Back in 2010, I created a character who kind of took over my brain. It all started with a seemingly innocent question posed in an online group I belonged to. I wrote a short scene to answer that question, and Kyle Slidell, the vegan werewolf, was born.
And then he became the lead character in a novel. That novel, in turn, gave birth to a series called Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat. Every time I thought I’d finished the saga of Kyle and his mate Tobias Rogan, more ideas came. The series grew to five books, with the first three from Kyle’s point of view and the last two, at the request of readers and my editor, being from Tobias’s.
When I chose to pull those books from the publisher in 2016, I thought that would be the end of Kyle and Tobias. At that point, I had no intention of rereleasing any of my books. I had burned out, my mental health was suffering, and the last thing I wanted to do was write or publish anything else.
But over time, I started feeling like Kyle and Tobias and their pack and friends needed to be back into the world. I contemplated it a few times, and in 2019 went so far as to get a new cover made for Salad on the Side, the first book in the series. But I couldn’t bring myself to take the step of actually re-editing the books and rereleasing them. It was too much. It wasn’t the right time.
Those characters never left my mind, though. And in 2021, when I decided to read the original versions of the books, I knew it was time. I couldn’t just leave Kyle and Tobias to collect dust in the files on my computer.
Not only did I end up revising the original versions of the books, but I added new content to them. And I wrote a new short story featuring Kyle and Tobias, new novels with characters introduced in the series (and with cameos by Kyle and Tobias), and even a brand-new book that’s a direct part of the Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat series.
Tempeh for Two, my new release, was part of the original series and uses the plot and a number of scenes from the original version. It is a rerelease. But there is also new content. I’ve woven Tempeh in with related novels I wrote within the past couple of years (some of which are heterosexual romance and won’t be published), and most importantly, I wrote an entirely new ending for the book.
Having been the last book of the series, the original version of Tempeh for Two ended with an into-the-future epilogue that summed up Tobias and Kyle’s life after the events of the novel. But since their story will be continuing into additional books, I chose to instead write a final chapter that concludes the plot of the book while leaving things open for the series to continue.
Meanwhile, the characters keep making cameo appearances in new books of mine that I didn’t think had anything to do with Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat. I keep getting new ideas for short stories and bonus material with them. I didn’t think my mind would be taken over by a gay vegan werewolf, but here we are. And I can’t say I’m sorry about it.
Tobias Rogan never wanted to be a leader. But in the past several months, he’s gone from a quiet life as Alpha of the smallest pack in the United States to ruling the entire Northeast Region. With his mate, Kyle Slidell, by his side, Tobias is adjusting to his new normal.
But now, with the future of the entire werewolf world at stake, Tobias must step further out of his comfort zone. The Anax, ruler of all werewolves in the United States, is no longer competent to rule. Only Tobias is dominant enough to defeat the Anax. And when Kyle’s life hangs in the balance, Tobias must choose: Challenge the Anax to claim the rank, or allow the Anax to declare war.
Warnings: Mentions past child abuse and sexual assault; depicts PTSD; some homophobia.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Kyle Slidell didn’t move to Boston expecting to be changed into a werewolf. But that’s what happened. He can’t control whether he shifts at the full moon, but he can damn sure continue being vegan–even in wolf form.
Tobias Rogan, Alpha of Boston North Pack, never expected to fall in love with anyone, let alone a man. A male Alpha is not supposed to have a male partner. But when he meets Kyle, he’s immediately attracted. And after Kyle is changed, Tobias realizes the truth: Kyle is not only his partner, but his mate.
The werewolf world isn’t a simple place, and Kyle and Tobias are thrown into the middle of conflict within and among the packs of the United States–a conflict that extends all the way to the top of the werewolf hierarchy. Can they and their love survive what they face?
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The Anax had left me alone to rule the Northeast Region since March. All along, I’d known the respite wouldn’t last. Every time someone entered my territory, I wondered if they were the Anax’s new puppet. Every time I sensed something off-kilter, I wondered if the Anax had finally decided to have me killed. It wasn’t a pleasant way to live, and my relationship with Kyle had suffered for it. I hadn’t been able to relax and enjoy being with him, and we were both always on guard.
