Bound by Light
Authors: Tracey Jane Jackson
Tags: #romance, #scotland, #thane, #cauld ane, #gunnach
Book #7 in the Cauld Ane Series
2015 Tracey Jane Jackson at Smashwords
Copyright © 2015 by Tracey Jane Jackson
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States
Bound by Light
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and are
used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Photo
Couple:
Tracey Jane Jackson
Landscape:
Stock Photo
Cover Art
Jackson Jackson
Cover Models
Alexander Taylor
Nathalie Stimely
Other books in the Cauld Ane Series
Bound by Blood
Cauld Ane #1
Bound by Fire
Cauld Ane #2
Bound by Secrets
Cauld Ane #3
Bound by Song
Cauld Ane #4
Bound by Dreams
Cauld Ane #5
Bound by Tears
Cauld Ane #6
Other books by Tracey Jane
Jackson
The Bride Price
Civil War Brides Series, Book
#1
The Bride Found
Civil War Brides Series, Book
#2
The Bride Spy
Civil War Brides Series, Book
#3
The Bride Ransom
Civil War Brides Series, Book
#4
The Rebel Bride
Civil War Brides Series, Book
#5
The Bride Star
Civil War Brides Series, Book
#6
The Bride Pursued
Civil War Brides Series, Book
#7
The Bride Accused
Civil War Brides Series, Book
#8
The Brides United
Civil War Brides, Book #9
Praise for Tracey Jane Jackson
I’ve followed Tracey Jane
Jackson’s Cauld Ane series from book one and am constantly
impressed by the way her characters keep growing and developing.
Her dialogue is realistic and witty and her fast-paced storylines
keep the series progressing nicely. I’ve enjoyed each Bound book,
but Bound by Dreams is my favorite so far. I can’t wait to see what
happens next!
Amanda
Washington
: Author of the
Perseverance Series and the Chronicles of the Broken
Series
This series is one I will
be getting paperbacks to keep on my LOVE bookshelf and one I will
be rereading many, many times!! This deserves more than just 5+++
stars, but since it is the highest rating it will let me give, it
will have to do.
Amazeballs Book Addicts
Acknowledgements
Ása Erlingsdóttir, thanks
again for the Icelandic
translations!
Alex and Nathalie...thanks for being pretty
people almost kissing!
Thanks to Ellen and Amanda for the edits and
critiques…you guys are amazing!
Back Blurb
Thane Allen is the biggest movie star on the
planet. He has money, status, and the ability to make people do
what he tells them to with just a word. But he's without his mate
and is losing hope that he will ever find her.
Sydney Warren has lost both her parents and makes a daring choice
to move to London to live with her cousin. A chance encounter puts
her in the path of what she considers nothing more than a fantasy,
until that fantasy pursues her.
Will Thane be able to convince her he's genuine?
When a threat no one saw coming threatens Sydney's life, will Thane
be able to save her?
For My Readers
You are the reason these books exist! Thanks
so much for all your support.
CHAPTER ONE
S
YDNEY WARREN HEARD the doorbell, turned off the
stove, and made a dash for the front door. Her mother taught art
classes at Ohlone Community two days a week and wasn’t typically
this late. Sydney was supposed to join her today, but had been down
for the count with a nasty migraine, so her mom insisted she stay
home and rest. Any progress with the migraine had been lost in the
last couple of hours when her mom hadn’t answered the dozen or so
texts and voicemails Sydney had left.
Sydney pulled open the door, hoping that her
mother’s explanation would be a lost phone and keys, but what she
found were two police officers standing on her porch, looking
grim.
“Sydney Warren?” the older gentleman
asked.
Sydney forced back tears as she nodded.
“I’m Officer Hill,” he said, nodding to his
female counterpart, “and this is Officer Montclair. I’m sorry,
ma’am, but your mother has been in a car accident.”
“Where is she?” she asked, feeling a modicum
of relief. If it was an accident, she could deal with that. “I’ll
come right now.”
“She’s at the hospital.”
“What do you mean at the hospital?” she
challenged. “Why didn’t they call me? Why did they send cops?”
“May we come in?” Officer Montclair
asked.
Sydney hesitated for a second before
stepping back and letting the officers inside.
“Let’s find somewhere for you to sit
down.”
She lifted a shaky hand to her mouth. “I
need to sit down?”
Officer Montclair nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Um, okay,” she rasped, and headed into the
front room, sitting in her mother’s favorite chair. “How badly is
she hurt?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but your mother’s
injuries were too extensive, and she didn’t make it.”
“What? I don’t understand.” Sydney
swallowed. “I thought you said she was at the hospital.”
“She is. I’m sorry; we can’t give any more
information.” Office Montclair gave her a gentle smile. “The doctor
will speak with you when you get there.”
Sydney nodded woodenly, her mind numbing as
shock set in. “I’ll get my keys.”
“Do you have anyone who can drive you?”
She shook her head.
“We’ll take you, ma’am.”
“How will I get back?”
“One of us will be happy to bring you
back.”
She swallowed hard. “I...I need to get my
purse.”
The officer nodded and Sydney walked in a
haze to the kitchen, grabbing her purse and keys before sliding on
her shoes and heading back to the front door. She followed the cops
to their car. She could have been walking through water to an
octopus chariot, as surreal as the situation felt.
Sydney was grateful the officers didn’t
speak to her on the ride to the hospital. By the time they arrived,
she had half-convinced herself that they’d made a huge mistake and
she’d prove it to herself, and them, before telling her mom all
about her eventful day.
She checked her phone (again) and there was
still no return call from her mom. She still hoped she’d walk into
the room and find someone else there.
One of the officers opened her door and she
slid out, following him inside.
They led her down a hallway teaming with
medical staff and into a room that was eerily quiet. A doctor met
her right inside the door. He cleared his throat, but Sydney caught
sight of the figure in the bed and rushed past him before he could
speak.
“Mama,” she whispered, her heart rate
spiking. Her mother lay bloodied and bruised, a tube in her mouth,
her chest rising and falling as a hissing sound echoed in the stark
room. Sydney glanced over her shoulder. “She’s breathing.”
The doctor sighed. “We’re keeping her heart
beating because your mother is an organ donor, but there is no
brain activity. I’m sorry.”
Sydney stroked her mother’s cheek as a tower
of hopes crafted by denial began to crumble. “What happened?”
“Head-on collision,” one of the police
officers answered.
Outside of the trauma to her body, she
looked so peaceful. How could she be gone? Sydney’s world shattered
silently as she sat beside her mother’s body, watching her chest
rise and fall as the machines kept her “alive.”
“Are you her only relative?” the doctor
asked. “Is there anyone else? Your father perhaps?”
With a mighty effort, Sydney turned her head
to answer him. “My father died a while ago. It’s just us. My uncle,
my mother’s brother, lives in England, but I’m the one who has
power of attorney.”
The doctor pulled a chair up to her and
touched her shoulder. “I just need a signature on these forms to
release her organs, but why don’t you sit a while with her? We have
a little time still.”
Sydney nodded and sank into a seat. “I need
to call my uncle,” she rasped.
“No problem,” he said. “I’ll give you some
privacy.”
“Thanks,” Sydney whispered, and pulled out
her phone with a trembling hand.
* * *
Present day...
Sydney walked off the plane and into the
loving arms of her aunt Clara. “Welcome, love!”