Mary Rundle has a new MM paranormal book out: Serpent's Teardrop.
The Blackwood Pack saga continues…
This is part of an on-going series by Amazon Bestselling Author, Mary Rundle, and catching up on previous titles is advised. Readers of the past books will enjoy meeting old friends once more as the pack does what it does best ̶ caring for one another and helping shifters everywhere.
Brian, a.k.a. “The Loch Ness Monster” has searched for his Fated Mate in vain for more than 600 years until he scents Reif in the frigid waters of the lake. But his mate seems to be purposely eluding him, so Brian turns to the Shaman of the Blackwood Pack to help find him.
Reif, one of a line of ancient shifters thought to be extinct is drawn to Brian but must focus on completing a mission to free his enslaved people from the clutches of an evil group. Despite his powerful attraction to Brian, he hides from him, believing it’s the only choice he has.
That changes when Reif surreptitiously kisses Brian while he’s sleeping, setting off a chain of events that puts both of them in mortal danger, and the powerful Blackwood pack resolves to help them stave off the wrath of vampires and witches.
Along the way, both Brian and Reif learn some hard lessons about the mutual trust necessary to achieve the happiness and fulfillment both have sought for hundreds of years.
A heartbreaking confession, an action-packed rescue, a riveting courtroom battle and many unexpected twists and turns make this passionate love story by Mary Rundle impossible to put down once you’ve read the first page.
Series Blurb:
Join the journey of the Blackwood Pack, seven brothers who are gay wolf shifters in search of their fated mates – stories about love at first sight with twists and turns, angst and humor, romance and adventure. Each book has two main characters who meet, fall in love, mate and achieve an HEA but the stories also chronicle the continuing saga of the Blackwood Pack. The series is best appreciated by reading the books in order.
Giveaway
Mary is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter:
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d4773/?
Excerpt
After brunch was over, Logan asked, “Brian, what can we do for you?”
“Macushla! Nothere. C’mon everyone, let’s talk in the living room,” Kieran said, as he got up. “There’s a lot to discuss.”
Brian chuckled to himself as everyone quickly rose and followed the Shaman; no matter how big these wolves were, it was apparent they weren’t going to disagree with him. Taking a seat near Logan, Brian waited until he received a nod before beginning. “I have an intruder in my loch and I need help findin’ it. I have been lookin’ for him since I scented him the day I took the laddies out on my boat, but canna find him.”
“You use ‘it’ and ‘him’. Why?” asked Logan.
“Because I dinna know what the intruder is,” Brian answered. “Only that it can shift so it can dive deep to the bottom of the loch and then shift back when it’s on land.”
“Do you know what form it has in the water?” asked Slate.
“Naw, I’ve never seen it…only scented it in the water,” Brian replied.
“What about when it’s on land?” asked Zane.
“Naw…I can only find the place where it leaves the water because its scent ends there,” Brian said.
“Does it have the same scent on land as in the water?” asked Colton.
“I dinna know. There’s nae a scent on land…at least none that I found,” Brian said.
“Huh! Have you seen it when it’s on land?” asked Kieran.
“Naw, Shaman, I’ve never seen it on land. I can feel its presence but nae anythin’ else,” Brian replied. “I think he becomes invisible on land.”
“That wouldn’t hide his scent,” Colton said.
“Maybe it has an anti-scent spell like we do,” suggested Zane.
“What spell are you talking about, lover? You smell pretty good to me,” David said with a smile.
“Are you sure? I mean Mystia put one on each of us so our uncle and his goons wouldn’t be able to find us,” said Zane.
“David can smell you,” Kieran said, “because the gods made sure he couldn’t be affected by anything, including witches’ spells, which is why Mystia’s anti-scent spell doesn’t work on him. Your scent is still hidden from everyone else, unless you had her remove it.”
“Good to know that, babe,” Zane grinned at his mate. “One less thing to worry about.”
“So why doesn’t the intruder have a scent? Could it have a spell preventing Brian from picking it up?” asked Dakota.
Pausing a moment to listen to his spirit, Kieran answered, “No, there isn’t a spell but my spirit doesn’t know what’s concealing it.”
“What about footprints? Did you find any at the location where it left the loch?” asked Slate.
Shaking his head in frustration, Brian said, “Naw, nae a one. I dinna know how that can happen.”
Laying a hand on Brian, Kieran sent him some love as he asked, “Why don’t you tell us everything starting with the day you took me and my friends out on the loch?”
