QSFer Brea Alepoú has a new MM fantasy book out: A King to Be Claimed.
Blessed by the gods and goddesses, edoli have lived alongside humans for thousands of years. While some hold such abilities as shapeshifting and controlling the elements, the rarest are the kings and queens who can bond through blood with keepers and amplify their power… and their own.
Titos has been seen as useless and weak his entire life. He’s never been able to bond with another edoli and has nothing of value to offer his queen. Exiled and alone, he’s spent years living amongst humans and away from other edoli in the hope of avoiding execution.
When a stranger saves him from certain death, Titos’s life will never be the same.
Seth isn’t just some random stranger: he’s absolutely gorgeous and claims to have been drawn to Titos to serve him as his keeper. He assures Titos he is a king, and a powerful one at that. Never in his wildest dreams could Titos have imagined he was someone special.
But a king isn’t all Titos is…
After nearly killing Seth during their bonding, Titos is terrified of his abilities. Luckily, Seth isn’t the only keeper drawn to Titos’s call, and Mazki knows what to do to save Seth’s life.
The connection between Titos, Seth, and Mazki is immediate and strong, and it isn’t long before Adom and Kail are drawn to Titos as well. But now that Titos has accepted his birthright, they all know that it won’t be long before the edoli council comes for him.
Running from homicidal hunters and trying to stay hidden from the council, Titos knows he doesn’t have long to prepare. Sooner than he’d like, he’ll have to fight to defend what he and his keepers are building.
And his very life.
Warning: A King to Be Claimed contains a HFN ending, scenes with multiple partners, insta lust with a dash of insta love, mild blood play, and a king who just wants to be loved
Get It At Amazon
Giveaway
Brea is giving away an eBook copy of More Than Blood with this post – comment below for a chance to win.
Excerpt
The man’s eager smile vanished once he heard the name. “I see. Then you will be seeing Adom. He is currently out to lunch, but he’ll be back soon.” The man moved on to an older couple who had walked in behind them.
Mazki shook his head, and Seth huffed out a breath, but neither said anything. Titos knew the smell was annoying to them, but they had to wait for the Adom guy to come back.
Mazki: Don’t worry about us. We’re both just annoyed with the human. He didn’t even offer you a seat. He completely dismissed us as soon as we said what account we were under.
Seth: He is disrespectful. I wish I could have shifted and ate him.
Titos: I think you’d get indigestion. He doesn’t look appetizing. Plus, let’s just be happy that there is a connection at this bank. I would have sworn we would have had to travel to find another bank.
They were laughing at how the man would probably taste like week-old mustard when someone cleared their throat behind them. They all turned. They hadn’t heard anyone approach, and Titos’s wind—which had been more aware—hadn’t felt anything.
“Gentlemen, Cody tells me you’re here to speak about Simcrose bank holdings and account?”
Titos’s mouth hung open. Adom was the dictionary picture of a silver fox. The man was fucking gorgeous.
“Yep,” Titos said. He groaned internally at how stupid he sounded.
Seth laughed in the bond and so did Mazki.
Mazki: He is edoli.
They hadn’t moved, and Adom stared at him, his grey eyes focused on Titos. Titos stared back, unable to stop looking at him. One moment, he lived his life as a loner and worked odd jobs, and now he was in a bank, lusting after another man, and had sex with two others earlier. How his life had changed. Just remembering their earlier activities made a blush appear on his face.
Adom smiled, and Titos swore he had diamonds in his mouth the smile was so bright.
“This way, gentlemen,” Adom said.
They followed him into a back room where they could close the door. There were only two chairs. Seth pulled out a seat for Titos to sit and moved to stand against the wall. Mazki moved to the seat on Titos’s right.
Titos: I can ask for a seat for you.
Seth: No need. I can stand, ready to kill any threat. Plus, Mazki most likely knows more about this stuff.
Titos nodded and gave Seth’s bond a gentle squeeze before he focused on Adom. Adom sat behind the grey, metal desk. He turned on his computer and typed for a second before he turned to look at them.
The grey in his eyes was like smoke, and it was beautiful. Adom smiled as if he knew what Titos was thinking.
Titos: Please tell me I haven’t been saying stuff out loud and haven’t noticed?
Mazki: No, you haven’t said anything, but the drool you got going on there might be an indication of what you’re thinking.
