QSFer Karenna Colcroft has a new MM paranormal romance out: Sorry about the Seitan.
Anax Tobias Rogan, ruler of all werewolves in the United States, has never liked Christmas. But this year, his mate, vegan werewolf Kyle Slidell, and their young guard Quinn Boucher are eager to celebrate, and Tobias is trying to find the holiday spirit. He’s even planned the perfect gift for Kyle, one he hopes will revitalize the relationship that has been frayed by Tobias claiming the rank of Anax.
A call from Jed Howe, the Alpha who took in Tobias after he was changed as a teen, changes everything. Jed has slipped into dementia and believes the Alpha of a nearby pack is trying to steal his rank. Although Tobias manages to calm Jed, he knows the time he has dreaded has come. Jed is no longer fit to rule a pack, and Tobias must intervene before he causes any harm.
But before Tobias is able to stop him, Jed takes drastic and dangerous action against the other Alpha. Now Tobias, battling his own demons, is faced with the most difficult task of his life: Removing the man he considers a father from his rank–permanently.
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Excerpt
Anax!
At the panic-filled cry echoing through my mind, I jolted awake. Sitting up without full awareness of what I was doing, I tried to place the voice.
Not Kyle. That was good. He wasn’t in bed beside me, but at least wherever he’d gone, he was all right. I didn’t think it was any of my guards, either. Also good.
But someone was in trouble, calling me for help. Someone. That didn’t really narrow it down. Every werewolf in the country had a bond with me. That was the nature of being a leader. An Alpha had a bond with every werewolf in their pack, an Arkhon with every wolf in their region. And an Anax had a bond with every wolf in their country. In the United States, that was a fuckload of werewolves, and since a bond wasn’t impacted by distance, any of them might be the one yelling into my mind.
And, of course, there was always the possibility it wasn’t someone who needed my help at all. It might be someone who wanted to destroy me and was trying to make me think they needed my help. I couldn’t rule that out.
Anax, it’s Justin.
This time, he sounded less panicky. Not much, though. I let out a long breath and relaxed, but only a little. Justin wouldn’t use the bond without a damn good reason—and in this case, that meant it wasn’t anything good.
I’m here, Justin, I said. What’s wrong?
Jed. He’s here. The condo. He—
The thought cut off abruptly. Only the fact that I could still feel him at the other end of the bond reassured me that Jed hadn’t killed him.
But Jed believed Justin was out to kill him. There was no way to know what Jed might do.
Justin? I didn’t expect an answer, and I didn’t get one. But the sense of him grew stronger. Whatever was happening to him, for the moment, he was alive.
I couldn’t feel anything from Jed, though. Just a jagged, jumbled static, like a radio set on a nonexistent station. I doubted he’d managed to cut off the bond. He probably hadn’t even thought of it. The dementia was interfering, as Eloise had said it did with her.
I shoved the blankets aside and grabbed the sweatpants still on the floor beside the bed. Kyle and I hadn’t straightened up the room before going to sleep last night, and the place was a mess. Not that it was important at the moment, but my mind seized on it as a distraction from the knowledge that one of my closest friends was in danger.
A sharp rap on the door pulled me back from the spiraling fear. Quinn, if my senses were to be believed. “Come in,” I said.
The door swung open. Quinn stood there, pale and breathing heavily. “Anax. I’m sorry to disturb you, but there’s something… I can’t explain it.”
“You don’t have to.” I had no doubt that his colors were showing him something about Justin’s situation. “The Alpha of NH-Mass Pack is at Justin Ruel’s home. I don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t think it’s anything good.”
“It isn’t.” He gulped. “I don’t mean to overstep, but—”
“This is too important to stand on protocol, Quinn.” I went to the bureau and rummaged through the drawers until I found a thick sweatshirt. Werewolves didn’t really feel the cold, but in late December when it was dark outside, even we wanted to be warm. I yanked on the sweatshirt and pushed past Quinn to the door. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping? I thought you and Malachi would be getting ready to leave pretty soon.” I’d given him the night off from guard duty so he would be awake enough to drive to Nova Scotia.
“I was asleep. This woke me, and when I told Malachi, he said to get you and do what I need to do.” He followed me into the hall. “He wants to get home, but he also wants me to do my job.”
“You can go back to him.”
“With respect, Anax, no. I can’t.” He caught up to me and walked backward, facing me. “The sun is heading for red. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m your guard, and I’m not letting you do whatever you’re doing on your own.”
Author Bio
Karenna Colcroft lives just north of Boston, Massachusetts, and has been in love with the city since childhood. To the best of her knowledge, she has yet to encounter any werewolves or other paranormal beings here.
Karenna is a polyamorous, nonbinary human. She lives with her husband and has two adult children and three “bonus” kids, four grandchildren, and three cats, who aren’t at all pleased that Karenna writes about werewolves.
| Author Website | https://karennacolcroft.com |
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| Author Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/karennacolcroft |