Silent Whispers (Totem Book 2) Read online

  SILENT WHISPERS

  TOTEM #2

  Christine Rains

  Silent Whispers (Totem #2)

  Christine Rains | Copyright 2016

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook 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 recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events, or occurrences is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Tagline: It’s not only the dead who whisper upon the wind.

  Summary: An ancient totem pole has gone missing, and its pieces are scattered across Alaska. Restoring the seven totem tokens may be the only way to save every shifter in the world.

  Kinley Dorn, a geeky architect with a heart of gold and a polar bear shifter, jumps at the opportunity to help her family find the lost pieces. Their idea of “helping” involves staying indoors to research online. Work leads Kinley to sexy lynx shifter Ransom Averill. He coaxes her away from the safety behind her computer and into the path of a rampaging giant. Terrifying as the monster might be, she must brave its mountain because the owl totem is calling to her through silent whispers.

  Cover design: Christine Rains

  All photos came from BigStock. Kinley model – Photographer: Cheschhh. Background – Photographer: FrontierSights. Frost – Photographer: Rafinade. FrontierSights, Haida owl for chapter headings – Photographer: tukkki

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  To geek girls everywhere,

  may we all have a cat to cuddle

  in some form or another!

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  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

  Totem Series

  Where to Find Christine Rains Online

  Other Works by Christine Rains

  Untethered Realms

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  It would be wrong to ask a client to do a Dracula impression, but Kinley couldn’t stop imagining Berton Ellsworth doing exactly that. Bela Lugosi style, too, with all the blah, blah, blahs. Bert even resembled a young Lugosi but much shorter and with bigger ears.

  Bert, though, was a real vampire.

  “All the windows have the automatic iron sunblocks. You won’t even notice them as they’ll be installed within the walls.” Kinley pointed to her diagram on the table before pushing her glasses up her nose. “So when they’re open, your view will be unhindered and the interior aesthetics won’t be affected. You can close them by simply pressing a button. We can provide a remote, switches on the walls, and a manual crank in case the power goes out.”

  “Excellent.” Bert nodded as he flipped through the blueprints. His small hands looked even littler holding the large pieces of paper as he pointed to what would be his daytime vault. “Ah, this room. Are you certain the authorities won’t declare this a fire hazard?”

  His finely manicured fingernails reflected the fluorescent lights, and Kinley swallowed the urge to giggle when she thought of them sparkling. With his neatly trimmed black hair, conservative suit, and staunch manners, Bert didn’t look like a young, modern heartthrob. But in just the way he held himself, no one would doubt he was a powerful entrepreneur who owned several international businesses.

  “No, technically it will not be a bedroom. Only sleeping rooms require a window for a possible exit. With it labeled as a storage room, the inspector will see no problem with it.” The simple things that made it easy to get around building codes. Because those laws were made for humans. Kinley designed houses for supernatural beings, and her sisters, Ametta and Saskia, decorated them. Dorn Pararenovations was a thriving business, but its future teetered on a dangerous edge.

  She shouldn’t be so focused on the business. It was more than that which hung in the balance. The fate of all the shifters in the world rested on finding seven totem tokens and bringing them together to make an ancient totem pole. A grand quest. Yet she was denied the opportunity to put on her adventuring hat when Saskia declared Kinley should stay home and do research.

  Kinley’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She glanced at it and sighed. A message from Saskia. Always with the research. And while she did enjoy it, she wanted to be hunting too. She was no less a bear than her sisters, Dad, Sedge, and Lucky. Okay, maybe not Sedge. But he was The Bear, the latest incarnation of the old Inuit god, after all.

  “This is good. This is very good. I’ll be able to spend summers in Alaska rather than having to go…” Bert’s smooth baritone brought her back to the business at hand. He cocked his head and gazed at her with unblinking eyes. “You are more than a bit distracted today, Miss Dorn. Is there a problem with the design or the construction schedule?”

  “No, not at all. The foundation will be laid before the frost sets in, and if the weather holds, the frame will be erected.” Kinley gave him a reassuring smile. The building season was short in Alaska. It helped to have shifters working construction, but when the snow fell, the work had to stop. “If we have a mild spring next year, it might be ready for you by summer.”

  “Perfect.” He clasped his hands together, still staring at her. “So if not the house, then… a man?” His nostrils quivered slightly. “No, not a man. Ah, must be your sister. Quite the ordeal she went through a few weeks ago.”

  No matter that Kinley and her family tried to keep what happened with the hunters hush-hush, it spread swiftly throughout the shifter community and beyond. At least most everyone believed it to be over with.

  “But speaking of men, here comes my new daytime assistant now.” Bert turned to the door with a smile.

  Kinley frowned. She spoke to Genieva just the other day and all seemed fine. “What happened to your other assistant?”

  “It is unfortunate. She became too attached, and I had to send her back to her family in Nova Scotia. My fault, really. I know not to work so closely with humans. But I cannot resist a beautiful redhead who keeps an organized office.” Bert heaved a sigh more like a boy not being allowed candy than a man losing a trusted employee.

