by Sarah Noffke
“How long will you be gone?” Pops said.
“I’m not sure. I’ll try to dream travel back regularly, but when I’m here at the Institute, I’ll need to be telling my git team what to do,” Adelaide said, walking for her room.
“They’re lucky to have you,” Pops sang. He meant it, but she didn’t believe him.
Adelaide stared at the suitcase. She’d been accepted as a scientist for Parantaa Research. The Institute could forge records for anything, making others think that Adelaide was an Ivy League graduate. Now she could find information from the inside, not as a covert spy, like the pathetic invisible woman. The agents Adelaide had sent to spy during dream travels hadn’t turned up anything at Parantaa because they had to simply observe. From her position, Adelaide could learn a lot about the organization and its sister company, Olento Research. As soon as she started her new position, she’d be that much closer to taking Mika Lenna down.
Tossing her father’s book to the side of her suitcase, she half smiled at the small object. Of course, she didn’t lose Ren’s book. She’d never let anything happen to it. And it had been returned because she was the true owner. Now she only needed to discover what secrets it held for her. She’d have to stop by the infirmary on her way out of the Institute and let Connor know that she’d found the book. He’d be relieved. It would show itself easily on his face, she thought, seeing the interaction in her mind. Then she’d tell him she was leaving the Institute. How would he react to that? Would he care? And did it really matter?
Adelaide shook her head, dispelling the thought. She was the presiding agent on the werewolf case, and that’s where her head needed to be. Soon Connor would have the werewolf reversal procedure done and maybe he’d live. Maybe he’d die. Or maybe he’d return to being only a man. Then he’d be safe to be around. Predictable. Well, as predictable as any beautifully flawed man can be.
The End
Hi! It’s Sarah Noffke. Thank you for reading. If you could take a moment and leave a review, that would mean so much to me, the author. Reviews help books to sell so if you want me to keep writing, then please keep reviewing. And thank you for the support. Review Better Off Dead here.
Continue the adventure! Grab the third book in this addictive werewolf tale here. Hungry For Blood is dark, sexy and absolutely un-put-downable.
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Acknowledgments
I have a confession. I’m the lone wolf. Okay, stop gasping and thinking that I’m admitting to being a drug addict. I’m not that. Never been into the drugs, but I do have the tendencies of the lone wolf. I prefer to run. To be alone. To do it alone. Connor is me in many ways. However, I start this acknowledgement with this to thank those who wouldn’t allow me to run. Firstly, that initial thank you goes to Heidi, one of my longest and best friends. You never let me run from you and in doing that, you saved me many a times. And you supported my craft, always telling me, “Can you believe you’re doing what you always wanted to do?” How could I quit after hearing something like that? And I also want to thank Leen, my first chair. You make it easy not to feel alone.
In the writer’s game, I always thought I was alone. I’m an island, I used to think. I lived with the stories in my head until they went to the beta readers. However, I’ve been able to collaborate with this series and therefore the lone wolf in me isn’t as dominate as it used to be. Thanks to Jeff for helping me to find “the better” story. Thanks to Jessica for helping me to name the series. If it wasn’t for these creative sessions, then I don’t think my stories would be as enriched.
A huge thank you to my beta team: Leen, Jess, Heidi, Kelly, Melinda, and Anne. I really rely on you all to make this story the best it can by.
A gigantic thank you to Anne for helping me with the medical scenes and keeping my British spot on.
Thank you to my supporters and ARC readers. You all really keep me going. I’m always so jazzed to release books to you all. And your support and accolades really make me smile.
Thank you to my friends and family. Without your support I don’t know where’d I be.
Thank you to my fan group, the Awesome Marathoner Readers, my Facebook and Twitter followers for making the books popular.
Thank you to my editor, Christine LePorte, for making my 17th book as good as the first. Okay, way better.
Thank you to Andrei Bat for the amazing cover work. We are really getting the hang of working together after all these years.
And the final thank you, as always, goes to my unbelievably beautiful and talented daughter, Lydia. The night you were born, you lay in your bassinet and I awoke and tried to sit up, but failed. Still, in the dark of that room I had a realization that was quickly followed by a promise. I realized there, in that hospital room, that I couldn’t coast by anymore. I had to make every day worth it, so you’d see that one day. I had to really push myself going forward. You, lying, froggied-legged and snuggled in your blanket, made me realize that. And therefore I made a silent promise on that night that I would devote myself to making the best life for myself, and therefore for you. That was the beginning of my journey to write and you started it with your spark, which continues to light my fire. I love you. Thank you, my love.
