Dark Haven Unmasked (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 48) Read online

  Dark Haven Unmasked

  The Children Of The Gods Book 48

  I. T. Lucas

  Copyright © 2021 by I. T. Lucas

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

  Dark Haven Unmasked is a work of fiction!

  Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations and/or events is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  1. Eleanor

  2. Leon

  3. Anastasia

  4. Eleanor

  5. Anastasia

  6. Peter

  7. Leon

  8. Anastasia

  9. Leon

  10. Lokan

  11. Eleanor

  12. Peter

  13. Anastasia

  14. Leon

  15. Kian

  16. Anastasia

  17. Leon

  18. Anastasia

  19. Peter

  20. Leon

  21. Anastasia

  22. Leon

  23. Anastasia

  24. Eleanor

  25. Peter

  26. Richard

  27. Eleanor

  28. Vlad

  29. Eleanor

  30. Leon

  31. Eleanor

  32. Anastasia

  33. Eleanor

  34. Peter

  35. Eleanor

  36. Kian

  37. Peter

  38. Eleanor

  39. Peter

  40. Eleanor

  41. Leon

  42. Anastasia

  43. Peter

  44. Eleanor

  45. Peter

  46. Bowen

  47. Peter

  48. Margaret

  49. Bowen

  50. Margaret

  51. Peter

  52. Bowen

  53. Peter

  54. Eleanor

  55. Peter

  56. Bowen

  57. Margaret

  58. Bowen

  59. Eleanor

  60. Margaret

  61. Anastasia

  62. Leon

  63. Peter

  64. Eleanor

  65. Peter

  66. Margaret

  67. Peter

  68. Kian

  69. Bowen

  70. Anastasia

  71. Leon

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  1

  Eleanor

  “The seven characteristics of self-actualized people,” the counselor wrote on the whiteboard. “Who can tell me what they are?”

  Tuning him out, Eleanor scribbled in her notebook, Who and what is Emmett Haderech?

  And what the hell was he doing to his playmates to leave them so drained that they needed a day off to recuperate?

  The Safe Haven enigmatic founder was a mystery that Eleanor was determined to unravel, and she had a feeling that she would have to take the lead on that.

  With Leon gone, Peter had naturally assumed that he was in charge, and she might have to let him believe that he was. But even though the guy was an experienced Guardian, he was a goofball who didn’t take anything seriously. If she didn’t steer him in the right direction, the two-week retreat would be over before they found out the truth about Emmett and his weird cult.

  Eleanor had no intention of staying for so long. Hopefully, they would solve the puzzle in the next couple of days and hightail it out of there. If she had to sit through ten more days of the drivel the counselors were spouting, she was going to lose it.

  Leon, the lucky bastard, had bailed after suffering through only four days of the damn retreat and was now on his way to a week-long romantic vacation with Anastasia, a potential Dormant who might also be his destined mate.

  Life wasn’t fair, but that was old news to Eleanor.

  If she could, she would have bailed as well, but someone had to unmask Emmett Haderech, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be Peter.

  The problem was that the cult’s leader was nowhere to be seen. The only time Emmett had made an appearance was on the first day, delivering a ten-minute welcome speech.

  He also wasn’t scheduled to head any of the workshops or teach any of the classes. The next time they were supposed to see him was when he delivered his parting words on the last day of the retreat.

  For what he was charging for the privilege of attending, the guy should at least make a daily appearance, deliver lectures, or mingle with the attendees. Eleanor had no doubt that many of the guests had been drawn more to the mystery of Safe Haven’s fascinating figurehead and creator of Emmett’s Way than to the philosophy the community preached and followed.

  It was proof that suckers didn’t die, they just got replaced, and in Safe Haven’s case, they did it in two-week rotations and shelled out over eleven thousand dollars apiece to listen to counselors who were paid minimum wage.

  The only way to have a face-to-face with the guy was to be invited for a private audience, but Eleanor doubted she would get that lucky.

  She just wasn’t the type men went after. In fact, if they were smart, they ran the other way. She wasn’t beautiful, she had an abrasive personality, and she didn’t take crap from anyone.

  Only Greggory had seen past the prickly exterior to the woman inside, and even more surprisingly, liked what he’d found.

  But Greggory was a rare exception.

  Most men gravitated toward the beautiful, soft and malleable.

  “Peak Experience.” The counselor’s words caught her attention. “I want each of you to take a moment to recall a time in your life when you experienced that state.”

