Catherine Edward's Blog, page 12
October 1, 2019
Book Review: Kitty's Witch
Title: Kitty's Witch
Author: Roxie Harper
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Fiction, Shifter Romance
Publishing date: 1st October 2019
Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon India |Amazon Canada
Blurb:
"You taste like mine."
Serena is a witch.Well, almost...If it wasn't for her badly behaved familiar she might have already ascended to full witch and finally gained the approval of the Head of the Council - her mother.But the damn cat doesn't seem to want to play ball and it's getting to the point that the local river and a bag of rocks is looking like a swell idea.For a warrior witch, the fact that her own familiar won't reveal his war form is making her look severely stupid, and Serena has had just about enough of stupid.Good thing she has a glitter-witch/pixie/unidentified species as a best friend who has her own dragon as a familiar...and Serena is not jealous. Not at all.With help from a highly intoxicated Grandma and an overly affectionate naked guy, Serena and Hayley fight against Sod's Law to finally achieve more than the title of 'Faulty West Coast Witch.'
Disclaimer:
This is a novel of roughly 70,000 words that includes lots of indecent flashing, coarse humor, and an irreverent witch that has the vocabulary of a big, burly truck driver. Foul language warning in three....two....one....
Review:
Entertaining Read!I enjoyed reading this story a lot. Kitty's Witch is refreshing story of a Witch and her obsessive familiar, who's also a shape shifter. Serena hates her Cat. But as fate would have it, the Cat is not a normal kitty. She considers herself a faulty witch. But what follows is for you to read and find out.
The world building is great and I loved the unique approach on familiars and witches. The book is filled with humor and intended for adults with its mature language. It has been a while since a book made me laugh.
Serena and her filter-less mouth got me hooked right away. The very first chapter, where she describes her cat alone is proof enough. The Cat in turn is proud, obsessed and at times don't give a shit about anything. I like him a lot.
Every character is very likeable. Expecting to read Hayley's story next.
Review: Kitty's Witch
Title:
Author:
Genre:
Publishing date:
Blurb:
"You taste like mine."
Serena is a witch.Well, almost...If it wasn't for her badly behaved familiar she might have already ascended to full witch and finally gained the approval of the Head of the Council - her mother.But the damn cat doesn't seem to want to play ball and it's getting to the point that the local river and a bag of rocks is looking like a swell idea.For a warrior witch, the fact that her own familiar won't reveal his war form is making her look severely stupid, and Serena has had just about enough of stupid.Good thing she has a glitter-witch/pixie/unidentified species as a best friend who has her own dragon as a familiar...and Serena is not jealous. Not at all.With help from a highly intoxicated Grandma and an overly affectionate naked guy, Serena and Hayley fight against Sod's Law to finally achieve more than the title of 'Faulty West Coast Witch.'
Disclaimer:
This is a novel of roughly 70,000 words that includes lots of indecent flashing, coarse humor, and an irreverent witch that has the vocabulary of a big, burly truck driver. Foul language warning in three....two....one....
Review:
Entertaining Read!I enjoyed reading this story a lot. Kitty's Witch is refreshing story of a Witch and her obsessive familiar, who's also a shape shifter. Serena hates her Cat. But as fate would have it, the Cat is not a normal kitty. She considers herself a faulty witch. But what follows is for you to read and find out.
The world building is great and I loved the unique approach on familiars and witches. The book is filled with humor and intended for adults with its mature language. It has been a while since a book made me laugh.
Serene and her filter-less mouth got me hooked right away. The very first chapter, where she describes her cat alone is proof enough. The Cat in turn is proud, obsessed and at times don't give a shit about anything. I like him a lot.
Every character is very likeable. Expecting to read Hayley's story next.
September 18, 2019
Release Tour - Hawk by Jessie Cooke
Title: Hawk: Skulls the Early YearsSeries: Skulls Motorcycle ClubAuthor: Jessie CookeGenre: MC RomanceRelease Date: September 12, 2019
Are some men just born bad...or do circumstances conspire to make them that way?Grant “Hawk” Benning will go down in history as one of the baddest, most hated men on the eastern seaboard...and then some. Hawk cut his teeth on leather and steel, growing up heavily influenced by a culture of violence, drugs and crime. He would navigate the pathways between adolescence and adulthood using only the tools he'd been given...realizing too late that the club that made him a man, would likely bring about his ultimate demise.
Hawk's life, his destiny, was with the Southside Skulls. Prospect at seventeen, Vice President at twenty-one. Two and a half decades of riding alongside the prolific Doc Marshall. Hawk will have a full life...but one wrought with a loneliness built by his reluctance to allow any glimpse of the man who really lived behind the kutte.
During his life, Hawk will fall in love with three women. The first will become his closest friend and she'll leave a legacy that will both brighten and darken Hawk's days to come.
The second, a free spirit...the one in touch with her own soul...the one who may have taught him how to reach his, if only she'd had the time.
And the last...the woman who would ultimately give him something that no one else ever could...a chance to glimpse and explore the best parts of himself...the parts that even he didn't know existed.Ride along, read along, and make your own decision in the end. Was Grant “Hawk” Benning born to be bad...or was the deck just stacked against him from the get-go?
“You can’t bring that kid in here.” Grant stood next to Cal, his mom’s old man, outside of a “Go-Go” bar on Washington Street. Grant had been to the bar before, on more than one occasion. Cal usually made him stay in the back with the “girls.” Grant didn’t really have any complaints about hanging out with the girls. They were pretty, they smelled good, and most of them were nice to him. They gave him soda pop and chocolates and they let him watch The Twilight Zone and Bewitched on the television in their dressing room while he waited for Cal. Grant thought it was funny they called it a “dressing” room since they seemed to do more undressing than dressing in there, but that wasn’t his business, so he stayed out of it. Grant spent a lot of time with Cal since his mom worked so much, and Cal taught him a lot. One of the first things he taught him was that he should always mind his own business. One of Cal’s favorite sayings was, “Row your own boat and keep your fucking oars outta mine.”
“Do you know who the fuck you’re talking to?” Cal asked the big, bald bouncer. “Fuck” was Cal’s favorite word; he worked it into every conversation and nearly every other word. Grant’s mother asked Cal not to say it in front of Grant when they first got together, but it didn’t seem to Grant like Cal listened to much of what his mother said. After a while, his mother started saying it too...sometimes. Grant didn’t care about that, but what bothered him was that the first time that he tried saying it, she had washed his mouth out with soap. His fourth-grade teacher had talked to them just that day about double standards. Grant didn’t understand much of it, and he hadn’t even realized he’d been listening. He was almost proud of himself for pointing it out to his mother. Of course, when he did, he got the soap bar a second time. From then on, he kept his use of the word to times when his mother wasn’t around.
“I don’t care if you’re the fucking Governor of Massachusetts,” the bald guy said. “You’re not bringing that kid in here.”
Cal didn’t like the governor, or the mayor, or the police. He talked a lot about the system being “fucked” and the cops being “corrupt” and the “man” trying to keep him down. It confused Grant a little bit because despite Cal’s obvious dislike of the government, he was definitely proud to be an American. Cal rode a Harley with an American flag painted on the tank, and at his club there was a big American flag that hung right next to their black and white Skulls flag. Grant listened to Cal and his MC brothers complain all the time about “foreigners” taking everything over. Foreign cars and motorcycles pissed them off, and they had derogatory names for anyone with a different skin color or accent. But still, Cal didn’t like the governor and Grant thought that the bouncer might end up being sorry he brought him into it.
Cal sighed, and to any other bystander he looked like he was turning to leave. But at eleven years old, Grant had already witnessed three years of Cal’s craziness and he knew well what was coming next. Cal wasn’t all that big, but to hear him tell it, he’d been kicking asses in the Watertown neighborhood he grew up in since he was five years old. Grant hadn’t really believed that at first, but he did now, and he had a feeling the big guy was about to believe it too. Grant took a step backwards to get out of the way and he saw the bouncer smile, like he thought he had won. Then just like that, Cal’s fist came out of nowhere and slammed into the guy’s face. Cal had never used his fist on the boy, but Grant had seen him use it on plenty of people and he knew it had to hurt, especially because he heard the man’s nose crack. Grant had watched Cal knock out men twice his size, make them bleed, and even make them cry. Cal always told him that if you wanted respect in this world, you had to be willing to fight for it. Grant tried using that line on the school principal the last time he got in a fight on the playground. It had gotten him suspended.
Cal stepped on the now prone, incoherent bouncer and the guy let out a painful cry. Cal pointed to the small skull on the front of his leather vest that matched the big one on his back and he said, “The Southside Skulls own this bar.” The man must be stupid, Grant thought, because he opened his mouth to try to argue. Cal pressed down harder with his boot and the man howled in pain. Cal waited for him to shut up again and then he went on, “It don’t matter whose name is on a piece of paper. The Skulls own this fucking city and your pitiful little boss knows it. Now you know it and if you ever forget it again, I’ll make sure you forget how to breathe too. You under-fucking-stand me?”
The nod the man managed looked, to Grant, like it hurt down to his bones. Cal smiled and then looked at the boy and said, “You coming? Already wasted too much fucking time on you today.”
Cal stepped over the man and Grant had to step on part of the big guy’s arm to get to the door. He didn’t understand why Cal was suddenly mad at him, but he wasn’t surprised. Cal got mad at him a lot. He never argued with Grant’s mom about “watching” the boy, but it was obvious to Grant he didn’t want to. But Cal didn’t argue with Grant’s mom about anything. He always just smiled when she was mad, let her yell at him, or whatever, and then he usually went and did things his way anyway. Grant sometimes tried that too, but nine times out of ten he got his butt whooped for it.
