Curses, Fates & Soul Mates is still on the charts! Do you have yours yet? If not, hurry! The 99c sale ends Monday, March 17! Get your copy now at:

Two weeks ago, I gave a little tease of Frostbite by Lynn Rush, and last week, a taste of Cursed by R.K. Ryals, both part of the CF&SM bundle. Today, let’s take a peek at Return of the Ascendant by Raine Thomas, released for the first time ever in the CF&SM set.

Return of the Ascendant

Part 1 of The Ascendant Series

Expecting to enjoy another typical college night at a frat party with friends, Kyra Vaughn’s plans derail when she’s almost killed…twice. Her savior, a tall, sexy stranger who calls himself TaeDane, claims that he’s the personal bodyguard for the Ascendant of Alametria. She’s convinced he’s crazy.
Especially when he insists that she’s the Ascendant.
With dark enemies hunting her down, Kyra has no choice but to trust her supposed bodyguard. Ty vows to help her remember her past and return her safely to Alametria, but someone seems intent on interfering, challenging his abilities at every turn.

As Kyra’s memories emerge, she remembers that Ty is more to her than he’s let on…much more than he’s allowed to be. She’ll also discover that there are many things about her planet and herself that she’d rather forget. In the end, she’ll have to make a choice: retain all she knows and remain the person she’s become, or sacrifice it all to become the person she’s destined to be.


Excerpt:

Blinking over the stranger’s comment, Kyra wondered how he’d known what she was thinking. She shook her head, figuring he’d just made a lucky guess based on the circumstances.
They walked for several feet before her sanity kicked in. She tried to remove her arm from the man’s grasp, but he just held her tighter. While the action should have alarmed her, it didn’t. It sure as hell annoyed her, though.
Giving him a more careful study, she tried to place his face. What little of it she could see as he studied their surroundings seemed somewhat familiar. Had she met him at a party? Was he in one of her classes last year?
That didn’t seem likely. She’d surely have remembered someone as hot as he was.
His gaze moved sharply to hers. She found herself catching her breath as she looked into the most startling silver eyes she’d ever seen. No one could possibly have eyes that color.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
Something flashed in his gaze. Disappointment? Irritation? She couldn’t tell.
He looked away without responding. His pace increased. She got the sense he didn’t want to be alone with her. Insult rose like a tidal wave.
“Okay, that’s far enough,” she commanded.
Her voice sounded louder than she’d intended. She planted her feet, refusing to move another inch until he let her go. Unfortunately, since he was far stronger than she was, he pulled her right out of her shoes and kept going.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” she cried. “Let go of me, asshole!”
Finally, he stopped walking and glanced down at her. She thought he looked puzzled, but then realized she couldn’t read his expression at all. Anger made her face and throat burn as she yanked her arm free.
“Look, I don’t know who you think you are,” she said, stalking back to her shoes, “but you have no right to haul me around like that. These shoes cost me fifty bucks on sale, for crying out loud. Don’t you know how long it takes a college student to save up that kind of money?”
“There is no time for this,” he replied.
There was something formal about his speech, she thought as she put on a shoe. He had a faint accent, as well. Maybe something European? She wondered if they treated women like this wherever he was from and sniffed in disdain.
One of his eyebrows lifted. “I realize I have failed to make a grand impression, but time is of the essence.”
“It sure is,” she said, securing her second shoe and starting forward. “My friends are waiting for me.”
He stepped into her path, making her once again come to a halt. “You saw something in the shadows,” he said.
She started to argue, then glanced over shoulder at the lingering darkness not too far away. Just the sight of it had her skin tingling. Frowning, she turned back and met his gaze.
“I will escort you,” he said.
“To my friends?”
“Yes.”

Studying his striking face, she tried to gauge if she was in any danger. Almost immediately, she decided that the only danger she was in was of drooling all over him.