M.A. Church's Blog, page 5
March 18, 2025
Teaser Tuesday
Seduced by Moonlight
(Okay yall we're about to meet Rihanna. She's going to be important to this series, but she is just a minor character. I think I'm gonna skip to Kayden's chapter next time so we can meet him.)
Only the hunter remained. Sighing, he returned to the circle and the trapped woman. Unfortunately, she lay in the dirt, unconscious. But at least she was breathing. Maybe she’d have the answers to his questions.
Ward kneeled beside the woman, retracted his claws, and brushed away the debris. Clear bruises encircled her wrists. Someone had restrained her before bringing her here.
It’d be a simple task to snap her neck too, and maybe, for everyone’s sake, that’d be the best thing to do. But he hesitated because he knew perfectly well that Lennox and Nox had kidnapped many humans and forcibly mutated their DNA.
His home loomed in the distance, and as he stepped inside, the ancient smell of stone mingled with the faint scent of fireplace smoke.
After laying the woman on a gurney, he summoned his trusted healer with a quick message sent by text. Within moments, Celine entered, bringing with her a refreshing burst of peppermint and eucalyptus.
“What have you brought me this time, Ward?” Celine asked as she glanced at the at the sleeping woman.
“A hunter, or so I believe,” Ward replied, his gaze fixed on the unconscious woman.
“By the goddess, really? A hunter? Here? Ward!”
“I think she was one of the ones forced.” Ward quickly explained how he came to find her.
“Well, hell. That’s not good, not at all,” Celine said, glancing at the bruises.
“No, it really isn’t. Plus, this hunter has traits I’ve never seen combined before. None of us have.”
“I know. I can smell what she is.”
“Gods.” Ward rubbed his forehead, his tail whipping behind him. “Would you look at her?”
Celine blew out a breath. “If that’s what you wish.”
“If you don’t mind. I’ll be here to make sure you’re safe.”
Celine approached the gurney where the woman lay. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a glowing orb of light to hover above the patient, illuminating her features.
Ward gazed at the hunter’s face, which was pale and drawn, with sharp features and dark hair that cascaded over the gurney. Her body was lean and appeared to be muscular, giving off an air of strength and agility despite her current state.
“She’s definitely not human,” Celine declared as she checked vital signs and scanned for internal injuries. “I’m picking up a magical presence, so maybe a witch. You’re right about the mixed traits—there’s strong magical resonance from multiple races. It’s... unprecedented.”
Ward paced, his mind jumping from one through to the next. “As I said, those witches were trying to sacrifice her in a ritual. I stopped them, but not before they mentioned something about her having an ancient power and wanting it for themselves.”
“Ancient power, huh?” Celine echoed. “Why am I not surprised? Anyway, that suggests she’s not just a mutated experiment, but potentially something much more.”
Her scanner beeped intermittently as she ran it over the woman’s body. After a moment, Celine looked up, her eyes wide. “Ward, this woman.... There are latent energies here that are unlike anything I’ve seen before. Ever.”
“Are Lennox and Nox responsible for that?” Ward mumbled, finally coming to a stop in front of Celine. A sense of awe and fear flooded him at the implications.
“Maybe? Who knows with those two. Or maybe they stumbled upon something or someone much older than any of us realize. I don’t know what to make of her.”
Ward ran a hand through his hair. “We must awaken her safely and find out who she truly is.”
“First, I should treat her injuries,” Celine said. “Pain can impair judgment, if you know what I mean, and we do not want this being’s judgment impaired.”
As his healer examined the hunter, Ward stepped back, his gaze lingering on the unconscious figure. She was a puzzle wrapped in an enigma—her scent alone was a tangled web of paranormal entities that should not coexist harmoniously within one being.
Who was she?
Yet here she was, breathing and very much alive despite the myths and rumors suggesting such a combination should be lethal.
Celine glanced up from her examination. “Her physical injuries are not fatal—bruises, cuts, minor concussion—but it’s what I can’t see that worries me. There’s magic in her blood... something powerful, Ward.”
