Virgo Blessed: A Dawn of the Zodiacs Novel (Virgo Zodiac Book 1), page 1
Virgo Blessed
Dawn of the Zodiacs Series
Ella J. Smyth
Unapologetic Romances
Contents
Newsletter
Prologue
1. Just a librarian
2. Searching for the zodiac
3. Garrick
4. Lunar Eclipse
5. Lucien
6. Malaki
7. The day after
8. Zodiac Believers Society
9. Getting closer
10. All together
11. Constellation
12. Catastrophe
13. Rescued
14. Seduction
15. Healing
16. Lucien protects
17. In the club
18. Fourth
19. Garrick recovers
20. Bonding
21. Revelation
22. Amulet
23. Training
24. Lucien's Training
25. Boys getting along
26. Another attack
27. Aftermath
28. Finding Gin's power
29. Council
30. Back at the club
31. Gin's thoughts
32. Werewolf
33. Shadows
34. Relics
35. Earthquake
36. Dragon
37. Mountain
38. Ascent
39. Midnight at the Summit
40. The ritual
41. Alone again
Dawn of the Zodiacs Series
About the Author
Also by Ella J. Smyth
Copyright
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PROLOGUE
Along time ago, the Constellations came into existence. They were beings of great power, who acted as guardians to preserve the universe. Magic abounded in the universe, and thus began the time of the Supernaturals.
The Constellations watched as Earth’s inhabitants abused their newfound power, causing a rift to open many light years away—a speck at first that grew larger until it consumed the very stars around it. The Constellations knew if Earth’s inhabitants didn’t stop their misuse, the rift would consume everything.
A prophecy was released that twelve Zodiacs would be born to make things right. But those with power were greedy. They refused the divine prophecy and instead twisted it for their own nefarious purposes. They fed the bastardized version to the people so they could secure their power and wealth.
At the dawn of an era
Twelve Zodiacs will rise
Swiftly and fiercely
They will change the tides
The divines have bestowed
The daughters with power
They come for your children
To destroy and devour
Hear the call of their magic
Hear them cry and decree
The dawn of the Zodiacs is here
No one is safe, no one is free
For many centuries, the true prophecy was lost to all but a few, leaving only the twisted version in its place.
Until now.
Chapter one
GIN
Dragons aren’t real, are they? Well, other than the five-foot bronze one outside the Wisteria Falls library some benefactor had installed a century ago.
Early November mornings were brutal in Wisteria Falls, Oregon. There was a chill in the air that grabbed your breath, lit it on fire, and stuffed it back down your throat. As if to compensate for the ground frost, the breaking dawn painted the sky above the wooden houses on Main Street in pastel colors of rose pinks and baby blues.
I fumbled for the keys to open the door, but my fingers were frozen after the short walk from my apartment to my place of work.
“Hey, Gin. Hold up.”
I turned at the familiar voice. My childhood friend Garrick’s dark-brown hair flopped across his eyes as a grin spread across his boyish face.
“Good morning, Gar.” I smiled at his exuberance so early in the morning when the sun had barely burned off the frost wrapped around the skeletal plants outside the library building.
“We still on tonight?”
“Is it Friday already? Sure. I’ll bring pizza.”
Garrick gave me a final wave and continued on his way to the garage where he worked. His beaming smile stayed with me as I finally managed to slip the key into the lock of the library.
When I turned it, it met resistance, and a lead weight dropped into my stomach. My boss, Mr. Hargrove, was already here. It seemed no matter how early I got up, he still beat me to it. What was he doing so early?
Visions of the sour-faced man who made my life miserable swam through my mind. Maybe he was a book vampire, feasting on dust and the dried up corpses of insects. That would explain why they accumulated in the corners of the drafty old windows, no matter how often I wiped them away with a damp cloth.
I shuddered and pushed the door open, taking a deep breath, before starting my day. Once my bag was in its place behind the front desk, I took off my coat and stuffed it down next to it.
I’d move both to the cloakroom later, but I didn’t want to walk past Hargrove’s office to get there. Then I got busy, returning books to their shelves, helping old Mrs. Whittle find another romance novel she hadn’t read yet. What I didn’t do was receive new books.
Hargrove ran his private library like we were back in the sixties. There weren’t any PCs, our lending catalogue consisted of handwritten paper slips in an ancient, woodworm-riddled filing cabinet, and the only new books we got were either donations from the public, or gifts from local authors who wanted exposure.
When I’d started the job, I’d had so many aspirations like digitizing our stock and connecting to the larger library network in our state. But no. Mr. Hargrove had put a stop to that immediately.
“Virginia, the city council is forcing me to hire help, but this library has served Wisteria Falls since my grandfather, God rest his soul, bought the building. There is no need for any of your modern”—he made actual air quotes with his fingers—“ideas. We have a good stock of novels and reference books that are quite sufficient for our customers. And another thing...”
