Dragon shifter Keelin Petronilla spent centuries in force hibernation dreaming of freedom. Now she is awake and living life on her terms. She has escaped her clan for an unruly wolf pack, tends bar for a half-demon, and loves every minute of it all. Then a powerful supernatural attacks her sending her world BEYOND THE DARKNESS and has her seeking help. She knows he will help, but will he smother her the way her family always did?
Former black ops agent Bran Devlin is a born dragon Alpha and leader of a fierce clan. He never planned to be mated but now that he has found the feisty princess his plans are undeniably changed. One problem ... she doesn't want a mate. He's willing to play along and court her until something dark and dangerous marks her for death. Then all playing is over. He will keep her safe ... and he will keep her.
BEYOND THE DARKNESS takes us back to author Katie Reus' amazing Darkness series. It is a fascinating and fun read that pulled me in as I reacquainted myself with past characters while adding new ones to my favorites list. I loved Keelin; she is tough, smart, knows what she wants and just enjoys life. And Bran is one smart dragon, he might be an alpha and overprotective, but he knows that for Keelin to be happy she must be free. The love falls slowly but the sex is hot and heavy as Keelin works very hard to stop the mating from actually happening. Though she is more than willing to let him court her and that in itself leads to a lot of steamy. I have to admit though I loved their story and meeting with her family, even her rather scary parents, I kept looking for more of Bo and Nyx on the pages. Nyx's secret comes out in this book because it helps Keelin and Bran escape the evil that wants them both dead. I can't wait to read the next edition of the series. This one is on my TRA shelf.
Now that she has her freedom, sheβs not giving it up.
Dragon shifter Keelin Petronilla spent centuries in
forced
hibernation dreaming of one thing: freedom. Now sheβs
living
life on her termsβsheβs ditched her clan for an unruly
wolf
pack, she tends bar for a half-demon, and sheβs loving
itβ¦until a powerful supernatural being targets her. She
intends to handle the mysterious attacks on her ownβ¦
without
the help of dragon Alpha Bran Devlin. Sure, heβs sexy in
that hot, scowling possessive way, but Keelin wants to
live
her own life in her own way.
Now that heβs found his mate, heβs not letting her go.
Former black ops agent Bran Devlin is a born dragon Alpha
and leader of a fierce clan. Getting mated was never part
of
his planβuntil a feisty dragon princess gets under his
skin
in a big way. The hell of it is, she doesnβt want a mate;
she just wants to have a good time. He plays along, but
when
a dark and powerful being marks her for death, heβs
determined to stay by her side in spite of her protests.
Now
that heβs found his mate, he means to keep her safe no
matter what the costβ¦even if he has to risk it all.
EXCERPT
As Keelin moved in and out of the vehicles, she glanced
around. The parking lot was full, but the warehouse was
far from the main road, hidden back enough that no one
would accidentally stumble on it. There werenβt any
people out here, not with all the action inside. Which
was good for her, sheβd have privacy to strip and shift
so she could fly back to the mansion.
A burning scent accosted her about two seconds before the
three males from inside appeared as if from nowhere,
stepping out from behind a black SUV with dark tinted
windows. Her alarm bells went off, but she didnβt panic.
Inhaling deeply, she only scented the three of them. Okay
so it was unlikely someone was trying to attack her from
behind. Still, she wasnβt letting her guard down.
βYou smell delicious, little dragon,β the one named
Marshall said. Apparently the leader of the trio.
And he knew what she was. Just great. βGet the hell out
of my way,β she demanded. Shifters or any supernatural
beings only respected strength. She was pretty sure these
three were out here to ambush her but she knew well
enough to always stand her ground, no matter how afraid
she was.
βNot after what you saw back there,β the other oneβmaybe,
Martinβsaid.
Somehow she kept her expression blank. βSaw?β
βYouβre special, arenβt you little dragon? Not everyone
is powerful enough to see or contain the power.β Marshall
spoke again while the third one stepped to the left, as
if he was thinking about moving around one of the
vehicles to cut off her escape.
She was about tired of the βlittle dragonβ comments. And
she had no idea what he meant by βcontain the powerβ. She
pinned him with a stare, her dragonβs fire tickling the
back of her throat. Tonight was definitely going to end
badly. Probably with her clothes shredded and these
losers burned to a crisp. She knew her animal was in her
eyes already, was barely containing the urge to shift.
But sheβd be weakest when she underwent the change, just
for a few moments. She needed to put some distance
between them before she let her dragon take over.
βSpecial?β she asked, wanting to keep them talking as she
took a couple steps backward.
They followed, one having to fall behind the others in
the tighter space between the vehicles.
βVery special,β the creepy one sheβd seen biting that
female said in a sing-song voice. The sound of it felt
like ice trailing down her spine. His eyes darkened and
she scented that fire again. Demons. They had to be. βAnd
now you have to die.β
Fire erupted in one of the maleβs hands and she didnβt
think, just let her instinct take over.
Not bothering to shift, she unleashed the fire that had
been tickling her throat, a scorching stream releasing at
the two closest males. She nailed one of them in the arm
and face.
He screamed and the other male went for a weapon. A gun.
He yanked it free from the back of his pants. Before he
could lift his arm she whipped her fire at him, ready to
fry him when a blast of bright orange flames fell from
the sky, lighting up everything around them.
She jumped back, lifting an arm to shield herself from
the brightness. Her fire died in her throat as the flames
from above ate up the three males, incinerating them and
four vehicles around them in seconds, as if the fire
itself was hungry enough to devour everything in its
path. She could feel the heat but just barely. As a
dragon she could shield herselfβto an extentβfrom other
dragonsβ fire, but whoever was breathing it was
specifically guarding her against its destructive power.
She sensed it bone-deep.
She stared at the sky but whoever it was had shielded
themselvesβuntil a shimmering bluish-green dragon with
scales the color of the Mediterranean suddenly appeared,
landing in the ashes of the demons and destroyed vehicles
with a thump. He spread his wings, a beautiful pale blue
that gave off the illusion of flowing water and stared at
her with sapphire-green eyes.
Eyes she would know anywhere.
Before she could move or even think, the male shifted to
his human form. Bran stood there, all six feet four
inches of sexy, pissed off male. His expression was one
of pure rage as he stepped toward her. Not that it
stopped her from checking out every single naked inch of
him. And the man was built. All those hard lines and
striations looked as if heβd been carved from marble.
She knew she should be more worried about what the hell
had just happened but as he stalked toward her, it was
hard to remember her name.
βKeelin,β he growled out and it registered that he was
angryβat her. βWhat the hell were youββ
She stomped her heel against the gravel, not caring if
she looked childish. βDonβt you f**king lecture me!β She
couldnβt take it from him of all people. Not now, not
ever.
He let out another growl, this one filled with something
else. Not anger.
He fisted her hips, tugging her to him faster than she
could blink. Sheβd barely let out a gasp of surprise
before his mouth crushed over hers, hard and demanding.
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