Jourdan Lane's Blog

August 28, 2025

Bound By Blood in Paperback

The paperback for Bound By Blood is live on Amazon!

Bound by Blood (Soul Mates Series) by Jourdan Lane




You can find an alternate version at other online retailers (B&N, Walmart, Waterstones (UK) and a few others), but it WILL NOT have the images in every chapter. For some reason, the printer refused the files and said, "nope, can't be done."

Um.

Ok.

So, yeah. At Amazon and in the near future I'll open my site for orders of signed copies.
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Published on August 28, 2025 21:38

July 19, 2025

Ascension - Chapter 1 Sneak Peek

For those that don't follow on FB, I posted a little teaser I thought others might like. The end is coming along nicely and I'm hoping to have a release date set soon.

Ascension

Also... If you want to read in advance (as I'm writing) and get a copy of Ascension before it releases, follow along on my Patreon.

Here you go:

After making sure no one else was watching, I walked along the side of the mansion until I found one of the outside units for the central air. I hopped up on it and proceeded to climb my way up to one of the ledges. The spot I'd found two days before was nestled between two windows on the third floor, with a view to the east. It was nice and level with hardly any slope. A perfect place to hide.

If only I could hide from my own thoughts.

It wasn't only the danger we faced from outside the coven.

Things within it were just as fucked up. Lucien still had no answers as to why he couldn't sleep during the day or why he was eating and craving human food. All of Doc's poking and prodding had him moody as hell and he wasn't picky as to who he decided to snap at. At any moment he could be calm, cool, and collected, and the next... he'd just lose it. His anger never lasted long, but his outbursts could be fierce.

He was itching to go out and hunt down the master of this invading coven of vampires and, at times, it was all Nikolas, Sabaan, and me could do to keep him inside. He snapped at us more than anyone else. I knew he was doing his best to do it behind closed doors. We couldn't allow the coven to realize that he was compromised in any way.

That we were all compromised.

Because the pack was in no better position. Xander wanted to resign as leader. I wasn't sure if he truly didn't want the responsibility anymore or if it was something deeper. With the bond between us still broken, there was no way for me to really gauge his motives. But the thought of taking over the pack terrified me. I couldn't afford to keep fucking up and putting other people's lives in jeopardy.

Like Simon's.

I was still trying to find a way to tell him that I'd gone ahead and asked for a hearing regarding his wings. And that he'd also been granted one and could, very likely, be stripped of whatever remained of his powers because of my interference. He'd asked me to leave it alone, but I'd done the very opposite.

Good god.

How many things could I afford to fuck up around here?

And then there were these random murders. My fucking father going out of his way to draw me out—or take me out—who knew. Daniel and the Council of Elders hadn't left us alone and never let me forget that I was about to join their merry old gang of assholes...

Happy fucking New Year.

I pulled my pack of custom-rolled cigarettes out of my coat pocket and shook one out. The first drag as I lit it made my head swim, and the rest of my body go all tingly. I looked at the cigarette, wondering what new herb or drug Silver had rolled into this batch.

It might have looked the same, but the smoke had clearly been jacked up. By the time I'd smoked half a cigarette, I was feeling damned good. So good that I started to wonder if the whole roof thing had been such a good idea after all. Of course, the knowledge that I wouldn't die if I fell off made me shrug that idea off and keep on smoking.

A low hum of energy rippled through the air, and I groaned, realizing my very short bit of alone time was up. I heard a flutter of wings, large wings, and knew that it wasn't my favorite demon seeking me out. It was an angel. A certain angel I really didn't have the energy for tonight. Zephyr landed without a sound, which was odd for someone just that big. He was over seven feet tall, wingspan at least twelve feet wide, and his body was pure muscle.

"Penny for your thoughts," he said cheerfully. When I just glared at him, he gave a little chuckle. "Never mind. I don't have quite that many pennies tonight."

"As if you have any at all."

