Legacy excerpt #5
In anticipation of the release in October 2020, I wanted to offer a little bit-sized taste of what's to come. "Legacy" is book #2 in Saga of the Bold People, a follow up to my bestselling "Leopold." Mastrodai, Leopold's alien mate, is given his own point of view in this book. I decided the prologue would reveal certain scenes from "Leopold" but from Mastrodai's viewpoint. There are five significant scenes I touched on in the prologue and here is the last one before release. So here's the fifth and final little taste.
Enjoy!
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BLURB:
What does a former assassin do when he’s not out there… well… assassinating? Saving his species from extinction, of course.
At least, that’s what Leopold wants to do with every molecule in his body. But the task won’t be fast or easy, and he can’t do it alone. Enter Mastrodai—a mrrog prince who has absolutely no desire to rule, much to his father’s exasperation. He craves the ability to prove his worth as a mate and to somehow atone for his actions that led to Leopold’s torture at the hands of an enemy. Making humans official would be a good start.
But politics rule no matter what the species, and Mastrodai has to maneuver carefully and risk what he has built to give his mate what he deserves. And when he realizes both he and Leopold have deeper feelings for Alex, one of Mastrodai’s human slave women, he knows his future is out among the stars with his humans, not planet-bound with his kin.
Unfortunately, before they can set their plan into motion, Leopold receives a vision that sends him reeling and questioning everything he knows about himself. A vision he must investigate, back to where he began—Lex, the backwater planet where he spent his early years, and where he swore never to return.
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MASTRODAI
Two Mragin months later
I held Leopold tightly, listening to him breathe, the sounds of night outside muted and familiar. For the first time in a long time I felt at home. Because of Leopold. He was where I belonged. And in my arms was where he belonged. He’d told me he loved me. I’d told him he was my kren, and I wanted to proudly proclaim my choice to my people, to the known galaxies, but our difference in status forbade such a proclamation. It hurt. A lot. He was everything to me, first in my thoughts, in my motives, and to be forced to hide that, to know it would be considered shameful, was painful and rage-inducing. The pride I had in Leopold was incalculable. The strength of my human was beautiful and awe-inspiring.
I blinked in the darkness and stroked Leopold’s back. His breaths were quiet, his body curled around me, arms and legs holding tight. I turned my head, seeing as clear as day in the dark. Leopold was deeply asleep. Thank the cosmos for that. He needed it after what he’d been through. Tenia had tried to break him and she failed. No one could break my Leopold.
And now he wanted my help to save his species. I would need information from the IG Council to accomplish the task of making them official. I wanted his freedom so bad I could taste it. If he was free, he could be my kren. I wouldn’t have to keep my slaves anymore. I could free Alex. I was more than willing to follow his lead and do anything and everything I could to help. Even if it meant allowing him to dominate me. Especially if it meant that.
Pleasurable memories warmed me. Submitting to him had been an unexpected delight, his domination so complete and what we both needed. It seemed only right to let him claim me after what he’d been through and what I’d inadvertently caused.
I closed my eyes for a moment, my heart twisting in pain. My biggest regret was my selfishness in the beginning, and it shamed me. I’d wronged Leopold with the bounty and my subsequent actions to make him mine. If I hadn’t made him take the oath, he could have escaped Tenia or avoided capture all together. My arrogance in thinking I could protect him from all his enemies had led to his agony. The consequences of my actions should have fallen upon my head, not his. I didn’t regret him in my life, not for an instant, but I’d harmed him horribly with my short-sightedness. He was truly my weakness, my blind spot. I couldn’t let him down again. And here was my chance to redeem myself. To even the scales. The ultimate way to protect Leopold was in front of me.
I was wrenched from my musings when Leopold jerked, his breath speeding up. I purred loudly, and pressed his face to my chest. The gathering tension in those long, muscled limbs eased and his breaths evened out. He slept on and I stayed awake, purring, keeping the memories at bay the best I could. He would sleep, blast the universe, and I would make sure of it.
I nuzzled Leopold’s hair, taking deep breaths of his mesmerizing scent. The same aroma, although now it was mixed a bit with my own. It was a thrill to smell myself on him. But it would never compare with the memory of our first meeting, when I only had a scent, a form, and eyes. Bold, blue, starry eyes that seared me to the bone.
My precious, strong, irritating mate.
“You will be free,” I murmured in Maggin. “I swear on my life that I will make you free.”
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