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The Claimed
Available in May 2012
CHAPTER
1
The flares of energy shooting off Alexander’s aura were Christopher’s first clue that his father could be defeated.
The second clue was the way his father rubbed at a spot on his chest. The action left dirty streaks on the pristine white fabric from the pustules beneath that ruptured with each angry stroke of his father’s hand. Clearly his father was too weak to control the pox.
“What happened to my men?” Alexander repeated, agitation apparent in every jerky movement and the emerging red rash along the edges of his collar. Soon the rash would blossom into even more angry sores.
“I suggest you call the Monmouth County Coroner’s Office. I hear they have some unusual objects in their possession,” Christopher replied drolly, and walked to the bar tucked along one side of his father’s office. He picked up the cut crystal decanter and waved it toward his father.
“Would you care for a drink, Alexander?” Christopher asked as if his future and the very fate of his people weren’t at risk. Inside, however, his gut churned with the possibility that since his father’s control was so diminished, he wouldn’t hesitate to attack to replenish his energy.
The sly glance that Alexander shot the other occupants of the room—Christopher’s cadre captain, Ryan, and Christopher’s fiancée, Maya—hinted that some part of Alexander’s twisted mind was, in fact, considering a strike. That his intentions were obvious to the others was evident as Ryan dipped his head in deference and said, “Añaru. We only live to serve. We believe William and his man were killed by the Light Hunters.”
“And I can guarantee it was not the same death that my man Andrew suffered,” Christopher added, still angered by the fact that his father had drained his cadre member’s life force.
Alexander shrugged, but shot a sly glance at Maya. For some time Christopher had believed that his fiancée had known the truth about Andrew’s murder. The look confirmed his suspicion and reinforced another: Maya could not be trusted.
With a dismissive flip of his hand, Alexander said, “Andrew betrayed you, Christopher. He came here with tales—”
“Not tales, but you know that, don’t you? You tasted the power the Light Hunter infused in Andrew when you fed from him,” Christopher said as he uncapped the decanter and poured brandy into three matching snifters.
“Amazing power. Have you discovered the source of it?” Alexander asked, wringing his hands before him like a hungry man staring at a feast.
Christopher strolled to his father’s desk and placed the glass on its surface. “Possibly.”
Not wanting to get too close to Alexander in his unstable state, he continued across the room toward Maya, glancing at Ryan, who stood at ease a few feet away. Ryan’s hands were held before him loosely, but Christopher could tell from his stance that he was ready to take action if necessary.
Maya lounged in a leather wing chair, her legs crossed, displaying their elegant lines. Her skin was a flawless creamy expanse, a testament to the fact that she had recently fed to abate the pox in her body. Her demeanor was seemingly relaxed, but Christopher knew her well enough to recognize the changes in her aura that signaled her unease. Small tendrils of silver and blue shivered in the dirty red of her visible life force.
Christopher balanced on the arm of the wing chair and handed her a snifter. This close to her, he could feel the pulse of her sexual energy, awakening need in him. Too bad it was empty need, he thought, and took a sip of the aged brandy.
His father continued with his plea. “You cannot be so selfish, Christopher. The clan needs such power.”
“You mean you need it, father.” He glanced at Alexander over the rim of his snifter as he took another pull on the liquor.
“You ungrateful bastard,” his father growled as he charged around the edge of his desk, all vestiges of control gone.
With practiced ease, both Christopher and Ryan jumped to action and raised their hands, discharging waves of power that stopped Christopher’s father in his tracks.
Alexander lifted his hand and pushed against their combined energy fields. “You dare defy your Añaru?” With a determined push, he dug his fingers into the wall of energy.
Tiny tendrils erupted from his fingers and slowly wove a web across the surface of the field. Like the spiders for which the Añaru were named, Alexander spun a web to capture the men’s energy and drink it in along the rapacious tendrils.
“Break off, Ryan,” Christopher called out.
Christopher experienced a ripple through his body as Ryan pulled back his life force, leaving only him and his father connected. As the Añaru, his father’s power should have been devastating, rendering Christopher weak and listless in a matter of minutes. Instead, Christopher sensed only a negligible draw.
“You are weak, Father,” he said as he took a step closer and pushed his father backward with the strength of his energy.
“I am your Añaru. You will obey me,” Alexander replied, but there was little conviction in his words. He, too, recognized that the son had become greater.
If Christopher had been like Alexander, he would have issued the challenge for leadership of the clan now, the way Alexander had done to his father. But Christopher had no desire for the fight to the death that was demanded by the traditions of his people.
Christopher was not his father.
He took another step forward, and Alexander stumbled back again until he was pinned to the edge of his desk. “You are weak because you continue to feed on the humans and Hunters. That only strengthens the pox that blights us.”
“You are wrong,” Alexander replied, wild-eyed from the euphoria of his feeding and fear of the power imprisoning him against his desk.
“You forget the ways of our people. We were stronger when we worked to gather energy,” Christopher chastised.
Shaking his head in denial, his father increased the size of the web ensnaring Christopher’s field of power.
