ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 1: POSSESSED BY LORD MAGE

Noelle turned to the buzzing alarm clock on her bedside table as she buttoned up her silk blouse in front of her full mirror. She completely lost sleep right after midnight. She spent the entire early dawn reorganizing her organizer, practicing her imaginary dagger throw on the co-worker she loved to hate, counting sheep, goats and cows-all in her head. At four A.M she had had enough and went to get herself a long soothing bath in her Jacuzzi size bathtub. She soaked herself in all sorts or aromatic and spicy bath salts that had her body tingly and fresh. After that she washed and conditioned her long strawberry blond hair, blow dried it and brushed it until it shimmered with health then rolled it into a loose Swiss-roll with a few wisps framing her oval face.

She painted her slightly long finger nails her favorite cherry red nail polish and her toe nails. All that took four hours. After that she made her large Serena Van der Woodsen bed (though she bet hers was better). She went through her walk in wardrobe and tried out a couple outfits until she finally made up her mind and settled for the charcoal gray suit with her silk cream blouse that gave a hint of the full cleavage.

The buzzing continued for a little longer before the alarm went on snooze for ten minutes. Noelle turned to the mirror again and fixed her light neutral makeup. Today was her big day. All her hard work for the past year was finally about to pay off and she couldn’t wait to rub Ruby’s face on this one. A small smile brightened her face as she picked up her favorite pair of Prada’s and dashed to buzz off the alarm clock before it went mad on her.

She loved her new life and her latest job. It might have been the most normal thing for everyone else but for her normal was very good and she was enjoying every bit of it. She moved to Manhattan just three years ago and already she was the assistant editor of a prestigious fashion magazine, she had an apartment in one of the A-class buildings in Manhattan, she had money that she made on her own as well as a very good reputation with well connected people. What else could a girl ask for? The best thing was that she did everything on her own. She enjoyed the luxury of standing on her own two legs and working hard and all that was going to pay off today when she finally got that editor position then....plan her next move day or fake yet another death certificate.

With her limited edition Gucci bag on one hand and the keys to her little Audi convertible on the other, she made her way for a quick breakfast then dashed for work. It didn’t matter that she was a full hour early, she wanted to be there and make everyone see how dedicated she was to her job. As she pulled out of her driveway, she scrolled down her organizer and made mental notes of her meetings and interviews for the day. They were doing the autumn special edition of the magazine and it was going to be big!

28th July 2011; the date read and she felt a cold dread sink down her stomach like yesterday’s oatmeal. The date was supposed to mean something big in her old life but now, it was just another busy day on the schedule-oh and she had an interview with Fashion Week at twelve. Busy, busy, busy! Just the way she loved her life. It left very little space to start thinking about what could have been if she were back home.

“Don’t think about that anymore, Noelle.” She murmured to herself as she pulled her car behind a black tinted GMC truck. “You have your freedom and your life to live it however you want. That is the past and this is now. Concentrate on now.” She didn’t know whether she was saying it loudly because it was her mantra to live on or whether she was afraid that she might be lying to herself.

All of a sudden she felt a little out her elements. A cold sweat broke on her skin and the air seemed heavy and hard to pull in. She murmured a few calming spells. This was not the time to think of the what ifs.

The last time she felt this way was in the presence of him! He made her skin feel so tight around her and her mind not hers anymore. In his presence she felt vulnerable, as if she were naked and exposed. Those silver-gray smoldering eyes drank in everything down to the very last pint of her soul and that frightened the color out of her. No one was supposed to have such power over the other. But that wasn’t what made her flee.

He looked at her as if he could devour her with one quick move and it frightened her to death but then just like that, he dismissed her and continued as if she wasn’t there. That shuttered her entire being. At first she was stunned and hurt but later she was angry and vengeful. She plotted against him and she succeeded but she wasn’t there to see the stunned and grim mask on his face.

Eat dirt, sucker! She grinned with satisfaction but her moment was short-lived when a horn bellowed behind her and almost had her jumping out of her skin.

“Come on lady, move it!” Someone shouted behind her.