Once they were inside the bar, Grant had to blink his eyes real fast to keep the thick smoke from making them water. His nose burned and the bright lights from the small stage blinded him. It was disorienting and he stood still for a minute just trying to get his bearings. He felt Cal’s palm tap the back of his head. “Go on in the back,” he barked at him, “and keep your oars in your own boat!”
Grant started toward the back and he had just passed the stage and was almost to the entrance for the dressing rooms when he heard the rhythmic pounding of a drum. He stopped dead in his tracks and when he didn’t think anyone was looking, he ducked into the shadows alongside the stage and waited. He knew what the drums meant. It had been almost a year since he’d seen her, but he hadn’t been able to forget her. He crouched low in the hopes that no one would spot him, and he watched the brilliant blue headdress appear from behind the shiny curtain. The vividly colored feathers framed the woman’s pretty face and fell down to the floor on both sides of her body.
Grant held his breath as he watched the woman begin to move her body slowly in time with the drums. Occasionally she turned slightly in his direction so the leering men on the far side of the room could see her. She held a big fan with yellow and lime green feathers in front of her body and she moved it up and down, just short of revealing the “things” Grant knew he wasn’t supposed to look at. With her other hand, she held one with pink and white feathers behind her back. Her long, brown legs were bare, and her feet were adorned with sparkly blue high-heeled shoes. She was beautiful, but Grant’s favorite part about her was her hair. He loved her long, straight black hair. It hung down her back, disappearing under the fan, and then reappearing and traveling down to her ankles. It shone under the lights, waved when she danced, and it looked like if you touched it, it would be as soft as silk.
The announcer, a fat guy with a bad comb-over and acne scars all over his face, introduced her as soon as the drumming stopped. “Put your hands together and then get them dollars out, boys. We got our own little squaw in the house tonight, Hialeah, the sexiest Cherokee woman this side of the reservation.” The men clapped and whistled and yelled things Grant didn’t understand. When they quieted down again, soft music started playing and Hialeah began to dance again. Grant didn’t know what it was but something about the way she danced made him happy inside.
The men were yelling at her to drop her fans as she swayed to the music and they were reaching up onto the stage, trying to touch her. Grant wanted to tell them to stop, but he knew better. If Cal caught him watching the dancers, or talking to the men, he might just know what that fist felt like firsthand. Instead, he crept as close as he could, staying on the side of the stage where it was dark, but positioning himself so that he could get a better look at her. The music sped up and she danced faster, turning her back to the howling men and finally dropping that fan. Grant watched the men stuff money into the strap on her undies and he tried not to look at her bare bottom. But her skin was so smooth...and such a pretty color that he could hardly help himself. Hialeah turned back to face the men and she began to sway and lower the fan in front when crashing sounds and dozens of men dressed in black jackets and vests and helmets were suddenly everywhere.
“Boston PD! Everyone down! Get down on the floor, now!”
Grant’s heart was racing as he searched the dark bar with his eyes, looking for Cal. The place was chaos and he couldn’t see him anywhere. Half-naked women were running around, some were screaming and some crying. Men were dropping down to the floor like flies that had been swatted, and panic began to well up inside of him. He looked toward the door, thinking about running, but the police had it blocked. He looked toward the dressing rooms, and they were standing guard there as well. Lastly, he looked back up on the stage and to his shock, a prone Hialeah was gesturing to him with her hand. “Come here little man.” He was terrified, but if he went up on the stage they would see him...everyone would. “I know it’s scary, but all we have to do is exactly what they tell us, okay?”
Finally, with nowhere else to go, Grant climbed up on the stage and got down on his belly, sliding himself over until he was close to Hialeah. He felt her soft hand reach out and cover his and she whispered, “Be brave, little guy. It’s going to be okay.”
Grant was about to nod again but the sound of a pair of boots landing on the stage and the vibrations it sent through him caused him to gasp and look up. When he did, there was a big, black gun in his face and the man behind it suddenly flipped up the goggles he was wearing and said, “Fuck, you’re just a kid.”
“He’s with me,” Hialeah said. “Please don’t hurt him.”
The cop looked them both up and down and then shaking his head he said, “Just be still, both of you.” He left them there and while Grant lay listening to the chaos around them for the next hour, she held his hand tightly and reassured him every so often that things were going to be okay. Grant was still scared but he was also confused. He knew he should want it to all be over so he could go home, and part of him did. But the other part of him was so comfortable with the gentle woman that he almost wanted it to last all night.
* * *
“Who are you?” Grant was at the police station. He had to pee and he was hungry. He’d missed lunch and now dinner. The cops had brought him a hamburger and French fries and a Coke, but he hadn’t touched them. They were trying to bring him over to their side, and he wasn’t about to go. Cal had warned him dozens of times about how tricky they could be. They’d been asking him the same questions for hours, and mainly who took him to the bar, but he wasn’t going to tell them. He wasn’t a snitch. He looked at the man in the suit who’d just come into the room, but he didn’t answer him. The cop in the uniform who had been with him since they got there answered for him:
“He says his name is Grant Benning. He gave me his home phone number, or so he says it is. I’ve been calling since we picked him up, but no one is answering. He won’t tell me who took him to the bar. That Indian chick, the stripper with all the feathers, she finally admitted he wasn’t with her.” Hialeah held his hand as long as she could during the raid, and she’d even talked the cop into letting her ride in the same police car as him on the way to the station. Once they were there, however, they told him he couldn’t go with her to booking. He still hadn’t seen Cal and the thought of being alone with the cops caused panic to consume him. Cal never said anything good about the cops. He always told Grant if he got “hassled” by them that he should keep his mouth shut and not tell them a thing.
Grant had been as stoic as possible up to that moment, but when they tried to take her away, he pulled his small hand out of the cop’s grasp and threw his body back at Hialeah. He gripped her around the waist and held on tight. It took three cops to peel him off her and when he looked up at her face a tear was running down the side of it. She smiled at him though and said, “It’s going to be okay, little man.” Grant had a feeling he’d never see her again, and that made him sad, but her kindness went far in chasing away the terror he was feeling inside. He watched them take her away and then he set his jaw, raised his chin, and walked with the cop to the interview room like a man.
The cop in the suit sat down and looked at the food that Grant had pushed off to the side. “Not hungry?” Grant shook his head. “It’s hot outside. That Coke looks good. You’re not thirsty either?” Again, Grant shook his head. “You talk?” He nodded. “How old are you, Grant?”
“Eleven.”
“Who do you live with?”
Grant sighed. He’d already answered all of these questions. He wanted to use the “F” word again, but he bit it back and said, “With my mother, Sarah Benning, and she’s not answering the phone because she’s at work. She works at Louie’s Seafood Restaurant in the Back Bay and when they get busy, they don’t answer their phone. I already told him,” he tossed his head at the uniformed officer, “all of this.”
“All except who took you to the bar. Was it your old man?”
“My old man took off before I was born.”
“Does your mom have a boyfriend?”
Grant shrugged. “You’ll have to ask her.”
“Grant, who do you stay with when your mom goes to work?” The cop was trying to trick him. He thought he was talking to an average eleven-year-old.
“I’m eleven. I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Well, Grant, I’m looking at your address and it seems impossible to me that you walked or rode your bike to that bar, so how did you get there?”
“Maybe I took the subway.”
“Maybe you did, or maybe you went in there with some guy we didn’t catch today and you’re afraid to tell us who that is. We can protect you, Grant, and your mom.”
“I don’t need protecting and neither does my mom.”
The police officer sighed. Changing tactics he said, “Grant, how is school?”
“It’s summer break.”
“Mm-hmm, but how do you do in school? You get good grades?”
“Yep. I’m a fucking genius.” Grant struggled in school, a lot. But he wasn’t going to tell this guy that. It was not his business.
The man cocked an eyebrow and said, “Your mom know you use those kinds of words?” Grant shrugged. When Grant didn’t answer him the cop said, “So Grant, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
A loud knock on the door drew the detective’s attention away. He got up and went to the door. He cracked it open and whispered to whoever was there. Grant couldn’t hear what they were saying but after a few seconds the detective pulled the door open and Grant could see a short, stocky woman with white hair standing in the doorway. She smiled at him, like she knew him. Grant didn’t smile back. “Grant, I’m Mrs. Haddock. I work with the police and help them when their cases involve children. Would you like to come with me? We can get you something to eat, and talk.” Grant was starving, but he was determined not to take anything the cops gave him. The lady had a badge on her waist, but no gun, and she looked like someone’s old grandma. He wasn’t going to tell her any more than he told the cops, but his stomach felt like it was eating into his backbone and maybe taking food from her would be okay. He stood up and went to the door. As the detective was about to close it behind him Grant turned and looked up at him and said:
“President.”
The detective lifted his eyebrows again and said, “That’s ambitious. You’ll have to make sure you stay out of trouble and...”
“Of my own motorcycle club.”
“Well then,” the cop said, putting his hands in his pockets and looking down at the exhausted, hungry little boy. Grant kept his chin up and his dark eyes locked into the blue ones of the tall man looking down at him. Another thing Cal had taught him...no matter what you’re feeling, never let anyone see your fear. They held each other’s gaze for what seemed like a long time before the older woman put her hand on his shoulder and said:
“Come on, Grant. Let’s go get you something to eat and call your mom again.”
Grant was about three steps from the door when he heard the detective say, “I don’t think we’ve seen the last of that one.” It wouldn’t be until years later when that cop was over halfway to retirement that he would realize how right he was.
Jessie Cooke writes hot romance novels about tough guys, bad boys, bikers, fighters and lovers and the women of strong character who tame them.
