Title: Hearts of Magic
Series: Chevalier, Book Three
Author: Kay Doherty
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: November 25, 2019
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 40100
Genre: Paranormal, LGBT, gay, asexual, sorcerer, multi-species shifters, pack dynamics, feud, wolf shifters, dragon shifters, bonded mates, Elementals, businessmen, vampires
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Synopsis
A moment of quiet was all Theran was
looking for. He was not looking to be nearly decimated when he stumbled across
a sorcerer near the pack’s hunting grounds. He’s certainly not looking for his
mate when the pack congregates at Elysium for a meeting, but that’s exactly
what Theran finds when he runs into the sorcerer a second time.
Colby has been the bartender at Elysium
for a year, and he’s been relatively happy. He hides his paranormal identity
well, flirting for tips while using sarcasm to keep others away. When he first
saw the wolf in the forest, he was stunned. Learning the wolf he’s been
dreaming about is real is only compounded by learning the wolf is his mate.
With the Sorcerer’s Enclave now
interested in the Chevalier Pack, Colby attempts to protect Theran by
kidnapping him, which only results in a deeper involvement with the pack.
Despite managing the Enclave, dealing with increasing threats from the McBane
Pack, and forging new alliances, Theran and Colby are determined to find their
happy ever after.
Excerpt
Hearts of Magic
Kay Doherty © 2019
All Rights Reserved
Chapter One
THERAN
Theran watched as the sorcerer flexed
his fingers and twisted his wrists. His fingertips turned black, tendrils of
darkness snaking up his arm in a sinister web as he focused all his magic into
his hands. When he opened his eyes to focus on Theran, the orbs were solid
black. The color bled through the man’s long brown hair in streaks. Theran had
never met a sorcerer, let alone seen one in action. He had hoped to never
witness a sorcerer’s power firsthand, but here he was, facing off with one. For
the sorcerer, the timing was impeccable. For Theran, it couldn’t have been
worse.
He’d been caught away from the pack.
Theran had decided on a walk along the riverbank, enjoying the temperate
weather, lost in thought and unaware of how far he’d wandered. When he turned
to head back to the rest of the pack, he saw a man standing behind him. The man
was young and handsome. Dark hair hung down his back in soft waves, and
intelligent caramel-colored eyes had taken in every inch of Theran in a warm
caress before going cold. A tiny bell of alarm had rung in the back of Theran’s
mind, but he’d ignored the warning. It wasn’t unusual to run into humans in the
forest, albeit a joyfully rare occurrence. He’d thought this man was human at
first glance.
Now, as Theran watched the sorcerer
gather his power for an attack, that small bell of alarm became a blaring howl
of fear inside his head. He struggled to wrap his mind around the fact someone
so small and gorgeous could become something so terrifying in a matter of
seconds. A gray mist formed in the sorcerer’s palms, and Theran took a step
back. The mist coalesced to become dark swirling clouds of magic, holding
Theran’s attention as he crouched lower to the ground. The sorcerer widened his
stance, and Theran’s eyes shot to the man’s face.
“Don’t—” Theran yelled and then shifted.
The transformation destroyed the
clothing he’d been wearing and pulled on still-aching bones, but he couldn’t be
concerned with that right now. He lunged at the sorcerer in hopes of catching
him off guard before he could make those clouds do whatever horribly painful
thing they were meant to do. Theran’s bulk collided with the sorcerer’s
shoulder, knocking him off-balance and sending those clouds of magic into a
nearby tree rather than Theran’s body. The spell nearly cut the tree in half,
trunk splintering in all directions.
Theran had intended the hit to knock the
smaller man to the ground, but in one fluid motion, the sorcerer spun into a
crouch and stopped his momentum with both hands on the ground. He flipped his
hair over his shoulder with a toss of his head and once again leveled his
coal-black gaze onto Theran. If anyone asked him what he witnessed in that
split second, he’d be hard-pressed to explain, the change was so swift. The
sorcerer looked at Theran in confusion, and between one blink and the next, his
eyes returned to their original caramel color before becoming oily black again.
The slight interruption in magic rippled over the sorcerer’s body like the aura
from a heat wave. In that brief moment, Theran made a run for it.
The rest of the pack was downriver about
a half mile, but in wolf form, he’d be able to close the distance swiftly,
though not without some pain. Theran still felt the effects of being slammed
into a tree by a vampire a couple of weeks ago—generally when exerting himself
excessively. Despite the discomfort, he didn’t slow his pace or look back to
see if the sorcerer followed. He didn’t know if magic would allow the man to
catch up to him, but Theran truly hoped he could outrun anything the sorcerer
might throw his way. He was intelligent enough to know he didn’t stand a chance
against a sorcerer alone, but there was strength in numbers. And when Tanner
felt the need, the pack became a force to be reckoned with in its own right.
Laughter and conversation could faintly
be heard over the thundering of his heart, and he skidded to a halt in the dirt
and gravel lining the riverbank. This particular stand of rocks had become the
pack’s unofficial gathering point for hunts or simply enjoying the outdoors
while meeting. Theran’s sudden and frenzied entrance drew everyone’s attention.
Once his momentum ceased, he shifted. When seeking solitude, all the pack
members would block the bond so no one else could intrude on his alone time. It
hadn’t occurred to Theran in those few short moments, while confronting the
sorcerer, to drop the block. None of his pack members knew yet what he’d
encountered; what could be coming for them if the sorcerer followed him. Theran
rolled his neck and shoulders in an attempt to release some of the tension as
he faced Tanner.