She looked at the lights and they had changed to green. She quickly stepped on the accelerator and shot forward. She had to stop with the day-dreaming spells. She wasn’t that little girl who loved fairy tales and happy-endings anymore. She learned that from the Grinch who stole her Christmas, the bastard.

She was no hypocrite, she missed home. The greenery was more lush and vivid, the sun much brighter with healing qualities. The air was almost delicious to take in. It was enchanted and held relaxation and healing properties. She sighed with nostalgia as she rounded a quick corner towards her office building. No matter how much she missed watching the rouge and purple dusk colors paint pictures across the sky from her quarters or taking long rides through the family forest, she would never go back as long as that gargoyle was still alive.

She swallowed back a lump that clogged her throat and breathed in hard. She missed her beloved father though at times she hated the male with every fiber of her being. He was also the reason why she ran away. He wanted to tie her down to a savage that didn’t even know how to address a woman properly. She hadn’t been around her almost-mate for long but surely noticed a battle-forged warrior king when she saw one and he had that stamped all over him. Though he sat beside her father making idle conversation, she saw how he scanned the room every few minutes. His massively built body was always on alert and his second in command was practically glued to his side as he, too, scanned the room.

Noelle had never seen so much black leather clad on one male like her almost-mate had. It made her feel like he had just walked out of a hot S & M clip. She ran her tongue over her teeth just at the thought of the male. He had dominated every other male that was present in the Court. People practically shuffled any other direction but towards him and others went to the extent of keeping their eyes down to make sure he didn’t notice them. Tyran, that son of a bitch was like a Tsunami. He washed out all logical thought from her head and filled it with fantasies and images she never thought she would ever have. Her cheeks reddened when she replayed the little erotic world she had deeply embedded in her pretty little head. Though she would have loved a showdown between them, she was definitely no one’s property and she just hoped the asshole learned a lesson or two about pissing a female off.

Her car backed to a parking halt and she got out gracefully before making her way down to the building.

“Morning Noelle!” The doorman greeted her cheerfully as he opened the door for her.

Noelle smiled back and tinkled her fingers at him. “Morning Joe. How’s the wife?”

“Very well, ma’am.” Joe answered. “You know, you are the only who asks me that?”

Noelle grinned. “Because I care, Joe. You have yourself a good day.”

“You too, ma’am.” Joe lifted his hat up at her.

Noelle crossed the great hallway to the receptionist where she greeted her and signed in.

“Oh, and by the way.” The receptionist grinned from ear to ear as she pushed a large vase full of the most perfect long-stemmed red roses she had ever seen. They were still dewy and they smelled divine kicking up that nostalgic feeling again. “These came for you this morning. A secret admirer, huh?”

Noelle touched the delicate petals that reminded her of the rose garden she once had back home. God, their scent took her back to the green house where hundreds upon hundreds of perfect blooms opened up for her and engulfed her with their sweet and innocent fragrance. She closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled a gallon full of the scent.

“Who are they from?” She couldn’t stop her fingers from touching their velvety petals as she searched for a card.

The receptionist shook her head. “Uh-there was no card but there was this.” She held up what looked like a charmed bracelet.

Good Heavens! Noelle inhaled sharply as she took the bracelet and studied the tiny charms around it. It had calming gems, a little faerie, a horse shoe and a clover. The pit of her stomach tightened as she turned to the receptionist in utter horror. Where they enchanted? she Wondered. Could he do any enchantments in that Realm? “Who brought them?”

“The messenger.” She shrugged her small shoulders and adjusted her round-rimmed glasses. “Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?” Noelle snapped and threw the bracelet down on the counter as if it burnt her. Those things held too many lost memories and the last thing she needed in her life right at that moment was imbalance.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know-I didn’t-” she stuttered.

Noelle rubbed her forehead and took a breather. That was supposed to be her special day and she was going to enjoy every bit of it. Whoever thought to play her that nasty trick could go and burn for all she cared. “No, I’m sorry, Helena. It’s not your fault and I’m just a little edgy today.” After all it was the day of her Union day, a union she fled from a century ago. “You can keep the flowers if you want to but get rid of that bracelet.” She had seen far too many Mage tricks to know that the bracelet wasn’t safe.

