Ghostly Returns
Ghostly Howls Book 2
by Stephanie Hansen
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Romantasy
Irish folklore meets
small town USA
Strange visitors have appeared in Ethel, their clothes and mannerisms jarring
against the familiar rhythm of the coastal town. The woman in Orla and Dave’s
spare room speaks in archaic phrases and marvels at electric lights, while the
silent man staying with Molly and Cormac carries a translucent device that
glows with symbols no one recognizes.
As fog rolls in from the sea, bringing with it the now-familiar whispers and
cold spots that signal another haunting, the four friends realize they must
unravel the temporal mystery before them. The clock tower strikes at midnight,
and both past and future hang in the balance.
*Contains mature themes, open door sex scenes, and mature language.
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Three years ago, the small town of Ethel, VA, was rocked to
its core when the lighthouse became a beacon for something an-cient and hungry.
Every year since then, we’ve cast a protection spell, tying knots in rope while
visualizing a protective shield, at the weathered tower a week before Samhain,
our voices car-ried away by the salt-tinged wind. This year’s no different.
Cormac’s slender fingers intertwine with mine as we
ap-proach Orla and Dave across the grassy shoreline. We’ve man-aged to mostly
heal from the toxic tendencies of the past—the jealousy, the competition, the
midnight arguments that left scorch marks on the walls. Magical abilities
complementing each other have a tendency to do that, like puzzle pieces finally
finding their fit.
The mid-October sunlight glints off Cormac’s long, blonde
hair, turning each strand into spun gold against the blue sky. We don’t meet
here at night anymore, not since the shadows began to move independently of
their owners. She gently squeezes my hand in reassurance, slight crow’s feet
crinkling around her eyes with a smile that blooms one of my own in return. She
tries to continue her broody exterior by wearing a scuffed leather jacket with
silver buckles, but her face is too full of light these days to continue the
façade.
“It’s about time you two showed up,” Orla says as she wraps
me in a hug, her dark curls tickling my cheek. Her automatic soul-possessing
ability takes hold straight away, a warm honey-like sensation flooding through
my veins. I feel her anxiety—sharp and metallic—and she feels mine. While hers
is about the treacherous events three years ago, mine is about the small
vel-vet box burning a hole in my pocket, holding a moonstone ring for Cormac.
I know she’ll say yes; I hear Orla’s thoughts echo in my
mind like a whisper in an empty room. To assuage her anxiety, I push forward
images of Cormac and me from earlier in the morning. We’d stayed in bed, all
consumed with passionate kisses and bodies moving in rhythmic dance together;
sheets twisted around our ankles, the taste of her still on my lips.
Okay, okay, you’re excused for being late, Orla sends
through the connection, her mental voice tinged with amuse-ment. Then it’s gone
as Dave, tall and broad-shouldered in his flannel-lined jacket, gently pulls
her out of the hug. He com-plements her power as Cormac complements mine, his
deep voice carrying over the crash of waves against the shore.
“Did you actually expect them to be on time?” he asks her,
his breath visible in the chilly air.
Orla looks at me, her eyes sparkling, and we snicker like
schoolgirls sharing a secret.
“Some of us know how to keep a woman in bed,” I goad Dave,
watching his cheeks flush crimson.
Before he can respond, Cormac says, “Guys, I think you
should come over here,” her voice tight with tension.
She’s rounding the other side of the lighthouse, her boots
crunching on the path. I jog over to her, worried she might be in danger, the
wind whipping my hair across my face. Once I’m next to her, I’m struck with
frozen terror, my breath catching in my throat. As Orla and Dave’s footsteps
catch up, I try to count the sleeping bodies sprinkled around the remnants of a
bonfire.
Sprawled across the damp autumn ground lies a peculiar
as-sembly of slumbering figures—some adorned in woolen cloaks and flowing
medieval gowns; others draped in shimmering flapper dresses and tweed vests and
flat caps. The incongruous sight sends a chill down my spine, conjuring
memories of that haunted night years ago when phantoms in pheasant feathers and
tarnished armor materialized from the mist. Could history be repeating itself?
I draw Cormac closer, my fingers tightening protectively around her shoulder. A
bitter wind sweeps through the clearing, rustling crimson leaves and stirring
the strange visitors from their dreams.
