Praise for Carrie Ann Ryan
“Count on Carrie Ann Ryan for emotional, sexy, character driven stories that capture your heart!” – Carly Phillips, NY Times bestselling author
“Carrie Ann Ryan’s romances are my newest addiction! The emotion in her books captures me from the very beginning. The hope and healing hold me close until the end. These love stories will simply sweep you away.” ~ NYT Bestselling Author Deveny Perry
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes the perfect balance of sweet and heat ensuring every story feeds the soul." - Audrey Carlan, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Carrie Ann Ryan never fails to draw readers in with passion, raw sensuality, and characters that pop off the page. Any book by Carrie Ann is an absolute treat.” – New York Times Bestselling Author J. Kenner
“Carrie Ann Ryan knows how to pull your heartstrings and make your pulse pound! Her wonderful Redwood Pack series will draw you in and keep you reading long into the night. I can’t wait to see what comes next with the new generation, the Talons. Keep them coming, Carrie Ann!” –Lara Adrian, New York Times bestselling author of CRAVE THE NIGHT
"With snarky humor, sizzling love scenes, and brilliant, imaginative worldbuilding, The Dante's Circle series reads as if Carrie Ann Ryan peeked at my personal wish list!" – NYT Bestselling Author, Larissa Ione
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes sexy shifters in a world full of passionate happily-ever-afters." – New York Times Bestselling Author Vivian Arend
“Carrie Ann’s books are sexy with characters you can’t help but love from page one. They are heat and heart blended to perfection.” New York Times Bestselling Author Jayne Rylon
Carrie Ann Ryan's books are wickedly funny and deliciously hot, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. They'll keep you up all night!” USA Today Bestselling Author Cari Quinn
"Once again, Carrie Ann Ryan knocks the Dante's Circle series out of the park. The queen of hot, sexy, enthralling paranormal romance, Carrie Ann is an author not to miss!" New York Times bestselling Author Marie Harte
Dawn Unearthed
NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan begins a new witchy paranormal series where a magical town keeps its secrets, but those in it must find a way to keep themselves safe.
The moment Sage Reed makes her way to Ravenwood, she knows the small town lives up to its mystical lore—even if she doesn’t believe that she’s a witch. After losing her husband, she’s ready for change, and her aunt’s bookstore affords the perfect opportunity.
Rome Baker has secrets of his own—even some that he’s kept from the town he calls home. But when a striking and intriguing stranger saves his life the moment she steps into his path, his inner bear knows that she’s the one for him. However, with the town under fire, he worries he might run out of time before he can show her what they can have together.
A new enemy is on the horizon, one who hides in the shadows, whose history is steeped in lies. And if Sage and Rome aren’t careful, Sage’s new powers won’t be the only thing that spirals into flame.
Chapter One
Sage
I squinted as I looked at the GPS, trying to make sense of the directions. I had been across the Pennsylvania border for over an hour now, and I needed to find the right exit that would take me off the main highway and onto one of the many smaller roads that encompassed Pennsylvania. I needed to get to my new home, or at least what others would have me call my new home. I still wasn’t quite sure what that would mean as of yet.
My hands clenched the steering wheel, and I told myself everything would be okay. I was making a dramatic move, with even more unknown changes to come, but it was for a purpose.
Because Ravenwood, Pennsylvania called to me.
I shook my head, frowning at myself as I checked the next exit.
The town wasn’t calling to me. That was preposterous. Towns didn’t reach out to people. And I did my best to ignore the odd whispers in my head, the pull to a place I’d never been to nor even thought of before. I pushed away the idea of a shadow person filling my vision. I wasn’t being pulled toward anyone either. That was silly. The only people I knew in Ravenwood were my aunt and Rowen, who had sold me the building where I was setting up my business. Ravenwood was a place. Somewhere I would make my new home.
I couldn’t go back to where I had been for so many years. I couldn’t rebuild my life from the ashes in a place that still sparked with embers of sorrow and pain. I did my best to empty those thoughts from my mind because they wouldn’t help anyone.
I was moving to a new place, in a new state, to a new home.
Ravenwood was a small town north of Philadelphia, and one I had only heard of because my aunt lived there. If asked to name cities in Pennsylvania, most people wouldn’t even think of the town. She owned a small bookshop called Ravenwood Pages and frequently spoke of the warmth radiating through the town and how everybody was welcome.
Rupert and I had always meant to come north from Norfolk, Virginia, where we had lived for the entirety of our marriage, but things had never worked out. Between work, our conflicting plans, and life in general, we hadn’t been able to visit my aunt Penelope at her bookshop. Looking back, I didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if it was too far of a drive—not when it meant seeing my aunt in her home. Now that I thought about it more, it felt as if something had been pushing us away. And, once again, that was an odd thought to have.
My aunt usually came down to visit us for holidays, or we went to Rupert’s family’s place. I last saw Penelope after the funeral when she came to make sure I was okay. Not that I could be okay. Nothing about losing one’s husband at twenty-four years old was okay.
Everyone kept saying that we had our entire lives before us, that they couldn’t wait to see what would happen between Rupert and me. They wanted us to thrive, have babies, and create a whole family in our Virginia town. That hadn’t happened. No, nothing had happened the way it should have. Rupert was gone. And so quickly, I could barely even pause to catch my breath.
A brain tumor had taken him before I’d even had a chance to come to terms with the idea that I might lose my husband. Now, he was gone, leaving nothing for me. Not his family, nor the rest of mine. Rupert’s family hadn’t wanted anything to do with me after Rupert died. They saw my pain and theirs etched onto my face every time they looked at me and had pushed me away because of it.
Now, I was on the long road to a new beginning, one where I needed to stop feeling the melancholy stretching over me, digging its claws into my flesh as I struggled to cope.
I shook away my thoughts, doing my best to breathe. That was all I needed to do. Breathe.
My dash lit up, and the sound of an incoming phone call filled the car. My lips turned up into a small smile as I saw the readout and answered.
“Aunt Penelope,” I said softly, waiting for the next exit as I kept my attention on the road.
“Are you almost here?” she asked, her voice warm, soothing. She was always that way, as if every time I was near her, she infused me with warmth and magic. Not real magic, of course. Though my mother joked that my aunt was a witch, I knew that wasn’t the case.