Adamant Spirits, page 205
When she finished pouring out her dreams, he said, “There’s one more picture you didn’t see yet.” He pressed a button, and a large virtual screen splashed before her. It showed a large building surrounded by an open field with woods in the distance.
“That looks like a lovely retreat area,” Gina said as she zoomed in on the details. He added a digital nameplate that read, Dr. Gina Masterson. “What? My own clinic. . . You knew all along?”
“I had a feeling.” Tears filled her eyes, and he brushed the drops away. “But it was confirmed when I watched you with the hostages. There was tenderness and love in the way you dealt with them. It’s your forte. I want to make your dreams come true.”
He brushed a red strand of hair away from her face and wondered what lovely features their children would have. He would give his children the love and support they needed, the kind that came from having parents around.
“You are my dream come true,” Gina said and kissed him, making him the luckiest star-being in all the galaxies.
First Chapter Information
These preview chapters are works in progress and may be subject to change before release.
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Reject Me
Heat Level: ☕︎
Kel Carpenter & Aurelia Jane
Kel Carpenter and Aurelia Jane are the hilarious team behind the international bestselling series, A Demon’s Guide to the Afterlife. They pride themselves in being absolute weirdos, spending hours on the phone coming up with detailed worlds, and laughing about crazy ideas for torturing characters. While they believe they each have the personality of a rabid badger, people still seem to like them okay. They share a love of coffee, travel, and tacos, and they’ve made some adorable tiny people with their equally weird husbands. Best friends and work wives, Kel has the audacity to live in Maryland while Aurelia lives in Texas, but they try to see each other as much as possible.
Website (Kel)
Website (Aurelia)
Dannika
They say I was born on a cursed moon.
A night when the sky glowed red as the blood spilled in Portland. Later we’d call it the Great Sacrifice, because somehow, on those blood-soaked streets, peace was found.
Order had been restored.
Or some form of it, perhaps. That’s what we were told. It’s certainly how the leaders presented it.
I’m not sure who believes it. I’m not sure what the truth is. Even with a truce, there was an undeniable strain between the great houses. But no one ever mentioned the latter. Not in public, anyway. What I did know was that the world was irrevocably changed that day.
I’d probably heard the story more times than I could count, because that night was twenty-four years ago today.
“Cheer up,” Adora said. I guess the firm line of my mouth gave away my gloomy mood, despite the Spice Girls album blasting through my room. Her choice, not mine.
“It’s not like I want to go to this stupid party,” I groused. “Our birthday is literally the day millions of people died. It’s not exactly a day people should be celebrating.”
But they did. Every year. They focused on the peace forged instead of the lives lost that day. Lives like my father’s.
He had to defend the pack while my mother went into labor, but he never came home. His body was found later. Brutalized. Claw marks were gouged deep in his chest. There was no doubt it was another shifter, but there was also no way to know who—not that we could do much about it even if we had identified his killer. What happened before the Great Sacrifice was supposed to be left in the past.
Even murder.
“It’s also the last massacre we’ve had in twenty-four years,” Rowe pointed out. She sat cross-legged on my bed, her wild red hair falling out of the ponytail that bound it. “That’s gotta be worth something.”
My silence told them my opinion, and Adora snorted. “Dannika’s a Debbie Downer, Rowe, you know that. When has she ever looked on the bright side?”
At my adoptive sister’s jesting, my lips twisted, trying to hide my amusement. Not the easiest thing to do when she was all of a foot from my face, pointing liquid eyeliner toward my lids, flicking it about like a black magic wand.
“I’m not a downer, asshole. I just don’t like to commemorate the day my dad died as one giant party. You know how much mom has suffered because of it.” Her lips pressed together, and she looked away. Shame turned her cheeks a shade pinker.
With the exception of Adora, all the peacock shifters had been wiped out in the Great Sacrifice. My sister was found the same night I was born, abandoned by a tree, but unharmed.
My mom kept her knowing she wouldn’t survive otherwise. Then she stepped down as the alpha female of the pack to raise us. While Adora was probably older by a few days, we considered today our joint birthday since we didn’t know hers.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” she whispered.
I sighed. “I know.” Now I did feel like a downer, and a jackass to boot. “I just hate that we’re being forced to go to the commemoration because the Alpha Supreme’s son still hasn’t found his mate. It’s ridiculous he’s forcing all unmated shifters to attend when it’s not like he’s stepping down anytime soon. I get that Markus has to have an heir, but there’s still plenty of time.”
“It only takes a moment for things to change,” Adora said softly. Not somber, but thoughtful in her answer. “You never know what the future holds. It sucks for us, but if something happened to the Alpha Supreme, Markus would need to be ready—or we’d all be in deep shit.” Because as the ruler of the House of Fire and Fluorite, there were always schemes in play to take power. The Alpha Supreme used to fight a dozen challenges every year or so until it became clear he’d always win. If something did happen, and Markus took over, things would be chaos. But by Markus having an heir—and by extension, a mate—it meant he could actually be strong enough to handle it. If he didn’t, no one in our House would be safe, let alone our pack. The scramble for power would end in bloodshed. I hated that she was right, but I nodded anyway. She frowned, pinching my chin with one hand to hold me still. Oops.
