Release Blitz + Giveaway: Pyotra and the Wolf by Elna Holst

Author Elna Holst and IndiGo Marketing host today's release blitz for queer retelling, Pyotra and the Wolf! Find out more and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!

Title: Pyotra and the Wolf

Author: Elna Holst

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 02/15/2021

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 72700

Genre: Paranormal, LGBTQIA+, Paranormal, Russia, Arctic, oligarchy, shifters, FF romance, supernatural fiction, dark contemporary fantasy, Nenets, wolves, taiga, tundra, adventure, quest, fairy tale retelling, polar night, Northern Lights, cats, budgerigars

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Description

For the space of a breath or two, that wolf had entranced her, mesmerised her, made her believe—the impossible. And that was all it took.

Nothing about this wolf was as it should be.

Pyotra Nikolayevna Kulakova lives in a small Russian settlement in the northern Siberian taiga, where the polar night lasts for a good month out of the year and the temperature rarely reaches above freezing point. Pyotra’s days, too, seem congealed and unchanging, laden with grief, until her baby brother’s close encounter with a tundra wolf upends the lives of the three members of the Kulakov family in one fell swoop.

Pyotra and the Wolf is a queer retelling of Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale, structurally influenced by matryoshka dolls and memory castles. This is a story of darkness and light, love and loss, beast and human. Whichever way the spinning kopek falls.

Excerpt

Pyotra and the Wolf
Elna Holst © 2020
All Rights Reserved

On the day that was to change the lives of the three remaining members of the Kulakov family forever, it was night. Pyotra Nikolayevna Kulakova lived with her grandfather and younger brother outside a minuscule Russian settlement in the northern Siberian snow forest, where the polar night lasts for a good month out of the year. According to the unsmiling face of the clock on the wall on Boris Ilyich’s izba, however, it was in the early hours of the morning that Pyotra pushed her weight against the door, caught between the dread of the freezing cold without and staying trapped inside, unable to procure sustenance for the two men under her care.

Her brother, it might be argued, was too young to be called a man, and her dedushka was worn and grey, an old curmudgeon who had lost his eyesight, if not his wits. Pyotra loved them dearly, desperately, with the parentless child’s determination to cling to what has been left her. Boris, in turn, doted upon his grandchildren: Pyotra, the twenty-two-year-old, and Sergei, nearly twelve. Not that he ever told them as much. It was not his way.

Pyotra sighed as the door refused to budge. A metre of snow had fallen while they slept. “Come help me, duckling, if you want to see the sun again.”

Sergei made a noise through his nose. He sat by the fireplace, fiddling with his tackle, oiling his rod, making sure the lines were not tangled. It was a new favourite pastime of his. Lately, he had taken it into his head that he was to be the future provider of the family. Pyotra assumed it was a notion he had picked up at the village school. Their father had never been much of a provider; he had made sure he had his vodka, and that was that. Sergei was too young to remember.

“There won’t be any sun for another week or so,” he replied, holding his rod up for inspection. “And stop calling me ‘duck.’”

Pyotra hid a smile. She was by no means ready to let go of her private memory of Sergei taking his first waddling steps towards her, as their mother, Serafima, gasped, “Look, look who’s walking. My little duck!”

It was all that Serafima Anatoliyevna had left her offspring; that and her grey-blue eyes, her peculiar-coloured curls, and her steely resolve to survive, to thrive, even in the most austere and unforgiving corner of the world.

Except, she hadn’t. She had walked out into the Arctic night, only to be brought back by a search party a few days later. Parts of her, at least. Bones, hair, ravaged flesh, the gold wedding band by which she had been identified. Attacked by a pack of wolves was the universal verdict. Their father could not cope, it was likewise said; he drowned his sorrows in liquid comfort and went down with it.

And then they were three.

Pyotra Nikolayevna had never been able to forgive her parents for dying. But she could not give up on their little duck, bright-eyed and pink-faced, holding his chubby arms out to her as if she was the centre and epitome of existence.

His arms were not that chubby any more, but still.