March 17, 2025
Pucker Up Monday
It's not what you think. Since Mondays do tend to suck, I thought I'd start the week off right for ya.
March 13, 2025
Thursday Book Recommendation
These are books I’ve read and really enjoyed. Most of what I talk about will probably be paranormal/scifi but not always. Although it’s rare, I do read some contemporary.
This week is: There's a Monster in the Woods: MM Monster Romance (Spooky Boys) by Fae Quin
Blurb:
A lonely man, a lonely monster, what could go wrong?
Ellis Clearwater: There's an honesty in the turning of the earth, in the turning of the seasons, and I've always preferred its quiet, steadfast company over that of other people. Left alone with an inherited cottage and my beloved pup Rotho to look after, my days are largely given to tending the garden, save for periodic errands in town.
My town's annual "sacrifice" to the "monster in the woods" is the stuff of children's rhymes and fairytales, little more than a bit of playacting and red paint. At least, it was until I saw an impossibly tall, naked, antlered creature deep in the woods. And now, even though good sense—and Rotho—caution me against my own curiosity, I can't help but tempt fate with baskets of vegetables, bread, and a growing connection to the monster - Styx.
Before I realize what's been planted between us, something new has taken root. Something raspberry sweet and chocolate dark, ready to be harvested by searching hands and seeking mouths.
The spooky boys series invites you to visit a world where things that go bump in the night aren’t just fantasy. These standalone novels feature monsters that are spicy, fun, and sometimes furry
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Theres-Monster-Woods-Romance-Spooky-ebook/dp/B0CG7X7W3D
March 11, 2025
Teaser Tuesday
~Teaser from Seduced by Moonlight
“Can you not smell her power? She has the Power of Three,” the witch screeched. “There has not been a being with that ability in centuries, and those hunters gave this foul creature such an ancient power through DNA manipulation, and—”
“The hunters are the foul—”
“—and we’re going to bleed the power from her and take it for ourselves, and gargoyle king, if you interfere, we will also deal with you.”
Ward chuckled. The sheer nerve of this one. They threatened him when they were the ones in danger. Reasoning with such creatures was useless. They only understood one thing—power.
“Your interference will not only cause your death, but your clans too.”
Anger, bright and swift, rushed through Ward. Threatening him was one thing. Threatening his clan was another. The surrounding darkness glowed with a red light as his eyes flared with an ancient power, a reminder of his lineage and the responsibilities it entailed.
He wasn’t merely a guardian of stone. He was an alpha king, as powerful as the most powerful sorcerer. “You dare to threaten—”
“Mmmph! MMMPH!” the woman in the circle struggled to yell.
The hair on the back of his neck tingled, and he looked over his shoulder to see a curse come screaming at him. He spun while still gripping the witch. Before he could raise a shell to protect either of them, she chanted a transportation spell and disappeared.
Her counterpart, who was still conscious, screamed in dismay.
Ward pulled a shield around him. Had the leader of this coven really abandoned her sisters? Why didn’t the other three transport? Were they not powerful enough?
The other two, who Ward thought were unconscious, joined the last remaining witch. They unleashed a barrage of spells, one after the other, each one more deadly than the last, but his shield held, pulsing, a vibrant cascade of light that blunted the assault of spells as he rushed them.
He reached out with one massive hand, grabbing at the air, and the magic at his command twisted the space between them, distorting it with a visible ripple.
He dragged one witch through it, flinging her against a tree several feet away with a sickening crack. He didn’t hear a heartbeat. Good. One down, two to go. The other two ran, darting through the woods.
Ward took to the air once more, arrowing straight for the retreating figure, his wings beating powerfully, kicking up a gust that scattered leaves and debris.
He caught up to the slower of the two, and with a powerful sweep of his claws, decapitated her. Just as he swooped down upon the nearest one, a sturdy branch whipped out, hitting the witch right across her throat.
Her feet flew out from underneath her, and she hit the ground, her head at an awkward angle. There was no heartbeat either.
Silence fell over the grove, broken only by his harsh breaths as he landed. His eyes dimmed as he calmed himself, reigning in the anger. His shield dissipated into wisps of light that faded into the darkness. “Thank you, Mother Earth.”