About the Author
Sarah is the author of the Lucidites, Reverians, Vagabond Circus, Ren and Olento Research, Soul Stone Mage and Ghost Squadron series. She’s been everything from a corporate manager to a hippie. Her taste for adventure has taken her all over the world. If you can’t find her at the gym, then she’s probably at the frozen yogurt shop. If you can’t find her there then she probably doesn’t want to be found. She is a self-proclaimed hermit, with spontaneous urges to socialize during full moons and when Mercury is in retrograde. Sarah lives in Southern California with her family. To learn more about Sarah please visit: http://www.sarahnoffke.com
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Check out other work by this author here.
A Dream Traveler Series: The Lucidites Series
Awoken, #1:
Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights.
In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same events.
And in the backwoods of Texas, a sixteen-year-old girl is about to be caught up in a fierce, ethereal battle.
Meet Roya Stark.
She drowns every night in her dreams, spends her hours reading classic literature to avoid her family’s ridicule, and is prone to premonitions—which are becoming more frequent.
Now her dreams are filled with strangers offering to reveal what she has always wanted to know: Who is she? That’s the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. But will Roya live to regret learning the truth?
Stunned, #2
Revived, #3
A Dream Travelers Series: The Reverians
Defects, #1:
The longer we confine ourselves to a place the more it imprisons us.
All is not what it appears in the seemingly perfect community of Austin Valley.
A long-kept lie begins to unravel as an unsuspecting teenager named Em Fuller begins to learn the sinister truth of what lies beneath her town's perfect façade.
Em is a Defect--one of the unfortunate Dream Travelers not gifted with a psychic power.
Desperate to do whatever it takes to earn her gift, she endures painful daily injections along with commands from her overbearing, loveless father. One of the few bright spots in her life is the return of a friend she had thought dead—but with his return comes the knowledge of a shocking, unforgivable truth.
The society Em thought was protecting her has actually been betraying her, but she has no idea how to break away from its authority without hurting everyone she loves.
Rebels, #2
Warriors, #3
A Dream Travelers Series: Vagabond Circus
Suspended, #1:
A Man On A Mission
/> Dr. David Raydon, the Ringmaster, gave up his psychology practice to create Vagabond Circus. He searches for precious Dream Traveler children in orphanages and on the streets, where some live unwanted and forgotten. Vagabond Circus exists to provide the lost and lonely Dream Travelers a place to be illustrious, but it also shows the nonbelievers that there is still magic in the world. If they believe, then they care, and if they care, then they don’t destroy.
˃˃˃ Action, Depth And Plot Twists
When a stranger joins the cast of Vagabond Circus, mysterious events start happening. The once orderly grounds of the circus become riddled with hidden threats. The Ringmaster realizes that not only are his circus and its magic at risk, but also his very life.
˃˃˃ Colorful, exciting, with a dash of the promised romance, Suspended will leave you hanging in the end, anxious to read Paralyzed, book two in the series.
Paralyzed, #2
Released, #3
A Dream Traveler Series: Ren
Ren: The Man Behind the Monster, #1:
He is the most powerful man to ever live, and therefore doomed to misery.
Ren Lewis was born with the power to control minds, hypnotize others, and read thoughts. Therefore he is certain of one thing.
God made a mistake.
No one should be born with so much power.
A monster awoke in Ren the same year he received his gifts. At ten years old. A prepubescent boy with the ability to control others might merely abuse this power, but Ren allowed it to corrupt him. And since he can have and do anything he wants, Ren should be happy. However, his journey teaches him that harboring so much power doesn't bring happiness, it steals it. Once this realization sets in, Ren makes up his mind to do the one thing that can bring his tortured soul some peace.
He must kill the monster.
Ren is an addictive story of an anti-villain. This spellbinding supernatural fantasy is a must read for anyone looking for the untraditional hero.
Ren: God’s Little Monster, #2
Ren: The Monster Inside the Monster, #3
Ren: The Monster’s Adventure, #3.5
Ren: The Monster’s Death
A Dream Traveler Series: Olento Research
Alpha Wolf, #1:
Twelve Men Went Missing
Six months later they awake from drug-induced stupors to find themselves locked in a lab. On the night of a new moon, eleven of those men - possessing new gifts of speed, strength and inhuman powers - break out of their prison and race through the streets of Los Angeles. They disappear one by one into the night.
˃˃˃ Werewolves Are On The Loose
Mika Lenna - a powerful dream traveler and head of Olento Research - wants to control the world. To do that, he must create an army of assassins. Capturing the twelve men was easy, as was experimenting on them while keeping them in drug-induced stupors. But now all hell has broken loose - wolf-like men have been spotted across the nation, leaving fatal attacks in their midst. Mike must tear every city apart until his invaluable werewolves are back under his control.
˃˃˃ The Race Is On
The Lucidite Institute's main mission is to save the world from injustices. Their best agent, Adelaide Lewis, needs to find these mutated men and protect them and society, and fast. Adelaide realizes that she has to find the Alpha Wolf. Only once she's located him can she stop whoever is behind this experiment to create wild beasts out of human beings.
