CURSED
TRAKENA
PREVOST
Blurb: Half-succubus Jazz Watkins spends her
days navigating the halls of Moreland High and her nights knee deep
in Chicago drug dens hunting Suecai – an evil kind of incubi and succubae who
devour the souls of humans. But when a leader of the Suecai curses her, Jazz
has to track him down. Either she kills him before the curse burns through her,
or she’ll become a full-fledged, out of control, soul sucking monster.
She’s
got a handful of weeks, absolutely no leads, and her sexy best guy-friend and
team member, Khan, covering her back. But will the growing attraction she feels
for Khan get in the way of her mission to save her own life?
Author Bio:
Trakena
Prevost was born and raised in the great state of Texas, where everything IS
bigger and the people are very friendly. She spends most of her time
oscillating between being completely obsessed with reading and watching Korean
dramas, and writing down the fantastic tales rumbling around in her head.
When not reading and writing, Trakena spends her time working in
HR for a major medical system in Houston, and hanging out with her family
and friends.
Trakena
has always loved the many worlds she's found in books, where everything was
possible. As a child, you would often catch her enjoying a good story in the
comfort of the AC, instead of wilting in the Houston heat (she showed great
intelligence...even then). It didn't occur to Trakena that the fanciful stories
she made up for fun could one day be out in the world, but now that they are
she can't imagine it any other way!
Website and Other URL’s:
Excerpt
When he walked out the bathroom, the
nerves I’d thought I’d turned to steel started to quiver. What if he refused
me? Khan was just as stubborn as I was. How could I possibly ask this of him?
How could I get him to understand?
I took a deep breath and looked at him.
“Khan, we need to talk.”
“Uh oh, that’s never what a guy wants
to hear from his girl.”
My stomach fluttered, but I refused to
give into the distraction. “I have a plan…in case we don’t find and kill the
Gunshi. But I need your help to pull it off.”
He didn’t look taken aback, just more
determined than anything. “Jazz, it’s too soon for you to give up now. We’ve
got some really good leads, we can do this!”
I shook my head. “I’m not giving up,
Khan. I never give up…you know that.” I smiled at him and was rewarded with one
in return. “But…being a leader means having to think outside of myself…you and
my dad taught me that. We have to prepare for all possibilities – even this.”
His dark eyes flashed and, for a
second, I thought I was in for a long and hard fight. Then understanding washed
over his features and he nodded. “As long as you promise this doesn’t mean
you’ve given up.”
“Not even close – and giving in doesn’t
even sound like me.”
He snorted. “That’s for sure.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, I think we can
do this, but if not…I have a forgetting tonic to erase my memories. That way,
in the very least, the vermin can’t use my knowledge against everyone I love.”
Khan jerked. “Where in the h**l did
you…?” Then he groaned. “Claudine.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “She always
has been good at knowing what I need.”
His face was hard. “Okay, so I’ll make
sure to wipe away your memories. I’ll erase everything that makes you, you –
everything I’ve grown to know and care about. We done?”
I paused. “Not quite.”
He flinched. “I figured something more
was coming when you said, ‘In the least’.”
I almost didn’t have the guts to
continue. “Think about it, Khan. You can’t just leave me there, a newbie Suecai
with the urge to feed. What if I came across my mom one day? Or your dad?
“You might not be able to do it
immediately – there’s no telling how strong I’ll be at first or how protected –
but eventually you’ll have to take me out! I shuddered at the thought. “What
else can we do?”
The rage flew through his features even
more quickly than when I’d told him I couldn’t be his Valentine in the sixth
grade.
“Anything, Jazz,” Khan whispered. “We
fight. We search. We keep pounding the pavement until we find that bastard. We
do anything and everything.”
Words escaped me. A boulder set
squarely on my chest and wouldn’t budge. I should’ve known this wouldn’t be
easy – hadn’t I spent my entire life traipsing around Chicago with Khan? I
shouldn’t have expected anything else.
Khan seemed to take my silence as an
opportunity to change my mind. “You could learn control, Jazz, become a
full-fledged Dorgai.” There it was, that secret hope I held deep in my heart
that I was too scary to speak out loud.
“Khan, that’s impossible. There’s no
way I can learn control if I’m forced into feeding too fast. The only way we
halfers manage it is by taking an entire year to ease into the process. All of
Dad’s advisors are agreed that I’ll become an uncontrollable Suecai.”
“I can’t believe that, Jazz. It can’t
happen. Not to you.”
I couldn’t focus. My need to be
rational kept battling the little girl within me reaching for a solution, any
solution.
I didn’t notice Khan moving until it
was too late.
Before I could say something to break
the bubble, Khan stood over me, his face inches from mine. His eyes were warm
and I could feel the heat of his breath, minty from his recent trip to the
bathroom. My heart stopped. And then he was kissing me, slow and deep at first,
and then with a heat and passion I’d only guessed he possessed.
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