Blurb:
Being
the Silverbane pack's omega is killing Josh. His plans to escape are foiled
when he is blackmailed into finding a new alpha capable of controlling the
largest pack in New England before the Amazons cull it. Josh has no clue how he
is going to accomplish this task, let alone stay out of the sights of his
power-hungry cousin, Bryce, who is convinced he is the pack’s next alpha.
Josh
befriends Andrea, an erratic Amazon trainee, who talks to the ghost of her dead
mother and has her own agenda when it comes to the wolf pack. When he is
rescued by Gavin, a handsome park ranger driven to live in the furthest reaches
of civilization, Josh feels a pull toward him that is more than just physical
attraction. The three develop a bond that is stronger than friendship and
tested at every turn.
With
the help of his new family, Josh must find the strength within him to save the
Silverbane pack and defeat the evil that threatens to turn them into killers.
Only then can he finally be free.
Pages or Words: 87,700 words
Categories: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance, Urban
Fantasy
Excerpt:
“I don't know
about this.” Josh waited with Andrea outside the ranger station.
Gavin would
be off duty in a few minutes. Andrea's harebrained scheme was the only plan
they had time for. Instead of slowly baiting Gavin into revealing his true
nature, they were going to have to shock him into it, but Josh was starting to
have doubts.
“What if he
isn't a werewolf?”
Andrea
frowned.
“Okay, what
if he is and he tries to kill me?”
“I'll protect
you,” Andrea said, but it didn't give Josh much assurance.
“Have you
ever won a fight against a werewolf?”
Andrea tore
her shirt at the collar, then unbuttoned her jeans.
“Almost,” she
said with a smile.
Josh didn't
have another second to protest. Andrea pulled him against her so suddenly that
their lips collided and her teeth cut into his lips. Just as suddenly, she was
pushing him away and screaming.
“No!” Andrea
fought to get away from him without really letting go of him. She shook him
back and forth. “You're hurting me!”
Then, Josh
was being hurled backwards.
“What the
fuck is going on?” Gavin shouted.
Josh
scrambled to his feet.
“I don't
know,” Andrea said through sobs. Blood smeared her lips and tears drenched her
cheeks. “He said he wouldn't share me, that I was his.”
As ridiculous
as it sounded, Gavin looked utterly convinced that Josh had attacked Andrea.
Gavin's chest expanded from more than just heavy breathing. The fabric of his
uniform strained against flexing muscles, but it was the wild look in his eyes
that worried Josh. Gavin was on the verge of losing control. He actually looked
like he could transform.
“Go inside,”
Gavin said to Andrea, without taking his eyes off Josh. “I'll deal with this
bastard.”
Josh
scrambled backwards as Gavin stalked toward him. The normally good-natured
ranger was seething with rage. His soft brown eyes were hard and flinty.
“I told you
to stay away from her.” He hauled Josh up by his collar and threw him against a
tree.
Josh cowered
against the tree trunk and waited for the inevitable beating. Gavin loomed over
him, his breathing ragged, but no blows came. He seemed to be struggling within
himself, his hands clawing at the tree bark and his eyes shut. Josh could see
him regaining control over his anger. If he didn't act soon, Gavin would calm
himself enough that Josh would never know if he could save the pack.
“She's mine,”
Josh said. It was a timid challenge, but a challenge nonetheless. “I saw her
first. I'm not going to give her up without a fight.”
He stripped
off his shirt and tried to remember how Silverbane looked just before he
transformed. At a foot shorter and fifty pounds lighter, Josh wouldn't have
been surprised if Gavin laughed at him. But Gavin was lost to his anger, taking
off his shirt and backing away, ready to fight.
“Come on,” he
said, and motioned for Josh to attack him. “Let's settle this.”
The air was
electric on Josh's skin. He could feel the gravel shift under his feet. He
smelled the forest behind him and the testosterone of the menacing male in
front of him. For the first time in his life, he was going to have to fight to
save those he cared about. Even if it meant getting hurt or dying, Josh had to
bring out Gavin's beast and test him as Elaine would.
He took a
swing at Gavin, but Gavin had already moved to the side. A crushing pain in
Josh's ribs was followed by a blow that knocked him from his feet, and he
scrambled to put space between them. There was no doubt that Gavin could best
him in a fist fight. The only other person Josh had ever taken a swing at was
Andrea, and she had dealt with him like he was no more than a child throwing a
temper tantrum.
If he was
going to challenge Gavin, Josh had to transform. He felt close to it. His
muscles ached to expand. Inside his body, he felt the howl of the beast that
cried to be set free but refused to break the invisible pack bond that held it
in check. The full moon was so close. Even Elaine and Bryce looked ready to
heed its call earlier. Why couldn't Josh?
Gavin
attacked, but it was Josh's turn to evade. He might not be a fighter, but he
was an expert in avoiding getting hurt. The more he evaded Gavin, the angrier
Gavin got. His body was beginning the transformation. The seams of his pants
split and the leather of his boots creaked under the force of expanding feet.
“Fight me.”
Gavin's voice was little more than a barely intelligible grunt. “Fight.”
As close as
he was to transforming, something was holding him back. Maybe he didn't have
control over it.
Josh had seen
teenage pack members experience their first transformations without a command
from Silverbane. It was a struggle that could last hours. His own first time
had come at Silverbane's command. He'd been fourteen, older than most
werewolves who transformed when they reached puberty, and even after he'd taken
wolf form, he had cowered until Silverbane released him.
Gavin's
swings were faster and harder, but less coordinated. It was getting harder for
Josh to predict where they'd come from and how to avoid them. Josh had only
transformed a handful of times under Silverbane's command. Now that his alpha
was gone, he had to find out if Gavin was his new alpha.
“You want me
to fight?” Josh said stepping out of the way of a wild haymaker.
“Yes, fight
me now.”
The pull from
Gavin was undeniable. Josh realized then that there was nothing he could refuse
Gavin; not because he was infatuated with him, but because Gavin was his alpha.
Josh would do whatever it took to satisfy him. Right now that meant having the
strength to give him the fight he needed.
Meet Nikko Lee:
The author is a scientific
curator who enjoys writing genre fiction from erotica to horror under the pen
name Nikko Lee. Born in Canada, she moved to Maine after completing a PhD in
Zoology and her post-doctoral training. She resides near Bar Harbor with her
husband, daughter, two cats and malamute. The author blogs about hiking,
writing and science at www.nikkolee.com.
Where to find Nikko Lee:
Facebook: 88nikkolee88
Twitter: @NikkoLee88
Publisher: Prizm Books
Cover Artist: BSClay
Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Havan Fellows, Bayou Book Junkie, Decadent Delights, My Fiction Nook, MM Good Book Reviews, The Jena Wade, BFD Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads, SA McAuley, Mikky's World of Books, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Three Books Over The Rainbow, V's Reads, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Redz World, Nephylim, Happily Ever Chapter, The Hat Party
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