Now, for those of you who've been waiting, here's a sample of Creatus Rogue.
If you haven't read book one, turn back!
Spoiler Alert Ahead!!!
But...go ahead if you want to...
If you haven't read book one, turn back!
Spoiler Alert Ahead!!!
But...go ahead if you want to...
~ Excerpt ~
“You want me to do what?” Vic threw up her hands, turning her
back on the man she’d once loved. If she were being honest, still loved. She
peeked over her shoulder, hoping he’d admit that he was joking.
Derrick said nothing, just waited, as he always did, calm, cool,
and collected. Not one strand of his silky black hair was out of place, even
though she knew he’d been at the hospital for more than twelve hours already.
As she stared out his office window that overlooked Boston
Harbor, she tried to comprehend how he could ask her to do such a thing. Afternoon
clouds had rolled in, seemingly to match her dismal mood, and even though it’d
be another hour before sunset, she could tell by the lack of boats on the
waterway that the temperature had already started to drop.
Turning away from the window, she walked back to Derrick’s
desk and plopped down in the chair. How dare he suggest such a thing? Just
because he didn’t want her, didn’t mean he got to choose her destiny. “You’re
kidding, right? I said I was sorry. I told you I wouldn’t bother you or
Kristina.”
A burst of air popped out of Derrick’s mouth as if she’d said
or done something funny. There was nothing humorous about this situation.
“Vic…” He sighed. “We don’t have a choice.”
“What does Mike have to say about this?” she asked. “I bet
your brother wouldn’t agree.”
“Of course he wouldn’t agree, but when has Michael ever
agreed with me? He’d be happy to take care of this issue. The last thing he
wants is for you to be anywhere near Reece Buckley.”
“And yet, you want me to fall
for him, as if that’s even possible.”
“It’s possible. You seem to forget that my mother and wife
are human. My mother reciprocated when my father fell, and Kristina fell for
me. It’s clear we have more in common with humans than we thought.”
Vic jumped up from her seat again. Hearing about Derrick
falling for a human wasn’t something she liked to think about. All the nights
they’d spent in each other’s arms, all the deep discussions they’d had, and
they’d never fallen for each other. If it couldn’t happen with Derrick, then it
certainly wasn’t going to happen with a human.
“He’s human. How could I fall for a man who’s weaker than I
am, a man who wouldn’t be able to protect me if the need arose?”
Derrick laughed full and deep this time. “As if you need protecting.
You beat the crap out of my brother and then went and took out Reece.”
“Yeah, well. Michael wasn’t fighting back; he’d only defended
himself, and Reece is human, so he doesn’t count.”
Derrick got up from behind his desk and crossed the room to
stand in front of her. Her body heated up about ten degrees as he got closer.
Even though she knew they were over, that after he’d fallen
for another woman he’d never fall for another one again, she still found it
hard to move on with her life.
She didn’t wish any danger to befall Kristina, but she
couldn’t help but wonder what would occur if something happened to her. If
their histories were wrong about humans being able to fall for creatus, then
maybe a creatus could fall more than once in a lifetime.
Kristina was still in danger. And she was human. It wouldn’t
take much for her to die.
The killing spree had stopped, at least in Boston. Nothing in
the last few days resembled the previous murders anyway. But she was sure the
rogue hadn’t given up that easily.
The rogue—she couldn’t bring herself to believe that Jonas
was capable of all the things he’d been accused of, so she’d continued to refer
to the culprit as the rogue. She’d known Jonas almost her entire life. She’d
even thought that maybe he was the One
at one point. They certainly had made a good go at it. The night she’d spent
with him had been powerful. Of course, she’d been trying to fall, trying to get
Derrick out of her head.
Derrick rested his hand on her shoulder. Even through her
clothes, his touch felt as if it would burn her skin. “He saw you, Vic. He saw
Michael. And then you threw him across the room, again reinforcing your
abilities.” Derrick shook his head. “Why did you do that? We might have been
able to talk him out of believing that we’re different.”
“Why did I—” She huffed out a breath. “You started this,
Derrick. The reason Reece even began this investigation was because you felt
compelled to save a human. Michael
had been trying to clean up your mess. We all were.” She stepped out from under
his hand and walked back to the window, wishing she were anywhere but here. A
few months ago, she never would have believed that Derrick would demand she
fall in love with another man—a human
man. “I can’t believe you want me to fall for a mere human?”
“That mere human put up a fight against Michael. Michael is
one of the strongest creatus on the planet. We both are. No one denies that. No
one understands why being half-human makes Michael and me stronger than the
average creatus, but we are. So how do you explain that a mere human put up a
fight?”
Vic turned to look at Derrick and shrugged. She really didn’t
care. No way was she going to get romantic with a human. No matter how good he
looked. No matter what he did to her insides every time she stepped within ten
feet of him. She hated humans, and she was starting to hate half-humans like
Derrick, Michael, and Jonas too. For that matter, she was starting to hate men
in general—all species.
“Mike probably wasn’t trying to hurt him,” she said. “He just
wanted the evidence in Reece’s briefcase. Again, evidence you provided the
government of our existence. For four thousand years we’ve managed to stay
hidden, but you go and do a swan dive off the Tobin Bridge and bring some
division of the National Security Council down on us.”