Recalling that day, Brian’s cock hardened instantly at the memory of the delicious scent washing over his body as he floated on his back in the loch. Now, squirming in his seat, hoping to hide his erection, Brian groaned inwardly, closing his eyes, finally accepting what he’d been denying all along—the intruder was his Fated Mate. How can that be? I’m too auld to have one.
“Brian? Are you all right?” asked David.
Kieran caught Brian’s eye. “I already know about it. Will that make it easier for you to tell us.”
“Ye know it’s my Fated Mate?” Brian asked, in disbelief.
“Yes, my spirit told me,” replied Kieran. “So go ahead, I promise we’ll help you find him.”
“Him? Are you sure?” Brian asked.
“Yes,” Kieran said, softly.
Relieved to know that much at least, Brian began, “I was doing a back float when a passing boat’s wake carryin’ my mate’s scent washed over me. Shifting, I dove down, searching for it, but twas weak and quickly dissipated. That night, I searched again and the scent was stronger, but as I followed it, I realized twas at least an hour old. It led to the shoreline, where I shifted and climbed onto the bank, but there was nae a trace—even though I felt its presence.
“Every night, the same thing happened, even though I went into the water at different times—sometimes early, other times later, but twas always the same... except for last night,” Brian said. “After cruising the loch, I waited until the sky turned pink before I shifted and climbed aboard my boat. As I headed below, I felt someone watching me and I sensed my mate was somewhere near the marina’s buildings, but still I could nae see him.” Brian was getting agitated by this time, prompting Kieran to lay a calming hand on him. After a few moments of silence, the sea serpent continued.
“I decided to search the area lookin’ for a clue to help me figure out who he was, but could nae find anything. I know he was close by, because I again could feel his stare and sensed his presence,” Brian said, his frustration now evident. “Please Shaman, I need yer help. I dinna know why my mate is hidin’ from me, but I feel something is amiss and he needs me.”
“Of course we’ll help you won’t we,macushla?” Kieran asked, glancing at his mate.
“My mate’s right, Brian,” answered Logan. “Our Alpha regards you as a member of the Blackwood Pack so whatever needs to be done, we’ll do.”
After hearing a chorus of ‘absolutelys’ and ‘count-me-ins’, Brian felt his sea serpent relax, confident his mate would soon be found. “Thank ye, thank ye, I canna tell ye how much I appreciate it,” Brian said, with a sigh of relief.
SERPENT’S
TEARDROP / Mary Rundle
Hello everyone! Thank you
so much for hosting the blog tour of Serpent’s
Teardrop, Book 7 of the Blackwood Pack series. It’s exciting to be here and
I have a special exclusive excerpt. The Fated Mates in this story are Brian and
Reif, a couple that faces danger and evil that they have to overcome to find
their HEA. Luckily, the entire Blackwood Pack will help them. Please enjoy!
~~~~~~~
Engulfed by the chilly night air after climbing out of
the helicopter, Reif realized he hadn’t taken the time to pack a bag; all he
had was the clothes he wore. Of course,
if we can patch things up it won’t matter because we’ll be spending most of our
time naked, anyway. But
considering the cold shoulder he received from Brian in the chopper, Reif had a
feeling Kieran was right about him having to grovel before anything else would
happen.
Once inside, he leaned against the front door,
watching his mate start a fire, after which he disappeared into another room
which he was guessing was the bedroom. Reif waited, but other than hearing some
slamming of drawers, there was no indication his mate was even there with him.
Sighing, he walked over to the chair near the fire, flopping down, wondering
what to do next. It seemed his mate’s silence was going to continue.
Reif’s previous efforts to apologize while they were
in flight to the cottage had been met with grunts, at best, until he finally
fell quiet hoping Brian would be more receptive after they landed, but his
offers to help had been ignored. Now, sitting alone, he was unsure what he
should do to convince his mate he’d made a mistake when he left after the kiss,
that it was ignorance, and nothing else. The problem was it didn’t explain why
he rejected Brian when he spoke with Kieran. And when he found out his mate
loved him, he suddenly understood the emotional turmoil he’d been suffering
ever since the kiss. How could he ever explain his stupidity when he should’ve
known better at his age? It was just a muddled mess.
“Are ye hungry?” Brian asked.
Lost in his musing, it took Reif a moment to realize
his mate was standing in front of the fireplace, waiting for an answer to a
question he hadn’t heard. Shit! “Uh…”
“I asked if yer hungry.”
