QSFer Jae has a new FF paranormal romance out: Enemies by Nature.
Fake dating your worst enemy—what could possibly go wrong? An enemies-to-lovers, paranormal lesbian romance that proves love can outfox anyone.
Ever since shape-shifters revealed their existence to the world, tensions between humans and Wrasa have been dangerously high. To improve their public image, the Wrasa council comes up with a bold plan: a fake relationship between one of their own and Faith MacAllister, the human daughter of their most vocal enemy.
Tala Peterson, an aloof fox-shifter with the attitude of an alpha wolf, is anything but thrilled to pose as Faith’s mate. She doesn’t trust her one bit—and rightfully so, as Faith has her own agenda. Their flirty banter is strictly for show, and if Tala finds Faith’s scent annoyingly irresistible, it’s only because of the mate scent their scientists concocted.
But when the wolf pack that raised Tala insists she bring her new mate home for a visit, the fake lovers are forced to not only share a bed but also to confront old prejudices. Soon, Faith faces a difficult choice: Should she keep spying on the Wrasa for her father, or can she trust Tala and her kind?
Enemies by Nature is the first novel of a two-book saga that concludes with Shifting Nature. While part of Jae’s shape-shifter series, they can be read independently of previous books.
Enemies by Nature is the first novel of a two-book saga that concludes with Shifting Nature. While part of Jae’s shape-shifter series, they can be read independently of previous books.
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Excerpt
“What is it you wish me to do?” Tala asked the council.
Instead of an answer, Kylin picked up a magazine, walked around the table, and handed it to her.
It was one of those glossy tabloids that Tala had seen at the grocery store. Humans seemed to be weirdly addicted to trashy, sensationalized articles about messy celebrity divorces, secret affairs, and royal revelations.
The headline of the article immediately jumped out at Tala: Forbidden Love at Shape-Shifter Parade: Is a Secret Romance Brewing Between a Shifter and the Daughter of Anti-Wrasa Activist Peter MacAllister?
How ridiculous. Tala had met MacAllister’s daughter at the parade last week. While she hadn’t waved protest signs in their faces or spouted hateful anti-Wrasa rhetoric, as her father had, she had eyed the shape-shifters warily and stepped between them and her daughter as if confronted with a pack of rabid dogs. There definitely wasn’t any kind of romance brewing between Faith MacAllister and any Wrasa, secret or otherwise.
Who was the poor person the tabloids made out to be Ms. MacAllister’s love interest?
She squinted at the article, printed for human eyesight, until she could read it.
In a surprising turn of events at yesterday’s Wrasa Pride parade, a chance encounter between an unnamed shifter and the daughter of Peter MacAllister, leader of HASS (Humans Against Shape-Shifters), has ignited rumors of a possible romance amidst escalating tensions between humans and Wrasa.
The up-until-then peaceful protest for shape-shifter rights threatened to turn into a bloodbath when MacAllister and his group of anti-Wrasa activists blocked the path of the parade.
As tempers flared, it was a six-year-old girl and her runaway balloon that unexpectedly resolved the situation and brought the two budding lovers together.
Tala nearly dropped the magazine. Fire shot up her forearms. “Me?” she burst out, her usual self-control wavering. “They think I’m Faith MacAllister’s secret lover? Absurd!”
If any of the council members answered, she didn’t hear it. She was too busy scanning the rest of the article.
Witnesses report that the girl’s balloon slipped from her grasp and floated away. That was when a mysterious fox-shifter leaped into action, using her animalistic agility to snatch the balloon from mid-air and return it safely to the child.
We captured the moment the girl’s mother—none other than Peter MacAllister’s only daughter, Faith—stepped up to the fox-shifter to express her heartfelt gratitude.
Tala’s low growl at repeatedly being called a fox turned into a disdainful huff as she took in the photograph.
It showed Faith MacAllister, pausing inches from Tala, staring into her eyes.
Her expression hadn’t been one of warm gratitude, though. Resolve had hardened her soft, heart-shaped face, and her plush lips were compressed into a determined line. Her long, chestnut hair flowed over her shoulders like a cape, giving her the look of a superheroine. When Tala had walked over to the girl to return the balloon, Faith had blocked her path, ready to protect her daughter. Apparently, she had fallen for her father’s propaganda, believing the Wrasa to be bloodthirsty monsters who ate human children for breakfast.
Captivated by the fox-shifter with the pretty golden eyes, she then turned to her father and implored him to cease his protests and let the parade pass.
Onlookers couldn’t help but be moved by her display of compassion and the obvious connection between her and the heroic fox-shifter.
Could this chance encounter be the start of a forbidden romance between these two women from opposite sides of the shifter controversy?
Stay tuned! We will report any further developments in this captivating tale of forbidden love!
What the fuck? Tala reined in the urge to rip the tabloid into tiny pieces. This was all bullshit. Every last word of it. Faith MacAllister hadn’t stopped her father because she was smitten with Tala’s “pretty golden eyes.” She had merely reminded him that there were children present, including his own granddaughter.
“All right,” Tala said with determination, “I’ll get on it right away.”
“Um, get on what?” one of the councilors of the Feline Alliance asked. “We haven’t even told you yet what we want you to do.”
Wasn’t it obvious? “You want me to hunt down the paparazzi and the tabloids who wrote this piece of wolf poop. No problem. I’ll put the fear of the Great Hunter into them!”
“No,” Jeff Madsen said.
“No? What then?” Tala tightened her grip on the magazine with the ridiculous article. Heads should be rolling for that nonsense.
“This ‘piece of wolf poop,’ as you put it, is the most positive portrayal of us in human media since that feel-good piece about the Ashawe who spends his spare time visiting nursing homes as a therapy dog. Since then, the only headlines we seem to get are like these.” Madsen held up a large stack of magazines and newspapers, then slapped them down onto the table one after the other.
Their headlines were all equally ridiculous:
Shifter Frenzy: The Truth About What Happens Under a Full Moon!
Shocking Discovery: Is the Vice President One of Them?
Royal Corgi Eaten by Shape-Shifter!
Tala shook her head. “How do humans come up with this drivel? It’s as absurd as the story about a romance brewing between me and MacAllister’s daughter!”
“What if it were true?” Madsen asked. His amber eyes held something…a twinkle of knowledge…that made Tala’s forearms itch.
“It’s not. I assure you I would never get involved with a human.” Up until last year, when the Wrasa had been outed to the human public, they’d had strict laws in place to keep their existence hidden. One of them had forbidden any kind of relationship with a human, and Tala had never been tempted to break that law.
“But what if it were?” Madsen repeated. “What if there was a romance brewing?”
Author Bio
Jae is the author of twenty-six award-winning sapphic romances. She lives in the sunniest city of Germany, near the French and Swiss borders. The writing bug bit her at the age of eleven.
She used to work as a psychologist but gave up her day job in 2013 to become a full-time writer and a part-time editor. As far as she’s concerned, it’s the best job in the world.
When she’s not writing, she is an avid reader of sapphic books, indulges her ice cream and stationery addictions, and watches way too many crime shows.
| Author Website | https://jae-fiction.com/ |
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