“You see. I am stronger,” Alexander said, and as Christopher watched, the red rash along his father’s neck slowly faded.
With a sharp mental command, Christopher jerked away his power, severing the connection with his father, who slumped against his desk, obviously weakened by the disruption.
“The problem with your way, Alexander, is that eventually either you run out of people to drain or they revolt.”
With a sidelong glance at Ryan and then at Maya, Christopher gestured with a flick of his hand to the door. “I will not challenge you, Father. But I cannot allow my people to follow this path to ruin.”
He strode to the door, Ryan at his back, protecting him. When Christopher reached the entrance, he paused to look toward his father and Maya, who stood hesitantly in the middle of the room, glancing from his father to him, as if trying to decide with whom to cast her fate.
“Maya?” he questioned, having no delusions that his fiancée would make her choice out of love. She was his mate solely because she was the most powerful female in their clan and nearly at her Equinox, as was he. When that peak came, a mating between them would heighten their power and bring forth even more powerful children to ensure the continuation of their Shadow Hunter clan.
He had no need to wait for Maya to make a choice. He walked out of the room with Ryan. In the hall outside his father’s office, the remaining members of their respective cadres waited.
Christopher inspected his men and women, aware that he would be asking them to make a difficult choice. Go with him and they would likely be banished from the clan. To a people who often relied on their collective energies to sustain them, exile was almost like death.
And yet Christopher had no doubt that continuing down the path on which his father was leading the clan would be their d
ownfall. Those who chose to follow Christopher would return to the old ways of their people. He was certain that would not only make each of them more powerful in his or her own right, but lift the prospects of all within the clan.
“Do you go with me?” he asked his people after his father’s cadre members had stepped back into Alexander’s office and closed the door.
One by one the members of his cadre lined up before him. Almost in unison they dipped their heads and raised their right hands to their chests. In a chorus of powerful and united voices, they said, “We live to serve, Añaru.”
Christopher glanced at Ryan and Maya, who left his side and came to stand before him. As the others had done before, they saluted him and repeated the vow.
Christopher walked from one Hunter to another, shaking hands and clapping their backs, acknowledging the trust they had placed in him and the sacrifice they had made. When he was done, he stepped before them once again. With a regal nod, he said, “Let us leave the past. Our future awaits.”
Christopher’s one hope was that the future would be peaceful, but knowing his father, that was unlikely.
THE DISH
Where authors give you the inside scoop!
From the desk of Caridad Piñeiro
Dear Readers,
I want to thank all of you who have been writing to tell me how much you’ve been loving the Carrera family, as well as enjoying the towns along the Jersey Shore where the series is set.
With THE LOST, I’m introducing a much darker paranormal series I’m calling Sin Hunters. The stories are still set along the Jersey Shore and you’ll have the beloved Carreras, but now you’ll also get to meet an exciting new race of people: The Light and Shadow Hunters.
Why the change? There was something about Bobbie Carrera, the heroine in THE LOST, that needed something different and something very special. Someone very special. Bobbie is an Iraq war veteran and she’s home from battle, but wounded both physically and emotionally. She’s busy trying to put her world back together and the last thing she needs is more conflict in her life.
But I’m a bad girl, you know. I love to challenge my characters into facing their most extreme hurts because doing so only makes their happiness that much sweeter. I think readers love that as well because there is nothing more uplifting than seeing how love can truly conquer all.
Bobbie’s challenge comes in the form of sexy millionaire Adam Bruno. Adam is different from any man she has ever met and Bobbie feels an immediate connection to him. There’s just one problem: Adam has no idea who he really is and why he possesses the ability to gather energy. That ability allows him to do a myriad of things; from shapeshifting to traveling at super speed, to wielding energy and light like weapons. But these powers are challenging for Adam: as his abilities grow stronger, they also become deadly and increasingly difficult to control.
Enter Bobbie Carrera. Bobbie brings peace to Adam’s soul. Adam feels lost in the human world, but in Bobbie’s arms he finds love, acceptance, and the possibility for a future he had never imagined.
But before he can reach that future, he must deal with the present, and that means battling the evil Shadow Hunters and facing the shocking truth about his real identity.
I hope you will enjoy the Sin Hunters series. Look for THE CLAIMED in May 2012, which will feature someone you meet in THE LOST. Not going to spill who it is just yet, but keep in mind I just love stories of redemption….
Thank you all for your continued support. Also, many thanks to our military men and women, and their families for safeguarding our liberty and our country. THE LOST is dedicated to you for all the sacrifices you make on our behalf. God bless you and keep you safe.
From the desk of Jennifer Haymore
Dear Reader,
When Serena Donovan, the heroine of CONFESSIONS OF AN IMPROPER BRIDE (on sale now), entered my office to ask me to write her story, I realized right away that I was in trouble. Obviously, there was something pretty heavy resting on this woman’s shoulders.
After I’d offered her a chair and a stiff drink (which she eyed warily—as if she’s never seen a martini before!), I asked her why she had come.
