Blurb
Melody needs to keep Dean and The Apex free from her aunt’s machinations, but she simply must escape Coven Bestia. Her aunt is angered by Dean’s continuing absence and wants Melody to return to the compound as soon as possible.
While she might be safer at Adolphus Academy, not everyone is happy to have her there – especially when she’s bonded to a much-desired member of The Apex.
Now Melody must juggle the needs of her new familiar, along with the urgings of six more shifters who wish to bond to her, all while dodging the catty and immature classmates and whatever her aunt is planning.
Then there is the new wolf who’s determined to have her at any cost. Yet another shifter she has to deny – without actually denying him. Her aunt’s punishments for disobedience are getting worse and there’s a good chance that she won’t survive the next one.
Two dragons, three wolves and a very sweet fox are all focussed on becoming her familiars, but Melody is struggling to adjust to her bond with Dean. She’s never been allowed to keep a familiar before.
Their beasts are urging them to claim her, to bond her, to possess her. How long can she resist these men? Freeing them from the academy means enslaving them to her aunt. There are simply no good choices and no easy solution.
All Melody wants is a chance to breathe and be “normal”. Is it too much to ask for?
**Warning, this is a dark reverse harem story with elements that may cause some readers distress, including but not limited to descriptions of physical abuse, neglect and battle. Please consider carefully before purchasing.**
Book Links
Available on Amazon, and free on Kindle Unlimited
Beneath Contempt: mybook.to/BeneathContempt
Held In Contempt: mybook.to/HeldInContempt
Civil Contempt: mybook.to/CivilContmept
Written Teasers
Trent leaned forward and looked at her closely. “You have a bit of egg near your mouth, may I?” he asked her, and she nodded. However, he was as sly as his beast. Rather than brushing it away with his thumb, or wiping it with a cloth, he leaned in and licked it from the corner of her mouth, before running his tongue lightly across her lips.
****
“Mm, delicious,” was all he had time to say before her bonded shifters lifted him bodily away
****
Inside, his beast roared. Already they knew the answer. Yes; yes, it had happened more times than anyone could ever imagine and she blamed herself. He could see it. She was helpless, as much a victim of the abuse as the shifters were, but she saw herself as the cause.
****
She wasn’t, Melody was merely the tool, but he knew that the differentiation would offer her no comfort.
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His witch was suffering, soul-crushing wounds, and there was nothing he could do to ease pain. How could he, when she was inflicting most of it herself?
His lion surged forward. He wanted to tear out the throat of whoever had marked her. The only marks she should bear were the ones left by his teeth as he claimed her for his mate.
It was what his lion was chanting, however, that held his attention in a way that nothing else could.
****
Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.
****
The beast was relentless and resolute. Melody was his, and Dean needed to claim her.
Dean sat there, shocked, thrilled, horrified. She was his mate. He’d found her. All this time, and he’d finally found her. And she was his witch! His witch. The woman who had conquered his beast, and then stolen their hearts. But she was in so much pain, so much fear, so much danger. He needed to protect her. He needed to pull her into his arms and hold her there, never letting her go.
****
Whatever Melody needed, he would provide it, or die trying. His witch needed him, and he would answer her call.
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“Oh my!” Mrs Hardinger was taken aback. “And you’ve got seven of them panting after you. Well, my dear, you’re certainly in for a treat. I can’t speak for Asher or Trent, but I can tell you that the original Apex boys have fucked their way around this academy once or twice. They’re going to make you see stars!” She threw back her head and laughed.
****
“Tell me, sweetheart; have you ever done this to yourself? Ever brought yourself to completion?” he asked, licking the shell of her ear.
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“You’re so beautiful like this, Melody. Relaxed, free, radiant. If I had my way, you would spend all your days this happy. The way you look now, I know every one of them would want to see it.”
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“We’re shifters, Melody. The walls and doors are not enough to guarantee your privacy here, pretty one. Even without that, there’s the bond. Believe me, they both know what we’re doing.”
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This was her wild, wanton and unrepentant, and he had brought her to this point.
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Together they moaned and writhed and touched, but he took it no further than that. Right then, he just wanted to introduce her to pleasure. Something that she’d had far too little experience with, sexual or not. Melody’s life had been stark and full of pain, and Trent wanted to address the imbalance.
****
