by M H Soars
“Alex is here. He wants to talk with you.”
There goes my plan to ignore my ex for as long as I could. But if he can help me find Dante and Tristan, then the sooner I speak to him, the better.
Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I say, “Could you please send him to Tristan’s office? I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Of course.” Dr. Mervina comes closer, then lays a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it softly. “It’ll be okay, honey. We’ll get Dante and Tristan back.”
Her words make me choke up. The lump in my throat gets bigger. Breathing becomes hard. I bite the inside of my cheek to get my emotions in check. I can’t crumble now.
Dr. Mervina walks out of the room, and when she clicks the door shut once more, I turn to Sam. His eyebrows furrow together as he become a little restless. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, I curl my fingers around his hand. He squeezes it a little, before he opens his eye, glancing in my direction.
“Red? Are you okay?”
“Yes. How are you feeling?”
“Like hell.” With his free hand, he touches the bandage covering his left side. “Did I lose it?
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Dropping his hand from the bandage, he cracks a lopsided smile. “Don’t be. I’ve always wanted to be a pirate. You can call me One-eyed Sam now, like One-eyed Willie from The Goonies.”
A snort bubbles up my throat. “You’re absolutely crazy.” I lean down, kissing his lips softly, needing the contact more than ever.
He places his hand on my arm, flaring the spark that exists between us. I pull away, not wanting to start anything right now. Sam needs to recover.
His good humor vanishes from his face. “Do we know anything about Dante and Tristan yet?”
“Your mother believes they’re in a different dimension.”
Sam grimaces. “My chest feels heavy. There’s a dull pain there. We need to find them, Red.”
“We will. Even if I have to go to hell to get them, I’ll bring them back.”
“And I’ll be right there with you.” Sam laces his fingers with mine, while the promise of retribution shines clearly in his one blue eye.
TO BE CONTINUED IN
PACK’S QUEEN
(the final book in the Wolves of Crimson Hollow Trilogy)
About the Author
M. H. Soars always knew creative arts were her calling but not in a million years did she think she would become an author. With a background in fashion design she thought she would follow that path. But one day, out of the blue, she had an idea for a book. One page turned into ten pages, ten pages turned into a hundred, and before she knew, her first novel, The Prophecy of Arcadia, was born.
M. H. Soars resides in The Netherlands with her husband and daughter. She is currently working on the Love Me, I’m Famous series.
Join M. H. Soars VIP group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mhsoars/
Connect with M. H. Soars:
@mhsoars
mhsoars
www.mhsoars.com
[email protected]
Also by M. H. Soars
Wonderwall
Sugar, We’re Going Down
Wreck of the Day
Devils Don’t Fly
Catch You
Love Me Like You Do
All The Right Moves
Also by Michelle Hercules
Savage Dawn
Read a sample of Savage Dawn
by Michelle Hercules
Samiah - Mora, Present Day
Samiah woke with a start, the scream that invaded her dreams still ringing in her ears. Outside, the world seemed to have taken a golden tint, and looking at the clock next to her, she knew dawn was still far away. She leaned on her elbows and blinked a few times, trying to dispel the fogginess in her brain, until her nose registered the acrid smell of smoke.
Tandrum’s wrath! The camp was on fire.
She scrambled out of her sleeping bag and reached for her boots first, keenly aware she might not have time to change clothes. Heat and thick smoke had already seeped through the tent canvas, slowly suffocating Samiah and her mate.
She turned to him and shook his shoulder hard. “Mal, wake up.”
His eyes flew open, and when he focused on her face, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Sami? What’s the matter?”
Can’t he smell the smoke? Samiah let out a curse. She regretted now making him take Ariana's concoction for pain earlier. It had a lethargic effect, and she needed him sharp.
"Mal, come on. We gotta move!" She helped him up and he swayed on the spot. "Where are your boots?"
"Uh, I don’t know.”
She heard another scream outside as she looked frantically for Mal’s shoes. She was tempted to let him go barefoot when she spotted the pair under his bag. She roughly shoved his feet into the mud-caked syno leather boots, not bothering to tie the laces. Once they ran outside, the graveness of the situation smacked Samiah in the face, leaving her light-headed and gripped by sheer horror. Fire had enveloped most of the tents. Gigantic flames curled and stretched upward, towering over them like a ruthless god of death.
