Dee Tenorio's Blog, page 6

Release Day!: “Deceiving The Protector”

It’s finally here!

You know when you wait and wait and wait for something and then, all of a sudden, there it is!

Well, I’m happy to say, that’s come for me. The second book of Resurrection is now available! Run out and grab! For a sample, you can also read excerpts on my Details Page or scroll down for the Between The Books scenes and find out how Tempting The Enemy led to Deceiving The Protector.

Purchase at Carina Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance eBooks | Audible

Release Day!: "Deceiving The Protector"

It's finally here!

You know when you wait and wait and wait for something and then, all of a sudden, there it is!

Well, I'm happy to say, that's come for me. The second book of Resurrection is now available! Run out and grab! For a sample, you can also read excerpts on my Details Page or scroll down for the Between The Books scenes and find out how Tempting The Enemy led to Deceiving The Protector.

Purchase at Carina Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance eBooks | Audible

“Deceiving The Protector” Summer Contest Winner!!

I know you’re all dying to know, but first, what will our fine winner be receiving?

Prize Contents:

*A book light–so she can see as she stays up all night long and not miss a word!

* An e-copy of the award-winning 1st book of the Resurrection series, “Tempting The Enemy”.

* An e-copy of “Deceiving The Protector”, Resurrection Book Two!

* A $25 Gift Card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (her choice) so that she can get even more Paranormal books to keep her up late at night!

* How can she enjoy her reading without some munchies, right? She’ll be chilling with Apple candies and crisps, under green and white fire-less candles with her Green Apple Martini in one hand and her ereader in the other.

* She’ll also have a beautiful green orchard “Tall Tales” notebook to make note of her favorite quotes and upcoming releases.

*Last but not least, a full set of “Resurrection” Romance Trading Cards!

So who is the lucky winner? Courtesy of Hubby’s blind draw–because he has no idea what he’s drawing or why–Drum roll please…

Congratulations to…Fedora Chen!

Email me, Fedora, at AuthorDeeTenorio at gmail.com with your snail mail address and the Paranormal Suspense Reader Survival Kit shall be yours!!

"Deceiving The Protector" Summer Contest Winner!!

I know you're all dying to know, but first, what will our fine winner be receiving?

Prize Contents:

*A book light–so she can see as she stays up all night long and not miss a word!

* An e-copy of the award-winning 1st book of the Resurrection series, "Tempting The Enemy".

* An e-copy of "Deceiving The Protector", Resurrection Book Two!

* A $25 Gift Card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (her choice) so that she can get even more Paranormal books to keep her up late at night!

* How can she enjoy her reading without some munchies, right? She'll be chilling with Apple candies and crisps, under green and white fire-less candles with her Green Apple Martini in one hand and her ereader in the other.

* She'll also have a beautiful green orchard "Tall Tales" notebook to make note of her favorite quotes and upcoming releases.

*Last but not least, a full set of "Resurrection" Romance Trading Cards!

So who is the lucky winner? Courtesy of Hubby's blind draw–because he has no idea what he's drawing or why–Drum roll please…

Congratulations to…Fedora Chen!

Email me, Fedora, at AuthorDeeTenorio at gmail.com with your snail mail address and the Paranormal Suspense Reader Survival Kit shall be yours!!

"Between The Books": Brotherhood

Welcome back for the third and final "Between The Books" scene! I hope you're enjoying these little peeks into the world of Resurrection and that you'll come back next week to help me celebrate the release of the book.

Today's segment will give you a moment to look into the relationships between The Alpha and his brothers. It's always fun to spend time with brothers, especially ones who show their affection with rough meaning. That's the very best kind.

Enjoy the sneak peek!

Dee

Brotherhood

The rhythmic pounding of his paws on the ground, joined by the thrum of his own heartbeat, was possibly the very best sound on Earth. Tate ran, his body stretching full length with one lunge to the next, climbing the mountain, dodging between trees and the bodies of his brothers. Up ahead, Pale ran, his heavy black shape difficult even for Tate to discern in the darkness. Ty ran alongside, the heave of his breath and the thumps of his paws nearly blending in with Tate's own.

Scents from the forest filled his senses. Pine needles, sap, earth dug up by his own paws, the air growing moist the higher they climbed. Faster, harder he pushed, needing this run. Sometimes, the sense of being trapped in his own skin was enough to make him want to claw the walls. The freedom of running, of just being everything he was, coursed through his blood and sang over him from the tips of his ears to the end of his tail. Miles disappeared behind them, taking the strain and the weight of a thousand lives with them. If he had his way, he'd stay like this forever. The temptation was always there, to simply turn away from his brothers and lose himself in the forest. In the animal he spent most days burying beneath a suit and a charming smile, hating every second of the lie he needed to stay alive. The teeth he kept, even if only figuratively, to maintain his place as a defense attorney to be feared in Moonridge. Hell, the state.

But just as he followed Pale up the front steps of the isolated cabin even those in Resurrection didn't know existed, he turned from the urge. It wasn't a real desire. Truth was, freedom didn't exist for his kind anywhere in the world but here. They'd all learned that lesson fifteen years ago, watching the only home they'd ever known explode, the act of a woman bent on extermination. A lesson he would never forget, even if everyone in his pack did.

