Read an exclusive excerpt from 'Shepherd's Moon' by Stacy Mantle

Shepherd’s Moon

by Stacy Mantle

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

It's taken twelve years to earn the official title of Shepherd but she's now mostly trained, fairly effective, and the first female in over two centuries to hold the position as protector of animals. All animals...

The Territorial Council isn't thrilled with her new title of Shepherd, but they don't have any more control over the appointment than they have over her. All they can really do is wait for her to screw something up - which Alex is determined not to do.

Everything changes when a chance encounter with a genetically modified Shifter leaves Alex shaken and initiates a quest to locate its maker.Despite years of training, Alex finds herself woefully unprepared to tackle the new threat.

To make matters worse, she must work with a mysterious man who's been trying to kill her since the day they met...

Read an exclusive excerpt:

He didn’t want to hurt me — that much was obvious from the way he avoided hitting me — but he wasn’t afraid to defend himself either. I jabbed with my left, following up with a sharp thrust with my right. My fist slammed into his jaw with a sickening crack as I fell back, off balance, and had to catch my weight on my injured leg. It was the advantage he needed. Using my unchecked momentum, he caught my wrist and pulled me into him, wrapping his long arms around my body and trapping me, despite my efforts to spin away. I brought my head back in a quick movement, catching his chin, and followed through with a sharp lunge from my elbow as I spun away from his grasp.

“Are you done?” I asked panting, hoping he was as tired as I was.

He grinned and I detected the hint of satisfaction in his eyes. “This is just foreplay, darlin’. Come on, now. I know you can do better than this…”

Frustrated rage surged through me, fast overcoming any common sense I had. I wanted to hurt him, hurt him like he hurt that cat he’d hauled in over his shoulder.

Lifting my eyes, I spotted my gun at the end of the long hallway as his gaze followed mine. Staring at one another, his gray eyes held mine for a brief moment, and we both lunged for the weapon. I was in the lead and he grabbed my foot, making an attempt to assuage me even as he pulled me backwards over the floor, away from the gun. Kicking hard, I landed a blow to his face, enough to shock him into releasing my leg, and clambered towards the Glock.

He made a quick recovery and once again reached for me, but I scrambled upright and spun to my left, letting him hit the far wall as I fell to the floor beneath him, then dove for the weapon. We slid across the floor, and I reached for the gun, grasping my hands around the cool metal as his arm encircled my hips. My finger found the trigger as I brought it level with his forehead and his hands left my waist.

“Do it,” he whispered. For the briefest moment, I saw the flicker of hopelessness and anguish in his eyes.

I hesitated as I recognized genuine suffering. This was a man who cared about nothing. Despite his long years of wandering the world, he had no one. Not a single person to care for. Not a single quality worth remembering.

I pulled the trigger.

There is no sound louder in the black depths of night than the click of an empty gun.

Book links

Also available on Lulu

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

While Stacy Mantle is most well-known as the Pack Leader of the popular website, PetsWeekly.com, however she is rapidly gaining a fan base in the genre of fantasy with the publication of Shepherd’s Moon, the first book in her Alex Wilde “Shepherd” series.

Stacy has a B.A. in English, a post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with an emphasis on Marketing. She is active in animal rescue and is a nationally-known pet industry authority. She currently resides in the deserts of the Southwest with several cats, a few dogs, and a very understanding husband. You can learn more about her at http://www.StacyMantle.com

Networks for Stacy Mantle:

http://www.stacymantle.com

http://www.facebook.com/stacymantle

http://www.twitter.com/stacymantle

http://www.pinterest.com/stacymantle

http://plus.ly/stacymantle

Shepherd Series Networks:

http://plus.ly/shepherd

https://www.facebook.com/ShepherdSeries

PetsWeekly Networks:

http://www.petsweekly.com

http://www.facebook.com/petsweekly

http://www.pinterest.com/petsweekly

http://www.twitter.com/petsweekly

http://plus.ly/petsweekly

 Stacy will be awarding a $15 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host. Follow the tour for more chances to win!