At the table, Boris moved uneasily, his unseeing eyes directed towards the unflinching darkness of their one grimy window to the outside world.

“Let it be, Pyotrushka,” he burred, winding his fingers through his beard. “There’s an ill wind blowing. It smells like…wolf.”

Pyotra clicked her tongue. Shaking her head at her grandfather would be a waste of energy better employed in breaking out of the snowed-in log cabin. “For pity’s sake, Ded. This isn’t the nineteenth century, nor even the twentieth. The weather holds no omens to be deciphered. If you smell something off, it’s probably Sergei.”

“Ey!” Her brother looked up at her for the first time, adorably affronted.

Pyotra winked at him and turned to give the door another mighty shove. It cracked open a centimetre or two, a small avalanche of fresh snow tumbling in through the opening.

“Bring me the spade and the bucket, duck,” she called over her shoulder to Sergei, her tone of voice forestalling opposition.

As she started shovelling, clearing a passage out at less than a snail’s pace across a rugged cliff, Pyotra Kulakova sighed anew. This was going to be one long day, irrespective of the lack of sunlight.

*

It was past noon before Pyotra and Sergei—who eventually grew bored with his own resistance—had managed to come as far as to the communal road leading down to the village, which had been cleared by the local snow removal team. Pyotra took one look at Sergei’s blanched face and sent him back to fill up the samovar for Boris, while she proceeded down to the one shop within an eighty-kilometre radius.

“I will be back in a couple of hours,” she told him, pinching some warmth into his cheeks. “Don’t do anything stupid, please.”

“I’m not the stupid one.” Sergei stuck out his tongue and batted her hands away. “That hurts!”

“Not as much as frostbite, let me tell you. Or better yet, let Dedushka tell you. That’ll keep you both occupied.”

With a rude sign—another new trick they had that eminent educational institution to thank for—Sergei ran back to the alluring warmth of the hearth. Watching him go, Pyotra felt a sting of loneliness. Of loneliness, but also of the constant worry that came over her whenever she had to leave him, leave them both. Since her father’s earthly remains had been lowered into the ground to join her mother’s, two years after their first, gut-wrenching loss, Pyotra Nikolayevna had lived with a droning terror at the back of her mind, which she hadn’t any better name for than Things Could Happen. The namelessness of it only served to magnify her dread.

Shaking herself, Pyotra straightened her headband torch, hiked her empty rucksack higher onto her shoulders, and set off.

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Meet the Author

Often quirky, always queer, Elna Holst is an unapologetic genre-bender who writes anything from stories of sapphic lust and love to the odd existentialist horror piece, reads Tolstoy, and plays contract bridge. Find her on Instagram or Goodreads.

Website | Goodreads | Instagram

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Hearts of Magic (Chevalier #3) by Kay Doherty

Hearts of Magic (Chevalier #3) is out from NineStar Press! Join author Kay Doherty and IndiGo Marketing in today's blitz for the paranormal romance and enter in the $10 NSP credit giveaway!

Title: Hearts of Magic

Series: Chevalier, Book Three

Author: Kay Doherty

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: November 25, 2019

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 40100

Genre: Paranormal, LGBT, gay, asexual, sorcerer, multi-species shifters, pack dynamics, feud, wolf shifters, dragon shifters, bonded mates, Elementals, businessmen, vampires

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Synopsis

A moment of quiet was all Theran was looking for. He was not looking to be nearly decimated when he stumbled across a sorcerer near the pack’s hunting grounds. He’s certainly not looking for his mate when the pack congregates at Elysium for a meeting, but that’s exactly what Theran finds when he runs into the sorcerer a second time.

Colby has been the bartender at Elysium for a year, and he’s been relatively happy. He hides his paranormal identity well, flirting for tips while using sarcasm to keep others away. When he first saw the wolf in the forest, he was stunned. Learning the wolf he’s been dreaming about is real is only compounded by learning the wolf is his mate.

