New York Times best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton is here today for the book tour for Stolen by her Bear, the first book in her brand new bear shifter romance series, Black Ridge Bears! The Black Ridge Bears series is all about the growly neighbours of the shifters in the Cougar Creek Mates series and is part of the Eternal Mates world. You can find out more about the world at http://www.felicityheaton.com/
If you love sizzling shifter romances featuring hot alpha heroes and strong heroines bringing them to their knees then this series is definitely for you. Plus, each book has a happily forever after and there are no cliff-hangers, because there’s nothing worse than a cliff-hanger!
Stolen by her Bear (Black Ridge Bears Series Book 1) by Felicity Heaton Saint is a bear shifter on the war path. He just wants to sleep the winter away, but his rowdy neighbours in the remote Rocky Mountains valley have other plans. When the cougar shifter brothers refuse to keep the noise down, he reacts on instinct, kidnapping a beautiful female who smells like sweet berries and tempts him like no other—a female who happens to be mated to one of the brothers.
Holly’s first taste of freedom isn’t going as planned. Escaping her family to join in the winter wedding celebrations at Cougar Creek with her friend Ember sounded fantastic, until a grouchy bear shifter grabs her—a gorgeous male who rouses instincts in her that are startling and powerful, igniting a fierce need to growl and stake a claim on him. A gorgeous bear who might be her fated mate.
Can Holly resist the hungers Saint awakens in her? And when Saint realises his mistake about her identity, can he convince the stunning Holly to give him a second chance?
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What a great opening.. a cranky sleepy shifter bear who is unhappy being woke up from hibernation. This book was really delightful to read and quite honestly I loved the main male character , Saint the alpha leader of the bears. He takes grumpiness to a whole new exciting level. He has been feature in other books to this series with a bad boy vibe. I enjoyed learning more about him and what drives him.
Holly was a surprise. A little feistiness to counterbalance Saint's gruffness. When she was first introduced I wasn't sure she could handle Saint but the further into the book I got I realized that she was just as deceiving as he was. Both of them were a good match into sooth each others temperament.
If you want a quick, fast, delightful read this book is for you.
Saint turned his frown on the snow that reached almost as high as the deck, had to be at least three feet deep where it had accumulated against the underside of his raised cabin. His gaze tracked across the undulating snow that stretched between him and the thick forest of lodgepole pines and spruces.
This was going to be one shitty walk.
Putting it off wasn’t going to make it any nicer though, or make his mood any better.
He wasn’t the only grouchy bear on the property either. He glanced to his right at Knox and Lowe, could see by their faces they were as pissed as he was by the disturbance. Having the three of them tired and grumpy would only make all of them worse in the long run, would bring out the bear in them and cause them to bicker and fight, destroying the peace they normally enjoyed. So as much as he despised the thought of dropping down into three feet of snow, he was going to have to do it.
Gods, he was glad Rune and Maverick had gone to Vancouver for winter as they always did, the two of them travelling to a bolthole they shared there. Neither of them was the sort of bear to sleep the months away, preferred to be awake through winter, but like him, they didn’t like snow. Saint had once made the mistake of convincing them to stay at Black Ridge for winter, had denied the urge to sleep so he could stay awake with them.
It hadn’t gone well.
They had made it to December before Rune and Maverick had gotten into a brawl so bad he had feared they would kill each other, and then all three of them had holed up in their individual cabins until the snowmelt. It had been the longest damned winter of Saint’s life. He hadn’t been able to sleep, had stayed awake to make sure Rune and Maverick made it to spring.
He scrubbed a hand over his beard, hoping like hell things didn’t end up that bad this time. If they couldn’t get back to sleep, ended up having to stay awake, then he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep his cool and smooth the edge of his own mood to maintain order within their makeshift pride.
As it was, he was itching for a fight.
If Knox or Lowe tried to start anything, just looked at him the wrong way, he was liable to blow his top.
Knox kicked the snow off his deck, grumbling, “I’m tempted to go deal with whoever is making all that noise.”
“Rein it in, or I’ll be tempted to deal with you,” Lowe muttered as he finished pushing the last of the snow off his own deck, piling it up around the thick wooden pylons that raised the cabin off the ground.
It wasn’t like the usually laid-back Lowe to be grumpy. Normally, the ash-blond bear took things as they came, rolling with whatever life threw at him without worrying too much. Saint blamed Knox’s mood. It was his brother’s agitation that had Lowe on edge too.
