On today’s episode of a cat and a book, we have two kittens playing in books. To be honest… there are numerous pictures of these little cuties that will show up. I couldn’t resist them. They’re just so cute.
Who knows about who owns those boots, but they have found a new (and appropriate) purpose.
For the book portion of the show, I’m featuring Blood Moon by Angela Roquet. This is a paranormal romance, so it’s definitely for those who are okay with romantic themes. Without further ado, here’s more about the book. (Keep reading for a sample kindly provided by the author.)
As always, I haven’t read this book, but it looked interesting, so perhaps one of you will also find it to your taste.
She saves lives, but can he save her from herself?
Zelda Fulmen, a once powerful witch and doctor, lost everything in a tragic accident. She now lives a more humble life in the supernatural safe haven of Spero Heights, patching up werewolves and putting them to work in her pub, until a neighboring pack objects and begins a sabotage campaign against her.
Logan Chase had one job: keep an eye on the bleeding heart running the Crimson Moon. Her habit of collecting reject mutts from the city was a disaster waiting to happen, and the council needed a wolf on the inside. He never expected to fall for her, or to get mixed up with her misfit pack. When Zelda offers sanctuary to the wrong wolf and threatens the safety of Spero Heights, Logan is torn between the supernatural community he’s sworn to protect and the woman and wolves that could be his.
Zelda woke up early Sunday morning. The pub was quiet, and it would be until later in the afternoon. The wolves had recently taken interest in a little Methodist church on the edge of town. They were pack creatures, and while the environment Zelda offered at the pub had a certain air of family to it, it was still a business.
The wolves had tried to come together under her roof, and they’d tried to mark her as more than just their employer. Even though she wasn’t a wolf herself, they viewed her as one of their own. She was their savior and provider. But as much as Zelda cared for them, she’d let her past remain a big fat question mark. It made them wary of her, but it was just as well. She didn’t radiate dominance the way wolves needed in an alpha. The only one who hadn’t pressured her to take on more leadership had been Logan Chase.
When Logan looked into Zelda’s eyes, it wasn’t with reverence and gratitude. It was with something much more primal, and it did strange things to Zelda’s insides. Hiring him had been a bad idea. He asked questions the others let lay. He fingered old wounds—sometimes simply by the way he smiled.
Logan would have made a good alpha, but in addition to not begging Zelda to play master, he had no interest in being one himself. Of course, the fact that he wasn’t a Raymore refugee that she’d nursed back to health separated him from the others. He didn’t join them at church either.
It took two cups of coffee before Zelda found the nerve to make the call.
Logan answered on the first ring. “What’s wrong?”
“What? Nothing,” Zelda sputtered. “I mean, something, but it’s not an emergency.” She frowned at the receiver. “What makes you think something is wrong?”
“You never call me on Sunday.” He sounded amused.
Zelda snorted. “Are you busy? I need to talk to you, but I don’t know that it should be done over the phone.”
“Something is wrong.”
“How soon can you be here?” she asked.
“Give me ten minutes.” He hung up without saying goodbye.
Zelda’s stomach churned. She hadn’t expected him to come so soon. She crossed her room to glance in the oval mirror above her vanity. She never knew how to present herself to Logan. If she looked too nice, she was afraid he would take it as an invitation. But if she remained unpolished, she feared becoming too approachable.
It was a gamble either way. Letting Logan break through her defenses would be the end of her. She was sure of it.
Zelda went downstairs to the kitchen. Meeting with Logan in her apartment felt too personal. Too intimate. Besides, the injured boy and Marla were still snoozing across the hall in the guest rooms, and they both looked like they needed all the rest they could get.
The bloody rags from the night before were gone, and the kitchen was spotless. A box of fresh donuts rested on the old oak table, along with a scrawled note from Violet. The girl made a habit of bearing gifts any time the wolves did something without Zelda. Not that they hadn’t invited her to join them at church.
Zelda touched the necklace around her throat. She didn’t have any business in a church. There was no god out there that could forgive her sins.
A sharp rap at the back door made her jump. She rounded the oak table and peered through the curtained window before unlocking the deadbolt to let Logan in.
He filled the doorway, the enticing aroma of his aftershave and earthy musk slipping past the threshold as he waited for her to beckon him inside. His hair was short and dark, almost a military cut, and Zelda wondered if it would curl if he let it grow. Caramel skin hinted that he might have Latin roots, though he was as tight-lipped about his past as she was about her own.
When she waved him inside and quickly closed the door, he smiled at her, his bright green eyes sparkling with mischief. “Where’s the fire?”
Zelda’s knees trembled, and she prayed he wouldn’t notice. “Upstairs.”