Titos wiped his mouth, but there was nothing there.
Laughter came through the bond from Mazki. He turned and Mazki didn’t even have a smile on his face. He was all serious.
“What’s the name I’m looking up?” Adom asked.
Titos turned his head to look at him. He had no idea what name to use. He had no idea who his father was, and he couldn’t use his house name. That would cause so many issues. He started to panic. A warm, soft hand touched his. It wasn’t Mazki’s slender one and it wasn’t Seth’s rough one. Titos looked at the hand and followed it up until he looked into those smoky grey eyes.
“Calm down. Everything will be okay. If you don’t know, we can figure it out. Everything is going to be okay.” Adom sounded so calm and reassuring that Titos just instantly relaxed.
“Yeah. Um, okay.”
“We can start with your original house name.”
Panic started again. What if he gave his house name and the hunters found them? Then Mazki and Seth would have to fight, and then they would be back on the run, trying to find a place to sleep. And what about the milk? It would go bad in the car. Milk wouldn’t be good for on the run.
He heard talking and some growls, but he was to wrapped up in all of the stuff that would happen. What if his cousin found them? Then they would have to fight, and he would try and kill Mazki and Seth. Titos couldn’t live without them anymore; it would be too hard. He would rather die than be alone again. He was pressed against a warm chest and hands rubbed soothingly against him.
“Everything will be okay. Calm down, Master,” Seth said as he pushed calming vibes into the bond.
The same ones were coming from Mazki’s bond, but there was an extra set of hands rubbing him. He knew whose hands they were, but he turned to look just in case. Sure enough, Adom sat on the edge of his desk right next to Titos. He couldn’t believe they were all so close, trying to soothe him. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel like a child, but all it really made him feel was cared for.
“We do care, Master,” Mazki said.
Titos rolled his eyes. Seth had called him master earlier as well. He knew it was because they were in front of Adom. At least, in the bond they called him Titos. He smashed his face back into Seth’s hard chest and breathed him in. He touched both of their bonds to make sure they were secure. When he did, he heard both of them catch their breath from his touch.
“I didn’t mean to offend or scare you,” Adom said softly, as if he would spook Titos if he spoke too loudly. Titos rolled his eyes at his own behavior.
“Not your fault I’m a spaz. Years on the run and all that. When you finally have something, you get a little freaked out when you think it will disappear. I’m sorry to freak out in your office,” Titos said as he sat up.
Adom looked at him and slowly withdrew his hands. He looked reluctant to move away from Titos.
Seth: He feels the call to you as well.
Mazki: It will be hard for him. He works directly for the council.
Titos: That makes him dangerous to us?
Mazki: Not necessarily. It’s a fifty-fifty chance.
Seth: It’s risky.
Titos: So, I shouldn’t accept him?
Seth: It’s not our place to tell you who to choose to be your keeper.
Mazki: But if we had to give you advice… It is a risk, but the way he stares at you, and the way Seth had to growl at him to keep him from touching you right away… Eh, I say maybe sixty-forty in our favor.
Titos: Okay, let’s get this stuff figured out first, then I will determine what to do about Adom.
Adom had just sat there while they had their mental conversation. He said nothing, but he also hadn’t moved back to his seat. Titos tried to move, but Seth’s grip on him tightened. Titos blew out a breath.
Titos: At least, let me turn around.
Seth’s grip loosened, so he could turn around. He sat facing Adom, his back to Seth’s chest. It was comfortable but awkward to be sitting on someone’s lap. He cleared his throat, trying to move
“Um. So, I don’t think my house name will work. You see, I ran away from it and prefer if they don’t know where I am.”
Adom nodded. He got up and moved back behind his desk.
“That’s fine. Can you give me your mother’s or father’s name?” Adom had his hands ready to type.
“I only know my mother’s name: Navari Es Glint, of the snake and raven bloodline.” He hoped it was the truth.
Adom’s hands flew over the keyboard. Titos had no idea how he was typing that fast and not looking at the keyboard at the same time. If Titos tried that, he would get a bunch of lines of letters. He still typed with one finger. Mazki squeezed his knee as they sat there in anticipation. He had never thought to try this. He just assumed his parents hadn’t had enough time to set up a fund for him, since they had died unexpectedly. So, he sat there, fully expecting for Adom to turn around and apologize to him and tell him there was nothing there.