Helena blinked at her as if she couldn’t quite put together what she was just told. “But Noelle, this bracelet looks like it costs a small continent! And the roses; OMG!”

Noelle threw her hands up. “You know what, keep the goddamn bracelet too but I’ll not be held responsible for what might happen to you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Someone is really trying to impress you with all this and you’re going to throw it all away? Rejection is not healthy, Noelle.” Helena pressed her lips together in a frown. “You need to start dating!”

Noelle couldn’t help but snort inelegantly. “If he really wanted to impress me then he should have brought me down the stars!” She turned around and walked off to the private elevator.

If he really wanted to impress me then he should have brought me down the stars! That final sentence replayed in Tyran’s head as he watched the sexiest ass sway down the hallway towards the elevator. He didn’t know whether to laugh out loud at the effect of her words on him or roar out like the enraged beast that he was. He had had just about enough from his young and naive little mate.

She wanted freedom and to explore the world, he granted. He kept his distance because he knew of the effects their closeness would have on them but had someone watch over her everyday. Good thing that he was not exposed to her for a long time on the day of their union announcement because it would have made it harder for him to stay away from her for such a long time.

He also granted the several lives that she had been living while she had been away from home making sure she never had a hiccup on the smooth road. Everything that she wished for, he made it come true but now that little dream of hers was long overdue and he was there to collect.

He was like a bubbling cauldron of molten lava inside. This little female had downright dragged his name through the mud and made him look like a fool in front of his people. She rejected him and fled to a world she had no idea how it worked. She thought she had escaped him but Tyran watched and waited.

At first he wanted to punish her for what she had done to him, done to his name. She had stripped him down in front of his warriors and and subjects, called him a coward and a savage and that she would never be mated to such an animal--as if she were a god and could override the mate bond--then she fled. All he could think of was to take her over his lap and paddle that sexy as hell ass of hers until she was submissive but he knew better so he let her go and took time to cool down the gnawing rage deep inside him.

He heard jokes about his ordeal with her, of how he won on battlefields and rebels or rogues but he couldn’t win his own mate. Stuff like that weighed hard on a male’s ego but Tyran was larger than life and he was an ancient. He had been through a lot and though that was by far the most effective attack, he survived.

He was Lord Mage, a king and the oldest living Royal pure-blood Mage at the moment. Hell he was older than even the Himalayas! He was feared back in their enchanted world. He was a honed warrior without an equal yet Noelle saw him as a joke. She sure knew how to push buttons but it was time he started pushing them back.

The massive male stood up from the waiting lounge and straightened the black Italian custom made suit. His silver eyes slashed towards the elevator and he followed.

Tyran didn’t notice the gasps and stares he got from the surrounding people. He got that everywhere he went that it was almost natural. He would have asked questions if they didn’t react. He was, after all, an enchanted being. Just as the elevator was about to close, he casually pulled out his hand from his pocket and elegantly flicked his wrist. The elevator beeped and the doors stood open.

“What the hell?” Noelle rattled the button to her floor but the door held open.

Tyran had not seen her face for a little while and he still remembered how she looked like when she savagely insulted him in his Court and fled but that did not prepare him for the hauntingly beautiful female that she had become. He stood in front of her, taking her in as she desperately tried to get the elevator to move. She was so busy with the thing she hardly noticed the people around her slowly inching away from the powerful presence and getting out of the lift.

Tyran entered in casually and stood behind her then flicked his wrist and the doors slid close. He couldn’t help but drown himself in the sight of the female in front of him. Her silky strawberry blonde hair was still mesmerizing. Her petite body was curved in all the right places and perfectly so. Her legs were long and beautiful under the charcoal grey short skirt she had on and the heels made them even sexier. She was black temptation and though he had planned to punish her for disobeying him, he couldn’t help but want to shred off every single offending cloth around her body and pound hard inside her until she wept for mercy.

His erection throbbed painfully and it even made him madder that even after everything she had done to him, he still wanted her with the same ferocity as the first time he laid his eyes on her in her father’s Court.

She was a selfish and careless little girl but she was still his mate and she would soon know her place beside him even if he had to tie her to him with an enchanted lock.

