Beneath the
Broken Moon: Part One
Sarah Mäkelä
Genre: New Adult Post-Apocalyptic Shifter Romance
Publisher: Kissa Press LLC
Date of Publication: April 28, 2015
Book
Description:
Werewolf relationships are all about influence and
offspring, especially as they are becoming extinct. But Carmela Santiago resents
that type of life. She dreams of falling in love, not following the example her
parents have set.
When sensual vampire Derek Ashmore rescues her
from dangerous hunters, she tumbles head over heels for him. Not a wise
decision since werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies.
Meeting her caring mate-to-be Brendan Kelly has
her further questioning the future. Regardless, her life has forever changed
now that she’s met not one, but two men who pull at her heartstrings...
Excerpt:
Bullets
peppered the big screen of the Teatro de la Noche. Screams rang out
around me, and I dropped to the floor, pulling my cousin Chandra down with me.
Tension ached in my shoulders, and my heart pounded in my chest like a trapped
animal, desperate to escape.
Gunpowder
stung my sensitive nose, but through the overpowering scent, I caught a whiff
of a hunter heading our way. “Chandra, we have to move.”
If
Chandra and I didn’t get out of here we’d end up dead—or worse, test subjects
for the Cazador—human hunters ordered to scour the land of nocturnes by
the plutocratic government.
“How?
They’re all around us.” Chandra peeked over the seats before dropping back down
beside me. “A few of them are chasing down those who ran from the first
assault, but two more are heading straight for us.” She ran a manicured hand
through her honey-brown hair, which was only a shade darker than my own. “Come
on. I have a plan. Let’s try to sneak out the side door.” She crawled in the
opposite direction, down the row of seats.
The
sight of my cousin’s butt cheeks hanging out of her short skirt filled my
vision; some things were better left unseen. I lowered my gaze, particularly
since Chandra had forgone panties. She almost always held herself with an air
of power and purpose. Perhaps that’s what it took to get attention from other
werewolves. Chandra got it in heaps, but her lower social status stopped a lot
of relationships.
While it
was a horrible time to second-guess my modest fashion sense, I couldn’t help
wonder if I should take a lesson from my cousin. My own blouse and dark blue
jeans had much less pizzazz. But I doubted my father would allow me to dress
like Chandra; we had a privileged image to uphold.
I bit my
lip, struggling to turn my thoughts back to the problem at hand. This was all
too much. How could we get out of here unscathed when the roar of gunfire
continued to close in?
We
reached the end of the aisle. Chandra moved to glance over the seat, when a
shout came from the opposite end, startling us both.
“Run,
Chandra!” I barely kept my voice to a whisper.
She
sprinted toward the bright red exit sign at the front of the theater, and I
chased after her, trying to keep my pace natural though her long legs made it
challenging. Maybe if they suspected we weren’t nocturnes, they’d leave us
alone.
The
stomping of heavy boots on the theater’s plush carpets said otherwise. Then
again, they weren’t opposed to taking their fellow humans down too. The very
rich in power thrived on oppressing those less fortunate. What better way to
keep the populace down than to have their thugs strike whenever possible.
“We
should split up.” Chandra shoved a heavy trashcan in front of the door, but
that wouldn’t be much of an obstacle to the pseudo-military bastards.
“What?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “No way. If we do that, we’ll—” The trashcan
scraped the cement as the hunters tried to open the door. Maybe she was right.
If we were together, there was a better chance of them catching us both. Alone,
we might survive the night.
I nodded
to her, and we took off in opposite directions down the alleyway behind the Teatro. The door slammed open, smacking
the wall hard, as I turned the corner and headed toward the main street. I had
to find somewhere to hide out before the hunters spotted me again.
In front
of me, another group of Cazador
chased a few werewolves down the main road. I slowed to keep my distance from
them, but if I didn’t get somewhere fast, they were going to catch me. Ugh. As
much as I loved getting out of the house and going to the movies, I wished I’d
listened to my instincts tonight and stayed home.
Two sets
of feet pounded the sidewalk behind me. Perhaps they’d spotted me before I
reached the corner.
I picked
up speed a little, pumping my arms as I struggled to keep to a human speed
while staying out of range. The temptation to race through the streets nearly
drove me to action, but I glanced back, seeing my pursuers for the first time.
One of
the men had greying hair and a rounded belly, which explained the slower,
heavier footfalls, while the other guy appeared younger and super-athletic. No
wonder I was having trouble getting away. If he hadn’t been so scary, he
might’ve been attractive. Pure masculine aggression raged through him, tensing
his shoulders as his gaze focused solely on me, his prize. Each man carried a
large-caliber handgun. I was just glad they were too busy running to try to
shoot me...for now, at least.
My
sandal hit an uneven patch of concrete in the sidewalk. My body lurched
forward, but I caught myself before I could go down. I should’ve been paying
more attention to the street. Up ahead on the opposite side of the road, I
spotted a dark alleyway running alongside a row house. If I cut through, I
could safely turn up the speed without exposing myself, and lose them.
The
older hunter slowed; his breathing had become increasingly labored. He cocked
his revolver’s hammer, and I darted across the empty road, making a beeline for
the alley. The last thing I wanted tonight was to see Dr. Matthews. Just a little bit farther. A bullet smacked
the ground at my feet, hitting me with fragments of pavement. I bit back a
yelp, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of knowing my fear.
“I got
this one, old kook,” the younger hunter grumbled, and his footsteps slowed too.
Another
gunshot pierced the hazy night air. White-hot pain rocked my shoulder, nearly
toppling me to the ground. I screamed, unable to hold it in, and picked up
speed, no longer caring if I appeared human or not. The faint creak of a door
barely registered before a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, jerking me
inside the dark row house.
My
rescuer softly shut the door, careful not to make a sound, and shoved a hand
over my mouth. “Sshhh,” he whispered. “I won’t hurt you. You’re safe.” His
voice was deep, with an English accent. He pulled me away from the door and
hunched down in the darkened room, holding me close, waiting and listening.
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About the
Author:
NYT & USA Today bestselling author Sarah
Mäkelä loves her fiction dark, magical, and passionate. She is a paranormal
romance author, but she’s written all over the romance spectrum with cyberpunk,
sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy...even a sweet contemporary romance!
A life-long paranormal fan, she still sleeps with
a night-light. In her spare time, she reads sexy books, watches scary movies
(and Ghost Adventures), and plays computer games with her husband. When she
gets the chance, she loves traveling the world too.
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