With the Sorcerer’s Enclave now interested in the Chevalier Pack, Colby attempts to protect Theran by kidnapping him, which only results in a deeper involvement with the pack. Despite managing the Enclave, dealing with increasing threats from the McBane Pack, and forging new alliances, Theran and Colby are determined to find their happy ever after.

Excerpt

Hearts of Magic
Kay Doherty © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
THERAN

Theran watched as the sorcerer flexed his fingers and twisted his wrists. His fingertips turned black, tendrils of darkness snaking up his arm in a sinister web as he focused all his magic into his hands. When he opened his eyes to focus on Theran, the orbs were solid black. The color bled through the man’s long brown hair in streaks. Theran had never met a sorcerer, let alone seen one in action. He had hoped to never witness a sorcerer’s power firsthand, but here he was, facing off with one. For the sorcerer, the timing was impeccable. For Theran, it couldn’t have been worse.

He’d been caught away from the pack. Theran had decided on a walk along the riverbank, enjoying the temperate weather, lost in thought and unaware of how far he’d wandered. When he turned to head back to the rest of the pack, he saw a man standing behind him. The man was young and handsome. Dark hair hung down his back in soft waves, and intelligent caramel-colored eyes had taken in every inch of Theran in a warm caress before going cold. A tiny bell of alarm had rung in the back of Theran’s mind, but he’d ignored the warning. It wasn’t unusual to run into humans in the forest, albeit a joyfully rare occurrence. He’d thought this man was human at first glance.

Now, as Theran watched the sorcerer gather his power for an attack, that small bell of alarm became a blaring howl of fear inside his head. He struggled to wrap his mind around the fact someone so small and gorgeous could become something so terrifying in a matter of seconds. A gray mist formed in the sorcerer’s palms, and Theran took a step back. The mist coalesced to become dark swirling clouds of magic, holding Theran’s attention as he crouched lower to the ground. The sorcerer widened his stance, and Theran’s eyes shot to the man’s face.

“Don’t—” Theran yelled and then shifted.

The transformation destroyed the clothing he’d been wearing and pulled on still-aching bones, but he couldn’t be concerned with that right now. He lunged at the sorcerer in hopes of catching him off guard before he could make those clouds do whatever horribly painful thing they were meant to do. Theran’s bulk collided with the sorcerer’s shoulder, knocking him off-balance and sending those clouds of magic into a nearby tree rather than Theran’s body. The spell nearly cut the tree in half, trunk splintering in all directions.

Theran had intended the hit to knock the smaller man to the ground, but in one fluid motion, the sorcerer spun into a crouch and stopped his momentum with both hands on the ground. He flipped his hair over his shoulder with a toss of his head and once again leveled his coal-black gaze onto Theran. If anyone asked him what he witnessed in that split second, he’d be hard-pressed to explain, the change was so swift. The sorcerer looked at Theran in confusion, and between one blink and the next, his eyes returned to their original caramel color before becoming oily black again. The slight interruption in magic rippled over the sorcerer’s body like the aura from a heat wave. In that brief moment, Theran made a run for it.

The rest of the pack was downriver about a half mile, but in wolf form, he’d be able to close the distance swiftly, though not without some pain. Theran still felt the effects of being slammed into a tree by a vampire a couple of weeks ago—generally when exerting himself excessively. Despite the discomfort, he didn’t slow his pace or look back to see if the sorcerer followed. He didn’t know if magic would allow the man to catch up to him, but Theran truly hoped he could outrun anything the sorcerer might throw his way. He was intelligent enough to know he didn’t stand a chance against a sorcerer alone, but there was strength in numbers. And when Tanner felt the need, the pack became a force to be reckoned with in its own right.

Laughter and conversation could faintly be heard over the thundering of his heart, and he skidded to a halt in the dirt and gravel lining the riverbank. This particular stand of rocks had become the pack’s unofficial gathering point for hunts or simply enjoying the outdoors while meeting. Theran’s sudden and frenzied entrance drew everyone’s attention. Once his momentum ceased, he shifted. When seeking solitude, all the pack members would block the bond so no one else could intrude on his alone time. It hadn’t occurred to Theran in those few short moments, while confronting the sorcerer, to drop the block. None of his pack members knew yet what he’d encountered; what could be coming for them if the sorcerer followed him. Theran rolled his neck and shoulders in an attempt to release some of the tension as he faced Tanner.