"Au contraire." He reached into the pocket of his very-tight tactical pants and took out a single coin. "One, single thought."

"I don't have the energy for you tonight." I took out another cigarette and lit it, then stuffed my lighter—and the penny—back in my pocket. "Do you want something or are you just here to annoy and riddle?"

"I thought I might take you on a short trip."

"Oh, hell no." I laughed and shook my head. "Do you realize what kind of shitstorm I'll be in if anyone finds out I'm not where I'm supposed to be? Again?"

"Then let your wolf know," he answered. "He'll not only cover for you, but won't try to stop you, either."

I just stared at him.

"Come on." He raised his eyebrows mischievously. "You know you want to see where the new vampires and rogue wolves have made their beds."

"Thanks for sharing that shit, by the way," I said, my tone accusatory. "You trying to tell me you didn't know there were more vampires and wolves trying to move into this territory?"

"That is exactly what I'm telling you."

I felt what I thought was truth, but then again, him being an angel kind of fucked with all sense and sensibility of what was his truth and the actual truth. All I'd learned from angels so far was they had an innate ability to use words like double-edged swords with a ton of catch-22's. Riddle me no-fucking-thank you.

"Pass."

As if he read my thoughts—and probably had—he sighed and carefully sat beside me. He took the cigarette from between my fingers and took a long, deep drag. A small smile graced his lips, and he took another drag before handing the cigarette back. "I might be able to juggle a hundred little things at a time, but this is different."

"How is this different?"

"Because this is magic." He turned and looked at me, those striking emerald eyes suddenly dancing with orange fire. "Angelic magic."

A chill went down my spine and every hair on my body stood on end. "Don't even joke about that, man."

"Not joking," he said quietly. "Shit blew up here and I got tired of not getting answers."

"No answers? What do you mean?"

"I mean… I asked what the hell was going on and got silence in return." He looked at me pointedly. "So, I decided to do a little investigating of my own and what I found was more than a little interesting."

When he didn't offer up anything more, I sighed. "And you can't just tell me?"

"Oh, I don't think it'd have the same impact as seeing it firsthand."

"Fine," I snapped. "Let's fucking go."
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Published on July 19, 2025 10:16 Tags: sneak-peek, soul-mates

March 24, 2025

Patreon is up and running!

If you want to follow along with my works-in-progress, Patreon is the place to do it. I just uploaded the first chapter of Ascension (the next Soul Mates novel) as well as the first chapter and the blurb for Collateral Damage. Collateral Damage was born from what was originally titled, “Target”… but we realize why that sucked, right?

You can click HERE for the way to Patreon.
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Published on March 24, 2025 12:56 Tags: ascension, collateral-damage, soul-mates, work-in-progress

December 27, 2024

Update - 12/26/2024

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Published on December 27, 2024 10:51

July 28, 2014

SECRETS!

It’s taken me a quite a while, but Secrets is finally available again. I figured that was cause for some kind of celebration, so I’ve marked Bound by Blood down to FREE from now until August 2nd at limited retailers. I know many have read it, but I’m always surprised at how many new-to-the-series readers there are–even after all these years. If you’re a longtime reader, maybe just take the opportunity to pick it up in a format you might not have had before–as Smashwords has them all. See below for links/codes and thank you ALL for being so patient!


Revisions for INSTINCT are in progress now and then… Back to work on Ascension!


Secrets SECRETS


Peter’s life is complicated and full of secrets. He hasn’t been doing a great job dealing with any of it–and all is about to come to a head, whether he likes it or not.


His relationship with Sabaan is the only calm and constant thing in his life. His relationship with Lucien is on the rocks, but he still can’t get enough of Nikolas. His head is telling him that this between him and Nikolas is wrong, but his heart is telling him otherwise. The only thing Peter knows for sure, is that the jealousy and secrets are tearing them all apart.


