by Jax Garren
She slammed the ring back onto her finger. Just as quickly the pain subsided.
He breathed heavily, staring at the rose piece he’d made for her. Some new magic was here, one that didn’t cause him pain or frustration and had nothing to do with violence. A gift.
He touched the hammer around his neck, thanking the gods before grasping Jolie’s hand. “Do me a favor and don’t take that off.”
She nodded as a smile broadened across her face. “Never.” The smile reached her eyes, replacing the wonder with joy. “You are so stuck with me, soldier.”
The noise of the crowd dimmed to meaningless noise as Jolie threw herself against him and dug her fingers into his hair. He kissed his fiancée with all the love he felt and all the hope he carried for a long and beautiful future.
* * * * *
Author’s Note
I debated long and hard about how to end the book—whether to stick with the traditional “Beauty and the Beast” ending where beast is returned to his princely form or to have my “beast” keep his scars. For wounded warriors returning home in the real world, the miracles of modern medicine are extraordinary, but there is no magic that can fully bring back what they sacrificed.
But I’m writing a fairy tale and the world of this book does have magic. In this context, sticking with the source material seemed best. What was important to me, however, was that Hauk reach a point where he not just earned the love of a woman, but found a way to be at peace with himself again—scars and all. In my mind this, and not the spell that Jolie wears on her finger, is the true happy ending.
Find out how it all began with the first two books in the enthralling Tales of the Underlight series by Jax Garren, available now!
How Beauty Met the Beast
Scarred. Damaged. Living with a terrible secret. Agent of the Underlight Wesley “Hauk” Haukon has nothing left but the fight for liberty against the oppressive Order of Ananke. He’s starting to lose hope...and then he sees her. Despite her night job as a burlesque dancer, grad student Jolie Benoit has always played the mostly good girl. That all changes following a scorching sexual encounter with a stranger whose face she doesn’t see. After she’s kidnapped by thugs and rescued by a man with a very familiar voice, Jolie becomes a pawn in a struggle she never knew existed...
How Beauty Saved the Beast
Jolie Benoit left her old life behind to become an agent of the Underlight. Training under Sergeant Wesley Haukon, she’s honing her combat skills, all the while coping with the intense sexual attraction she feels for Hauk. She keeps their friendship casual, but when his high school sweetheart transfers into their division, Jolie finds herself grappling with jealousy. The Underlight gave Hauk a purpose, but he can’t escape his past completely. The physical and emotional scars from the fire that killed seven fellow Army Rangers will mark him forever. Jolie sends his protective instincts into overdrive, but he’s convinced he’ll never be worthy of her love...
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About the Author
Jax Garren is descended from Valkyries and Vikings (she’s part Swedish) but was raised a small-town girl in the Texas Hill Country. She graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in English and a minor in Latin and stayed in Austin to teach high school. During her eight years in public education she was in a riot, broke up fights, had cops storm her class with guns drawn...and met the most amazing young people who taught her more about life and hope than she taught them about any school subject.
Jax believes in happily-ever-afters. She married her real-life hero, a handsome engineer who is saving the world through clean energy technology. Her heroine is Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the perfect blend of tough and feminine. Jax blames Marion for her dream of traveling to Nepal to experience Himalayan palaces and monasteries and to drink yak butter tea. Jax can be found at www.jaxgarren.com or on Facebook. She would love to raise a glass with her readers to toast courage, adventure and love.
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