Vivian Blake is the Alpha of her Pride. They have escaped a
torturous life with their former Pride and are now on the
run and have been for years. When the chance for a better
paying job comes around they must go into wolf territory
and make nice with a mixed wolf, bear pack. Kasey Blackburn
the wolf pack leader and overall leader of the pack is more
than happy to let the sexy cat and her pride stay. His wolf
wants her and her cat wants him but she can't risk her
family for anything or anyone. Vivian has a death sentence
hanging over her head and they must keep moving. When she
comes into heat it is torture for her. Her cat wants a mate
and now she fights with herself to do what is right for
everyone involved, everyone but herself.
This paranormal romance is a great story. PRIDE BEFORE THE
FALL is the first in the Blake Pride series and what
a
start it is. You can't help but love the characters and be
drawn into their stories. When I picked this book up I kept
reading till it was done, heck I think I only got up once
to use the rest room. It has a few unexpected twists and
the stories of each character are being told in a good
order.
Joanna Grace starts this series with a real winner
PRIDE BEFORE THE FALL is a book that not only paranormal
romance readers but readers of all kind will love. PRIDE
BEFORE THE FALL is a great start to a great series,
and more will be greatly appreciated.
Start reading Joanna Grace
now her books are great and you don't want to get
behind.
Tormented feline shape shifter Vivian Blake is every bit the
alpha female-both on stage and on four legs. She commands
the audience as confidently as she leads her fugitive
family. On the run from a sadistic alpha that nearly died
under her claws, Vivian does whatever it takes to keep her
pride safe and provide for them, even if that includes some
less than legal activities.
When Vivian moves her family into wolf territory, her
extracurricular habits raise more than just the eyebrows of
the local wolf and bear mixed pack. Kasey Blackburn, their
powerful leader, is none too happy about a group of renegade
cats moving in and turning tricks in his city. But one look
at Vivian and his intentions change. She's the sexy,
powerful female he craves. Too bad she's a feline with a
death sentence hanging over her head. Not to mention the
fact that several members of the Pack don't care for their
Alpha dating a stripper.
When Vivian comes into heat, the tigress within wars with
her human side. The cat wants a mate but the woman wants
escape. Can Vivian resist the promise of a fresh start with
Kasey or will her pride cost her everything?
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
Kasey Blackburn sat behind his executive desk and peered at
the five people in
front of him. To the untrained eye—or nose—they might have
appeared nervous. But
he knew better.
These five people were not nervous.
They were alert.
Their eyes noted the four other men in the room standing
guard. Every exit had
been memorized. Every object that could be used as a weapon
had been cataloged.
Predators.
However, Kasey was just as observant. Sitting in the middle
of the three women
was a tall, statuesque dame with seductively powerful brown
eyes—their alpha.
She sat proud and straight with her legs crossed. Vivian
Blake. Bountiful in
every way, the woman had curves that made his blood boil.
From her reddish-brown
hair in a long ponytail to the miles of jean-covered legs,
she was built strong
and hard. If he were completely honest with himself, she was
the sexiest damn
woman he’d ever seen. It took monumental self-control to
keep his arousal in
check. There were nine other shifter noses in the room,
after all.
“What can I do for you, Miss Blake?”
“We came to let you know we will be residing near your
territory for an unknown
length of time.”
Kasey leaned back in his chair, casually resting his chin on
one hand. “Where
exactly?” He fiddled with his tie like he couldn’t care less
about them. The
truth was quite the contrary.
“We’ve rented a space above the Chinese restaurant on 8th.”
“You haven’t done your research, Miss Blake. Blackburn
territory covers the
entire city. It also extends into the mountain and includes
most of the state
forestry land.”
Luscious lips pinched together and her jaw tightened.
“That’s quite a spread. We
were told the bears controlled the mountains.”
“They do. And I control the bears. They joined my Pack a few
years ago.”
“Well, good,” said the feisty blonde sitting on Vivian’s
right. “I do hate
making two of these calls.” Amilynn, who was number two or
three in the small
Pride, was a loaded gun waiting to go off.
The busty sex kitten looked ready to f**k or fight anyone in
the room. He’d
noticed all his men had given her a second glance when she
sauntered in and
flipped her abundance of blonde and black hair. It didn’t
help that she was
wearing a naughty school girl costume complete with the
short plaid skirt and
matching tie hung loosely around the opened top buttons of
her white shirt. The
black nail polish and combat boots were a contradiction but
suited her more than
the skirt. She couldn’t have been a couple inches over five
feet tall but, then,
dynamite came in small packages, too.