He sat back and steepled his fingers over his skinny belly. I leaned forward, pretending to be interested.
“I won’t tolerate any smut in my library, you hear?”
I blinked once. Twice. Thankfully, he saved me having to ask when he continued, “If somebody asks for romance novels, please refer them to the section at the back of the library. I have vetted the selection myself.”
I’d gone home that day, a little dazed and not at all sure whether I’d take the job. But ever since I was a kid, I’d wanted to be a librarian. With the recent budget cuts, there were no openings anywhere in the state. Finding this job had turned out to be a blessing and a curse.
I was done with shelving and getting ready for the official opening of the library. Not that we were overrun with customers, but one could hope. I opened the main door and looked left, then right. Nobody waited outside, and the foyer was empty, like it was every morning.
When Hargrove spoke called my name, I jumped. I hadn’t heard him come up behind me. Turning, I said, “Good morning,” as brightly as I could, but my smile slid off my face.
His gaze crawled up and down my body. I hadn’t realized what a creep he was until after I’d accepted the job and moved into a small apartment ten minutes’ walk from the library.
“I know there’s no dress code, but maybe lose the baggy sweater, Virginia? No need to hide what’s underneath.”
He leaned too close, and I had to resist the urge to grimace. Stepping back, I kept my mouth shut as I did every time he said something inappropriate. He’d never actually tried anything, but his stupid remarks were grating and made me feel small.
I moved away, feeling his eyes on me like unwanted hands. What a creep. Grabbing a pile of books, I said brightly, “Oops, forgot to shelve these. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Then I sought refuge among the high stacks. The soft morning light streamed through the stained-glass windows. The colors danced across the floor, vibrant against the dull ache of my routine. If only for creepy Mr. Hargrove, this place could have been my sanctuary, a place of quiet rebellion against the life my parents had charted for me.
Soon, despite the stale selection of inventory, a steady stream of patrons distracted me from all the things I wanted to do but couldn’t. The lecherous dinosaur in the back office wouldn’t allow me to bring the place into the twenty-first century.
An elderly lady, smelling faintly of lavender and mothballs, approached the front desk.
“Finding everything alright today, Mrs. Peterson?” I asked, my voice bright. I greeted her with a smile that was far more genuine than any I could muster for Hargrove.
“Oh yes, dear. But would you help me with the history section again?” She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Of course.” As I walked her to the aisle, I reveled in the peace I found among the silence. The journal she wanted was in its correct place. It contained an essay by a local historian, detailing the town’s history up to 1987.
&n bsp; “Is there nothing more recent?” Mrs. Peterson asked, her fingers running down the table of contents in the front of the thin booklet.
“I’m afraid that’s all we have. But if you want to, I could call the main library in Portland. They might be able to send something, but it might take a few weeks.”
She thought for a moment and then shook her head. “No, that’s okay, dear. My daughter can drive me tomorrow.” Then she leaned closer and whispered, “You might want to mention to old Hargrove that his library is no longer fit for purpose.”
I didn’t know what to say. She was right, of course.
“No offense to you, dear. You are wonderful,” she added quickly, and I acknowledged the compliment with a tight smile.
The day dragged on, and every time Hargrove walked by, his comments grew bolder. “Smile a little, Virginia. Our customers don’t want to see a sullen missy.”
It was getting hard not to tell him to shut it, but I needed the job if I ever wanted to advance to a proper library position. My mood worsened until I had to force myself not to snap at the patrons.
That’s when the door opened, and he walked in.
Chapter two
DRAKE
Ipushed open the door, entering the Wisteria Falls library. Standing inside the dimly lit space, I scented the musky air. There was nothing here that posed a danger to me, not that many creatures could take on a dragon. Nothing but stale paper, the nose-tickling dryness of dust, and permeating it all, a scent.
My inner beast raised its head, unexpectedly intrigued, and I struggled to keep my eyes from shifting. Where did this come from? I had not expected to be confronted by something that intriguing.
No, I’d been sent to ferret out a woman who might hold the answer to saving the world, as dramatic as that sounded. Well, there were twelve of them, but the supe council had thrown this one our way.
After wrestling down the dragon, I took a deep breath, identifying the freshness of crisp apples, overlaid by the sweetness of lavender, but most notably the purity of a meadow after rainfall. The enticing scent continued wafting my way, and my head swam as I took one lung filling inhale after the next, reluctant to ever stop.
My body had never reacted like this before. As my head swam, my cock hardened, and shivers ran down my arms, making this the weirdest experience of my three-hundred odd years on earth.
My eyes were still closed when a hand touched my arm and a soft voice asked, “Are you okay? Can I get you a glass of water?”
