy shifters in a world full of passionate happily-ever-afters." – New York Times Bestselling Author Vivian Arend
“Carrie Ann’s books are sexy with characters you can’t help but love from page one. They are heat and heart blended to perfection.” New York Times Bestselling Author Jayne Rylon
Carrie Ann Ryan's books are wickedly funny and deliciously hot, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. They'll keep you up all night!” USA Today Bestselling Author Cari Quinn
"Once again, Carrie Ann Ryan knocks the Dante's Circle series out of the park. The queen of hot, sexy, enthralling paranormal romance, Carrie Ann is an author not to miss!" New York Times bestselling Author Marie Harte
Dawn Unearthed
NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan begins a new witchy paranormal series where a magical town keeps its secrets, but those in it must find a way to keep themselves safe.
The moment Sage Reed makes her way to Ravenwood, she knows the small town lives up to its mystical lore—even if she doesn’t believe that she’s a witch. After losing her husband, she’s ready for change, and her aunt’s bookstore affords the perfect opportunity.
Rome Baker has secrets of his own—even some that he’s kept from the town he calls home. But when a striking and intriguing stranger saves his life the moment she steps into his path, his inner bear knows that she’s the one for him. However, with the town under fire, he worries he might run out of time before he can show her what they can have together.
A new enemy is on the horizon, one who hides in the shadows, whose history is steeped in lies. And if Sage and Rome aren’t careful, Sage’s new powers won’t be the only thing that spirals into flame.
Chapter
One
SAGE
I squinted as I looked at the GPS, trying to make sense of the directions. I had been across the Pennsylvania border for over an hour now, and I needed to find the right exit that would take me off the main highway and onto one of the many smaller roads that encompassed Pennsylvania. I needed to get to my new home, or at least what others would have me call my new home. I still wasn’t quite sure what that would mean as of yet.
My hands clenched the steering wheel, and I told myself everything would be okay. I was making a dramatic move, with even more unknown changes to come, but it was for a purpose.
Because Ravenwood, Pennsylvania called to me.
I shook my head, frowning at myself as I checked the next exit.
The town wasn’t calling to me. That was preposterous. Towns didn’t reach out to people. And I did my best to ignore the odd whispers in my head, the pull to a place I’d never been to nor even thought of before. I pushed away the idea of a shadow person filling my vision. I wasn’t being pulled toward anyone either. That was silly. The only people I knew in Ravenwood were my aunt and Rowen, who had sold me the building where I was setting up my business. Ravenwood was a place. Somewhere I would make my new home.
I couldn’t go back to where I had been for so many years. I couldn’t rebuild my life from the ashes in a place that still sparked with embers of sorrow and pain. I did my best to empty those thoughts from my mind because they wouldn’t help anyone.
I was moving to a new place, in a new state, to a new home.
Ravenwood was a small town north of Philadelphia, and one I had only heard of because my aunt lived there. If asked to name cities in Pennsylvania, most people wouldn’t even think of the town. She owned a small bookshop called Ravenwood Pages and frequently spoke of the warmth radiating through the town and how everybody was welcome.
Rupert and I had always meant to come north from Norfolk, Virginia, where we had lived for the entirety of our marriage, but things had never worked out. Between work, our conflicting plans, and life in general, we hadn’t been able to visit my aunt Penelope at her bookshop. Looking back, I didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if it was too far of a drive—not when it meant seeing my aunt in her home. Now that I thought about it more, it felt as if something had been pushing us away. And, once again, that was an odd thought to have.
My aunt usually came down to visit us for holidays, or we went to Rupert’s family’s place. I last saw Penelope after the funeral when she came to make sure I was okay. Not that I could be okay. Nothing about losing one’s husband at twenty-four years old was okay.
Everyone kept saying that we had our entire lives before us, that they couldn’t wait to see what would happen between Rupert and me. They wanted us to thrive, have babies, and create a whole family in our Virginia town. That hadn’t happened. No, nothing had happened the way it should have. Rupert was gone. And so quickly, I could barely even pause to catch my breath.