“I wouldn’t be as annoyed if he wasn’t such a douche.”
“Yes, you would,” Adora said, calling me out. From the bed, Rowe laughed, the sound like a witch’s cackle. “But he is a douche. You won’t hear an argument from me. I feel bad for whoever ends up stuck with him.”
“You and me both.”
Adora capped the eyeliner and gave my shoulder a squeeze.
“It’s one night. Just a couple of hours, then we can come back and watch some reruns of The Vampire Diaries. ‘Kay?” She smiled, and it was brilliant. As the only known peacock shifter, my sister was absolutely stunning with hair that changed color in the light. People often noticed her small, curvy frame or big brown eyes. It was her smile I liked best, though.
“‘Kay,” I repeated, taking a deep breath.
I put a quick coat of mascara on and swiped my phone off the bathroom counter. Rowe reclined back on my bed, kicking her feet up.
“You good if I hang out here?” she asked. “I can head back to my room if you prefer.” Rowe was the only human in our pack, and part of a very small number that our House accepted. At the bottom of the totem pole in the new world order, she existed as the pack janitor—and punching bag on more than one occasion.
It was total bullshit that the others could treat her that way just because she didn’t have magic, and almost everyone overlooked it. More than once, Adora and I had taken a hit meant for her. We might be outcasts too, but at least we had magic. We would heal fast. Rowe? Not so much.
“Go for it. If I’m not back until late, feel free to just crash here. I wouldn’t want to be out tonight if I were you.”
Drunk shifters? Wayward magic? Loose morals because everyone was too preoccupied with the commemoration downtown?
Yeah, no. It was a recipe for disaster if one of the pack assholes found her on a night like tonight. She was way safer here with my mom and stepmom, Abbey.
“You’re the best,” Rowen said with a wink, reaching for the remote.
“No, she’s not,” Adora called from across the house. We both rolled our eyes, and I flashed her a smile before closing the bedroom door behind me. “I don’t know why Rowe leads her on like that,” she continued, speaking loudly, so her voice carried. The humor in her tone made me smile. “We all know who the best really is.”
My moms’ laughter greeted me as I walked around the corner and into our living room. It was modest, but it was just what we needed for our family. A navy-blue sofa and coal-colored recliner were the only furniture in the common space. We couldn’t fit more. Not with Nova, my wolf.
She lifted her head when I walked in. Her icy blue eyes were exactly the same shade as my own. Eight feet long, from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail, and nearly four feet tall, she was a true alpha wolf and the rightful heir of this pack—if not for one little problem.
I couldn’t shift.
When other toddlers were turning into cubs, I’d been cut off from her. I knew she was there, but not how to bring her forward. Our bond was broken somehow.
But we’d found a way to fix it, however unconventional it may have been.
I still couldn’t shift, but she was with me always. The other half of my soul, brought forth with the help of a witch. I wouldn’t have had it any other way, even if it made me a freak.
“Oh, honey,” mom said. “You look so grown up now.” I sensed the sadness in her voice as she walked up and embraced me with strong arms. Behind her, Adora and Abbey stood at the kitchen counter, watching us.
“No more than I did yesterday,” I reminded her. She was always very emotional on our birthday. I hated leaving her when I knew the grief had resurfaced. I was so thankful that she’d found the strength to love again when she mated with Abbey. It made it easier, knowing that she was here for her when I couldn’t be.
“I love you, baby girl.”
“I love you too.”
Mom lifted her hand, cupping it around my jaw as she pulled back a few inches. Her dark brown eyes looked over me like she was committing my face to memory. She always did. It was part of why I hated leaving her for any reason on my birthday. While many years had gone by, this day seemed to take her back in time every year. The pain became fresh. Raw.
It made me even more pissed off about being forced to attend this year’s commemoration.
“You get that from your daddy,” she said wistfully.
“What?”
“Your steadfastness.” She patted my cheek. “He was loyal to a fault, but also fair. Never seemed to have an issue figuring out right and wrong, despite how much the rest of us could struggle with it. He would have been so proud of the woman you’ve become . . . at how much you’ve taken care of me, even when you shouldn’t have needed to.”
I frowned at the water pooling in her eyes.
This was exactly what I’d wanted to avoid, not because I didn’t care—but because I hated seeing her like this.
“Mom,” I said quietly, shaking my head. I brought my hand up to cup around her fingers, squeezing gently. “You did the best you could.”
Abbey came up behind her, wrapping her arms tight around my mom. “And you did a damn good job,” she said. “Look how well our girls turned out. Scott would be proud as hell if he were here to see this now.” While she spoke to my mom, she made eye contact with me, letting me know she had her. Reminding me it would be okay.
“I just miss him so much sometimes,” my mom said apologetically. She turned to hug Abbey back.
