Fair Warning: Wizards don't always play fair.
Welcome to MFRW Book Hooks, a regular Wednesday feature! Today, I'm sharing a snippet from my second book, Deadly Enchantment, a Victorian paranormal romance concerning the deadly rivalry between two shape-shifting wizard brothers. The legitimate heir, Terrence, received his father's money and title, but his illegitimate half-brother, Dominic, received all their father's affection and love, earning all of Terrence's resentment.
Published by New Concepts Publishing, the story revolves around a young psychic woman unwittingly drawn into the brotherly conflict when she faces off with the dark wizard of Ravenscroft, whom she is convinced has brutally slaughtered her sister in a fit of jealous rage on their wedding night.
In this segment from Chapter Four, Serena decides to confront Westcroft directly by marching into his study and insisting he admit his true goal is to purposely frighten the other women, who'd been selected by his sister as his potential brides, into leaving. Though Serena knows Westcroft possesses magical powers, she's just not sure what form they take other than parlor tricks, so she decides to see for herself just how far he is willing to go, but changes her mind when she recognizes the danger in provoking the beast. Except she's too late. When she reaches for the door handle she discovers he'd locked her in with him. Magically. However, rather than attack as she expected it would, the cat gently grasped her wrist and led her over to the divan, then nudged her to take a seat.
When Serena slid her fingers through
its soft, plush fur, the cat closed its eyes and made that growl-like purring
sound again as it rubbed its head against her thigh as though seeking attention
near the sensitive area around its ears.
The moment Serena obliged, the cat’s deep reverberating purr of
appreciation vibrated through the room and her.
It sounded loud enough that she imagined everyone in the manor would
have heard it, yet no knock of inquiry sounded at the door. But then no one had answered her cries,
either. Wondering if Dominic was
muffling their sounds in a way that prevented others from hearing them, she
drew her hand back. The cat lifted its
head and regarded her intently for a moment, then placed a large paw across her
lap as though it sought to remind her of its presence.
Serena hardly needed reminding,
however, for the cat weighed at least fourteen stone more than she did. She had little doubt it could easily rend her
to shreds if it chose, yet, at the moment it seemed much more like a large,
sleek pet cat. It had done nothing to
frighten or harm her, and none of its actions had been even vaguely
threatening. Rather than bully or
terrify her into compliance, it had sought her attentions freely given.
She met the animal’s gaze evenly and
within its azure blue eyes she saw intelligence, awareness and an almost
yearning for understanding. Satisfied by
what it saw in her return gaze, it laid its head in her lap and tilted it to one
side to give her better access to the vulnerable and tender area beneath its
chin.
Though Dominic Westcroft has done nothing to hurt Serena or her cousin, yet, the potential remains ever-present, and Serena still suspects the wizard is responsible for the brutal murder of her sister. Now, her suspicions may have taken an ugly reality.
M/F, Shape shifting wizards in Victorian England.
Read the first three chapters at: Deadly Enchantment
Available at NCP, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Love this snippet Kathryn, I'm intrigued :)
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Roz