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Masquerade
The man was a monster, nothing less.
His stained clothes provided enough evidence of that fact. The clothing wasn't of this time, but that of centuries past. He wore a parted shirt that bared his blood-coated chest. Abigail could see blue ties against his ashen flesh; they held the material of his shirt together. He also wore tight-fitting pants that flared over grimy, sodden boots.
This thing had made a real mess of its snack, something she would never do. Abigail had seen and done a great many things in her life, but this had never been among them.
Run, damn it, run! she screamed at herself. Make your feet work. Do you wish to end up like its last meal? Turn tail, and get the hell out of here!
The man began to speak in a language she ill understood or perhaps he did, in fact, speak English, but his growls garbled it past recognition. Eventually, though, the words became clearer to her.
"Abigail, so beautiful," he said calmly, not looking at her, but at whatever lay behind her in the distance.
She backed up until she collided with the nearest tombstone, stupidly pleased she could finally move of her own accord. She thought she would be safe now; surely now she would be able to escape.
Wrong.
"Mine." He stared pointedly at her, and she sneered in response.
"I belong to no one," Abigail snapped. As usual, her tongue got the better of her.
His eyes narrowed on her. "I beg to differ, moj ljub. I want you, and I always get what I want."
His hypnotic eyes enraptured her for a moment, causing her to look past the gruesome image he represented and see just the man.
Distraction could be a bitch, and in this case, that was a definite.
Dirt exploded underneath Abigail's feet, spraying around her knees. A bare-boned hand escaped the soil, and grabbed her ankle in a painful grip. Bony fingers bit into her flesh as a second arm revealed itself in a swirl of dirt.
“You will never escape me, Abby."
She screamed.
His stained clothes provided enough evidence of that fact. The clothing wasn't of this time, but that of centuries past. He wore a parted shirt that bared his blood-coated chest. Abigail could see blue ties against his ashen flesh; they held the material of his shirt together. He also wore tight-fitting pants that flared over grimy, sodden boots.
This thing had made a real mess of its snack, something she would never do. Abigail had seen and done a great many things in her life, but this had never been among them.
Run, damn it, run! she screamed at herself. Make your feet work. Do you wish to end up like its last meal? Turn tail, and get the hell out of here!
The man began to speak in a language she ill understood or perhaps he did, in fact, speak English, but his growls garbled it past recognition. Eventually, though, the words became clearer to her.
"Abigail, so beautiful," he said calmly, not looking at her, but at whatever lay behind her in the distance.
She backed up until she collided with the nearest tombstone, stupidly pleased she could finally move of her own accord. She thought she would be safe now; surely now she would be able to escape.
Wrong.
"Mine." He stared pointedly at her, and she sneered in response.
"I belong to no one," Abigail snapped. As usual, her tongue got the better of her.
His eyes narrowed on her. "I beg to differ, moj ljub. I want you, and I always get what I want."
His hypnotic eyes enraptured her for a moment, causing her to look past the gruesome image he represented and see just the man.
Distraction could be a bitch, and in this case, that was a definite.
Dirt exploded underneath Abigail's feet, spraying around her knees. A bare-boned hand escaped the soil, and grabbed her ankle in a painful grip. Bony fingers bit into her flesh as a second arm revealed itself in a swirl of dirt.
“You will never escape me, Abby."
She screamed.
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First published October 30, 2010
5 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Kayden McLeod
32 books50 followersI was born in Vancouver Canada—this is why half of my books are written in Canadian/British spelling. I moved to New Orleans, LA in 2012 to be with my husband and kids. We have six dogs and eight cats. I have two toddler honorary nephews. And a house full of people.
Life is hectic in the Kinsey household. But we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I am an experienced freelance Ghostwriter, Editor/Proofreader and Graphic Artist. I adore fantasy, paranormal and contemporary stories and art.
As I am a fantasy/paranormal romance author myself. I understand, on a cellular level, what it takes to catch a reader's eye. I have been a published author since 2009, under the pen names Kayden McLeod and Kinsey Knight. I have released over fifteen full length books and short stories. Although, there is only eleven currently in circulation. Over my career, I've touched on almost every step of publishing, from conception, to fruition.
I have marketed my own books, and as well as others'. I have owned a book review company and ran my own marketing firm that catered to both authors and publishers.
Life is hectic in the Kinsey household. But we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I am an experienced freelance Ghostwriter, Editor/Proofreader and Graphic Artist. I adore fantasy, paranormal and contemporary stories and art.
As I am a fantasy/paranormal romance author myself. I understand, on a cellular level, what it takes to catch a reader's eye. I have been a published author since 2009, under the pen names Kayden McLeod and Kinsey Knight. I have released over fifteen full length books and short stories. Although, there is only eleven currently in circulation. Over my career, I've touched on almost every step of publishing, from conception, to fruition.