“Yes, food’d be great. Can I help?”
“Naw, I’m guid,” Brian said, walking to the kitchen.
Staring at his mate walking away from him yet again,
Reif was pissed off; he decided it was time to put an end to the silence.
Following Brian, he sat at the island, watching his mate as he moved around the
small kitchen. “Come here, much?” Reif asked.
“When I can,” replied Brian.
At
least he’s talking to me. But considering the short answers,
he was betting his mate was still angry. Fuck
this. “I didn’t know my kiss would claim you—had I known, I’d never have
done it.”
Whipping around with the frying pan in his hand, Brian
spat, “Guid to know ye did nae want me.”
“What? I didn’t say that!”
“Ay, ye did. What I canna understand is, if ye did nae
want me, why were ye on my boat?”
“I do want you!”
Banging the frying pan down on the stone countertop,
Brian spat, “That’s a lie. Ye kissed me and then, without a how-do-ye do, ye
left me…To DIE!”
Reif’s jaw dropped when Brian shouted at him. Then,
shutting his mouth, he was at a loss at how to apologize for something he never
knew would hurt his mate. If he had only understood what it meant when he
kissed Brian, he wouldn’t have left—but his mate thought otherwise. Remembering
Kieran’s advice, Reif began again. “I live on an island called Angelopoulos. It
was given to my people by the gods in exchange for our promise never to steal
again.”
When he saw Brian’s eyes narrow, Reif continued, “You
see, we were created by a god who wanted his own private band of thieves who
would do his bidding—which mostly meant our job was to steal from other gods.
Sometimes it was done by trickery, but usually we just concealed ourselves.”
“Ye can become invisible?” asked Brian, curious in
spite of his anger and hurt.
“Yes…well, not exactly. The god gave us the ability of
camouflage; I can blend into my surroundings. Someone could walk right by me
and never know I was there,” Reif explained.
“What about yer scent? Can ye hide that, too?”
“If I want to—only on land, not in the water” said
Reif. “I can also conceal my footprints.”
“So what magic do ye use for that?” growled Brian.
“The god gave my people other attributes—like
anti-tracking.”
“Ye have that?” Brian asked, skepticism in his voice.
“Yes,” Reif snorted in disgust, “We’re perfect
thieves. We can blend in even while moving and avoid anyone who tries to track
us. I know it sounds great, but let me tell you, it was a miserable existence
because the god played a cruel joke on us—he gave us a strong sense of guilt.
So every time we stole something, there was always an internal fight with our
conscience. As you can imagine, it tore us up so one of my ancestors decided
enough was enough and he got himself caught, exposing us to the rest of the
gods.”
“Ay, strange. So what happened?” Brian asked, now
fascinated.
Snorting, Reif said, “Huh! There was hell to pay and,
at first most of the gods wanted us destroyed, but then one spoke in our
defense, saying we were the victims of the god who had created us and should
not be punished for what he did. For several days our existence hung in the
balance, but, finally, the gods decided to let us live, only if we swore never
to steal again. In exchange for our word, we were given Angelopoulos where we
were supposed live in peace.”
“I sense a ‘but’ in there somewhere,” said Brian.
Author Bio
The first book I ever wrote was Dire Warning in 2017 and, much to my delight, it became an Amazon Best Seller. Readers loved it and I was on my way to chronicling the Blackwood Pack, seven brothers who are gay wolf shifters in search of their fated mates– stories about love at first sight with twists and turns, angst and humor, romance and adventure and, of course, happy endings.
Now, six books later, Ghost Walker, another Best Seller, has just been released to critical acclaim. I love the M/M paranormal genre because it gives my imagination a lot of territory in which to roam. My mind can really run wild and come up with some amazing stuff when it doesn’t have to stay inside the box
My readers tell me they feel like they’re a member of the pack as the stories unfold. As if they’re right there in the middle of the action. Others tell me it’s like watching a fast-paced movie. My writing style pulls no punches– readers love it and are always clamoring for the next book.
Stories come to me as if they were being channeled by my characters, all of whom I love (except for a few villains). They are eager to recount their lives, loves and adventures and are not inhibited when it comes to revealing steamy details.
I currently live in the Northeast and love the beautiful change of seasons, my husband, and our quirky calico cat, though not necessarily in that order. I’m always happy to hear from my readers and can be reached through Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, or my website.
Author Website: http://www.maryrundle.com
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Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14246427.Mary_Rundle
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Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Rundle/e/B0763CDQQ6
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