Derrick casually leaned back against his desk. “My saving
Kristina isn’t what made the Feds aware of us. They’ve been tracking
supernatural events since 1947. You can blame that on our parents and
grandparents for trying to be superheroes and save the world.”
She laughed without humor. “Yeah, well… You’re still at fault
more than I am. Why don’t you see if you can get him to fall for you?” She
raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him in her juvenile wordplay. She
couldn’t help it; that’s how she felt, and it felt good to release some of her
pent-up anger. “Or, you kill him. You’re the boss.” She plopped down in the chair again and
crossed her arms. No way was she going to come on to Reece Buckley. If Derrick
wanted him dead, he could handle it. She didn’t care about a stupid human.
“Is that what you want, Victoria? You want me to approve the
assassination of an innocent human?” Derrick asked.
Unable to keep up her charade, she sighed and dropped her
head into her hands. “No.”
Derrick sat down beside her. “Vic, Michael would take him out
without a second thought. I love my brother, but even though we have a human
mother, he treats humans as if they are a subspecies. As though their lives
mean nothing. And some of Reece’s comments haven’t helped the matter. I know my
brother can be cold hearted, but as you said, he hadn’t hurt him in that alley.
Now all of a sudden he’s willing to kill him.”
Vic whipped her gaze to him. “What do you mean? What
comments?”
“Reece keeps asking about you. Every time Michael or I take a
security watch, he asks questions about you.”
“Me? What types of questions?”
Derrick sighed again. “Victoria, honestly, are you trying to
tell me you don’t see the man is enamored with you?”
She shook her head, even though she had noticed. Never had a
man gazed at her the way Reece had. It didn’t matter. She didn’t want anything
to do with him. Him or any man for that matter, human or creatus.
“I asked him,” Derrick continued, “When I realized we
couldn’t change his mind on what he saw, what he believes we are, I asked him
why he didn’t fight you.” Derrick smiled. “You know what he said?”
Vic gulped, shaking her head again, unable to find her voice
for some reason. She didn’t want to know what he said.
“He said you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He
admitted that he threw a chair in your direction, but he knew he wouldn’t hit
you. And there was no way he could ever hit a goddess.”
Vic snorted. “I bet you rolled with laughter at that comment,
huh, Derrick?”
“Victoria, why do you do that to yourself? You know my
falling for Kristina had nothing to do with you. You know you are one of the
best-looking women on this planet. Reece even made a comment that you look like
a modern-day Wonder Woman.”
“What the hell? Are you guys best friends now?” she asked.
Derrick shrugged. “He’s a nice guy. What else is there to do
when I have to take four hours out of my day to sit with him? We play cards and
talk.”
“I just don’t understand why we can’t leave him handcuffed to
the bed,” she said.
“Because it’s inhumane, and even if we aren’t human, we are
not mindless cold-blooded beings, as some would believe.”
“We have him locked up in the psyche ward. The lock was probably
broken when he escaped the first time.”
“The lock wasn’t broken, and Michael admitted that Reece put
up a decent fight. Something he hadn’t been prepared for. If being half-human
makes Michael and me twice as strong as most creatus, imagine what having any creatus
blood, even hundreds of years ago, would mean to humans.”
Vic narrowed her eyes. “What are you saying, Derrick?”
“I think there’s a reason some humans are ridiculously
stronger than other humans. Why some can deadlift more weight than other
humans, why some are Olympians. I believe there were more interspecies
relationships—or, would interracial be a better word—than we knew of in the
past. I’m pretty sure Reece Buckley has creatus blood running through his
veins.”
If you haven't read book one, you don't have to, but I hope you'll want to. You can find all the books via the links below:
The Creatus Series is not your normal paranormal story...it's a realistic twist of the myths you've heard your entire life. Prepare to believe...
Creatus Eidolon is Coming Soon!
THANK YOU FOR CREATUS ROGUE!!! LOVE LOVE!!! Seriously could not stop reading. Enticing just as the book cover-it drew me in, mesmerizing just as Creatus! You brought the pages to life! Story line is captivating, characters are so real. compelling, flows smoothly, not forced or contrived. I was completely enthralled as I was taken back into this world! Hungering for more, not wanting the series to end. spellbinding! Carmen, thank you for great adult reading without the explicit sex scenes, vulgarity, & strong offending language!!! Wow. great writing, what a concept, who knew w/o the "unnecessary crap", you can still be entertained! Now....if only it could be brought to the big screen! LOOk out J.K. Rowling & Stephanie Meyer !!! Omg, I can't wait for the next book! I'm anxiously waiting!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Rhonda, and sorry I missed this. It takes me a while, but eventually I catch up. I'm working on book three, but I had to take a quick pit stop and write the prequel, which I know is unusual, but I always do what my readers ask me, and they wanted to know the story before the story. So I'm taking you back fourteen years. It should be out sometime next month, so I hope you'll look for it. And then...if all goes well, book three should be ready this summer. Thank you for reading! <3
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