“Are you all right, Kari?” Andreas asked through the door.
Opening it with a jerk, she glared at him. “What, a girl can’t even pee in privacy now?”
Andreas took a step back, hands open. “I apologize. I just wanted to be sure you were all right. Won’t you eat? Now that you know there is no avenue of escape? I’m sorry we have to keep you here. I truly am. But after you’ve transformed you’ll be free and you won’t have the desire to leave.”
“Like I’d eat anything you people gave me. How do I know it hasn’t been drugged or poisoned?”
“Kari, the last thing any of us would do is harm you.” Andreas had the gall to look hurt that she’d even suggest such a thing.
“Did ya ask me if I wanted to come here? Did you get my permission to take me from the hospital? You kidnapped me! Don’t want to hurt me indeed!”
Phillip stepped into the room. “Would it help if I took a bite of everything first? To show you it’s all harmless?”
“I want you all to leave, please.” She had to think.
They all stood there.
“I said please. I asked nicely. I’ve shown you more manners than you’ve shown me.”
“Kari, love, let’s sit and eat together. You need to keep your strength up, you’re healing still.” Andreas motioned to the tray of food.
“Get the fuck out of here now!” she screamed before bursting into tears.
“If that’s what you want. I’m sorry you’re so upset. Please calm down.” Andreas’s voice was soothing, pleading. He looked confused and unhappy and she almost felt guilty for making him upset. Almost.
“Then let me go home.” Unable to bite back a sob, she slid down to the floor next to the bed, tears scalding her cheeks.
“Please, Kari. Please let me comfort you. Don’t be frightened of me.” Andreas crouched next to her, reaching toward her slowly.
Scooting away from him, she slapped at his hands. “Oh my god, you are the limit! You kidnap me, hold me against my will, and you want to comfort me? I shouldn’t be afraid? Get out, get out, get out!”
Look for WOLF’S ASCENSION
on ebook retailers in February 2016.
Acknowledgments
THANK YOU, CARINA PRESS! My editor, the fantastic folks behind the scenes in art, the blurb writers, the copy and line editors, formatters, publicity and marketing—thank you for all you do.
Also Available from Lauren Dane
and Carina Press
Second Chances
Believe
Goddess with a Blade series
Goddess with a Blade
Blade to the Keep
Blade on the Hunt
At Blade’s Edge
From Lauren Dane
and HQN Books
The Best Kind of Trouble
Broken Open
Back to You
From Lauren Dane
and Cosmopolitan Red-Hot Reads from Harlequin
Cake
And watch for the next book in the Goddess with a Blade series, coming soon!
About the Author
There was a time back in the early days when Lauren Dane figured writing books got easier with time. She was totally wrong. (A lot like how she promised herself she’d never let her kids eat crackers in the grocery store like those awful people and then totally opened up crackers to deal with a hungry toddler and a need to finish shopping!)
But she can admit it’s really hard and it kills her ego sometimes and she cries when her characters do and wants to punch some of her heroes just as much as the heroine and readers might.
One thing she didn’t know at the start over ten years ago was how the love of writing—that magic of finishing a book and sending it out into the world after the sometimes agonizing process of getting it that far—does get easier.
So she’s written a few books—over sixty novels and novellas at this point—and she’s grateful every single day, even when she’s been on deadline and she’s stressed and shower deficient and her family has been surviving on cereal and pizza.
LaurenDane.com
Twitter.com/LaurenDane
Facebook.com/LaurenDane
Relive the missions and adventures of Rowan Summerwaite in the Goddess with a Blade series!
GODDESS WITH A BLADE
Goddess with a Blade, book one
“Goddess with a Blade is like two alphas battling for dominance. That makes the sparks all the more hot.”
—USA TODAY
Rowan Summerwaite was raised by the leader of the Vampire Nation and is a supercharged Hunter with the power to slay any Vampire who violates the age-old treaty.
A recent string of murders—that have the mark of Vampire all over them—has her at odds with Clive, an arrogant and powerful Scion.
Though her dealings with Clive are adversarial to say the least, Rowan is intensely aware of her attraction to him. But she can’t let it distract her from her duty: to find and battle the killer before more women die.
BLADE TO THE KEEP
Goddess with a Blade, book two
“Vampire stories always seem to have incredibly convoluted politics, and this series is no exception. But it is Rowan Summerwaite, caught among multiple worlds, who always steals the show.”
—Library Journal, Best Books of 2014, eOriginals
Rowan Summerwaite has the power of an ancient goddess in her belly, making her the perfect candidate to renegotiate the fragile Treaty keeping the peace between the Vampire Nation and the last line of defense for humanity, The Hunter Corporation. And she’s got to do it as she attempts to manage a politically awkward romance during a trip back to a place she escaped nearly fifteen years before. No pressure.
BLADE ON THE HUNT
Goddess with a Blade, book three
“If you have not tried the versatile and oh-so-gifted Dane’s absorbing [Goddess with a Blade] series, then you’ve been missing out. This ride is filled with high-stakes action, sizzling sensuality and devious politics!”
—RT Book Reviews
“When you awaken, you will have to find her yourself. Or she will find you.”
These were the words given to Rowan Summerwaite by the Goddess as Rowan lay clinging to life. Broken—but not defeated—by the ancient Vampire Enyo. But the Blood Front was far bigger than Enyo. There’s a war brewing and Rowan will fight it to the death. It’s what she was born to do.
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If you love Lauren Dane’s Goddess with a Blade series, you won’t want to miss WOLF’S ASCENSION.
WOLF’S ASCENSION by Lauren Dane
Cherchez Wolf Pack, book one
(February 2016)
Attacked by werewolves. Mated to the Alpha. Declared a queen. Kari is having an unusual day.
In the Cherchez wolf pack, loyalty is earned, not given. For Andreas, the pull he feels toward Kari cannot be ignored, a physical bond immediate and unbreakable—though Andreas wants to win Kari’s heart as well as her body. But someone isn’t happy about his new mate, and Kari’s just beginning to trust him and the pack when attempted murder threatens their newfound happiness.
Andreas brings out the deepest hunger in Kari, a sexy, passionate side of herself she never knew was there. And her new life as werewolf queen is turning out to be surprisingly emotional in other ways, as well. The bond she feels with Andreas extends to the others in the pack—others she’s now bound to protect.
And as the pack’s enemies are about to discover, Kari will do anything to protect her new family.
>
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We think you have a good book in you!
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At Blade’s Edge
ISBN-13: 9781459290204
Copyright © 2015 by Lauren Dane
Edited by: Angela James
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
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Lauren Dane, At Blade's Edge
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