A brain tumor had taken him before I’d even had a chance to come to terms with the idea that I might lose my husband. Now, he was gone, leaving nothing for me. Not his family, nor the rest of mine. Rupert’s family hadn’t wanted anything to do with me after Rupert died. They saw my pain and theirs etched onto my face every time they looked at me and had pushed me away because of it.
Now, I was on the long road to a new beginning, one where I needed to stop feeling the melancholy stretching over me, digging its claws into my flesh as I struggled to cope.
I shook away my thoughts, doing my best to breathe. That was all I needed to do. Breathe.
My dash lit up, and the sound of an incoming phone call filled the car. My lips turned up into a small smile as I saw the readout and answered.
“Aunt Penelope,” I said softly, waiting for the next exit as I kept my attention on the road.
“Are you almost here?” she asked, her voice warm, soothing. She was always that way, as if every time I was near her, she infused me with warmth and magic. Not real magic, of course. Though my mother joked that my aunt was a witch, I knew that wasn’t the case.
Magic didn’t exist.
And, once again, here I was having odd thoughts.
“I’m almost there. I think it’s the next exit.”
My aunt was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “Take the exit and make sure you stay on the path. Don’t take a detour or stop for anything that might come your way. Ravenwood
I frowned, looking at the GPS again. “What do you mean?” Her words were weird. Then again, everything I’d been thinking for the past hour had been strange.
Another pause. “Nothing, darling. You’ll be here soon. Finally. And Ravenwood will welcome you home. As will I.”
“I hope so,” I muttered as tension rolled over me again at the momentous changes I was barreling through. “Are we sure you need a bakery? It’s a small town. There has to be one already.”
“There was one a few years ago, but the tenants moved on. Lately, we’ve been dealing with the supermarket and their baked goods. Not that they aren’t adequate, but there’s nothing like bread and sweet treats from a true bakery. From your bakery. The town needs you, Sage. The building is ready and outfitted to your specifications. You’ll be able to start soon.”
My stomach clenched, but I still smiled. I hadn’t made it up to Ravenwood yet because I had been dealing with estate issues and Rupert’s family. Closing up my life and my house back in Norfolk while trying to open a bakery and a small business in a town I had never even been to, had been all-consuming. I still couldn’t believe I was doing it, but things were falling into place.
Maybe they needed to after everything else had shattered around me. Grief wrapped its spindly fingers around my throat, squeezing, suffocating, the mere force of it overwhelming.
“It will be good to see you,” I said, my voice choked.
“I can’t wait to hold you again, my Sage. See you soon, darling. Remember, stay on the path and you’ll find Ravenwood.”
She hung up, and I frowned. “That was peculiar,” I whispered. Though Aunt Penelope was pretty unusual. She was always giving advice, her voice filled with warmth and wisdom when she did.
She wanted me to come home. Such an incongruous word. Because I had thought I’d had a home for so long. Yet, now, it was gone. There was nothing for me back in the small house where I’d loved Rupert. Nothing for me in Virginia at all.
Rupert was gone, and all ties I had to that life had faded away with him, or perhaps they’d been snapped into pieces by the agony. The brain tumor had taken him quickly, even as he wasted away. I never wanted that image in my head again, even in the short years since I had lost him.
I loved him, and I would always love him, but I was ready to move on now. I’d spent these past couple of years finding out who I was. I needed to discover who I could be without him and outside of the place that held our memories.
I had gone through my grief differently than most. And I wasn’t the same person I had been before. I was finding my way—a home to settle in.
Maybe that was healing. I didn’t know, but I would find out. I needed to. And whatever pulled me toward Ravenwood urged me to do so.
My GPS signaled, and I took the next exit.
Ravenwood beckoned me.