  She knew precisely what he meant.

  As an avid and competitive skier, Eleanor had experienced that feeling of triumph and elation a number of times, pushing her limits and achieving new personal records. On the slopes her mind quieted, the background noise of life receding, taken over by the blissful focus of being in the zone. While there, she felt on top of the world. Regrettably, the only skiing she’d been doing lately was virtual, and not as often as she would have liked.

  Perhaps if she proved herself above and beyond on this mission, she would be allowed the same freedoms other residents of the village enjoyed and could come and go as she pleased. The local ski resorts didn’t have slopes challenging enough for her, but she would be ecstatic to go on them nonetheless.

  Except, nothing she’d done so far on this assignment could count as exceptional. Leon and Peter could have managed to get Anastasia out without her help, and the information she’d compelled the staff member to reveal had been intriguing but not earth-shattering.

  Finding out what the cult’s leader was hiding, however, would definitely count as a major coup, provided that there was anything to find. The guy could just be jacked up on Viagra and screwing his partners within an inch of their lives.

  “Can you explain once more what you mean by peak performance?” Peter asked. “How would I know that I reached it?”

  She threw him a glare.

  What was he doing? Instead of participating in the class discussion, Peter should have been focusing on ways to complete their miss
ion so they could get out of there and go home.

  Shrugging, he whispered without looking at her, “We might as well learn something.”

  “Certainly.” The counselor beamed. “When you tap into a reservoir of previously untapped potential and utilize it to the fullest, you feel transformed and strengthened by the experience.”

  “Got it.” Peter gave the guy the thumbs-up.

  The counselor walked to the front of his desk and leaned against it. “Do you have a peak experience story that you would like to share with us?”

  “Can’t think of one now. Maybe you can give us some examples? I’m particularly interested in what Emmett Haderech would consider a peak experience. After all, you are teaching his way, true?”

  Clever.

  Perhaps Peter wasn’t as useless as she’d thought. Any information they could get about the cult’s leader could be one more clue in the puzzle they were trying to solve.

  “There are many examples I can give you,” the counselor said. “But I’d rather hear your stories first. Everyone’s idea of peak state is different, and I don’t want you to be influenced or intimidated by mine or Emmett’s. Every peak state, no matter how small, is significant. After everyone is done, I will gladly share with you my own experiences and those of Emmett and others.”

  2

  Leon

  “Good afternoon, Master Leon.” Holding the limo door open, Okidu bowed. “Mistress Anastasia.” He bowed again.

  “Good afternoon to you too.” She cast him a thankful smile before ducking inside. “First a private jet, and now a limousine. I feel like a celebrity.”

  Leon got in and sat beside her. “Given your father’s wealth, I would've thought that you'd be used to things like that.”

  “I don’t know what your friend told you about my father, but he’s not that rich. He doesn’t have a private jet, or a limousine, or a driver.”

  “Doesn’t he own one of the largest self-storage chains in the country?”

  She seemed surprised that he knew that. “My father heads a publicly traded real estate investment trust, the majority of which is owned by investors. Self-storage is just part of the portfolio, and the trust also owns office and industrial parks. My father is obviously an investor in the trust, but I don’t know how much of it he owns.”

  “I must have misunderstood.” Leon didn’t know much about real estate investment trusts, but he didn’t want to appear ignorant. “I’m much more interested in his daughter than his businesses.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

  As Okidu eased the limo onto the road, Anastasia looked out the window. “How far is it to the cabin?”

  “About a one-hour drive.”

  “I’m looking forward to spending an entire week with you.” She leaned her head on his arm and sighed. “I just wish that I had some decent clothes with me. It’s going to be difficult to separate myself mentally from Safe Haven when all I have is in their approved colors.”

  It seemed that the talk about her father’s wealth had reminded Anastasia of the wardrobe she’d left behind to join Emmett’s cult.

  Perhaps it was something that Leon could use to his advantage. He should remind her of every little thing that she didn’t like about Safe Haven and missed about the outside world.

  He still couldn’t understand why she’d done that. The more Leon had gotten to know Anastasia, the more puzzling her decision seemed. So she heard random conversations in her head and feared a mental illness, but that couldn’t have been the only reason she’d decided to drop out of life.

  Perhaps her mother’s death had traumatized her more than her father had realized? Or maybe he’d been aware of that but hadn’t shared it with Turner?