Adom stopped typing and clicked on a few things before he turned to face them. “It took me a second, because at first glance, it looks like there’s nothing there.”
“Wait, so does that mean there is something there?” Titos asked. He hadn’t dared to hope that there was something.
Adom nodded. “Yeah, it was tricky as fuck. Your mother hid it under a bunch of different names and codes. It only took me minutes to crack it, but that’s because I’m the best at what I do. Anyway, this is the amount you have access to,” Adom said as he passed him a piece of paper.
The number of zeros that was on the paper was crazy. He had never seen so many. “Is this even a number?”
Adom laughed. “Yes, it’s a number. Also, there was number and an address with it.” He wrote something down on a piece of paper and passed it to them.
Adom turned back to the computer and began to type again.
They all looked at the piece of paper. There, in legible writing, was an address in Yakima, Washington.
“There. Done,” Adom said as he leaned back in his seat.
Titos looked at him. Adom was looking smugly at the computer screen, as if he had just beaten it at a game. He got up and retrieved something out of a drawer. In his hand was a plastic card. He swiped it through something before he handed it to Titos. He then got up again and moved to the closed door on the far left of his office.
When he came back, he had a bat in his hand. Mazki got up, ready to attack, and Seth gripped him tighter. Adom didn’t go to them; he swung the bat at the computer. There was a loud crash as the screen broke first. He hit it a few more times before pulling something out of the tower next to the screen. He crushed whatever it was.
“There. Now, they can’t track us,” Adom said.
Titos blinked at him. Adom was breathing heavily, and he had looked good swinging the bat. His muscles bulging with every swing. Titos definitely had a thing for silver foxes.
Mazki: Just to put this out there, but I don’t think he’s a fox. He smells kind of like wind. So, my guess is bird or cat.
Seth: Great, another bird. Just what we need.
Had they all missed the part where he had said “us” as if he was including himself?
Seth: No, we didn’t miss it, but it’s up to you, not us.
Titos blew out a breath. He wouldn’t put the guys in anymore danger than they already were. He was in no hurry to have the council hunting them. He didn’t know if he could trust Adom. He hadn’t seemed untrustworthy as of yet, but he was with the council. Before Titos could make a decision, he heard an ear-shattering scream, and the marking on his back burned.
“They’re here.”
Seth stood him up and got ready to attack the first person that entered through the door. There wasn’t enough room in the office for him to shift.
His marking burned hotter. “Shit, there are a lot of them.” Titos closed his eyes and let his power stretch out, touching and counting. His cousin definitely wasn’t with them.
“There are twelve of them, no keepers. I even checked outside and a few blocks away.”
Seth nodded. He had three throwing knives in each hand. Mazki had fire balls in his.
“You can hold fire?”
Mazki winked at him. “All thanks to my master.”
A hunter crashed through the door, blade ready to attack. Seth was the first to move. He threw a knife so fast the hunter hadn’t seen it coming. His face froze in shock as the knife stuck out of his forehead, and he dropped to the ground. Seth moved to look out the door, checking to see if the coast was clear. He turned back around, briefly making eye contact with Titos. Titos believed in his keepers; they would all get out of there.
“We keep him safe at all times. Mazki, bring up the front.” He eyed Adom.
“I will give my life for him if he would have me.”
Seth looked to Titos, and Titos looked at Adom. He heard the sincerity in his voice, and no matter the logic, he wanted Adom. He nodded to Seth that, yes, Adom would stay with them.
“Okay, Adom, on his right. I’ll take the left and the back. Let’s go,” Seth ordered.
Author Bio
Author Brea Alepoú a self proclaimed sticker addict and lover of all things sparkly. Brea Alepoú realized her dream was to write and tell stories after spending five years in college getting a degree. She has since been writing and letting her imagination free. She thought she would only write contemporary but soon found her love for making worlds. So now she rights it all.
With her wild imagination, expect lots of different stories, from fairies ruling, to vampires killing everyone, to the sweet loving between two men, passion between two fierce women, or the love of multiple partners. She believes that everyone deserves love even if not all of her characters get it right away. Love is passionate, hot, needy, confusing, painful, fulfilling, and all-consuming.(PNR, Contemporary, Harems, Fantasy, Erotica, Romance, Shifter mpreg, & RH)
There will be a book for everyone.
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