Alpha Wolf has a taut storyline combined with action-packed scenes. This spellbinding YA supernatural fantasy is a must read for the young and not so young alike.
Lone Wolf, #2
Rabid Wolf, #3
Bad Wolf, #4
Soul Stone Mage Series: An Urban Fantasy Witch Adventure
House of Enchanted, #1:
The Kingdom of Virgo has lived in peace for thousands of years…until now.
The humans from Terran have always been real assholes to the witches of Virgo. Now a silent war is brewing, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Princess Azure will soon be crowned queen of the Kingdom of Virgo.
In the Dark Forest a powerful potion-maker has been murdered.
Charmsgood was the only wizard who could stop a deadly virus plaguing Virgo. He also knew about the devastation the people from Terran had done to the forest.
Azure must protect her people. Mend the Dark Forest. Create alliances with savage beasts. No biggie, right?
But on coronation day everything changes. Princess Azure isn’t who she thought she was and that’s a big freaking problem.
Welcome to The Revelations of Oriceran.
A magical world tied to Earth, and nothing like it.
Dark Forest, #2
Mountain of Truth, #3
Land of Terran, #4
New Egypt, #5
Lancothy, #6
Ghost Squadron Series: A Military Space Opera Adventure
Formation, #1
Kill the bad guys. Save the Galaxy. All in a hard day’s work.
After ten years of wandering the outer rim of the galaxy, Eddie Teach is a man without a purpose. He was one of the toughest pilots in the Federation, but now he’s just a regular guy, getting into bar fights and making a difference wherever he can. It’s not the same as flying a ship and saving colonies, but it’ll have to do.
That is, until General Lance Reynolds tracks Eddie down and offers him a job. There are bad people out there, plotting terrible things, killing innocent people, and destroying entire colonies.
Someone has to stop them.
Eddie, along with the genetically-enhanced combat pilot Julianna Fregin and her trusty E.I. named Pip, must recruit a diverse team of specialists, both human and alien. They’ll need to master their new Q-Ship, one of the most powerful strike ships ever constructed. And finally, they’ll have to stop a faceless enemy so powerful, it threatens to destroy the entire Federation.
All in a day’s work, right?
Experience this exciting military sci-fi saga and the latest addition to the expanded Kurtherian Gambit Universe. If you’re a fan of Mass Effect, Firefly, or Star Wars, you’ll love this riveting new space opera.
*NOTE: If cursing is a problem, then this might not be for you.
Exploration, #2
Evolution, #3
Degeneration, #4
Impersonation, #5
The Lucidites series is also available in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
Find all of Sarah’s books here.
Reading Guide
Sarah crafted the Dream Traveler universe and has 5 series that take place there. Characters from different series bounce between the books. The reading guide below offers a suggested order for consumption to decrease spoilers and stay on the timeline. The last three series listed can be read in any order.
For more information please visit Sarah’s website at www.sarahnoffke.com or email her at [email protected]
Join the mailing list here for freebies, updates and more! http://www.sarahnoffke.com/connect/
A Dream Traveler Series: The Lucidites Series
Awoken, #1:
Stunned, #2
Revived, #3
A Dream Travelers Series: The Reverians
Defects, #1:
Rebels, #2
Warriors, #3
A Dream Traveler Series: Ren
Ren: The Man Behind the Monster, #1:
Ren: God’s Little Monster, #2
Ren: The Monster Inside the Monster, #3
Ren: The Monster’s Adventure, #3.5
Ren: The Monster’s Death, #4
A Dream Traveler Series: Genetically Altered
Made to Kill, #1
Better off Dead, #2
Hungry for Blood, #3
Born Bad, #4
A Dream Travelers Series: Vagabond Circus
Suspended, #1:
Paralyzed, #2
Released, #3
Soul Stone Mage Series: An Urban Fantasy Witch Adventure
House of Encha
nted, #1:
Dark Forest, #2
Mountain of Truth, #3
Land of Terran, #4
New Egypt, #5
Lancothy, #6
Virgo, #7
Ghost Squadron Series: A Military Space Opera Adventure
Formation, #1
Exploration, #2
Evolution, #3
Degeneration, #4
Impersonation, #5
Recollection, #6
Preservation, #7
Precious Galaxy Series: Fantasy Space Opera
Corruption, #1
Investigation, #2
Determination, #3
Obliteration, #4
Unstoppable Liv Beaufont Series: Urban Fantasy
The Rebellious Sister, #1
The Uncooperative Warrior, #2
The Defiant Magician, #3
The Triumphant Daughter, #4
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Table of Contents
Reading Guide
Get your free book here
Better Off Dead
Prologue
Chapter One