“Oh, halloo,” calls a woman with cascading silver-streaked
hair that catches the morning light. Deep laugh lines frame her eyes as she
rises gracefully to her feet, brushing debris from her embroidered skirts. Her
button nose crinkles above heart-shaped lips as she smiles warmly. “I’m Marie.
We weren’t expecting anyone so early.”
“You’re days early for Samhain,” Orla informs her, her voice
carrying across the clearing.
“Samhain!” exclaims a younger woman with stylish curls and
bright eyes. She leaps up, clapping her hands together with enthusiasm, silver
bracelets jingling at her wrists. “I’m Florian. I absolutely adore a proper
shindig.”
Another woman glides forward, her tweed vest firmly hug-ging
her body. She loops her arm possessively around Florian’s slender waist and
extends her other hand, adorned with bangles that glint in the early light.
“Kiersten,” she offers, her voice me-lodic but guarded.
“Molly, and this is Cormac,” I reply, mirroring Kiersten’s
protective gesture by drawing Cormac against my side, feeling her warmth
through her leather jacket.
“Might there be lodgings available in your village?” Marie
inquires, her eyes scanning the distant rooftops visible through the thinning
trees.
“Not anywhere that could accommodate a gathering of this
size,” Dave responds, his weathered hands resting on his leather belt.
A tall woman with anxious eyes approaches Orla hesitantly. A
man with sandy blond hair clutches her trembling arm as she nervously smooths
out her skirt. Dave and I don’t miss her flinch with his touch, juxtaposing
their closeness. It resurfaces memories from when Dave and Orla couldn’t touch.
“Hello, I’m Claudia,” she murmurs, “and may I present Alex?” Her delicate
fingers twist together nervously while Alex soothingly rubs her
goosebump-covered arms.
“Orla and Dave,” Dave announces, nodding curtly. When Alex
extends his hand to Orla, Dave intercedes and shakes his hand, so Orla doesn’t
have to.
“Um, Orla,” Alex interjects, his deep voice surprisingly
gen-tle. “Pardon our intrusion, but might Claudia ask you something rather
personal?”
“Of course, what troubles you?” Orla asks, leaning forward
with interest.
“Do you perceive others’ thoughts when you make physical
contact?” Claudia whispers, her pale cheeks blooming with a rosy flush that
spreads to the tips of her ears.
“Perhaps we should escort this assemblage to our
home-stead,” Dave interrupts, clearing his throat. “We have several spare
rooms. Not sufficient for everyone, but certainly prefera-ble to camping
outside.”
“We’d be eternally grateful,” Marie responds, casting a
con-cerned sideways glance at Claudia’s distressed expression. “A proper rest
would benefit us tremendously after our… unusual journey.”
Ghostly Howls
Ghostly Howls Book 1
Irish folklore meets
small town USA
A heartbroken half banshee, a cockle selling soul possessor, and a town haunted
by mysteries…if they don’t find the killer, Orla and Molly might die before
finding their soulmates.
Orla and Dave’s love has been unrequited for as long as they can remember.
Cormac and Molly are used to drawing outside the lines. None of them are
prepared for the new ghostly neighbors.
In a town that’s always ostracized them, can Molly and Orla finally use their
powers openly in order to save the citizens?
*Contains mature themes, open door sex scenes, and mature language.
*Don’t miss the YA series also by Stephanie Hansen – Altered Helix &
Replaced Parts
Stephanie Hansen is a PenCraft and Global Book Award Winning
Author as well as an Imadjinn finalist. Her debut novella series, Altered
Helix, released in 2020. It hit the #1 New Release, #1 Best Seller, and other
top 100 lists on Amazon. It is now being adapted to an animated story for
Tales. Her debut novel, Replaced Parts, released in 2021 through Fire & Ice
YA and Tantor Audio. It has been in a Forbes article, hit Amazon bestseller
lists, and made the Apple young adult coming soon bestsellers list. The second
book in the Transformed Nexus series, Omitted Pieces, released in 2022. Her
debut spicy paranormal romance, Ghostly Howls, released 2023. Her debut
historical magical realism, Armored Hours, released 2024. The Armored Hours
sequel, Guarded Time, released 2025 and the Ghostly Howls sequel, Ghostly
Returns, released 2026. She is a member of the deaf and hard of hearing
community, so she tries to incorporate that into her fiction.
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