Pale's form rippled where he stood, his black fur rolling like a shiver from head to tail, revealing the crouched body of the man in its place. Stretching his own neck, Tate enacted the change in himself, a tingling sensation washing over him. His vision changed, from the sharp blacks and greys of the Wolf to the vivid colors of humanity. It was always its most clear, most breathtaking, right after a change. His favorite part about the shift, really.

Standing naked with his brothers as they entered sure as hell was never a thrill.

Pale undid the padlock on the cabin with the key they kept under a loose porch floorboard. Inside, they each found the zippered pouches of spare clothing they'd left here for just these meetings. Yet another of Mina's details, since she was up here the most often, locking herself away from everyone whenever she came into Heat. Tate dressed, frowning at Aaron's undisturbed container. He lifted it, the canvas fabric as coarse as his own, but the embroidered letters spelling Aaron's name stitched with obvious care.

"Exactly how long are we supposed to let this go on?" Tate waved the bag at both Ty and Pale before tossing it back on the table irritably.

They didn't pretend not to know what he meant. Ty frowned, still shrugging his heavy shoulders into a faded green t-shirt. They'd all gotten their jeans on first, but Pale didn't seem interested in putting a shirt on. He dragged a hand through his black hair, shaking his head before he turned away.

"It's between Aaron and Mina. We get too involved, we'll ruin any chance they have." He headed toward the kitchen end of the cabin, which ran the length of the back wall. A plain wooden table with four chairs sat just in front of it, a kerosene lamp in the center, waiting to be lit. They didn't need it to see, their night vision a natural benefit to being a shifter, but sitting in the dark for hours like assholes who'd never heard of a match had never appealed much to him, so Tate reached for the box and did the job. Ty pulled out a chair, settling into it without a word—which was how Ty did most things. He wasn't much happier than Tate, but there wasn't much to be said. They both knew Pale was right.  You couldn't force bonding, not even to save lives.

"How long can Jade keep her healthy?"

Pale, busying himself at the counter with the coffee pot, stayed silent for too long. Even Ty sat up straighter, his dark stare darting to catch Tate's gaze before returning to bore into Pale's tanned back.

Pale must have felt it, because he braced his weight on the counter with his spread hands and sighed. "She doesn't know. The wasting is getting stronger. Even with Jade restoring her physically every week…it's taking more and more of a toll. On both of them."

Tate frowned. It was easy to think of Jade as all powerful. She drew her strength from light, could control it, bend it, shape it, even listen to it, thanks to her empathic capabilities. She used light to heal. To strengthen. But just because light was unending didn't mean Jade didn't use up her own reserves to master it. That was why Pale was so insistent on seeing her trained aside from her abilities. He never wanted her defenseless.

"Now, with this shifting problem happening more and more often, I'm not sure how long it can go on. Every time she shifts like that, it drains her completely. Sometimes for days."

"So make her stop." The words were out before Tate could think better of them.

Pale looked over his shoulder, the muscles in his back flexing as his frigid blue gaze met Tate's.  "And how do you propose I do that? The woman turns into fucking light. You ever try to stop light? I've seen her burn through entire buildings and turn sand into glass. Did you see her move today? That was slow. The only reason she hasn't woken up on the other side of the planet is because of our bond—she always comes back to me. But when she's in that form, she's not Jade. She's pure, undiluted, uncontrollable power. When your mate can conceivably blow up the whole fucking planet, how about you make her stop?"

Tate closed his eyes, raising his hands in surrender. When he opened them, Ty was giving him that grin, the one that made him want to punch his brother's face in. "What about that grandmother of hers? Doesn't she have any ideas on how to rein her in?"

Pale finally turned around, crossing those ham-sized arms of his over his chest. The flash of anger had abated, leaving lines of worry around his mouth. Tate still wasn't really used to Pale without that thick beard that covered most of his expressions. Worry wasn't one he wanted to see. "Even if I could talk to her—which I can't—I don't think I would."

"What?" Hadn't he just gotten through describing that his mate was a human-sized sun with the destructive power of a nuclear bomb or two? "Isn't that what you're supposed to do for your mate? Protect her? Even from herself?"

Pale mouth tightened. "She spent her entire life in a cage. I'm not about to do that to her again. What she needs is control. Control takes time. Patience. Which is the only reason why I put up with your bullshit."

As if that had to do with anything. Pale and Jade's relationship might mystify the shit out of him, but certain elements of it should still hold true. You protect what's yours. Pale had taught him that from the crib. Defend it to the death. That was why they'd come all the way down to Moonridge and the mountains where they'd made their home. So they'd have something to defend. Something no one could take away. "Doesn't it concern you that she's endangering everyone in Resurrection every time she slips up?"

"She's the only reason why everyone here is safe, Tate." An argument even Tate couldn't fault. Jade had leveraged her own life to win protection for them from the Sibile. "Every shifter up here is dangerous to us. Every time we bring one in, we don't know what the hell we're getting." Pale ran a hand through his hair again, roughly dragging his fingers through the short length. "That's why I needed you both here. Jade got a message from her grandmother last night. The Underground is being infiltrated. Each of you has a specific role if we want to stop it."

"Where do we go?" Unasked—and unneeded—was what any of them would do to stop it once they were pointed in the right direction.

"Two fronts. There's a Sibile on her way to Moonridge very soon. She's been assigned to find the Underground anyway she can. It's my understanding that she's a telepath. From what Jade tells me, she can hear the Earth thinking, so avoiding detection is not the objective. Distracting her is."