To top it off, the coven is faced with a series of attacks and murders that all seem to paint Peter as the perpetrator. He knows he’s done nothing wrong, but the evidence against him is pretty convincing. He’ll need everyone he trusts at his back, as well as the Council–especially since the Council has finally given an ultimatum.


All Peter wants is life to go back to normal, but first he must figure out how to mend his broken relationships, find out who is setting him up, and try to keep the coven together in the process.


Second Edition.


Available now at: Amazon, All Romance eBooks, and Smashwords. Available soon at Barnes & Noble/Nook, KOBO, and Scribd.



BOUND BY BLOOD is available FREE for a limited time (until 08/02/14) at the following retailers.


All Romance ebooks – No code required. Just put book in cart and check out.


Smashwords — Enter coupon code: VY24Y at checkout and discount will be applied immediately!

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Published on July 28, 2014 01:32

July 23, 2014

Cowboys!

Dale and Brandt are two of my favorites (shh, but let’s not tell any of the Soul Mates guys that, though!), so I’m happy to say both of their books have been re-released!


StrokeOfLuck STROKE OF LUCK


Dale and Brandt didn’t have an easy start in their relationship, but after nearly three years together, they’re in a really good place–and more in love than ever. They’ve had a change of scenery and are now proud owners of a large ranch in Colorado. Sometimes they argue about the small stuff, but it never lasts long and they always find their way through.


When an old friend from Texas arrives unexpectedly, jealousy rears its ugly head, and Brandt and Dale find themselves at odds. Can they help Evan through his rough patch, and keep their relationship firmly grounded in the process?


(Third Edition)


Available now at: Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Smashwords, and soon at iTunes, Barnes & Noble, KOBO, and Scribd.



And just in case you might have missed the re-release of SURRENDER a few weeks back…


Surrender-Cover SURRENDER


Dale’s had a thing for his friend Brandt–his best friend and sometime boss–from the moment they met on the ranch. For nine years, they’ve lived and worked side by side. It hasn’t always been easy and they’ve had plenty of words and fights, but one thing Dale is sure of, is that the stubborn man he admires and longs for isn’t someone he wants to ever be without.


But Brandt is straight.


Or so he’s led Dale to believe. He can’t seem to see his way through years of fear and hiding to tell Dale the truth. Better to let him think all they’ll ever be is friends. However, Brandt finally crosses a line and everything between them changes–but not necessarily for the better. Fighting’s easy. Making up is the hard part. Can they see eye to eye before it costs them everything?


(Third Edition)


Available now at: Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Smashwords, iTunes, Barnes & Noble/NOOK, KOBO, and Scribd.

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Published on July 23, 2014 14:56

July 8, 2014

The Voices in my Head…

This is a question that has been asked of me quite a bit over the last 10+ years. A couple of years ago, I made up a wonderful little FAQ page. Then, some ass with too much time on his hands hacked my website and I lost it all. When the lovely Kelsey asked the question on FB, I figured it was a good time to go ahead and write something down. At least I’d have some words up about MY characters and how I come up with them.


I thought it’d be a pretty easy post, but I’ve written and deleted it 1/2 a dozen times now. I realized I’m trying to edit way too much and try to make everything just perfect. But you know what? Screw it. This isn’t fiction and I’m an imperfect person. So… here goes.


A little history first.


I’ve always been a daydreamer. As a kid, I could play out random conversations between voices in my head for HOURS. I didn’t have siblings until I was a little older, so I was a pro at entertaining myself and making my own virtual movies. In the late 90′s, after I’d been married for a few years, we moved to BFE. I’m talking miles away from any other human beings. Neighboring properties were hundreds of acres of cattle ranches, hunting properties, and rice fields. They couldn’t put a phone line in for over 6 months because there were no lines in that area. No phone, no internet. My cell only got a signal…if you stood on the barn and faced south. That was also back during the time where if you didn’t have a phone line, you couldn’t have DirecTV either. That turned out to be one of the rainiest Fall/Winters in south Texas. With a lot of time to kill inside, I decided to try my hand at writing some of these daydreams down, even if just to entertain myself.