  There was a shave-and-a-haircut knock on the door to Bert’s windowless office, and not even waiting for permission, the new assistant opened the door and strode in.

  Kinley’s breath hitched. Dreamy hazel eyes peered at her from beneath tussled long reddish-brown bangs. Tall as she was, he was sleek and sexy and wore a brown trench coat. A brown trench coat. She pressed her knees together as her stomach zoomed into a flip and then flopped with a rubber landing.

  A smirk lifted one corner of his mouth as his gaze raked down her body. Oh great. And here she was in her dorky woman’s black pantsuit. Not that she needed to flirt with clients. Geez, not like she knew how to flirt at all.

  Drawing in a deep breath to calm her, Kinley caught his light herb and nut scent. Shifter. Feline. She breathed him in again, playing Jeopardy with
the olfactory variances. What is a lynx?

  “Hello, welcome. A little late tonight, but I forgive you.” Bert walked around the table and embraced the shifter. “You’re in time to see all the magnificent designs. Oh the things they can do with today’s technology. Miss Dorn, I’d like you to meet Ransom Averill. I’ve been friends with his family a great long time, and I’ve known him since he was a babe.”

  “And he’ll tell you dozens of sordid stories about me if you let him rattle on. I’ll tell you a secret, though.” Ransom leaned into Kinley, his breath tickling her ear, and a shiver rippled through her insides. “Every word he says will be true.” He stepped back, winked, and held out his hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”

  What did someone say to that? Her sisters might have a snappy comeback, but Kinley could barely speak, let alone peel her gaze off the handsome newcomer. She swallowed and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you too, Mr. Averill.”

  “Ransom, please. I could never be one of those mister fellows.” Ransom held her hand in his a little longer than one might usually do. His fingers caressed hers as he let go.

  “Then call me Kinley.” Did she look like a starry-eyed fangirl? She couldn’t even close her eyes to blink the gleam out if it was there. Damn. She was supposed to be a professional, not some timid teen. Happened every time she was faced with a gorgeous guy, though. Only one man had ever treated her more than a shy nerd, and they lived together through their college years. Until they graduated and he wanted to leave Alaska and she didn’t. He moved to California and left her heart in pieces.

  Those wounds still ached even after five years. She had her family. That was all she needed. A man like Ransom would never be interested in her anyway. He seemed like a guy who loved a challenge. Ametta and Saskia would be… Well, if anyone looked at either of her sisters, Lucky and Sedge would be there to glare back. And maybe bite off a few limbs.

  “Now that the introductions are done, let us get back to my house.” Bert brought her mind back to business. She thought it might be difficult to stay focused with Ransom there, but he was enthusiastic about her designs and quite knowledgeable about where they could get local materials.

  An hour later, she rolled up the blueprints and slid them into a tube. Most of the little details were hashed out on the five thousand square foot castle. Bert called it a house, but in her head, it looked like a grand rock palace fit for a king. It would be nestled on the northside of a mountain to minimize the sun exposure.

  “I want to take you out to the site.” Bert told Ransom as he plucked his coat off the back of his chair. “The bugs are a nuisance, though. Well, at least to you, they will be.”

  “Really? It’s September. They should be gone by now.” Kinley’s last word drowned under the ring of Bert’s cell. He held up a pale finger and stepped into the hall to answer the call.

  Ransom swept around and took Kinley’s jacket off her chair. He held it up with a not so gentlemanly smile. “Will you be coming to the site with us? I’ll make sure none of the mosquitoes carry you away.”

  Said the cat to the bear. Kinley almost laughed out loud. She bit it back and shook her head. “It’s late. I need to get back home, check on my dad, and… stuff.”

  “Hope Kunik is doing well.” Ransom slipped her coat on as she held out her arms. He chuckled at her surprise. “Our fathers know each other. They fish together every now and then.”

  Of course. Her dad knew every freaking shifter in Alaska.

  Ransom’s hands radiated heat as he settled her jacket on her shoulders. She turned to thank him and found herself staring directly into his eyes.

  “Maybe you and I can go to the site one day ourselves. Bert likes to hear how the work is going, and he’s got a nice hunk of land to roam around in.”

  A nice hunk was an understatement. It was a piece of Alaskan paradise. Wait. Why was Ransom asking her to go with him? Business or something else? It had to be business. Trying to schmooze the boss’ architect and knowing it wouldn’t take much. Because it really wouldn’t. If she let him. Which she shouldn’t. Okay, she might.

  Bert was suddenly standing in the office again. “We must leave now. There’s been an incident at the site. Equipment has been tampered with.”

  Kinley’s hand fluttered up to cover her mouth. She lowered it to ask, “What happened? Was there any damage?”

  Ransom yanked on his trench and held open the door for them. No more humor in his gorgeous face. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “A backhoe was crushed. By a three ton boulder.” Bert was out the door before she could respond.

