by Cloe Cullen
Amara exchanged glances with Darius. "She's here? Right now?" Darius asked skeptically. Remus nodded, motioning for them to follow.
Amara turned back to Gavriel and Sarai, giving them an apologetic look. "Sorry, but we need to go."
Sarai shook her head. "It's fine. Besides, I need to catch up with Gavriel…"
Gavriel gave her a knowing look, and they both laughed as they waved Darius and Amara off.
Bronwen stuffed her face with food as Remus, Darius, and Amara sat in the Alpha's lodgings. She ate from the cooked carcass of a rabbit, the juices running down her lip and throat, and her eyes darting between them all.
"Thanks for the food," was all she said for another five minutes.
Remus pinched his temple as Bronwen finally burped and put the bones down on the floor. She grinned as she sucked the juices from her fingers, making sure Remus was watching her innuendo. Remus blushed and glanced away.
"You know, for a Vampire, you don't eat very elegantly," Darius commented.
"For a mutt, you don't smell like you should," Bronwen countered. Darius frowned, causing Bronwen to chuckle. "Oh, calm down, I'm merely jesting. You know I'm growing very fond of you all!" Again, she glanced at Remus, who wouldn't look her way. She sighed when she finally realized he wouldn't turn to look at her.
"Are you now?" Amara asked. "You realize you were technically our prisoner for a while, right?"
Bronwen blinked at her. "So? I couldn't care less about any of that anymore. Orpheus is dead, and so is Ambrosia. There's reason to celebrate."
"Then why are you back here?" Darius asked. "Remus said you wanted to speak with us."
Bronwen smiled slyly. "I do. I want to talk about our relationship."
Darius eyed her. "What do you mean, ‘relationship'?"
Bronwen cocked her head. "To put it simply, since Orpheus is no longer living in this world, there is a vacant spot in the thirteen Vampire lord ranks. Considering I'm the only survivor of Orpheus' little group, I might be able to become the thirteenth lord. The other lords never really liked Orpheus anyway, they thought he was mad."
"He was mad," Amara agreed.
"And so, because you three helped me out, I want to pay you back in full." Bronwen's red eyes lit up. "Once I become the thirteenth lord, I can help relations between your two clans and the Vampires improve, put in a few good words for you, so to speak."
"Seriously?" Remus asked. "What are you planning on telling them?"
"That you are peaceful clans that just want to be left alone, but are willing to look past the destruction of the Bear Clan...and that you are all very capable of killing Vampires, if there happen to be any others that wish to meddle in your affairs." All three stared at her blankly. "Sounds good, right?"
"But you don't think they'll be wary of you now that you've been in our care? You clearly turned against Orpheus, so there's no way they would be able to trust you," Remus commented.
"Aw," Bronwen cooed. "Are you worrying about my well-being? I'm touched, Remus."
Remus frowned. "I'm just saying…"
"I think he's right," Amara said. "They could just as easily turn on you if you come across as their enemy. You need to be careful, Bronwen."
Waving her away, Bronwen smiled. "I've been alive longer than any of you can possibly imagine. I know what I'm doing. If the Pack and the Pride can become best friends now, then why can't us Vampires atone for our sins as well?"
"Then we appreciate it," Darius said. "Seriously, Bronwen, thank you."
Bronwen nodded. "It's my pleasure, Alpha of the Pack. Though there is one more thing I want to ask of you."
Darius raised an eyebrow.
"As a token of good gesture, I thought it would be good to bring along someone from the Oldwood, to speak to the thirteen lords along with me. To show that you all truly mean peace."
Darius frowned, but Amara glanced over at Remus. Remus blinked at her.
"Obviously it's up to you, but…" Bronwen gazed at all three but rested on Remus. "I thought that maybe Remus might want to come along as your representative."
Remus' face twitched for a moment, but he looked at Bronwen as if she had ripped his lungs out. "...you want me to come with you back to Orpheus' Manor?"
"Well, I kind of burned his manor down, so I would have my own home as the thirteenth lord that you could stay at." Bronwen fiddle with her fingers. "You don't need to come back with me now, either. You can come whenever. I don't really mind when."
Remus looked to Darius and Amara for support, but neither said a word. Remus sighed. "Okay...but I definitely won't be coming now. Maybe sometime in the future. I need to look after some things here."
Darius nodded. "Is that all you needed, Bronwen?"
Bronwen's expression brightened. "Sure is! I'll take my leave of you now and trudge back to the Blackwood, I think."
Bronwen stood, and the others stood with her. "Are you sure?" Darius asked. "You're still welcome here, Bronwen."
"Thanks, but I'm good. Besides, I think I might be homesick!"
Outside, the trio watched as Bronwen waved and disappeared into the Oldwood, making her way south.
Darius turned to Remus. "So, neither of us will have wolf mates, it looks like."
Remus frowned at him. "Like hell I won't."
"You're lucky to have a Vampire after you."
"When you put it like that, it sounds pretty sinister."
Amara laughed. "My, my, you're incredibly popular with the ladies now, aren't you Remus?"
Remus rolled his eyes but actually smiled. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go check on Nyssa."
Amara and Darius watched as Remus left.
"I know I've asked this before, but what now?" Amara said as she turned back to Darius.
Darius grinned wide. "What else?"
Leading Amara into the Oldwood, Darius stopped under a shaded, massive tree. The old thing was so wide Amara was sure it had to have grown for thousands of years.
Without even waiting, Darius grabbed hold of Amara and pressed his body to hers, their lips touching and caressing each other. His ripped torso put pressure on her as he braced her against the bark of the tree. Amara's head went light as she traced her hands up from his waist to his chest, feeling his beating heart beneath.
He was warm, so hot to the touch.
Amara helped as Darius ripped off his tunic and flung it to the ground, leaving his torso bare to the chilly breeze. Darius shivered as he dragged his lips down from Amara' mouth to her neck, kissing her, listening to Amara's moaning.
Pushing him back a little, Amara made enough room to pull her own tunic above her head, leaving herself just as bare as Darius. They both watched each other, building lust, and when neither could hold themselves back, they smashed their lips back together again, Darius grabbing her hands and pushing them high above, against the tree.
Their lovemaking continued on until they huffed and puffed, collapsing against the tree and breathing hard, their warmth breaths cascading over each other. Amara grinned at Darius as they laid down on the ground, staring at each other.
"You know, I think I could get used to this," Amara said.
Darius grinned wide. "That makes two of us."
Placing her hand back against his chest, she stared at his muscles, feeling her very soul warm. "Remember when you joked about how many children we might have?"
Darius cocked a brow, supporting his head with her arm. "Yeah."
"I think we'll probably have a litter."
Darius chuckled and kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah, well, we can take our time with that. For once, I'm actually excited about my future."
Amara giggled. "You mean our future."
Darius smiled. "Yeah, our future."
Darius embraced her once again, and they fell asleep right there, under the great tree, dreaming of the future they fought to get.
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Excerpt from “Howl And Roar (Book 2)”
Then the blonde wolf shifted back to its human form...no, not its, hers. The blonde wolf changed to a naked female, her blonde hair curling from her scalp, black and blue bruises littering her body. His body trembled at the sight of her. Curvy, fair skin shivered as she struggled to move, but ultimately found no strength remaining in her limbs. Even from this distance Jorah could see her eyes were a beautiful blue, deeper than the blue of the sky. The Changelings cackled as her head spun and fell to the ground, her bare chest heaving and her mouth agape.
The female shifter was like nothing he’d ever seen, and from that moment forward Jorah steeled himself for a battle, letting his mind focus and his body morph. Within moments, he grew into the shape of a gigantic brown bear, his feet carrying him forward just as the Changelings made their move to go in for the kill, the ground rumbling beneath him. Roaring a war cry, the Changelings snapped their heads up to see him just before he rammed into them and sent them all crashing into the ground. A few that managed to evade his initial attack lunged at him; anticipating the attack, Jorah spun with a massive paw, connecting with one cougar’s jaw and a wolf’s ribs, bones cracking under the power of his hits.
Puffing out air, Jorah stood protectively over the female shifter, watching the tawny wolf and other Changelings stare on in awe. Sensing Jorah was a friend, the tawny wolf used the advantage to sink his teeth into the neck of another Changeling, while three others set upon him. Jorah wanted to help, but the Changelings he’d thrown away now stalked back out to him, circling just as they had done to the blonde wolf.
He couldn't stay here. There was no way Jorah could protect the woman and fight this many at the same time; besides, his fighting skills were rusty. It wasn’t like there was anything to fight up on the Northern Mountains, save for small game and a goat or two.
So, Jorah made the decision to focus on saving the female shifter. He roared a sorry to the wolf, hoping he’d understand, and scooped up the female shifter in his paws and threw her on his back. She must have been semi-conscious, because she latched onto his back hair, grabbing huge tufts with both hands. Good, Jorah thought. The woman was light and slender, easy to carry while on the run...
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A single gemstone ruins a kingdom, yet it also grows an unexpected love.
He is on a quest to become Dragon King, until he met a woman on a mission to save her kingdom, then everything changed.
Amber Elior is the child of one of the Five Noble Families of the Kingdom of Astrea. Life is easy enough: she’s educated, trained in swordsmanship, considered the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, but it’s all just so tedious. Amber wants to explore, mingle with the commoners, and leave Astrea behind to find out if the stories her father told her about the Dragon Tribe are true.
When Emyr Silverhart, her fellow ruling noble, sets in motion his plan to become the first King of Astrea in five hundred years, Amber will get her wish. Suddenly, Amber’s life is in turmoil, leaving her family decimated and Amber hunted by Emyr. But she isn’t alone. Her father’s stories were true, the dragon shifters are still alive, and now Amber’s best chance at reclaiming her home is to rely on the most powerful dragon shifter of all: the future Dragon King.
Roark is nothing if not ambitious. Future Dragon King or not, the moment he laid eyes upon Amber Elior his whole world became a daring game of trying to win her love. But when Roark learns of Amber’s woes, he promises he’ll take back her home and kingdom, but not only so that he can claim her, but so that he can rule over Astrea himself. But there’s one major obstacle in his way, an object so influential that not even the future Dragon King can withstand its power: The Dragon’s Jewel.
An unlikely pair of heroes hold the fate of both their peoples in the palms of their hands, but will their desire for each other destroy all they’ve both sought after?
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About The Author
Cloe Cullen is a passionate paranormal romance writer and published author. It is her desire to whisk you away from reality and thrust you into a world of fantastical romance.
She has plans for many new books in the near future. Her vision is to bring awesome entertainment to her readers. Wolves, shifter cats, werebears, vampires and dragons are the stories she tells best. While she is not furiously writing away under the big shade tree out back, she is taking care of her rescue cats.
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