Cover Reveal and teaser for Holding the Link and Once Hunted

HI All

At long last, HOLDING THE LINK: Prophecy Book Two is almost ready to be released.

I need to pick a cover!  Can you all look at these two covers and tell me which you think looks better -- and fits the tagline:  Evil is watching and time is running out.

Cole and Lana thought the evil foe, Conall, was gone. He's not--and he wants them dead. 

I'll give a copy of any of my backlist to those that answer for me (Provided you give me an email to send it to!)

I'm trying for an April 1 release--depending on advertising availability that week.

Thanks for all your help.  Here's a teaser from the book  for those that read book one... (SPOILER ALERT--if you have NOT read book one, don't read the teaser!)

HOLDING THE LINK

 Conall watched from outside the window of the small blue house. They believed him dead. His fury at being bested by a shifter and a mere human would not be diminished until he’d destroyed them both.

This time, he would not be held captive for thousands of years. He’d be free very soon. For now, it took all his abilities just to watch them. It infuriated him that they had won the battle. Of course, they didn’t realize he was not defeated. The humans could not understand that he would never be destroyed? They would learn, though. Soon.

He’d made a small miscalculation when he’d battled with them before. Next time, he would be ready. He’d bide his time and regain his strength. When next they met again, he would show no mercy. 

Prophecy be damned.

                                         Chapter One

“It’s not over.”

Lana could barely suppress the scream as she awoke, her face covered in a sheen of sweat. “Oh God,” she whispered.

Cole turned to her and pulled her into his arms. “What happened? he asked, concern lacing his quiet voice.

Lana clung to him, resting her hand over the strong beat of his heart through his chest. “Just a dream,” she whispered. “Sorry I woke you.”

Cole reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. For a long moment, he didn’t speak, instead, he looked at her, waiting, she knew, for her to calm enough to talk to him. His capacity for patience never ceased to amaze her.

Finally, she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes.

Cole turned and looked at Lana, his dark eyes narrowed in concern. “What do you mean, it’s not over?” he asked.

Lana looked at Cole as he sat next to her on the couch. After they’d defeated Conall, the evil shifter, the month before, they’d both assumed that the danger was over. Lana instinctively put her hand against her still-flat stomach, concerned for her unborn child. “I don’t know, Cole. I just have a very bad feeling,” she said quietly. She didn’t want to mention that this warning was very similar to the warning that had awoken her the night she’d met Cole.

It had been her mom then…and again, now. Still, just in case it was just her mind playing tricks on her, she didn’t want to worry Cole needlessly.

Cole pulled her close and hugged her, pulling her head down gently so it rested on his shoulder. “Did you see something?” he asked quietly. He knew she was still very uncomfortable admitting that she saw some of the same visions her mother saw, but he’d managed to gently urge her to embrace her gifts. They had helped to save their lives.

Lana shook her head. “No, nothing. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I just have a feeling that there is something not finished.” When they’d defeated Conall, they had both been sure that there was nothing more to worry about. She’d wanted to think that her mother would have surely warned her if there was more danger coming—the night they’d thought he’d been defeated. Now, though, she wasn’t so sure.

They’d moved into her mother’s house. It was large enough for the both of them, and for the family they’d soon have. She’d conceived the night before they’d had the battle with Conall. After the battle, they both had been sure that their worries were over now.

In the two months since, they’d spent the majority of their time getting to know one another. They had gotten together so fast; they’d really known nothing about one another. They hadn’t even gone on a real date. The circumstances of those few days had drawn them together though, and their connection was deep—though they were still learning about each other.

Cole didn’t speak for a long moment. “What were you thinking about right before you had that feeling?” he asked.

Nothing much, really. I was just thinking about our son,” she said quietly. It was still hard for her to believe that she was pregnant. Her hand moved automatically toward her stomach, shielding the small life within.

“Let’s not borrow trouble, then. Maybe you’re just anxious about the baby,” Cole said gently, putting one hand over the hand covering her stomach. “It’s possible.”

Lana narrowed her eyes. “If you’re trying to say—”

Cole shook his head and put a finger over her lips. “I’m not saying anything, Lana. Lord knows, I have faith in your feelings, but still, are you sure it’s not possible that you’re just worried about everything that happened in light of your pregnancy? This all was pretty quick, I know.”