It’s kind of difficult for me to nail down and explain how I create my characters because it’s just a thing I’ve always done. I don’t have a set process and while some characters might pop up one way, another character might come up a totally different way. They come to me a number of ways, inspired by something so simple as a single word, the sound of someone’s voice, an accent, a phrase, or even a random picture. Example? One character came to me as I was driving home from dropping the girls off at conditioning. I looked up at a billboard that I’d passed dozens of times and saw an image of a man and a boy, sitting at the end of a pier, fishing. The ad said, “Happy Father’s Day from X Funeral Homes”…and I thought, damn, how depressing. And some new voice in my head just said, “yeah, my dad and I went fishing once; it was the only thing I can remember from when I was a kid.”


And so I explored that, trying to figure out who this voice belonged to. Very nice guy. Difficult past. Interesting character. It just kind of unfolds–or blossoms, if you will–from an initial thought or question. I think, explore… and keep questioning. Everything has a “what if” attached to it.


One thing that helps me build characters, I think, is that I’m a people watcher. Huge. It’s the introverts that see everything. We sit in the corner, shy (at least I am), not wanting to be noticed, but we notice everything. I can wonder about the tiniest details… like why a person’s shoelaces are tied a certain way. I wonder if they’ve got some kind of tick that makes them tie them this way instead of that way. If they tuck them in, is it because they work somewhere where they can get really dirty? Or do they just not like the way they hang? Why does that guy have 3 phones? Definitely a story in that! That poor girl, it looks like she hasn’t brushed her hair in over a week. Is she just dirty and lazy? Or does she have a condition where it just really hurts to brush her hair?


I know some authors start with the big things about a character and then flesh them out down to the smaller details, I like to start small and flesh them up. That make sense? Nothing wrong with either way, it’s just how it works best for the author.


Some authors sit and scour the internet for model pics to come up with their character image from the get-go. Nothing wrong with that, but while I LOVE looking at half-naked models, most don’t even come close to what I see in my head for my characters. To this day, I’ve not found most of them. I’m still looking for the complete Lucien, 17 years after he was “created” in my head. I see men who are close–very, very close–but they’re not him.


The only one was Peter. I was a member of a small online group and some of the members were connected to some models—by profession. They posted a calendar and I happened to click on it and found Peter. Of course, he’d already existed in my head, but that picture was about the one and only time that I looked at a model and said, “OMG, that’s so-and-so!”


Let’s chat about the some of the other Soul Mates characters a bit. Pretty much ALL of my vampires and a quite a few of my shifters came about during the time I was cut off from the rest of the world in the 90′s—Lucien especially. He was a supporting character in a novel with Antoine as the main character… You know, Lucien’s former Master. Those first 3 novels are still not published, mainly because I’ve never had the time to go back and make them publish-worthy. Someday, you’ll get to see Lucien before there was Houston. ;-)


For me, I love writing vampires because I have a thing about death. Hate it. Hate the permanence of it. And vampires elude it for centuries. But I was sick and tired of seeing ugly-ass vampires. I wanted hot, sexy vampires. And hot, sexy shifters. They could still be hot and monsters, so I made up my own world where they could be just that.


One thing that probably irritates and frustrates me the most, is the constant comparison to certain other authors/movies/books where there are both vampires and shifters in the same world. I try to stay away from reading reviews in general, but there’s never a lack of people who will forward me their review to let me know how much they hated the books and how similar they were to X author or X book.