Three of the witches were dead, but one had escaped.
March 10, 2025
Pucker Up Monday
It's not what you think. Since Mondays do tend to suck, I thought I'd start the week off right for ya.
March 6, 2025
Thursday Book Recommendation
These are books I’ve read and really enjoyed. Most of what I talk about will probably be paranormal/scifi but not always. Although it’s rare, I do read some contemporary.
This week is: Knox: An MM Romance Story (Monsters of Veridia Book 1) by Silvana Falcon
Blurb:
What happens when your fictional crush comes to life?
Adrian is about to find out.
When he complains about the latest chapter of his favorite webnovel online, he doesn't expect the main character to come crashing through his skylight.
And yet, that’s exactly what happens.
Suddenly, Adrian finds himself face-to-face with the incubus Knox, a demon with ebony horns, dark magic, and golden eyes that make Adrian’s knees go weak. He’s everything Adrian secretly dreamed of... and everything his rational mind warns him against.
Adrian can’t let himself fall for someone who can’t possibly be real. Not even when that someone looks at him with the kind of hunger that sets his blood on fire.
But Knox isn’t the only monster that has crossed into Adrian’s world. His most deadly enemy has followed him, and now Knox needs Adrian so he can fight, to fuel his magic. He needs Adrian’s surrender, needs him in his bed, needs to feed on him the way incubi do.
How can Adrian possibly resist?
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Knox-Romance-Story-Monsters-Veridia-ebook/dp/B0DM2S5PFL
March 5, 2025
March 4, 2025
Teaser Tuesday - Seduced by Moonlight
But before the twisted magic could reach him, Ward uttered a single word in the primal tongue of old—and the black magic disintegrated before it could so much as touch Ward, fizzling out into harmless sparks that died quickly in the night air.
The witch who spoke screamed in anger as she threw spell after spell at Ward, but none penetrated his shield. Finally, she turned and ran, using magic to obscure her retreat.
Ward knew these woods like the back of his hand. With a powerful leap propelled by his muscular legs, his wings unfurled, and he caught up with her easily—his powerful hands clamping down on the woman’s shoulder.
The witch struggled under Ward’s grip, her cloak tearing slightly as she tried to twist away. “Release me!”
“I don’t think so. What was it you planned to do here?” Ward asked, shaking the witch.
“The lay lines cross here! This is the most powerful place, so we had to do it here! Besides, that creature is an abomination. You know that. You interrupt at your own peril!”
“Again, my land, upon which you are trespassing and using black magic,” Ward said as he dragged the witch back to the circle. “You kidnapped that woman, regardless of whether or not she is a hunter—yes, I can smell her—and planned to do… what? You are the abomination, and I will not allow this.”
March 3, 2025
Pucker Up Monday
It's not what you think. Since Mondays do tend to suck, I thought I'd start the week off right for ya.
February 25, 2025
Teaser Tuesday
~ from Seduced by Moonlight
Ward charged the circle, roaring. Above him, the ravens shrieked, adding to the chaos as they flew off. The robed figures recoiled in terror, one stumbling back and knocking over a stone that had been part of the ritual’s design.
Its disruption caused a ripple effect, and the carefully constructed magic unraveled, sparks of dark energy fizzing into the night air like dangerous fireworks. Then he sensed his wards screaming a warning. Good gods, they’d somehow dampened his wards.
“Release her,” Ward commanded, unfurling his wings, his tail whipping menacingly behind him.
One particular witch, distinguishable by an intricate amulet that hung low around her neck, stepped forward, pulling back her hood to reveal a face twisted by dark intent and eyes that gleamed like molten silver. Her hair was an unnatural shade of deep violet.
“You do not understand, gargoyle king. And you meddle in things that don’t concern you. Leave us.”
“My land.” Ward snarled, revealing sharp fangs and a forked tongue. “My concern. You do not command me. I am king here, and I—”
“I have no time for you.” The robed figure sneered, then raised her hands, muttering, as her hands glowed.