“In your bedroom?” He lifted a thick brow. “What are we waiting for?”
Zelda felt her cheeks warm. “Devin Raymore’s mate is sleeping in one of the guest rooms.”
“What?” The teasing humor drained from his face.
“I know, I know,” she snapped. “Violet’s already given me the third degree.”
“She can’t stay,” Logan snarled. He took a step toward the back stairs.
Zelda cut him off, defiance twisting up her face. “This is my place, and I’ll decide who stays and who goes. Got it?”
Logan relaxed into a more guarded expression, though his eyes still smoldered. “I’ve never met the guy, but I still know this is not a good idea, Zee.”
Zee. It made Zelda’s heart skip when he used the nickname. Everyone else called her Doc. She dismissed the flutter in her stomach and stood firmly in his path.
“Why do you think I asked you to come?” She folded her arms, instantly regretting it when Logan glanced down and grinned at the goosebumps spreading across her skin.
“If you’re asking for my advice—”
“I’m asking for a favor.”
Zelda took a cautious step back when his eyes locked on hers again. It wasn’t a nice look.
“No. You want me to ask for a favor.” He folded his arms to mirror her and leaned against the door behind him. “What makes you think my sister will give a shit about one of the pack rejects you’re harboring?”
Zelda bristled at his prejudice. She knew the only reason Selena Chase had allowed her baby brother to work at the pub was so that he could keep an eye on the riffraff Zelda welcomed into their precious town.
Spero Heights was precious though. It hadn’t taken Zelda long to figure that out. There was scarcely a normal human soul living for miles around. And the supernatural citizens weren’t exactly normal by paranormal standards either. The entire town was one big sanctuary for broken monsters. It was the reason Zelda had settled there after a year of aimless wandering. She felt right at home.
Zelda lifted her chin to meet Logan’s harsh gaze. “This girl is not a pack reject. She barely escaped with her life, and the lives of her unborn children.”
Logan blanched and dropped his arms. “Have you lost your mind? You can’t house that crazy alpha’s pregnant bitch. What are you thinking?”
“Don’t call her that.” Zelda crinkled her nose at him.
Logan thrust a finger at the stairs. “That’s what she is,” he growled.
“I don’t care,” Zelda hissed. “Unless you work out something with your sister, she stays. I won’t be throwing out a battered, pregnant girl.”
Logan clenched his teeth and his jaw flexed. “You’re impossible.” He held Zelda’s stare a moment longer, challenging her dominance like they were in an alpha showdown. When she refused to look away, he sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do—but I’m not making any promises.”
Zelda relaxed and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” he grumbled, though most of the hostility had slipped from his voice. He glanced down at her hand, still touching his arm, and caught it before Zelda could pull away. “We could still go check your bedroom for fires, if you want.”
Zelda’s breath hitched. Logan’s sudden mood shift had caught her off guard, and now the electricity of his skin against hers blurred her thoughts.
Logan pulled her in closer and dipped his face down to playfully brush a stray dreadlock back with his nose, whispering his warm breath along her temple. “Or maybe we could find a fire right here in the kitchen.”
Zelda’s knees buckled again, and this time she was sure Logan noticed, with one knee deviously slipping between hers. Her heart picked up speed as he closed the distance between them.
“Theo,” she whispered, instantly flushing from her error. Her heart froze in her chest as her mind reeled from the memory of her last lover.
Logan stiffened, and not in the way Zelda had been anticipating. “Who the hell is Theo?”
“No one,” she said, immediately biting her tongue. “Someone.”
Logan’s anger dissolved into bitter amusement. “Well, which is it?”
“An old flame.” The words stung as she spoke them, and even though they were true, they tasted like a lie. Theo was so much more than that.
Logan pulled away from her, raking a hand through his short hair as he cleared his throat. “How old, Zee?”
Her throat tightened. “Two years ago.”
“That’s an awfully long time to be hung up on someone.” The thrill of the hunt seemed to have escaped him for the time being.
“I’m not hung up on him. It was an honest mistake. I haven’t been with anyone since, and the mood just threw me back in time.” Zelda hugged herself and blinked stiffly, willing her eyes dry.
“You’ve been alone for two years? He must have been quite the fellow.”
She nodded. “He was.”
“Then why did he leave you?” Logan was slowly recovering and slipping back into his flirtatious mood. He might’ve even had another shot, if he had managed to steer the conversation away from Theo.
“He didn’t leave me,” she said softly.
“So you left him?” he asked.
Zelda turned and took a step away before he caught her arm.
“Zee?”
She bowed her head, refusing to look back. “He died.”
Want to keep reading? You can download Blood Moon at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Apple Books, and Kobo.
Leave a Reply