Title: Forbidden Love
Series: They Bite, Book Two
Author: Lee Colgin
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: May 18, 2020
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 52800
Genre: Paranormal, LGBTQIA+, paranormal, urban fantasy, friends to lovers, werewolves, vampires, slow burn, college, supernatural
Synopsis
When an esteemed vampire doctor treats
an injured young werewolf, desire sparks between them.
Dr. Benjamin Arleth has devoted his life
to finding a medical cure for his species’ most devastating weakness—sunlight.
Finally, one of his pharmaceuticals shows promise, but sabotage looms large in
the lab.
Wolf shifter Nathan Cramer is ready to
finish grad school and begin his career when a trip to Center City’s Peace
Conference goes awry. Weak and bleeding, Nathan knows his wounds could prove
fatal. Dr. Arleth is his only hope.
Can love flourish between enemy species
despite a society in turmoil? Could vampires walk in the daylight or will
darkness reign? It’s a race to find answers, and Ben will have to put his trust
in Nathan if they’re going to make it out alive.
Forbidden Love is a MM urban
fantasy/paranormal romance and the second book in the series They Bite but can
be enjoyed as a standalone.
Excerpt
Forbidden Love
Lee Colgin © 2020
All Rights Reserved
Benjamin
Elbow deep in test tubes and chemicals
at his state-of-the-art laboratory, Doctor Benjamin Arleth startled when his
alarm went off. Time for patient rounds. He hated to abandon his work when he
was making so much progress, but duty called. The long sought-after drug to
render a vampire resistant to sunlight would have to wait another night.
The supernatural realm’s most
accomplished vampire doctor had no surgeries on his docket this evening. What
he did have were several recovering patients to check on: a grouchy
were-leopard who’d been impaled by a hunter’s arrow, and a friendly young
Living vampire who’d undergone corrective surgery for metatarsus varus, or in
layman’s terms…pigeon toes.
Benjamin went to check on the young
vampire first. Knocking on the open door, Ben stepped inside the generic white
hospital room. “Hello, Olivia, how are you feeling tonight?”
She grinned at him from under her nest
of blankets. Olivia was small for her seventeen years, partially due to rotated
tibias, but she had a big personality. Blonde curls spilled over her shoulders,
and an incorrigible sense of humor sparkled behind pale golden eyes. She was
fully grown, a condition that had to be met before her legs could be fixed and,
more importantly, before she could be Turned. The poor girl was bored, stuck in
the hospital recovering, and eager to get back to her life.
“I’m good, Doctor Arleth. I’ve been
walking without any help. Can I go home today?” She looked hopeful.
The doctor tutted and shook his head,
approaching her bed. “It’s too early for you to be walking unassisted.” She
started to protest, but Ben continued, “You could do damage and set back your
healing if you aren’t careful. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean
you should.”
Olivia groaned. “But it’s so dull here.”
“Tell me about it. I’ve been stuck here
a lot longer than you.” He made a face at her, and she laughed.
“This sucks,” Olivia said with typical
teenage angst. “You’re cute though, in that tall, dark, and handsome sort of
way. You could get a life outside this place if you wanted.”
“How do you know I don’t have one
already?”
“Call it a lucky guess.”
“Moving on.” Ben reached for her
blankets. “Let me examine your legs. Then you can walk with me and show me how
you’re healing.”
“Deal. Anything to get out of this
room.”
Ben picked up her left leg gingerly. The
flexible cast allowed him to take her knee through its full range of motion. He
flexed and pointed her foot.
“How does it feel? Any sensitive spots?”
She shook her head. “Nope, I’m telling
you it feels great. You must have done a really great job.”
“Good.” He put the other leg through the
same exercises, watching her face for a reaction. If there was one, he didn’t
catch it. Either she healed quickly or she’d mastered hiding discomfort. You’d
expect the former of a Turned vampire, but a Living vampire like Olivia would
take longer to heal. The girl was either lucky or deceptive; he’d find out as
he watched her walk.
“All right.” Ben set her leg carefully
back onto the bed. “Time to boogie. Show me what you’ve got.” He reached for
her hand and helped her to her feet.
She took a step forward. So far, so
good. After walking several laps of the medical center’s recovery floor, Ben
believed her progress genuine. He’d miss her. Olivia was pleasant when she
wasn’t busy teasing him.
The were-leopard, however, he’d love to
get rid of.
The cat had been on a drunken joy run
when he’d crossed into unprotected forest, human game lands. Shot through with
an arrow, not only did he almost die, but the human who’d shot him had to have
his memory wiped after seeing a leopard turn into an angry, naked man. He was
lucky the hunter kept his shit together to call for help; otherwise he’d have
died from internal bleeding. He’d been a terrible patient, complaining about
everything from inadequate pain medication to the lack of decent food. What did
he expect? A steakhouse?
