by Shelby Lynn
It was a part of himself he didn’t always like. The difference between right and wrong seemed to blur at times. Only the hate he felt for Vampires filled his soul, and kept this feeling so right. Steven and the Rebel Leader did have something in common. They each lost family to the Vampires. Which led him to study medicine, and ultimately to where he was today.
Chapter One
Ramos walked into Touch of Italy, and the server directed him to the private dining rooms in the back. His dog was pacing under his skin to the point of pain and anguish. The worst part was there wasn’t a DAMN thing he could do to find his mate alone. He needed the help of his “friends,” if you could call them such. His animal was beyond pissed at not pushing the mating to happen sooner. It was something he would have to live with. Now his only concern was finding his mate safe and sound.
He hoped there was a bond between Twin Vampires, which would help him find his mate. It was tearing him apart inside just thinking of the horrible things happening to his mate at this very moment.
After the fight had broken up, Ramos had tried to track his mate by scent. It was as if he had never even been there. It didn’t make any sense, when he knew Levi had been right beside him. He was kicking his own ass for not telling his Pack about his mate. He was the strongest in the Pack, and they would follow his orders. However, it wasn’t the way he wanted to run the Pack. To the Pack, they would protect the Alpha mate to the death after they gave their allegiance. Unfortunately, he hadn’t given them the opportunity…
It was only the thought of calling the Vampire prince, and putting the Treaty to work to help find his mate, that pulled him away from the last place he had seen his mate, Ramos thought. The thought of anything happening to Levi literally made his blood boil in reaction. The more he thought about it, the more pissed he became. He would make the person pay for taking his mate!
Only then could he think about making things right with his Pack. Once they found out he went to the “Enemy” first for help, he would have a lot to make up for to his mate and the Pack as well.
His thoughts returned to the here and now as he followed the waiter into the private dining room. Braxton and Sheridan were there already. As he looked around the room, his breath caught when he looked at his mate’s brother. His mate’s resemblance was so striking—it hit him in the center of his chest. He wanted nothing more than to believe it was Levi standing there, and everything was the way it should be. Unfortunately, life wasn’t as cut and dry as that.
Ramos pulled himself away from the fantasy to say, “Leon, do you have any way of sensing your brother?”
Just then, Ramos’s friend and Pack mate walked into the room. He had called Maggie immediately as well to meet them here. His Second-in-Command would have some ideas hopefully as well. At this moment in time, it was hard to keep his emotions out of play. Hell—he was the Alpha Prime and he needed to damn well act the part, Ramos thought.
Leon looked over at his twin’s mate. He could see just how much the man already cared for his brother. Levi had always been the quiet one, and he always cared more for others than for himself. He wasn’t surprised this man was already crazy about him. He wished it were possible to just link with his brother over any amount of time and space. Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way.
“Ramos, I wish the twin bond worked that way. The only thing we may have to work with is our blood-bond. When we were children, I almost died in a freak accident. I would have without Levi almost dying himself trying to save me. I didn’t even realize he was in trouble as a kid. Anyway, we formed a blood-bond and if we are close to each other we can talk through this link,” Leon told his brother’s mate before continuing about this link.
“I have tried reaching him since I found out. So I know he isn’t anywhere close to here,” Leon told him.
“Do you have any idea the range you have used in the past to talk?” Ramos asked. This was a great thing to find out about this mate. Leon could be the key to finding his mate.
“We didn’t really test it out farther than a mile or so. Mostly, it was when we were kids and just having fun. I am going to head out after this meeting and see if I can expand my search area,” Leon told his brother’s mate. Leon truly hadn’t known fear very often in his long life. Now, he could honestly say he was worried about his brother.
From everything they had found out about this Rebel Leader, he wasn’t one to leave anyone alive in his wake. They had seen that already with the slaughter of a small Guild. There wasn’t a single survivor to the massacre to tell them WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!
Leon would not let that happen to his brother! He went to talk to his prince about his plans before the meeting started.
***
Prince Braxton thought back to the short time when his own mate was missing. One of those moments he never wanted to experience again during his lifetime. Was his mate hurt? The not knowing was the worst and he would gladly take his place. He looked over at his amazing mate, thankful once again to have such an amazing man in his life.
He could see the worry in his eyes from here. Braxton knew it wasn't all just about finding out about Levi and finding out what had happened to him. Sheridan was worried about his mom. The situation was precarious at best.
With the kidnapping, Sheridan was thinking about his mom. He wanted her away from Ronny and his abusive ways. It was tearing him apart knowing his mom was in danger. He looked across the room at his mate, thankful for this loving man.
Braxton was so glad he'd sent Elliot down to check out the situation. It had been quite the surprise to find out Sheridan's mom was the older Vampire's Serenity Mate. He was keeping an eye on the situation from afar. Braxton had left him with orders just to watch the situation. Although, if Shelly was put in any kind of dangerous situation, he knew Elliot wouldn't hesitate to jump in and protect his future mate.