Tate ground his teeth together. The Sibile, females who were brought up to live and die for duty, were known to be a hell of a lusty lot once freed from the constraints of their enclaves. On occasion, taking the role of the charming man-whore because of his looks had its rewards, but distracting a Sibile had all the appeal of swallowing acid for fun.

"Ty, she's a friend," Pale continued. "I need you to be a little more delicate than usual."

Both Ty and Tate did a double take, with Ty finally slanting a dark glance his  way before turning back to Pale. "Not that I'm objecting, but delicate isn't really my thing."

Pale fixed him with an unbending stare. "Make it your thing."

Ty acquiesced with a slight inclination of his head, but his raised eyebrows illustrated how well he thought that would go. Since the guy was pretty much a rock with feet, Tate didn't expect much either. But at least it wasn't his problem.

"What's my position?"

Pale's cool gaze settled on Tate, for some reason lifting the hairs at the back of his neck again. "I need you in Pennsylvania. We have a situation there that requires your…special touch."

Tate frowned. That was Betha's region. Special touch, my ass, no one else wants to take on the hellcat.

If you'd asked him ten years ago if they'd have an Underground for shifters in search of sanctuary—least of all one that stretched all the way across the country—or that the runt of their pack would grow up to be one of its most feral protectors, he'd have laughed his ass off. In the present, however, he now had the unenviable job of walking into that crazy lion cub's territory to make sure she wasn't fucking up. Great.

"Any losses?"

"Three safe houses. The raids haven't netted anyone." But that was only a matter of time. Death squad raids had been the government's best and most used weapon against shifters in this genocide. Trained crews, tracking shifters of any kind, killing them in their homes, running them down in the street, and for the very unlucky, taking them hostage for testing new "solutions". Every generation seemed to have a different sanctioned name, a different political leader explaining the need for such actions, but they all amounted to the same thing—the humans with the pitchforks out to kill the scary monsters. The problem was, they were damn good exterminators and they had no compunction about killing women or children.

The current guy had been around for awhile, a senator who'd picked up the mantle Joseph McCarthy had left behind back in the sixties. Of course, McCarthy had damn near made shifters extinct, but at least he'd been honest about stirring up sentiment against them. Warren Thompson, on the other hand, was a self-professed "voice of change". For twenty years now, he'd been talking about needing to accept that shifters were part of humanity, how in this day and age, the world should be able to understand that people could be different. He'd even managed to get laws passed that—on the surface—offered shifters a chance to find equality in a world determined to be rid of them. Except any shifter that dared take that chance always managed to end up dead. It didn't take a genius to add it up.

Not that regular humans knew anything about all the shifters that had disappeared thanks to Thompson's programs. Poor, dumb bastards probably wouldn't believe it, even if there was proof.

"Betha says they're finding bodies."

"It's not like the squads to leave evidence behind," Tate mused, trying to remember ever hearing of it happening before.

"May not be the squads. All we know for sure, someone is hunting. Hunting often enough for Betha to call home for back up."

"You sure he should be heading out there alone?" Ty asked, a faint scowl on his face. "I mean, we're talking the squads here. He's good with his claws, but those fancy knife tricks of his aren't going to save him from armored killers armed to the teeth."

Tate slid his gaze over to Ty. "You're not exactly indestructible, either, dumbass, no matter how many walls your face looks like it got slammed into."

"Enough." Pale's tone brooked no argument. "There's something going on out there. Something even the Sibile are concerned about. They're insisting you're the only man for the job."

"Me?" Funny, he'd always figured any Sibile who thought of him would instantly burst into flames. Or maybe he just hoped.

Pale nodded, his face stony. "Only you. The whole thing has my neck twitching, but I need you to do it. Find out what the fuck is going on out there before we lose the whole northeast connection of the Underground and everybody in it."

There wasn't much to say to that. Tate nodded, looking from one brother to the other. From the time they were kids, it seemed it was always them against the world. Every obstacle between them and staying alive seemed to turn into another and another. This was just one more.

"I'll get the first flight out."

"Between The Books" Scenes: Sister Knows Best

Welcome back for the second "Between The Books" scene! I hope you're enjoying these little peeks into the world of Resurrection.

Today's segment introduces you to a character briefly mentioned in "Tempting The Enemy", Mina. For those new to the series, the main characters from Resurrection were raised in an orphanage. The leaders–Pale, Tate, Ty, Aaron and Mina–were raised as siblings by Mina's mother. Mina has long been the very heart of the pack, taking in the orphans much as her mother did before her. But sometimes, the strongest hearts bear the greatest pain…

Enjoy the sneak peek!

Dee

Sister Knows Best

So what if he stomped his way up the hillside to his own cabin instead of heading back into the open center square. Just because that was where the kids ran and they were usually happy to see him. Or because he should probably go and see his sister, Mina. Like Aaron, whereever the kids were, she was. Mina didn't have Jade's empathic skills, but she still picked up too much for his own good. Only Mina had no qualms sticking her nose into things.

Which explained why she was sitting on his front steps, long skirt fluttering around her ankles, waiting as if she had nothing better to do on a long summer day.

As usual, the first sight of Mina stung. She looked like their mother. Her mother, biologically, though Moira Eileen Finnaegan would box his ears for considering himself anything less than her full-blooded son. With her black hair, thick and drawn back into a tight braid, pretty blue eyes, her fine skin dappled with freckles across her cheeks and an ever-present smile, Mina should have had her pick of any male in the pack. She grinned at him, rising with her arms up for a hug despite the scowl that felt carved into his face.