“I’m sure, Cole. I didn’t see anything, but I’m sure that it’s not over. Something else is going to happen.” She looked at him, her eyes grave, willing him to believe her and wondering if she should mention that she’d heard her mothers voice again.

Cole studied her for a long moment. “Alright then, what do you want to do?”

That surprised her. He was the one with the shifting experience and the experience as an investigator. She was a web designer, for heaven sakes. This was so far out of her realm of knowledge as to be absurd. “I don’t know!”

Cole picked up her hand and intertwined her fingers. “Lana, I don’t have the feelings you have. What I meant was, do you want us to go look for Conall out there? See if he’s really gone or not? Do you think the danger is imminent?”

“Oh,” she said.

He chuckled. “Have I told you lately that you’re kind of moody?” he teased.

Lana glared. “I’m allowed to be.”

He grinned, showing her his even white teeth. “Yeah, you are. Doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to tease you, though.”

Lana suddenly knew what he was doing. He was trying to get her mind off of her concerns. In typical Cole fashion. He was like a man from a different time in some respects. To him, it was his job to protect her—and she knew from experience he’d protect her with his life if necessary. While a big part of her admired him for that, another part wanted him to remember that she wasn’t some fragile flower to be coddled. “Cole, do you really think I’m worried over nothing.”

Cole studied her for a long moment before answering her. The problem was; he didn’t really think she was worrying over nothing. He’d had some of those same thoughts himself over the last few days, but hadn’t wanted to worry her. Something was just off.

It still amazed him that this beautiful, intelligent woman loved him just as he was. She’d accepted his being a shifter with very little concern—as well as her own new-found ability to shift, apparently due to her pregnancy. Shifting had been in his family for generations, but typically it had been every third generation. Cole had been the exception. That in itself as strange, but the fact that within twenty-four hours after conception its mother was able to shift was…well…unheard of, even for him. The fact that she’d accepted it was simply amazing to him. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Lana was his soul mate. None at all.

By nature, he was protective. He wanted to protect her from anything that could harm her. And by nature, she was independent. He knew they’d clash, but he also knew that she’d accepted him as he was. When he went overboard, she’d surely let him know. He had no doubt at all.

If she was right, and it wasn’t over—and he was very afraid she was—then it meant that she was in danger, as was the child inside her. Instinct told him to get her away from here—but how did you run from something that was so powerful that it seemed unstoppable? How did you protect someone from a being that was more powerful than anyone in existence? He’d been sure the bastard had been destroyed, but what if they were wrong? What if he was still out there somewhere and was only wounded?

He’d do anything to protect his family, and by God, she was his. He’d protect her, he vowed silently. With his life, though he knew that thought would irritate her. She was nothing if not self-sufficient. She hadn’t hesitated to go after Conall when he’d attacked. Her courage amazed him.

Hell, even when her house had been broken into two months before, she’d climbed out the damn window instead of shrinking in terror as most people would have. It was one of the first things he’d admired about her. She’d reacted intelligently, without, apparently, even thinking. She’d simply jumped out the window and ran toward help. He glanced over at her, and she was waiting for him to answer. He sighed. “No, darlin’, I don’t think you’re worried over nothing,” he admitted at length.

“So, you think something is still wrong?” she persisted.

“I’m not really sure exactly what to think, Lana. I’ve had a bad feeling the last few days. Nothing really concrete I can sink my teeth into, though. I’m just feeling…anxious, I guess is the word.”

“Do you think it’s Conall?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

That was just it. He just plain didn’t know what it was. But, like her, he just had the feeling that it wasn’t over. “I don’t know,” he replied honestly. “I wish the hell I did, though.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

Again, he didn’t really know how to respond to that. They’d had little luck in finding answers the month before when the evil shifter had come after her before. If it hadn’t been for Lana’s mother’s help, he honestly didn’t know if they’d have been able to defeat him—if in fact they had defeated him—or even won the battle. “I think we need to do more research,” he said quietly. “Maybe talk to some of the other shifters. I find it hard to believe someone doesn’t know more than we do. To be honest, in my family, it just didn’t seem that unusual. Though I was different, since I could shift when I wasn’t the right generation, shifting has just been a part of my family for too long.”

“Where do we start?”