Those authors weren’t the first to write them together, just maybe the first ones to get them through the publishing gate together. So, once more… with feeling. Underworld didn’t exist back then. True Blood didn’t exist. The Sookie books might have, I don’t know. Have never read them. LKH might have had books out, but I’d never heard of her or Anita Blake (and still don’t read them) until 2005-ish. So, while Soul Mates: Bound by Blood didn’t come out officially until 2006, Lucien has been around for a long, long time. Over 17 years… and I’ve got a nice pile of rejection slips from those 1st novels to mark his beginning as MY character. If readers think they find a correlation or similarity between my characters and another author’s characters/world… it’s because they’re looking hard enough to try to find one. That might sound a little rude, but I’m pretty possessive of my guys and the work that I put into fleshing them out over the years.


So, there we go. A little insight on how I create characters. Or at least how they tend to come to me. As I re-read through this post, though, it kind of seems like I have a thing with voices in my head. And that sounds crazy as shit. But you know what? I think as long as I’m writing their stories instead of just listening to the voices, I’m good. I still see everything in my head as a movie—I’m just writing it all down now.


Feel free to ask questions if there’s anything else you want to know!


 

ETA: Someone just PM’d to ask if I ever wrote fanfiction.


No. I don’t read it and never wrote it. Since I’ve had my work lifted by someone calling themselves a “fanfic author” (then tried to pass it off as their own, original fiction) in the past, I’m not a big fan of it with my characters either. Nothing against those that write it or read it, it’s just not my thing.

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Published on July 08, 2014 15:53

June 21, 2014

Soul Mates Novels on Sale at ARe!

Just wanted to let everyone know that the first 3 novels...

Soul Mates: Bound by Blood
Soul Mates: Deceptions
Soul Mates: Sacrifice

Are all 1/2 off as part of the Blast into Summer Sale over at All Romance ebooks!

You can find them HERE!
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Published on June 21, 2014 10:16 Tags: novels, sale, soul-mates

June 2, 2014

POSSESSION!

I am absolutely thrilled that Possession is now back up at retailer sites. Right now, it’s available at Amazon, ARe, and Smashwords, but will soon be up at all of the other retail sites that I distribute to via Smashwords (Scribd, Barnes & Noble, KOBO, etc.).


So many readers have emailed after reading Sacrifice–and then Secrets–wondering if they missed something. Most every one of them had. I never realized that by putting this novella into an anthology that it would be missed by so many. If you have not read Possession, which was originally published in the Spiked Anthology, then YES, you missed an important bridge.


**If you did read this in Spiked, I wanted to let you know that this version IS a little different. Not extremely, but due to limited space in the anthology, some things couldn’t be as fleshed out as I wanted them to be.**


Possession is definitely a must-read between Sacrifice and Secrets in order to fully understand the how, why, and when of certain relationships. This story is also entirely in Sabaan’s point of view.


BTW, the little tribal mark on the cover? Makes sense once you read! Thanks so much to my cover artist, Kirby Crow, for making that special addition!


So… here ’tis!


PossessionBIG Possession


Sabaan has waited years for Nikolas to realize they are meant to be. But after months of watching him give his attention to another, Sabaan is lost and unsure where to turn. An encounter with Lucien, Master of the Coven, leaves him feeling even more alone than ever. Before he can figure his next move, Lucien returns with a plan. A plan that could bring them together–or destroy everything.


Second Edition.

Find now at: Amazon, AllRomanceEbooks, and Smashwords.


 


Excerpt:


“Quiet night.”


“Too quiet,” I whispered, then looked up to find Lucien, master vampire and owner of said pool I’d been staring into. The man still took my breath away, even after all of these years. As usual for this time of night here lately, he was dressed simply in a black pair of silk pajama bottoms with a thin robe over his bare chest. Silver glinted in the moonlight off one of his nipple rings and I had to fight not to reach up and touch him. “How are you this evening?”


He sighed wistfully and looked away. “Good.”


There was no mistaking the loneliness in his voice. It matched my own so perfectly.


“Oh, my dear Lucien.” I sat up and patted the lounge I’d been lying on. “Sit with me a while.”


