Seal
Of Awakening
Seven
Seals Series
Book
Three
Traci
Douglass
Genre:
Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
SpinTale Publishing
Date
of Publication: October 28th, 2013
ISBN:
978-0-9897829-0-6
Number
of pages: 261
Word
Count: 70,000
Cover
Artist: Kim Killion
Book
Description:
Socially
awkward geneticist Quinn Strickland has willingly forgone the
pleasures in life to reach her career objectives. Alone and
approaching thirty, she uses her independence to mitigate any risk of
a broken heart. Her strategy works until the day a handsome stranger
bursts into her lab and her orderly plans shoot straight to Hades. He
claims to be her personal divine protector, a powerful, ancient
warrior sent to defend a prophetic time bomb existing within her own
genetic code.
The
Scion’s alpha-geek Wyck is offered the opportunity of his immortal
lifetime as head of his own covert operation. He arrives at a
Colorado lab expecting starched white coats and sterile
surroundings—not a redheaded spitfire in charge of both his project
and his libido. His skills have carried him from the battlefields of
ancient England to the pits of Hell and he has no plans to be felled
by one woman, regardless of her shag-worthy charms. Divine duty
requires him to protect the apocalyptic Seal encrypted within Quinn’s
DNA, but his heart has other ideas. When his personal feelings
interfere with his age-old vendetta, he’s forced to decide between
desire and retribution.
Short
Excerpt:
For
the band of adopted heavenly brothers known collectively as the
Scion, covert ops generally fell into two categories, crashing bore
or glorious adventure. And after more than nine hundred years of
divine missions, Wyck could tell the difference before the first
volley fired.
He
double-checked to make sure his ID badge was prominently displayed.
Divinity had finally given him a second chance as mission leader and
he intended to make sure this operation fell squarely into the
epically awesome range despite his less than glamorous surroundings.
This time, he vowed, there’d be no messy diversions to waylay his
goals, no damsel in questionable distress to shred his heart to
smithereens. Nope. This time he was fully prepared and would see his
mission through to a successful end.
Wyck
trudged up the sidewalk toward the imposing glass and steel
Eugenicorp Labs building, craning his neck to see the top of the
six-story structure. He was so engrossed in his perusal he nearly
squashed a bedraggled squirrel limping across the pavement in front
of him. Wyck glanced down and spotted a half-cracked acorn near the
toe of his boot. Poor bugger must’ve dropped it in his hasty
retreat.
His
first inclination was to reach down and retrieve it, maybe place the
nut near the roots of the giant tree where the squirrel now hid. But
now wasn’t the time to get sidetracked. As his commander, Xander,
had already warned him, such kindness had only added to his past
failures.
He
kicked the nut, watching as it hurtled through the open grassy area
surrounding the complex, then strode through the automatic doors and
into the cavernous lobby. Empty. Sterile. Utilitarian, covered in
gleaming metal and glass. The décor - neutral grays and bland beiges
- screamed restraint.
Okay,
he amended. Maybe epic and awesome were pushing the envelope for this
mission. Best to start with solidly successful. He blinked several
times in the early morning sunshine and spotted the pinched,
schoolmarm expression of a receptionist across the expanse.
Brilliant.
In
his experience, mulish females appeared to be the rule in academia.
Just one more reason he steered clear of the smart ones and stuck to
his technology. Emotional evisceration was another, but he refused to
dwell on that now. Gadgets and science had always been his safe
refuge. They trustworthy.
He
proceeded across the pristine white-tile floor and when the
receptionist steadfastly ignored him, Wyck coughed and summoned his
most charming smile. “Hi, I’m Orson Parrot, the new bloke.”
The
woman glanced up from her computer screen and ran a disdainful eye
over him, her glare burning a hole through his extended hand. Her
scowl increased as she snatched a clipboard from the desk’s
immaculate surface and skimmed a bony digit down the list. She
tapped her finger twice beside one line and stared back at him, her
demeanor cold enough to freeze hydrogen, then pointed toward a pair
of glass doors across the lobby. “Through there.”
He
leaned forward to thank her only to be confronted by a strip of red
fabric. Dangling from the receptionist’s hand, it swung in crazy,
lopsided circles to tap him squarely on the chest. “You’ll need
this,” she said, her tone a perfect match for the Queen’s after a
distasteful tabloid scandal.
