Friday, June 30, 2017

Wolf Of The Northern Star by SJ Himes - Blog Tour with Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway



Title: Wolf of the Northern Star
Author: SJ Himes
Series: The Wolfkin Saga, #2
Release Date: June 15th 2017
Genre: Gay Paranormal Shifter Romance




BLURB

Ghost, once known as the cub Luca, is finally home. Back among his kind and learning what it means to be both a man and a shaman, Ghost battles the expectations of his people, his family, and the pressures of a society that is both foreign and familiar. His power is greater than any seen before, dwarfing that of even the legendary Shaman Gray Shadow—and his union with Kane places him in the center of a controversy that rattles wolfkin society around the world.

Kane, greater alpha and Heir to Black Pine Clan, has finally defeated the traitor and murderer that destroyed the heart of Black Pine years before. Freed at last from guilt and pain, Kane has a new enemy to face: his own people. Placed on trial for violation of Law and blasphemy, Kane will have to fight to the death to preserve his bond with Ghost and keep his mate and people safe.

The soulbond between Ghost and Kane is forged by the creator and Goddess of the wolfkin. Usually, a sacred and treasured union that honors the pair and their clans, this soulbond is seen not as a gift, but a threat to eons of tradition and Clan Law.
The union of a Shaman and Alpha is anathema—but how to reconcile that belief when it is the wolfkin Goddess who forged it? Can Ghost and Kane save themselves, preserve their bond, and find a new future when the laws of the ancient past threaten to tear them apart?

*This book is part of a series and should not be read as a standalone. Prior books should be read to understand content. 104,000 words*

Purchase: Amazon Universal

Find The Wolfkin Saga on Goodreads


Exclusive Excerpt 

Caius and two of his betas crouched by the corner, as the three rogues, fur rough and unkempt, tumbled from the shadows and went to the door. He wondered how they would open the door with fully wolf paws, when one of the rogues sat back on his haunches and began to Change, the process rough and sluggish.

Caius leapt, snarling as he took the distance in less than a second, his betas right behind him. He landed on the rogue who was caught mid-shift, Caius’ own claws out, fangs lowered, and he ripped out the rogue’s throat before they even hit the ground. Hot blood sprayed, the rogue’s eyes wide in fear and shock, and Caius grabbed his skull and twisted. He dropped the body at his feet, and spun towards the other rogues.

His two betas, both wolves in their wilder forms, had one rogue cornered against the building. Caius leapt again, clawed hand out, and he grabbed the hind paw of the third rogue as he attempted to flee. A sharp yank and the leg broke at the hip, the rogue screaming. Caius pulled the wolf back to him, claws sinking into fur and flesh, and with a negligent flick, broke the struggling wolf’s neck. He tossed aside the rogue’s corpse, and turned back to the remaining wolf. 

His betas lunged forward together, and the rogue found himself buried under the two females, throat and chest ripped open. He died within moments, the females backing away, shaking their heads to lose the taste of his foul blood on their tongues. Caius smiled down at his wolves, proud and pleased, and they danced happily with wide, sharp grins when he petted them gently on their heads.

Caius reached out for Burke. *The three rogues are dead.* Caius smiled, lifting his face to the wind, blood and death heavy in the air. He growled, a smooth purr that expelled some of the tension he had been carrying for far too long. Burke responded with subdued acknowledgment, and Caius tilted his head.

The rumbled of engines. He moved to the corner of the building at the front, and looked carefully out toward the front lot. Headlights glanced off the ground, highlighting potholes and dead grass in cracks. A dark SUV and a limo were about two hundred yards out, and Caius grinned.

*A limo and escort car are coming from the west,* Caius told Burke, the Speaker’s surprise echoing back.

*They will likely be armed. Any confrontation outside will run the risk of drawing the human authorities.*

*Get the shamans out of the line of fire. Let them into the lobby. We’ll trap them inside between us.*

Like herding frantic deer into the rest of the wolf pack, the humans would die. Caius called in the rest of the perimeter team, and split them between his side of the building and the far side. His eyes could pick up the soft pops of gunfire in the sublevel, telling him Kane was still encountering the humans within.

The two approaching cars parked side by side in front of the building, engines ticking. Guards exited the vehicles, human men in dark suits with the soft stink of gunmetal broadcasting to anyone with a nose that they were armed.


It took everything Caius had not to leap out from hiding and eviscerate Simon Remus when the human bastard got out of the limo. He paused, and backed away from the door, another man exiting behind him.


EXCERPT

“Where have you been? With your mate?” Glen asked, and Ghost grumbled.

“Been running around the mountain all night long, thinking. Being a man is hard. How do you do it?”

Glen snorted out a laugh. “Practice.” He nodded at the blanket, and Ghost sighed loudly.