  Kinley drove her car even when Ransom offered to take them in his truck. A good thing, too, considering she couldn’t keep up with him on the road. Was he practicing to be a daredevil? It wasn’t pitch black out, but it was dark enough.

  The floodlights were on when she arrived at the site twenty minutes later. Before she even climbed out of the car, she spotted the boulder on top of the devastated backhoe. The shovel hung awkwardly to one side and two of the tires were missing.

  What the hell? She had the area checked for suitability. The mountain was stable. No loose rock slabs or records of avalanches. No underground rivers or caves. It was perfect.

  Kinley parked and exited her car. Mosquitoes buzzed too close to her ears, and she swatted them with a hand. An owl hooted from a nearby tree as she bent and grabbed the bug spray from her car door pocket. Even with a generous layer, it didn’t deter the insects. One of the thrills of living in Alaska.

  She jogged to where Bert and Ransom talked to the night security guard. While she hadn’t anticipated any trouble at the site over the course of the build, Bert had been firm about hiring twenty-four hour security. Perhaps he needed guards over the years—centuries—but they were in the middle of nowhere. She argued nothing would happen, but it seemed Bert was smart.

  “Miss Dorn, good.” Bert motioned her to him. “This is Adam Jones. Miss Dorn is my architect.”

  Kinley shook Adam’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” Adam gave her a small smile and sighed. “I do wish it was under different circumstances, though.”

  She glanced at Ransom. Nothing carefree in his expression at the moment. His gaze raked the area, brows furrowing.

  “Quite.” Bert nodded. “Please relay to Miss Dorn what you told us.”

  “Okay.” Adam scrubbed his squat face with a hand. “So I was in the trailer.” He pointed to the small white trailer to his right. “And it’s not unusual to get big animals out here. Bears and cats and the like. So when I heard a roar, I thought maybe a bear. I had my gun. I didn’t think anything of it. But then there was another roar. A closer one. I’ve heard bears before. And this didn’t sound right. I grabbed my gun, and before I even made it to the door, there was a huge crash outside and everything shook.” He added in the rumbling sound effects. “I fell over. I couldn’t get to my feet ’cause it kept going.”

  It sounded like a rock slide. The roar, the ground shaking, but there was only the one boulder. Kinley pursed her lips and waited for more.

  “When it stopped, I ran out, and there was the biggest stinking rock. And I mean stinking because it smelled fucking rank out here. Sorry, Miss Dorn.” Adam dipped his head. She smiled to let him know it was all right. “I came back in and called Mr. Ellsworth immediately.”

  Kinley breathed in deep and caught the edge of a scent. Rot? A second good sniff confirmed it. Something dead. Dead a long time. Maybe a sick animal that died or a predator’s forgotten kill.

  “Dead flesh.” Bert wrinkled his nose.

  Ransom bobbed his head. “Yeah, definitely. You smell it too?” He looked to Kinley, and she nodded. “But notice it’s not coming from one direction. It’s been dragged all over the site.”

  She put her nose in the air again. He was right. She swatted a mosquito humming near her cheek. It sounded too much like a voice. Or maybe…

  “May I walk around?” Kinley asked Bert.
<
br />   “Yes, of course. Don’t go alone, though. I want to check the equipment with Adam. Ransom can accompany you.” Bert didn’t wait for anyone’s response. He strode toward the ruined backhoe, speaking even before Adam caught up to him.

  “Seems I’m your bodyguard tonight.” Ransom winked at her, his seriousness momentarily gone.

  Oh the many other things she’d like him to do to her body than guard it. God! She needed to not think about him like that. Hot guys always made her a mess, but Ransom with his swaggering pirate’s smile and brown trench was much too close to a fantasy come to life.

  She would not blush. Nope, she wouldn’t. Oh god! Was she red in the face?

  Walk. And concentrate on the situation. Anything other than the gorgeous shifter beside her. Damn mosquitoes!

  Kinley waved another few bugs away. “I’m all right on my own, if you want to have a look around.”

  “I’m sure you would be. You could take a bite out of anything that came out of the woods. I like women who can do that.” Ransom might be still flirting, but he didn’t sound insincere. In fact, she got the impression he was pleased with the thought she could take care of herself. His smile thinned, though. “I get the feeling that something more is going on than just a random falling rock. What about you?”

  As much as she tried to think of any logical reason for the boulder accidentally crushing the backhoe, she couldn’t. The putrid smell was a hint, but something still tickled her ears. She strained to listen with something beyond her five senses.

  “I don’t think we can say without checking the site for evidence. But it does seem odd.” Kinley wasn’t about to tell him exactly what she was doing. She was searching, yes, but the voices she sometimes heard weren’t something she shared with anyone lest they thought her insane. Her father and sisters had a general notion of what she could do, but they didn’t know and had never asked. Only her mother knew the truth.

  And she was dead.

  Kinley closed her eyes momentarily and attempted to push back all the emotions which surfaced with that thought. It was long ago, but not really. Not for anyone who’s lost a parent.