“Ah, I wondered when you’d show up.”
Adrenaline shot through me. My tired eyes snapped wide open, my heart working overtime inside my chest. Whatever the reason for his visit, he looked dashing in his white, button-down shirt, a brown corduroy jacket over his arms. I guessed he’d upgraded from using my old coat.
“What are you doing… I mean, hi.”
Jason stepped forward, taking me into his arms and kissing me softly on the lips. The hairs raised on the nape of my neck, standing on end and shooting shivers through my skin as his lips touched mine. I gave into him, leaning my body into his and kissing him back. His touch was soft, his tongue warm and wet.
I pulled away urgently.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Yes.” I hated this. All I wanted was to be with him. Was that too much to ask? “You know this is forbidden. A werewolf and a mage… If your alpha finds out, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. We’re going around in circles. I hate it, but…” I took a deep breath, steadied myself. “But this can’t happen.”
Jason’s eyes lowered to the ground as he scratched the back of his neck. “You’re right. Well then, I guess it’s lucky that I’m leaving the pack.”
“… What?”
“That’s right.”
“But… you can’t! I told you before, I don’t want you to leave your family, and I definitely don’t want it on my conscience. You have to stay with them.” I couldn’t bear the thought that I would take him away from the life he knew. “You just have to.”
Jason looked down to me then, smiling as his perfect brown eyes met mine. He closed the gap again, taking me into his arms and holding me close, looking at me with a look you can only get from someone who loves you. “It’s already done.”
“You…” I could have sworn a smile crept into the corners of my mouth, tugging my lips upward. I tried to hide it, in case I had the wrong end of the stick, in case I woke up from this dream and found myself cold in my bed. “You’ve left already?”
“I didn’t want you to make the choice, so I made it for you. And if this doesn’t work – if you and me don’t work – then at least you can’t blame yourself for it. This is my choice now, and there’s not a goddamn thing you can do about it.”
I couldn’t help it – my huge smile burst through as I nuzzled my face into his warm chest. I could hear his heart, pounding wildly against my ear. Finally, I could live my life at his side, fighting with him and knowing that he would be there for me, always. It would be the two of us, a solid, happy and unified couple.
Until the bitter end.
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Author’s Note
Maybe you’ve heard of me, maybe you haven’t. My name is Adam Nicholls and I’ve been writing books for quite some time now. For a couple of years, I was writing crime novels under my real name (those books can be found here). It wasn’t until recently that a friend got in touch and asked why I hadn’t tried my hand at urban fantasy.
Why hadn’t I? Well, to be entirely honest with you, I had no idea that it was even a thing. Of course, I’d seen some TV shows (take ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Supernatural’ as two examples) but I’d never really known what category they fell under. With a lot of help from that same friend, I dug in and started to explore the idea of using magic in my stories.
Fast-forward to present day, and ‘Stolen Chaos’ is available on Amazon. Crime fiction is behind me, and I’ve decided to give urban fantasy my undivided attention (at least for the time being). There are plenty of Cardkeeper stories left to be told, and I have a ton of ideas for other novels too. But there’s one thing they all have in common: I can’t wait to share them with you.
My best,
A. C. Nicholls
Want to connect with this author? You can find him at www.adamnicholls.net, email at [email protected], or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authoracnicholls
Acknowledgments
I want to offer my sincerest gratitude to the friends who have kept me afloat: Leo (for teaching me everything I needed to know about Chicago), Giles (for listening to my rants about every idea that popped into my head), and most of all to Charlotte, the most caring and supportive girlfriend a guy can ask for. Thanks for being involved.
Of course, all of this would mean nothing without an amazing editorial team. It all starts with Tami Stark, my line editor and friend (her services can be found here). Without her, this book would be an utter mess. I also want to thank my beta readers, who do all they can to make sure these stories work the way they should.
Most of all, I want to thank you, the reader. I hope that you found this book worth your time, and decide to continue the series. It’s great to have you around.
Lost Souls: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Cardkeeper Chronicles Book 2) Page 14
