Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 71

Here are the pitches!

Good morning everyone!

Here are the pitches that made it through for today’s pitch day with Alycia Tornetta.

As always, the stats first.

Pitches Recieved: 23

Pitches Accepted: 15

Pitches Rejected: 8

5 – Too long
2- Missing info
1 -Spam

For those of you who followed the rules… Way to go!

Thanks again to Alycia Tornetta for joining us today.

Alycia, if there’s anything you’d like to see more of, email me at dancillaw @ yahoo .com with the title and number of the pitch. Also include what you’d like the author to send, and how you’d like them to send it.

Here they are!

_________________________________________________________________

#1

The Duke of Devonwood

Single Title Contemporary

70,600 words

Miranda is determined to keep her family together after her father’s death. She’ll use the money he left to start the hat business she’s been planning for years. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers that her money has been left in a trust controlled by a duke of England. Worse yet, he’s a modern-day, overbearing, tycoon type of duke who believes he can manage her money better than she can. She storms off to England, determined to make him see reason and, if reason doesn’t work, she’ll try whatever will.

The last thing the Duke of Devonwood needs is more dependents. He’s already the sole support of his father’s second family, and that’s more than enough for him. The arrival of a sassy American and her step-mother who seem to only want money puts him on full alert. He’s spent years dodging manipulative women and he knows all the tricks. But Miranda has a well-hidden, warm and sensuous side that attracts him like the most mysterious and flirty veiled hat. If only he can pierce the veil, he might waken the deeply buried feelings in his own heart.

***

#2

Liquidation

Romance/Contemporary

80K words

As a top IRS Criminal Investigator, Alex Noonan uses his brains and brawn to bring cheaters to justice. Then his career takes a disastrous detour and his last-chance assignment is to apprehend the agency’s most elusive crook.

Mindy Reynolds is a struggling actress in the Big Apple. She’s worked hard to make it alone and distance herself from her tax-evading father. Renting out her family’s brownstone helps pay the bills and deal with her unresolved daddy issues.

When Alex goes undercover as Mindy’s new tenant, their instant attraction ignites into passion. But will the fledgling relationship survive their hidden truths?

***

#3

A Pup, A Pastry and the Prospect for Happiness

Sweet, Contemporary Romance

80 K words

Force Julia Child to cook on a remote Montana ranch, owned by a female-phobic cowboy and what would she do? Bake her way into job security by buttering up the boss? Elon Hardy proceeds in exactly that manner, earning her son’s college tuition payments and Rane Calderon’s respect.

Elon conceived twins on her wedding night, remaining married to a gay physician for family stability. Her essence is patience, but every drop’s extracted when she witnesses a dog thrown from a truck en route to her new position. She arrives willing to tolerate a bullheaded boss, until her divorce is finalized. Rane’s work hardened muscles and rugged charms aren’t an issue until his mistrust melts.

Twenty years prior a woman Rane loved like a sister ruined his life, and it won’t happen again. Blistering mad his new cook’s ­female–sporting a man’s name–he fights attraction he feels for the curvy brunette cook while thwarting rustlers stealing prized Wagyu cattle.

As Elon battles for a fair divorce settlement, she and Rane realize love doesn’t have a “best used before date” and happiness is theirs to discover.

***

#4

Wolfen Secrets

Romance/Paranormal

50k words

Not only do our dreams hold secrets to our future, but as Sonja Brooks discovers they also hold the keys to immense danger for her kind. Sonja finds the westernwerewolf pack in great peril when she and her mate, Tyler Loflin have to take on the vampires and their undead magic.

When confronted with vampires that won’t ever die, Tyler Loflin has to formalize a plan to protect the woman he loves as well as the men who are like brothers to him. The only problem is keeping the plan a secret from Sonja, who is the alpha she-wolf of their pack.

***

#5

Waking Up Dead

Romance/Paranormal

54k words

The truth, Sonja Brooks understands is relevant. She’s a werewolf with a special ‘gift’ and faces danger at every turn. Now, the bloodsuckers stalk her family and the man she loves.

