The second book in the Enchanted series has been accepted by Siren. Emery's story is scheduled for release on December 1st!
Here's a little snippet from Seize the Night.
(It's unedited, so be kind.)
After Emery had gotten over his
initial distrust of the pack, they split into groups and searched an entire
square mile radius for Gaius’s measuring rod. Unfortunately, they’d all come up
empty handed, leaving them to conclude that the instrument was most likely in
the hands of the nekros now.
The Fates weren’t exactly popular
amongst the gods and other creatures of their world. Anyone could have a grudge
against them and seized their dismissal from the realm as the perfect
opportunity for some payback. Gaius had a feeling it wasn’t anything nearly
that sinister, though. His top suspect would be Hades, and the god didn’t do
revenge. There was no need for vengeance when he played dirty to ensure that he
never lost.
Either way, it wasn’t like any of
them could just go strolling into the Underworld to question the guy. The rules
were very specific, and unless Gaius or his pack of bodyguards wanted to spend
the rest of eternity as Hades’s bitches, they’d do well to stay as far away
from that hell as possible.
Being shadowed by a triad of Elite
werewolves wasn’t as fun as Gaius thought it would be. The only silver lining
he could see was that he had just three bodyguards as opposed to all eleven of
them. Thankfully, the other eight insisted on staying near their camp in the
woods to stand watch for Octavian’s arrival.
Emery’s studio apartment was
barely big enough accommodate the two of them, and having three massive men sharing
their space as well made the place feel claustrophobic rather than cozy and
welcoming. There had been talk of moving into Jade’s house temporarily, but
even his home wasn’t big enough to hold them all comfortably.
So, Emery and Gaius shared the
bed, while Q, Cap, and Libra rotated between the sofa and floor. None of the
wolves were complaining, but Gaius wasn’t too happy with the current
arrangement. With everyone sleeping virtually on top of one another, it had
left zero privacy with his mate all week.
While their lack of intimacy was
frustrating enough, Emery had taken to trying to make up for it by showering
him in gifts. Most of the presents were practical, things like socks,
underwear, and shoes, Gaius didn’t think he really needed a pair of seventy-dollar
designer boxer shorts.
“Are you ready?” Q asked,
sauntering out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand. The one nice
thing about having the squad hanging around was that the apartment was scrubbed
and polished every day, and there was always a fresh pot of coffee brewing on
the counter.
“Uh, yeah, I think so.” Emery
didn’t sound too sure about his answer, but it wasn’t like he had a choice,
either. The full moon would be rising soon, and he’d have to suffer through his
first transition whether he was ready or not.
Thankfully, he wasn’t going to
have to do it alone—yet another perk of being kidnapped from the mall by a
group of Special Forces werewolves. Then again, Gaius didn’t know how much help
they were going to be since they were a completely different breed, but he
figured some help was better than none.
“You ready, baby?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.” Taking the
jacket Emery pushed into his hands, Gaius pushed his arms through the sleeves
and zipped it up to his chin. “What color is this one?” His lover had purchased
several different sweater jackets in a variety of colors for him. “Or do I even
need to ask.” Yes, he had six of them in all, but Emery was fond of him in red
for some reason.
“It’s the red one.”
Knew it. “Don’t be scared, carus.
Once you get through this first shift, it will get easier. Right, guys?”
“He’s right,” Q agreed. “It’s just
like learning anything else. The more you do it, the easier it gets, and the
better you’ll be able to control it. Well, it is for lycans anyway. I’m not
sure about hellhounds.”
“I expected this first time to be—” He stopped
speaking abruptly, and his fingers squeezed around Gaius’s shoulder. “Wait. Did
you say hellhound?”
“You were attacked by nekros, right?” Cap asked.
“But, I thought the nekros were werewolves. Gaius said they
were like werewolves.”
Gaius wanted to melt into the
floor and disappear. He hadn’t been purposely keeping things from Emery, but
there was just so much the human brain could process before it overloaded and
shut down. Besides, it wasn’t as black and white as Emery made it sound.
“Hellhounds are more similar to
what humans would think of as werewolves,” he tried to explain. “I mean, you
immediately thought werewolf, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t explain it
better.” He held his hand out, relieved when Emery took it and stroked his
knuckles with the pad of his thumb. “So much happened so fast, and I didn’t
want to scare you.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Libra added.
“There’s really not much difference between us and hellhounds. Either way,
you’re going to shift tonight.”
“What else will change?” Emery
asked. “Am I superhuman now? Will I be stronger and all that? Do I get any cool
powers or will I just slobber a lot?”
“Yeah,” Cap answered, “you’ll be
stronger and more durable now. You won’t get sick anymore, not even a sniffle.
Other than shifting, though, that’s about it. I mean, we can’t manipulate time
or produce random things out of thin air if that’s what you’re asking. Your
blood can heal your mate, but since Gaius is already immortal, that’s kind of a
moot point.”
“Sounds a lot like the fiction
version in books and movies.”
“Well, humans do get some things
right on occasion,” Q teased. “Try to relax, Em. It doesn’t change who you are.
Just think of it like you’re an enhanced version of the old you.”
“Okay, yeah, I think I can live with that.”
Great Quotes from the Week
"I kind of want to punch a unicorn in the face."
"Tell her I love her." *pause* "Tell her I said it cooler than that, though."
"It feels like my butt is having an orgasm."
"There will be biting, spanking, scratching, and hair pulling. No kissing, though. I'm a lady, after all."
Recommended Reads
Acquired in Time [Marked 2] by Jana Downs
Millie's Second Chance [The Town of Pearl 4] by Dixie Lynn Dwyer
His Tattooed Virgin [Divine Creek Ranch 12] by Heather Rainier
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.