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"We are masters of the
unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out."
~ Winston Churchill
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The Beast Within,
December 06
Samhain Publishing
ISBN-10:
1599983389
ISBN-13:
978-1599983387
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: e-Book/Print
What's a girl to do when she
can't change into the family wolf and Mr. Beast kidnaps her man?
Take the evil on and kick some ass--with or without a furry
coat. Cassidy Quinn, Private Investigator extraordinaire, helps
down and dirty humans and monsters of Memorial City for a price.
But when a friend phones with
a puzzling medical case, |
Cassidy knows
the big bad has come to town in the form of a rogue Werewolf
out for blood.
Making herself known to the new evil, she fights against his
web of deceit and lies, battling to save her friends, family
and sexy police detective Patrick Logan. One problem--the
beast has targeted Cassidy for his mate and he has the upper
fang since she's stuck in human form. When Cassidy finds
Logan an all too seductive distraction, the beast's anger
explodes and Logan is kidnapped by the werewolf. Can Cassidy
find Logan before it's too late and he becomes the main
course?
Ethan starts
with humor and ends with death, hope and the lead-in to a
sequel. Her heroine kicks butt whether in wolf or human
form, while the hero is arrogant and handsome, and the
villain nightmare inducing. Although the romance is more
emotional than physical, this tale will make readers flip
pages as quickly as possible to get to the ending.
~ Rt Magazine 4 Stars
"Ethan
included some twists in this suspenseful story that I will
readily admit I did not anticipate, although I usually can
deduce most surprises before they occur. Any story that can
surprise me automatically gets points! Balancing the story
equally between the romance and the suspense, Ethan has
paved the way for sequels starring Cassidy and Patrick,
should her muse so guide her again. And I will be waiting
with baited breath to buy them, if and when they happen"
~Kwips & Kritiques, 5 Klovers
"If you enjoy the possibilities paranormal suspense with a
dash of romance can bring you, then give The Beast Within a
go. The Beast Within is different, weird, sassy and
enjoyable. I mean it’s not everyday you get to wonder if a
human and a ‘were’ can make a go of it."
~ Once upon a Romance
"The Beast Within was an awesome book and I loved every
minute of it! Kelly Ethan writes with a wonderful balance of
humor, suspense, and adds just the right amount of sexual
tension between her main characters. I loved The Beast
Within and am seriously hoping that there will be more to
come!!"
~ Joyfully Reviewed
He tasted the air, felt the
pungent damp earth. The stench of moist human rolled over
him. Beneath it all, he sensed the beat of the street. The
life force of the inhabitants pulsed through him. It
encouraged and fed his hunger.
They were nothing but empty and discarded pawns. Their only
use was for hunting and devouring. The animal in him roared
agreement and he shifted fully into the predator.
The beast sniffed, focused on the prey and the fear running
through the body of his target. The terror oozed out of his
food, his cattle’s skin, with a thick, sweet perfume,
inciting the predator, driving him on. There was no division
between himself and the animal. They were one blood-hungry
entity. Both human and beast lusted for the kill, the chase,
and the blood.
Detecting his goal and compelled by the lust for spilled
blood, he prowled forward, slithering from shadow to shadow.
Like a wraith with an eternal thirst for his kill. His
instincts told him the man was old and weak, no longer fit
to be near or in the pack. The doomed one knew the beast’s
real name and names had power. He had to silence him.
The animal smiled, knowing what was to come.
His prey sensed danger and tried to flee to safety, but it
was too late. The leap already taken connected squarely with
the center of the soon-to-be-dead man’s chest.
Claws dug in and little by little slipped through the skin.
The force of the animal behind them dragged the razor sharp
talons down. They sliced with ease, like a red hot poker
sizzling through a block of ice as the old man howled for
help. The exhilaration of first blood spilled built until it
bubbled out from the beast in frantic little giggles of
insanity. The victim’s screams were like opera to the
killer’s ears. Loud and strident at first, it led into a
harmonic gurgle as the depth of the man’s terror immobilized
him.
Bloodlust and thirst soared again, only for a moment
satisfied. The prey fell to the ground, weakened by the
massive amounts of fluid running from its body. The savage
predator’s hunger exploded outwards, driven by the
ever-spreading blood puddle.
The beast, in the frenzy of a feed, lowered his muzzle
toward his quarry. He thirsted for the throat of his victim,
a taste of the ambrosia this fool hoarded. A scream broke
out from a woman in a parked car and a large object came
toward him. A car, his fuzzy mind reminded him. Danger, an
insistent voice whispered to him.
The animal broke off and stole back into the shadows like a
specter in the night. A scalding beat of bitterness drummed
at the thought of his missed feast.
Enough!
The man within the beast smiled. It was enough of a test of
power until next time.