He vowed to protect his men despite the cost. Tyler Loflin must save them and Sonja from the threat of Yankee vampires. Seeking help from one of them will test his faith in the human he once knew and his own strength as a newly born werewolf.

Escaping to a better place, Ty and Sonja set out for Texas, but will the freedom and safety they seek elude them?

***

#6

The Lady in the Mist, The Western Werewolf Legend series #1

Romance/Paranormal

44k words

The Civil War took Sonja Brooks’ husband and left her alone. Unprotected and scared, she runs headlong into a life changing event when she’s attacked by a pack of wolves. Her fate as a werewolf is sealed. When she stumbles upon Ty Loflin, a Rebel soldier dying of his wounds, she nurses him back to health. He’s the perfect mate, but will he want her once he knows the truth?

In Book 1 of this new series by Award-winning author Catherine Wolffe, the Western Werewolf Legend weaves a new blend of western romance with paranormal elements involving werewolves and vampires.

***

#7

Comanche Haven, The Loflin Legacy series #1

Romance/Historical

106K words

From the moment Celia, the emerald-eyed, Comanche half-breed, gets off the stage in Tyler, Texas, Seth Loflin realizes he is on a collision course with the past.  She was his first love and now the Shooter Creek’s ranch boss can’t allow her to succumb to the danger that stalks her.  Someone wants to kidnap her and sell her as a slave, but now that she’s in his protective arms, he intends to keep her safe.

Celia can’t run back to the safety of her former life in South Carolina.  And if she stays at Shooter Creek with Seth, she’ll be putting the man she has always loved and his ranch in danger of harboring a Comanche.  But Seth refuses to leave her side, and his vow to protect her gives Celia the hope and courage she needs.  Now she’ll fight for her new life with Seth…or die trying.

***

#8

The Duke of Devonwood

Single Title Contemporary

70,600 words

Miranda is determined to keep her family together after her father’s death. She’ll use the money he left to start the hat business she’s been planning for years. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers that her money has been left in a trust controlled by a duke of England. Worse yet, he’s a modern-day, overbearing, tycoon type of duke who believes he can manage her money better than she can. She storms off to England, determined to make him see reason and, if reason doesn’t work, she’ll try whatever will.

The last thing the Duke of Devonwood needs is more dependents. He’s already the sole support of his father’s second family, and that’s more than enough for him. The arrival of a sassy American and her step-mother who seem to only want money puts him on full alert. He’s spent years dodging manipulative women and he knows all the tricks. But Miranda has a well-hidden, warm and sensuous side that attracts him like the most mysterious and flirty veiled hat. If only he can pierce the veil, he might waken the deeply buried feelings in his own heart.

***

#9

A Man, A Mule and A Mountain of Trouble

Sweet, Contemporary Romance

80 K words

Miranda Whitely puts the death of her family behind  her by focusing on plants she provides in building entrances and dreaming about a dude ranch vacation she’s booked in Montana. Foliage becomes her ally when it hides her as she witnesses an attempted mob hit.  Trusting the FBI agent who comes to her rescue is a thorny business, she has a well-earned aversion to guns.

Grant Morley has bureau blood coursing through his veins. Finding Miranda on the side of a mountain with a bullet  hole in her side is bad enough, learning she’s involved with the crime boss he’s tracked for years cracks the armor he’s built around his heart.

Miranda and Grant fight their attraction while defending themselves against criminals willing to do anything to prevent the testimony of Miranda. Miranda can’t tolerate guns and Grant lands the position he’s wanted for years, cleaning up the worst city in the West. Fortunately for both of them, there’s always room for love, if it’s properly tended.

***

#10

Who Are You?

Contemporary- May/December

89,505 words

Jazz Dawson belongs to an elite code decription unit with the terrorism task force, and when she’s been partnered with the uber-sexy Bryce Shelton, her structured, staid life is thrown into a whirlwind of chaos. He’s the youngest member of their team, ten years her junior, which should make him off limits. But each hot touch, smile, caress… Breaks down her resolve. And when work forces them to spend time together, and his estranged father joins the team, Jazz finds herself drawn into the two men’s struggle for supremacy, and a dangerous web of deciet where no one is her friend, and everyone is her enemy.