He cleared his throat, but it sounded more like a growl. “I don’t think—”


“Come on, now. I won’t bite unless you ask me to.” He glanced down at me, suspicion clear in his expression. I patted the lounge again. “I give you my word.”


Lucien seemed to consider my words then turned toward me. Instead of sitting before me, he straddled the lounge behind me, arms going around my waist, his chin resting on my left shoulder.


“We might well be on the road back to friendship, but I’m still not sure I can trust you at my back.”


His words cut deep, but his feelings certainly weren’t without merit. I’d done more than my fair share to get him to submit to me over the years. One time with him beneath me just hadn’t been enough.


“Noted,” I said finally. We sat silent for a long while. I wanted to talk to him, but anything and everything that came to mind led to Peter—and Nikolas—and the fact that the two of us were here because the two of them weren’t. Because they were together.


“Stop thinking so hard,” Lucien grumbled.


“I can’t help it.” I shrugged and he tightened his hold on me. His fingers teased along my lower belly, lips moving across my shoulder toward my neck. I shuddered and let my head fall back against his shoulder. “Damn it, Lucien, you know better than to start this—”


“And sometimes, even when we know better, we still do the things that are bad for us.”


“You don’t really want me.”


“Who says?” Teeth nipped at my ear. “Drop your glamour. I want you, not some illusion.”


If he didn’t stop this soon, I wouldn’t push him away. I dropped my glamour, taking on my true form. His fingers moved up my chest, then teased down the insides of my arms, and I swallowed hard.


“Lucien . . . .”


“I find that I am unable to help myself tonight.”


Oh, fuck. “What is it that you need? Do you need to feed?” My eyes rolled back into my head as he pressed the palm of one hand to the base of my tail. “Ohhh . . . .”


“You can feed me if you wish.”


“I’ve been good, Lucien. I promised that I wouldn’t cause trouble.”


“I know you have. I’ve been watching.”


I turned and pushed him back, straddling his hips, crushing my mouth to his. Lucien’s fingers framed my face then curled back into my hair. He made a fist and yanked my head back. He licked up the side of my neck, then set his fangs, but didn’t bite down. I pushed my neck against him, wanting the pain of his bite, but got a kiss instead.


Tender presses of lips up my neck and along my jaw. Our eyes met for a brief moment, just before he captured me in a kiss again. I gasped as his tongue invaded my mouth almost desperately, sharp fangs cutting my lips and drawing blood. Not just my blood, but his too. The taste of him on my tongue was exquisite and I deepened the kiss, wanting more.


His hands left my hair and skimmed down my back, coming to rest on my hips. He pushed me down and arched up, and it was only then that I realized just how okay with me—and this—that he was.


Had he sought me out for comfort?


Come out here, knowing that I would give it to him?


That I was just that easy?


“Stop it, Sabaan,” he whispered between kisses.


“I’m not that easy,” I growled in defense.


“Yes, you are.” He pushed me back, thumbs coming up to press against my throat. “But that’s not the only reason I’m here.”


I didn’t ask why; I didn’t have to. We were in the same boat. Who better to spend time with now, than someone who was safe? Who wasn’t a risk to a relationship that was already strained? Who you knew wouldn’t fall in love with you and follow you around like a lovesick puppy.


“This will change things—for you, especially.”


He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, nodded. “Sometimes change is . . . necessary.”


“Oh, Lucien.”


In that moment, I felt so bad for him. He’d not slept with anyone without Peter since they’d met. That he was resorting to it now, for just a moment’s comfort.


Lucien tensed beneath me. “If you’d rather not—”


“Shut up.” I bent and kissed him, hands sliding down to work his pants off. He helped, ridding himself of his robe as well. He grabbed the waist of the small shorts I was wearing and ripped them in half, dropping the pieces to the ground.


“Hey, I liked those shorts!”


“You look better without them.”


Laughing, I stretched out over him. “Nice of you to realize that.”