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September 16, 2019
Blog Tour: Savage Angels MC Boxset #2 by Kathleen Kelly
Title: Savage Angels MC Bundle TwoAuthor: Kathleen KellyGenre: Rockstar/MC RomanceRelease Date: September 16, 2019 
These are fast-paced stories around the Savage Angels MC. If you love bossy alphas and strong women, these books are for you. Savage Lover #4
I’m a lone wolf.Two wheels are my home, and the open road is my destination.I’m a soldier, a nomad without a Chapter. That is until the Savage Angels MC welcomed me in.I’ve never felt compelled to stay in one place, the pull of the road, the wind in my hair, the turn of the tires is all I need. Until her—Destiny Bennett. Our attraction is mutual, and she is the one person who can convince me to stay.A rival club has a new leader, their numbers have increased, and they intend to start a war. Problem is Destiny’s at the center of it all.Can I combat my own demons to help Destiny heal hers? Or will my past extinguish any hope of a happily ever after?
Savage Sacrifice #5
What would you sacrifice?For those you trust, for those you’re loyal to, for those you love.When I married Kat, I vowed to her not only my love but my club, my honor, my life. So when I confront her about the pictures of her kissing bad boy rocker, Will Van Ryken, a whole world of hell rains down on me.Feeling guilty, ashamed and disgusted in my behavior, I head back home knowing what I must sacrifice. For my wife, my club, my family.But it seems Will has some dirty secrets of his own, and when the Savage Angels receive a tip about his associations with a known drug lord, they instantly fear Kat may be slipping back into old habits.Can the Grinders and my club work together to keep my woman safe from the clutches of this devil in disguise?
Savage Rebel #6
A Casino. A Rival MC. A Mob Family.Life’s a gamble.It’s how you play the game that defines your odds.Rebel isn’t a name given to me for just any reason. I wear this badge with pride.I’ve been sent on task by my President to Las Vegas to negotiate the purchase of a casino. Though when the local mob family feels threatened, a rival MC—The Dark Warriors—step in to protect their territory.Through the haze of uncertainty, a sparkle catches my eye.Ruby shines bright in the darkness, instantly making her a target for the Warriors, and with a rat in the mix, all bets are off.Can I close the casino deal for my club and save my woman, or will everything go up in smoke?
Warning:All books in the Savage Angels MC Series need to be read in order.
Kathleen Kelly was born in Penrith, NSW, Australia. When she was four her family moved to Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Although born in NSW she considers herself a QUEENSLANDER!!She married her childhood sweetheart and they live in Toowoomba with their fur baby.Kathleen enjoys writing contemporary, romance novels with a little bit of erotica. She draws her inspiration from family, friends and the people around her. She can often be found in cafes writing and observing the locals. If you have any questions about her novels or would like to ask Kathleen a question she can be contacted via e-mail: kathleenkellyauthor@gmail.com or she can be found on Facebook. She loves to be contacted by those that love her books.
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Cover Reveal: Saint Street by Scarlett Hopper
Title: Saint StreetAuthor: Scarlett HopperGenre: NA RomanceRelease Date: September 30, 2019Cover Design: Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations
Augustana Prescott is used to following the crowd. Having lost herself somewhere along the way, a newly graduated Stana decides to leave her lacklustre life in Los Angeles and flee to London. Hoping to discover who she truly is away from all the noise, Stana gets more than she bargained for when she meets the Ronan siblings, Alistair and Emilia.
As she and Emilia grow closer, Stana comes to realise that blood doesn't always make family, and sometimes it's the family you choose, and not the family you're born in to, that matters the most. Stana's connection to Alistair, the manager and singer at her local bar, Saint Street, reignites a flame in herself that she thought was dimmed forever, and she quickly finds her footing in London. The sparks between the handsome Brit and the American girl are clear from the start, but that doesn't mean the path to happily ever after will be easy.
As Stana navigates the trials and tribulations of new love and a makeshift family, her perseverance is tested as strong forces back in LA try to pull her home. When it all becomes too much, Stana will have to decide how much she is willing to risk to keep the life and love she not only wants, but desperately needs.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Scarlett Hopper was born in Sydney, Australia and moved to Los Angeles when she was 10 years old. Her passion for writing came about at a young age when her sister would read her the works of Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath. Three years ago, Scarlett re-located back to Sydney where she studies creative writing and communications. When she isn't writing or reading, she spends her time traveling and searching for the best record stores, while eating at 24 hour diners. After her graduation, Scarlett hopes to move back to the US and begin a new adventure in Seattle.
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August 24, 2019
International Giveaway! Lycan's Blood Queen
International Giveaway! Lycan's Blood Queen
To celebrate the release of my Paranormal Romance, Lycan's Blood Queen, we're giving away 3 ebook copies to 3 winners.
Click https://trendysimplelife.blogspot.com/…/lycans-blood-queen-… to enter the rafflecopter give away now.
Buy from: Amazon US - Ebook | PaperbackAmazon IndiaAmazon CA Smashwords Add to Goodreads
Read 3 sample chapters here
To celebrate the release of my Paranormal Romance, Lycan's Blood Queen, we're giving away 3 ebook copies to 3 winners.
Click https://trendysimplelife.blogspot.com/…/lycans-blood-queen-… to enter the rafflecopter give away now.
Buy from: Amazon US - Ebook | PaperbackAmazon IndiaAmazon CA Smashwords Add to Goodreads
Read 3 sample chapters here
Excerpt! Lycan's Blood Queen
Read 3 sample chapters below...
Buy from:Amazon USEbook | PaperbackAmazon IndiaAmazon CA
SmashwordsAdd to Goodreads
CHAPTER 1Blood was the essence to his madness.The hunt was on. The adrenaline in his veins kept the creature thrilled. He found no delight in mundane things. What mattered was the chase.And the kill.While his initial thought suggested snagging a human for a quick snack, something changed. Though rain hindered his sense of smell by converging everything together, a persistent scent that stood out caught his attention. One that made him falter before taking the life of an earlier prey. The lucky bastard would live tonight thanks to the enriching and enticing aroma that pulled him its way.Hunting in the enemy’s territory was such a turn on, particularly this wannabe victim who smelled like honeysuckle. Boot-clad feet planted in heavy mud as the hungry predator tilted his head back. His nostrils flared as his senses tingled with the need to devour whoever carried the tantalizing sweetness in their blood. A flavor that begged for death. One plea he would gladly fulfill.Eyes that saw through the night, aligned in the direction his nose led him, bringing him to a dilapidated building made up of brick and mortar. His tongue flicked out and slid over gleaming teeth, careful of the fangs that sharpened with the thought and anticipation of draining the prey.But as he stepped forth, his head twisted toward an invading pungent smell.Dogs. And not one that could be shaken off easily.Chapped lips peeled back and a defensive hiss slipped out with a flash of his fangs. At war with his desire to feed and the need to flee, he looked toward the building, then retreated to the woods and escaped into the darkness.***Mia sighed, looking at the papers piled on her table. She had been working on her thesis for the past couple of hours, and she needed a break before she started seeing letters everywhere. Having chronic fatigue syndrome amid finals was not something she wanted.Her hands reached up and rubbed at strained eyes. They were probably bloodshot given how much they stung. She blinked the clock into focus. Half-past seven and she was nowhere near finished with her assignments.Great. On that note, she went back to focusing on the task at hand. Being an honors student meant having a boatload of work.Her stomach all but roared a few minutes later, reminding her she hadn’t eaten in the past six hours. Her kitchen stared back, appearing just as soulless as she felt. She’d forgotten to restock it. Not that she cooked much to begin with, but throwing ramen noodles into a pot sounded a lot better than putting in the extra energy to get dressed and stroll through the streets to hunt down a place of choice.Her stomach rumbled again, giving a final warning before it cannibalized on itself. “Okay, I’m leaving,” she told herself as she headed to get changed.Mia locked the door behind her as she stepped out, rolling her blonde hair into a sloppy bun. Distant thunder and the moist air promised rain showers. Even more reason for her to remain in. She wasn’t looking forward to being wet and cold. Probably explained why her building that housed nearly fifty residents was so quiet. It appeared as if they received the survival notice while it missed her.Despite how she felt about freezing in near rainfall, she reveled in the smell of crisp clarity after being holed up most of the day. The best part about the rain was the enriching scent it carried––of water and earth––the flourishing scent of life. Who would have thought mud would smell so aromatic?Pushing her fists deep into the coat pockets before they froze off, she headed toward a local diner nearby. Dim streetlights illuminated the outline of buildings lined on the side of the empty street. Rock music drifted from one of the worn out apartment complexes. One of the lights in front of the nearby apartment flickered. The eerie glow of lights combined with the rolling thunder gave a haunted touch to her surroundings. There weren’t many shops in this part of town. Students and bachelors preferred this area for its cheaper rents.Idly, Mia thought about her father. Where was he? What was he doing? A normal person might just pull out their phone and call him. But that wasn’t their relationship. She was used to him not speaking with her often. Occasionally, little signs of his love for her would appear. A note. A sweater. And, books among the others.Sounded more like a butler than a father. Still, that was all it took to warm her heart.The only time they ever shared a conversation that lasted longer than a minute was when she graduated from high school. It annoyed her when he gave her a credit card, along with a list of rules to abide by. Guess it was easier to keep an eye on her while she was still under the same roof as him. College was a different story. If it wasn’t for her career of choice, her father would have been the hammer and the anvil to leading a robotic lifestyle.There had been a list of curfews that alternated around daylight savings and seasonal changes. People not to associate herself with—which comprised of the entire student body and then some—and things not to do in her free time. Clubbing, hang-outs, even driving around with anyone that wasn’t on public transportation, were serious offenses to her father. The only thing he didn’t monitor was her diet.Overprotective much? To most, perhaps. Paranoid was her answer—She bumped into something bringing her back into the present. "Watch it," the person snapped. A big guy from what she saw. Tall with dark hair and definitely the sensitive type based on the way he glared at her.Seriously? A wrinkle on his shirt bothered him that much?