Cole cupped her cheeks with gentle fingers. “We’ll go see my parents again. See if we can learn the location of some of the other shifters in the state.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

Cole smiled. “You don’t seem as worried as I thought you might be,” he said, gently stroking her soft hand.

She shrugged. “I guess I’m not. I have to believe that we’ll find out a way to win this—whatever this is.”

Cole nodded. “And we will. We’re not going to let anything happen to that baby inside you. And I’m not going to let anything happen to you, either.”

Lana smiled and put her free hand on her stomach protectively. “I know.”

He grinned. “Aren’t you going to give me a hard time for being chauvinistic?”

Lana shook her head, and her eyes twinkled. “Nah, if you get too bad, I’ll just remind you that I helped!”

Cole gave her a wicked grin. “Should I remind you about the vampire bats and things that sting in the attic?”

Lana’s eyes narrowed again. “That’s entirely different,” she said with a huff. “No one in their right mind likes spiders, bats or bees!.”

He chuckled. “Uh huh.”

“I love you, Cole,” she said softly.

Cole studied her a long moment and wondered if there was something more she knew that she wasn’t telling him and his tone was instantly serious. “I love you, Lana. We’ll figure this thing out. I’m not sure just how, yet, but we will. Your mom warned you for a reason. We were meant to fight that bastard, and I think we are the only ones who can stop him—if we haven’t already. I meant what I said, though. Let’s not borrow trouble. If he’s not gone, we’ll find a way to stop him. Someone will have the answers, and we’ll find them.” Somehow. He didn’t voice the ‘somehow aloud. She was worried enough without him adding to it.

“I hope you’re right.”

“It’s nearly morning. Are you going back to sleep or shall we get up? I’m starving.”

Lana’s eyes brightened a bit. “I could handle some eggs and bacon.”

“I’m cooking?”

“Of course,” she said, as if he were crazy for even considering there would be another way.

“On it,” he said with a chuckle.

Lana stood and headed toward the kitchen. “I’ll get the makings for them. You’re in charge of the stove, Master Chef.”

He chuckled. Lana wasn’t much of a cook. “I’m on it.” He stood himself and watched as she walked into the kitchen. Never would he tire of watching her move away from him. The woman had the best ass in the world. God, she was gorgeous. Tomorrow was soon enough to worry about that evil shifter bastard. For now, he was going to have an enjoyable morning meal with the woman he loved, and make love to the woman he loved. Tomorrow was soon enough to worry about the danger he was very afraid they were both soon to face.*

Hope you enjoyed the teaser for the beginning of Holding the Link

And don't forget to check The Romance Reviews between now and March 15th for a chance to win Once Forbidden, Book One of the Hunted Series currently on Amazon. The Romance Review folks are doing an anniversary party! Over 400 authors and hundreds upon hundreds of prizes each week.  My day is March 23. Be sure to check it out on that date!

Book Three, Once Hunted, is scheduled for a May release.  Here's the cover for that one!  Like it?

Want a teaser for this one, too?

Prologue

He’d been watching her for months now. It was his job to ensure her destroyed, but the more time he spent watching her, the more he found himself not wanting to do what he’d been trained to do.

What he’d been born to do.

Jerico West was a Hunter. It was his job to destroy the vampires, and she was one of their leaders. Her name was Carina. Though she looked like she was in her late twenties, he knew that she was at least one thousand years old. How she’d survived this long was a mystery to him. Hunters had been watching her for centuries, that’s how he knew how old she was.

Actually, there was quite a bit he knew about Carina Moroeu. She had been on the Hunter’s radar ever since she’d turned a vampire about three hundred or so years before. For the most part, most of the modern hunters left the vampire community alone as long as they weren’t actively turning humans.

Years had gone by and there had been something resembling a truce between the Elders and the Hunters, but in the last year, there had been at least two in her clan that had turned women. It simply couldn’t be allowed to continue. He knew that. Still, Carina hadn’t turned anyone herself. However, those that were under her rule had turned them, and he knew that Carina was fully aware of the situation.

Jerico had been hired by the human company she owned. It was ironic that Carina owned a private investigation firm. One would think that she would do better on her background checks for her new hires. After almost three months, it didn’t seem that she had the first clue who and what he was.*

*Both books are with beta-readers and subject to last-minute edits