Wyck
caught the twirling lanyard, with its attached security keycard, and
placed it around his neck. He couldn’t resist giving the woman a
wink and a grin on his way out, and was delighted when she stiffened
like rawhide. A fellow had to have some fun.
He
headed toward the double doors across the atrium, his mind ticking
with details. This rare shot at redemption, plus the added potential
for delivering a digital smackdown to his longtime enemies, the
Nephilim, had him jumping at the chance to infiltrate the
Eugenicorp’s computer system. Getting back in the field again would
prove more enjoyable than his usual long hours of tedious research
for his brother’s quests. Not to mention turning down an assignment
from Divinity wasn’t really an option. She’d given the Scion many
blessings, but freewill over their assignments wasn’t one of them.
If
his hunches were correct, his new logic bomb would blow the fucking
cork right off the half-breeds’ schemes for a new world order. By
utilizing their legitimate business arm in the human realm, Tolbert
International, the Nephilim had been quietly amassing huge quantities
of money for centuries, branching out into everything from
pharmaceuticals to produce. The Internet had been buzzing for months
with rumors of an eminent Tolbert takeover of a genetics research
facility and Divinity had sent him to Eugenicorp to make sure those
takeover plans didn’t include the Seal currently hosted by one head
scientist or the top-secret project she commandeered.
He
used his new keycard to enter a glass-lined walkway and caught sight
of his reflection. Christ Almighty. He’d done a wicked job of
turning his normal hipster persona into Orson Parrott—Super Brain
Extraordinaire.
Attired
in a scholarly turtleneck and khakis, he couldn’t have been further
from his normal choice of t-shirt and jeans. Between his helmet hair
and the tatty, empty briefcase he carried, there was little sign of
the tousled charmer who’d enticed a cute barista to bed during his
last reconnaissance mission here a few months earlier.
Goodbye
quick tumbles. Hello brainy celibate.
Wyck
passed from the atrium into another adjoining lobby and glanced at
the office number scribbled across his palm in blue ballpoint ink.
5324. He pushed the button for the next arriving elevator, whistling
while he waited.
Sure,
he’d performed a teensy bit of cyber-fraud by uploading his own
credentials and employee demographics into the Eugenicorp HR files
and he’d picked out a nice cushy office with a window, close to his
target and close to the vending machines. Perfect.
Speaking
of his target, the buttoned-down woman wasn’t one he looked forward
to meeting. From everything he’d read about the third Seal’s
unwitting host, she was smarter than sin and as enticing as a good
bout of bubonic plague. No thank you.
A
determined clack of heels echoed against the tile behind him and he
swiveled toward the noise, just in time to see a flash of bright red
hair barge through the gathering crowd and into the elevator. People
stepped back, some headed for the stairs, as if the woman now
occupying the compartment might spontaneously combust at any moment.
About
the Author:
Traci
is the author of paranormal romance/urban fantasy and contemporary
romances featuring a sly, urban edge, including her current Seven
Seals series. Her stories feature sizzling alpha-male heroes full of
dark humor, quick wits and major attitudes; smart, independent
heroines who always give as good as they get; and scrumptiously evil
villains who are—more often than not—bent on world destruction.
She enjoys weaving ancient curses and mythology, modern science and
old religion, and great dialogue together to build red-hot, sizzling
chemistry between her main characters.
She
is an active member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), Indiana
Romance Writers of America (IRWA) and Fantasy, Futuristic &
Paranormal Writers (FF&P) and is pursing a Masters of Fine Arts
degree in Writing Popular Fiction through Seton Hill University. Her
stories have made the final rounds in several RWA chapter contests,
including the 2012 Duel on the Delta, the 2012 Molly Awards, and the
2012 Catherine Awards. An earlier draft of the first book in the
Seven Seals Series, Seal of Destiny, won the paranormal category of
the 2012 Marlene Awards sponsored by the Washington Romance Writers.
Other
current projects include upcoming books in the Seven Seals series, a
new contemporary novella series due out in early 2014, and a new
futuristic suspense series with hints of the paranormal and plenty of
romance.
Website
and blog: http://www.tracidouglass.net
FB
Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/TraciDouglassAuthor
Amazon
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/tracidouglass
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