“Just got attacked by a sorcerer,” he said between gulping breaths. His heart beat hard and fast, and not solely because of his run for safety. Something else tickled at his subconscious, making him uncomfortable. The sorcerer had looked vaguely familiar, but Theran couldn’t place where he might have seen him before.

“Only one?” Luca asked from his perch on top of the rocks. “That’s unusual.”

“Is it?” Theran asked.

Deacon’s nod drew his attention. Theran took one slow, deep breath in an attempt to bring his heart and lungs back to a normal rhythm.

“Sorcerers don’t typically attack alone. They move in droves,” Deacon said. Ross rubbed up against his mate’s thigh in wolf form. Deacon lovingly smoothed his palm over Ross’s dirty white head and ears. He must have been rolling in the dirt.

Theran shrugged. “Maybe because I was alone? He thought he had the upper hand?”

“No,” Luca said. He rose to his feet and sniffed the air. “More likely he was a scout you stumbled upon, which is concerning. The Enclave hasn’t had a known presence here in over fifty years.”

“Scout or not, just one? Doesn’t make sense,” Deacon said. “One sorcerer might be a match for an ordinary pack of wolves, but this pack? Hell, the wolves aside, you or I alone could annihilate him.”

“Yet, one sorcerer is lethal to a vampire.”

Sakima appeared beside Luca on the rocks. The entire pack twitched in surprise, except for Vance who chuckled. Sakima and Vance had mated, but Sakima had yet to bond with the rest of the pack, so Vance was the only one who always knew where the vampire was. The pair certainly seemed to enjoy the vampire sneaking up on everyone. They all turned annoyed glares on Sakima, who offered only a fanged smile in response. As Sakima’s words sank in, Vance’s smile disappeared.

“You said lethal?” Vance asked, his amusement changing to distress.

Sakima gazed down at his wolf mate with affection. “Yes, lethal. Their magic, when inhaled by a vampire, attaches to the mutated DNA that makes us what we are and destroys it. The result is death.” Vance’s face lost all color. Within the blink of an eye, Sakima appeared at his side. Vance held on to his mate with a fierce grip while Sakima kissed his temple. “Shh, my pet. I will take precautions.”

The wolves instinctively drew closer together in support and protection of their Omega.

“How does one inhale magic?” Tanner asked Sakima.

“They make clouds of it,” Theran, remembering the misty stuff the sorcerer had conjured, answered before Sakima.

“Clouds?” Tanner, Ean, and Vance asked at once.

“Yes. He did this—” Theran mimicked the hand motions he’d seen the sorcerer make. “—and made clouds in his palms. He threw them at me but hit a tree instead. Blew it apart.”

“Great,” Ean said. “Exploding clouds of poisonous magic. Just what we need.”

Ean picked up a rock near his feet and launched it across the river. His moods had grown increasingly dark over the past months, and he was quick to anger. By all appearances, Ean’s decline had started when Matthias showed up at the pack house and only grew worse the longer the centuries-old dragon stuck around. The two were at each other’s throats when they chose to speak to one another at all.

“Everyone back to the house. We need to be someplace defensible while we regroup, and the human neighbors will keep all paranormals on a level field. Luca, Sakima, Deacon, and I will meet with Matthias to figure out the best plan of action with this new development,” Tanner said.

A blur of motion drew Theran’s attention to where Sakima and Vance had been standing, but he only saw empty space. The vampire had a habit of whisking Vance away without notice. The rest of the pack began the hike up the trailhead to where the vehicles were parked. Luca held Tanner’s hand as they walked side by side up the hill. Deacon fisted the white scruff of Ross’s neck as he led him up the trail behind Tanner, leaving Theran and Ean to bring up the rear.