"You didn't really expect you'd get in here without seeing me, didn't you?"

Not really, much as he'd hoped to calm down first. He kissed her cheek anyway and let her pull him toward the cabin.

She waited for him to open the door, her arms held behind her body while she rocked back on her heels, dark brows lifting in an impish grin. Which meant Mina was up to something.

Tate barely held back a groan and shoved open the door. "What? And spit it out quick, I have to run in a half hour."

If she was bothered by his exasperation, she gave no sign. "I heard you proved the great experiment, is all."

"What experiment?"

"Jade." She blinked at him as if that was supposed to explain something. Then shrugged when it clearly didn't. "She's been having some shifting problems. It's still new to her so her control is off. Her emotions can trigger it, just like any other kid. Pale still wants her trained though, so he figured if she had the whole pack out there, keeping her emotions happy, then the aggression of the training wouldn't set her off." She moved into the cabin ahead of him, her long lean lines somehow graceful and gentle despite the efficiency of her movements.

Sometimes, looking at Mina, he could see her as she'd been when they were kids. Though still unmated, she was completely different. She'd matured, the girlish curves to her face having settled into the stronger planes and angles of a woman. A woman who should be a mother. Should have been one long, long ago. Damn Aaron… But even that thought wasn't complete. Damn me, too.

"It was working pretty well until the Dark Pit of Despair showed up."

His thoughts snapped shut at that. He threw his bag on the couch he'd spent three miles looking forward to stretching out on. He ground his teeth, watching Mina head straight for the window blinds on the left corner of cabin's main room. It was a fairly open plan, with windows all around. Windows she usually made it a point to open up for him an hour or so before his arrivals, to help air the place out. Just fucked up everyone's schedule today, hadn't he?

"I am not the Dark Pit of Despair."

"Right. And Pale's not stocked on firewood for the next three winters." Her laughter tinkled in his ears, pulling him back by the simple trait of being an annoying older sister. "Everyone knows how you feel about her, Tate."

"I don't feel anything about her." The sooner everyone up here got that through their heads, the better.

Mina only snorted, having lifted the first window and well on her way to unlocking the next. "She's an empath. If you think she can't feel your mistrust, you're more deluded than I thought."

Deluded about what, he didn't want to know. Mina's thoughts—like most women's, he'd found—defied explanation. Also like most women, it just wasn't worth fighting with her to change them. "You're a pain in my ass, Meen. Seriously."

"If you had a mate, I wouldn't have to be, now would I?"

Against his will, a chuckle escaped. With anyone else, the mention of his supposedly heartbroken and long-suffering unfound mate pissed him off to no end. For some inexplicable reason, the entire encampment was obsessed with seeing him "settled". The only one who possibly had it worse than him was Mina, the oldest of the females without a male's imprint or a mate. Not a day passed when she wasn't asked to choose a male and get it over with.

"We could always mate each other, you know. That would shut everyone up."

She laughed, just like usual. The sound was a little more hollow this time, though. "One of these days, I'm going to take you up on that offer, just to watch you try to squirm out of it."

He grimaced. Even for Mina, he doubted he could go through with it.

Her laughter this time lacked any shadows at all. "Oh my God, Tate, that was priceless." She actually stopped lifting windows to hold her stomach with one hand. "Is that what you do every time a woman brings up mating?"

He couldn't help a self-depreciating grin when her peals of laughter ramped up again. "God, no wonder they all hate you."

So much for smiling.

"No, I didn't mean it like that! The women don't hate you, they just hate how much they like you…" She rushed over, her hands already fluttering to smooth his ruffled fur, still giggling.

He stopped her with a head shake, backing up a step from her maternal ministrations. The last thing he needed was a pat on the head. "I'm fine."

She stopped at his rejection, but the mirth melted away too, leaving behind the concern he still remembered too well on their mother's face. Almost instantly, her carefree mask slipped away too, revealing the soul-deep heartache everyone knew was there behind her smile, even if they couldn't tell why. But he knew.

In the light of her hurt at his rejection, her eyes shining with tears she'd never let fall openly, his petty irritation disappeared. He opened his arms for her, the constant wound in his heart clenching when she ran into them. How can you comfort someone for a hurt that you caused? A hurt you can't undo? He'd tried, for years he'd tried, desperate to make it up to all of them, but for Mina most of all. Because of him, their mother was gone. Their home. For seven of them, their lives. But Mina had lost even more, her chance with her mate.

He held her tight, grimly noting that she'd lost weight again. She felt like little more than bones now, hiding it behind a loose dress so no one would notice the wasting away. He squeezed his eyes shut, hating himself just a little bit more. "Just say the word, honey, and I'll pluck him, one fucking feather at a time."

A watery laugh against his neck was accompanied by the wet slide of her head shaking back and forth. "It's not his fault."

"Like hell it's not." He smoothed his hand over her head, over and over again, just holding her. Mina didn't let her walls down for many. Right now, he doubted she could get them back up if she tried.

She swallowed, a loud sound in the silence. "I could have picked someone else."

And if it didn't sound as if just the thought of choosing a different mate hurt worse than swallowing glass, she probably would have. Mina's bond to Aaron wasn't real anywhere but in her heart, but Tate knew better than anyone else, the heart was what mattered. When you chose a mate, you chose. Even if you never completed the bonding—linking your souls with blood and body—if your heart was set, you never stopped reaching for the one who could make you whole. Not even if that person was dead.

