Release Blitz, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
The Beta’s Vampire by Beth Laycock
Penhul Pack, Book 2
Beta of the Penhul pack with a vampire? Over his dead body.
Lucian is bored. After a century of being a vampire nothing surprises him anymore. Life, such as his can be called one, has become predictable. Humans are predictable. Add in the fact he’d rather not feed from them, and a visit with a witch friend of his clan is a welcome distraction. But when he meets Benedict it’s anything but predictable, especially when he stumbles across the man transforming into a dog before his eyes. And never in an eternity did he think he would find himself wanting to drink the mutt’s blood.
As beta of the Penhul pack, Benedict knows pack comes first, like having to spend weeks away in the Lake District on pack business. But the last thing Benedict expects to find when he returns is his brother having found his fated mate, or worse, a vampire feeding from his witch. His homecoming definitely won’t go down as his finest moment, and he’s certainly not prepared for his reaction to the bloodsucker.
Can Benedict see past their differences and put aside his prejudices of vampires? Or will his choice of mate cost him his pack?
This MM romance from Beth Laycock features enemies to lovers, fated mates, a vampire with an aversion to feeding on humans, a sexy man that can shift into an adorable dog, and of course a HEA. The Beta’s Vampire is the second book in the Penhul pack series and should be read in order.
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“When I was out walking. I saw you…change.”
My eyes widened at the thought of shifting when he was around and that I hadn’t sensed his presence. There were rules around shifting in front of others. For obvious reasons we were forbidden from shifting in front of humans and revealing our secret to them. I’d shifted in front of Emory so many times I’d lost count, especially when I was a pup and didn’t have as much control as I did now.
But shifting in front of a vampire? I had no idea if that went against pack lore because Lucian wasn’t truly a human. And he had his own secret to keep from the humans, but would that have made a difference?
He shuffled his weight from foot to foot when I still didn’t respond, but I had no idea what to say. My mind had gone blank.
“It was an accident. I was out walking and saw you up ahead. Before I could turn around and leave, you’d…transformed into a dog.”
My head jerked up at the note of awe in his voice because, well, I had to have been mistaken. He swallowed, and I watched the dip of his Adam’s apple and fought the urge to swipe my tongue over my lips in response. My inner dog’s ears pricked up at Lucian’s tone and the fascination aimed our way.
Lucian took a step towards me. “It—you were amazing. In the blink of an eye, you turned from a man into a Labrador. And then…I watched you run and jump into the river and swim off. I know I shouldn’t have watched but it was mesmerising. I’ve never seen anything like it and I couldn’t look away.”
His words brought a flush of heat through my veins and I sat up straighter from where I was still kneeling on the floor. And despite the control I thought I had gained since being a pup, my inner dog leapt up, preening at Lucian’s praise, tail wagging furiously, and my fingers ached as my claws tried to slide out. “No one except my pack, and Emory, have seen me shift before.”
Don’t forget your attempt to shift in front of the GA.
Yes, thank you for the reminder. It wasn’t as if I was going to forget that moment. Ever.
Lucian’s face dropped and the excitement on his face turned into frown lines across his forehead. “I’m sorry. I never even thought it’s probably against your rules to show yourself to another being just like the way I have to hide my true nature from humans.”
I scrambled to my feet and wrapped my hands around his biceps. A small gasp escaped his lips and I eased my grip. “It’s okay.” I had no idea if that were true. “I’m sure it’s fine, and well…no one needs to know except us.”
I swore I could hear angels sing as Lucian’s face lit up with a smile, and he transformed into the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen and took my breath away. My inner dog whimpered, wanting out so he could nuzzle up to Lucian, so he could rub up against him and cover him in our scent, mark him.
That’s how he attracts his prey. Lures them in with his beauty until he has them right where he wants them—vulnerable.
And the cynical voice in the back of my head was probably right, but I didn’t want to listen to it. Because there was no reason for him to use his charms on me, he didn’t need to lure me in to feed off me, so what was the point?
His tongue darted across his lower lip and I saw a hint of fang. An involuntary shiver worked its way down my spine and my inner dog let out a howl in response.
Our gazes met and for the longest moment we stared at each other. I watched the play of emotions pass through his eyes too quickly for me to decipher them until he nodded.
He took a step back and I let go of his arms. “It will be just between us. I won’t tell another soul, I swear.”
He slipped the couple of books still in his arms onto the shelf, then hurried off to the stockroom. I inhaled deeply, feeling…some sort of way. I wasn’t sure how to describe it because it was like nothing I’d felt before. My inner dog whimpered, straining in the direction Lucian had gone, and was so close to the surface I was struggling not to shift. I focused on my breathing until my inner dog circled, then with a huff, curled up.
To celebrate the release of The Beta’s Vampire, Beth is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card + an ebook of The Beta’s Vampire
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About the Author:
Beth Laycock’s books are influenced by her time living overseas as well as the gritty, urban landscape of the north of England where she grew up. She has been reading romance since she was old enough to tell herself that line every book lover does—just one more chapter.
As a teenager, she attempted to write her first novel, and many more since then are still gathering dust on her bookshelf. It wasn’t until she discovered the M/M genre that her muse showed up and refused to quit telling her stories about beautiful men finding love together. She hasn’t stopped scribbling them down since.
Beth’s muse usually shows up when she is in the shower, is allergic to cleaning, rarely lets her watch TV, and insists she drinks copious amounts of coffee so she can turn caffeine into words.
Beth’s books range from sweet to sexy, long to short, contemporary to paranormal, but a HEA is always guaranteed.
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