Tuesday Teaser: Ulfric's Mate: Book 1 of War of the Weres ..The Battle Begins

Killers are attacking the pregnant weres of Nolan Littlebull’s pack, the Wahpawhats. Can he catch them without destroying his own chance at happiness?

Alex George, only half Native and half were, was a misfit with the Lupin pack despite being the healer. Roxy, the ruthless Lupa, wants her for something nefarious, but Alex doesn’t know what. She will join with Nolan, Ulfric of the Lupins rival pack, to bring Roxy to justice, but will it cost her her life?

Even worse, all signs pointed to Nolan being her mate. The wolf in him calls to hers, and his honor and strength—not to mention downright sexiness—calls to her as a woman. But their joining could tear apart two packs.

Can they bring the killers to justice—pack or human, work through pack politics, and be together? Can they even survive?

Excerpt:

She did not want him to leave, and certainly, he did not want to go. His mind touched hers, and she felt his reluctance. Even the truck seemed to resist taking him from her. It creaked and groaned as he drove away, like she had not heard before. She frowned. Since her mother had taught her to never ignore what some would call silly nonsense, but in reality was their intuition, she tried to think of why he should not leave her.

It wasn’t as if she’d never been alone before. She was tougher than she looked. Being bullied tended to either make people tough or break them, and it had made her tough. Being a healer had kept her com-passionate, but it didn’t make her stupid. Noting the landscape, she looked around for anything suspicious.

The landscape lay open for the most part. A gravel pit turned irrigation pond was full, but there were no animals near it. Strange. With standing water not very plentiful around the valley, she would have expected more activity. She tried to remember what sights and sounds had been around when they left this morning but could not. She’d been too focused on Nolan and the recent murders.

Despite not seeing anything specific, she trusted her instincts and once inside, locked the handle of the outside door and bolted it. She tried to put her finger on her unease. It frightened her more that

she could not pinpoint what her mind had sensed than an actual threat would scare her. Insidious threats scared her the most since sneak attacks tended to do the harshest damage and she could not fight what she could not see.

She sat on the couch to try to get comfortable. But her growing fear made her restless. She moved into the big kitchen just off the living room and put together a sandwich. Presumably it was fine, but it tasted like sawdust to her. Putting the half-eaten meal down, she grabbed a soda out of the refrigerator. She leaned against the island and contemplated every detail she had seen when overlooking the landscape, both now and when they’d left earlier.

Then it came to her. The difference was the smell. Amid the smells of agriculture and heat, the breeze now contained the subtle hint of fear. The animals were afraid, but it was not a cohesive fear; it was instinctive.

Werewolves in human form?

She walked over to the sink and looked out the windows over-looking Nolan’s land to both the south and west. Nothing. Even with her better-than-average vision she could not see any signs. “Probably just nerves over being mated,” she muttered to herself to cover up the silence of the big, unfamiliar house.

Just then, the French doors off the kitchen to the outside deck ex-ploded in a combination of glass and wood fragments. Hoping to get to the front door, she ran around the island to the stairs. But as she reached the landing of the curved staircase, the front door smashed open with a loud crash. She turned to go back up the stairs, but someone stood there.

“Jason,” she said flatly. He had wanted to mate with her, but his touch made her skin crawl. The scent of the other were came to her from behind. “Boris. What a surprise,” she said facetiously, turning her head to peer over her shoulder and trying to keep her fear at bay. Nothing excited Boris and Jason like fear.

“Why are you here?” Hoping the demand covered up any residu-al dread she might have left in her voice, she tried to push Jason away from her.

“We’re here for you of course,” Jason responded with a leer. She couldn’t help the revulsion that crossed her face at the idea of him touching her. “Oh don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t be touching you like that—yet.” His raucous laughter scratched against her mind like nails on a chalkboard.

“I don’t understand.”

“No, you don’t,” Boris said before putting something against her arm. She felt pressure, and then her vision swam before she blacked out.

Want more?