“Just got attacked by a sorcerer,” he
said between gulping breaths. His heart beat hard and fast, and not solely
because of his run for safety. Something else tickled at his subconscious,
making him uncomfortable. The sorcerer had looked vaguely familiar, but Theran
couldn’t place where he might have seen him before.
“Only one?” Luca asked from his perch on
top of the rocks. “That’s unusual.”
“Is it?” Theran asked.
Deacon’s nod drew his attention. Theran
took one slow, deep breath in an attempt to bring his heart and lungs back to a
normal rhythm.
“Sorcerers don’t typically attack alone.
They move in droves,” Deacon said. Ross rubbed up against his mate’s thigh in
wolf form. Deacon lovingly smoothed his palm over Ross’s dirty white head and
ears. He must have been rolling in the dirt.
Theran shrugged. “Maybe because I was
alone? He thought he had the upper hand?”
“No,” Luca said. He rose to his feet and
sniffed the air. “More likely he was a scout you stumbled upon, which is
concerning. The Enclave hasn’t had a known presence here in over fifty years.”
“Scout or not, just one? Doesn’t make
sense,” Deacon said. “One sorcerer might be a match for an ordinary pack of
wolves, but this pack? Hell, the wolves aside, you or I alone could annihilate
him.”
“Yet, one sorcerer is lethal to a
vampire.”
Sakima appeared beside Luca on the
rocks. The entire pack twitched in surprise, except for Vance who chuckled.
Sakima and Vance had mated, but Sakima had yet to bond with the rest of the
pack, so Vance was the only one who always knew where the vampire was. The pair
certainly seemed to enjoy the vampire sneaking up on everyone. They all turned
annoyed glares on Sakima, who offered only a fanged smile in response. As
Sakima’s words sank in, Vance’s smile disappeared.
“You said lethal?” Vance asked, his
amusement changing to distress.
Sakima gazed down at his wolf mate with
affection. “Yes, lethal. Their magic, when inhaled by a vampire, attaches to
the mutated DNA that makes us what we are and destroys it. The result is
death.” Vance’s face lost all color. Within the blink of an eye, Sakima
appeared at his side. Vance held on to his mate with a fierce grip while Sakima
kissed his temple. “Shh, my pet. I will take precautions.”
The wolves instinctively drew closer
together in support and protection of their Omega.
“How does one inhale magic?” Tanner
asked Sakima.
“They make clouds of it,” Theran,
remembering the misty stuff the sorcerer had conjured, answered before Sakima.
“Clouds?” Tanner, Ean, and Vance asked
at once.
“Yes. He did this—” Theran mimicked the
hand motions he’d seen the sorcerer make. “—and made clouds in his palms. He
threw them at me but hit a tree instead. Blew it apart.”
“Great,” Ean said. “Exploding clouds of
poisonous magic. Just what we need.”
Ean picked up a rock near his feet and
launched it across the river. His moods had grown increasingly dark over the
past months, and he was quick to anger. By all appearances, Ean’s decline had
started when Matthias showed up at the pack house and only grew worse the
longer the centuries-old dragon stuck around. The two were at each other’s
throats when they chose to speak to one another at all.
“Everyone back to the house. We need to
be someplace defensible while we regroup, and the human neighbors will keep all
paranormals on a level field. Luca, Sakima, Deacon, and I will meet with
Matthias to figure out the best plan of action with this new development,”
Tanner said.
A blur of motion drew Theran’s attention
to where Sakima and Vance had been standing, but he only saw empty space. The
vampire had a habit of whisking Vance away without notice. The rest of the pack
began the hike up the trailhead to where the vehicles were parked. Luca held
Tanner’s hand as they walked side by side up the hill. Deacon fisted the white
scruff of Ross’s neck as he led him up the trail behind Tanner, leaving Theran
and Ean to bring up the rear.
Ean took his time approaching Theran,
heralding his reluctance to return to the house. He’d confessed to Theran once
that he was uncomfortable in the pack house, which was the exact opposite of
how it should be. Theran felt his friend’s discomfort as if it were his own,
but he had no idea what to do about it, especially when he didn’t know exactly
what caused it. He took comfort in the fact Ean at least hadn’t talked about
leaving the pack. He’d become Tanner’s Beta recently and was flourishing in his
role. Ean was a natural leader and, in any other pack, may have one day become
Alpha.
“You should shift,” Ean said as he
finally joined Theran, and they started up the trail together. “Don’t want to
shock the little old lady across the street with your lily-white ass.”
“You mean old lady McKinzey?” Theran
scoffed. “She’s more likely to snap a picture or cop a feel than be shocked.”
Ean gave a slight smile at Theran’s
exaggerated shudder. He continued up the hill as Theran stopped to shift and
then ran to catch up to his pack mate.
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Meet the Author
Kay Doherty is an omnisexual/polysexual who lives in Colorado with her poly-family, Mike, Keri, and Tigz. Her house is overrun with cats and dogs. Family is important to her so there are daily texts, frequent visits to her parents, and constant banter with her brothers. She happily suffers a severe addiction to coffee and Mexican food. She loves to read and write and can easily become consumed by it for hours, much to the dismay of Mike and Keri (Tigz is an enabler). On occasion she can be convinced to venture out into the world of the living despite being annoyed by the sun shining in her face.Website | Twitter | Pinterest
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