Lowe always got like this whenever Knox was fired up, felt a need to weigh in and have his twin’s back.
“I’ll go see what the deal is.” Saint turned away from them and murmured under his breath, “Just got to get through this crap first.”
He huffed and took the first step down from his deck, forced himself to keep going when the next one was hidden by snow. His pride needed him to do something, and he would do it. He would make the cougars shut up so he and his kin could get back to sleep, and when he woke, all the snow would be gone.
He held on to that fantasy, filling his mind with images of green grass and warm sunshine as he trudged down the steps. It shattered as he fumbled for the final step and slipped, had to grab the railing behind him and brace himself to avoid falling on his backside.
Saint growled as he pushed away from the steps and waded through the deep snow, heading for the forest that would lead him to Cougar Creek. He glared at the field of white as it sparkled, the weak sunlight reflecting off it enough to almost blind him. As it was, it made his eyes water again, and that moisture felt as if it was turning to ice in his eyes.
There was nothing magical about winter.
He huffed and snarled as he pushed forwards, ploughing a path through the snow. At least he wouldn’t get as cold and damp on the way back, after he was done murdering whoever had woken him and his kin.
If he somehow managed to rein in the urge to spill blood, maybe the fresh air and struggling through the snow would tire him out enough that he could sleep when he got back to his cabin.
He finally reached the dense forest, where most of the snow clung to the branches of the pines and firs, keeping the amount on the ground down to less than a foot. He picked his way through the fresh snow, careful not to snag his boot on a root or rock because falling flat on his face in the snow would probably be the match that lit the fuse of his temper.
Saint breathed a little easier as he reached an animal track, a path through the forest that had been kept clear of snow by the constant back and forth of the local ungulates. His muscles began to relax, the tension that had stiffened them during the walk through the icy snow fading as he picked up pace.
When he neared the invisible boundary between Cougar Creek and Black Ridge, he slowed and fell silent, his breathing levelling out as he moved with stealth into the trees, veering off the track. His ears twitched as he listened, the only sound that of distant birdsong and animals moving through the trees. No laughter. No voices.
His breath fogged in the air as he slipped from tree to tree, peering ahead of him through the trunks and low branches and the scrub, seeking a sign of life as he drew closer to Cougar Creek. His palms began to sweat as his heart drummed a faster, harder rhythm against his ribs, as he honed his senses and searched for danger, in case it was hunters who had come to the cougar territory and they were the ones laughing.
Overjoyed by capturing or killing a shifter.
He spat on the ground, cursing the hunters. They had taken too many from his kin.
Had taken too much from him.
He had barely matured, had only just passed a century old when the mortal hunter organisation Archangel had executed a raid on a nearby underground fae town. His parents had been there, had tried to escape and hadn’t made it out alive.
Last year, a helicopter had circled over Black Ridge, heading back to Cougar Creek, and Saint had heard the distant gunfire. Part of him had wanted to go and check it out, to see if Rath needed help.
The rest, the alpha in him, had made him stay at Black Ridge in case there were more hunters in the forests and his pride needed him.
He tipped his head up and dragged in a slow, deep breath as he pushed those memories aside, focusing on the present in case it was hunters. He couldn’t let himself get swept up in the past, had to stay alert and aware of his surroundings and any danger that might be lying in wait for him.
Saint scented the air, trying to catch something that would tell him what to expect ahead of him.
He froze, locked up tight as he caught a scent, as warmth spread through him in response, roused a hunger in him that was powerful and commanding.
He dragged in another breath, aching for another delectable hit of that scent. And it was delectable, like sweet berries, and utterly feminine.
Which was enough to set him on edge.
Females didn’t stay at Cougar Creek in winter.
Saint veered off course again, unable to stop himself from tracking the scent through the forest, curiosity gripping him and filling him with a need to find the owner of it. His mouth watered, the hunger clenching his gut growing fiercer as the scent grew stronger. Ahead of him, the bushes and trees gave way to man-made clearings, openings in the forest where small cabins had been constructed.
He huffed.
Cougar Creek.
He stealthily inspected the two cabins he could see, keeping his distance from them. Snow had fallen through the canopy of the forest and was thick on their roofs, and it was pristine on the decks, untouched. No one was staying in them.