***

#11

Undercover

Contemporary Romance

76,000 words

Animal Welfare agent, Jade Devlin, plans to photograph the abuse happening at a puppy mill to help convince the D.A. to grant her a search warrant. She’s as far from a kick-ass heroine as a body can get, and when she’s discovered by one of the mill workers, she’s forced to play along as her captor’s girlfriend, or risk certain death in the backwoods of Virginia’s forgotten countryside.

F.B.I. agent Mason Gardiner has been under cover for nearly a year. As much as animal abuse sucks, the illegal weapons the mill owner is running, and finding their supplier, are his biggest concern. Smart, stubborn and incredibly sexy Jade is the last thing he needs, but removing her from the danger, without blowing his cover, is impossible.

With different missions on the line, and an insatiable hunger for justice, mistrust and desire are constant companions for both Jade and Mason.

***

#12

Commitment Issues

Contemporary romance

89,000 words

Alexis has never committed to anything. Ever. Color her a vagabond like her dad, but she likes life with no ties. But when her sister Emma dies, leaving behind two young children, Alexis can’t walk away. They don’t have any family, and If Alexis doesn’t take them in, the state will.

Known child advocate, Assistant District Attorney, Allen Gates doesn’t think the vagrant younger sister of Emma’s shoud have the boys. He’d fallen hard for Emma and her children, and he’d be damned if those boys were going to be dragged all over the country and beyond by their un-grounded aunt.

Anger, attraction, and much more erupt as Alexis and Allen knock heads over the boys well-being.

***

#13

Call Me Casanovette

Erotic romance

99,500 words

Marriage isn’t the fairytale Gemma’s mother made it out to be.

Sixteen years worth of matrimonial agony, an ex-husband that walked out to bang his twenty-nine year old secretary, and having to start over at the ripe-young-age of forty is just the proof Gemma needs to affirm that thought.

So now it’s her turn. She has sixteen years of wasted time to make up for. She just doesn’t know how. But her best friend does. She wants Gemma to kiss 16 men in six months and let the sparks fly as they will.

The catch? Each man has to be a different age. No repeats. She has to start at twenty four years old and work her way up to forty.

Gemma accepts the challenge and quickly learns that what she’d considered taboo might be her thing, and that what she’d always dreamed about is all wrong for her.

***

#14

Juxtaposition

Romantic Suspense

86,000 words

Tally Martin came from nothing but abuse. When she was ten, she was saved by a kind older woman named May who taught her to love life, smile often, and kick ass when needed.

Now Tally’s twenty two, and her mentor is gone. But May’s sudden death reveals a side of her Tally never knew existed. A darker side. A cool-as-hell-vigilante-side. And taking over where May left off is just the focus Tally needs. The sexy as hell agent that keeps showing up at her door is a tempting inconvenience, one she finds harder and harder to resist, even if he could put her in jail for a long, long time.

Agent Sumner Chapman has worked the ‘Outer’ case for years. It’s his obsession. He doesn’t care of the do-gooder ‘Outer’ leaves enough evidence to put his victims in jail, he’s doing it illegally. Somehow, spirited knockout Tally Martin keeps cropping up in his investigations, and damned if he doesn’t suspect she’s not telling him everything she knows about the ‘Outer’.

Attraction is one thing. But he’ll put hot as hell Tally in jail for interfering with his case. He’s just that much of a hard ass. Isn’t he?

***

#15

Switch

Dystopian New Adult

78,000 words

Becoming a soldier to protect her nation from rebels isn’t the way twenty-year-old Allesra92 expected to spend her birthday. Heck, she’s as far from a kick-ass heroine as she can get. So acting like a soldier while posing as her twin brother borders insanity. But she’ll do anything to keep her mentally challenged brother out of Asylum – a place where those who aren’t ‘normal’ are sent and never return.

Pretending to be part of the male fart-belch-fight club is a piece of cake compared to finding out her entire nation is nothing more than a higher government’s biological testing dome. Outside the dome isn’t much better when a rebel attack places her under the control of a bipolar(ish) rebel leader who wants to sacrifice her and her brother to the authorities to further his own cause.

