Shadow Hunt
Page 1
Table of Contents
Synopsis
Applause for L.L. Raand’s Midnight Hunters Series
Acclaim for Radclyffe’s Fiction
By Radclyffe
Acknowledgments
Early Morning Edition: Albany Gazette
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
About the Author
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
Synopsis
When shadows fill the night, it’s hard to tell friend from foe. With young to raise and her Pack under attack, Sylvan, Alpha of the wolf Weres, takes on her greatest challenge when she determines to uncover the faceless enemies know as the Shadow Lords. While her mate Drake struggles to find the link between the deadly Were fever virus and the mutation she carries, Sylvan calls upon her allies among the Vampires and Fae to defeat the secret pact of humans and Praeterns bent on destroying her and those she is bound to safeguard. Liege Jody Gates, Sylvan’s ally and heir to a powerful Vampire Clan, must choose between her promise to Sylvan and her duty to Clan when she aligns her forces against the deposed Vampire Regent Francesca. If the battle to come is lost, all the Praetern species will be sentenced to exile in the shadows.
Applause for L.L. Raand’s Midnight Hunters Series
The Midnight Hunt
RWA 2012 VCRW Laurel Wreath winner Blood Hunt
Night Hunt
The Lone Hunt
“Raand has built a complex world inhabited by werewolves, vampires, and other paranormal beings…Raand has given her readers a complex plot filled with wonderful characters as well as insight into the hierarchy of Sylvan’s pack and vampire clans. There are many plot twists and turns, as well as erotic sex scenes in this riveting novel that keep the pages flying until its satisfying conclusion.”—Just About Write
“Once again, I am amazed at the storytelling ability of L.L. Raand aka Radclyffe. In Blood Hunt, she mixes high levels of sheer eroticism that will leave you squirming in your seat with an impeccable multi-character storyline all streaming together to form one great read.”—Queer Magazine Online
“The Midnight Hunt has a gripping story to tell, and while there are also some truly erotic sex scenes, the story always takes precedence. This is a great read which is not easily put down nor easily forgotten.”—Just About Write
“Are you sick of the same old hetero vampire/werewolf story plastered in every bookstore and at every movie theater? Well, I’ve got the cure to your werewolf fever. The Midnight Hunt is first in, what I hope is, a long-running series of fantasy erotica for L.L. Raand (aka Radclyffe).”—Queer Magazine Online
“Any reader familiar with Radclyffe’s writing will recognize the author’s style within The Midnight Hunt, yet at the same time it is most definitely a new direction. The author delivers an excellent story here, one that is engrossing from the very beginning. Raand has pieced together an intricate world, and provided just enough details for the reader to become enmeshed in the new world. The action moves quickly throughout the book and it’s hard to put down.”—Three Dollar Bill Reviews
Acclaim for Radclyffe’s Fiction
2013 RWA/New England Bean Pot award winner for contemporary romance Crossroads “will draw the reader in and make her heart ache, willing the two main characters to find love and a life together. It’s a story that lingers long after coming to ‘the end.’”—Lambda Literary
In 2012 RWA / FTHRW Lories and RWA HODRW Aspen Gold award winner Firestorm “Radclyffe brings another hot lesbian romance for her readers.”—The Lesbrary
Foreword Review Book of the Year finalist and IPPY silver medalist Trauma Alert “is hard to put down and it will sizzle in the reader’s hands. The characters are hot, the sex scenes explicit and explosive, and the book is moved along by an interesting plot with well drawn secondary characters. The real star of this show is the attraction between the two characters, both of whom resist and then fall head over heels.”—Lambda Literary Reviews
Lambda Literary Award Finalist Best Lesbian Romance 2010 features “stories [that] are diverse in tone, style, and subject, making for more variety than in many, similar anthologies…well written, each containing a satisfying, surprising twist. Best Lesbian Romance series editor Radclyffe has assembled a respectable crop of 17 authors for this year’s offering.”—Curve Magazine
2010 Prism award winner and ForeWord Review Book of the Year Award finalist Secrets in the Stone is “so powerfully [written] that the worlds of these three women shimmer between reality and dreams…A strong, must read novel that will linger in the minds of readers long after the last page is turned.”—Just About Write
In Benjamin Franklin Award finalist Desire by Starlight “Radclyffe writes romance with such heart and her down-to-earth characters not only come to life but leap off the page until you feel like you know them. What Jenna and Gard feel for each other is not only a spark but an inferno and, as a reader, you will be washed away in this tumultuous romance until you can do nothing but succumb to it.”—Queer Magazine Online