Ean took his time approaching Theran, heralding his reluctance to return to the house. He’d confessed to Theran once that he was uncomfortable in the pack house, which was the exact opposite of how it should be. Theran felt his friend’s discomfort as if it were his own, but he had no idea what to do about it, especially when he didn’t know exactly what caused it. He took comfort in the fact Ean at least hadn’t talked about leaving the pack. He’d become Tanner’s Beta recently and was flourishing in his role. Ean was a natural leader and, in any other pack, may have one day become Alpha.

“You should shift,” Ean said as he finally joined Theran, and they started up the trail together. “Don’t want to shock the little old lady across the street with your lily-white ass.”

“You mean old lady McKinzey?” Theran scoffed. “She’s more likely to snap a picture or cop a feel than be shocked.”

Ean gave a slight smile at Theran’s exaggerated shudder. He continued up the hill as Theran stopped to shift and then ran to catch up to his pack mate.

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Meet the Author

Kay Doherty is an omnisexual/polysexual who lives in Colorado with her poly-family, Mike, Keri, and Tigz. Her house is overrun with cats and dogs. Family is important to her so there are daily texts, frequent visits to her parents, and constant banter with her brothers. She happily suffers a severe addiction to coffee and Mexican food. She loves to read and write and can easily become consumed by it for hours, much to the dismay of Mike and Keri (Tigz is an enabler). On occasion she can be convinced to venture out into the world of the living despite being annoyed by the sun shining in her face.

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Hearts of Blood (Chevalier #2) by Kay Doherty

Author Kay Doherty and IndiGo Marketing promote paranormal romance, Hearts of Blood (Chevalier #2)! Learn more about the latest un the Chevalier series and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway today!

Title: Hearts of Blood

Series: Chevalier, Book Two

Author: Kay Doherty

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: July 29, 2019

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 42000

Genre: Paranormal, LGBT, wolf shifters, dragon shifters, bonded mates, Elementals, businessmen, vampires, gay

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Synopsis

Omega wolf shifter, Vance, and the rest of his small pack have finally found an Alpha willing to take them on and were still trying to regain their footing when the McBane Pack attacked them. When a vampire appears in front of him, Vance realizes he’s looking into the ice-blue eyes of his mate, and the fact that his mate is something other than wolf scares him.

Sakima knew the wolf shifter was his destined companion the moment he scented him at Elysium, but claiming the gorgeous young Omega wolf is a dangerous proposition. Vance and his unconventional pack have attracted the attention of the vampire coven. As the owner of Elysium, Sakima has been asked to use the club to gather information on the powerful interspecies pack and its Alpha.

Unfortunately for Vance and Sakima, the vampire coven and the continued attacks by the McBane Pack are only a portion of their problems. Amidst concerns over Alpha Tanner’s abilities growing with Sakima’s addition to the pack, a spurned ex targets Vance in an attempt to remove him from Sakima’s life, and Elysium becomes a hot bed for interspecies mingling where anyone could be an enemy.

Excerpt

Hearts of Blood
Kay Doherty © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Sakima

Sakima glanced around the yard at the wolf shifters, both in human and wolf form, before settling his gaze on the one he’d come for—his destined companion. He had waited hundreds of years for this creature to arrive. The beautiful golden-brown wolf whined and took a small step back, crouched in wariness, tail tucked.

“What do you want, vampire?” the Alpha asked.

“My name is Sakima Hawke, and I want him,” Sakima answered as he took in the tawny wolf.

The wolf began to shake, making Sakima’s skin itch. This creature was his destined companion; he should never be fearful of him. Sakima squatted so he was eye level with his wolf, his gaze never straying from him, in an attempt to show through action he was not a threat. He’d known the moment the tawny-haired man had brushed against him at Elysium they were meant to be together, but the place had been packed that night and the wolf shifter had quickly melted away into the throng. Sakima had searched the club, attempting to pick the man out from the crowd, but the wolf shifter had turned out to be quite elusive. He’d lost the wolf’s scent for weeks before finding it again quite suddenly moments ago while on his way home.