Not even if they deserved to be.

"Pale know about this?" The wasting was a fate even the strongest of shifters feared. Rejection from your mate cut to the soul, physically draining you like a wound that never healed, bleeding you until there was nothing left. Not the body, not the soul. Just…nothing.

She nodded. "Jade helps."

Well, that explained a lot. As Alpha, Pale was the most important part of this pack they'd built from the rubble of their past, but Mina…she was the soul. The mother that had held them all together, even when it was just the five of them trying to take care of eighteen orphans in a dark cave back in South Dakota. If Jade was keeping Mina going, there wasn't a member of the pack alive that wouldn't lay down their lives for her. Including him.

Mina sighed, squeezing him tight for a second before letting go. She hid her face as she turned away, already heading for more windows he didn't care about. He let her. She didn't need him denting her pride any more than it already was. "Leave Aaron alone. You'll just make matters worse."

"How much worse can they get?" How long could Jade fight the wasting for her?

Mina's spine straightened, though she kept her back to him. Her silence said it all.

"Aaron doesn't know." And if he didn't, odds were good the rest of the camp didn't know either.

"No, and he's not going to find out." Her firm tone brooked no argument.

Which he cared about as much as he cared when any of his other siblings tried the same thing. "Bullshit. You think it's going to escape his notice when you dwindle down so far you can't get up anymore?"

She did turn, finally, her bright eyes snapping despite the moisture on her cheeks that she'd tried to wipe away. "You think I want a mate out of pity? That I want to tie him to me that way? What kind of life is that, Tate?"

"It's a life."

She shook her head. "As if you would know."

Tate glared at her, pretending that little blade of truth didn't sting.

Mina swiped at her cheeks, frustration evident. "Just…mind your own business. You're going to have enough on your hands soon anyway."

He frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Really. I don't…all I know is that Pale and Jade have been tense about something and it's not because Duncan is keeping them up at night." She hugged herself tight, looking away almost guiltily. "Something bad is coming, Tate. I'm no Sibile, but even I can tell. Something worse than anything we've ever seen."

He sighed. "Don't let that Evil Amish crap in your head."

"I'm not kidding." She met his stare evenly this time. "Whatever it is Pale asked you up here to do, it's dangerous. You have to be careful. Promise me you'll be careful."

"Hey." Arguing with Mina never did much good. He could be careful all he wanted, if Death was coming, Death was coming. They were born into a near-complete shifter genocide. He wasn't about to shy away from a fight now. Deep down, Mina knew that. He walked over to her, cupping her face in one hand so she'd be sure to look at him. "I'm always careful."

"No you're not." Knowledge shone in her eyes. She knew his guilt. Had always known it. "You don't owe us your life."

"No," he agreed, releasing his hold. He owed them more than a single life, but that was all he had to give. She reached for him, but he didn't give in this time. He kept walking, right out of the cabin and into the fading light on the mountain.

Time to find out why he'd been summoned.

"Between The Books" Scenes: "Homecoming"

So I was thinking of fun things I could share as we hit the home stretch toward "Deceiving The Protector"'s release day.

Then it hit me, it's been a long year since the first book, "Tempting The Enemy"–which, actually, is On Sale at Carina Press for $0.99!! So now's a good time to grab it and be ready for the sequel on the 15th!–and readers might wonder if anything has been happening since we saw the shifters of Resurrection last.

I thought, maybe you might be interested in reading more about who lives in Resurrection and maybe get to know a little bit more about the hero, Jensen Tate.

And that's exactly what we're going to do. The first scene goes live today! Be sure to come back Monday, August 8th for another scene and the final scene goes live Friday, August 12th!

For those new to this world, don't worry! These scenes will also introduce you to this dark alternate world where humanity is separated into three groups—the hunters, the hunted and the feared. While humans continue to rule the world, Shifters hide their abilities, their cultures shattered, their numbers dwindled. Only the mysterious Sibile, female mercenaries indiscriminate in their goals, are able to create their own fates. In a sleepy mountain city, four men are secretly building a future for their people, creating a Pack from the ashes. But the closer they come to achieving their goal, the more forces out of their control would rather see them dead.

Hope you enjoy!

 

Homecoming

 

The sounds of hollered cheers and whistles hit Jensen Tate as he hiked up the last steps into Resurrection. Not that he minded the three mile trek from where he'd hidden his car, but it would have been mildly heartwarming if anyone from this no-longer-so-makeshift camp had been interested enough in his arrival to say hello. Instead, the small pack of little kids that saw him walk into the clearing at the heart of their encampment all stopped dead and stared at him for a full second of horrified terror before turning tail and running toward the back of the various cabins. Toward the training grounds the Alpha had insisted they clear beneath the canopy of trees where all the ruckus sounded from.

Something told him the excitement wasn't because the Alpha was teaching the teenagers a self-defense technique. Though the terror might be, since Pale's idea of self-defense was slicing his enemy open with his claws and strangling the idiot with his own entrails. No, all that excitement could mean only one thing.

The Alpha was training his mate again.

A smile tipped the corner of Tate's lips as he picked up his pace. He and Jade Rysen couldn't exactly claim a friendship, but something about watching the tiny woman try to knock some sense into his brother's rock-solid head was too entertaining to miss. Especially considering she often used the explosive force of her growing pyrokinetic power to do it. She had yet to win a single match, but he had to give her points for tenacity.