“Sorry,” she said with little meaning. He could’ve watched himself too. His pal standing behind him seemed the livelier of the duo. Handsome too with his blond hair and spring green eyes. Yeah, she supposed even Mr. Grumpy fit in that category, with his darker features.And whew, were they tall as heck, towering over her like skyscrapers. She wasn’t short to begin with, but their height and aura seemed. . .otherworldly.Dangerous.They sidestepped around her, moving on ahead. She continued on, involuntarily following their lead. Her mundane thought process halting as her instinct suddenly woke up. It was a shrieking alarm that forced her to keep her eyes on them. The same sensation you get when walking into the woods and coming across a mountain lion or a wolf. You stand your ground and hold your guard.Goldilocks turned his head over a shoulder, a glint in his eyes that didn’t seem so nice anymore. Her internal alarm dinged off electric signals all over her, and she almost expected them to do something. But they got in their muscle car parked along the sidewalk, the windows tinted so darkly it obscured her view. The warnings still didn’t go away, and she doubted if they were watching her. Only when the angry red Mustang came to life and backed out onto the black asphalt did her senses relax.Something was off. They were wrong. They were all wrong. And she hadn’t the faintest idea why or how.She somehow perceived that.Her stomach rumbled in the silence of the aftermath. Mia shook her head to clear her concern and schooled her expressions before entering the diner. CHAPTER 2Juan suppressed a growl as he walked through the woods with his brother. They rushed here after receiving a message from the border patrol. There had been a breach. Somehow, the intruder slipped through their tight security.They circled the perimeter, concluding their uninvited guest had escaped into the no man’s land once again. The brothers backtracked to where they started––the outskirts of the town. Scrunched leaves and the broken twigs guided them through its path.“The trail ends here,” Juan said. His head tilted, thumb and index finger caressing his square chin. A habit he obtained in his childhood. He squatted to study the wet footprints on the ground. His gaze lifted, peering into the darkness. Everything was calm, nothing out of the ordinary. The lingering dampness the atmosphere hinted at another downpour. His nose flared, drawing in the different scents from his surroundings––wet sand, trees, rotting leaves, small furry animals that ventured out of their holes in search of food––drifted through his nostrils.Then there was this stench that assaulted his senses. Corrupt. Damaging. The distinguished smell was laced with thrill––excitement of a predator. Who is the prey? Being a lycanthrope, he could smell the emotions of a person. His senses never betrayed him. He has spent years, honing his tracking skills.The furrow between his brows deepened. “He was alone,” Juan murmured, inspecting the tree line again. “And looking for prey.”“They’ve never hunted this far into our territory before,” his younger brother, Matthew, said. “This is the third sighting this week. Two humans are missing.”Juan’s jaw clenched. These weren’t just attacks, but an open challenge to their pack. One they’d gladly respond to. The messy footprints belonged to one person. The creature met no one that night. Their intruder was observing. He seemed to have remained at one particular spot a little longer. The spot allowed him vantage point to one particular building. He gazed at the old structure, concluding that the prey resided in one of the apartments.“Something’s amiss.” The leeches didn’t stalk or target a prey. They attacked out of the blue.“Brother, did you smell that?”He inhaled deeply, tuning in his senses before finally catching it. A mixture of citrus and flowery fragrances with an underlying stench that shouldn’t belong––An image popped in his memory. It was coming from one of the open windows. It was her.The girl they ran into earlier. There was a hint of a vampiresque scent on the female when they met. It set their impulses on fire. But she possessed no characteristic features that can be defined as a vampire.Was she his accomplice? He was quick to curb that notion. It didn’t make sense. He rubbed his chin out of habit. Perhaps it was a coincidence, and he was actually here for someone else. But they needed to investigate this further. How she went unnoticed for so long was something he couldn’t come to terms with.The omegas, that comprised the majority of the pack worked around the city. They should have been able to sense her presence. Last night’s encounter could be intentional. She showed no fear or shock. Her heartbeat was normal.“There’s more to this.” Every single thought ended with a question in his mind. How did she mask her scent? Witchcraft? What if there were more like her? The thought was unsettling to his beast. “We should tell him,” Matthew suggested after a moment of silence. Yes, they had to inform the alpha and the king of the lycans––their elder brother, Aaron George Randolph.“I’ll call him now.” The conversation was short and to the point. Not even hitting the minute mark when he hung up.“He wants us to tail her.”“I’m fucking tired of chasing tail,” Matthew said with rolling aggression. “We’re better off tossing her ass in a chamber.” Get rid of one pest for the day. “A fucking student at our university.”“It’s a place with a tremendous blood supply, and no one would suspect a thing,” Juan agreed. Smart girl, though. Unfortunately, not smart enough. “If things were easy, I’d have killed her already.” Nostrils flaring, his brother glared around. Given the tension in his body, he fought the temptation of pacing the forest floor to the dust and back, another of his habits. A natural born predator with an even deadlier side to him begged to be released from its host.“Easy, Matt.” Phone still out, he shot a text to some of the pack members. This girl intrigued him. She didn’t have the qualities of a vampire, yet she smelled like one. There was this strange aura around her; he couldn’t put his finger on. What are your intentions?He’d soon discover. “We need her alive.” For various reasons, but if what she confessed wasn’t satisfactory to their ears, she would not walk away fully intact.She was still the enemy.***He stood with his back to her. A large figure in front of the massive fire roaring, more like screaming, into the night.She took a few steps toward him, her laced boots padding against the ground. As she got closer, the fire became brighter. Engulfing her in the warmth, but also blinding her.Then she saw the body in the pyre. Charred and blackened. Its head turned to her, a hand reaching for her from the blazing heat, holding tightly onto her boot, screeching her eardrums to deafness. The smell of decaying and burning flesh assaulting her.A hard grip on her shoulder forced her to face the hooded man.“Dad?”“Don’t look back.”It was a classic scene, happening in most books and movies she’d seen. The protagonist waking up in the puddle of their own sweat due to nightmarish premonitions, right before something bad was about to go down. And it was happening to her.Sitting up in her bed, she glanced at the clock which showcased a rather disgusting number. Daybreak wasn’t in close proximity. She uncapped and gulped down the entire bottle of water kept under her bed. She set it on the table, lingering on the plastic container a moment longer than necessary.That hadn’t been a nightmare. It had been more like a memory. The fear and pain were too real.The sense of foreboding didn’t end with the dream, though.Later that day, there was urgency to her step when she left class. There was no logical explanation to it, but something was wrong. And she couldn’t help but see her father as the driving force behind it since the resurfaced nightmare.“Mia!”Mia stopped just as she reached the double doors that led her outside the building. Stella, the petite young woman, who approached her, was energetic as always. Her sable hair had been recently cut just below her ears, adding a sleek sophistication to her bubbly personality. Stella usually made her want to drink twenty espressos just to keep up with her, except today wasn’t that day.“Hey.” She kept things short and sweet. “Do you want something?”“Want something?” Confusion crossed her friend’s face. “I thought we were going to take our mock exams together.”Crap. She’d forgotten. It wasn’t like the weight of desperate worry looming over her had anything to do with her lack of memory.“Ladies! What’s up!”And here was Peter. The wrangler in decision making. He was a pretty absolute guy, though he lacked self-preservation. The all-American nice guy participated in every college event that was comprised of sports or social involvement. And he had an enormous crush on Mia.“You guys are taking the mock exams?” Peter asked only Mia, though Stella answered in her place.“Yeah. We are. We had no idea you were too.” She was surprised, not that Mia blamed her. He was nice, but he didn’t particularly excel in the science division, let alone participate in the practice exams.“I signed up the other day.”“Oh, gosh. That late fee is no joke. You should have paid for it when we did last semester. It was like a hundred dollars cheaper.”“Really? I didn’t know that,” he said, scratching the back of his head and looking away. The blush on his face was a dead giveaway as to why he was doing this.Thank you, Stella, for the rescue. Maybe now she could sneak off—“Why don’t you come with us?” Stella offered sweetly, like bad karma. “We were just getting ready to leave.”So, she wasn’t the saving grace Mia had thought her to be.Damn it.“Cool. Mind if I grab something to eat first? There’s this vendor that sells badass steak rolls. I’ll treat us—”“I have to make a phone call.” She suddenly interrupted him. She didn’t wait for them to respond as she stepped to the side, took out her phone and dialed her father. When it ended with a long beep, she texted him and tried not to let her worry develop into a panic.Everything was all right. Maybe he was just busy or just didn’t want to talk right now. Maybe she was worried for nothing, and he was actually throwing away the money he earned to pay for her college tuition, which also included the fees for these tests.She forced herself to release the hard grip she had on her phone before returning to her entourage, finally taking off some edge by constantly chanting, “Everything is all right.” She was just overreacting over a little dream.As they stepped outside, the feeling of being watched hit her like it did this morning when she was leaving her place. Though she kept it to herself as they crossed the street, she fought the urge to scratch the back of her neck, feeling like a flea was there.Except it wasn’t a flea. Her problems were much bigger than she assumed.***The men sitting in the ’67 Fastback watched as she entered the brick establishment. Who would have guessed these leeches infested their territory? So far, they've learned she was the only one. They had their people run a mass background check on every faculty member and student.Matthew tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, while Juan continued to go through the papers in his hands.“Nothing useful,” he declared, shoving everything back inside the folder.“Drive,” he ordered, and Matthew eased their way into traffic. He observed her from the mirrors when they passed. “Why don’t we take her into custody?”“And warn the others if there are more?” Juan shook his head. “Don’t get carried away. Our target is the one behind her.”Matthew grounded his molars, but said nothing to that. “So what’s the plan?”