Blood Will Tell
Book One
Meredith Mansfield
Genre: Paranormal
Romance/Urban Fantasy
Book Description:
Being a half-blood is inconvenient on a good day,
especially when the half you got from your mother is werewolf. Valeriah can’t take wolf form, but the full
moon still fills her with manic energy.
Running helps; a tired werewolf is a good werewolf.
Living perennially caught between two worlds--human
and werewolf, magic and non-magic--doesn't leave much room for love. That suits
Valeriah just fine. She's never had any luck with that anyway.
Until
her cousin’s life is threatened, that is, and out of necessity she accepts the
help of a mysterious young man to protect Cristel. Rolf is everything that
makes Valeriah's pulse speed up in spite of herself. Now, with Cristel's life
in the balance, is the worst possible time for that kind of complication.
But
Rolf's secrets could destroy her trust and that might cost her life.
Blood Is Thicker
Book Two
Meredith Mansfield
Book Description:
In the sequel to BLOOD WILL
TELL, the newlyweds, Rolf and Valeriah, face a new crisis.
Born half-werewolf, Valeriah's life has never been
simple. Her recent marriage to a dragon has led to a transformation--Valeriah
is now a dragon, too. But, taking the form and knowing how to actually be a dragon is not the same thing. Her
life has even more complications than ever. So many, in fact, that she doesn't
recognize the signs of her own pregnancy until Rolf rushes her to the Hatching
Grounds to lay their eggs.
But then things only get worse, because something's
wrong on the Hatching Grounds. The underground source of heat that sustains the
eggs is slowly dying. Valeriah and Rolf have to scramble to discover what's
gone wrong and find a way to fix it before their eggs die.
Chimeria Two Book Bundle
Contains both
Blood Will Tell
and Blood Is
Thicker
Excerpt- From Blood Is Thicker, Chapter 1, Scene 2:
Valeriah
huffed irritably as she beat her giant leathery wings to gain altitude for the
next pass. This flight school boot camp was not what she'd had in mind when
Rolf suggested the isolated villa for the remainder of their honeymoon.
The full
moon and the manic energy it brought out in her never did improve her mood and
having indigestion to go with it wasn't helping any. Used to be, she'd run for
miles to calm that madness. Or engage in practice fights. Now she'd do well to
run anywhere without tripping over her own feet or tail and fighting was out of
the question. She used to be able to take care of herself, not have to depend
on Rolf to catch her food and take care of her. No doubt he was enjoying it,
but she didn't like the feeling at all.
Of course,
Rolf was always ready to help her work off the full-moon energy in other ways.
In human form, that would have been fine with her. While she'd never say this
to Rolf, on the whole, she found the mating of dragons unsatisfactory--not
unpleasant, but far from breathtaking. He'd been a much more versatile and
exciting lover as a human. Hanging upside down, wings folded, clutched in Rolf's
talons, while he slowly circled the lake just didn't have as many thrills. It
was like trading the most spine-tingling rollercoaster at Magic Mountain for the merry-go-round. You were still moving but it
just wasn't the same. Thank the Goddess that he was more than twice her size as
a dragon and strong enough to carry her. Otherwise, they wouldn't have even
that. It was going to take her a while to master flying upside down.
She
reached her intended altitude in a bad mood. Rolf had been drilling her in
aerobatic maneuvers for hours and she was sick of it. Well, let's see what he
thought about this. She folded her wings back for the dive, pulling out only at
the last second into a perfect barrel roll.
Rolf's
trumpeting crow of delight echoed back from the surrounding mountains.
"You're ready!"
"Ready
for what?" she asked as she landed in front of him.
"For
me to show you how it's really done. Fly with me."
As soon as
they lifted off, Rolf darted in and grabbed her talons in his own. Well, that
wasn't what she'd thought he'd meant when he was so excited about her
aerobatics, but all right.
Rolf
gestured skyward with his chin. "We need to go higher."
Maybe this
was going to be a little different after all. Any change would be a good thing.
They climbed, talons still joined and wings beating in unison. Up and up until
even dragon lungs could barely suck enough oxygen from the thin air. Then they
hovered for a moment.
Rolf
shifted his grip on her talons to draw her closer, so close she had to curtail
her wing beats. His much wider wings continued to beat, nearly encompassing her
completely at each stroke. He pulled her closer until their bodies met. She
could feel the heat of him against the delicate scales of her belly and then,
with one sharp movement, the heat was inside her, too.
Valeriah
pressed against him, wrapping her neck and tail around his to bring him closer.
In spite of the minor inconveniences, she really did love Rolf. Moments like
this helped to remind her how much. She started to let her weight fall
backwards, but Rolf pulled her back up.
"Not
this time. Fold your wings and dive," Rolf said.
She did.
They plummeted, necks and tails entwined, wings clasped. Yes! This was what she
had been missing. The rush of freefall sent a tingling sensation surging down
the length of her body. She shivered and that sent another wave exploding
outward from her center and then back again until she felt she would break
apart if he were to let go of her.
They
pulled out only at the last second, rolling together, which sent altogether new
and delectable sensations through her body.
"Up
again?" Rolf asked.
"Up!
Yess!" Valeriah answered.
They
climbed and plunged again, still joined. When they pulled out, Valeriah
screamed, "Up!"
Rolf
obliged. This time, when they dove, they were above the deep lake behind the
villa and they did not pull out. They plunged into the waves, continuing the
dive until their lungs were near to bursting. Only then did they finally
separate, each driving for the surface and air. They paddled over to the beach
and lay, wing-tip to wing-tip, utterly spent, wings extended so the afternoon
sun could warm them as they sucked air into their starved lungs.
"Goddess!
I've never gone for three falls before," Rolf said, gasping.
Valeriah
raised her head. Her grin exposed rows of serrated, razor-sharp teeth.
"I'll try for four, if you want."
The rumble
of his laughter made wave-like ripples in the sand of the beach. "Mercy! I
fear that would burst even my heart." He stretched his wing so that he
could caress the edge of hers. "Do you forgive me, now? For driving you so
hard to learn to fly?"
Her laugh sounded more like a
purr. "Oh, I think sso. Yess. Definitely." Just now she was very glad
she'd slowed down enough to let him catch her last spring.
About the Author:
Professionally, I've been a financial analyst and a
visual basic programmer. I also have a paralegal certificate, although I've
never worked in that field. It's anybody's guess what I'll be when I grow up.
Imagining stories and writing have always been an
important part of my life. It's one I've finally gotten to spend a significant
amount of time on while I care for my mother who has Alzheimer's disease.
Twitter:
@MansfieldMJ
Thanks for spotlighting this. I'll be back by later. :)
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