He watched her as she slipped a few strands of hair at the back of her ear, her fingers long and delicately structured. He loved her nail polish. Heck, there wasn’t one part of her that didn’t put teeth him on the edge. She was his. Even if she pretended that the roses from home didn’t affect her, Tyran knew better. He saw the longing in her eyes and the way she touched them as if they were precious jewels. Oh, his little temptress was in his sweet little trap and sure as hell impressed by the roses. Even if she wanted stars, he would get them for her. Heck, why not right now.

Tyran looked up at the ceiling of the elevator and twirled his hand. Darkness began to descend around them and he heard the horror behind Noelle’s gasp.

“A star for my lady.” He held out his hand and a brilliant light shone around it. The light dimmed a bit and on his hand there was a pebble-size crystal with a swirling white light inside.

He watched as a myriad of emotions played across Noelle’s face as she finally recognised him and where she was. Her face went pale and her hazel eyes brightened with horror and hysteria. Well, that was not the welcome he expected but he sure as hell enjoyed the surprise on her face that he wanted to laugh. Tyran felt the sudden shift within him that completed the mate-bond establishment between them. Now, they could no longer live apart thanks to him.

“Tyran.” His name passed out through her thick throat but it was music to his ears. He wondered if she had ever dreamt of him as much as he did her. He wondered if she suffered the same disappointment when she woke up in the morning and discovered that he wasn’t there. He wondered if her heart ached for him to the point it almost drove her crazy with longing?

“Princess.” He looked down at her grimly and the elevator stopped in between floors.

Noelle shrunk back like a cornered animal. There was so much fear in her eyes and he didn’t know what to make of it. Was she really that terrified of him?

“Have you finally come to kill me?” Her voice was thin and unfamiliar. This wasn’t the female that single-handedly diced him up and served him on a silver platter to his Court.

Tyran smiled grimly. Either way, he wasn’t going to feel sorry for her. She deserved everything she got. She deserved to have that pretty little head of hers staked in front of his fortress, a reminder to his people that no one dared defy him but he liked that pretty little head just where it was. There were several other ways to punish this smart-mouthed princess to submission. Hmmm. “That might come a little later. Today, I came to collect what’s rightfully mine.”

Noelle’s head lifted in defiance and her hazel eyes sparkled with what looked like starburst. There was his fire princess. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I’ll scream if you touch me.”

“Scream away, my lady, scream to your little heart’s content.” He produced a gold thread from his pocket.

Noelle’s eyes settled on the plaited thread and paled a shade lower. With a nervous smile she pressed her hands on the steel wall behind her. “Your Mage enchantments will not work in this realm.”

“You misunderstand, my lady.” He opened his palm and the little thread floated from him towards her. “I’m not just any Mage; I’m the Lord Mage.” His face turned cruel when he saw how defeated and helpless she looked. The little fire breathing light Fae was all bark and no bite. “Seize.” He whispered and the little thread wound itself around one wrist and then the other behind her.

Noelle choked back a scream and struggled but Tyran knew she was going nowhere. The gold thread was enchanted and only he could break the power it wielded.

“You swine!” She gritted her teeth her eyes turning into a violent gold. Oh, yeah. His little princess was finally spitting out fire again. She was mouth-watering when she was angry. “Release me at once!”

“Not this time, my lady. You and I are getting that Union ceremony well underway.” Tyran murmured to her. He couldn’t help but touch her cheek. Her skin was so warm and silky soft his entire body went hard with want. Her mouth called to him even though he knew he risked walking away bleeding or missing a tongue.

“I will not Unite with you, Tyran!” Noelle spat. “I will not be bound to a male that knows nothing but to rule people. You will not rule me!”

Tyran felt a tick of a tendon on his jaw. Oh, he was going to rule over her and she was going to submit to him. He leaned down the small female until they were nose to nose then said. “I’m taking you back to our realm.”

Noelle’s eyes widened. “No.” She almost wept and Tyran frowned in puzzlement. He was pretty sure the princess missed her home yet she didn’t want to go back.

“You are my rightful queen, my true mate and I’ll take you back.” He lifted his hand and murmured in tongue before snapping his fingers.