  It would have been a good idea to have her talk with Vanessa, but since her father had instilled in her a fear that a diagnosis of mental illness would ruin her life, she mistrusted shrinks and would likely balk at the suggestion.

  Then again, now that she had confirmation that the voices in her head were real and not hallucinations, she might be more open to the idea.

  The problem was that Leon had only one week to solve all of Anastasia’s mysteries, and antagonizing her by inviting a therapist to the cabin might backfire, ruining any progress he’d made with her.

  Providing her with a new wardrobe would be much easier and less dangerous. He was about to suggest that they make a detour and go clothes shopping, when he noticed the limousine’s windows turning opaque.

  Since Okidu wouldn’t have done that of his own volition, Leon had to assume that he’d been instructed to do so by his boss, which meant that Kian didn’t want Anastasia to know where the cabin was, not even the general area.

  They wouldn’t be stopping anywhere.

  Even though the place wasn’t a strategic location, Leon could understand why Kian wanted to keep it a secret. The cabin had sentimental value for several of the couples who had fallen in love while staying there, and it had also proved useful time and again for various purposes. It would be a shame to lose it.

  If Anastasia wasn’t a Dormant and had to be returned to the human world, it was best that she didn’t know where it was.

  “I could ask one of my cousins to bring you some clothes.” He pulled out his phone. “What size do you wear?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to inconvenience anyone, and it’s not really important to me. I was just thinking out loud.”

  “They will be happy to do it. Remember the two ladies with the special paranormal talents I told you about?”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “What about them?”

  Damn, he’d forgotten the way she’d reacted when he’d told her about Mey and Jin’s talents. Anastasia hadn’t believed him and had accused him of lying. He shouldn’t have brought them up, but he hadn’t done it to talk about their paranormal talents.

  “They are working on designing a clothing line that they want to launch sometime next year. Maybe they have some samples that they can part with.”

  That sparked her interest. “What kind of clothing are they planning to sell?”

  “I have no idea. I know absolutely nothing about women’s fashion.”

  She chuckled. “And yet you told me that I would look smashing in a black cocktail dress and stilettos.”

  “You remember that?”

  “Of course. Ever since you said that, I’ve been fantasizing about us going out on a date, you in a suit, and me in a little black dress.” She shifted, pulling one leg under her and turning to face him. “Are there any decent restaurants near the cabin?”

  “The nearest one is about an hour and a half away. But since our only mode of transportation is a motorcycle, I doubt that you would want to ride it wearing a cocktail dress.”

  She grimaced. “A motorcycle? Why?”

  He shrugged. “One of my cousins left it there to be used by whoever stays in the cabin.”

  “That was nice of him, but there is no way I’m going on one of those death traps. I hope your driver will pick us up at the end of the week.”

  “Okidu is not my driver, but I can ask him to pick us up.”

  “Good.” She let out a breath. “I hate motorcycles.”

  That solved the dilemma of how to get groceries without taking her along, but he still needed to get her clothing that didn’t remind her of Safe Haven. “I don’t know if I can get you a cocktail dress or stilettos, but I can check about other outfits that are not white, pink, or pale blue. I will need to tell them your size, though.”

  “Are you sure that’s okay? From what you’re telling me, the cabin is in the middle of nowhere. How are they going to get there?”

  “I can ask Okidu to make another trip. I’m sure he won’t mind.” Perhaps Kian would, but Leon would explain that it wasn’t a frivolous request, and that it was needed to change Anastasia’s mind about going back to Safe Haven.

  Not that it was an option if she transitioned, but he preferred that she wasn’t forced to stay but
chose to because she wanted to.

  She hesitated for a moment longer. “I wear size eight.”

  “What about shoes?”

  “Also size eight.” She still looked conflicted. “But if their designs are form-fitting, then perhaps size ten in clothes would be better.”

  “I’ll let them know.” He wrote a long text to Arwel, explaining what was needed and why.

  Even if Anastasia turned out not to be a Dormant, and at the end of the week he had to part with her, Leon didn’t want her to return to Safe Haven and waste her life away. If nice clothing would help her distance herself emotionally from the place, it was worth the effort to get it for her.

  “What happened to the windows?” Anastasia asked.

  He’d hoped she wouldn’t notice.

  “I asked the driver to do it.” Leon said the first thing that had popped into his head. “To give us some privacy.” He smiled and pulled her closer.

  Okidu must have heard him because a moment later the privacy screen between the front seat and the cabin went up.