I crossed over the exit and got onto the road, the same path my aunt had just mentioned. As soon as I did, dark clouds filled the sky. I frowned and looked up, wondering where the storm had come from. I hadn’t known there was a storm on the horizon. I hadn’t seen it, but maybe I hadn’t been paying enough attention—which probably wasn’t smart, considering I was still driving, and it had been a long day.
A long month. A long few years. A long agony.
I frowned and shook my head as the rain began splattering on the windshield. I quickly turned on the wipers, the sound almost…rusty. It hadn’t rained in a while.
“This storm came out of nowhere,” I muttered.
I hadn’t remembered seeing it on my weather app that morning when I left, but storms did pop up here. Maybe this was the usual. I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything about Ravenwood. Other than the fact that my aunt had told me to come.
And since I had nothing else to do, I went. Now here I was, entering this small town as lightning streaked overhead, cracking in the sky. I swallowed hard, my knuckles going white as I kept on the road.
The rain began beating down harder, so loud that I could barely hear my thoughts. I had long since turned the radio down, and all I could hear was the sound of the storm raging outside. One I hadn’t even seen until it surrounded me.
Dark clouds burst overhead, the rain becoming a deluge. The road was so slick that I was afraid I might need to pull off, but I didn’t know where to do that. Would other cars be able to see me? My lights were on bright, even in the middle of the day, but I could barely see. It was as if night had come out of nowhere.
I swallowed hard, sensing the taste of metal on my tongue as fear encroached.
I needed to focus, to get through this. I had to find a place to pull off. There was nowhere, other than the embankment, and that didn’t seem safe. I needed to find my way to a part of the road to pause, collect myself, and hopefully let the storm pass. And then I could get to my aunt and Ravenwood. The wind rattled my car, and I nearly skidded off the road.
“Crap,” I whispered and slowed down. There weren’t any other cars, no lights, and I had no idea where I was. I looked at the GPS, but all I saw was darkness. It couldn’t seem to find me in the storm. None of this made any sense.
I looked up and screamed, slamming on the brakes even though I knew that was a stupid move in this rain.
A dark wolf stood in front of me, its eyes glowing gold in the headlights. I shouted, hoping to hell I didn’t hit him.
I spun, fishtailing on the wet road, and did my best to steer into the skid, but I couldn’t remember what direction that was. Was I supposed to go with my back wheels or my front wheels? All thoughts of driver’s ed, and everything I had ever learned about driving through a storm escaped me. Tires screeched. I saw the eyes of the wolf again, and it lifted its lip, baring one fang.
I blinked as if lost in the moment. Everything froze around me, and warmth suffused me as I tried to focus. Attempted to see what was going on.
The wolf looked at me. When I blinked again, it was gone.
Everything moved quickly after that, and I was silent as I kept my hands on the wheel, trying not to roll over or skid off into the dirt and grass along the side of the highway, but there was no stopping my car.
The wet road, my overreaction, the storm, and that wolf had created this.
My car skidded horizontally through the grass, and the sound of my wheels popping as I slammed into the grass to the side echoed in my mind, nearly deafening me.
I blinked, my mouth dry as I tried to keep myself steady.
I was going to die. I wasn’t even going to make it to my new home. I would die on this road with nobody around.
I would be alone. After so much time wondering who I could be as someone standing on their own two feet, I would die alone.
Finally, my car stopped, and I tried to breathe, my heart beating so fast I could practically hear it beating a staccato rhythm in my skull.
I quickly looked around and then looked down at myself.
There wasn’t a scratch on me. I was fine. My car, on the other hand…I didn’t know.
I couldn’t see anything in front of me, not even the front of the car. Was I supposed to turn off my engine? I should call someone. I needed to do something. I looked down at my phone and cursed.
No signal.
Did Ravenwood have no cell service?
Someone had to come along soon. Though I needed to do something other than sit here. Someone would come and help me. Or maybe I could walk through the storm and find my way to help. No, I should stay in my warm car and then move towards the town once the storm let up.
