Isn't my Muse beautiful? I sat down with her today and had a good long talk with her. Well I chatted and she twirled around, swaying her hips and fluttering around the room in what used to be her prettiest dress. I asked her what was going on.. why she seemed so quiet lately.. so hesitant to come play with me and I hate to admit it but it's all my fault. Just one look at the lack luster of her gown's material showed me I'd allowed my stress to affect her. Judging by the way she can't seem to keep still, my fear and self doubt has caused her to feel a little stifled. This just can't continue. I'm not happy and the tears gathering in her eyes, tell me she isn't either. So we came to a compromise - I'll try to lighten up and just write. Whether it's any good or not, I'm going to remember how amazing it feels to be able to create something from my imagination and those giddy feelings that come when I tap into "life" On her part, my Muse promised that she'll remind me of how amazing I am, and point out all the positive things that are happening around me. She'll whisper in my ear during the day, filling my mind with ideas and at night, she'll bless my dreams with wonderful characters brimming with emotion. It was such a good conversation, one that was sorely needed and with a quick hug, I couldn't help but smile as I watched her transform back into the sparkly, vivacious creature that she is. Her parting gift before she danced away? This.... *grins*
Without Mercy
The click of the gun’s safety being released stopped me dead in my tracks. I didn’t need to turn around to see that death had finally caught us. I closed my eyes for a brief moment and grimaced.
Seconds.
We had missed out on freedom by mere moments and as my heart raced, adrenaline coursing through my body, I couldn’t help the feeling of defeat that crashed over me.
To come so close and be stopped was devastating.
The hand holding tight onto mine squeezed and I dug deep for courage. Jasmine would be terrified enough without seeing the fear in my eyes and if I was ever going to get us out of this, I needed to keep her calm. Or at least calmer than me.
Giving her a look I hoped conveyed confidence, I motioned for her to keep quiet as I positioned her behind my body and turned to face our attacker. All night I had felt the person breathing down our necks, always in pursuit and it felt good to finally put a face to the shadow.
The first thing I saw was the gun, aimed straight at me with the finger poised over the trigger ready to shoot. The hand holding it was steady and trained to adjust to every movement and without thinking, I shied to left and back again. Without hesitation, the gun’s motion mimicked mine.
Damn. The movement was precise; telling me whoever was holding the gun knew what they were doing. Chances were if they took a shot, they wouldn’t miss and out running a bullet was too risky. It looked like I’d have to try and outsmart the attacker.
Taking a quick sniff of the air and drawing on my other senses, I knew I was dealing with a human male and I couldn’t help but grin at the heavy hint of fear I could smell mixed in with his excitement.
I may be a female but as a werewolf female, I still held incredible strength and my body began to relax. As long as I paid attention to the gun still pointed at me, and made no crazy moves, our chances of escape had just increased.
I looked beyond the gun and recognized the hate filled face that stared back at me. Aggression and defiance rolled off his body in waves, causing my wolf to raise her head and howl. This was no dominant wolf to show my belly to and I could feel my hackles rise, growling to answer the blatant challenge being offered.
I sent a silent command to the wolf inside me to stand down. I explained there would be no need for her to come forward, that I had the situation under control and she whined impatiently at being refused.
Something wasn’t right about the situation. The man standing before me was Gary and he was friend to the pack, he knew who we were and who we belonged to. There could be no doubt in his mind that any act of aggression towards the Alpha’s intended mate was a death sentence – regardless of who or what you were.
My wolf sensing my confusion stepped forward again, this time nudging me harder. She could feel the disturbance in the air. Something was different and she wanted permission to take control to protect us. It made sense to change and deal with the situation as a wolf but I was serious when I’d told Mason I wanted to try reasoning first before violence.
He’d laughed at me when I’d said that but nodded his approval. He was more the punch first, ask questions later kind of guy. Not me. I’d seen too much violence in my life and I vowed there’d be no more.
Obviously, no one else got the memo and even though only seconds had passed, staring at the gun… it felt like a lifetime.
“You don’t want to do this, Gary” I crooned, putting as much compulsion in my voice without triggering him. It would do me no good to annoy him any further and the sooner I could get him to lower the gun, the better.
My mind raced. Where had I told Mason I would meet him? I cringed slightly as I remembered my last words to him. “You don’t need to come with us every time we leave the house. There is no threat and we’ll be back before you know it.”
My intentions had been to quickly grab something from the local convenient store and head back home but sensing someone following, I’d made the rather stupid decision of trying to draw them out.
Sometimes being a werewolf was an amazing experience but moments like this, my cockiness astounded even me. I should have rushed back to Mason and let him and the pack deal with this. It’s what’s been drilled into me since birth but like always, I just didn’t listen.
I mentally crossed my fingers as I continue to assess the situation. Hopefully, this would be another case of me escaping by the skin of my teeth and no harm will come from it.
Jasmine’s soft whimper drives home the seriousness of the moment. Who cares about my safety, it’s hers that’s important and my mind kicks in hyper drive, thinking strategy.
I look beyond the gun at Gary, taking in his expressions and the trickle of sweat that rolls down the side of his cheek. The man may have nerves of steel when it came to handling weapons, but he wasn’t as unaffected as he let on. He was scared and I could use it to my advantage.
My brain scrambled for what little I knew of him. Mason had asked Gary last summer to come help with the home renovations he had planned. Even though they had little in common, something about the human had endeared him to the Alpha and Mason developed a soft spot for him.
How he’d over looked this major character flaw was anybody’s guess. Werewolves live and breathe violence and noones radar had gone off with Gary. I guess its true what they say – it’s always the quiet ones.
There had to be something that triggered him, something that could push him over the edge and make him lose control. It was a gamble causing Gary to freak out, he might fire the gun but he could do that any time. Right now he called all the shots and left little wiggle room for me to act.
There’s two sure fire ways to get a response out of a man – turn him on or piss him off and judging from the little action I’d overheard the guys talking about, I figured turning him on would be the easiest way to resolve this.
The idea was I’d just batter my eyelids, give him a pouty smile and I’d flirt the gun right out of his hand. The very thought that I’d have to touch him made my skin crawl and my stomach began to toss about and I prayed that it didn’t have to go that far.
Again my wolf pushed to the surface. Men respond to a third thing, she growled as she paced within my skin.
Violence.
They feed of violence and I could feel the energy it took to restrain the beast within me. She craved to be let loose so she could pounce on Gary and rip his throat out. She was blood thirsty, without mercy and she was very, very angry. There was no chance in hell he’d survive the attack.
I took in a deep breath, desperate to release some of the tension in my body. I needed to move with fluid grace if I was to play the role of the seductress.
The curve of my lips and the way my hand reached out to caress him paved the way as I whispered, “Come now Gary, there must be something we can do to move pass this. You don’t want to hurt me do you?” I let my other hand roll down the length of my body, hoping to draw away his attention.
His focus remained solely on me and a brief moment of panic flickered in his eyes before he hid it, but I’d caught it. He didn’t like what I was doing. I was making him nervous and that I could work with....
Alas my eyes can barely keep open... time to sleep.
Give thanks for your Muses!
Can Darcy let go of the shame of failure consuming her or will Mason convince her that after all is said and done, she truly is… cherished? 
For a moment, Darcy almost convinced herself the last twelve hours didn’t happen. As image after image hits her, the sinking realization of all she’s lost overwhelms her and all she can think of is to run. Run far away where her shame can’t find her, and most of all, where she’ll never have to see the look of blame in Mason’s eyes. Feeling like a complete failure, she scrambles to make plans. But the voice of her mate-to-be penetrates her frantic thoughts, asking for the chance to show her just how much she is loved.
WOOOHOOOO!! For today only, Kelli and Amber from ParaYourNormal and the Indie Book Collective have asked ME *insert gulp* to come on their blog talk radio to talk more about Without Mercy and books. Ignore the knocking of my knees for a moment and SQUEE with me! I'm so excited for this opportunity so wish me luck, pray I don't stammer and tune in for my FIRST EVER radio appearance. Think about it... you've seen me as The Bookish Snob and you're seeing me as Belinda Boring BUT have you heard me? *cue mysterious sounding music* Follow the link at 6.30pm tonight and prepare to be DAZZLED! LOL Blog Talk Radio HERE
"I've just read Without Mercy and Mam has downloaded it onto her Kindle reader and will read it later. To be honest Vampires and Werewolves are usually not on my reading list but I enjoyed your narative. Nicely written, well worded and interest gripping. Well done Belinda I'm looking forward to the next instalment. Lots of love Dad XXXXXXXX"
Ask me to write about you, ask me to write about a book I've reading, heck - ask me to write about anything and I'll give you something. Ask me to write about myself and I'm drawing a blank. With Dream On being released within the month, I needed to write an author bio for it (I would've needed one eventually) but was stumped on what to include. I wanted something that gave a snapshot of who I am, something that was fun. I love reading bios where it adds a little quirk but when it came time for mine? I've sat on it for WEEKS! Finally, I got started yesterday and voila - here it is!
