Red
the Were Hunter
by Rebekah R. Ganiere
Hook, Line and Sinker Contest and is a
current finalist in the Great Beginnings Contest.
The
epic story begins...
Another
girl had been taken. One moment the small village of Volkzene was
silent, with Redlynn drifting off to sleep to the rhythmical sounds
of her clock ticking; the next a scream pierced the night.
Redlynn
leapt from her bed, grabbed her sword, and tore out to the street.
People in their nightclothes, brandishing torches and lanterns,
filled the village center.
“Where
are they?” she called at the nearest neighbor.
“Cantrel's.”
The woman ran for the safety of her home.
Anya!
Redlynn sprinted toward the south edge of the village. Her best
friend was on guard alone at the Cantrel's hut. Breathing hard, the
cold night wind whipped her wavy, red hair into her face and raised
goose bumps on her skin. The sound of her blood pumping in her ears
drowned out the buzz of the village folk.
“Anya,”
she screamed. “Anya, where are you?”
Redlynn
charged through the crowd gathered outside the hut. “Move,” she
yelled. The other members of the Sisterhood and villagers backed away
at the sight of her.
The
smell of blood hit her. She stepped over the threshold, the horror
slapping her with force. Her heart faltered and a cry escaped her
lips.
“No-o-o-o!”
she screamed. “Anya!”
Anya's
mangled body lay sprawled on the floor, her bow still clutched in her
fingers. Redlynn's mind numbed, unable to process the scene. She spun
slowly on the spot. An arrow stuck in the wall next to the door. Bits
of wood were strewn about from the smashed kitchen table. Coals
tumbled from the fire, and little more than charred cinders remained
of the curtains. A pail of water lay discarded nearby. The Cantrels
huddled on their bed in the adjoining room, Mrs. Cantrel sobbed into
her husband's chest.
“Sasha,
my Sasha,” Mrs. Cantrel moaned.
Anger
and despair ripped through Redlynn's gut. Her sword hit the floor
with a clatter and she collapsed to her knees, gathering her best
friend's bloody body in her arms. She sucked in large gasps of air,
tears streaming down her cheeks. The
very last of my loved ones.
Anya
stared blankly into the night, her eyes transfixed and cloudy.
Redlynn stroked her hair and tried in vain to piece the skin together
on Anya's neck and torso. At just nineteen, Anya had been through so
much in her short life. Too much, and now it was over. Sadness gave
way to anger, and bile scorched her throat.
“This
is your fault,” Mrs. Cantrel screeched, pointing at Redlynn. “Where
were you? You were supposed to stand guard with Anya.”
Redlynn
swallowed the angry words she wanted to say. “I'll find Sasha,”
she promised the teary-eyed mother.
“Find
her? Those beasts have probably already torn her to bits. You're the
protector, and where were you? Asleep. To let my Sasha be taken, and
poor Anya to be murdered. If you can’t even do the one thing we've
kept you around for, what good are you?”
The desperate, passionate tale of one huntress - her quest
and her destiny. And how worlds and hearts collide and shatter when
she pursues both...
Redlynn of
Volkzene, member of the Sisterhood of Red, is heartbroken to discover
another girl kidnapped and her best friend slain by werewolves.
Defying the head of her order, she sets out to kill the beast she
believes responsible. The King of the Weres-- But there are worse
things in Wolvenglen Forest than the wolves.
Adrian,
reluctant heir to the throne of Wolvenglen, and his band of wolf
brothers are bound to protect the humans; especially the Sisterhood.
Finding Redlynn unconscious in his woods, awakens in him a passion
he's never before experienced and a protective instinct that has him
ready to turn on his own men. Problem is, a female is the last thing
Adrian needs complicating his life.
But all is
not as it seems in Wolvenglen Forest and to save the missing girls
before time runs out, Redlynn and Adrian must move past their inner
demons and learn to trust each other. In the search for vengeance
however, sometimes you must give up what you desire most.
What if you were the key to an ancient prophecy that would begin to heal your lands, but fulfilling your destiny meant you had to turn your back on everything you'd been taught to believe in?
When
I read this book...
Red the Were Hunter is a twist on a twist of an age-old fairy tale. Red is no little girl in the woods, but a fiery huntress hell bent on avenging her beloved friend and slaying the king of the Weres. Adrian is no vicious girl-eater, but a prince and protector. But this book is not the non-stop, adrenaline-infused bloodbath you might expect. Because despite the hunting instincts of both leads and the visceral animal attraction between the two, this book focuses more on the very real and very vulnerable sides of Red and Adrian. Notice how the book begins - with Redlynn experiencing loss, frustration, and grief. As the story progresses, Redlynn deals with injury and debilitating fever, giving her character time to weigh, question, fall (in love maybe? So fast? With a dark and mysterious man she just met?) and grow impatient enough to charge headlong into danger. Adrian is a tortured soul, contemplating his destiny, every choice he makes, and what it will mean to his people. These two will not only have to fight their foes in the forest, but battle their own demons and doubts if there is any hope for their future, and the future of their people.
Red the Were Hunter is an delightful read. Though epic and mystic, and couched enough in an old-fashioned setting to have the characters wearing "breeches" and drinking "mead," they speak in everyday language, making the story accessible and easy to jump right into.
This is a compelling story not only exploring battles, betrayals, passion, and pain, but following Redlynn on her journey to either accept of reject her destiny - a destiny that is just one part of books to come involving other realms of the supernatural Fairelle.
In the mood for werewolves, epic prophesies, and two tortured heroes trying to do the right thing? Check out Red the Were Hunter by Rebekah R. Ganiere.
A
little something about Rebekah R. Ganiere...
Rebekah is an award winning author. Her first novel Dead
Awakenings, debuted in January 2014. Red the Were Hunter, the first
in her Farielle Series, is now available. Her trilogy
The Society
will be released in early 2015 by Kensington's Lyrical
Press. Rebekah is the VP of Communications of the RWA FFP Chapter as
well as a member of her local Los Angeles and Orange County Chapters.
In her spare time when she isn't writing you can find her moderating
on Savvy Authors.com and in her local SCV Writers group, or hanging
out with her husband, four children and dog, rabbit, two bearded
dragons, three tortoises and a handful of fish. The escaped snake has
yet to be found.
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