“Greek mythology has long believed that snakes are sacred beings. Their venom was used for healing rituals and such, but their skin—the shedding of their flesh—that was a symbol of renewal and rebirth. Just like a life cycle. We live, we die, we are reborn as spirits. It’s also kind of like you right now. You get a chance to reinvent yourself here, in Havenwood Falls.”
I didn’t answer her as my fingers traced over the outline of my tattoo. I eyed her bag with interest. She must have seen my eyes wander, because she brought the bag closer.
“You can pick any design you want,” she said, “and you can choose anywhere you want it. I can make it visible or invisible, that’s your call. The only question I need to know before we start is, am I making you a visitor tattoo or a resident one?”
I stared at her for the longest time, hoping she would pick for me. Did I want to go home, well, back to living in hotels and dating strings of men who would never fill the void in my heart, hiding away my gifts from anyone outside the FBI? Or did I want to give this rinky-dink town a shot, with their promise of accepting me for the freak show that I was? Did I want to shed the old me and step into in a new place? A place that held the promise of home . . .
Addie looked up at me with expectant eyes, and I smiled.
“Resident.”
We hope you enjoyed this story in the Havenwood Falls series featuring a variety of supernatural creatures. The series is a collaborative effort by multiple authors.
Books in the main Havenwood Falls series:
Forget You Not by Kristie Cook
Old Wounds by Susan Burdorf
Covetousness by Randi Cooley Wilson
The Winged & the Wicked by T.V. Hahn & Kristie Cook
Alpha’s Queen by Lila Felix
Ink & Fire by R.K. Ryals
Lose You Not by Kristie Cook
Tragic Ink by Heather Hildenbrand
Nowhere to Hide by Belinda Boring
Flames Among the Frost by Amy Hale
Rock Me Gently by Susan Burdorf
Defying Gravity by Kallie Ross
Gypsy Heart by Randi Cooley Wilson
Break Me Not by Kristie Cook
How the Dead Lie by Stacey Rourke
The Lurkers Within by Danielle Bannister
The Collector: Awakening by Kristie Cook, R.K. Ryals, Belinda Boring & Nadirah Foxx (December 2018)
Addicted to You by Belinda Boring (January 2019)
More books releasing on a monthly basis
Also try the YA line, Havenwood Falls High; the historical line, Legends of Havenwood Falls; and the darker, sexier side of town, Havenwood Falls Sin & Silk.
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About the Author
Danielle Bannister lives with her two children in Midcoast Maine, along with her precious coffee pot and peppermint mocha creamer. She is a writer of all things swoon-worthy, angsty, and snarky. She holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern Maine and her master’s degree in Literary Education from the University of Orono. Her writing includes a collection of short stories called Short Shorts; The Twin Flames Trilogy: Pulled, Pulled Back, and Pulled Back Again; The ABC’s of Dee; Enigma; Doppelganger; Must Love Coffee; and Netherworld and Hollow Earth with co-author Amy Miles.
Acknowledgments
I want to thank Kristie Cook, R.K. Ryals, Randi Cooley Wilson, and E.J. Fechenda for letting me play with their characters and locations. I offer my apologies to them for the million and one questions I asked them in order to make sure I was getting their ideas correct. It is challenging to write in a world where so much has already been established, but these ladies helped me immensely until my romance brain slowly learned how the fantasy world worked. I am ever humbled.