The stepdad was going to be a problem—there was no doubt about that. He wouldn't want to lose his meal ticket, along with his punching bag. Sheridan had told him that when Ronny started in on the beer, he was known for being violent. Although, it sounded like it was around the clock now. It was something he couldn't understand at all!
Using their link he asked, ‘How are you holding up?’
Sheridan looked into the black eyes of his incredible mate across the room. He was once again thankful for breaking down in this town; otherwise, he might not have found this amazing man. He wanted with everything inside of him to join completely with this man for eternity. With everything happening though, they had decided to wait. Otherwise, he would be venerable for several days after the transformation. He wanted to be his Serenity Mate in every sense of the word.
‘I am fine. It is the worrying, as well as the waiting,’ he told his mate.
Braxton soothed his mate the best he could for the moment saying, ‘We will find a solution to both situations, Sheridan.’ He sent his feelings of love and comfort through their link.
Excerpt from Sawyer’s Hope
Haven’s Wolves Book Three
By Shelby Lynn
Prologue
Sawyer was the perfect replacement for the Beta position in the Haven Pack. His temper got the best of him from time to time, but it’s nothing that he’d ever allow to get out of control on his job. Haven knew that it all came from the childhood abuse he suffered from his stepfather. Sawyer’s birthfather was a Scottish wolf, killed right after his birth, and then his mother took up with Stan a couple of years later.
From a very young age, Sawyer knew he was different from many of the other wolves in his Pack. He never looked at the girls with longing in his eyes as the other teenage wolves did. Sawyer was comfortable with himself. There wasn’t anything wrong with him. Damn it, this is how the Spirits made him.
Stan started pushing him from the young age of twelve toward pornography, as if he knew Sawyer leaned in the other direction. When Sawyer wanted nothing to do with it, he would call him all kinds of disgusting names. This too
k place while his mother was away at work, so she wouldn’t find out what an ass she had hooked up with. Stan would say, ‘What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her,’ as he laughed.
The bigger Sawyer got—the harder Stan got on him, going as far as to bring a prostitute in the house for him to fuck. Stan was screaming at him that he was, ‘A fag for not fucking her brains out.’ Then he made Sawyer stand there while he fucked her. Like that would “fix” his problem, as he called it. All it had done was disgust Sawyer while Stan had the time of his life.
After that, Stan hadn’t even bothered to hide the women whom he fucked all over the house while his mom was at work supporting the family. It was meant to be education for his “fag” of a son, who wanted nothing to do with the opposite sex. He even brought in a man once to prove his point. Stan seemed to enjoy himself, fucking the man's ass just as easily as any woman’s pussy that he had there before.
Sawyer had a good laugh from that, but he had stayed to watch that time to make sure the man wasn’t hurt. He saw just how the man loved his job. Stan was a good-looking man. Like most of the wolves, he was better than average and hung in the cock department. Shit, Sawyer watched him fuck enough no matter the sex. It was no hardship on the man. He was groaning and asking for more as Stan reamed his ass in abandon. Sex was not something the wolves hid in the bedroom behind closed doors. Stan went far overboard in his quest to change Sawyer into a “real” wolf, as he called himself.
That one time was enough to prove to Stan that Sawyer was indeed the “fag” he called him. What came next wasn’t as easy to hide from his mom. Since Stan threatened to hurt his mom if he ever told her what was going on, during the times she was gone, Sawyer tended to make excuses for the bruises that were visible. The bigger he got the worse it became as Stan started inviting his drunken friends over for the fuck fests that became a daily party.
It all came to a head when Alpha Haven came through his town of Charlotte, Louisiana, on a rescue trip in the next town. Sawyer had just blown his top, for the first time, from the abuse the whole bunch of wolves had thrown at him. He had walked away from the house without a shirt, and the bruises were clearly visible when Haven had seen him.
Alpha Haven pulled his truck over and started walking along the road with him, and it just all seemed to pour out of the seventeen-year-old Sawyer. Haven listened, as no one had bothered to do before. Haven told Sawyer his own story. When they both finished telling their stories, Haven told him, “It’s time, Sawyer, let’s go talk to your mom.” He gave Alpha Haven directions to the restaurant where his mom was the server and sometimes cooks.
Haven stood in the background as his mom ran to him when she saw the bruises that covered his chest and arms. She cried as if the world was ending because she was so busy making a living for them that Mary had missed what was going on right under her nose. Sawyer sat there in the booth for the next hour as he poured out every detail of what had happened to him over the years.
When both had finally stopped talking, Haven came up to the table and introduced himself to Sawyer’s mom. “My name is Haven and I’m an Alpha from the Washington area. I came upon your son today and wanted to help him.” He continued to tell them about the home that he had established in the last two years. Haven told them of his plans to create a sanctuary for others like himself and those in bad situations.
It was like an answer to a prayer for Sawyer and his mom. They packed up their few belongings and moved to Washington with Haven. Mary almost immediately found her True Mate and lived just a few miles away. Sawyer chose to stay with Haven and become a part of the small Pack, over the next few years he helped with many rescues and became the man destiny chose him to be.
