by Kasi Blake
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Release Date: July 25th 2014
Summary:
After sixteen years on the run, Bay-Lee joins her emotionally distant father at his New Zealand school. On her first night there, he dumps her on the doorstep and walks away. Big surprise. Minutes later, a bag is thrown over her head, and she’s kidnapped for Orientation. The hunter in charge calls her Bait. According to him, that’s all she’s good for, to be used to draw out monsters for experienced hunters to kill.
Before Bay-Lee can move up to the rank of Hunter, she will have to prove herself, battle wraiths, a reaper in disguise, and a stampeding border monster. With the addition of her classes, she’s going to be way too busy for a social life. Falling in love is not on the agenda.
Then, she meets Nick Gallos. With the intimidating rank of Warrior, Nick is gorgeous, arrogant, and just plain rude to her. It’s obvious from their first meeting that Nick is hiding a dark past overflowing with secrets, and her father is right smack in the middle of it. Nick seems to be using her to get even with her father, and she won’t tolerate that. What a jerk.
So, why can’t she stop thinking about him?
Bait is FREE!
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The snarling beast prepared to charge. A clawed foot pawed at the dirt, stirring up a cloud of dust. Black eyes partially hidden beneath a mass of unruly brown fur stared at her. Its enormous square head tilted to the side. The thing looked like a cross between a wooly mammoth and an alien from a scary movie.
Nick jumped to his feet while shouting a warning at her. Glued to the ground, she couldn’t move. Cold fear held her in a tight grip. He caught her arm, hauled her to her feet, and dragged her with him. The heavy tromp of footsteps thundered behind them. The border monster was coming. It would overtake them at any second.
Bay-Lee cringed, expecting to be impaled on sharp horns.
They ran through the forest, dodging trees in a mad dash. Nick’s hand slipped on her arm and he almost let go. His grip tightened around her wrist. She forced her legs to move faster, desperate to keep up with him. The hairy beast leaped over their heads and slammed down in front of them even though she would have bet the thing was too enormous to jump that high. The ground shook as if they were caught in an earthquake. A cloud of dust enveloped them like a post nuclear mushroom cloud.
Nick’s dagger was gone, lost in the hole, so he picked up a broken branch to use as a weapon. It was thick and long with a sharp pointy end. His eyes shone with manic excitement. He shouted at Bay-Lee. “Stay out of the way!”
The border monster charged them, but Nick darted to the right. He moved so fast Bay-Lee didn’t have time to think. Avoiding the shadows, Nick kept to the light so it could see him. The monster changed course. Head bent, it tried to flatten Nick. He leaped into the air at the last second. The monster’s head scooped him up. Nick landed on its back. One of his hands tangled in the long matted hair, using it to hang on, while his other hand brandished the branch like a sword. He looked like a man riding a rampaging elephant.
He shouted a warning to her, telling her to hug a tree. It was the only safe place. She wanted to help him slay the thing, but she didn’t know anything about border monsters. They hadn’t gotten to them yet in Maxx’s class.
Bay-Lee wrapped her arms around the nearest tree and held on tight. If she didn’t move, the thing wouldn’t be able to see her. She wished she hadn’t left her cell phone in her room. Nick was going to die, and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it. Now she wished she’d gone for help instead of following him into the woods.
Nick drove the sharp tip of the branch into the monster’s back. Howling in pain and anger, the thing stood on two legs, freaking her out. Apparently this was another thing she didn’t know about border monsters. They could stand on four legs or two. It reached around, grabbed Nick by his ankle, and ripped him free. The thing lifted him high in the air. It was going to slap the ground with him, breaking bones and causing massive internal injuries.
Without giving it a thought Bay-Lee ran at the giant monster. Desperation drove her to action. She hit it with a flying kick. Surprised, the monster dropped Nick. He executed a summersault and rolled away from the fight. The border monster turned in her direction. She retreated fast, blending in with the trees. As long as she wasn’t moving and wasn’t in the light, it couldn’t see her.
The border monster bent forward and sniffed, trying to catch her scent. When it exhaled, the heavy whoosh of air blew hair around her face, momentarily obstructing her vision. Her nose itched. She clenched her fists and fought the urge to scratch. She remained frozen, refusing to even blink. The monster was not going to trick her into moving, no matter what it did. Her fingers dug into the tattered bark of the tree. A silent scream lodged in her throat, searching for an exit. If the monster didn’t get out of her face soon, she might lose control and release the scream.
Nick laughed. The sound seemed to infuriate the monster. It whipped around, ready to finish crunching Nick to dust. The monster charged at him. Nick brought the branch around in an arcing sweep and plunged it into the monster’s gut. The thing staggered backwards before crashing forward. It was going to fall on top of Nick. He lurched to the side, trying to get out of the way, but he wasn’t fast enough. The monster fell.
About the Author
Born and raised in California, I fell in love with writing while reading The Outsiders. Then I fell in love with Stephen King's writing style. I enjoy reading many types of books, but YA Paranormal is my favorite. I used to write for Harlequin under a different name. So that's my background. Exciting, no?
I have seven books out now: Vampires Rule, Werewolves Rule,Shifters Rule, Crushed, Witch Hunt, Bait, and my only adult novel, a romantic suspense called Pandora's Box.
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Interesting to see the form the monsters take.
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