It was an act of the fates Sakima had decided on a leisurely stroll rather than traveling home at hyperspeed after visiting one of his oldest friends: a human donor who was declining in health. Excitement he’d not felt in decades thrummed through his veins at the sight of the wolf now crouched before him. The sharp tang of fear wafting from him increased Sakima’s discomfort. Perhaps the wolf wasn’t aware of what they were to each other yet, though it was more likely he was simply uneducated about vampires. Sakima was well aware of the fear his kind generated. Too many rumors, myths, and misunderstandings circulated about vampires.

Many believed they were the walking dead, that anyone they fed from would become a vampire as well, but that was all fallacy. Sakima was no more dead than anyone else present, though he knew he appeared to be with his pale skin, long white hair, and ice-blue eyes. He could love, mate, and feed from his partner without changing the beautiful creature. Sakima would take great care in helping his destined understand he was no more of a threat than the Elemental, dragon, or Alpha he kept company with, each of whom had their own myths and rumors.

Desire to touch the gorgeous animal before him had Sakima extending a hand. He did so with extreme caution, so as not to frighten the wolf further, but was unsuccessful. The wolf curled into himself, becoming as small as his bulk would allow, crouching lower to the ground on shaky legs, ears flattened to his skull. Sakima lowered his hand to the grass but otherwise remained still. Instilling trust with a shifter while they were in animal form being ruled a great deal by their animal instincts was difficult. This would be far easier if the young man would shift back to human, though Sakima understood why he wouldn’t do so at this moment. When the man shifted, he would be naked, which the shifter may view as a vulnerability in his human form.

“You must know I won’t hurt you,” Sakima said softly. “We are destined companions.”

The wolf whined and turned to the pack leader. If Sakima understood wolf shifters well, there was a bond between his wolf and the Alpha that allowed them to speak telepathically. He’d never been jealous of such a thing before, but he didn’t like his fated companion being able to communicate telepathically with anyone other than him. Unfortunately, the telepathic bond was an inevitable part of being in a wolf pack. And if he wanted to claim this wolf shifter, he would have to accept the pack as a whole because there would be no removing his companion from them. Not safely. Sakima rose to his feet, his heart sinking a bit when his wolf scurried away to hide within the house. He gave no reaction outwardly, but he gave a mental sigh as he turned to face the Alpha.

“My apologies,” the Alpha said. “I asked him to go inside for a moment. He’s a bit overwhelmed.”

“Frightened, you mean,” Sakima corrected.

The Alpha wasn’t concerned with semantics. “We’ve all been through quite a lot recently, and this is a bit of a surprise. I’m sure you understand…Sakima? May I call you that?”

Sakima inclined his head in acceptance. “And you would be?”

“Tanner McBane. I’m the Alpha, and Vance is a member of my pack.”

Vance. A unique name for a uniquely beautiful wolf. Sakima scanned the “pack,” his gaze drifting from a gray wolf to a gray-and-brown wolf to a dragon to a white wolf with wild eyes to an Elemental, finally coming to rest once again on the Alpha.

“Quite the unconventional pack, if I may say.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Word has spread through the paranormal ranks of a pack of outcasts who have gained more power than is considered safe or wise. I feel I should be concerned for the welfare of my destined companion being bonded to such a pack.”

The statement was met with several growls and a strong wind that only affected Sakima, whipping his long hair in every direction. Sakima smiled. Vance was clearly cared for and protected. Tanner glanced at the dragon on his left.

“Have you ever heard of a wolf mating a vampire? Chevaliers aside.”

“No,” the dragon answered. “But I’d never before heard of a wolf mating an Elemental either. Or a dragon.”

The expression that passed between dragon and Alpha was not missed by Sakima. The name Chevalier shook him, but he pushed the memory aside—a centuries-old mistake best left to the dust of time.

“So, the rumors are true,” Sakima said.

“What rumors?” the Elemental asked.

“Of same-sex, interspecies matings taking place openly. I had hoped, given what I now know of my own destined companion, but had remained skeptical,” Sakima answered.

By way of introduction, Tanner said, “The dragon shifter is Luca. He’s my mate. The Elemental is Deacon and his mate is the white wolf, Ross. The gray wolf is Ean, and the grayish brown wolf is Theran. If you truly plan to claim Vance as your mate, you, too, will be an openly mated interspecies couple. You need to be comfortable with that if you’re going to become part of the pack.”

Sakima showed plenty of fang when he spoke. “Oh, I have every intention of claiming my fated mate, Alpha, but I said nothing of joining your pack.”

Movement at the patio doors drew Sakima’s attention. Vance in human form was as handsome as his wolf was beautiful; golden-brown hair and the lithe, toned physique all wolf shifters possessed. Those hazel eyes showed fear and hesitation, but also recognition, making Sakima believe Vance knew they were destined companions. Vance simply wasn’t accepting it, yet.

“You would risk his safety and sanity by taking him from his pack, severing his pack bond? What kind of mate would do such a thing?” Deacon asked through clenched teeth.

Sakima was surprised by the vehemence and animosity coming from the Elemental. He’d made the simple suggestion that claiming his wolf did not necessarily equate to him joining the pack. Nothing more. Though perhaps removing his destined companion was something to consider, given the volatile nature the pack exuded.

“I won’t leave my pack,” Vance said softly.

His voice was melodic to Sakima’s ears. Despite the fear and uncertainty, Vance’s words didn’t waver. They were strong and decisive, despite the fact the wolf was still hiding behind the pack. Vance had donned a pair of shorts and a tank top, leaving his toned arms, legs, and feet bared to Sakima’s perusal, and he soaked in the sight.

“I know what I’m about to suggest will be difficult for you,” Tanner said. “But I think you should leave. Perhaps stay away for a few days to give Vance time to acclimate to the idea of having a vampire for a mate.”

“Not as difficult as you might think,” Sakima said.

He’d been living a solitary life for nearly forty years, and he planned to use the time apart from Vance to prepare for the wolf to join him. He moved with vampiric speed past the pack to stand before Vance. While he was willing to leave for a short time, he wouldn’t allow his companion to put the pack between them. When he stopped, he stood face-to-face with his beautiful man. Vance yelped and jumped back, but Sakima caught him with an arm around his waist, aborting any attempt at escape. Heat immediately seeped through the cloth of his shirt, warming his skin.

“Until next time, pet.”

Sakima placed a chaste kiss on Vance’s lips so as not to cut him with his fangs. Not yet. He would draw blood from Vance only after they became lovers, and Vance demonstrated his willingness. As quickly as he had appeared before Vance, he disappeared, leaving the outcast pack and his destined mate behind. It was a temporary situation, after all. Now that he knew where his wolf companion was, he felt far more relaxed and willing to let things progress at a pace comfortable for Vance.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble

Meet the Author

Kay Doherty is an omnisexual/polysexual who lives in Colorado with her poly-family, Mike, Keri, and Tigz. Her house is overrun with cats and dogs. Family is important to her so there are daily texts, frequent visits to her parents, and constant banter with her brothers. She happily suffers a severe addiction to coffee and Mexican food. She loves to read and write and can easily become consumed by it for hours, much to the dismay of Mike and Keri (Tigz is an enabler). On occasion she can be convinced to venture out into the world of the living despite being annoyed by the sun shining in her face.

Website | Twitter | Pinterest

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Review: Winter Magic Anthology by Various Authors

Winter Magic – where warmth and cheer and all good things associated with the festivities of this magical season are set to make your hearts glow. The Winter Magic anthology features six shifter stories from some of your favorite eXtasy Book authors. Let romance work its magic for you this winter.

average rating

Alpha Challenge by Liz Kay 
4.5 Hearts 
I’m not a huge enemies-to-lovers-trope fan, but this one I could totally get with. Probably because only one of the MC’s saw an enemy, while the other was just plain fascinated. It made for a fun dynamic between Juri and Phoenix. Plus, bears. Juri believes he’s destined to take over the clan his father has been alpha of for years and I had to respect his belief because he wasn’t just some overbearing alpha dickhead, it was obvious he loved his clan and his family so he wanted to honor them by leading. Buuuut, he didn’t expect Phoenix to come along and challenge him. The author did a great job of making two alphas work especially given the outcome of the challenge. I’ll be down for reading more of this author’s shifter stories after meeting Yuri and Phoenix.

