Here it is! My first cover reveal :) I'm so excited to be posting this and want to thank Tenaya Jayne for sending me everything. I LOVE the cover!! It caught my eye as soon as I seen it and knew I had to check it out. I'm so excited for this book to come out , the release date is set for October 13th.
Born in shame. Cast from
society. Shape Shifter/Elf hybrid, Forest must fight for any respect she can
get. Targeted in her youth by a vampire noble who placed an illegal slave mark
on her, she is forced obey him, no matter what.
Slipping the grip of her master and abandoning the
prejudice of Regia, her native world, Forest takes a job on Earth, guarding the
portal, using her skills as a warrior to enforce Regia's laws. Now, called home
for a black ops mission, Forest must put aside her own prejudice to transport
the vampire prince, Syrus, through enemy territory in a time of war.
Prince Syrus, mage and master of the Blood Kata,
wants Forest more than he's ever wanted anything. In spite of their mutual
mistrust, their attraction cannot be denied. Through the danger of their
mission, and the secrets they both keep, it doesn't matter what they feel.
Forest is forbidden.
Here's an Excerpt:
Forest pressed her back against the cool concrete wall,
wanting to remain aloof from the entity of the crowd. She chose her position in
the shadows, out of the paths of the roving, multi-colored spotlights. She
closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the undulating human pheromones
flying around on the air. At the beginning of every shift, she allowed herself
a few minutes of this alien/human experience, though she didn't fully
comprehend the combination of dancing, drinking, and ear-breaking sound waves.
They loved it, however, and never seemed to deviate from the recipe.
These were the people
she was sworn to protect. She had developed a light affection for the human
race and considered them a benign, if not slightly silly, bunch of creatures.
Her religious passion for her job was rooted in hatred of that which harmed the
humans, not a superhero tendency to protect the weak.
Forest opened her eyes and focused all her senses to sniff
out the illegal suckers that tried to sneak through the portal. She was in the
zone tonight, and not for the first time did she feel that hers was the best
job in existence. It was a shame she couldn’t legally kill suckers in her
native world.
Over the next two
hours, Forest didn’t move from the wall. She monitored the light traffic
through the portal: two shifters and one elf, each of which nodded to her
respectfully as they passed. Yawn. The shifters left the club to enjoy the
delights of Austin’s nightlife elsewhere.
The elf would have been breaking Regia’s law had he left the
club, but he dutifully seated himself at the bar and ordered a fuzzy navel. He
wore a plaid, porkpie hat, pulled down over the tops of his pointed ears.
Forest didn’t know him personally, but she had seen him in here before. The
bartender surveyed him with narrowed eyes as the elf nervously tugged his hat
down further and ordered a few more girly cocktails.
Intent on making sure that not one sucker was able to sneak
past her, Forest was blindsided by the drunk bubba who had been trying to catch
her eye for the last twenty minutes. He had finally decided to stagger over to
hit on her.
“Hey babe, you’re too beautiful to look so lonely. How’s
‘bout I buy you a drink?”
“How’s ‘bout I call you a cab instead?” Forest mimicked his
drawl.
“Only if you share it with me, Darlin.” He leaned in closer,
and Forest’s throat began to sting from the noxious fume of booze mixed with
his natural musk.
“While I appreciate the offer, Jethro, It seems only right
to inform you that I’m not actually attractive at all. If you leaned in a
little closer, you’d see that you’ve fallen victim to the effect of beer
goggles. A hag like me can’t take advantage of a stud like you.”
As he leaned in, Forest instantly enlarged her nose,
pockmarked her skin, evaporated her front teeth, and added a large black mole
with a long hair sprouting from it for good measure.
“You’re no hag, baby!
You’re the sexiest little thing in…I…uh… ” He stumbled backward. “Good grief!
Sorry, sorry…” he stammered, retreating. “I’ve gotta quit drinking,” he mumbled
as he turned away.
Forest chuckled to herself once he absorbed back into the
crowd. Being a shape shifter sometimes had unusual perks.
Tenaya Jayne
whimsical word warrior
Sleepy Hollow Dreams by Taryn Kincaid