“We have her father’s name. Ted Lawrence. We start there.” CHAPTER 3Cold crisp air filled his lungs. But it did nothing to ease the tension. Aaron George Randolph marched to the balcony. His fists clenched. They were in his territory again––hunting. His beast was on edge. It has just been little more than a week since his last run. Strong muscles in his arms flexed as he tightened his grip on the railing.They wanted a challenge, and he’d give it to them. He’d hunt them all and burn their asses, erasing their species for once and for all.The double doors to his makeshift office swung open.His father strode in, moving further to sit on the leather seat. Aaron inherited all his physical features from his father. Both having golden blond hair and warm brown eyes with high cheekbones and strong jaw lines, but he stood a couple inches taller than his father at six-foot-three."Something’s bothering you.” His father, Jerome, observed.Instead of answering, the towering male made his way back inside the room and over to the cart filled with an unimaginable variety of tea. He filled the white china with the patience of a sprouting seed, waiting for the water to come to a boil before dousing it over the organic leaves sitting in the teacup. Saucer in hand, he balanced it perfectly with every step and placed it gently in front of his father.“I suppose you’re telling me to mind my own business." The former king closed his eyes, relaxing against the leather couch. He smirked. “It’s nothing you should worry about.”“I could argue that point, but I lack your mother’s perverseness. She could carry on an argument for weeks without an end in sight.” He chuckled. “But I know my boys. You’ll do whatever you want no matter the consequence.”Smiling, Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose before sitting across his father and pulling up the slacks to be comfortable. “Are you trying to score yourself a humble brag, Dad?”He scoffed. “Definitely not. Your mother won in most departments. I just gladly resorted myself to taking an L whenever I possibly could.”The strapping male seated opposite to the former king visibly cringed at his modern use of words.“God, don’t say that again.”He laughed. “I’ve got to find ways of keeping myself entertained. Bringing good stories to tell your mother when I meet her again. Otherwise, she’ll have my ass for being such a gloom bucket.” His oldest son looked across the table at his father, noticing the deep, dark bags under his eyes that once shone with authority and love. Jerome was slowly but surely becoming a skeleton of the male he once used to be. But this was the curse of their race––one mate for a lifetime. Since the loss of his mate, the words have slowly proven themselves true as sorrow etched all his features. Anything and everything reminded the male of his dead mate, their mother.To live out such a life even after finding your soul mate. . .Aaron looked away, swallowing hard before standing. He’d been trying to rub the edge off, but this made matters worse.He thought back to the time when his parents used to live happily, eyes twinkling with joy and love for each other. Often enjoying brunch and evening tea together. Esmeralda Maria Randolph, his mother, was always the voice of reason. He gained that quality from his mother. “It isn’t healthy to hold your beast a hostage for so long, son.” A quiet sip escaped his father. “A good run ought to set you both on track.”“No time,” he said. Aaron knew his father was right. He’d have to let it out soon or risk hurting someone. Having a mate would square all that out, but now it was not what his mind was occupied with. The war was looming on their heads. He had no time for anything else. “Juan and Matthew are following a lead, and I’m conflicted about the winter ball.” The pack would expect him to choose a mate."You don't have to hurry, son. Wait for the right female. You have better control of your beast than I did." Jerome’s hand combed through Aaron’s hair. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he tilted his head, leaning toward his father.“Is there any progress with the clans?”“No.” The leaders of the three fellow clans were siblings, and Henry, his grandfather, was the firstborn. They lived together until the war among the supernaturals for the greed of power ripped them apart. The losses were too great, and the brothers didn’t agree with Henry’s views regarding the war. The estranged brothers now lived with their families and their own packs in different cities. Packs run by betas. Didn’t they realize the beasts needed their alpha? “What about the others?”Aaron sighed. “I suspect Helius is in bed with the vampires.” The hot-headed demon king was a constant pain in their asses. His spies spotted said demon with the leeches, not on one but two such occasions. It was bad enough that the demon was already on the fence. Despite his promise to stay away from the war, his sword was now tilting toward the wrong side of the playing field. Aaron knew he couldn’t trust that bastard. Demons were tricky. It was for the best to not assume anything with their kind, even if things looked rather bleak.“And what about the fae?”“Their three subjects were abducted last week. King Luvon wants help.” He stood and walked to his massive desk, sipping his tea thoughtfully. His gaze drifted through the stack of papers waiting for him. He’d send out a team of his best trackers. He wondered how much more successful his team would be this time. The trail always ended cold. It was as if they disappear into thin air. Perhaps that was what they did. He could see the need to have someone else in the field. Someone, who could trace magic back to its origin."Now tell me about the girl your brothers found," his father asked sitting upright, cold fury replacing the warmth of his brown eyes.Aaron sensed the pain behind that fury. "She’s under surveillance.”Anger flared within him. The recent discovery had been a crest to his ever-growing problems. He wanted nothing more than to drag her sorry ass to the torture chambers. He had never hurt a female before. But I want to hurt this one.Her kind had been their mortal enemies ever since they came into existence."Let me know when you have something; and son, be careful with this one.” Jerome stood.His nod was grim. "Sure."He dialed the familiar number for the third time today. Maximus, his third-in-command hadn’t checked in this afternoon.“John!” He reached out through their telepathic link. A convenient ability the lycanthropes and the werewolves possessed. It helped them to communicate with one another telepathically. It sure came handy often, but they had to be in close proximity for it to work. The link weakened with the distance.“Yes, Alpha.”“Max is in trouble. Get Frankie to track his phone.”“I’m on it.”“See what the leeches outside the city know of this girl.”“Certainly, Alpha.”He knew a few vampires were forced into this life. Hundreds of them lived on the outskirts of his territory with his approval. However, none had warned him about the intruder. How dare she barge into my territory without my permission? He refused to believe the things he heard about her. Her innocent appearance helped her blend with the humans. Looks could be deceiving. She has an agenda. That much was clear. Why else she would be in his territory under the disguise of a student?A trespasser. What were they planning this time? They were on the move. His hatred was directed to their king who set this in motion. No one knew where he hid his sanctuary, guarding it with the magic of witches. And Lilith, the witch, was the key. Escorting her to Brookedge was the task given to Maximus.He strolled to the balcony. His clothes ripped as his beast pushed forward. Bones snapped and realigned. Razor sharp claws burst out of his fingertips. Midnight black fur replaced his human skin. The beast of the night rolled its shoulders. He jumped over the railing, landing gracefully on the ground before taking off toward the east.***Mia woke up soaked in her sweat. The nightmares were becoming her constant companion, and it troubled her. She checked her phone, frowning when there was no reply from her father. He never went this long without responding. Is he in trouble? No. He could protect his own hide.Hopping out of the bed, she strolled toward her tiny en-suite bathroom for her morning ritual. Mia longed for a run. Sometimes physical exertion helped clear the mind. An annoyed groan hissed out from her mouth entering the small space of the bathroom. At least they had running water though she’d have preferred it to be hotter. The worn-out cabinets that held the toiletries made her wonder if they’d survive this year. She could hardly see herself in the old mirror with rusty edges. The sense of foreboding subsided as she started the shower.A soft masculine hum reached her ears and her lips stretched to form a smile. These mundane things reminded her how ignorant the humans were. Would they be still singing if they knew they lived in a world filled with mythical creatures? Creatures that shouldn’t exist. She lived with that blissful ignorance until the incident a couple of years ago.The thin walls of her cozy apartment offered little privacy. She could often tell when her neighbor was awake or when he was moving around his house. Mia was thankful that he was a friendly guy who never had guests or female friends over. That’d have been awkward.An audible breath whooshed out of her at the thought. . .Dressing in a pair of tight jeans and turtleneck long-sleeved T-shirt, she pulled on her sweater. It did little to keep her warm in the ever-growing cold weather. Thanks to the centralized heating system that kept her room relatively warm.There was nothing much to do with exams around the corner. She was tempted to skip school, but then remembered she had a meeting with the college’s Career Services Counselor. The lack of caffeine was catching up with her. She ran out of coffee among other things and made a note to restock her pantry.While she blamed it on her reluctance to spend what’s more than necessary, she didn’t want to live under her father’s roof. However, with all the academic work, it was hard to find a part-time job without risking her grades. The time had finally come for her to pursue her dreams. “Good morning, Mia.” Logan chirped with his signature smile when she bumped into him in the corridor. She threw him a smile over her shoulder while locking the door.“Morning. How’s work?” she asked as they took the stairs down.“Busy. How is college?”“Good.”“Aren’t you graduating this year?”“I am.”Logan worked somewhere in the city. Their conversations were limited. She preferred it that way. Less is better. She bid him goodbye once they reached the diner and took the bus to her college. She couldn’t wait to get back to her apartment once the day was over. However, sleep was a luxury she couldn’t afford with finals drawing closer. She only had a week to prepare.“Mia!”Mia whirled around to see Stella, who ran toward her with a set of books hugged to her chest, hair whipping around her face as she ran.“Hey, I thought you left early,” Mia said as a greeting.“No. I was in the office, clearing up my dues. Are you done with your thesis yet?”“Yep,” she replied enthusiastically. A sense of accomplishment filled her. She was now one step closer to her freedom.“So how did your meeting go?”Mia adjusted her shoulder bag. “Good. There are a few internship opportunities I’m looking forward to.”“That’s great. Randolph’s on-campus recruiting is the best.”It was at that moment that the hair on her neck stood, and her skin prickled with awareness. Her heart thundered against her ribs, and her senses seemed to have heightened without her realizing it. She turned around to see no one. Hesitant feet moved when Stella dragged her along. She let out a shaky breath as a spot on her back tingled.“Did you see what Peter did the other day?”No, and I don’t care. Her mind was on the invisible stalker, who set her instincts on fire. Stella distracted her momentarily when a shadow moved past the tree line in her peripheral vision at the far end of the football field. A sudden flash of fear washed over her as her mind replayed the memory she tried hard to forget.I wish it’s just my mind playing tricks.