Challenge the Sun by Deja Black 
3.5 Hearts 
Dimitri and Eric are an interesting couple. Dimitri is a goblin and a bit of a prick. Eric is ex-military who’s moving on with his life after recovering from an injury received while serving. Dimitri has some misconceptions about what strength and courage are and we’re given enough backstory about him to understand his thinking organically. So, while he’s incredibly frustrating, he has an undeniable appeal. Eric is frankly too good for Dimitri for much of the story, but he’s seriously attracted to the dumbass so figures a one time thing will be fine and then he can move on. Thing is, neither of them can move on and it takes some external action for the two of them to come together again and for Dimitri to finally get some awareness. It’s too bad he had to figure it out by seeing Eric be a badass rather than just getting to know him and recognizing his strength, but I’m guessing that’s not a goblin thing. The sparks between these two were awesome and when two kinks align you know you’re going to get a good story.

Liam by Suede Delray 
3.5 Hearts 
While I loved the unique premise of Liam, I did kind of feel like I missed a good chunk of story. I wasn’t lost in what was happening at all, but it did read like I was dropped in well after the story started. I inferred a lot of things, but it wasn’t too tough to figure out, but I would have liked a more well rounded beginning. All that being said, the meat of the story was great and I would love to read this as a novella at least. We scratched the surface of some great characters and I would love to just get a whole lot more of everything.

Melting His Fiery Heart by Charlie Richards 
3 Hearts 
I haven’t read any of the Wolves of Stone Ridge stories and so I went into Melting His Fiery Heart blind. It’s a fated mate stories that hits all the nails that make those stories fly. Instant attraction, instant boners, instant boning; it’s all there. I liked that I got a little bit of Riley’s personality before he met Dagskon because after that it was all mating all the time. They did have some activities with the rest of Dagskon’s family and their friends and an obligatory villian to keep things moving, but I could have done without the action and would have preferred to spend time getting to know Riley and Dagskon separately and together. I think I would have really liked both of them and they would have been fun to watch as they got to know one another.

Red Run Rescue by Lynn Michaels 
3 Hearts 
Again, I loved the setup of this one, but felt like I was missing out on a chunk of the story. Rory and Donner have two new fawns and it’s apparent they are a relatively new couple, so there should be a lot for me to learn as not too far into the story Donner is leaving to rescue another deer shifter (and it’s obviously a trap set by wolves) and Rory stays behind to watch their two little ones and prepare for the Yule celebration. I was told enough about the council and wolves in passing, so I get that the former is clueless and the latter is evil, but that’s pretty much it. Which was fine for a short story, but I would have liked more dynamics between Rory and Donner when they were not in stress mode. I liked them both very much and it was obvious they loved each other deerly (See what I did there? That started out as a typo). Anywho, I loved the little snippets of the Yule tradition and how loving Rory and Donner were towards one another, a full story of that would be lovely.

The Vacation From Hell by Catherine Lievens 
2.5 Hearts 
Much like Melting His Fiery Heart, The Vacation From Hell is part of a much larger universe so I didn’t have a lot to go on when I started. There are six MCs and frankly, that’s a lot to wrap my brain around for a short story. I stopped trying to keep it all together and just let the banter and action flow. One half of each mated pair has some sort of paranormal ability and works for some sort of assassin agency or something or other. My apologies for butchering the setup and dynamics, but honestly, going in blind, this is all I had to work with. Basically the three couples decide to take a much needed vacation to a luxury cabin that turns out to be anything but and they get an unwelcome visitor who causes shenanigans and gives the assassin dudes a chance to do covert things. I may not have known what was really going on most of the time, but I do know the story had a happy ending, so, yay happy ending!

**a copy of this anthology was provided for an honest review**