Buy links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Meet the Author:

Leona Bushman goes by many names but the most well-known one is superhero. She earned this

name from saving a kangaroo from a tree—and yes that is as hard as it sounds. The dragons taught their queen how to write, and Queen Leona hasn't looked back, even when her muse tries to muck things up.

She can be found goofing off and loving dragons and other creatures of the supernatural at these places:

Twitter: @L_Bushman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeonaBushman

Coming Soon from Three Worlds Press:

Cerisa's Quest

The Ulfric’s Mate is published by Three Worlds Press. For more information on this book or their other works please visit: Three Worlds Press.

Review: The Ulfric's Mates by Leona Bushman

I had the pleasure of reading The Ulfric’s Mate by Leona Bushman and published by Breathless Press.

It is the classic conflict between warring factions, Hatfields and McCoys, the Montagues and the Capulets.  That is not to say it is not an original story.  Ms. Bushman takes the same universal themes that have been explored through the centuries and weaves them into a well-built world of werewolves and werecats that carries a very Native American (First Peoples) flavor.

Nolan Littlebull is the alpha of the Wahpawhat pack of Werewolves and the lead detective on a series of murders of pregnant women from his pack. Torn between human justice and were justice, he travels deep onto the Yakama Reservation tracking the ones responsible. He is attacked by one of the rival pack, only to be defended by another from the rival pack.

Alexandria George is the healer for the Lupins. She defends the mysterious wolf in their territory from her pack's bully and escapes with the stranger, only to find that they are bonded as a true mated pair.

This is a well written story with strong main characters. Both the fight and sex scenes are well done. The sexual tension between Nolan and Alex is palpable and the consummation is HOT.

Alex is particularly well conceived and I felt that, while this was written from multiple points of view, this was her story. She is emotionally scarred because, despite being her pack’s healer and a human doctor, she is an outsider in her pack. I won’t go into details as to why to avoid a spoiler.

There are the necessary battles for dominance at the end, but we are left with sufficient loose ends to want the next book in the series. And I can’t wait!

My only qualm is that I would like to see more texture to Nolan. I am a fan of the troubled hero and as of the first book, we get only vague references to any inner conflicts he may have.  They do not have the same depth as her exploration of Alex’s “issues” I hope that Ms. Bushman digs deeper into his psyche in future books. 

That said I anxiously await the next book in the series and highly recommend this paranormal romance.

I give Ulfric’s Mate 4.5 triskeles.

 

Leona Bushman lives in Central/Eastern Washington with her husband and children writing, painting, gardening, running, camping, or just reading or crafting. She also loves to swim but rarely gets a chance to as she's busy chasing after the three of five children still left at home.

Want to read, the PRINT edition will be available tomorrow.

Prefer eBook or need it NOW!  check these sites for this and more by Leona Bushman:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ulfrics-Mate-War-Weres-Book-ebook/dp/B008I30BLE

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ulfrics-mate-leona-j-bushman/1112220049?ean=2940044709539

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theulfric039smate-859491-340.html

Sassy and saucy, she can be found writing about her trials and errors as a mom and writer at the following places:

Blog: http://lbushman.blogspot.com

The website http://www.leonajbushman.com

And don't forget Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeonaBushman

If you want more of her, she's found on twitter as often as not at @L_Bushman just follow and don't be a spammer. She follows back if you look like a real person. Besides werewolves, she also likes zombies, vampires, and fairies. Oh and don't forget the dragons. You're likely to catch her attention if you talk to her about any of the above. Or sports. She loves sports but rarely gets a chance to indulge that love. So speak up!

Tuesday Tune: Ulfric's Mate's Song --- Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas

I asked Leona Bushman, author of the Ulfric's Mate, to give me a song that she felt set the tone for that book. See the excerpt last week and watch for the review soon

She gave me :


Carry On My Wayward Son  by the 80's prog-rock band

Kansas

For the Book and the Series.

Do songs remind you of books or characters in them?  My character sketches include the music on their mp3.