Ghost sat up, wrapping the quilt about his hips. He threw himself back down almost immediately, and Glen found himself unable to resist the plaintive whine that came from his pretty lips. Glen was as straight as they came, but even he could acknowledge the sheer beauty of the human form of his wayward wolf. Ghost was beautiful, inside and out, and yet he had a shade of sadness hovering about his expressive silver eyes. He walked around the couch and paused as Ghost scrambled out of the way long enough for him to sit down. A bare second later he had an armful of lean youth and wiggling limbs.

Ghost curled up in his lap like he used to as a pup, though it was different now, as Ghost was not a wolf anymore. Glen heaved out a groan in complaint, but let Ghost hide under his chin and snuggle. He hugged the boy to his chest, and they both relaxed, adjusting easily enough to the new dynamic.

“What’s wrong?” Glen asked, and Ghost responded in a tiny voice.

“They put Kane in a cell in the woods yesterday. And they want to destroy our mate bond.”

Glen could recall only two times in his entire life he ever got angry enough to kill. Once was back in college when he tore a drunk frat boy off a cussing and furious redhead who then proceeded to wallop her attacker. The other time was when he rescued a malnourished wolf-hybrid from a careless and ignorant suburban family in the outskirts of Toronto, the poor thing starved near to death and skeletal thin. As he did then, he ran his hands over the back of a young wolf’s head, and said, “Everything is going to be okay.”

Glen managed to hold onto his temper, but it was a battle. The youngling needed a shoulder to cry on, a place to relax his guarded emotions, and Glen would be that safe place for him.

“I wanted to come home more than anything,” Ghost whispered, pressing his face into Glen’s chest. “But nothing good has come of it. They think me damaged, weak. Vulnerable.”

“We both know you are not damaged or weak. I don’t think I would have survived fifteen years locked away in the body of a wolf, deprived of any sense of self or family. You’re strong. And what do you mean nothing good has come from returning to your people? You have your man now, Kane. He’s your mate, no matter what those fools may say or think.”

“He’s in a cage, Glen. In the woods, alone, surrounded by alphas who wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him. I can feel him through our bond. He’s frustrated, and misses me. I haven’t seen him since they took him away yesterday We can’t talk because the alphas might be able to overhear us, but I can still feel him. It hurts not being with him.”



The Wolfkin Saga #1



Title: Wolves of Black Pine
Release Date: June 30th 2015
Genre: Paranormal, Shifters, MM Romance

BLURB
An ancient civilization long hidden from humanity is on the brink of chaos and war.

Peaceful for thousands of years, the wolfkin clans are mysteriously losing packmates, kidnapped and killed by unknown foes. Among the dead is Luca, youngest grandson of the two most powerful wolves in the Northern Clans, but he is forced into a half-life, hidden in the far northern wilds of Canada and cut off from his kind. Those who raised him have no idea the creature they harbor in their midst, and name him Ghost. He begins to lose himself over the long years, and though he barely recalls his true name, the one wolf he never forgets is Kane.

Heir to the wolfkin clan Black Pine, Kane is charged with hunting down the traitors who them to the humans. Years fly by, and more wolves are dying. He refuses to give up, and he vows to never again fail another of their kind, as he failed young Luca years before. His heart tells him Luca lives, but his mind tells him that it’s foolish hope, his guilt eating him alive.

Fate and magic change the course of their lives, and the two wolves long separated by the years find their paths intertwining, though the reunion does not come without cost...

150,000+ words, contains graphic sex between men, dubious consent, mentions of abuse. Contains gore and violence. Mature readers only.


Purchase: Amazon Universal  **On SALE $2.99 until 5th July**


GIVEAWAY: Win $10 Amazon gift card and Wolves of Black Pine & Wolf of the Northern Star ebooks


About the Author

I'm a self-employed writer who stresses out about the silliest things, like whether or not I got my dog the best kind of snack and the fact my kindle battery tends to die when I'm at the best part in a book. I write mainly gay romance, erotica, and urban fantasy, with ocasional forays into contemporary and paranormal. I love a book heavy on plot and character evolution, and throw in some magic, and that's perfection. My current series are: The Beacon Hill Sorcerer, Bred For Love (as Revella Hawthorne), and The Wolfkin Saga. My last two novels in the Beacon Hill Sorcerer won 3rd Place in the Gay Fantasy category for the 2016 Rainbow Awards.

I live in New Orleans, where the personalities are big and loud and so are the bugs! New Orleans is rich in cultural history, and the flavor and music of the City is impossible to hide. Before that, I lived all over the United States: Tampa, Western Massachusetts, Indianapolis, and on and on.... I'm a nomad, and I've yet to find a place that calls to me strongly enough to become home. My faithful travel companions are my dog Micah, the numerous voices in my head who insist they all get put on paper, and the wind at my back.




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