Sawyer came back to the present as he drove toward the Pack house, were his Alpha was staying and helping their friend Tyler. He pulled into the driveway in no time and headed toward the front door. His friend led him inside to join in their meeting. Just as he was about to enter the room, he breathed in the most intoxicating smell—his mate.
Sawyer was still reeling from finding his mate. When he came down to the Cedarhill Pack to help his friend Tyler, he never imagined that his mate would be there. His breath had ceased the first moment he looked upon the beautiful man. His scent was like the fresh rain in a pine forest, the most intoxicating scent imaginable.
He was there on a mission, so he had to push all feelings into the background. Hell, that's so much easier said than done, thought Sawyer, as they filled him in on Timmy, the little boy who he was there to track. Sawyer would do everything in his power to find his friend’s son.
Sawyer thought back to those first moments of meeting his mate. He was so thankful for the blessing of finding his mate. While the mission hadn’t quite turned out as he’d have liked, his friend’s son was now safe, and together Tyler, his mate, and adopted son became the Phoenixes of Legend.
He was still reeling from finding out there was another species of wolves called Dream Weavers that were not only able to transform into a second animal form, but were also blessed with other exceptional abilities, and their mates became a part of that legacy as well.
Sawyer was so happy for his friends, and he was ready to get back to his mate and learn everything about him.
Excerpt from Meridian Warriors: Xander Des
Meridian Warriors Book One
By Jana Leigh Zack Collins
Prologue
“We are losing the battle with the Hopis, they have powerful weapons, and I fear soon they will break through our defenses, no matter what we do,” the King said to Xander.
“”Their numbers are too many, no matter how many Warriors I have; we will not defeat them. Sir, we should think of evacuation,” Xander said.
Xander was the leader of the Warriors, he was the one the King went to for military strategies, and so far, in this battle they had done well. Partly because they were underwater and the Hopis didn’t know how to fight underwater, but fighting was not what they wanted—it was the water. And they had finally found a way to begin draining the planet.
“Sir, our planet is being sucked dry from its resources. Our greatest protection from others was our water. We have lived hidden from everyone for millennia. The Hopis have developed a way to steal the water from our surface,” Xander explained. “There is a large ship on the farthest side of the planet, which they are using to exact the water. Every day it goes down further and further, soon we will not be able to hide.”
They lived in a huge force field built around the ships their ancestors arrived to the planet in. It was amazing. They built homes, buildings, and businesses as they moved out of their ships. They grew food, learned to live underwater, and flourished in the new environment.
The Meridians were an intelligent species, and their technology was advanced. They found in their travels that many of the other species were eager to buy and learn what the Meridians were more than happy to teach and sell.
According to the scripts, they evolved over time to adapt to their surroundings. The Meridians were known for their shifting ability. When in the water their legs changed into one long tail with scales that allowed them to swim and hunt underwater.
The Hopis were people from another planet only two light years from them, they were vermin. While traveling the universe, they found their planet, Meridian. Meridian was a small planet whose surface was entirely covered in water. At first, the Hopis didn’t bother the planet because it didn’t seem inhabited. The Hopis planet was inhibited and they thought they could just use the water resources for their own, coming back every few years and filling their tanks with water.
When they discovered by accident through their defense field that there were inhabitants on the planet—the attacks began. They wanted the water for their own, along with the Meridian’s technology.
For thirty years, Xander led the Warriors in protecting their home planet. However, the Hopis would not give up. Through many prisoner interrogations, they learned the Hopis home
planet had dried up a century ago, sending its inhabitants into space to find water for their people. They thought they hit the payload with Meridian—only to find out that Xander and his people were there.
They wanted the water, but when they found some of the technology the Meridian had, they wanted that too. The Hopis were brutal in their attack, Xander grimaced a little as he thought about the torture many of his men succumbed to. “Sir, what can we do?” Xander asked.
Rolf, the Leader, and large Warrior himself, said, “We must gather the ships. One of our men discovered a planet in the early stages of development, if we land in their waters, we could stay hidden for many years. It is our only hope.”
Xander led the evacuation, they tried to keep it a secret from the Hopis but of course, they found out. The day they all left their home planet, Xander thought they’d planned the escape to perfection. The only thing their leader didn’t consider was the Hopis in their greed to obtain everything—destroyed the planet while they were still too close. Xander and his men’s ship was the only one to escape the blast. The ship held fifty-two men, no women, and no children—they were stagnant. Left to survive on a strange planet without the benefit of companionship.
They plotted the course for Earth and landed in the body of water, which is now called the Pacific Ocean. The planet was in its early stages of growth, so the men stayed underwater all the time in its early years. They discovered they were still able to shift into their Meridian form when they entered the water. Their legs disappeared and a long, large tail fin appeared with brilliant colors, showing their ranking in the Meridian City.