“And that’s okay. Missing someone when they’re gone is the price we pay for love.”
Adora came up, wrapping one arm around mom and one around Abbey. She leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss our moms’ cheeks.
“We’ll be back late. Don’t wait up for us,” she said, though we both knew they would.
“You two watch out for each other tonight,” Abbey said, speaking to us over my mom’s shoulder. While my mother wasn’t exactly short, Abbey was quite tall. Just a smidge over six feet, she could easily look at us while embracing my mom. “Stay in no man’s land. Don’t even think about heading northside—”
“We know,” Adora said.
“Don’t accept anything from strangers—”
“We know.” My sister sighed while I squinted at our stepmom. It’s not like we didn’t know this. They’d been giving us this talk for over a decade now.
“Use protection, and don’t forget your fluorite stones—”
“We know,” we both said in exasperation. The fluorite ring on my finger had never left it since the day my mom gave it to me. It signified our House, our pack within it, our protection. Shitty as my pack may have been at times, it was better than being without one. “Seriously, Abbey. We’ll be safe. I promise,” I added. She gave us both a smile and then nodded.
“Then have fun, and happy birthday, baby girls.”
I grabbed my keys off the hanger by the front door while Adora held it open for Nova to go out. She brushed up against my side as she did, a comforting graze that conveyed she knew how much I didn’t like leaving, and she sympathized with it.
“Rowe’s in my room. If any assholes show up looking for her tonight . . .” I trailed off, but they got the gist.
My mom sniffled and lifted her head. “I might not be our pack’s alpha female anymore, but I can still put a wolf in their place.”
I glanced up at Abbey. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t kill some stupid punk.”
Adora snorted, and I just nodded in thanks.
While Abbey would be the more intimidating of the two if someone met them in an alley—my mom was crazy when it came to protecting her own. Her temper flared the second someone looked at us wrong, and that extended to Rowe since the first night we’d brought her over. It was half the reason I loved Abbey so much. She knew how to bring my mom down with her calm juju, as we called it. She exuded the peace of a still lake and tempered my mom’s fiery personality when needed.
“All right, let’s gooooo,” Adora said, gently pushing me toward the door. “We’ll never leave if I don’t make you, and I am not getting punished by the Alpha Supreme for disobeying a direct command.”
“Yep,” I said, following behind her. She dropped the tailgate open on my truck and Nova jumped in, tucking herself under the canvas canopy. I slid into the driver’s seat just as Adora closed it up. We were backing out of the driveway in no time, but as we were headed down the road, I couldn’t help a feeling that overcame me when I looked in the rearview mirror. The full moon skimmed just above the treetops, painting our house in an eerie light.
They say I was born on a cursed moon . . . but they never said what it looked like. Did it glow the same? What was different? Was it the color? The size?
Or was it cursed because of a feeling in the air? An uneasiness that settled in the blood, gradually seeping in like a potent poison. Or did it violently rile the magic within us, stirring it into a frenzy that couldn’t be denied?
Between the options, I hoped it was simply the way it looked, but something told me it wasn’t.
It was the same ‘something’ that had been eating at me all week, ever since the day the attendance order went out. It was telling me not to go. To stay home. To run. To be anywhere except the commemoration on the full moon.
I’d ignored the voice, even as it whispered through me that soon it would be time to fight. To disobey. To rise.
Maybe I was crazy . . . or maybe it was a feeling in the air, sending me a warning sign.
Something like a cursed moon.
Beast Charming
Heat Level: ☕︎☕︎☕︎☕︎
Grace Goodwin
Grace Goodwin is a USA Today and international bestselling author of sci-fi and paranormal romance with more than 1 Million books sold.
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This story of an Atlan Warlord finding his mate is part of the Interstellar Brides universe. Beast Charming can be read as a standalone, but it is book 5 in the connected series: The Beasts.
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One
Warlord Tane, Miami Event Center, ‘The Bachelor Ball’
“Warlord Tane, may I present…” Chet Bosworth, with his overly large teeth and puffed hair, paused to look at the card he held in his hand. “The lovely Miss Patricia Wentworth from New York.”
He shouted the announcement as if he were calling a horse race and was oh, so excited to see who would finish first. I took the young lady’s hand in mine and tried not to look intimidating.
“A pleasure,” I repeated to Patricia, for the forty-seventh time. Leaning over, as I’d been instructed by Bahre’s beautiful mate, Quinn, I dutifully held the female’s small hand in mine and bowed at the waist. I believed meeting all of the females currently in line would be a waste of time. I knew, even before Patricia had approached, that she was not mine. My beast knew as well. I had walked the room earlier, passed by each of the females in their fine gowns as they lined up, eager to enter and meet the beasts.
The young woman nodded her head and walked away, her expression carefully composed. I did not wish to disappoint any of the worthy females present. My beast would choose our mate, not I. And he was not interested.
“I do not know how much longer I can endure.” I whispered the confession to Warlord Bahre where he stood next to me at the base of an elaborate stair. The fucker’s response was to laugh at me.