Saint banked left, heading down towards the river, to a cabin he knew was there. The raised L-shaped wooden lodge sat at the head of a fifty-foot clearing in the forest, one that stretched down to the creek.
He remained in the shadows of the trees as he moved towards that river, giving the place a wide berth. He eyed the deck and the steps and the ground just beyond them. Someone had cleared the snow away. The place belonged to one of the three brothers of Rath, the alpha of the pride, and it was usually empty over winter.
Looked as if the male was staying this time.
Was he responsible for the ruckus that had woken Saint and his kin?
He sharpened his instincts again and frowned as he sensed more than just Rath and one brother at the Creek. He pinpointed at least five other people, most of them close to the main clearing. One of them was bound to be the female Rath had mated with last year, one Saint had seen for himself a few times.
He thought her name was Ivy, was sure he had heard the alpha cougar call her that a few times when she had been photographing bears near the river. The female was human, and not the only one at the Creek either.
The bastard Storm had a human female of his own. Saint had caught her in the woods last year when she had been running from the male and had scared her witless. He regretted what had happened now, but he had been in a foul mood, his bear at the fore. Their run-in had happened only a week after the Archangel helicopter had come and the need to protect his kin had been strong, fierce enough that he had viewed her as a threat.
Saint had figured Gabi for a huntress, still thought she was a member of Archangel and one day Storm was going to wake up to find a blade in his heart.
He backtracked up to the two empty cabins and headed past them into another area of dense scrub that provided cover as he moved towards the heart of Cougar Creek.
His ears twitched.
Voices.
He eased lower and peered through the bushes and trees towards the clearing. Stilled as he spotted two males and a female in an area that had been cleared of snow near the top of the long sloping strip of green that formed the centre of the cougar’s territory. The felines had been busy. It looked as if they had cleared snow in a patch roughly sixty feet in all directions from the front of Rath’s cabin. That cabin sat nestled among the pines and spruces, its back to the forest that covered the base of the mountain, facing the clearing and the creek at the bottom of it.
What were they up to?
Rath straightened and planted the tip of his snow shovel against the ground, leaned on the handle of it as he pushed his thick black hat up and wiped his brow. He pulled his dark green scarf down and undid the top fastening of his black winter jacket.
“We taking a break now?” the male with him growled, a hint of warmth and teasing in his tone as he set down his own shovel and tugged at the blue scarf wrapped around his throat. Like Rath, he wore a black protective coat and matching hat, and irritatingly kept his back to Saint so he couldn’t make out which brother he was. “Only been at it an hour. Still a lot more snow to clear.”
Rath huffed and scrubbed a hand down his face, over a thick dark beard. “Remind me again why we’re doing this.”
The big male chuckled, the warmth in his voice lingering. “Love, apparently. Not sure why I got pulled into shovelling duties though. Storm should be here, clearing the way for this ceremony. Where is he anyway?”
This time, Rath was the one who chuckled, his grey eyes brightening with it. “Where do you think?”
The male shook his head. “I have half a mind to go bang down his door, but I don’t want to get an eyeful. Flint could at least have offered to help, but he’s about as useful as Storm.”
Flint and Storm weren’t present then, which meant the big male with Rath was Cobalt. Cobalt was a mad bastard. Saint had never seen a cougar fight like he did, as if he had nothing left to live for.
Rath and Cobalt were as big as each other, packed with muscle and good fighters, but if it came to a one-on-one fight, Saint could take them. Provided they didn’t resort to low blows like their brother Flint.
He shuddered at the memory, his balls aching. It had taken him weeks to heal them after the male had run his claws over them during a brawl. He still hadn’t forgiven the cougar, wanted a piece of him, and Storm, for the scars they had given him. A low growl curled up his throat, his blood running hot despite the cold, and he wanted to unleash it but bit it back instead. As much as he wanted a fight, he wanted to sleep more.
Besides, he couldn’t let his foul mood get him into a brawl right now when his body was still recovering from a month-long sleep. He would probably lose and that would only make his mood worse.
Saint drew down a steadying breath and stilled as the delicious scent of berries hit him again. It was weaker now, but still warmed him, roused a hunger to hunt the owner of that scent and see her for himself.
The door of the cabin behind Rath opened and a female came out, wrapped so heavily in winter clothing that he couldn’t make out much of her face between her colourful striped scarf and woollen hat, or her figure through the thick cream coat and brown ski pants.
He knew her scent though.
Ivy.