Lambda Literary Award winner Stolen Moments “is a collection of steamy stories about women who just couldn’t wait. It’s sex when desire overrides reason, and it’s incredibly hot!”—On Our Backs
Lambda Literary Award winner Distant Shores, Silent Thunder “weaves an intricate tapestry about passion and commitment between lovers. The story explores the fragile nature of trust and the sanctuary provided by loving relationships.”—Sapphic Reader
Lambda Literary Award Finalist Justice Served delivers a “crisply written, fast-paced story with twists and turns and keeps us guessing until the final explosive ending.”—Independent Gay Writer
Lambda Literary Award finalist Turn Back Time “is filled with wonderful love scenes, which are both tender and hot.”—MegaScene
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Shadow Hunt
© 2015 By L.L. Raand. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-370-7
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, New York 12185
First Edition: March 2015
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincide
ntal.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Ruth Sternglantz and Stacia Seaman
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design By Sheri (graphicartist2020@hotmail.com)
By Radclyffe
Romances
Innocent Hearts
Promising Hearts
Love’s Melody Lost
Love’s Tender Warriors
Tomorrow’s Promise
Love’s Masquerade
shadowland
Passion’s Bright Fury
Fated Love
Turn Back Time
When Dreams Tremble
The Lonely Hearts Club
Night Call
Secrets in the Stone
Desire by Starlight
Crossroads
Homestead
Against Doctor’s Orders
Honor Series
Above All, Honor
Honor Bound
Love & Honor
Honor Guards
Honor Reclaimed
Honor Under Siege
Word of Honor
Code of Honor
Justice Series
A Matter of Trust (prequel)
Shield of Justice
In Pursuit of Justice
Justice in the Shadows
Justice Served
Justice For All
The Provincetown Tales
Safe Harbor
Beyond the Breakwater
Distant Shores, Silent Thunder
Storms of Change
Winds of Fortune
Returning Tides
Sheltering Dunes
First Responders Novels
Trauma Alert
Firestorm
Oath of Honor
Taking Fire
Short Fiction
Collected Stories by Radclyffe
Erotic Interludes: Change of Pace
Radical Encounters
Edited by Radclyffe
Best Lesbian Romance 2009-2014
Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.
Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments
Erotic Interludes 3: Lessons in Love
Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions
Erotic Interludes 5: Road Games
Romantic Interludes 1: Discovery
Romantic Interludes 2: Secrets
Breathless: Tales of Celebration
Women of the Dark Streets
Amor and More: Love Everafter
Myth & Magic: Queer Fairy Tales
By L.L. Raand
Midnight Hunters
The Midnight Hunt
Blood Hunt
Night Hunt
The Lone Hunt
The Magic Hunt
Shadow Hunt
Acknowledgments
When I first started the Midnight Hunters series five years and six books ago, I began a new adventure in my writing career—writing paranormal romance. Many of the elements of the genre were familiar: the structure of a romance has recognizable elements regardless of the time, place, plot, or theme. Characters meet, fall in love, grow, change, and shed their shields to embrace their true selves, realize their goals, and celebrate love and desire. The paranormal romance demands we create characters and worlds different from our own but which we recognize on some fundamental level—we must be able to sympathize with our heroes’ plights and invest in their journey. As authors who write series know, the characters become very familiar to us in a way that doesn’t happen in a stand-alone romance. We spend much more time with them, not just in the subsequent books we write about them, but in the days, months, and years in between. Even when we are writing something new, their unfinished stories remain in the backs of our minds, teasing us to return.
Every series needs a goal, just as the characters do, and sooner or later that goal must be reached. Happily, we need not write “the end” in capital letters, but can leave the door open for return adventures. This is a world I have enjoyed building, and with each new book, I’ve discovered more about it and its inhabitants that intrigued me. As I wrote the final words on the last page, I caught glimpses of other stories waiting to be told. Thank you to all who have encouraged me to tell these.
Many thanks go to Sandy Lowe for her professional expertise and essential personal support, editor Ruth Sternglantz for skilled advice and insights, editor Stacia Seaman for attention to the final drafts, Sheri Halal for the expert graphic work, and my first readers Paula, Eva, and Connie for encouragement and inspiration.