Why is no one attempting to stop it? She wondered where the elementals in their party were. Her teammates Aron and Ariana would have been able to control the damage.
There was no time to dwell on questions. Samiah grabbed Mal's hand and tried to find her team members, but it proved virtually impossible to see anything through the choking fog. They managed to reach the center of the camp where everyone had congregated mere hours before, celebrating the group’s discovery.
Samiah stopped in her tracks when she finally came across survivors. She couldn’t believe her eyes, though. Every person in front of them was engaged in some sort of animalistic fight, snarling and clawing at their opponent. Samiah watched in dismay as a mob dragged and viciously beat to death a Jackur girl. The violence was so gratuitous and vile that it froze her on the spot.
"We have to do something," Malachiax said.
Yes, but what? Samiah thought. The two of them wouldn't stand a chance.
She turned once she felt someone at her back. Professor Shix, Samiah’s mentor, was coming their way. In her happiness to see a familiar face, she failed to notice the pointy trowel in his hand. He raised his arm menacingly and Malachiax moved in a blur, placing himself in front of her and using his body as a shield. He tried to block the attack by raising his hands, but he wasn’t fast enough and the trowel pierced his shoulder.
"Mal!" Samiah screamed.
Malachiax fought to subdue Professor Shix, who seemed to have acquired a burst of super strength. His face was devoid of any recognition. His nostrils flared and spittle had built up in the corners of his mouth. Malachiax pushed Professor Shix away, but the man was undeterred. He let out a guttural roar and charged Mal, who managed to move out of the way. Professor Shix came back at him and tried to punch the side of Mal's head. Despite his unnatural strength, the professor's movements were sloppy and Malachiax dodged his blows easily. But the loss of blood was taking its toll on him.
Samiah snapped out of her paralyzing fear and tried to find a weapon, anything to help her mate. She spotted a half-burnt log from the previous night's bonfire and dashed for it. It weighed more than she expected, though, and she didn’t even know how it would help.
Her focus was brought back to the fight when she heard Malachiax scream in agony. An unwavering sense of protectiveness took over. She ran back, using the momentum to swing the log with all her strength. She wasn’t aiming at Professor Shix’s head, but somehow that’s where the log connected. The impact sent him and Mal sprawling to the ground. Malachiax struggled with the dead weight on top of him, and it was only when Samiah drew near enough that she saw the damage she had inflicted. Professor Shix's skull was bashed in, pieces of his brain scattered on his clothes.
She dropped the log and covered her mouth. She couldn’t believe what she had done.
In the blink of an eye, she had killed the person who had always been there for her. A person who had inspired so many Arcadians and whom she had loved like a father. It didn’t matter that Samiah hadn’t meant to do it. A heavy weight settled in her heart and a knot lodged itself in her throat.
Malachiax’s struggles brought her thoughts back to the situation at hand. Samiah shoved her guilt to a darker corner in her mind. She would deal with that later. Bile rose in her mouth as she pulled Professor Shix's body off her mate. The trowel was buried deep in Malachiax's shoulder and his face was scrunched in pain. Her heart twisted in agony as she touched his clammy forehead and cheeks with shaky hands. When Malachiax opened his eyes, Samiah saw her fear reflected there. He opened his mouth to speak, but Samiah pressed her finger to his lips. Talking would only cause him more pain.
She looked closely at the wound, and despite her lack of healer's training, she knew it was bad. Her hand hovered over the trowel, indecision clouding her mind. Her vision blurred, Samiah only realizing she was crying when she felt the tears roll down her face.
"Please, my love. Stay strong," she whispered.
Samiah’s heart drummed inside her chest and she couldn't breathe. The trowel needed to be removed, but what if she ended up injuring Malachiax further? The urgency to flee the camp wasn't forgotten either. It wouldn’t take long for them to be discovered by the crazed individuals they had seen. Samiah braced herself for what she must do, but a movement in her peripheral caught her attention.
She turned to it, moving her body so Malachiax remained behind her. She expected to see a person, not the dark, billowing smoke that emerged from Professor Shix’s body. It briefly took the shape of a being before it zapped into her like an ice-cold spear. She fell to her knees and clutched her stomach. In that moment, she understood everything.
*** END OF SAMPLE ***
GET YOUR COPY OF SAVAGE DAWN HERE.