In fact, he knew most of the scents of the females belonging to the brothers. He had put Gabi’s scent to memory when he had captured her, and he had done the same with Yasmin’s when Flint had come to Black Ridge looking for a fight in order to impress her.
Maybe he had imagined the sweet scent in the woods.
Berries were his vice after all.
He loved them and found them impossible to resist.
“Come warm up for a few minutes.” She looked at her mate and then at Cobalt.
Both males nodded and let their shovels fall into the thin layer of snow, and Rath waited for Cobalt to reach him before they both started towards the cabin.
“Does Ember want to drop in for a warming drink too?” Ivy said with a look at Cobalt.
Ember. Saint wasn’t familiar with that female.
“She went for a walk.” Cobalt tugged his black hat off, revealing mussed blond hair. “But she’ll be back in time for the practice run.”
Rath glanced at his brother. “Did your certificate come through?”
“Yup. I’m officially ordained.” Cobalt flashed a grin at him and chuckled. “That’s not something I ever thought I would be. Not many cougars out there needing this sort of thing.”
Saint watched them go inside, debated going to the cabin and speaking to Rath, but fatigue was rolling up on him, his eyelids feeling heavy again as the fresh air lost its effect on him and his bear instincts growled at him to go back to sleep. He knew what the noise was now. It wasn’t humans or danger, just a bunch of irritating cougars celebrating something. That should be enough to calm the instinct to protect himself and his pride, and allow all of them to get back to sleep.
He rose to his feet and turned away from the cabin, picked his way to the animal track and followed it back towards the Ridge. Maybe he would fix himself some food before he hit the sack again, something to take the edge off his hunger and tide him over while he slept. He was clearly hungry.
Because he was fantasising about sweet juicy summer berries again.
Could smell them stronger now.
He frowned and slowed his pace, lifted his head and drew down a breath. The scent was stronger. His mouth watered, heat suffusing him, and he pivoted on his heel, was tracking the smell of berries before he realised what he was doing.
Saint dropped to his haunches when he spotted a lone figure ahead of him, near the frozen river.
A female.
He dragged down a breath, every inch of him locking up tight as he caught her scent.
Sweet berries and a hint of vanilla.
He scented something else on her too. She was cougar. Was she Ember? Did she belong to Cobalt?
Saint told himself to go, but found himself easing lower instead to observe her. Silent. A predator.
She tilted her head up as she turned, raised her gloved hand to cover her eyes as she peered at the canopy. Birds sang there but he paid them no heed, was too arrested by the sight of her.
Raven hair spilled from beneath her dark purple woollen hat, cascading over a form-fitting weatherproof coat in the same colour, and grey eyes with a strong hint of emerald sparkled as rosy lips curled into the semblance of a smile.
His heart started at a hard pace, drumming against his ribs as his blood heated.
She was beautiful.
A need to stand and go to her pounded inside him and he struggled to deny it, to remain where he was and merely observe her, studying everything about her. Like the fact she had to stand at least a foot shorter than his six-seven, and looked as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. There was a delicate sense of beauty about her, with her porcelain skin and the hint of pink on her cheeks, and he lost himself in watching her, the world around him fading away.
Until there was only her.
Her slender shoulders suddenly stiffened, her smile disappearing as she tensed and went still.
She had sensed him.
Saint lingered, wondering what she would do. Run away or stay?
Seconds seemed to stretch into an eternity as he waited, as her grey-green eyes slowly took in the forest.
Strange disappointment flooded him when she suddenly turned on her heel and walked in the direction of Cougar Creek, her pace brisk, boots chewing up the frozen ground beneath the pines.
Saint stared after her.
Driven to follow.
PURCHASE LINKS
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Book 1: Stolen by her Bear Book 2: Rescued by her Bear – Pre-order Now Book 3: Saved by her Bear – Pre-order Now Book 4: Unleashed by her Bear – Pre-order Now Book 5: Awakened by her Bear – Pre-order Now
Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling London Vampires series. Seven sexy and sinful Greek god brothers can be your new addiction in the Guardians of Hades series. Or how about four hot alpha shifter brothers in her Cougar Creek Mates series? Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the Eternal Mates series.
If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | INSTAGRAM
Thanatos (Guardians of Hades Series Book 8) by Felicity Heaton – Book Tour and Giveaway!
New York Times best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton is here today for the book tour of her new paranormal romance release, Thanatos, the latest release in her popular Guardians of Hades Series.