“I always have. Trouble is, the sword that is so pretty—is still so very sharp.”


 


To be Cont’d at your favorite retailer!


Soul Mates Reading Order:


Soul Mates: Bound by Blood

Soul Mates: Deceptions

Soul Mates: Sacrifice

A Coven Christmas

Possession

Instinct

Soul Mates: Secrets

Mark of the Beast

Clarity


 

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Published on June 02, 2014 19:50

May 30, 2014

A Coven Christmas!

I know it’s pretty far from the Christmas season, but A Coven Christmas is now back up at retailers. I’ve cleaned it up and given it a new cover, but that’s it!


CovenChristmas_Cover640x1024


A COVEN CHRISTMAS


Peter can hardly believe it when he wakes up and finds the house he and Lucien share with the coven decorated for Christmas. Simon has decided they need to have some joy and laughter back in their home, especially after the recent tragedy that the coven has suffered. As friends arrive and settle in, it’s clear that Simon has planned a night of surprises for them all.


Second Edition.


Now available on Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, Scribd, Barnes & Noble (Nook), and All Romance Ebooks.


 


Excerpt:


I awoke to an empty bed for the first time since I’d been turned. It hadn’t been that long, but having a constant shadow at all times could make six weeks seem twice as long. After a quick look around, I realized that Lucien wasn’t in the bathroom, wasn’t in the closet. I sought him out with my mind, but got nothing in return. That was . . . unusual.


Stretching, I got up and slipped on my soft, silky pajama bottoms. My skin was still so sensitive to clothes that it was all I could do most of the time not to go without. I grabbed my robe and headed for the door.


The moment I opened it, I was hit with an odd, yet familiar mix of scents. It smelled like . . . Christmas?


Well now that really was odd. As I’d found out the first few weeks living at the mansion, very few holidays were celebrated by the coven. Halloween was about the only one and, except for the last one, it was usually a full out orgy on the grounds with most people going half or fully naked.


It was rare to see someone in an actual costume.


I walked down the hallway, scent after scent drawing me toward the kitchen. I could smell sugar and cinnamon and chocolate. Peppermint and clove. But above all of that, I could smell blood. And meat—fresh, raw meat that had my inner wolf salivating.


However, the kitchen was forgotten as soon as I stepped out of the long hallway. Our main living area had been transformed into something that looked like it was out of a holiday magazine. Furniture had been moved away from the large front window and in its place was a huge, decorated Christmas tree. It had to be at least nine feet tall. Lucien levitated near the top, affixing some sort of intricately carved metal star to the tree top.


Speechless, I took in the rest of the room. There were gifts stacked three and four deep beneath the tree. A fire was lit in the fireplace, a number of festive stockings lining the mantel. Rugs and blankets and pillows covered the floor around the fireplace and tree, making me wonder if I’d missed some sort of special call for a Christmas orgy.


This was just . . . I shook my head, confused as hell.


“Oh, Lucien,” Simon said as he stepped out from behind the tree, still looking up. “That’s perfect.”


Lucien considered it for a moment before landing softly on the floor. “What do you think, Peter?”


“I think I’m in the wrong damned house.” I walked over to stand between them. “Other than that, it looks festive.”


“I told you he was going to hate it,” Lucien said to Simon.


“I don’t hate it,” I said in defense. “Since when do we do Christmas?”


“Starting now.” Simon wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. “I want to see smiles again, laughter, happiness. With everything that’s happened in the last few months, I think we need this.”


Lucien stared up at the tree, shaking his head. “I’m not sure we’re allowed to celebrate Christmas, Simon.”


 


To be Cont’d at your favorite retailer!


Soul Mates Reading Order:


Soul Mates: Bound by Blood

Soul Mates: Deceptions

Soul Mates: Sacrifice

A Coven Christmas

Possession

Instinct

Soul Mates: Secrets

Mark of the Beast

Clarity

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Published on May 30, 2014 18:50