The Wolf's Call (Two-Natured London) (16 page)

He
wished he was heading out on a patrol too. Five teams of four warriors were
heading to London, namely to the City, the square mile at the heart of the town
with its swarming businesses that kept the country running during the day.
During the night, something else did the running.

Renegade
vampires had begun to show up some three centuries ago, targeting proper
vampires, but the Sentient War raging among the two-natured races had prevented
the Circle from tackling the issue in its infancy. It had allowed the
dissidence to grow, and renegades were a menace now.

Jas
didn’t know why their enemy chose to hang out in the City. London was a huge
place - had been larger than the City’s walls already three centuries ago - yet
the square mile of the City was where the Circle warriors patrolled and with
good results too. It was as if renegades were tethered to the place.

As the
last of the warriors disappeared through the door, Jas sighed. “Let’s go then.
I’m driving.” The faster they got to the club, the faster he could get home.

You can find
Warrior's Heart
on
Amazon
.

***

The third Two-Natured London novel, A Wolf of Her Own, is published in December 2013. Read a snippet from chapter two:

Not a clan member after all, but a strange woman.

Kieran couldn’t tell much more about her than that. Was she one or two-natured? He tried to get her scent but the wind was against him. Her clothes were
loose-fitting, hiding her body; a scarf covered her hair, and her face—as well as her clothes—was a grey mask of mud, which made it difficult to sense
anything about her. Had she been in an accident? Did she need help?

He was about to act on the thought when she spoke. "Well, don’t just stand there. Open the gate!"

The command made him draw himself straighter. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, wolf. I need to see your alpha. Now!"

Only two-natured were able to see the translucent manifestations of shifters’ animal forms, but his aura wasn’t out. It wasn’t much of a leap to assume he
was a wolf, however, so she could as easily be a human making an educated guess.

He rejected the notion immediately. A human wouldn’t know about this gate. It was in the middle of shifter and vampire territory, private land accessible
only to their people. And since she wasn’t one of his clan, it had to mean she came from the Byrd farm.

Vampire or human, she was a stranger and he wasn’t about to give in to her command. He shook his head, firmly. "No."

She was taken aback. "What do you mean, no?"

"Nobody marches in here—or drives—and demands to see our alpha. State your business and I’ll call him to see if he’s available."

She frowned, annoyed that he wouldn’t simply obey. They could argue forever, but two-natured had more subtle means of communicating. He increased the
impact he had on Might, the energy all two-natured were dependent on. He could not let her pass and the changes in Might would tell her that. Her gaze
remained steady on him, his dominance having no visible effect on her, but she nodded.

"Fine. A pack of wolves has eaten three of my pregnant ewes. I demand justice and I will see that your alpha delivers it."

Kieran stared at the woman for a few slow heartbeats as his mind struggled to comprehend her accusation. His hands squeezed the iron bars, physically
trying to repel her words. But they couldn’t be unheard.

Not this again. His fury surfaced so fast that only the gate prevented him from acting on it. His wolf surged out and growled, and he let the sound escape
his mouth. "That is bloody rich of you, woman, coming here to accuse our clan of such crime." He knew all too well where false accusations would lead.
"Greenwood clan has been here for centuries, and I can assure you we have never touched a single sheep. Ever!" He shouted the last word, but the woman
didn’t even flinch.

"I know what I saw," she said angrily. "There aren’t other wolves here. It had to be you."

"And I say you’re wrong. You’re seeing things."

She moved so fast he barely registered it. One moment she was on her vehicle and on the next she was at the gate, her face pressing in through the bars.
"Are you calling me a liar?"

She was of average height, five-six, tops, but it didn’t stop her from trying to look down at him. Her natural scent was covered with mud, pig and horse;
not an attractive combination. He resisted an urge to snort like a wolf to clear his sinuses against the olfactory onslaught. Mud concealed her features,
but her eyes were clear, shining almost golden with anger. And there was no mistaking the sharp long fangs, very unlike wolfs’, she had bared at him.

"So, you are a vampire!" As if there had been any doubt.

She rolled her eyes, much like Vincent had earlier. "Give the man a gold medal for being FUDGING OBVIOUS!"

Her sarcasm broke the tension. "
Fudging
? What sort of a vampire says
fudging
?"

She shot him a superior look before retreating from the gate and withdrawing her fangs. "One that has been brought up to know better."

"From the Byrd farm?"

She gave him a slow look in return, his question not meriting an answer. Kieran thought quickly. This wasn’t the first time sheep had been killed on the
Byrd farm, and it hadn’t been wolves back then either. Yet it had led to his brother’s death.

Never again.

Pain for Colm surfaced anew and he squeezed the bars to push it down. Vampires hadn’t killed him. Humans had. She had no reason to lie that he knew of, and
nothing could be achieved by blatant denial.

"I had better take a look at it myself." And if he found out she had been lying after all, he would show her exactly what kind of wolf she was dealing
with.

Susanna Shore is my pen name for urban fantasy and paranormal romances. I also write contemporary romances as Hannah Kane.
When I'm not writing, I'm reading or - should my husband manage to drag my outdoors - taking long walks.

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Hannah Kane: At Her Boss’s Command

“Turn around, slowly,” she commanded in her most assertive voice.

“Why? Are you armed?” To Emily's annoyance, the question was more amused than frightened,
and asked with a nicely-cultured, rich tenor unlike any criminal should have.

“Yes, I am.”

It is a battle of wills between Emily Parr and Conor Peters from their first encounter. Emily's job depends on Conor and she needs to convince him that
she is worth employing, and Conor is not above finding out just how far she is willing to go. Little by little, their power game moves to a different level
where she realises that obeying his every command is exhilarating.

Until her heart gets involved.

However, everything is not well in the firm. Someone has been embezzling funds and the evidence points to Emily. Conor needs to find the real perpetrator
or see the woman who has become essential to his well-being go to jail.

And then the threatening notes begin to arrive.

Hannah Kane: Which way to love?

Watch out world. Audrey won't be a pushover anymore.

"I don't know why I thought turning my life upside down would save my marriage. But that was exactly what I was about to do."

Audrey Wright fears that her marriage is over, but she decides not to accept it.
Behind her husband's back, she takes up a new job in the same news agency he works for. When her photojournalist husband, Marcus, returns from
an assignment to Kabul, it will be to a woman who is ready to fight for her marriage.

The life of a junior correspondent for a large news agency is more eventful than
she had expected and people there are more interesting than she had dared to hope for. There is Henrietta who needs a friend, and then there is
Andrew who suddenly seems very enticing. And Marcus? Well, he seems more interested in her life than he has in ages.

But a war photographer's life is hazardous, as Audrey discovers to her horror.
Will she be too late to save their marriage?

www.crimsonhousebooks.com