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CHAPTER 1Blood was the essence to his madness.The hunt was on. The adrenaline in his veins kept the creature thrilled. He found no delight in mundane things. What mattered was the chase.And the kill.While his initial thought suggested snagging a human for a quick snack, something changed. Though rain hindered his sense of smell by converging everything together, a persistent scent that stood out caught his attention. One that made him falter before taking the life of an earlier prey. The lucky bastard would live tonight thanks to the enriching and enticing aroma that pulled him its way.Hunting in the enemy’s territory was such a turn on, particularly this wannabe victim who smelled like honeysuckle. Boot-clad feet planted in heavy mud as the hungry predator tilted his head back. His nostrils flared as his senses tingled with the need to devour whoever carried the tantalizing sweetness in their blood. A flavor that begged for death. One plea he would gladly fulfill.Eyes that saw through the night, aligned in the direction his nose led him, bringing him to a dilapidated building made up of brick and mortar. His tongue flicked out and slid over gleaming teeth, careful of the fangs that sharpened with the thought and anticipation of draining the prey.But as he stepped forth, his head twisted toward an invading pungent smell.Dogs. And not one that could be shaken off easily.Chapped lips peeled back and a defensive hiss slipped out with a flash of his fangs. At war with his desire to feed and the need to flee, he looked toward the building, then retreated to the woods and escaped into the darkness.***Mia sighed, looking at the papers piled on her table. She had been working on her thesis for the past couple of hours, and she needed a break before she started seeing letters everywhere. Having chronic fatigue syndrome amid finals was not something she wanted.Her hands reached up and rubbed at strained eyes. They were probably bloodshot given how much they stung. She blinked the clock into focus. Half-past seven and she was nowhere near finished with her assignments.Great. On that note, she went back to focusing on the task at hand. Being an honors student meant having a boatload of work.Her stomach all but roared a few minutes later, reminding her she hadn’t eaten in the past six hours. Her kitchen stared back, appearing just as soulless as she felt. She’d forgotten to restock it. Not that she cooked much to begin with, but throwing ramen noodles into a pot sounded a lot better than putting in the extra energy to get dressed and stroll through the streets to hunt down a place of choice.Her stomach rumbled again, giving a final warning before it cannibalized on itself. “Okay, I’m leaving,” she told herself as she headed to get changed.Mia locked the door behind her as she stepped out, rolling her blonde hair into a sloppy bun. Distant thunder and the moist air promised rain showers. Even more reason for her to remain in. She wasn’t looking forward to being wet and cold. Probably explained why her building that housed nearly fifty residents was so quiet. It appeared as if they received the survival notice while it missed her.Despite how she felt about freezing in near rainfall, she reveled in the smell of crisp clarity after being holed up most of the day. The best part about the rain was the enriching scent it carried––of water and earth––the flourishing scent of life. Who would have thought mud would smell so aromatic?Pushing her fists deep into the coat pockets before they froze off, she headed toward a local diner nearby. Dim streetlights illuminated the outline of buildings lined on the side of the empty street. Rock music drifted from one of the worn out apartment complexes. One of the lights in front of the nearby apartment flickered. The eerie glow of lights combined with the rolling thunder gave a haunted touch to her surroundings. There weren’t many shops in this part of town. Students and bachelors preferred this area for its cheaper rents.Idly, Mia thought about her father. Where was he? What was he doing? A normal person might just pull out their phone and call him. But that wasn’t their relationship. She was used to him not speaking with her often. Occasionally, little signs of his love for her would appear. A note. A sweater. And, books among the others.Sounded more like a butler than a father. Still, that was all it took to warm her heart.The only time they ever shared a conversation that lasted longer than a minute was when she graduated from high school. It annoyed her when he gave her a credit card, along with a list of rules to abide by. Guess it was easier to keep an eye on her while she was still under the same roof as him. College was a different story. If it wasn’t for her career of choice, her father would have been the hammer and the anvil to leading a robotic lifestyle.There had been a list of curfews that alternated around daylight savings and seasonal changes. People not to associate herself with—which comprised of the entire student body and then some—and things not to do in her free time. Clubbing, hang-outs, even driving around with anyone that wasn’t on public transportation, were serious offenses to her father. The only thing he didn’t monitor was her diet.Overprotective much? To most, perhaps. Paranoid was her answer—She bumped into something bringing her back into the present. "Watch it," the person snapped. A big guy from what she saw. Tall with dark hair and definitely the sensitive type based on the way he glared at her.Seriously? A wrinkle on his shirt bothered him that much?“Sorry,” she said with little meaning. He could’ve watched himself too. His pal standing behind him seemed the livelier of the duo. Handsome too with his blond hair and spring green eyes. Yeah, she supposed even Mr. Grumpy fit in that category, with his darker features.And whew, were they tall as heck, towering over her like skyscrapers. She wasn’t short to begin with, but their height and aura seemed. . .otherworldly.Dangerous.They sidestepped around her, moving on ahead. She continued on, involuntarily following their lead. Her mundane thought process halting as her instinct suddenly woke up. It was a shrieking alarm that forced her to keep her eyes on them. The same sensation you get when walking into the woods and coming across a mountain lion or a wolf. You stand your ground and hold your guard.Goldilocks turned his head over a shoulder, a glint in his eyes that didn’t seem so nice anymore. Her internal alarm dinged off electric signals all over her, and she almost expected them to do something. But they got in their muscle car parked along the sidewalk, the windows tinted so darkly it obscured her view. The warnings still didn’t go away, and she doubted if they were watching her. Only when the angry red Mustang came to life and backed out onto the black asphalt did her senses relax.Something was off. They were wrong. They were all wrong. And she hadn’t the faintest idea why or how.She somehow perceived that.Her stomach rumbled in the silence of the aftermath. Mia shook her head to clear her concern and schooled her expressions before entering the diner. CHAPTER 2Juan suppressed a growl as he walked through the woods with his brother. They rushed here after receiving a message from the border patrol. There had been a breach. Somehow, the intruder slipped through their tight security.They circled the perimeter, concluding their uninvited guest had escaped into the no man’s land once again. The brothers backtracked to where they started––the outskirts of the town. Scrunched leaves and the broken twigs guided them through its path.“The trail ends here,” Juan said. His head tilted, thumb and index finger caressing his square chin. A habit he obtained in his childhood. He squatted to study the wet footprints on the ground. His gaze lifted, peering into the darkness. Everything was calm, nothing out of the ordinary. The lingering dampness the atmosphere hinted at another downpour. His nose flared, drawing in the different scents from his surroundings––wet sand, trees, rotting leaves, small furry animals that ventured out of their holes in search of food––drifted through his nostrils.Then there was this stench that assaulted his senses. Corrupt. Damaging. The distinguished smell was laced with thrill––excitement of a predator. Who is the prey? Being a lycanthrope, he could smell the emotions of a person. His senses never betrayed him. He has spent years, honing his tracking skills.The furrow between his brows deepened. “He was alone,” Juan murmured, inspecting the tree line again. “And looking for prey.”“They’ve never hunted this far into our territory before,” his younger brother, Matthew, said. “This is the third sighting this week. Two humans are missing.”Juan’s jaw clenched. These weren’t just attacks, but an open challenge to their pack. One they’d gladly respond to. The messy footprints belonged to one person. The creature met no one that night. Their intruder was observing. He seemed to have remained at one particular spot a little longer. The spot allowed him vantage point to one particular building. He gazed at the old structure, concluding that the prey resided in one of the apartments.“Something’s amiss.” The leeches didn’t stalk or target a prey. They attacked out of the blue.“Brother, did you smell that?”He inhaled deeply, tuning in his senses before finally catching it. A mixture of citrus and flowery fragrances with an underlying stench that shouldn’t belong––An image popped in his memory. It was coming from one of the open windows. It was her.The girl they ran into earlier. There was a hint of a vampiresque scent on the female when they met. It set their impulses on fire. But she possessed no characteristic features that can be defined as a vampire.Was she his accomplice? He was quick to curb that notion. It didn’t make sense. He rubbed his chin out of habit. Perhaps it was a coincidence, and he was actually here for someone else. But they needed to investigate this further. How she went unnoticed for so long was something he couldn’t come to terms with.The omegas, that comprised the majority of the pack worked around the city. They should have been able to sense her presence. Last night’s encounter could be intentional. She showed no fear or shock. Her heartbeat was normal.“There’s more to this.” Every single thought ended with a question in his mind. How did she mask her scent? Witchcraft? What if there were more like her? The thought was unsettling to his beast. “We should tell him,” Matthew suggested after a moment of silence. Yes, they had to inform the alpha and the king of the lycans––their elder brother, Aaron George Randolph.“I’ll call him now.” The conversation was short and to the point. Not even hitting the minute mark when he hung up.“He wants us to tail her.”“I’m fucking tired of chasing tail,” Matthew said with rolling aggression. “We’re better off tossing her ass in a chamber.” Get rid of one pest for the day. “A fucking student at our university.”“It’s a place with a tremendous blood supply, and no one would suspect a thing,” Juan agreed. Smart girl, though. Unfortunately, not smart enough. “If things were easy, I’d have killed her already.” Nostrils flaring, his brother glared around. Given the tension in his body, he fought the temptation of pacing the forest floor to the dust and back, another of his habits. A natural born predator with an even deadlier side to him begged to be released from its host.“Easy, Matt.” Phone still out, he shot a text to some of the pack members. This girl intrigued him. She didn’t have the qualities of a vampire, yet she smelled like one. There was this strange aura around her; he couldn’t put his finger on. What are your intentions?He’d soon discover. “We need her alive.” For various reasons, but if what she confessed wasn’t satisfactory to their ears, she would not walk away fully intact.She was still the enemy.