God of Monsters (Juniper Unraveling #4) - Keri Lake Page 0,173
full of shit, I see.” Arms crossed, I rub my jaw, still struck by the uncanny resemblance of the teenaged Cadmus I knew back at Calico. Without all of the scars, of course. “You’re a spitting image of your dad.”
Dimples in his cheeks prove the point, when he smiles. “So I’ve heard. Sorry about the gun, man. You’d be surprised how quickly assholes can turn hostile around here.”
A presence at my side tears my gaze toward Thalia, who comes to a stand beside me, while Asher strides up on other side of her—his eyes damn near glued to the young girl, who bites her lip, as if to hold back a smile. While he hasn’t turned full on Rager, or psycho, the kid’s sexual appetite is off the charts, which will be tricky in a community run by protective Alphas.
“This is my wife, Thalia. And our son, Asher.”
Both kids shake hands with them, and at Asher’s unapologetically flirtatious staring at the girl, I clear my throat, shooting the kid a warning. From what little I remember of Six, I do recall he isn’t someone I care to get into a scuffle with over his daughter.
“Dad, you there?” Cadmus holds the walkie-talkie to his face, wearing that signature smirk.
“Yeah. Everything okay at the gate?” a familiar voice answers seconds later, and damn if the sound of it doesn’t make me smile.
“There’s a guy here. Says he knows you. Might want to come check it out.”
“A guy who knows me how?”
At that, I jerk my head toward the receiver, on which Cadmus still holds the button. “Ask him if he remembers someone taking the blame for him knocking out the Legion officer, and ending up asshole deep in the sewage pit as punishment.”
The answering chuckle from the other end tells me he remembers just fine. “I’ll be damned. Where the hell you been all this time, Titus?”
“Smelling the roses. How’s life been treating you?”
“Better than a needle in the ass twice a week.”
With a chuckle, I shake my head, recalling those horrific Alpha injections back at Calico. “Twice a week, you say? Docs must’ve fancied you more.”
“Yeah, well, helps to be the better looking one of the bunch.”
“So, what’s the deal? You gonna make us stand out here all day in this shit humid air, or let us in?”
Another laugh rumbles through the speaker. “Still the same ornery prick I remember. Give me a second, I’ll come meet you at the gate.”
“A second? The walking cane doesn’t slow you down any, old timer?”
“No more than the prunes you probably downed this morning.” His comment rallies a chuckle from Thalia, who slaps a hand over her mouth when I shoot her a frown. “Welcome home, my friend.”
“Yeah.” Linking my fingers in Thalia’s, I let the unexpected comfort of that thought override the doubts of having left our own little corner in the world. A place tied to some of my best memories. Memories that never fade, but grow, as life goes on. We’ll make new memories here. Because that’s the thing about family.
Doesn’t matter where we go, when, or even if, we ever come back, they’ll always be our home.
I hope you enjoyed Titus and Thalia’s story.
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Thank you for reading.
Acknowledgments
It takes a village to write a book, and here are some of the people who helped see this entire series through to the end:
First, as always, my husband and children. Through the highs and lows of this endeavor, they’ve stuck by me, ignoring my tendency to talk to imaginary people and randomly scribble quotes like I’ve been possessed by demons. For that, I’ll always be grateful.
My editor and friend, Julie Belfield. Without her encouragement and feedback, her tough love and the occasional kick in the ass, I’m not sure I’d have continued to pursue writing. She’s always there to yank me out of my moments of doubt, and so long as she doesn’t get sick of my horrific grammar and terrible sentence structure, I’m keeping her.
My beta readers: Terri, Lana, Diane, and Kelly … without them, this series would suck. Truly. Their feedback is invaluable and the fact that they are so willing to dive into these manuscripts with such enthusiasm is humbling. I’ve appreciated their candor, praise and criticism. And well, because they’ve proven themselves awesome, I’ll be bugging them every time I finish a book. Sorry guys!
Diane Dykes, PA extraordinaire and fairy godmother—I don’t know what I’d do without her. She’s that one person who knows the exact right thing to say at any given time and keeps me on track when my head wants to veer off to the Land of Shiny Things. I’m keeping her, too.
To the Vigilante Vixens. This group is basically my home on the internet, where I can cut loose and be myself. Their encouragement and support is the fuel that keeps the engine running, and I’ve loved having a place to go when I need to chat about books, fictional boyfriends, or Tom Hardy. Or Jason Momoa. Or Henry Cavill. You get the picture …
These covers are some of my favorites, thanks to the insane talent of my designer, Sarah Hansen. She never fails to leave me stunned and speechless. And the fact that she puts these together from the incoherent scribbles I send over to her proves that she has superpowers.
I wouldn’t be writing these stories if it wasn’t for readers willing to take a chance on them. To ALL of you, including bloggers and author friends, I can’t begin to express how much the love and support has meant to me over the years. Writing books is a dream come true, and I promise to keep cranking out these crazy stories, as long as you’ll keep reading them. Thank you ❤️
Other Books By Keri Lake
VIGILANTES SERIES
RICOCHET
BACKFIRE
INTREPID
BALLISTIC
JUNIPER UNRAVELING SERIES
JUNIPER UNRAVELING
CALICO DESCENDING
KINGS OF CARRION
SONS OF WRATH SERIES
SOUL AVENGED
SOUL RESURRECTED
SOUL ENSLAVED
SOUL REDEEMED
THE FALLEN (A SONS OF WRATH SPINOFF)
THE SANDMAN DUET
NOCTURNES & NIGHTMARES
REQUIEM & REVERIE
STANDALONES
RIPPLE EFFECT
MASTER OF SALT & BONES
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About the Author
Keri Lake is a dark romance writer who specializes in demon wrangling, vengeance dealing and wicked twists. Her stories are gritty, with antiheroes that walk the line of good and bad, and feisty heroines who bring them to their knees. When not penning books, she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughters, and their rebellious Labrador (who doesn’t retrieve a damn thing). She runs on strong coffee and alternative music, loves a good red wine, and has a slight addiction to dark chocolate.
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