To Mate an Assassin
by Ceri Grenelle
Publication Date: July 28, 2015
Genres: Paranormal, Romance
Synopsis:
Love is her enemy…until his beast sets her free.
Cymbeline Kendall’s life is quiet, solitary—until a letter appears in her P.O. box. Then she becomes an Incendiary, a human chosen at birth to be trained to strike like lightning to take out the most dangerous of the Werekind, then fade back into the shadows.
She is a weapon only to be used by the leader of North American shifters. But when she learns the Alphar was unseated three years ago, she sets out to find who’s been pulling her trigger.
Kerrick Masterson has borne the burden of leadership for only a short time, yet he already feels the Alphar power tempting his soul toward the insanity that destroyed his predecessor. He has no time for the woman who breaks into his compound claiming to be his Incendiary, but his beast insists he make the time—for his mate.
In one searing, soul-consuming breath, everything Cymbeline was taught to believe is ripped away. Yet the mystery of who’s been sending her orders remains…and finding the answer could lead to all-out war.
Warning: Contains an assassin who doesn’t tolerate those who hurt the weak, and a shifter leader determined to unlock his new mate’s repressed emotions—even if that puts his balls at risk. Explicit sex, violence, and references to abuse that could be rough on sensitive readers.
She crossed her arms, looking
away from him in stereotypical female annoyance. It would not behoove her to
admit she was enjoying their repartee. He held out one hand to her and stood,
having recovered from her rough grip, the other rested against his heart. “I am
sorry, Cymbeline. I was teasing again.”
She narrowed her eyes at him,
unconvinced by his genial behavior. She knew he was more devil than angel, his
mischievous nature all too clear. She possibly liked that a tad more than she
should.
“Run with me?” he asked, his hand
reaching.
The moment became heavy, weighted
with things unsaid and issues greater than the both of them, issues that needed
resolving. She wasn’t for him. Not even the howling of her Wolf within her soul
could convince her.
“Kerrick—”
“Don’t think,” he said, stepping
forward to kiss her forehead. “Just run with me. Nothing more.”
She stepped back, letting the
Wolf ’s presence of mind gain an edge. Her Wolf yipped in joy and pressed the
shift upon her body. It wasn’t a painful thing as some humans thought. The
shift was a magical phenomenon and shifters were made of magic. To shift was
light within the soul and joy within the heart.
Cymbeline twisted in on herself,
a core of warmth spreading from her heart to touch every corner of her body.
She looked down and saw her paws, her red and amber fur, and felt completely at
home for the first time since she’d arrived at this topsy-turvy circus. Without
a backwards glance she forgot everything around her and just ran.
The dirt was a cloud her paws
barely skimmed as her lupine nature dodged between the trees. The grass flying
past her legs was cool rain petting her fur. Her Wolf leapt into the air with
such joy to be free that she nearly cried. They were whole. Shifted into her
Wolf form was the only time Cymbeline felt as if she’d been born to be a
shifter not Turned as part of some grand design. She yipped and howled with
excitement, completely out of character for her but just so damn fun.
After a few moments Cymbeline
remembered there was someone running beside her. She turned her head and there
was Kerrick, in all his Alphar glory. He’d chosen a Wolf for his shifted form,
a beautiful and grand gray Wolf with eyes as black as coal. It was the gift of
the Alphar, why they were the strongest and most dominant of all the shifters.
They were true shifters, not stuck in one animal form but blessed with the
ability to change into all of them. An impassioned look of triumph graced his
face as he ran beside her and she finally allowed herself to feel it. Shifting
into her Wolf form broke down one of the few remaining barriers she had erected
to keep the full effect of the mating from influencing her emotions. But she
felt it now. He was hers. Undeniably and undoubtedly hers. She would never
choose another; never need another. And her faith in him was unwavering. He
would always be true, always be there for her no matter how much he teased or
joked. She’d never had anyone belong to her like that before, and she never
would again.
About Ceri Grenelle
I've always had an active imagination. An imagination that usually took form in the way of zoning out in the middle of conversations. I eventually decided it was time to share my daydreaming with the world and began to put my musings on paper. It started with Harry Potter fanfiction and grew from there.
I am currently living it up in Northern California after a big move from New York City. And by living it up I mean staying home with my cats, obsessively watching episodes of my favorite TV shows, all of which are extremely geeky, and simultaneously reading the next book on my reading list. I do all this while trying not to pig out on unhealthy snacks. As you can tell, I lead a busy life.
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