***He stood with his back to her. A large figure in front of the massive fire roaring, more like screaming, into the night.She took a few steps toward him, her laced boots padding against the ground. As she got closer, the fire became brighter. Engulfing her in the warmth, but also blinding her.Then she saw the body in the pyre. Charred and blackened. Its head turned to her, a hand reaching for her from the blazing heat, holding tightly onto her boot, screeching her eardrums to deafness. The smell of decaying and burning flesh assaulting her.A hard grip on her shoulder forced her to face the hooded man.“Dad?”“Don’t look back.”It was a classic scene, happening in most books and movies she’d seen. The protagonist waking up in the puddle of their own sweat due to nightmarish premonitions, right before something bad was about to go down. And it was happening to her.Sitting up in her bed, she glanced at the clock which showcased a rather disgusting number. Daybreak wasn’t in close proximity. She uncapped and gulped down the entire bottle of water kept under her bed. She set it on the table, lingering on the plastic container a moment longer than necessary.That hadn’t been a nightmare. It had been more like a memory. The fear and pain were too real.The sense of foreboding didn’t end with the dream, though.Later that day, there was urgency to her step when she left class. There was no logical explanation to it, but something was wrong. And she couldn’t help but see her father as the driving force behind it since the resurfaced nightmare.“Mia!”Mia stopped just as she reached the double doors that led her outside the building. Stella, the petite young woman, who approached her, was energetic as always. Her sable hair had been recently cut just below her ears, adding a sleek sophistication to her bubbly personality. Stella usually made her want to drink twenty espressos just to keep up with her, except today wasn’t that day.“Hey.” She kept things short and sweet. “Do you want something?”“Want something?” Confusion crossed her friend’s face. “I thought we were going to take our mock exams together.”Crap. She’d forgotten. It wasn’t like the weight of desperate worry looming over her had anything to do with her lack of memory.“Ladies! What’s up!”And here was Peter. The wrangler in decision making. He was a pretty absolute guy, though he lacked self-preservation. The all-American nice guy participated in every college event that was comprised of sports or social involvement. And he had an enormous crush on Mia.“You guys are taking the mock exams?” Peter asked only Mia, though Stella answered in her place.“Yeah. We are. We had no idea you were too.” She was surprised, not that Mia blamed her. He was nice, but he didn’t particularly excel in the science division, let alone participate in the practice exams.“I signed up the other day.”“Oh, gosh. That late fee is no joke. You should have paid for it when we did last semester. It was like a hundred dollars cheaper.”“Really? I didn’t know that,” he said, scratching the back of his head and looking away. The blush on his face was a dead giveaway as to why he was doing this.Thank you, Stella, for the rescue. Maybe now she could sneak off—“Why don’t you come with us?” Stella offered sweetly, like bad karma. “We were just getting ready to leave.”So, she wasn’t the saving grace Mia had thought her to be.Damn it.“Cool. Mind if I grab something to eat first? There’s this vendor that sells badass steak rolls. I’ll treat us—”“I have to make a phone call.” She suddenly interrupted him. She didn’t wait for them to respond as she stepped to the side, took out her phone and dialed her father. When it ended with a long beep, she texted him and tried not to let her worry develop into a panic.Everything was all right. Maybe he was just busy or just didn’t want to talk right now. Maybe she was worried for nothing, and he was actually throwing away the money he earned to pay for her college tuition, which also included the fees for these tests.She forced herself to release the hard grip she had on her phone before returning to her entourage, finally taking off some edge by constantly chanting, “Everything is all right.” She was just overreacting over a little dream.As they stepped outside, the feeling of being watched hit her like it did this morning when she was leaving her place. Though she kept it to herself as they crossed the street, she fought the urge to scratch the back of her neck, feeling like a flea was there.Except it wasn’t a flea. Her problems were much bigger than she assumed.***The men sitting in the ’67 Fastback watched as she entered the brick establishment. Who would have guessed these leeches infested their territory? So far, they've learned she was the only one. They had their people run a mass background check on every faculty member and student.Matthew tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, while Juan continued to go through the papers in his hands.“Nothing useful,” he declared, shoving everything back inside the folder.“Drive,” he ordered, and Matthew eased their way into traffic. He observed her from the mirrors when they passed. “Why don’t we take her into custody?”“And warn the others if there are more?” Juan shook his head. “Don’t get carried away. Our target is the one behind her.”Matthew grounded his molars, but said nothing to that. “So what’s the plan?”“We have her father’s name. Ted Lawrence. We start there.” CHAPTER 3Cold crisp air filled his lungs. But it did nothing to ease the tension. Aaron George Randolph marched to the balcony. His fists clenched. They were in his territory again––hunting. His beast was on edge. It has just been little more than a week since his last run. Strong muscles in his arms flexed as he tightened his grip on the railing.They wanted a challenge, and he’d give it to them. He’d hunt them all and burn their asses, erasing their species for once and for all.The double doors to his makeshift office swung open.His father strode in, moving further to sit on the leather seat. Aaron inherited all his physical features from his father. Both having golden blond hair and warm brown eyes with high cheekbones and strong jaw lines, but he stood a couple inches taller than his father at six-foot-three."Something’s bothering you.” His father, Jerome, observed.Instead of answering, the towering male made his way back inside the room and over to the cart filled with an unimaginable variety of tea. He filled the white china with the patience of a sprouting seed, waiting for the water to come to a boil before dousing it over the organic leaves sitting in the teacup. Saucer in hand, he balanced it perfectly with every step and placed it gently in front of his father.“I suppose you’re telling me to mind my own business." The former king closed his eyes, relaxing against the leather couch. He smirked. “It’s nothing you should worry about.”“I could argue that point, but I lack your mother’s perverseness. She could carry on an argument for weeks without an end in sight.” He chuckled. “But I know my boys. You’ll do whatever you want no matter the consequence.”Smiling, Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose before sitting across his father and pulling up the slacks to be comfortable. “Are you trying to score yourself a humble brag, Dad?”He scoffed. “Definitely not. Your mother won in most departments. I just gladly resorted myself to taking an L whenever I possibly could.”The strapping male seated opposite to the former king visibly cringed at his modern use of words.“God, don’t say that again.”He laughed. “I’ve got to find ways of keeping myself entertained. Bringing good stories to tell your mother when I meet her again. Otherwise, she’ll have my ass for being such a gloom bucket.” His oldest son looked across the table at his father, noticing the deep, dark bags under his eyes that once shone with authority and love. Jerome was slowly but surely becoming a skeleton of the male he once used to be. But this was the curse of their race––one mate for a lifetime. Since the loss of his mate, the words have slowly proven themselves true as sorrow etched all his features. Anything and everything reminded the male of his dead mate, their mother.To live out such a life even after finding your soul mate. . .Aaron looked away, swallowing hard before standing. He’d been trying to rub the edge off, but this made matters worse.He thought back to the time when his parents used to live happily, eyes twinkling with joy and love for each other. Often enjoying brunch and evening tea together. Esmeralda Maria Randolph, his mother, was always the voice of reason. He gained that quality from his mother. “It isn’t healthy to hold your beast a hostage for so long, son.” A quiet sip escaped his father. “A good run ought to set you both on track.”“No time,” he said. Aaron knew his father was right. He’d have to let it out soon or risk hurting someone. Having a mate would square all that out, but now it was not what his mind was occupied with. The war was looming on their heads. He had no time for anything else. “Juan and Matthew are following a lead, and I’m conflicted about the winter ball.” The pack would expect him to choose a mate."You don't have to hurry, son. Wait for the right female. You have better control of your beast than I did." Jerome’s hand combed through Aaron’s hair. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he tilted his head, leaning toward his father.“Is there any progress with the clans?”“No.” The leaders of the three fellow clans were siblings, and Henry, his grandfather, was the firstborn. They lived together until the war among the supernaturals for the greed of power ripped them apart. The losses were too great, and the brothers didn’t agree with Henry’s views regarding the war. The estranged brothers now lived with their families and their own packs in different cities. Packs run by betas. Didn’t they realize the beasts needed their alpha? “What about the others?”Aaron sighed. “I suspect Helius is in bed with the vampires.” The hot-headed demon king was a constant pain in their asses. His spies spotted said demon with the leeches, not on one but two such occasions. It was bad enough that the demon was already on the fence. Despite his promise to stay away from the war, his sword was now tilting toward the wrong side of the playing field. Aaron knew he couldn’t trust that bastard. Demons were tricky. It was for the best to not assume anything with their kind, even if things looked rather bleak.“And what about the fae?”“Their three subjects were abducted last week. King Luvon wants help.” He stood and walked to his massive desk, sipping his tea thoughtfully. His gaze drifted through the stack of papers waiting for him. He’d send out a team of his best trackers. He wondered how much more successful his team would be this time. The trail always ended cold. It was as if they disappear into thin air. Perhaps that was what they did. He could see the need to have someone else in the field. Someone, who could trace magic back to its origin."Now tell me about the girl your brothers found," his father asked sitting upright, cold fury replacing the warmth of his brown eyes.Aaron sensed the pain behind that fury. "She’s under surveillance.”Anger flared within him. The recent discovery had been a crest to his ever-growing problems. He wanted nothing more than to drag her sorry ass to the torture chambers. He had never hurt a female before. But I want to hurt this one.Her kind had been their mortal enemies ever since they came into existence."Let me know when you have something; and son, be careful with this one.” Jerome stood.His nod was grim. "Sure."He dialed the familiar number for the third time today. Maximus, his third-in-command hadn’t checked in this afternoon.