Cover, Excerpt & Trailer
Vampire Territory Book Two
There’s trouble in vampire territory, and Melody is right in the middle of it. A new arrival from Eastern Europe named Taspar Tong is out to take over her masters’ domains using the army he has at his command. Mel is a personal assistant, not a soldier, and big male vampires scare her.
That includes Eryx, the dark-haired warrior who is always watching her and baiting her with his remarks. If only he didn’t look so sexy. Mel figures Wess Gage—their human captive—is a far safer love interest, although Wess is part of the Human Rebellion bent on exterminating all vampires. Can he really see past his prejudice, or will he turn on her?
There are two dangerous men in Mel’s life. She just has to decide which of them is her type—the one who makes her feel human again, or the vampire who makes her blood boil?
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Content/Theme(s): Vampires, Alternate history, Urban Fantasy, Suspense
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Publisher: Loose Id
Trailer, Excerpt & More
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Excerpt:
A loud crash outside pierced the night, followed by a metallic shriek. Even from where Melody stood in the living room, the high-pitched noise grated against her vampire hearing.
“Arm up!” Brasen, one of the guards, shouted. “Someone just plowed through our front gate with a truck.”
Mel couldn’t imagine who would be suicidal enough to attack her master’s home. Make that the home of her two master vampires. Alexandra Gage, the head of the Southern Territory, had just married Lucas Thane, leader of the Mid-Atlantic, not more than a minute prior to the interruption. Their stone-front mansion sat between their domains along the border between South and North Carolina.
Inside the house, guards drew their weapons, unsheathing blades and guns. Mel watched Alex whip out her favorite Colt, and their guest—Ivana, the visiting Northeastern master—was ushered to the back of the house by her entourage.
“Watch the human,” Victor ordered, and it took Mel a moment to realize Alex’s chief enforcer was directing this instruction at her.
Victor Rafe was only medium height, but he seemed to fill the room. His dark, curly hair was cut military short, and he wore command as comfortably as his shoulder holster. It never occurred to Mel to balk. She nodded, though she was quaking so hard she wasn’t sure if he saw her response.
Victor moved toward their master to guard Alex’s back. Right behind him was Kody, an ash-blond vampire with a perpetual smile, followed by Istvan, the only born vampire—not turned—among Alex’s men. Six warriors in total made up Alex’s guard. Nico stuck out because of his pale buzz cut, and his big friend Graham was right beside him. Jaide, the only female soldier, was no less imposing than the males, as much because of her bold attitude as her tall, athletic build.
That left the last vampire, who moved like a stalking panther as he brought up the rear. Mel’s gaze collided with Eryx’s as he passed.
The light of battle shone in his seal-brown eyes—eyes that too often seemed to be fixed on her. Dressed all in black, he could have been made of shadow. He had a thick head of hair so dark it looked like obsidian. It was cut short enough to stay out of his way, but long enough for a woman to run her fingers through. Even his skin was duskier than the average vampire’s complexion. She knew little about him except that he’d been born human and had been turned a very long time ago. And he loved to hunt other vampires.
As Mel watched Eryx and the other soldiers rush outside to face the intruders, she wished, not for the first time, that she knew how to fight. Being armed with superhuman strength and speed, not to mention fangs, was only useful if your attackers weren’t also vampires. She had no way of knowing who had just barreled through the security gate. They could be part of the Human Rebellion—a violent movement to stamp out bloodsuckers—or they could be arrogant born vampires looking to stage a coup. Aware of the danger either way, she followed orders and grabbed what mattered most to her master: Alex’s human brother.
Wess Gage stood near the window, poised on the balls of his feet. His muscles twitched beneath his tanned skin, as if he couldn’t decide whether to fight or make a break for it. He was blond like Mel, but where her hair had darkened after her turning, his was sun-bleached and full of highlights. He turned and looked at her with blue eyes like a summer sky. Everything about him made her think of daylight, and she knew he could be as deadly to her as any sunburn.
Wess was currently their prisoner, though they treated him more as a guest. Mel hadn’t gotten the whole story from Alex, but she knew he was a member of the Human Rebellion. He’d set out to kill vampires until he’d discovered his sister was one of the enemy. Now no one was sure where he stood.
At the moment, Mel just didn’t want him standing in front of the glass windowpane. Instead of a shower of rice over the newlyweds, it sounded like a hail of bullets was coming down outside. She grabbed Wess’s arm and tugged him toward the staircase.
“What’s happening?” he demanded. “Who’s attacking the house?”
“I don’t know.” She dragged him up the steps.
“If it’s Rebels, then they’ve come to rescue me.”
“They’ll get a shock when they find your sister instead,” she pointed out. “But I doubt it’s the Rebels. This isn’t a stealth attack, and it’s after dark.”
That shut him up. She saw him cast a worried glance over his shoulder.
The next thing she knew, he palmed the top of her head. He moved surprisingly fast for a human and managed to shove her down before she could fight him. Several bullets plunked into the wall above the stair rail beside her.
“Stay low,” Wess yelled.
Mel pulled his hand away from her hair and placed her smaller body between him and danger. Though she was touched that he wanted to protect her, she could heal from a bullet wound with no problem. He couldn’t.
She herded him up the stairs to the guest room Alex had assigned him. Wess’s heavy breathing and the alluring tattoo of his heart were overly loud when they finally stopped. More distracting still was the cacophony of gunfire outside. The sounds of violence seemed to be moving closer.
Given the manpower her masters had at their disposal, Mel knew a small army must have descended to cause so much trouble. The shattering of a window downstairs warned her that the fight wasn’t contained, either. It sounded like some of the battle had spilled indoors.
Her usual strategy would have been to run from the danger, but she couldn’t do that with Wess in tow. She had to stay and look after him, which meant she needed a weapon.
“Wait here,” she told him.
Those blue eyes of his widened. “Where are you going?”
“Just a couple doors down. I’ll be right back.”
If Wess protested, she didn’t hear it. She used her vampire speed to race down the hall and into the master bedroom. Mel had helped install the gun case in Alex’s closet, so she knew where to find the arsenal. Since there were no children in the house and few mortals to worry about, she wasn’t surprised to find the case unlocked. She grabbed a black gun—a Glock, she thought—and gave it a quick once-over.
This was the first time she had actually held a gun, though she’d done a little research after she’d become Alex’s personal assistant. She knew enough to recognize it was empty. There were a few different magazines to choose from, but she got lucky with the first one. She locked it into place with a firm slap. Then she hurried back to her human charge.
Her sudden reappearance must have startled Wess, because he flinched when she darted through the door. His reaction was a stark reminder that she wasn’t human anymore. Humans couldn’t move as quickly and silently as she could.
~~~~~~
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Thanks for having me here, WAB.
ReplyDeleteAlways love to have you stop by. Looking forward to your next visit. Can't wait to read this one.
DeleteLooks like another winner, Allie. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Annette! I'm really enjoying writing this series.
DeleteAllie, sounds like a great story. I love the paranormal stuff.
ReplyDeletePNR is a fun genre. Congrats on the launch of your Spellbound series, K.T.
DeleteAwesome cover and the story sounds fantastic!
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt! I love PNR too, so I'll pick this one up asap. :)
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