And the government wants her brother – badly. Enough that anyone she comes in contact with becomes a target as well, and she’s faced with the ultimate decision between her brother’s safety and the freedom of a nation. With rebels who lie, authorities who kill, and a handsome rebel she doesn’t want to like, any direction she chooses looks like a deadly end.

***

Good luck everyone!

Todays the day! Pitch Day!

GO!!!!!

SORRY! BAD INTERNET TODAY! Good Luck!

Good morning everyone.

Hope you’re ready to pitch. I’ll be back around 10:00 A.M. EST to officially open Editor Shop. Don’t worry, I’ll post the word go in big green letters at the top of this page. You won’t miss it.

While you wait, check out one of Entangled’s authors.

Title: Far Too Tempting
Author: Lauren Blakely

(Love this cover!!!)
 
Blurb:
Jane Black has written the breakup album of the century, earning her a Grammy, a huge legion of new fans, and the pressure to repeat her success. Sure, the heartbreak from her husband’s unconventional abandonment might have been her inspiration, but it hasn’t done her any favors in the dating department. So when Matthew Harrigan, the toughest music journalist out there, asks for an interview, Jane agrees—as long as her personal life is completely off-limits.
 

British, gorgeous, and way too tempting, Matthew’s the first guy Jane’s been attracted to since her husband. As she spends more time with him and their relationship heats up, though, so does her writer’s block. How can the queen of the breakup pen the perfect follow-up when she’s seriously in love?

Release date: Oct 21, 2013
 
 
Here are some review links:
Book Drunk Blog: http://www.amazon.com/review/R188AGY71W7SZR/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00EGJ334Q&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
Danielle: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3PW3FT5P9A109/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00EGJ334Q&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
http://www.amazon.com/review/R21II0S7YLCNIT/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00EGJ334Q&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
 
 
And this is where you can get your copy!
http://www.amazon.com/Far-Tempting-Entangled-Edge-ebook/dp/B00EGJ334Q/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/far-too-tempting-lauren-blakely/1116968327
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/far-too-tempting
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/far-too-tempting/id687063682?mt=11&uo=4
 
 
Here’s where you can find the author:
Website: http://www.laurenblakely.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6860216.Lauren_Blakely
Facebook
Twitter: laurenblakely3
 
 
Thanks again to Alycia for being our guest editor, and good luck to everyone.

Saturday Jan. 18th is pitch day!

Hope everyone is ready!

I’ll post the word GO around 10:00 A.M. EST. Make sure you wait until you see the word go. Anything before that gets deleted.

Alycia Tornetta with Entangled Publishing is our guest editor, and she was awesome enough to send over a list of what she’s looking for!

Here’s what she had to say:

I acquire for a variety of lines at Entangled, but here’s what I’m specifically looking for:

-Bliss: Small town category romance featuring every-day heroes. These are fun, flirty romances (think Hart of Dixie/Gilmore Girls/Sweet Home Alabama). Would love more cowboys, multicultural characters, and men in uniform.

-Strong contemporary single-title romance (80k+). Like Cindi Madsen’s Cinderella Screwed Me Over or Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me.

-YA:-Contemporary (like Stephanie Perkins, Jennifer Echols, or Rainbow Rowell) and thriller/mystery–could be heists, film noir-like mystery, psychological suspense, etc. Must have a strong romantic element.

-Anything that combines genres in a unique and clever way. Think Holly Black’s Curse Worker series, Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, or Renee Collins’ Relic.

-Angsty, sexy, addictive NA or adult romance. Give me anti-heroes, bad boys, MMA fighters, etc. Bonus points for revenge or blackmail plots.

-Male/Male. For adult romance, YA, NA, or novellas. Any heat level. I’m a big fan of Josh Lanyon, K.A. Mitchell, Kelley York, David Levithan.

Good luck to everyone!

On another note, I just found out that RT Book Reviews is giving away FIVE digital copies of my novel, PRIMITIVE NIGHTS!

Here’s the link to enter: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/friday-free-all-candi-walls-primitive-nights

It recieved a 41/2 Star review and a Top Pick at RT Book Reviews.