“John!” He reached out through their telepathic link. A convenient ability the lycanthropes and the werewolves possessed. It helped them to communicate with one another telepathically. It sure came handy often, but they had to be in close proximity for it to work. The link weakened with the distance.“Yes, Alpha.”“Max is in trouble. Get Frankie to track his phone.”“I’m on it.”“See what the leeches outside the city know of this girl.”“Certainly, Alpha.”He knew a few vampires were forced into this life. Hundreds of them lived on the outskirts of his territory with his approval. However, none had warned him about the intruder. How dare she barge into my territory without my permission? He refused to believe the things he heard about her. Her innocent appearance helped her blend with the humans. Looks could be deceiving. She has an agenda. That much was clear. Why else she would be in his territory under the disguise of a student?A trespasser. What were they planning this time? They were on the move. His hatred was directed to their king who set this in motion. No one knew where he hid his sanctuary, guarding it with the magic of witches. And Lilith, the witch, was the key. Escorting her to Brookedge was the task given to Maximus.He strolled to the balcony. His clothes ripped as his beast pushed forward. Bones snapped and realigned. Razor sharp claws burst out of his fingertips. Midnight black fur replaced his human skin. The beast of the night rolled its shoulders. He jumped over the railing, landing gracefully on the ground before taking off toward the east.***Mia woke up soaked in her sweat. The nightmares were becoming her constant companion, and it troubled her. She checked her phone, frowning when there was no reply from her father. He never went this long without responding. Is he in trouble? No. He could protect his own hide.Hopping out of the bed, she strolled toward her tiny en-suite bathroom for her morning ritual. Mia longed for a run. Sometimes physical exertion helped clear the mind. An annoyed groan hissed out from her mouth entering the small space of the bathroom. At least they had running water though she’d have preferred it to be hotter. The worn-out cabinets that held the toiletries made her wonder if they’d survive this year. She could hardly see herself in the old mirror with rusty edges. The sense of foreboding subsided as she started the shower.A soft masculine hum reached her ears and her lips stretched to form a smile. These mundane things reminded her how ignorant the humans were. Would they be still singing if they knew they lived in a world filled with mythical creatures? Creatures that shouldn’t exist. She lived with that blissful ignorance until the incident a couple of years ago.The thin walls of her cozy apartment offered little privacy. She could often tell when her neighbor was awake or when he was moving around his house. Mia was thankful that he was a friendly guy who never had guests or female friends over. That’d have been awkward.An audible breath whooshed out of her at the thought. . .Dressing in a pair of tight jeans and turtleneck long-sleeved T-shirt, she pulled on her sweater. It did little to keep her warm in the ever-growing cold weather. Thanks to the centralized heating system that kept her room relatively warm.There was nothing much to do with exams around the corner. She was tempted to skip school, but then remembered she had a meeting with the college’s Career Services Counselor. The lack of caffeine was catching up with her. She ran out of coffee among other things and made a note to restock her pantry.While she blamed it on her reluctance to spend what’s more than necessary, she didn’t want to live under her father’s roof. However, with all the academic work, it was hard to find a part-time job without risking her grades. The time had finally come for her to pursue her dreams. “Good morning, Mia.” Logan chirped with his signature smile when she bumped into him in the corridor. She threw him a smile over her shoulder while locking the door.“Morning. How’s work?” she asked as they took the stairs down.“Busy. How is college?”“Good.”“Aren’t you graduating this year?”“I am.”Logan worked somewhere in the city. Their conversations were limited. She preferred it that way. Less is better. She bid him goodbye once they reached the diner and took the bus to her college. She couldn’t wait to get back to her apartment once the day was over. However, sleep was a luxury she couldn’t afford with finals drawing closer. She only had a week to prepare.“Mia!”Mia whirled around to see Stella, who ran toward her with a set of books hugged to her chest, hair whipping around her face as she ran.“Hey, I thought you left early,” Mia said as a greeting.“No. I was in the office, clearing up my dues. Are you done with your thesis yet?”“Yep,” she replied enthusiastically. A sense of accomplishment filled her. She was now one step closer to her freedom.“So how did your meeting go?”Mia adjusted her shoulder bag. “Good. There are a few internship opportunities I’m looking forward to.”“That’s great. Randolph’s on-campus recruiting is the best.”It was at that moment that the hair on her neck stood, and her skin prickled with awareness. Her heart thundered against her ribs, and her senses seemed to have heightened without her realizing it. She turned around to see no one. Hesitant feet moved when Stella dragged her along. She let out a shaky breath as a spot on her back tingled.“Did you see what Peter did the other day?”No, and I don’t care. Her mind was on the invisible stalker, who set her instincts on fire. Stella distracted her momentarily when a shadow moved past the tree line in her peripheral vision at the far end of the football field. A sudden flash of fear washed over her as her mind replayed the memory she tried hard to forget.I wish it’s just my mind playing tricks.
July 26, 2019
How reading books helped me with editing?
How reading books helped me with editing?By Catherine Edward
Editing is a nightmare. We got that out and I told you how it affected me. In this post, I'm gonna talk about things that helped me while editing.
So, the huge mistake I ever did during edit was to stop reading. Yes, you heard that right. I was focused only on the story I was editing and I practically isolated myself from everything else. Eventually, this led to a situation where I felt like I was being drowned.
It's important to have friends and an active social life even if you're an author. Like I stress often, mental and physical health is very important if you want to have a healthy writing going on. You have to let your brain and body rejuvenate once in a while so writing doesn't feel like a burden.
What I was doing was the exact opposite. When I finally opened up to my friend, Rucha, she told me to take a break. I used to stay offline while editing, but when I do go online, she was always there poking me. She kinda kicked me out of my driver's seat and took charge when I wouldn't budge.
The catch, she's also an editor. And she snatched the script from me saying she'll take a look while I did all these things she said. I honestly had no clue why she was making me do all this.
It's funny when I think about that now. But it helped a lot. Rucha literally dragged me out of that hell hole. She banned me from touching my laptop. And at this point I was severely close to a break down. I was stuck with a scene, unable to move forward. I felt suffocated because the time was flying and I wasn't even past 5 chapters yet.
I took two days break, sleeping a lot and watching movies I liked. When I came back, she told me to read a title by my favorite author and come back. She said, she had a task for me. Grudgingly, I resorted to reading.
Cynthia Eden has always been my go to author. When I started reading her books again, I realized what I had been missing all along. My mind was suddenly at peace. On day two, I felt the ideas striking hard and I knew how to work through the scene I was stuck with.
I was literally screaming when I pinged Rucha, saying I know what to do. Her response was a simple smiley and words saying “I know you'll figure it out.”
From there my journey to polish the script became smoother. Every day I edit, this time I could easily navigate through the script, identifying the mistakes and correcting it. At night, I read.
In short, reading cleared not only my mind and but also provoked my thoughts. I'd let music play in the background so I don't feel isolated.
Also, it's important to have that one encouraging friend, who keeps shouting from the sidelines saying “You can do it.”
We all aren't same. But some of you could relate to my struggles. If you're struggling, open up with your friends. Don't be shy to ask for their help. You never know what wonders they could do until you asked.
Step out of your home every often. Live your life to the fullest. While you're writing or editing, it doesn't mean you have to isolate yourself. You can follow your passion while enjoying all good things in your life.
I figured that out in a hard way. Not anymore.
I'd like to know your experiences with editing. How did you overcome the struggle? What helps you better? Email me your experience at Catherine.edward@editingleindiehouse.com or authorcatherineedward@gmail.com for a chance to get featured in our blog.
Looking forward to connect with you all.
July 22, 2019
Review: Guarding Gwen
Guarding Gwen by Cynthia EdenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I always loved a story of ex-lovers. Guarding Gwen is the story of Simon and Gwen. When Gwen shows up at Wilde securities, Eric knows there's more to the story Gwen is feeding him. A stalker is after Gwen and when he threatens her, she could only think of Simon. The only person she trusts even after he broke her heart.
Simon can't believe his eyes when Gwen walks up to him after all these years. He takes up the case and forces his way into Gwen's personal space. Her car explodes that night, forcing the couple to retreat to a safe house. Passion burns hot between them and the rest is as expected. But what I liked the most is the mystery about the perp. It's hard to guess who might be behind all the crimes.
I liked the twist and turns. Guarding Gwen is a good read for romantic suspense lovers.
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Review: Before Ben
Before Ben by Cynthia EdenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Courtney and Ben Wilde are enemies, well at least inside the court. They went to the same law school and never been in the same page. Ben is a bad boy Courtney never want to engage with, but Ben always had a thing for Courtney. So, when he meets her in the club on a Friday night, he suggests a one night stand.
Courtney curb his advances and leaves the club. When Ben leaves after her, he finds her fighting off someone in the parking lot. He jumps to her rescue, but is unable to see the face of the perp. He ends up driving her to her apartment. Courtney, who always sported a secret crush on Ben invites him in and they spend a passion filled night together, realizing one night is never enough.
The next day the incidents continues, confirming a stalker is after Courtney and he's out for blood. Ben takes her to his brother, Eric Wilde and forces him to take the case. Eric agrees to leave Courtney with Ben while they upgraded the security of her apartment.
The rest of the story reveals how Ben and Courtney worked out their differences while dealing with the murderous stalker with the help of Wilde Securities. This is another page turner from Wilde Ways series. I enjoyed this as usual. There is a twist toward the ending which I quiet liked. If you're a sucker for steamy romantic suspense you should go for it.
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