***
“Okay, I howl at the moon. What’s the problem?” Cassidy
Quinn raised her eyebrows and grinned at Bethany, her
receptionist and best friend. “Come on, it’s not like I’m an
axe murderer or anything nasty. The folks in my family
happen to change into howling, snarling, fur-covered
eighty-pound wolves. What’s the biggie?”
“Sort of like PMS every month.”
“Except you wake snarling, moody and bloated, while in my
family’s case, a normal guy’s likely to wake next to a
shedding animal.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“All right, it’s not the normal routine for most people and
my family is still in the minority, but we count. We vote.
And it’s not like you can catch it through kissing germs.”
Cassidy focused on her friend as she scowled back at her.
“I figured by now everyone knows lycanthropy is inherited,
like a hereditary blood disease. I suppose there’s still
folks around who are narrowed-minded about this type of
thing.”
“My father’s right.” Cassidy bared her teeth in disgust. “A
strong alpha male can cope with anything, not like that wimp
of a lawyer last night.”
Okay, he’d looked trim and buff on the outside, but
appearances were obviously deceptive. Look at her, born to a
family of Weres and she couldn’t even change properly. Not
to mention the fact she was over being patient. Twenty years
over it. There had to be a reason why a twenty-eight year
old couldn’t do what an eight-year-old cub could.
“What happened?”
“He almost wet his pants.” Cassidy grinned at her friend
before she continued. “And ran out of the restaurant,
leaving me the bill for a very expensive dinner.”
“Lordy, I wish I’d been a fly on the wall to see it.”
Cassidy wiggled her eyebrows. “All because he couldn’t keep
his paws to himself, ha.”
“What did you do to the poor guy?”
“Nothing, all I did was to growl.” She chuckled at the
disbelieving look on Bethany’s face. “Fine. I flashed my
teeth and pinched him with my claws. It’s about all I can do
anyway.”
Her friend could no longer contain herself. She covered her
mouth with her palms, the laughter still audible. Cassidy
frowned, not certain it was funny. Obviously taking note of
her look, Bethany started to back out of the room. She
mumbled an apology moments before closing the door.
Cassidy slumped deeper into her high-backed chair, the frown
still etched on her face. Damn, she was getting tired of
dates like last night. How much was a girl supposed to put
up with before cracking?
“It’s not like I stripped naked and tried a change right
there in the middle of the restaurant.” Cassidy tried to
convince herself it was no big deal.
Besides, there was one big thing wrong with that scenario,
she couldn’t change into a Were without a hell of a lot of
pain. Actually, she couldn’t fully change at all, pain or
not. Not something you want to advertise to your enemies or
your clients, bad for business.
“Have you stopped sulking or are you up to the ranting and
raving part?” Bethany opened the door and sidled inside, a
pile of letters balanced on her right palm.
“Excuse me?”
“Peace, boss. I’m on your side.”
“I know, I know. I told him I was a Were. But it’s hip these
days to be a monster so he hadn’t believed me.” It wasn’t
her fault. Hopefully he’d have to pay some therapist a ton
of money to get over it.
“Just because my family wants me married with a litter, is
no reason to go and date any sort of scum. Especially a wimp
lawyer.” Cassidy paused for a breath and tried to grab back
her place of calm. There was no sense in losing her temper.
Bethany wasn’t the one she should be mouthing off to.
“Okay, bitching done. I’m past the ranting and raving part
and almost to the section where I bite you.”
“Nah, your bark’s worse than your bite. By the way, these
letters need your paw print.”
Cassidy scowled. “Stop with the wolf jokes. I’ve enough of a
complex about it as it is. Besides, we’re an old and
mysterious race. We deserve respect.” She plastered a
holier-than-thou expression on her face.
Even though they’d been around for centuries, Weres had only
been out of the closet—so to speak—for fifty years. A health
check had turned up some very interesting results they
hadn’t been able to destroy or hide. Now it was equal
opportunity for all.
“Ha, is this the sermon you sprouted to Octopus Sam, the
lawyer?”
“Yeah, right about the time he was running for his life. At
least I didn’t date a man who wanted to wear my underwear,”
Cassidy retaliated. “Especially when I’d been wearing them
that day.”
Bethany scowled and poked out her tongue. “What can I say? I
have a talent.”
Cassidy pantomimed choking.
“All right. But for the most part, they don’t run screaming
into the night.” Bethany spun on the spot and marched out.
“At least mine don’t sniff my panties,” Cassidy yelled to
her friend’s retreating back.
They don’t get close enough. She made a face. Actually, her
dating life was having a severe drought. Who had time
anyway? Between the job and her family, she was lucky if
there was time to scratch a flea or two.
Copyright© 2006 Kelly Ethan
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
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