~Candi

Pole Dancing and Writing – A Comparative Post

Song of the Day: Girls, Girls, Girls by Mötley Crüe

Happy 2014!

It’s a new year once again and a new beginning. New beginnings often bring in new challenges and opportunities. Anyone who knows me or has followed this blog long enough knows that I am all about seizing opportunities, owning them, and learning, growing, igniting.

Well this year, I’m starting off with a bang. Killer editing deadlines, finishing up a novella for release in a month (give or take), and pole dancing. Yup. You read right—pole dancing.

Why pole dancing? Why not? Sure I could claim it’s for research, and I suppose in a way it is. But honestly, it’s just another fun, bold adventure I wanted to take.

And as with everything I do, it wasn’t difficult to compare my endeavors with writing. No, really.

1. Learning to pole dance is stepping out of the box (and comfort zone) and doing something fun, risky and terrifying. So it can be for the author trying out a new genre or project. Or for the newbie writer embarking on their first manuscript. Or the author about to dive into the growing new world of self-publishing for the first time.

2. Pole dancing works to strengthen your core to support the body. Just like writers need to make sure the story plot (core) is strong. A flabby plot is too weak to support the story. No sagging middles!

Trophy Bruise
Fig. 1

3. Pole dancing creates flexibility in surprisingly many muscles. Writers need flexibility in many of their muscles, too. Think of how pliant and adaptable we have to be in such areas as time, changing storylines, writing methods, in the moving parts of character GMCs, and even where we write, to name a few.

4. Besides spinning, there are tricks that can be done on the pole that are almost acrobatic, sans the safety net. In writing, these “tricks” might equate to something as simple as a unique voice, unusual swag, or cool, cutting-edge marketing methods. Or it could mean something tougher like using technology to allow readers a chance to pick from a choice of story endings.

5. Writers hear it often—there are no new stories, only new ways and variations to tell old tales. There is one pole but many types of spins that are done on and around it. Besides putting the sexy in slinking up and down the pole without ever leaving the floor (no twerking!), I’ve learned four spins—the sit, the drag and fly, the fireman, and my most ambitious one to date, the leg hook backward spin.

Trophy Bruise
Fig. 2

6. Practice, practice, practice! Pole dancing is not easy and I currently look like a not-so-graceful drunk elephant swinging wildly in a circus tent. But I will get better as long as I keep at it. This is true with anything worth doing. A writer has to hone their craft and the only way to do this is to keep writing.

7. There are a lot of “trophy bruises” that come with pole dancing. I’m kinda proud of my bruises. They are tangible evidence that I am working hard toward something I enjoy. For authors, those bruises come in the form of tough critiques, poor contest results, agent/editor rejections, and harsh reviews. Ouch! But those black and blue punches we take makes us stronger—better.

8. New students to pole dancing class set goals. What is it they want to achieve. More flexibility, be fit, earning more tips than co-workers, to tone muscles? Writers have goals, too. Most want to finish, sell, and publish a book. My personal pole dancing goal? To be able to hang upside down on a pole using only my thighs. Just wait…

There you have it. How pole dancing and writing are in common. What else can you take away from this post? Don’t be afraid to try be bold. Learning something new makes you stronger. Stretch yourself. And, you are never too old to pole dance.

Comments and thoughts are always welcome.

Link of the Week – Accents, Symbols and Foreign Scripts

As writers, we often write words that like naïve and façade. You know, those words with those freaky accent marks that we have no idea how to create? After all, they aren’t clearly marked on the keyboard. How about those times when you want to write a foreign word or three? ¡Ay caramba! Or you want to get fancy with old world spelling using ligatures like færie or phœnix. No idea how to make those letters pop up. Need the Bristish pound? A fraction? A mathematical symbol? You are likely to want to use the copyright symbol ©, too.

Check out the code charts on Penn State’s site. Doesn’t matter if you own Windows or a Mac, this site has got you covered!  Computing with Accents, Symbols, and Foreign Scripts

http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accents/codealt.html#accent

Pitch Opp – Editor Shop coming Sat. Jan. 18th

Hi Everyone!

It’s almost time for another Editor Shop pitch date.

