Bond of Destiny, an all new action packed and incredible supernatural novella in the Demonica series from New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione and 1,001 Dark Nights is available now!
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Blurb
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Larissa Ione returns with a new story in her Demonica series…
Sold into slavery mere hours after his birth to werewolf parents, Tracker spent decades in service to cruel underworlders. Then the fallen angel Harvester transferred his ownership to a human woman who gave him as much freedom as the unbreakable bond would allow. Still, thanks to his traumatic past, he’s afraid to trust, let alone feel love. But when an acquaintance shows up at his door, injured and in need of help, he finds himself longing for a connection. For someone to touch. For someone to care.
Stacey Orr has had it bad for Tracker since the day her best friend, Jillian, was forced to hold his unbreakable slave bond. At first, the fact that he’s a werewolf seemed weird to Stacey, but hey, her best friend was married to one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, so weird is definitely a matter of perspective. Stacey knows the depths of Tracker’s trauma, and she longs to help him even as he helps her, but breaking through his walls isn’t easy.
And it only gets harder when the only blood family he has, the pack that gave him away, lays claim to him… and everything he loves.
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Review
4.5 stars!
As a mad fan of all things Demonica, I dropped everything when this book arrived on my kindle, eagerly diving back into my favourite paranormal world, and I loved this sweet, sexy, satisfying and exciting romance.
Tracker has appeared in earlier books of the series. A warg (werewolf) sold into slavery just hours after his birth, he was previously known as ‘Whine’, and was a slave to Harvester. His slave bond was then transferred to Jillian (mate of Reseph), who detests slavery, but who genuinely cares for Tracker and provided him with his first actual home, giving him as much freedom as possible, eager for him to live his own life. And while Tracker enjoys his life, marvelling at the peace that he is still adjusting to after years or torture and torment, he is still afraid to trust, and lives a mostly solitary existence.
Humans seem to have a visceral abhorrence for slavery, and whenever he talked about his experiences or his masters, the disgust and anger they felt burned right into his skin.
He’d been part of something ugly – still was part of it – and he didn’t know how to shed that. Or to make people stop being horrified by him.
Stacey is Jillian’s best friend. Formerly a police officer, she’s now working for DART (Demonic Activity Response Team), and she’s well aware of the supernatural world she lives in, and Tracker’s place in it. She’s also harboured a crush on him for years, but at Jillian’s insistence, she has kept her distance. But when she runs into trouble in the middle of a huge snowstorm, it’s Tracker that comes to her rescue, taking her back to his cabin to care for her.
Trapped together in the snow, Stacey sees it as an opportunity to get to know the gorgeous but reclusive man, and Tracker slowly starts to blossom in her presence. They talk, they cook together, she even teaches him how to dance, and their feelings for each other shine through every moment. There’s such a sweet sense of innocence about Tracker. He is naïve about so much, and it is gorgeous watching him start to come out of his shell. Stacey is right there with him every step of the way and things between them build quickly but naturally, I loved watching it all develop.
Jillian had given him room to grow, and Stacey had given him reason to.
But don’t go thinking that Tracker’s all beta-male. He may be inexperienced in some things, but he’s all fierce male, and he proves to be brave, strong, protective and infinitely sexy, and holy hot damn!
But he’s still under a slave bond, and that has certain implications. And when his old pack arrives with expectations for him that he has no desire or inclination to meet, things get dangerous for both him and for Stacey.
It’s an exciting ride, full of all of the action, snark, humor, heart and supernatural badassery that I love about this series. There are some fantastic cameos of course, and every time someone new appeared on the page, I gave a little squee of excitement, so thrilled to be seeing these characters again (Reseph’s appearance was particularly epic). But this is Tracker’s story, and he absolutely shines as a man finally finding his place and getting his happy ending.
“I love you, female. You already own my heart. Why not the rest of me.”
Fans of the series will love this book. It’s a great finish for Tracker’s story, and a wonderful glimpse back into this world that I love so much.
4.5 stars!
An Advanced Reader Copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
For more information about the Demonica series – including series reading order – check out our Demonica / Lords of Deliverance Series page
Excerpt
Impossible female.
Damn, Stacey was stubborn.
And sure, Tracker liked that. To a point. Her stubbornness made it damned hard to protect her. As a DART agent, he was sure she was capable, just as she’d said. But just as he’d said, she was injured, and until he found out what they were dealing with, she had no business being out here.
It was his duty. Period.
As far as her deception—although he hesitated to label it that—he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t truly believe that Jillian would be cruel in her anger. His reaction had more to do with his past experiences than his present.
And in the past, he could be tortured mercilessly for what had happened between he and Stacey. Now…now he was worried more about disappointing Jillian.
Jillian has basically freed you, but you keep putting the shackles back on.
Shackles? Stacey had no idea.
But it was something he’d have to deal with later. Right now, something was lurking in the forest.
He looked toward the heavens, measuring the darkness. he sky was clear and the moon was nearly full. Which meant a lot of light. Too much light. He’d be easily seen out in the open.
The trees and buildings threw silhouettes onto the fresh white snow, so he kept between drifts and in the shadows as best as he could and used his natural night vision to scan the forest. Pausing near the barn, he raised his head, seeking scents that might be out of place.
He caught a whiff of a deer somewhere nearby, but aside from that, nothing stood out. Still, the sense of a threat remained, like an oil slick on his skin.
He moved cautiously in the direction of the Harrowgate. The roads weren’t cleared yet, so anyone trying to get here would either have to use the gate, flash in, or hike for miles through deep snow and thick forest.
He really hoped no one had flashed in. Anyone capable of materializing into a location was powerful. Granted, anyone who could use a Harrowgate was a bigger threat than your average human, but the flashers were next-level dangerous. Fallen angel and hellhound-level dangerous.
As he approached the plowed path leading to the Harrowgate, the danger vibe intensified. Adrenaline spiked hot in his veins, bringing with it the high of the hunt. The only time he’d been happy in Sheoul was when there was a threat or when he was hunting something his masters wanted. The beast inside him craved the chase, and for a brief time, nothing else mattered. He could forget everything but the thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of a good battle.
He’d given his all, and he’d earned a reputation among slave owners of being willing to face anything, do anything, go anywhere, because he was so brave.
His owners, who had bragged about his fierceness, were wrong. He hadn’t been brave. He just hadn’t cared whether he’d lived or died.
Now he cared.
More important, he had people he cared about.
About Larissa Ione
Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career in meteorology to pursue her passion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been nominated for a RITA award. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case.
She currently lives in Wisconsin with her retired U.S. Coast Guard husband, her son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhounds, a King Shepherd named Hexe and a Belgian Malinois named Duvel.
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