And a few bonus ones for setting her mate's clothes on fire in front of the entire camp.

"Son of a bitch!" The sound of Pale's frustration carried over the laughter and reached Tate just as he passed the final line of cabins. His step stuttered as he realized that possibly all three hundred of the shifters living in Resurrection were surrounding the practice clearing, give or take a pup. The teenagers didn't surprise him—those boys could sniff out a fight from ten miles away—but seeing the women and girls cheering and waving to their Alpha pair sure as hell did. Some of those women hadn't been seen outside their cabins since they'd finished building them. Three of them, he barely recognized with smiles on.

The cynical side of him frowned, immediately disturbed at how embedded into the fabric of this place Pale's little Sibile had become in the last eighteen or so months.  They wouldn't cheer her if they didn't trust her and trust didn't come easy to shifters of any kind. It shouldn't come at all in respect to a Sibile, even a half-Wolf like Jade. Every soul on Earth knew those female mercenaries had no sense of loyalty.

Except these souls, it seemed.

Tate stared, watching the crowd and resisting the urge to shake his head. Especially when he saw the young ones who'd run from him, tugging on a woman's skirts and pointing at him as if he were a one-man invasion crew. One by one, heads turned his way and hushed whispers swept through the crowd as those heads turned back to the sparring couple in front of the wooden bleachers someone had added since his last visit.

So his brother wasn't exaggerating. He'd hoped Aaron, the most level headed of his four adopted siblings—possibly the most level-headed person on the planet—had just been yanking his tail. But no, he seemed to be right in his opinion that the entire community had been strengthened by Jade's arrival, not divided as Tate had expected. Tate hadn't taken him completely seriously because Aaron seemed to worship the ground Jade walked on after she'd helped him pull a pup back from a traumatized state. Seeing it with his own eyes, though…

What were they getting from Jade that he wasn't? Was all this devotion simply because she had brought the Alpha back home to them, where he belonged? Because she'd birthed him a healthy son that already looked to be his father's miniature? Or had she earned it from each person on the mountain somehow? Tate didn't come up as often as he used to, so it was certainly possible. And a Sibile's abilities—in Jade's case, especially—had their uses…

He finally skirted enough of the crowd to see his brother alone in the clearing with his wife, opting to wade into the middle of the pack of teen boys since no other adult seemed interested in  that duty. Being able to see over them might have had a little to do with it, too. Like the kids, he watched the couple with undisguised curiosity.

All right, not Pale so much. Apart from regular haircuts to keep that black hair at least somewhat tamed and an arguably less feral attitude, not much had changed about his brother since mating. Still a hulking, demanding pain in the ass. Jade, on the other hand, was dripping sweat and her appreciably lush figure was a little more on display than usual in a form fitting tank top and some black stretchy pants of some kind. A big change from her usual, teeth-grinding formality. Her short black hair was pulled back into a barely-holding ponytail, the long bangs wetly dropping into her field of vision. No doubt Pale would make sure she'd regret that particular oversight.

Just as soon as he finished yanking off the smoking remnants of his shirt.

Pale threw it down with a disgusted snarl. "This is supposed to be hand-to-hand only, Jade."

"What can I say? You were pissing me off." She reached out to swipe a clawed hand at his face, but he blocked her easily, taking hold of her wrist.

"If you paid attention to the fundamentals instead of always relying on your gifts to get you out of trouble," Pale's foot swept Jade's legs out from under her, dumping her on the ground with about as much subtlety as a sledgehammer. "Maybe you wouldn't have your ass handed to your in every sparring bout."

Tate took in the militant twist to Jade's lips and wondered if his brother had been mated long enough to recognize a female about to go for his balls.

Her foot rose with surprisingly little telegraphing before she took a pretty good stab at it. Tate bit back a grin when Pale had to hop back, deflecting the blow into his thigh instead of avoiding it altogether. That one was going to hurt like a bitch later, especially if Jade wasn't interested in doing her Evil Amish thing and using her ability to heal it for him.

"What did I tell you about cheating?" Pale's growl had the gruff tones of actual anger.

Then again, so did Jade's. "To do it as often as possible."

She went for another kick, earning a raucous noise from the crowd, but this time, Pale grabbed her booted foot to flip her onto her stomach in the dirt. He dropped over her, grabbing her hands and pinning her to the ground. She struggled, flattened like a pancake under a semi, which just rose Tate's brows further. How the hell had the two of them ever managed to complete a mating bond if they still hadn't even figured out their own dominance?

"I said to do it right. Half-assed gets you all-dead, understand? Now yield."

She didn't, her body still straining, the exertion staining her face red. Tate dropped his pack, the hairs on the back of his neck raising with warning just as her gaze turned glassy. Light, small orbs growing brighter by the second, formed in the palms of her hands.

"Back it down, Jade." The command in Pale's voice was irrefutable, as was the underlying note of concern. Pale wasn't bothered by much when it came to physical threats, but when his black brows drew together, there was no missing the worry on his face as he tossed a command toward all of them. "Get out of here. Now!"

Tate scanned the front of the crowd for his other brothers, the energy of the group having gone from laughing to apprehensive in a heartbeat. Aaron was there, already turning to direct the never-ending stream of small kids around him back toward the cabins. Ty stood, putting his bulk in front of the largest group of women, his stare never leaving the couple on the ground. As if he knew there wouldn't be enough time to move the adults. Tate collared the nearest of the teenagers gawking next to him, yanking him close enough to rumble in the kid's ear. "Your Alpha gave an order, pup. Move."

The kid paled, stumbling as Tate let him go, but the boys finally snapped out of it and started moving after the other kids.

"Jade, dammit, pull it back now." Pale's roar turned to a hiss as he leapt off her, the skin on his chest an angry shade of red. She didn't listen. Her body arched, until only her head and the tips of her toes touched the ground.

Then not even that.

The light in her hands flared, grew, coursing up her arms and over her body in a ripple of movement he'd have recognized if she'd become a wolf or a bird or a cat of some kind. She'd shifted, but not into anything he'd seen anywhere else. Almost too bright to look at, she'd disintegrated into a flare of light, poised and still in front of Pale. In the blink of an eye, she began streaking around the clearing, bouncing like some kind of pinball, but too fast to see anything but the smear of light behind her. Before he could even move to defend, she sped toward Pale. One second she was there, half a heartbeat later, Pale was flying through the air and into the treetops, the light gone with him and a tree suddenly crashed to the ground.

Tate was moving before he even made the realization that Pale must have come down with it. Hooking his pack with one hand, he ran through the clearing, already calculating the supplies from his bag that might be needed for likely injuries. The kit on top, for meds. Belts—tourniquets or slings. Cotton shirts—bindings or bandages…

His booted feet actually skidded to a stop beside the tree. They were both tangled in the branches and each other. The tree trunk blocked his view of Jade, but that was probably for the best given the possessive way Pale crouched over her. Blood poured from the side of Pale's face and if the unnatural angles of his lifted forearm meant anything, that arm was broken in several places. Jade's hand on his chest looked human shaped again, but she still glowed brilliantly beneath Pale's menacing hold.

Tate could only stare as Pale glared at him through the haze, snarling. As if he were some kind of threat. Which was only half as disturbing as watching the gash along the side of Pale's face slowly seal shut while his arm straightened with audible cracking noises as the bones fit back into place.

He raised his hands, finally averting his gaze and waiting until the glow of Jade's power faded. Not that Pale's snarl curbed any. Moving might turn out to be suicide. Which left only talking, which usually he was good at. Just not with Pale.

Ah well, gotta die sometime, right?  "You need help getting her out of there?"

"Anything I can cover her with in that bag?" Roughly translated, No.

Tate opened the bag and yanked out a t-shirt. "Do me a favor and tell her not to burn it." He tossed it, already kissing it goodbye. Pale wasn't likely to do well with another Wolf's scent all over his mate, no matter how it got there. Just the thought of marking Jade in any way made Tate itch, but he couldn't predict his brother's reaction. When it came to his mate, Pale had no idea what rational was.

Rather than instigate anything worse, Tate backed away. He didn't get two steps before Pale called his name, his voice almost too graveled to decipher.

"Make sure the practice field is clear, then I need you and Ty to meet me back there in an hour, ready to run."

Tate nodded. He'd expected something like this when he'd gotten Pale's message to clear his schedule for the next few weeks and come up the mountain. Ty had been given the same message two weeks before, leaving Tate alone to ride herd on the lakeside city of Moonridge and the few Ressurection pack shifters who'd joined them there of late. Which was part of why he'd been so relieved to get Pale's message to come home. The only thing worse than Ty's company was his own. Or…  "What about Aaron?"

"Aaron has something else to do." The dismissive tone said what Pale really meant. Get the hell out of here before I peel the skin off you.

He held his breath until he was far enough away that the slightest twitch wouldn't get him clawed. At least before Jade had come along, Pale had a semblance of reasonability. Now that she was here, his already overprotective instincts went into overdrive every time she sighed… Tate shook his head, hiking his pack higher on his shoulder.  "And people wonder why I never want a mate."

By the time he made it back to the clearing, everyone was gone, leaving the bleachers empty but for one person. Ty. Built like an armored truck without wheels and wearing a face like a slab of granite, Tyler Herrick looked like a Grim Reaper no matter how happy he was. Unfortunately, Tate could tell well and good that Ty wasn't happy. Even if the face hadn't been menacing, the low growl was a dead giveaway.

He stood as Tate warily walked over to him. "Nice work, Jenny."

That name was bait Tate could never keep himself from rising to. He narrowed his eyes on his sibling. "I haven't even set foot in my cabin yet, and you're blaming this on me?"

Ty, never one for pulling a punch, hitched a shoulder and started walking back to the cabins. "You weren't supposed to be here until after sunset."

Grudgingly, Tate followed—he wasn't going to get any answers if he didn't. "Judge dropped the charges on my last case of the day."

Not that he would say as much, but he'd been eager to come home. It had been months since his last visit and even that had been only a weekend. His brief glance at the crowd had shown him many faces he didn't know because so many new shifters had come in from the Underground that he hadn't escorted here. New kids, new females especially. A few more families, even… They were going to need more cabins soon, if not already. He'd have to make time in his schedule to help with the building.

"What does that have to do with Jade going ballistic?" It wasn't as if Tate were in the ring with her. God knew Pale could frustrate a saint and there were hardly any of those around Resurrection.

Silence. Just the even tread of Ty's steps.

"What the hell, man? When did I become the fucking town pariah?"

Ty turned, still walking backward. "I don't know, man. Maybe when you let your old shit get in the way of your own good sense."

Tate stopped walking, his hackles up and no one to spend the anger on because Ty simply righted himself and kept walking. Tate glared at his back, almost wishing he were still a dumb enough kid that he could still shove him down and force a fight. Those days were long gone, though.

And Ty would be ready for him if he tried it.

"Pale wants us back here in forty-five for a run." The shout was at least a little relieving, even if all Ty did was wave his hand without turning back.

Soon enough, Ty was out of sight, just like everyone else. Less than ten minutes in the place he'd worked over a decade to build and he'd cleared it out without even trying.

"Home, sweet fucking home."

Adventures In Home Waxing…

Or as I like to call it, "OMG, WTF are you DOING??"

So, before I begin, let me tell you that I have no pictures of the aforementioned torture…er, procedure. The reason being, I can't think of a good reason to take close ups of girl fur. It's icky and I'm not doing it. Esp since you have to let it grow a bit to get an effective yank on said girl fur.

Also, I am not–nor shall I ever–do a bikini wax. EVER. I did my legs to the knee and my underarms, several times.

Okay, all that said, here's what I have learned about home waxing.

Holy shit, that hurts. And also, meh, It's not so bad.

There are a few important aspects to consider if you want to wax at home:

1) How do you plan to keep the wax hot and how hot can you handle wax?

You need to have the wax hot in order for it to really work. The hotter the wax, the better the grip. So, if you are a wuss and can only take cool showers, waxing is not for you. That's not a dare. I'm not saying scald the crap out of yourself. The wax should be just below stinging. Like a good hot tub.

The microwave kind I got, well, you'll have to heat it up at least twice per leg. And you have to do a deep stick with the spatula to get the warmest part of the goo. The upper wax…almost guaranteed not to be warm enough.

2) What do you plan on waxing?

Now, this is where the girls get separated from the kamikazis. Underarms are intensely wooded areas that grow deep and sometimes you get multiple follicles in one hole. These a vicious to rip out. Oh yes, there WILL be blood. Worst part is, you might not even get the little bugger out.

I never did get the trick of doing underarms. It's virtually impossible to hold the skin taut for the pull with one hand. You can TRY to use the arm you're raising, but it's not very effective. You look funny, you hurt your neck and you get to know your underarm WAY too well. Especially when you rip the strip away and see that you basically tormented your skin and left most of the hair exactly where it was. Only now, it's mad.

I'm going the shop after I heal up from this last ordeal. Just not worth the pain.

Next, I waxed my legs. Now this, this I can handle.

The hair actually comes out! The pain is not that bad at all. And, yes, it's been 40 minutes and my skin is still slightly stinging, but that's ok.

It's somewhat akin to the difference for a diabetic between pricking your finger or your forearm. It's just not as bad.

Also, as the wax cools a little, unlike your underarms, you can effectively warm it up a little bit by rubbing the backing of the strip like a girl scout trying to start a fire. When it's burning, you can rip. And if you're quick, you can reuse the strip and get those fine hairs that might have been left behind.

Caveat–Waxing's most effective tip is to keep track of the grain of the growth. Wax down in the same direction the hair grows. Pull the skin with one hand at the bottom of the strip area and rip back the opposite direction.

So, overall lessons. If you can get your underarms smooth for longer than a day or two, it's totally worth it. If you can bear to rip your skin off to achieve that end, waxing may be made for you.

One thing is sure, I'll never wonder if I'm a masochist again.

It Arrived!

And now I will drive everyone crazy posting it wherever I can, lol.

Ladies & Gents, I give you the 2011 Prism Award!

The "Deceiving The Protector" Summer Contest!

I've been telling you it was coming and I'm sure you doubted me, but really…it's finally here!

This year, to celebrate the release of "Deceiving The Protector" on August 15th, I'm giving away a Paranormal Reader's Survival Kit!

What's in a PRSK, you ask? Well, it's full of all kinds of fun things, this year it comes in exciting Apple Flavor! That's right, "Deceiving The Protector" is full of green apple goodness and since our hero and heroine are out in the wild, doing their bests to stay alive in woods, to read along, you'd best be prepared, right?

Prize Contents:

*A book light–so you can see as you stay up all night long and not miss a word!

* An e-copy of the award-winning 1st book of the Resurrection series, "Tempting The Enemy".

* An e-copy of "Deceiving The Protector", Resurrection Book Two!

* A $25 Gift Card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble so that you can get even more Paranormal books to keep you up late at night!

* How can you enjoy your reading without some munchies, right? Expect some fabulous Apple treats and special Apple swag. Really. It's gonna be yummy!

*Last but not least, a full set of "Resurrection" Romance Trading Cards!

So how do you enter? Easy, there's two simple ways to enter:

1) Post the shiny new trailer for "Deceiving The Protector" on your blog or Facebook or any social media that allows you to post YouTube videos and put the link to it here in the comments.

(Grab the "embed" code at the end of the video to put it up on your site!)

OR…

2) Choose one–or both!–of the Countdown widgets below and post them in the sidebar of your blog, then post a link to your site here in the comments.

(Click on the "Get Widget" button below the badge to get the embed code)

Get the Countdown Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)

Get the Countdown Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)

The winner will be announced August 12th, 2011! So be sure to keep an eye on the blog!

This post will also be "sticky" at the top of the blog until the contest ends, so be sure to scroll down for new content until then!

Here's to some happy Paranormal Reading fun and a great summer!

Dee