This is book 8 in this series, but don’t worry, you can dive right on in with Thanatos, or start at the very beginning with Ares, which is FREE at all retailers right now. Binge-read to your heart’s content!
If you love passionate paranormal romance featuring hot alpha heroes and strong heroines bringing them to their knees, new twists on old myths, and lush, detailed words, then this series is definitely for you. Plus, each book has a happily forever after and there are no cliff-hangers, because there’s nothing worse than a cliff-hanger!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Thanatos (Guardians of Hades Series Book 8) by Felicity Heaton
Thanatos, god of death, has a mission: scour the unknown realms of the Underworld and retrieve the only daughter of his god-king, Hades. Murdered six centuries ago and her soul captured before it could pass on, she now falls under Thanatos’s domain. Armed with only a description of the location of her prison seen in a vision by her oldest brother, Thanatos has spent four years hunting for her, determined to complete his task and save her.
But when he locates Calindria, she’s not the delicate little girl he remembers—she’s a fierce, bewitching and beautiful warrioress who stirs unwanted feelings in his black heart and she’s on a mission of her own.
Calindria, daughter of Hades, has a mission: escape her prison, hunt down the ones who murdered her twin brother, and then make her family pay for abandoning her. But the Fates have other plans, placing a distractingly gorgeous god of death in her path—a warrior who is determined to convince her that what she believed is the truth is in fact a lie.
In a realm that turns memories against them and where anything can be an illusion, can Calindria and Thanatos learn to trust each other enough to work together to escape the hellish domain, or will the darkest moments of their past prove too powerful to overcome?
REVIEW
Seriously, how does this series keep getting better and better? Author Felicity Heaton continues to raise the bar on her paranormal romances. Every book is filled with a wide selection of interesting characters both male, female and other worldly.
Dark and tortured Thanatos is quite honestly the perfect male for Calindra who is like him in so many ways. There is a hidden strength inside him that is able to persevere and eventually push back on his lack of trust and fear of intimacy. This area was very believable for me and I could feel his pain and shame.
Calindra's newly discovered powers are shocking, fortunately her white light still exists with her darkness after all the centuries in captivity. How she struggles with trust issues and her innate kindness, mixed with her darkness keeps the reader on their toes.
The exciting graphic detail of this book takes you through the unknown realm where Calindra has been held captive and the reader will be enthralled with the creatures they fight to obtain her freedom. Along the way an evil enemy of Thanatos takes center page and they are able to find out more information about who killed her and stole her soul.
But, there is an area I would have liked expanded. It is when she sees her twin for the first time after 6 centuries. This area was brushed over too quickly in my opinion. But I still give this 5 STARS.
PURCHASE LINKS
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GRAND GIVEAWAY
Enter the grand tour-wide giveaway to win a signed paperback of your choice from my backlist of available titles plus awesome book swag! This giveaway is international and open to everyone, and ends at midnight on June 27th. Enter now: https://kingsumo.com/g/vvgksb/thanatos-book-tour-grand-giveaway
EXCERPT
Stopping for water had been a mistake. Her body locked up tight as she grew aware of the fact she wasn’t alone, a shiver traipsing down her spine as she felt eyes on her. She slowly lowered the waterskin from her mouth, twisting slightly towards her company at the same time. Her eyes widened as they fell on him.
He was a mountain of a male, with impossibly silver eyes that seemed to shine like the moon, and huge glossy black feathered wings. His bare chest was cut with muscle, carved from granite, with thick broad slabs for his pectorals and a heavy eight-pack that shifted with each hard breath he drew as he stared at her. His wide shoulders tapered into a narrow waist, the ridges of muscle over his hips leading her eyes downwards to black leathers that hugged powerful long legs.
She lifted her eyes again, and they caught on his left hand, the casual way it rested on the hilt of an enormous sword unsettling her, flooding her with adrenaline and making her hyper-aware of her surroundings.
Of every possible exit.
Her gaze collided with his again and a flicker of a frown danced on her brow as a strange sensation filled her, making her feel she knew his face from somewhere. Knew that piercing silver gaze and thick, short onyx hair, and those wings.
He had to be someone who had visited her cage in the past. It was the only explanation that made sense. She had seen this male at some point during her captivity and the image of him had understandably seared itself on her mind.
He was every bit the warrior, every bit as brutal and dark as her guards had been.