Kasey sat up and put his elbows on his desk. “Vivian, I’m
afraid I can’t offer
your Pride sanctuary here.”
“We don’t need your protection,” barked out the blonde. She
received a quick
glance from Vivian and it was enough to quiet her.
The feline alpha spoke as calmly and respectfully as she
could given the
circumstances, “All I am asking is that you allow us to stay
here for a while
and work.”
Alias, one of Kasey’s council members, spoke up. “The
Blackburn Pack does not
harbor fugitives.”
Vivian speared him with a hard, steady glare. “You haven’t
done your research
either. We aren’t fugitives.”
“Maybe other alphas you’ve visited aren’t as well informed
as I am. I know who
you are and why you left your Pride.” Kasey pinned Vivian to
her chair with a
look, yet she didn’t waver in her eye contact.
With her chin lifted slightly, she replied, “We simply left
our Pride on bad
terms and they’ve held a grudge.”
Kasey laughed out loud. “Bad terms?” He laughed again.
“That’s putting it
mildly, don’t you think?”
“With all due respect, Mr. Blackburn, you weren’t there. You
cannot begin to
understand the reasons why we left, so don’t try. Now, can
we stay in your
territory for a while or not?”
“How do we know you’re not a threat to us?” Sampson, Kasey’s
Beta and brother-
in-law, spoke just as rationally as Vivian. There was no
bitter taste to his
words. It was a genuine and legitimate question. Vivian had
killed her alpha
after all.
“We don’t want trouble. We just want to work for a while.”
Kasey studied the group for a moment. Behind the explosive
Amilynn and the
barely controlled Vivian stood a male the size of a Mack
truck—all muscle, not
an ounce of fat on him. Conall. He stood with his hands
stuffed in his pockets.
He remained quiet but his square chin pointed high and eyes
that had seen too
much scanned the room every few seconds. Military trained,
if Kasey had to
guess. He didn’t have to do anything but stand there to be
intimidating. He was
the muscle where Amilynn was the mouth.
On the female alpha’s left was the only submissive in the
group. The petite
young woman was related to Vivian, sisters based on facial
structure and similar
scent, though they looked little alike. Melissa cast a
softer impression with
bright blue eyes and long black tresses that faded into a
deep burgundy. She was
a modern Snow White. Where Vivian was tanned, Melissa had a
milky complexion
with glowing pink cheeks. Her right hand rested on Vivian’s
arm. The touch of a
submissive was calming to more aggressive personalities.
Behind Melissa stood a man Kasey had kept his eye on from
the moment he’d walked
into the room. Tyrone was a walking shadow. He prowled
silently as he had
entered and had an aura of darkness about him that was
frightening even to a man
like Kasey. His head was covered with a solid black hat that
barely showed his
eyes. All of his black clothing was baggy enough to hide
weapons underneath.
What little skin was showing had tattoos. He looked more
thug than soldier. The
only thing that Kasey saw as a weakness was the way one of
his hands rested on
Melissa’s neck, his thumb stroking over her pulse. They were
a mated pair, but
how? One was a ray of light and one was the very shadow she
cast.
“Vivian, I find it hard to believe that we won’t have
problems. Even though my
men searched each of you upon arrival, I know at least two
of you remain armed.”
He shot a look at Tyrone and Amilynn. His man at the door
came over and Kasey
raised his hand to stop him. The guard stood beside Amilynn.
“Am I wrong?”
Amilynn looked up at the man and gave him a smile that could
have seduced even
the Pope. “I guess you’ll have to search a bit more…
thoroughly next time, big
boy.” She giggled at the guard as he swallowed a lump in his
throat. Martin was
an excellent soldier, but this woman challenged his
stoicism.
When Amilynn turned her gaze to Kasey, it held none of that
sensuality and all
of the danger of a predator. “You’d be a fool to think we
would go anywhere
unarmed.”
She tilted her head in a feline manner. “Not that we need
the weapons to protect
our alpha.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her
black combat boots.
“I’m sure you don’t.” Kasey laughed off her performance. He
didn’t give two
shits about her silly threat. She was the decoy anyway. It
was the one in the
middle who interested him. The exotic looking female had
taken on her previous
alpha and left him one heartbeat away from death. This was
the woman he needed
to pay attention to. No female should be able to take on her
alpha and win. He
looked at Vivian giving him a lazy, confident grin. “What
kind of work?”
“We were scouted by a club manager here. We’re musicians,
performers.”