“I have a problem,” she said.
I tried not to chuckle. It was obvious from the permanent look of panic in her eyes that she had a very big problem indeed. “Okay,” I said, “what’s the problem?”
“Well—” She swallowed hard. “I’m going to get married.”
I raised a brow. “Usually that’s reason for celebration.”
“Not for me.” Her voice was dour.
I took a deep breath. “Look, Miss Donovan. I’m a romance writer. I write about love, blissful marriages, and happy endings. Maybe you’ve come to the wrong place.” I rose from my chair and gestured toward the door. “Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to take the martini.”
Her eyes flared wide with alarm. “No! Please… let me explain.”
I hesitated, staring down at her. She seemed so… desperate. I guess I have a bleeding heart after all. Sighing, I resumed my seat. “Go ahead.”
“I do respect and admire my future husband. Greatly. He’s a wonderful man.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But, you see, he—” She winced, swallowed, and took a deep breath. “Well, he thinks I’m someone else.”
I frowned. “You mean, you told him you were someone you’re not?”
“Well, it’s not that simple. You see, he fell in love with my sister.”
“O… kay.”
Her eyes went glassy. “But, you see, my sister died. Only he doesn’t know that. He thinks I’m my sister!”
“He can’t tell that you’re not her?”
“I don’t know…” Her voice was brimming with despair. “You see, we’re identical twins, so on the outside we’re alike, but we are such different people…”
Oh, man. This chick was in big trouble. “And you want to fashion a happy ending out of this, how?” I asked.
“But I haven’t told you the whole problem,” she said.
I thought she’d given me a pretty darned enormous problem already. Still, I waved my hand for her to elaborate.
“Jonathan,” she said simply.
“Jonathan?”
“The Earl of Stratford. He’s a friend of my fiancé and the best man,” she explained. She looked away. “And also, he’s the only man I’ve ever—”
“That’s okay,” I said quickly, raising my hand, “I get it.”
She released a relieved breath as I studied her. I really, really wanted to help her. She needed help, that was for sure. But how to forge a happy ending out of such a mess?
“Look,” I said, flipping up my laptop and opening a new document, “you need to tell me everything, okay? From the beginning.”
And that was how it began. By the time Miss Donovan finished telling me her story, I was so hooked, I had to go into my writing cave and write the entire, wild tale. The hardest part was getting to that happy ending, but it was so happy and so romantic that it was worth every drop of blood and sweat that it took to get there.
I truly hope you enjoy reading Serena Donovan’s story! Please come visit me at my website, www.jenniferhaymore.com, where you can share your thoughts about my books, sign up for some fun freebies, and read more about the characters from CONFESSIONS OF AN IMPROPER BRIDE.
Sincerely,
From the desk of Sue-Ellen Welfonder
Dear Reader,
Does a landscape of savage grandeur make your heart beat faster? Do jagged peaks, cold-glittering boulders, and cauldrons of boiling mist speak to your soul? Are you exhilarated by the rush of chill wind, the power of ancient places made of stone and legend?
I love such places.
TEMPTATION OF A HIGHLAND SCOUNDREL, second book in my Highland Warriors trilogy, has a truly grand setting. Nought is my favorite corner of the Glen of Many Legends, home to the series’ three warring clans. These proud Highlanders prove “where you live is who you are.�
�
Kendrew Mackintosh and Isobel Cameron love wild places as much as I do. Kendrew boasts that he’s hewn of Nought’s soaring granite peaks and that he was weaned on cold wind and blowing mist. He’s proud of his Norse heritage. Isobel shares his appreciation for Viking culture, rough terrain, and long, dark nights. She stirs his passion, igniting desires that brand them both.
But Isobel is a lady.
And Kendrew has sworn not to touch a woman of gentle birth. Isobel is also the sister of a bitter foe.
They’re a perfect match despite the barriers separating them: centuries of clan feuds, hostility, and rivalries. Bad blood isn’t easily forgotten in the Highlands and grudges last forever. Kendrew refuses to acknowledge his attraction to Isobel. She won’t ignore the passion between them. As only a woman in love can, she employs all her seductive wiles to win his heart.
The temptation of Kendrew Mackintosh begins deep in his rugged Nought territory. In the shadows of mysterious cairns known as dreagan stones and on the night of his clan’s raucous Midsummer Eve revels, Isobel pitches a battle Kendrew can only lose. Yet surrender will bring greater rewards than he’s ever claimed.
Kendrew does open his heart to Isobel, but they soon find themselves caught in a dangerous maelstrom that threatens their love and could cost their lives. The entire glen is at peril and a brutal foe will stop at nothing to crush the brave men of the Glen of Many Legends.
Turning Kendrew loose on his enemy—a worthy villain—gave me many enjoyable writing hours. He’s a fierce fighter and a sight to behold when riled. But beneath his ferocity is a great-hearted man who lives by honor.
Writing Isobel was an equal joy. Like me, she feels most alive in wild, windswept places. I know Nought approved of her.
The Lost (Sin Hunters) Page 26