Knowing someone had finally come here on the Anax’s orders—and likely under his control—was almost a relief. He had finally made his move, and now I could respond.
Fear ran along the bond between Kyle and me, and I sent back reassurance. He was still asleep, but he’d sensed something. I couldn’t let him leave the bedroom. If I had to worry about him being harmed, I wouldn’t be able to focus on the fight awaiting me outside.
I’d hesitated deliberately, hoping to put my visitor off-balance. He would have expected me to barge outside to confront him, because that was what dominant wolves did when someone invaded their territory. I wasn’t a typical dominant wolf, though, something the Anax should have told his little pal.
Now I opened the door and stepped outside. My eyes adjusted almost instantly to the difference in light between the kitchen, where two nightlights stayed on throughout the night, and the back yard.
I saw no one, but the sense of an unfamiliar presence grew stronger. He waited just out of sight, possibly hidden in the trees on the other side of the lawn.
I stepped down onto the grass. “I know you’re there.” I spoke softly and sent a pulse of compulsion through the words. “Come out and speak to me. Tell me who sent you. Tell me why you’re here.”
If I was wrong and this was merely a typical visitor, the compulsion would have worked. I was more dominant, and therefore more powerful, than most of the wolves in the country. Generally I could even cut through compulsions set by alphas or other arkhons. But I couldn’t counter a compulsion set by the Anax, especially if he still controlled the wolf. Somehow, over the course of his rule, the Anax had gained the power to completely take over any of his wolves who were weak enough. It made him and his servants even more dangerous.
I took two slow steps forward, bracing myself for an attack that still didn’t come. The scent of an unfamiliar wolf, not from my region, filled my nose. I was unable to detect his exact location. He was definitely male, and definitely ready for a fight. Waiting, most likely, for me to come to him.
“You don’t have to fight me,” I said gently. “Come speak with me. I can help you.”
Something rustled to my left. The intruder was in the woods, then. That might be a problem. The trees would give him cover to attack me before I saw.
“I can help you,” I said again, adding more compulsion to the words.
I felt as if I were pushing on a brick wall. Only the Anax had the power to block my compulsion so thoroughly. And yet I did get through the block to a degree. A soft whine from the same spot as the rustling told me so.
I couldn’t let this drag on. There was no way I could completely break the Anax’s control of my visitor. If I simply went back inside, refusing to fight, the intruder might follow, which would bring danger to Kyle and to my employees. If I remained where I was, he would come to me, which would at least put any fight in my control.
We would fight, though. That was what I sensed most strongly. The wolf who had come to me hadn’t come by choice, and he wouldn’t leave until one of us was dead.
It would be him. I was a better fighter than anyone the Anax could send. I didn’t want to kill the poor sap lurking in the bushes, but if it came to a choice between him and me, I would survive by whatever means necessary.
I approached the area where I’d heard the sounds. Even though it probably would have been smarter to remain silent, I continued to speak, hoping I would somehow persuade him to at least return to human form. I didn’t want to fight in wolf form. Wolf fights tended to be messy. If he confronted me in human form, I might be able to prevent death.
“Shift back,” I urged. “Become human again so we can talk. I know what your orders are and from whom they come. That doesn’t mean you have to follow through. We can talk about it. I can help you if you shift back.”
Sending strong compulsion against the block the Anax had set in the wolf ’s mind gave me a headache, but I kept trying as I slowly walked forward. The wolf whined again, more loudly. Pain flooded the noise. His head was probably also throbbing right now from the dueling compulsions in his brain.
“I know it hurts,” I murmured. “Shift back and I can help you stop the pain.”
Before I could say another word, he lunged out of the bushes and knocked me to the ground. Claws and teeth tore at me, and an ugly, putrid scent filled my nose. This wolf was nearly dead already. God only knew how far he’d traveled on the Anax’s orders.
I had a second to glance into his eyes. Any rationality that might once have been there was gone.
Karenna is a polyamorous, nonbinary human who splits time between the home she shares with her husband and the one she shares with her committed partner. She also has two adult children and three “bonus” kids, four grandchildren, and two and a half cats. (Half in terms of time the cat lives with her, not in terms of the cat itself…)
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