And as always, thanks to Lee, who helps build the world that makes all this possible. Amo te.
Radclyffe, 2015
To Lee, who never quakes at shadows
Early Morning Edition: Albany Gazette
New Head of Vampire League Announced
In a surprising development announced at a predawn gathering at the state capitol building in Albany, New York, Zachary Gates, leader of the Night Hunter Vampire Clan, was named Chancellor of the City and the new Viceregal of the Eastern Territory. The Eastern Vampire seethe, as the loose association of Vampire Clans is called, is the largest in the continental United States and holds considerable power in terms of ruling judgment over all North American Vampires. In addition to managing the many financial and corporate holdings that support the Vampire community, the Viceregal enforces Vampire law and exerts deciding judgment over the other Clan heads in matters of diplomacy and dispute. After formally accepting his new position, Viceregal Gates assured the public he would continue in his efforts in association with the other Coalition members to work toward a “smooth and mutually beneficial” integration of the Praetern species with the human population. He declined to comment on his opinions regarding Praetern sovereignty and the establishment of independent Praetern nations, much in the way Native American tribes have preserved self-governing powers. Francesca, the previous Viceregal, was not available for comment.
The matter of Praetern rights and what governing powers, if any, the Praetern species will hold has led to vocal and, occasionally, physical confrontations between factions on both sides of the debate in Washington and state capitals across the nation. The Humans First movement, opposed to any independence for or civil recognition of Praeterns, has gained a groundswell of popular support in recent weeks, polarizing lawmakers at the highest level of government. Daniel Weston, Conservative senator from New York and head of the House Committee on Praetern Affairs, stated the pending bill under consideration granting full citizenship for all naturalized Praeterns as well as granting a host of accompanying civil liberties and protections had been tabled in light of recent developments to allow a re-assessment of “many complex factors.” He pledged, however, a “fair and unbiased review” of all sides of the issue and welcomed the input of the Coalition members who represent the five Praetern species.
Coalition head Sylvan Mir, the wolf Were Alpha, was present at Viceregal Gates’ official instatement and voiced the support of the Timberwolf Pack for the new Viceregal. Mir herself has been the focus of violent attacks in recent weeks, sustaining the loss of a high-ranking member of her guard in an assassination attempt and damage to Mir Industries as a result of sabotage. When asked directly about the Coalition’s present stance on the issue of Praetern sovereignty, she said, “These issues demand careful consideration by the Coalition members as well as all Praeterns. Our goal has always been to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship with humans, but our first priority must be to protect the welfare of our populace.”
For further breaking developments, stay tuned to the Land Report.
—Rebecca Land, investigative reporter
Chapter One
Drake’s wolf raked at her insides, searing her flesh. Pelt prickled beneath her skin. Her fingertips throbbed where claws threatened to burst free. Sylvan should have returned by now. She must find her, protect her. She needed to shift, to run, to hunt,
to claim her mate.
She couldn’t. The Pack needed her. She was Prima. She could not leave them leaderless. Until Sylvan returned, she was their strength.
Drake surged to her feet, sped down the wide timber stairs from Sylvan’s office, and headed to the one place where she could find her balance. She shoved open the heavy oak doors and Jace, the centuri assigned to guard her, jumped to attention.
“Prima, where—”
“Stay here,” Drake ordered. “Await the Alpha’s return.”
“But—”
“Do as I say.”
Jace shuddered and ducked her head, whining softly in the wash of Drake’s aggressive pheromones. Her sky blue eyes clouded with misery.
Drake slowed, cupped Jace’s face. “I’ll be in the nursery. I will be well protected in there. Keep watch out here and alert me at any sign of trouble.”
She didn’t need to tell Jace to alert her if Sylvan returned. She would feel her mate when she was still miles away. Their hearts and minds and bodies were attuned, chemically and psychically connected. When they were apart, their primal instincts drove them to reunite. But for now, she must fight her urges and remain behind. The entire Compound was in a state of high readiness after the battle at Nocturne twenty-four hours before. The Vampires were under new rule, Sylvan had killed the Blackpaw Alpha and annexed the Blackpaw wolf Pack, and the Fae had joined the fight—although whose side they might ultimately support was unclear. Retaliation might come from any quarter at any time. The Pack was surrounded by enemies, or the enemies of their allies. Despite the danger of another assassination attempt, Sylvan had insisted on showing her support for the new Vampire regime by attending Zachary Gates’s de facto coronation.