My eyes flew open, shocked that somebody had managed to sneak up on me. My gaze fell on the originator of the scent explosion. For a moment, my brain felt like I was looking at two different images.
One was the breath-taking owner of the most enticing aroma I ever sniffed, and the second was a nondescript woman wrapped in a beige knitted cardigan, with dull brown hair piled on her head. She wasn’t ugly, but her appearance did not do her perfume justice.
Wait, that was it. She was wearing perfume. I wanted to slap my head for being so dense. Maybe the flight from the other side of the continent had been more tiring than I’d thought. I was still young, in the prime of my species, but flapping my wings for hours on end, covering nearly three thousand miles, would take it out of the strongest dragon.
I shook off her hand and fixed her with my gaze. There was a reason why I’d been sent here, to this address. Maybe she knew this woman, this zodiac? But I had to tread carefully. Our enemies had eyes everywhere.
“I require assistance,” I began, my voice a low timbre that sent shivers down the spines of the women I had my eyes on. “I search for the Zodiac. Do you have information?”
She stepped back, her strong eyebrows meeting in the middle. “You mean books about the zodiacs? Those are in the astrology section, next to mythology.”
Her voice was calm, but irritation bled through her cool demeanour. Was it something I had said? She certainly did not respond like any other female I gave my attention to.
Come to think of it, I did not like her attitude. I needed to find the Zodiac, and I had no time to lose. Why was she not helping me? Standing up to my full height, I towered over her.
Other than pulling her shoulders back, she did not show any signs of backing down. If anything, her eyes flared dangerously, daring me to try anything.
The air seemed to hum with the undercurrent of our silent standoff. Maybe I needed to change my approach. Lowering my eyelids, I gave her my laziest, sexiest smile. Closing the distance between us, I brought the full force of my presence down on her.
“I was assured someone here could offer more than basic assistance,” I said, a seductive smile playing on my lips.
“I’m happy to help you if you’re looking for any particular book. Otherwise, there’s the catalogue. Help yourself.” She stood her ground, her arms crossed over that ridiculous cardigan.
Maybe my contact had been wrong? But no. There was only one library in this tiny hovel with the lovely name. Wisteria Falls, indeed. It would if I had anything to say. Cursed humans.
I suppressed a sigh and tried again. “You misunderstand.”
My voice rumbled, hiding the veiled threat. “I do not seek fantasies. I seek truths hidden in plain sight.”
For a heartbeat, she wavered, no doubt under the onslaught of my dragon appeal. But then she rallied and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I’m busy this morning.”
Her quick glance at the empty library betrayed her lie, but she quickly found my gaze again. “So, if you don’t mind? As I said, astrology books are in the back, next to mythology.”
And then she turned and left me standing there. Me, Drake Maxwell.
In all my centuries, nobody had ever walked away from me like that. I could have snuffed her out with a single exhale, but how would I find the Zodiac then?
This miserable excuse for a library held the key to finding her before her enemies did. So instead of hunting down a book, I did the next logical thing.
I followed the librarian to the front desk and waited until she sat down.
“I’m looking for a woman. Nay, a girl.”
That got her full attention, but her confusion morphed into irritation and then into full anger. Fascinated, I watched her expression change like clouds building in the sky before a thunderstorm broke loose.
“Excuse me? What do you take me for?” Her voice shook with barely contained rage.
I repeated what I’d said in my head and then refrained from slapping my forehead. What was happening to me? Maybe the flight had taken more out of me than I’d thought.
“No, please forgive me. You misunderstand. I’m not looking for any woman, but a very special one. I have a message for her, but I don’t know her name. Only I was instructed to come to the Wisteria Falls library and wait for her.”
She nodded, her ire only slightly appeased, and returned to her work. I watched her for a few moments, but her head remained bent over the books. She slipped a card into the back of each before adding a label.
I hadn’t kept up to date with human affairs for years now, but even I knew that libraries used scanners and barcodes instead of paper records like this one seemed to.
“We’re closing in ten minutes.”
Her voice made it clear she was not to be swayed by intimidation or flattery. It was an unexpected and unwelcome resistance, but something about her fascinated me, despite the ridiculous garment, her flat shoes, and her lank hair and black glasses.
As I exited the library, the daylight waning to twilight, I knew I would return the next day. And somehow, the idea of seeing the little defiant librarian did not irritate me as much as it might have otherwise. Curiouser and curiouser.
Chapter three
GIN
After enduring another one of Mr. Hargrove’s leers, he dismissed me with a forced smile. “Don’t be up too late now. I know how you young women spend your evenings.”
I walked the ten minutes to my tiny flat, fuming at his brazen attempts to, what? Flirt? More like harass me every single day I spent at work.