Pitch day is Saturday, January 18th and we have Alycia Tornetta, Associate Editor, Managing Editor, Bliss, from Entangled Publishing, LLC as our guest editor.

You can find info on Entangled HERE.

Get those pitches ready, and come join the fun.

Remember, if you don’t want to miss a Pitch Opp here at Musetracks, please join our announcement only group HERE to get all the updates on guest agents and editors.

Happy reading and writing.

See you Saturday!

Hump Day Kick Start – Putting Sexy in Orange Juice

Song of the Day: On The Floor by JLo and Pitbull

Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.

 

Throwing a bone (hehe) to our male visitors for today’s prompt. And this one caught my eye.

Who is our sexy gal? And why is she sitting on the grass drinking a half gallon of orange juice? Was it a wild party last night and now she is so, so thirsty – which is odd considering how much she drank the night before? Did her boyfriend throw her out in her undies? Why? What did she do? Did she sleepwalk, and on her way out raided the fridge? Is she on the set of her latest modeling gig, but, damn it’s early, and she hasn’t had breakfast yet? Hey, who doesn’t like a mimosa in the morning? Where is she? Is she leaning against an old tattoo shop/mausoleum/garage? Is that OJ spiked? Maybe she’s trying to drink away her memories of Evan, her rubber ducky (or boyfriend) – as evident on her arm.

Love to hear your take on this.

Link of the Week – Winter Writing Festival

Craving some serious writing productivity this winter? Need to clean up the mess you left in the second half of your Golden Heart full entry? Want to finally, finally fix that pesky plot hole in your WIP? The Rubies have your back!

Through the bleakest part of winter–January 10, 2013 thru the end of February–the much-anticipated Third Annual Ruby Winter Writing Festival will be here to keep your creative fires burning, with support, advice, inspiration, frequent live chats, fun prizes for participants, and as much virtual hot-chocolate (or virtual champagne or virtual cookies) as you please. ‘Cause nobody’s Muse can resist a party!

Read more HERE!

Get ready for the Festival and read goal-setting advice HERE!

Happy New Year – 2014

MuseTracks wishes you a year filled with happiness, good health, love, and prosperity. Happy New Year!

Claimed By the Beast Nocturne Cravings

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Link Kindle Claimed By the Beast

Buy Link Nook Claimed By the Beast

 

Available January 1

Dr. Daphne Panetta is desperate to find a cure for a virus that turns its victims into zombie werewolves. Infected Konstantin Gevaudan should be nothing more than a test subject, but the only thing Daphne fears more than the beast within him is her own intense attraction to the virile man himself….

When the research facility where he’s being held goes up in flames, Konstantin has no choice but to take Daphne on the run with him. For the desire burning between them can mean only one thing: she is his true mate. But how can he claim her without changing her—forever?

 

Excerpt:

 

Where the others were seemingly mindless killing machines, there was a self-awareness in his eyes. He was a predator, to be sure, as ravenous as the rest of them. What made him terrifying was his cunning, his obviously human logic.

And this one had a name—Konstantin Gevaudan.

Obviously aware of her scrutiny, he stepped forward, prowling toward the observatory as if she were the one on display.

The shadows fell away like a cloak, the bright sodium lights blaring down on his massive form. He stood, rising up bipedal and perfect, with none of the abnormalities of the others except for those eyes blazing that strange electric blue, like an LED bulb. Form followed function, each part of his body designed with the same purpose in mind—to be the most efficient killing machine. Thickly muscled, but his tread was light, graceful. His movements were fluid synchronicity. In fact, he was horrifyingly beautiful.

He knew it, too. The beast stopped under a particularly focused shaft of light, displaying himself for her. The sleek pitch of his silky pelt, the sculpted planes of his musculature so much like a human’s but still so alien, and the sly, knowing look in his eyes.

Daphne found herself almost hypnotized by the creature, unable to look away. Maybe he was somehow part King Cobra and he’d caught her in a death sway. Her rational, educated brain told her this was more information than they’d ever been able to gather before. No matter how uncomfortable it was, how ugly, or even how she ached for Bethany, she had to keep him engaged. The cameras were still recording.