Ben walked into the leopard’s room,
eager to be done with him. “Jason, how are you tonight?”
The cat scowled as he scooted upright in
the bed. “How do you think? I’m in pain. This place is stingy with the meds.”
“Pain medication is often ineffective on
were-creatures. We simply have nothing else to give you.”
“A drink wouldn’t hurt.”
Ben clenched his jaw. “Still against hospital
policy, I’m afraid. Let me check your wound, and I’ll see about releasing you.”
Jason pushed the covers down, and Ben
got to work. The wound, though still inflamed around the edges, had closed
nicely. Ben palpated the were-leopard’s abdomen, checking for signs of swelling
or bleeding. Jason complained but didn’t seem overly sensitive. It should be
safe to release him. Thank god.
“Good news, you’re healing well. We can
send you home tonight. How about that?”
“About damn time, I’m ready to get out
of here,” Jason said. “I need some real food and a good screw.” He added an
obscene gesture Ben found distasteful.
“Hold off for now. I’ll send a nurse to
fill you in on the physical restrictions until you’re completely cleared. Come
back in a week for a final check to make sure there’s no lasting damage. Until
then, be careful not to aggravate the wound.”
“Right, I get it. Careful when I’m
screwing. Noted.”
Ben schooled his features to neutrality.
It would be unprofessional to lecture manners to a patient, even if they
deserved it.
When Jason didn’t get whatever response
he’d been hoping for, he changed the subject. “Are you going to the Peace
Conference this weekend? The nurse said they were bringing in extra doctors.
Could get rowdy!”
“I am. I’d have gone, even if I wasn’t
on call.”
“Shitty thing they’re considering.
Breaking the Edict of Secrecy. Stupid idea,” the leopard huffed.
Ben did not point out that the very
reason the were-leopard landed in the hospital to begin with was because he’d
broken the Edict of Secrecy. Allowing a human to see him shift was against the
law.
Supernaturals kept themselves hidden
from humanity, but was that wise in light of the technological revolution? It
was a matter of time before a human filmed something on a cell phone, and
they’d be exposed. If they chose to reveal themselves, the narrative could be
controlled. If humanity found out by accident, it could all go terribly wrong.
Many in the community had strong feelings on the subject, including this
exasperating were-leopard.
“Perhaps you should come and listen to
the presentations. I’m sure there’s more to it than we know.” The Edict of
Secrecy had served its purpose. They must let it go. Knowledge was power and
all that.
“I’d rather stab my eye out than listen
to that horseshit,” Jason said.
“To each their own, but continued peace
is in everyone’s best interest. We don’t want another Great War.” He glared at
the cat, daring him to disagree. Vampires and were-creatures were historical
enemies, but a Peace Accord maintained armistice between the species. Battle
surgeons told nightmarish tales of the Great Wars.
Ben jotted down his final notes in
Jason’s file and left the clipboard for his assistant, Amelia. “Take care Jason
and heal well. I don’t want to see you here again.” Usually that statement was
more a joke, but this time, he meant it.
“The feeling is mutual, Doctor.”
Ben hadn’t been expecting thanks, but
the were-leopard’s complete lack of self-awareness annoyed him. Glad to be
done, Ben made a quick trip to the nurse’s station to leave his patient updates
so he could return to his research, his life’s work; a drug to allow Turned
vampires to walk in the sunlight again…his holy grail.
Ben lost himself in the research.
He had dozens of theories to deliberate
and countless components to try before he’d risk another test of the drug’s
efficacy. Sunlight could reduce a young vampire to ash within moments, and an
ancient would be dust in less than an hour, so each failed test proved lethal
to some criminal soul.
The Vampire Council provided test
subjects from their prisons, but Ben wouldn’t take a life lightly, no matter
their crimes. As the death toll added up, guilt sat heavier in his chest. The
formula had to be right before he’d ask for another trial.
Another alarm rang, jarring him from
work. Only a few hours remained before dawn, and he had to leave now if he was
going to meet Samuel for smokes. He’d told Samuel he’d be there. Benjamin hated
to leave his research—had to tear himself away from it—but Samuel wasn’t the
kind of vampire you wanted angry with you, so Ben wouldn’t stand him up. He
cleaned and stored his equipment, turned off the lights, locked up the lab, and
headed for their favorite haunt, the Eternal Knight Club.
See Olivia, I do have a life.
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Meet the Author
Lee Colgin has loved vampires since she read Dracula on a hot sunny beach at 13 years old. She lives in North Carolina with lots of dogs and her husband. No, he’s not a vampire, but she loves him anyway. Lee likes to workout so she can eat the maximum amount of cookies with her pizza. Ask her how much she can bench press.
If you enjoyed this book, pick up Lee’s debut novel Slay My Love to find out what happens when you’re attracted to the very person who want to kill you an enemies to lovers 56,000k novel available now.
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