Bile rose up her throat as she saw a flash of the one she had touched, saw his skin blackening and blistering, charring before her eyes.
“Calindria,” the behemoth before her whispered, his expression something akin to stunned, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
Giving her pause.
Calindria?
Was it a name? Why would he use it for her? Was it her name? It was familiar.
He looked her over and she clutched the pouch to her chest, afraid he would try to take the precious water from her when she was still so thirsty, parched beyond belief. A war erupted inside her, a battle between whether to run from him or not. Her legs were already tired, her muscles unused to supporting her weight now. She wasn’t sure she could outrun him. If she tried, would it anger him? Would he hurt her? The alternative was giving up and she had come such a short distance from her prison. She couldn’t give up now. She flexed her fingers around the waterskin, thoughts blackening as she recalled how she had hurt the guard. Could she use that power on this male too, buying herself time to escape?
The thought sickened her, twisted her heart and stomach in knots for some reason, and no matter how fiercely she fought to tamp down her fear of her power, the desire not to hurt others that insisted on rising within her, those knots wouldn’t loosen.
She needed to be stronger. Colder. This power was a weapon and she could use it to defeat her enemies—to have her revenge. She couldn’t let this soft part of her that had somehow survived the years stop her from doing whatever was necessary to complete her mission.
When he lifted his hands, her resolve to fight shattered and running won.
She broke into a sprint, her muscles protesting as her legs carried her swiftly across the black ground. She didn’t feel the pebbles that bit into the soles of her bare feet, didn’t feel the ache in her bones with each jarring step, she knew only the desire to escape, to do whatever it took to elude this male and the cage.
“Calindria!” he bellowed.
The sound of that name gave her pause again, had her step faltering as a sensation that she knew it shot through her, but the second he closed in on her, she was running again, heart thundering and legs pumping harder. She rounded a corner, stumbling as her footing slipped, her eyes darting around, seeking a way to escape him.
There! She spied a tunnel in the far right of the cavern. The entrance was narrow, might be small enough for her to make it through, but not him.
She skidded to a halt as he landed in front of her, his great wings beating hot air against her, her heart lodging in her throat to silence the scream that wanted to escape. Fear blasted through her as she almost collided with him, as she leaned back to avoid the collision and ended up landing on her backside on the hard ground.
She stared up at him, adrenaline making her limbs quake and her breath stutter. Her entire body trembled as shock rolled through her, as the fact she had almost touched him shook her to her core. She might have killed him. She didn’t know who he was, was aware he might be another guard, but she didn’t want to hurt him.
What if he wasn’t a guard? What if he was innocent? The thought of killing an innocent turned her stomach.
“Calindria?” He gentled his tone, the rugged lines of his face softening as he gazed down at her, keeping perfectly still. He knew she would run if he moved. Wise male. “Let me take you away from this place. I can fly you out of here.”
He looked up at the roof of the cavern where an opening yawned, revealing thick dark grey clouds.
She shook her head and scrambled backwards on her hands and knees, refusing to let him near her. He couldn’t touch her. If he did, she would hurt him. It wasn’t only fear of harming him that had her backing away from him though. She didn’t know him, which meant she certainly wasn’t about to trust a word he said to her, or believe that he was here to free her.
She had heard all that before.
“You are like the others,” she growled, glaring up at him as she eased onto her knees, as she tucked the waterskin close to her and remained in a crouch, ready to run. “They came to my cages… offered to free me… bargained with me. They made me believe I would escape… and instead they had led me to another cage.”
There, they had laughed at her, shattering her spirit as they had easily overwhelmed her, too strong for her to fight.
This brute looked just as strong, if not stronger, than those males had been, and the cruel edge to his expression as his lips twisted and his black eyebrows knitted hard, narrowing his silver eyes, said he would laugh just as viciously at her weakness, at how gullible she had been.
“Calindria—” he started and then closed his eyes and planted a large hand to his brow.
His hand fell away from his face and his shoulders rose in a sigh that lifted his furled wings too. When he opened his eyes, there was a flicker of blue fire in his silver irises, and she sensed a shift in his power. Shuffled further away from him when he held his hand out, palm facing her. She eyed it suspiciously.
There was something dark about this male.
Something dangerous.
His dark eyebrows pinched in another hard frown as he studied the distance she was placing between them, as he lifted his silver gaze to pin it back on her.
