Will a second chance at love come too late?
Alpha wolf shifter Detective Dax Steel is hip deep in homicide cases, all bear shifters who seemingly died of natural causes in their prime. To make matters worse, the murders throw him back in contact with his ex-lover, Adin.
Adin shares the same genetics as the victims and a healthy appetite for the sexy and addictive Dax. A two week blazing hot affair between them fell apart almost as quickly as it started, leaving Adin longing but hesitant to risk his heart once more.
Can Dax track down the killer before Adin lands in his crosshairs? Will they come together as a team and find love is lasting after all?
Publisher's Note: This book was previously published elsewhere. It has been revised and re-edited for release with Totally Bound.
General Release Date: 2nd January 2015
“No signs of trauma or violence, sir. Just like the other two.” The rookie cop pointed out the obvious.
Dax squatted down beside the inert body of the latest homicide victim in the city, his sense of smell telling him more than the new police academy graduate would ever know. This wasn’t just the third victim in as many days, but also the third bear shape-shifter. A wave of relief washed over him when he didn’t recognize the face or the individual scent of the newly expired—the silver lining, in his opinion.
He surveyed the surroundings, finding nothing out of sorts. The body had been found behind a bar, in the narrow alley, around midday when the barkeep had reported for work. For all intents and purposes, the deceased appeared as if he’d simply fallen over dead—something that shifters didn’t do.
With a healthy extended lifespan, most shifters could expect to reach one thousand years or more, barring stupidity or challenges to stronger, more alpha members of their species. Dax should know—being a wolf shifter, and an alpha at that.
With a deep sigh, he stood and looked over the body once more, using his advanced senses to detect anything out of the ordinary. A tiny scent caught his attention but proved too fleeting and elusive to give him more than a gut reaction—certainly not much to go on. However, the other two victims had carried the same flowery smell.
“Good job, officer. I’m finished here. Keep the area sealed off until the forensics team and coroner arrive.”
“Yes, sir.” The young man nodded.
Dax strode back to his car, climbed in the driver’s seat, and pulled out his phone. After punching in a number, he waited for an answer.
“Speak.”
“Very funny, Mitchell.” Dax rolled his eyes. The lab supervisor and hyena shifter’s sense of humor proved to be lacking most days. “We’ve got another one.”
“Bear?”
“Yes. Same MO. No blood or violence. Carries that nagging aroma like the others, too small for me to trace.”
“We’re working on that now. Isolating toxins in the blood samples of the other two. Theory is it’s a highly developed poison, something toxic to shifters—bears in particular.”
“Any chance of an antidote?”
“Soon?” He snorted through the phone line. “First we have to isolate the particular substance, discover what it is, then we can start looking at ways to reverse the effects. That takes time, buddy.”
“I know.” Dax watched as the forensics van pulled up and three people climbed out, all heading toward their latest crime scene. One he recognized as carrying fox genetics—another shifter immersed in human society without the humans being any wiser. If they ever found out, he feared the panic and mob mentality outbursts that would follow. Thus, the highly secretive balancing act he and others played each day.
Good thing the only forensics lab in the city happened to be shifter run and controlled. They took every case, human or otherwise, but had the luxury of watching closely for any shape-shifters, finding a trend and picking out a pattern.
Just like with these latest deaths.
“Got a name on this one?”
“Yeah. I’ll try to track down and notify family today. You know how bears are. Solitary at best.”
Dax’s gut clenched at the scientist’s words. “Call if you find anything.”
“Will do, Trigger.”
“That was the horse, dumbass.” He clicked off before Mitchell could toss out more insults at his canine nature.
Growing up in the Midwest, I began reading romance novels in high school, immediately falling in love with the genre, to the point where I decided to write professionally for a career. However, that dream splattered against a brick wall, resulting in a quick death in my first writing class in college when my professor told me bluntly that I wasn't any good at it. I shifted gears quickly, and left my writing dreams behind, eventually settling on becoming a nurse.
A few years back, I stumbled across a fan-fiction writing site on a favorite author's webpage. I began to read stories others wrote, not only making some wonderful close friends from the experience, but also, really learning to write for the very first time. Here I was able to share short stories, practice my writing skills, and truly develop into a writer. More than that, the experience allowed me to revitalize my dream, as I rediscovered joy in writing. Now, I spend my days off with my alpha male characters, quick witted heroines, and see how much trouble everyone can get into.
When I'm not working or writing, I enjoy working in the garden, canning, and seeing my backyard as a living canvas for my whimsical landscaping, and, of course, reading romance novels.
Reviewed by The Jeep Diva
I found this story to be a quick and suspenseful read in a fascinating shifter world that I thoroughly enjoyed.
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Reviewed by Inked Rainbow Reads
When Adin and Dax come together, the sex is intense, animalistic and incredible. Their connection is so strong, but their individual needs are still what they were... Read more reviews
Cheyenne Meadows - BTSe Mag feature
Have you ever read stories where animals play a major role in the story? Dogs, cats, and horses especially. People love animals and that pours over into not only reading choices, but writing choices for authors. I, for one, fit that bill.
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Cheyenne Meadows - Guys Like Romance Too feature
A second chance at love?
Have you ever broken up with another person, then ran across them down the road? Did you wonder why it hadn’t worked? Wish for a second chance? Did you or someone you know ever take that leap of faith and give the relationship one more try? Was the second time the charm or was the experience only a matter of same issues, different day?
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