by R. A. Watt
Publication date: April 28th 2019
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
New school. First love. A psychotic werewolf that wanted me dead. And it was only week one in Santa Isadora.
For fifteen-year-old Teavan Laurent and his older sister Suzanne, Santa Isadora seemed like a sleepy and idyllic California town to finish high school after their unexpected move west from New York City.
As he struggles to make friends in a town shrouded in secrets, Teavan soon finds himself the target of an irrational tormentor and rumored-to-be werewolf. The revenge-obsessed psycho vows to wipe out Teavan and his small family due to past wrongs beyond Teavan’s control or knowledge. The twisted legacy left to him by his late grandfather brings Teavan at odds with everything he knows to be true—or at least everything he thought to be true.
The impossible truth of the tale begins to gain traction at his first wolf sighting, and Teavan and Suzanne soon find themselves in the crosshairs of the dark and secretive lycan world of Santa Isadora.
Stalked by a legend that shouldn’t exist, Teavan must decide how far he is willing to go to save those that he loves and come to terms with what lurks from within.
—
EXCERPT:
The room felt crisp and refreshing as I crawled back into the cozy warmth of my covers. The comforting presence of my dog Honey’s stretched curled form was gone. “Honey”?Only the sounds of occasional thunder and rain could be heard, along with the violent, howling winds. The big oak tree in the yard was flailing back and forth, looking like it could lose a limb.
“Honey?”
Listening for the familiar sounds of her padded footsteps, I was alarmed when I heard banging on what sounded like the front door. I almost jumped out of bed.
Who could be here, in the middle of a storm, in the middle of the night?
An uneasy feeling slid over me as I made my way to the hall, electing to keep the lights off so I could see out the windows.
Answering the door to our apartment back home at two in the morning usually meant some drunken idiot was at the wrong door and couldn’t get their key to work. But out here, there could be no mistake.
Maybe it was the outer screen door banging in the storm. The gusting winds would most likely rip it off its hinges if it weren’t pulled tightly closed. As I reached out to unlock the bolt, an unmistakable knock came from the other side, sending my heart racing.
Someone was there.
I’m not proud to admit it, but I panicked a little. A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek. Lightning occasionally illuminated the room from the front windows.
Crap.
Maybe someone needed help. Maybe someone was being chased by a wolf. Maybe it was the wolf. Except a wolf couldn’t knock on a door.
But a werewolf could.
I tried to laugh at myself to ease my own tension.
On either side of the big wooden door was a floor-to-ceiling privacy window, with white curtains covering each one. I tried to look through the somewhat transparent lace, but I couldn’t see anything, just blackness outside.
If whoever was there saw my movement, I would have no choice but to open the door.
Chancing it, I ever-so-slightly moved the curtain aside to look out on the porch. I could see nothing until the next flash of lightning lit up the sky.
A wrinkled, elderly woman sat in an antique wooden wheelchair outside our front door. The winds blew her long, white hair in all directions, but she was looking down.
My head snapped back with my heart in my throat. Surely she needed help, but she almost looked scarier than some guy dressed in black. The image of her wheelchair and wild hair flying all about terrified me.
How did she get up the steps, alone, in a wheelchair?
Author Bio:
Ryan is a husband and a father of three children. A lover of food, wine, sunshine, skiing, and fiction.
Although his background is in finance, he has always had a love of books, particularly fiction, since a young age and has been an avid reader ever since. Ryan's favorite books are deep, engrossing novels that may not necessarily win Pulitzer Prizes, but are difficult to put down.
Reading should be fun, absorbing, and a step away from our ordinary world. No matter what the critics say about the book on your nightstand, if you don't look forward to reading each night it's not the right book for you!
No comments:
Post a Comment