“I swear, I am not here for a nefarious reason, Calindria.” He lowered his hand and eased back, his enormous body relaxing at the same time. The danger and darkness he radiated fell away, that change in power she felt falling away with it.
He was trying to appear unthreatening. Something which was impossible given his size and his appearance.
“Why do you keep calling me that?” She flexed her fingers around the water, attempting to ignore her thirst, how she wanted the sweet quenching taste of it flowing over her tongue to soothe her and restore her strength.
“Calindria?” He frowned at her, a curious edge to his silver eyes. “Because it is your name. You cannot be anyone other than the one I was sent to find.”
Someone had sent this formidable male to find her? She scoffed at that. She had been held captive for what she was sure was centuries. If someone had wished to find her, they would have done so long before now.
“Calindria.” She rolled that name around her tongue, frowning as she tried to figure out whether it felt familiar because he kept saying it or because it was her name. She stared into his eyes, seeking the truth in them. “And who are you that you know this name that is meant to be mine?”
His chin rose almost imperceptibly, a slight upwards tilt that spoke of pride, and belief in his strength and his reputation. “Thanatos, god of death, loyal servant of your father, Hades.”
“Hades,” she murmured. She had heard that name before, muttered by the guards in fear.
It evoked an image in her mind, one of a tall black-haired male with ashen skin and blue eyes who had been ruthless towards others, but had always had a smile for her.
She pushed away from that image, sure it was an illusion. This realm was filled with lies. She glanced at Thanatos. He was probably an illusion too, constructed by this realm to torment her now she had escaped, designed to weaken her and slow her enough that the guards could catch up with her and recapture her.
“Leave, Thanatos, god of death. I do not require your help.” She rose onto her feet and strode past him, ignoring the way he glared at her, his face blacker than the darkness that lived within her.
“No.” He reached for her as she passed him, attempted to seize her arm but she was quick to dodge his hand, placing herself beyond his grasp. “My mission is to save you and I will not fail my god-king.”
His god-king.
Hades.
Something clicked into place in her memories, made her feel certain of something from her past.
Hades was her father.
The very male the guards had spoken of in fear and this male served.
Which meant Thanatos was a liar.
She looked over her shoulder at him, sneered as she found him watching her, a false look of concern on his handsome face. “You mean to deceive me. I want nothing to do with you.”
His face blackened with each word she hurled at him, darkening by degrees as his eyes gained an ethereal blue shimmer. She was angering him, but rather than making her want to shrink away from him, the darker he grew, the more she felt the need to stand up to him.
Her breaths came faster as her heart pumped harder, courage rising inside her as she moved to face him, as she stared up into his eyes and set her jaw. Her blood burned, on fire with a need that grew stronger with every frantic beat of her heart.
A need to fight this god of death.
She reined it in, the softer part of her reasoning that this male had done nothing wrong. If he spoke the truth, he had been dispatched to help her, and therefore didn’t mean her any harm. If she lashed out at him and used her newfound powers on him, then she would be hurting an innocent.
So rather than fighting him, she backed away from him, heading for the tunnel she had spotted, one that would be too small for his big frame.
“Calindria.” His deep voice held a note of warning. “Do not run.”
“You do not need to chase me.” She knew from the look in his eyes that he did, that he had spoken the truth earlier and refused to fail in his mission.
She steeled herself. She had a mission of her own, one that did involve her family, but one she had committed to fulfilling in a specific order.
Revenge against her brother’s murderers first.
And her family second.
“I have things to do,” she whispered, her mind filling with pleasing images thanks to the darkness. It flashed them before her, a thousand ways she would kill the nameless, faceless, male who had killed her brother. “I will not let you stop me.”
“What things?” He levelled another black look at her, one she was beginning to think was a standard look for him.
There were fine lines between his eyebrows, ones that confirmed he frowned too much.
And the lack of laughter lines around his mouth said he smiled too little.
“A mission.” She put it into words she was sure he would understand.
“What sort of mission?” He canted his head.
She didn’t hesitate. “A mission of revenge.”
The hard planes of his face softened again, the blue fire in his irises fading as he gazed at her in a way that told her that he did understand.
That he was very familiar with the lure of vengeance.
But those same eyes told her that he valued his mission over hers.
And so, she ran again.
