Blood Moon Rising II (The Janus Circle Prophecy #2)

Half-breeds Eva Kaylee and her sister Erie, have gone their whole lives shunned by their pack because they can’t shift. Eva is happy to shed her Wolvryn roots and embrace her human side until the day Erie is kidnapped.
Now, the one man who has any reason to help her, might just be a bigger problem than the threat of the world-as-we-know-it collapsing.
Within moments of meeting Eva, L.A. SWAT captain Elijah Kane, knew he’d just invited trouble into his life. For one, his twin brother was after Eva; and two, of all the damned bad luck, the sexy little half-breed was his destined mate.
An ancient prophecy, a fanatical sect headed by his own brother, the threat of all hell breaking loose AND trying to fight his instinct to claim his mate — makes for one really bad day.
He doesn’t want to be a hero. He doesn’t want to kill his brother. He doesn’t want Eva for his mate.
Too bad he doesn’t have a choice.

Note to reader: This is PART II of a paranormal shifter serial, which will be told in three parts and must be read in order. This installment is approximately 16,000 words.

Mist crawled around her toes and she knew she was dreaming but every sense was alive. She could feel the cold beneath her sensitive feet, the pebbles along the path. She saw Elijah walking toward her. Man, he was beautiful. A sense of wonder stole her senses even as a part of her resisted. Shadows flitted in the grey but she felt no fear with Elijah there. She knew he would tear apart anything that threatened her. She’d never had anyone but Erie stand beside her. Her feet, always an embarrassment for their obviously unusual slender shape, walked soundlessly. She pushed her hair behind her ears and a different sense sparked to life as if she could sense the vibrations in the air of living things. Her eyesight had never been as sharp as a pure Wolvryn but she could pick every detail about Elijah from the tiny scars dotting the landscape of his expansive chest to the flecks of gold buried in the green of his eyes. His hair, too long by modern standards, curled at the ends, begging for fingers to twine and play with. A word whispered through her brain and echoed through her nerve endings…MINE…and she didn’t understand why that word brought her joy and comfort. Elijah…his name tasted like home on her lips.

She reached for him.

Suddenly, Elijah contorted and his body began to shift, growing larger and more dangerous right before her eyes. Fur sprouted from his pores as his nose elongated and he dropped to all fours with a snarl.

Just like her father.

Horror blanketed her previous feelings, smothering her joy and sending anything good running for cover. Wolvryn were monsters. They wore masks to hide their true nature! How had she forgotten that simple fact? Elijah, completely turned, was bigger than an average wolf, more menacing than anything she’d ever seen, lips peeled back as fangs dripped with saliva. Pack leader, the knowledge whispered through her brain as she backed away. “Please don’t hurt me,” she cried, gulping down her growing hysteria. Her father used to turn and herd them, snapping and growling to keep them in line. She began to shake as true terror drenched her brain. “Elijah…please…”

And then he lunged.