Getting Ready for the Print Release Of The Ulfric's Mate...A Teaser Excerpt from Leona Bushman

Hot shapeshifters... battles,.... magic... love

I have had the pleasure of reading The Ulfric's Mate and its sequels in eBook format. I am beyond excited that Leona Bushman's The Ulfric's Mate is being released in print. Now I can hope for an autographed copy at a future book signing. I'll be in that line somewhere and loving it!

If you haven't read it, I'm about to give you a taste of wicked that will leave you wanting more. The release is scheduled for July 18 and between now and then you will hear more about it on this blog.

Read on: (warning this scene contains violent elements)

Secretly, Roxy had always admired, even as she hated Heather. She was smart, strong, brave, and picked her battles. Part of the reason Roxy had stolen her mate was to prove she could. Same with killing him. She had wanted to establish early who was in charge. Heather had more of a following to back her challenge if the pack began to openly question Roxy's authority.

She let out a low laugh aimed at Heather, and gratification rolled through her when the healer backed up a step. "Our ancestors were exactly like me and would've done this years ago against a pack like the Wahpawhats. They don't deserve to be called weres when they adopt so many of the human ways. Many weren't happy with the way things were long before our ancestors had the courage to split from the other packs."

"We're part human. What does it hurt?" Heather argued hotly.

"Enough! Boris will escort you to your home office where you will give him the serum you have ready. Now." She waited until they had left, stripped off her clothing, and folded it on the chair. No need to ruin her favorite jeans.

She shifted, going out the back to avoid being seen, and ran through the still forest, the trees towering over her in a canopy of needles. The area nearest their village was quiet. All wildlife had learned to give the area a wide berth. The smell of so many predators in the vicinity deterred most newcomers, and the pack had long ago cleared the immediate area surrounding the lodge of edible game. She sniffed the chilly air searching for likely prey.

There. She caught the scent of deer. Doe if I'm not mistaken. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to eat the fawn as well. She bounded toward the scent. Power rippled through her. She could not imagine being anything but a were.

As she neared her destination, she slowed, experience telling her the doe was in the meadow. She prowled low, keeping to the shadows of the towering evergreens and the thick underbrush.

Snap.

She froze and watched the doe she wanted to devour. It looked straight at the clump of bushes where Roxy hid. The deer faced the area the sound had come from for a moment before grazing again, content in her safety.

Roxy stayed still for what felt like an eternity to her killing impulse. She slinked forward, being more careful of the fallen dried leaves scattered on the forest floor.

She reached the edge of the clearing and looked around. There were other does with their late fawns. None of the young brand-new, probably aged about six months. Although not newborns, they were still considerably smaller and slower than their mothers. She planned her attack.

Bunching her muscles, she sprang into the clearing, each sprint faster than the last. She was four leaps into the clearing before the first doe startled in fear and ran. The doe she had chosen jerked its head around and looked Roxy in the eyes.

The fear coming off the deer was strong; Roxy's saliva glands began to work furiously. The hunter zeroed in now, ignoring the other tempting morsels fleeing the clearing. Only this doe and this fawn held her attention.

The deer and its offspring turned and fled, up into the hills, heading for the far tree line. The beast within Roxy roared in challenge and victory. A predatory howl left her mouth, and more of her kind answered it. They recognized their leader and the howl of the hunt.

The chase went on. With each leap, the dark wolf gained ground. The deer tried a quick zigzag move, maybe to take the attention away from the fawn, but the younger deer followed its parent.

Roxy took a flying leap to the deer's neck and clamped down hard with her jaw, savoring the bloody gush that flowed down her throat. With a quick toss of her head, she snapped the wounded neck and let the doe drop.

The coppery taste still lingered in her mouth as she chased down the fawn. The best meat. She would take the doe home for the rest of the pack. It kept the grumbling down. But the fawn was hers.

In two quick bounds, she was on the fawn and ripped the head off. Spitting it out, she stood over the fresh kill, one paw holding it still while she tore jagged strips of tender flesh off the body. It was good to be the alpha.

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stop back next week for more about The Ulfric's Mate!