I have marketed my own books, and as well as others'. I have owned a book review company and ran my own marketing firm that catered to both authors and publishers.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 18, 2020
Loved the book it was great, the story was well written and the characters are interesting. Wow what a story and to think Abigail thought she was safe, living with a clan of vampires the Jericho Coven. So worth reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 18, 2020
This was a fast-paced & entertaining read. And a new author for me so wasn't sure what to expect. I received a free copy of the book. And am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
September 18, 2012
Yummy cover alert, yet again! This is the second Kayden McLeod title I read and it's the second with a gorgeous cover, I'm seeing a pattern here :D Need to stalk the website and see if all are as gorgeous or it's just these ones.
The story in this novella has a rapid pace of events. We've got some glamorous lifestyle, vampire covens, werewolves packs, some politics going on, the loner theme, the epic legend thought to be dead who returns theme, some possessive claiming of mates, zombie fight scene, black magic, the works! For such a short read it brings a lot of punch, you know? And if you think all these elements might just be too much for anything less lengthy then a novel, I'll let you know it just works out in this case, though it may not in others of the same length. It just does.
There's enough action to keep you hooked, some really interesting character development going on though I'll admit it's a bit in the back seat compared to the action (depending on what you like, this is either a plus or not so much, but for both points of view it works great in my opinion), but we basically have a mix of so many elements that could go wrong in a combination - and they don't, they mix awesomely.
As far as characters go, I felt plenty of them were mysterious, intriguing and charismatic. I was intrigued by Abigail and Cyrus, of course, but also by Ada for instance, and Dina, you get the point here I'm sure. Would I want to read more about these characters? Definitely.
The writing was lovely, great imagery and focus, especially on the fight scenes. I mean, zombies popping out of their graves, magic, werewolves, werewolf-vampire combos, it could easily get out of hand, you know? It doesn't. The panoramic view is put together really well, the zoom in fighting is great.
All in all, I totally say give this a try if you're into some paranormal romance with kickass fighting, give this novella a shot. I had fun reading it, and I think you'll do too.
Butterfly-o-Meter Books
The story in this novella has a rapid pace of events. We've got some glamorous lifestyle, vampire covens, werewolves packs, some politics going on, the loner theme, the epic legend thought to be dead who returns theme, some possessive claiming of mates, zombie fight scene, black magic, the works! For such a short read it brings a lot of punch, you know? And if you think all these elements might just be too much for anything less lengthy then a novel, I'll let you know it just works out in this case, though it may not in others of the same length. It just does.
There's enough action to keep you hooked, some really interesting character development going on though I'll admit it's a bit in the back seat compared to the action (depending on what you like, this is either a plus or not so much, but for both points of view it works great in my opinion), but we basically have a mix of so many elements that could go wrong in a combination - and they don't, they mix awesomely.
As far as characters go, I felt plenty of them were mysterious, intriguing and charismatic. I was intrigued by Abigail and Cyrus, of course, but also by Ada for instance, and Dina, you get the point here I'm sure. Would I want to read more about these characters? Definitely.
The writing was lovely, great imagery and focus, especially on the fight scenes. I mean, zombies popping out of their graves, magic, werewolves, werewolf-vampire combos, it could easily get out of hand, you know? It doesn't. The panoramic view is put together really well, the zoom in fighting is great.
All in all, I totally say give this a try if you're into some paranormal romance with kickass fighting, give this novella a shot. I had fun reading it, and I think you'll do too.
Butterfly-o-Meter Books
Read
June 18, 2012The beginning of Masquerade sets the scene for the rest of the story really well. It starts off really mysterious and it got me really hooked into the rest of the book.
The characters were intriguing. I liked Abigail because she had this mysterious air about her for a while and then it is revealed that she is a werewolf which I would've known if I had fully read the synopsis but I really never do. If you know me, then you'd know I'm not the biggest fan of werewolves but to be honest I really liked this book.
While there are vampires, this really doesn't have much to do with the story, like there is no mention of anything vampiric as the main focus is on Abigail, the werewolf and a couple of other characters who are mysterious.
I really enjoyed that there was this whole mysterious atmosphere to the story as it kept me wanting more.
Overall, I thought that Masquerade was a really well-written light read that can easily be devoured in one sitting. Kayden McLeod has a great writing style that just adds to the story and makes it a good read.
The characters were intriguing. I liked Abigail because she had this mysterious air about her for a while and then it is revealed that she is a werewolf which I would've known if I had fully read the synopsis but I really never do. If you know me, then you'd know I'm not the biggest fan of werewolves but to be honest I really liked this book.
While there are vampires, this really doesn't have much to do with the story, like there is no mention of anything vampiric as the main focus is on Abigail, the werewolf and a couple of other characters who are mysterious.
I really enjoyed that there was this whole mysterious atmosphere to the story as it kept me wanting more.
Overall, I thought that Masquerade was a really well-written light read that can easily be devoured in one sitting. Kayden McLeod has a great writing style that just adds to the story and makes it a good read.
July 16, 2015
Very nice story
This was so different vampires and werewolves and zombies come together for love and protection. Great idea for the plot. Characters could have used a little more detail, but well done for shorter book.
This was so different vampires and werewolves and zombies come together for love and protection. Great idea for the plot. Characters could have used a little more detail, but well done for shorter book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews