Welcome to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked for a new year of Mid Week Tease hosted by Sandra Bunino.
Authors: this is a great opportunity to spotlight a few lines or even a paragraph or two from a new release or backlisted title. Readers: you get to sample some delicious snippets! We’ll do our best to tease, titillate and tantalize you into the weekend.
Today I'm offering snippets from Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack, a paranormal romantic suspense. Julianna Morris has been chosen as a Luna candidate, the Alpha female hopeful, and Sabrina is helping her understand her Sister self, the wolf half of her. This is Julianna's first controlled shift.
The world had
changed significantly. Every detail was sharper. Honeybees buzzed around the
few flowers in the clearing wearing sharp jackets of gold and black while the
rocks cast knife-edged shadows on individual blades of grass, waving gently in
the breeze like green bristly hair. Everything seemed bigger or taller than she
remembered. Even Sebrina looked down
on her, though her face showed a satisfied smile.
“Very good, my
daughter.” Her whisper carried like a normal voice to Julianna’s ears.
Sounds she’d
been ignoring, such as the woodpecker pounding on a tree somewhere nearby or
the patter of little rodent feet through the under growth, were as clear as if
she’d put on headphones. She inhaled deeply and smelled the rodents and flowers and bees and the deer that had
passed through this clearing earlier that morning. Sebrina’s scent wove its way
into her awareness, a mixture of satisfaction, wolf, and pride. Before Julianna
could savor the sights and scents, sharp surprise, sorrow, and regret tainted
the air around the Paiute woman, and her smile disappeared.
Quick as
lightning, the woman grabbed Julianna’s muzzle and turned her head sharply to
the right, staring at her intently. Julianna had never seen herself in her wolf
form so she had no idea what Sebrina was looking at, but whatever it was, the
woman paled, and her hand shook where it touched Julianna’s muzzle.
Julianna whined
uncertainly and thought, “What, Sebrina?”
The woman jerked
as if she’d been slapped and stared at Julianna’s eyes with surprise and
disbelief.
“It cannot be,”
she whispered then, shaking her head in denial without letting Julianna free of
her grip. “It cannot be.”
Julianna whined
again. “What can’t be? I don’t understand.”
“Great Mother
Moon, I never thought…to see…”
Julianna’s
Sister didn’t like the scents coming from Sebrina and tucked her tail between
her hind legs, trying to back away from the agonized Paiute woman. A whine full
of fearful confusion escaped from Julianna’s chest, and she quailed at the loss
of confidence in her inner wolf.
You must be your Sister’s leader, her protector. You
must lead in your transformation from now on. It will keep you and your Sister
safe.
Sebrina’s instructions shot through Julianna’s awareness, and she pushed
forward, taking the lead from her Sister.
Julianna tugged
her head in Sebrina’s hand, pulling her lips back to bare her teeth, but the
woman held fast for a few more moments. Sebrina appeared to be lost in whatever
showed on Julianna’s face and the sorrow radiating from her overwhelmed her
scent. Julianna’s Sister started to panic, and when Julianna growled like an
animal cornered at the edge of fight or flight, Sebrina released her, dropping
to her knees in the grass.
“I’m sorry, daughter, so sorry!” Sebrina wailed
as she flattened her hands in the grass and placed her head between her arms
until her forehead touch the ground. “I didn’t understand all those years ago,
and I was afraid. Please forgive me.”
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Fab tease, well done!
ReplyDeleteThe honeybees and the sharp jackets of gold...these details really jumped out at me, Siobhan. Loved feeling that scene. And then how it ended. Looking forward to more. :)
ReplyDeleteSiobhan,
ReplyDeleteI am completely intrigued by this story. I seriously NEED to know what Sebrina is seeing in Julianna's shifter form that makes her react this way. Also, I love the descriptive details you use, as here: "the rocks cast knife-edged shadows on individual blades of grass, waving gently in the breeze like green bristly hair." It's beautiful, yet doesn't slow the pace. Great job!
What a great moment of realization. I love how you portray her intense senses in shifter form.
ReplyDeleteThanks for teasing, Siobhan!
Interesting teaser, Siobhan. I love the description of her awareness of her surroundings which drew me into the scene.
ReplyDeleteWhat an intriguing tease. Such vivid descriptions, Siobhan :-)
ReplyDeletegreat writing and tempting teaser :-)
ReplyDelete