Because the alternative was letting him take her to her family, and to do that he would want to fly her out of this cavern. She couldn’t let him touch her. She flinched as another horrific replay of what had happened to the redheaded guard flashed across her eyes. She couldn’t trust Thanatos, she couldn’t trust anyone, but that didn’t mean she wanted to hurt him.
He made it hard to keep hold of the desire not to harm him when he landed in front of her again, his enormous black wings remaining spread this time to block her path. They spanned the route to the tunnel she had wanted to take, stretching from one wall of the cavern to the other.
Her eyes darted over him, seeking a way past him, and she wanted to growl when she found there was no getting around him, not without touching him. Her gaze strayed to his wings, to the beautiful raven feathers. If she touched them, would they crumble and turn to ashes? She shook at the thought of it, unwilling to risk it in order to get past him.
That shaking worsened as he advanced on her.
She backed off, each careful step measured, keeping the distance between them steady.
“Let me fly you out of here.” He held his hand out to her.
She shook her head. “No. You cannot touch me.”
She wrapped her arms around herself, one hand clutching the waterskin to her breasts while the other gripped her bare waist. The darkness that had been emerging in his eyes fell away as they dropped to her body, as he saw the way she was holding herself, and his expression softened in a way that she hated because it made her feel weak.
He thought she feared him touching her because she had been abused.
She didn’t correct him when he backed off, when he lowered his wings and furled them against his bare back, and dipped his head.
“Very well, I will not touch you.” He twisted at the waist to look at the narrow tunnel and then around the cavern, his gaze seeking something. “But let me escort you away from this place.”
She weighed up the pros and cons of accepting his presence.
If he was lying, he could be leading her to another cage, as males had before him. If he wasn’t lying, and was here to help her, and guards came after her, then he could prove invaluable in a fight. Pleasing her father seemed important to him. Important enough that he would do whatever it took to protect her?
She eyed the sword sheathed at his hip and then him. He was a warrior. The god of death. The thought of killing turned her stomach, but he had been born for it.
She drew down a breath and sighed it out, resolve flowing through her as she met his gaze.
“You may escort me.” She pivoted on her heel, seeking a tunnel that would be big enough to accommodate him as she made a few changes to her plan.
Find the one who had killed her brother.
Have Thanatos kill him.
And then convince the god of death to turn against his king.
PURCHASE LINKS
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BOOKS IN THE SERIES
Book 1: Ares Book 2: Valen Book 3: Esher Book 4: Marek Book 5: Calistos Book 6: Daimon Book 7: Keras Book 8: Thanatos Book 9: Hades – Coming Soon
ABOUT FELICITY
Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling London Vampires series. Seven sexy and sinful Greek god brothers can be your new addiction in the Guardians of Hades series. Or how about four hot alpha shifter brothers in her Cougar Creek Mates series? Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the Eternal Mates series.
If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
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Demigod's Curse: A Grumpy Demigod & Dragon Mate Romance (Dragons & Demis Book 6)
by J. S. Striker
No wonder this Demigod is so grumpy.
He has been to hell and back.
Literally.
Blamed for the demi world’s demise he was exiled by vengeful gods and the Demigod of Ice was punished to the depths of hell.
Hot fiery depths he was painfully pulled out of—and with him came a deadly curse.
One that lingers deep inside him, waiting to emerge.
One that could eventually kill his saviors and his unlikely dragon mate.
REVIEW
Gabriel is the severely damaged Demigod of Ice and he has suffered some horrible consequences after protecting someone he loves. In this book Author J. S. Striker expands on this Demigod and explains what he had done that caused the great horror to the worlds.
The darkness inside Gabriel and how he works to control it and not let it out creates the push and pull tension that keeps this story interesting. I enjoyed the graphic descriptions of his ice, how he controls it and how he let's it out to cause damage or protect. There are points in the book that it is unsure if Gabriel will be a good Demigod or give into the darkness inside him. In spite of this internal struggle the reader will see the goodness inside of him and his long-standing love for his step-sister.
Jememiah was Gabriel's dragon before he fell and she was always there for him in the past. On the fateful day she warned Gabriel not to do what he was going to do and she made a decision that changed her live. So now after all of these years and being reconnected neither of them trust each other and the walls both of them put up regarding each other are thick.
I did wonder if things really were as black and white as the author portrayed between these two characters, but I thoroughly enjoyed the tension between them. It was a believable situation to me and the ending to the book was worth the wait to see if these two could reconcile their hurt feelings and trust issues.
