Dueling with the Devil Book 3
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: VPG Publishing and Promotions,
LLC
Publication Date: 11/11/13
GoodReads: http://goo.gl/xMNuDN
Smashwords: http://goo.gl/MnWXaF
Blurb:
They
say ignorance is bliss, but when it comes to love and mating, Charity Lovell
wished someone had schooled her on the ins and outs. She fell hard when she saw
the beautiful face of the fair-haired demon as he lay broken in Lucifer’s
dungeon. Her body ached for him. Her heart cried for him. This had to be her mate,
right? Who else could make her trade her soul to the Devil to save someone she
didn’t know? Someone should’ve told her love wasn’t quite as straight forward
as that.
Damon
lived an uncomplicated life, even as the alpha of the Lake Charles pack and the
son of Lucifer. He should’ve taken a mate years ago, but held on to the hope of
love. Only one female came close to making him believe he still had a chance
for happiness. Yet, her heart belonged to someone else. Once again, the feeling
is back, stronger than ever. And again, his female has pledged herself to
another. Damn demons were ruining his love life. This time Damon plans to fight
for what was his and win his rightful mate.
"I didn't fucking ask her to
serve herself up for me," Laurent barked at the massive wolf sitting
across from him. "I was passed the fuck out. Haven't even spoken two words
to her."
Damon jumped out of his seat,
catching the lunging wolf midair. "I think we all need to calm down."
A feral growl escaped Ty, the Alpha
of the New Orleans pack. He shoved Damon away from him. "This is your
fault Boudreaux. You came to us for help. We trusted you. And you vouched for
them." The wolf jerked his thumb towards Laurent and his friends.
Laurent's sister, Bell, stood with
her hand on her hip, blue eyes ablaze. "That chick was off. She went all
Twilight-Wolf on us. Like she imprinted on Laurent. I told everyone something
was wrong with her."
"We don't imprint!" a
pretty she-wolf growled from the back of the room.
Bell inhaled to begin another rant, but her
brother cut her off.
"Bell, sit down and be
quiet," Laurent grumbled. Bell muttered something under her breath.
"You're not helping. Sit!" Laurent snapped.
Stepping in the middle of the
eclectic crowd of supernaturals, Damon ran a hand through his hair and cleared
his throat. "This is no one's fault. Charity is an adult. She made a
choice, albeit stupid, but one she made on her own. She believes Laurent is her
mate. When we rescued him from Lucifer's dungeon, she definitely had some kind
of attraction to him. Wouldn't leave his side. We can't change any of that now.
We have to work together to figure out how to get her back."
"Why the hell would Lucifer
trade Laurent's life for hers?" Tact wasn't Bell's strong suit. This time
her fiancé, Xavier, nudged her lightly, swinging the ice-blue glare in his
direction. "What? It's a valid question."
The five members of the New Orleans
pack looked at Ty, waiting for his response. Them and their damn secrets. Damon
shook his head.
"She's one of the few members
left of our original lineage. Charity's family is the reason there are
werewolves. The females of her line are cursed with the inability to shift
until they find their mates. It keeps their other powers dormant until they
find the one they love." Ty spoke in hushed tones as if Lucifer himself
eavesdropped on their conversation.
The whole room remained silent,
allowing the gravity of the revelation to settle. Damon paced the length of the
purple flowered sofa. The small living room became more constricting. Jacque, a
shifter demon and Xavier's brother, rose from his chair. He strolled over to
Damon and Ty.
"How did her family start a
species?" Jacque questioned.
Ty rubbed the back of his neck.
"Her great-great-great-grandmother was promised to Damballa, but she gave
herself to another. As punishment, Damballa cursed us to turn to wolves. He was
so enraged he killed Ariella and then offed himself. It's told Ariella brokered
a deal with Lucifer before she ascended to allow us to maintain our human form
except on the full moon. Later we learned to adapt and shift when we needed.
Afraid that one of the Lovell females would eventually be able to reverse the
curse or become too powerful, Lucifer bound their powers until the found a
mate, which only a few did. It's like one of those fucked up Lifetime
movies."
"What kind of powers do
Charity's people have?" Laurent asked.
Ty shrugged. "We don't really
know. None of them has ever used them to my knowledge. That's why it's dormant
until they mate. If or when they find the one they belong with, they focus on
their partners and not their powers. Only one has left the Ward and might have
accessed her powers. We've asked Red to come here today."
"Who names their child Red? Is
that like Apple or North?" Bell stopped laughing when Laurent shot her a
menacing glare.
"It's a nickname cause she
loves the color red. Her real name's Simone," one of the females of the
New Orleans pack corrected, rolling her eyes at Bell.
"Someone talking bout me?"
A fine, leggy female in a painted-on red dress walked into the small room
followed by two equally hot females. Red's thick mahogany tresses fell around
her face in long spirals. She crossed the room to Ty and kissed both his
cheeks. The other two women repeated the gesture. "Look like y'all started
the party without us. What's all the commanding my presence about?"
Ty hesitated before answering.
"It's about Charity."
The short honey-toned female crossed
her arms. "What the fuck she do now?"
"Jade, don't start," Red
chastised before turning back to the Alpha. "What she do, Ty?"
Ty laughed nervously. "It's bad
this time. She done turned herself over to Lucifer."
"What the fuck, Ty? You're
supposed to keep an eye on her and call us when she gets out of hand," The
female in the wife-beater and ball cap fussed. Even with the boyish clothes,
she couldn't hide her pretty features.
"Look, that girl's a handful.
Dani, you know for yourself. How many times you had to go find her outside of
our territory?" Ty aged as the conversation continued. Lines cut deeper in
his face from worry and stress.
Damon interrupted to get the
conversation back on tract. "Hi, ladies. We were trying to figure out why
Charity would be important to Lucifer. Ty seem to think the females in your
family has some powers that might attract Luc's attention, but not sure what
kind. Do you have any idea?"
Red scanned the faces in the room
with a deliberative expression. She met the gaze of the two females who arrived
with her. The one they called Dani nodded in encouragement. "We've not
spoken of our powers to anyone outside our family. It has brought nothing but
unhappiness to the women who have used it."
Jade spoke up. "But you know
that's why he wants Charity." Red
released a breath she was holding and plopped into an armchair, covering her
face with her hands.
"How bad can it be? It's a
freaking power. We all have them," Bell interjected.
Red lifted her head, her pretty face
lined with worry. "We're necromancers."
The room went dead silent.
Author
Bio:
Although Vivi Dumas grew up an Army brat,
she calls Louisiana home, but have endured the hot summers and cold winters of
Maryland for the last 16 years. She is a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s
University with an MBA in Finance and Marketing. Her analytical side has honed
a career in the financial industry for almost twenty years. To balance her
logical, numerical day job, she unleashes her creativity in her writing.
Vivi pens multicultural
paranormal romance, mixing the two genres she loves. Her steamy paranormal
romances indulge in worlds inhabited by demons, werewolves, vampires, and other
supernatural beings. She has published works with Decadent Publishing, Ravenous
Romance, and Breathless Press.
Website: www.vividumas.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/vivi_dumas
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vividumasfanhub
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/vividumas/
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