“What club?”
“Does it matter?” Vivian tilted her head to the side.
“Yes, actually. I own several businesses around town,
including a nightclub or
two.”
“Bristow’s. He saw us while on vacation in Vegas. He offered
us more money. We
came.”
“Bristow’s, huh? Not one of mine. Surprising that he offered
you money at all.
You must be impressive.”
“We have our skills.”
Amilynn looked over at Martin and said, “On and off stage.”
Kasey couldn’t help but grin at the way Tyrone rolled his
eyes discretely. He
took a deep breath and held it for a second before letting
it out while he
analyzed the dynamic of this Pride. Vivian and Amilynn:
dominant, unmated
females. They clearly made the decisions for the group.
Melissa was fragile.
Fear in her eyes indicated she’d been hurt and it made sense
now that she
gravitated toward the strength of Tyrone, an assassin as
deadly as a man could
become. Conall was the odd man out. He smelled of both the
unmated females, so
he either lived with them or was sleeping with them both.
No, not that. Two
dominant females would never share a male. He was the
protector of the
protectors.
“Six months probation,” Kasey said, rising from his chair
and buttoning his
dress jacket. Vivian rose with him and her Pride with her.
“When was the last
time you ran?”
“I only ask for a once a month free run.”
Kasey looked up at her with brows dipped low. “Is that all
you’ve been getting?
Once a month? No wonder you are all barely contained! Is
this what you call
leading a healthy Pride, Vivian?”
Vivian hissed at him and for a brief second her cat shone in
her eyes. She
stretched out her fingers that had already shifted into
claws. “I do the best I
can with what I’m given. The last territories we were in
bordered cities:
Minneapolis, Vegas. Hunting was harder. We were only granted
free runs once a
month. We got used to it.”
“You can’t stay human that long. It agitates the animal and,
as you just
displayed, makes them surface harder and faster. It makes
you dangerous. You
have once a week runs in the forest. Sampson.”
Sampson pulled up a map and showed them places where they
could freely shift and
run. It was a vast area. The look on Vivian’s face said she
was relieved. He
took this moment, when she was bent over a map on his desk,
to get an eyeful.
Under the black leather dress jacket she wore nothing but a
white tank top that
hugged the curves of her modest breasts and showed off the
flat plain of her
stomach. Jeans accentuated wide hips and lush thighs. Her
hair spilled over her
shoulder and his fingers longed to muss it up.
Control. Damn it. He had to keep control. One wrong scent or
look and things
could go south quickly. “Take your family out this weekend,”
he said as everyone
straightened.
“Thank you.” Vivian stuck out her hand cordially. “You’ve
been generous and we
won’t forget it.”
Kasey took her hand in both of his, stepped up close and
looked into the bedroom
eyes of a dangerous cat. And damn if that sexy feline didn’t
hold his stare like
the powerful alpha she was. Deep within him, his wolf awoke.
Here was a woman
who challenged him, defied him in front of his men, and yet
the bastard wanted
to mount her right there. The wolf wanted to give her
something. He wanted to
show this woman he could provide for her. “If you need
anything, call me.”
“I can handle my own, but thanks.” She turned to leave and
he couldn’t help but
be thankful for the chance to see her walk away.
As the Pride filed out, Sampson noticed that Melissa had
left a sweater hanging
over the arm of her chair. He picked up the sweater and
approached the woman
with a shoulder tap. In less than a blink, Tyrone had a
knife to Sampson’s
throat and Melissa safely tucked behind him. Kasey stepped
in just as Vivian
touched Tyrone’s shoulder. Sampson held up his hands in
surrender, showing the
sweater. “I just wanted to give her this.”
“No one touches her, ever. Got it?” The man’s voice was
rough like the sound had
to pass through a layer of gravel in his throat.
His mate’s voice was a soft, sweet soprano. “Ty,” Melissa
whispered, slowly
walking in front of him and taking the sweater. “Come on,
baby, it’s okay. He
didn’t know.” She gave Sampson a nod of thanks, then touched
Tyrone’s cheek. The
adoring smile she gave him could move the earth. “He just
surprised me. It’s
okay. Let’s go.” The cat’s hand moved so fast Kasey didn’t
see where Tyrone
stashed the knife. Without another word, Melissa led him out
of the office.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve warned you. He’s rather protective,”
Vivian said after
they exited the room.
Sampson brushed it off. “As any man should be with his
mate.”
With another nod to Kasey, Vivian Blake left his office. It
would be weeks
before her scent would leave his thoughts.