Dare - The Ash Moon

The Ariane Trilogy

Book 1

A kept secret. A life altered. A new journey.

Ariane lived her life one book at a time. She would never have guessed those books were about to change everything.

They led her to Orion.

Tall, dark, with eyes only for her. The rest of the world ceased to exist when Orion was around. But during a fateful ash moon, he shifted into a wolf. Ari thought she was dreaming, but shed recognize those eyes anywhere.

Fiction became reality. Fantasy was actually history. And soon, Ari would learn her role in it.

A pack war was on the horizon, and she was the only one who could stop it.

Nothing would ever be as it once was, because Ariane was now part of the Avynwood Pack.

W e've been standing here for three hours, Paige says, while leaning against the golden-colored walls outside the hotel ballroom.

I check my phone. We've only been here thirty minutes.

Same thing.

Paige is right, Brayden chimes in. I think we should go. This is a waste of time. He's only here because Paige is. He doesn't care about the author we're waiting in line to see. Paige does, though. We're both hooked on her books. I would gladly stand here for hours waiting to see her.

You two are more than welcome to go, but I'm not moving. I have a pile of books with me and they're all getting signed, I state, crossing my arms.

Paige pushes off the wall and wiggles her arm through mine. Ari's right. We aren't going anywhere until Lealla Raines signs our books. I give a sharp nod, happy to have her on my side. My nickname is Ari. My full name is Ariane, pronounced Ar-ee-ann.

Letting out a long sigh, Bray goes back to people watching. There's plenty of it to do. So many are waiting with us. Lealla is huge in the paranormal romance world. Her books are on the steamy side and geared more toward adults. I just turned eighteen. Mom doesn't care what I read anymore, so long as I stay out of trouble.

The doors are opening! Paige squeals beside me. She grips my arm tight as I roll the small piece of luggage behind me. That's right. I have enough books to get signed to warrant a carry-on size suitcase. Paige only brought two books with her, which she stuffed in my luggage.

One by one, people walk into the large room. This is an event only for Lealla. She does these four times a year, each one in a different part of the world, two of which are usually overseas. Each year they are in different places, so she is always meeting new readers. We lucked out having this one only two towns over from us. Paige, Bray, and I take turns showing the printed tickets we bought online six months ago and then were let inside.

The ballroom is enormous. The kind big wedding receptions are held in. The walls are a soft ivory, and the carpet is a muted beige with swirls of mocha throughout. Rows of white folding chairs are set up before us, with a broad aisle down the middle. There are tables in the front of the room and along one side. Each has a rich, emerald green tablecloth draped over it, embroidered with Lealla's logoan L and an R intertwined in front of a full moon.

The tables off to the side are stacked with her books, which are available for purchase. Six tall banners stand behind the tables at the front of the room. Each one is a different book cover in the series, though there are more than six books in the series. I cant imagine them trying to squeeze all of them in that row.

Lealla hasnt entered yet. With every step I take, my excitement goes up a notch. I cant believe Ill finally get to see her. Meet the woman whose stories I go to bed at night reading.

The three of us follow those who were in front of us in line and end up sitting only three rows away from the tables where the author will be. I luck out and get an aisle seat. The tall person in front of me won't be able to block my view completely. I can lean out to my right to see.

Tucking my luggage in front of me, I glance around and notice I'm not the only one with a suitcase of books. I'm among my fellow book lovers, and everything feels right in my world.

Brayden sits between Paige and me as we marvel at the crowd and how close we got to the front. We talk about our favorite characters and hope the cover models of the books we love will be here. Poor Bray. He's in a special form of hell right now, and I can't help but smile. The things he does for his friends.

A hush falls over the crowd. I turn my head, surveying the room. There are easily three hundred people sitting and standing in the back along the walls, waiting to meet the author. When my eyes reach the front of the room again, I notice a tall man standing off to the left of the tables. The dark jeans he's wearing don't leave much room over his thick legs. His emerald T-shirt has Lealla's logo on it with a wolf underneath, howling at the moon. Black, military-style boots complete his look. I need one of those shirts. I'd wear it all the time. The man widens his stance and crosses his muscular arms like he's inviting all of us to try and take him on. Cocky much? It's a book signing. This guy needs to get a grip. I doubt any of us are here to harm Lealla.

Two more men enter, each in similar clothing. I immediately recognize them from Lealla's covers. The crowd starts going wild when they see the men who have taken on the image of the characters we love.

Paige reaches for my hand, squeezing it tight. It's Aries and Cace! she exclaims in a loud whisper. Can you believe this? Her excitement matches my own. I can barely keep my butt in the seat.

Then Lealla enters. Her chestnut hair falls in soft waves over her shoulders and down her back. She's tall and slender. The noise of the crowd becomes deafening at this point. I'm not sure if they're happier to see Lealla or the models. One man, I don't recognize as one of the cover models, walks to the end of the tables opposite the other guy and stands the same wayarms crossed, legs wide. These two must be security.

Aries and Cace sit on either side of Lealla. I have no idea what their real names are. Anytime Lealla mentions her models, she always calls them by the characters they represent. I once looked them up on the internet. Each has their own social media page with their character name on it and Lealla's last name as theirs. I couldn't find their real names anywhere. I even did a reverse image search. Nothing. Yes, I know. Stalker much? I couldn't help it. I'm single and don't have a job since my parents want me concentrating on school. A girl gets bored.