Although, the primal, basic animal part of her brain screamed for her to break the spell, to flee. To hide away so his horrible eyes couldn’t dig down into the meat of her, into her fear. The faint beep from the lapel of her lab coat vaguely registered—she was excreting pheromones at dangerous levels. The infected could scent them even through all the barriers.

The throng of the deformed, snarling infected were suddenly in frenzy mode, throwing themselves against the electrified walls, their claws scraping down the enchanted glass as they struggled to get at her—prey.

A sound that Daphne first thought was an earthquake rumbled deep, until she realized it was coming from it—him—Konstantin.

His muzzle retracted in a snarl, revealing supernaturally straight white teeth that looked more at home on a barracuda than a wolf. She shuddered and his lips twisted farther. He turned his great head slowly toward the wolves, as if focusing the sites of a weapon.

The bass sound began to build, but it wasn’t until the space around him trembled with its might did the noise erupt from him in a deafening roar that was itself the hand of a vengeful god smiting the wretched masses.

Infected wolves yelped and whined as their ears bled and it seemed their nervous systems had been paralyzed by the sound. They dropped to their bellies, their yips quickly fading.

Daphne prayed to any gods that were listening they’d caught a digital imprint of the roar and could reproduce it. It could be the weapon they needed if they couldn’t synthesize a cure.

His attention snapped back to her, his appraisal blatant, intense, and obviously human. She refused to look away or back down, even though her adrenaline spiked again.

The beast lifted his nose to the air with purpose, his too sharp eyes still focused on her. As if that scent were some delectable sweet she’d prepared especially for him. He stalked forward closing the space, coming as close to the observatory bubble as any of them had ever dared.

That primal part of her screamed at her to run and the logical part agreed, but she stood her ground. She knew he could smell her fear like a perfume, but that was the difference between humans and beasts. Daphne refused to be controlled by her lizard brain. She was a rational being in charge of her own actions.

The only thing between them now was the glass. She swallowed hard, her saliva thick as a wad of cotton in her throat. Daphne’s fingers hovered over the button that would slam the panic protocol wall between the enclosure and the observatory.

His regard was as intense as it had been before, but instead of staring her down, he sized her up. His gaze lingered on her breasts.

Undeniably male, and human.

Suddenly where there’d been a beast, there was a man. She jerked back from the glass, unable to control the visceral reaction to the intrinsic need to put more space between them. If she’d thought the beast was horrifically beautiful, the man was even more so.

Daphne could see the beast looking out at her from underneath his skin.

What beautiful skin it was—smooth and unblemished, like alabaster. He was as pale as the moon, the silvery sheen of his flesh utterly surreal. His powerful body seemed compacted now, coiled and waiting to strike. This creature was still every inch a predator.

Her gaze was drawn down from his broad shoulders, his pecs, his defined abs, and lower still to that ridged triangulation of muscle that directed her study to the last place she wanted to look.

Yes, every long, thick, hard inch of predator.

Already high on adrenaline, her body responded in kind. Fear and lust induced many of the same bodily responses. Clinically, it was a simple matter of biology, as basic as breathing.

Only her breathing wasn’t basic. It shuddered out of her in staccato bursts, her lips plumped, nipples tightened, heartbeat thundered, and her thighs clenched hard against the electric jolt of desire that stabbed through her.

Daphne jerked her eyes back to his face—it looked like something that belonged in an art museum. Or maybe it was the face of the Devil himself, with those damned infected blue eyes staring back at her.

His mouth curved in a scimitar of a smile, lifting his head as the animal had done. Scenting the air—her desire.

Even though he looked like a man, he wasn’t. She knew the bio suit worked. He’d infected Bethany, ripped her humanity away from her not on instinct, not because no matter what he ate he was always starving, but because he simply wanted to.

Guilt flooded her again, disgust at her body’s reaction to the monster.

His head cocked to the side, as if he could hear her thoughts and found them strange. He splayed his hand on the glass, the electric current there having no effect on him. Or if he felt it at all, he demonstrated no reaction.

Her hand rose of its own accord, slowly like moving through water, and settled palm flat against the spot where his rested. She wanted to jerk her hand away, he was a monster. He was a test subject. He was the enemy.