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CYNDI FRIBERG
Cyndi@cyndifriberg.com
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ABOUT
Anything-but-Ordinary is Cyndi's
creed and her writing reflects her dedication to the concept. She writes in a
variety of genres, but seems happiest in outer space. Her books have been
nominated for numerous awards, and Taken by Storm was named Best
Fantasy/Science Fiction Romance of the year by Romance Reviews Today.
She lives in Colorado with her
high school sweetheart turned husband of many years. With a pampered cat curled
on the corner of her desk, she dreams of fascinating words and larger than life
adventures -- and wouldn't have it any other way!
Therian Heat, Book Five: THERIAN PRIZE
 |
| Available Now! |
Therian Heat, Book Five: When
Heather’s father offers the right to mate with her as the prize in a vicious tournament,
she refuses to submit and runs for her life. Knowing the last place wolf
hunters will search for her is in the heart of cat territory, she seeks the
help of Jake, an irresistible and powerful tiger-shifter.
Jake and Heather have lusted for
each other for years but loyalty to their respective clans has kept them apart.
Thrown together by danger, they slowly succumb to the temptation of forbidden
passion.
As the lovers lose themselves in
each other, the hunt for Heather intensifies. Not only is her father still hot
on her heels, a group of human scientists have targeted Heather, convinced they
can use her unique shifter status for their own twisted ends.
EXCERPT
“I can’t do this.” Heather used
both hands in an effort to break his hold but he easily restrained her.
“Stop fighting me! You only
humiliate yourself. There is no reason for your stubbornness. This is natural,
an event to be celebrated.”
“This is barbaric and cruel,” she
cried. “I will not be the prize for some twisted blood sport.”
He paused and stared deep into her
eyes, a hint of tenderness softening his expression. “You’re a treasure I will
award to the strongest and most cunning among numerous packs. You should be
proud. The turnout for your challenge is unprecedented.” Without another word,
he continued toward the crowd, dragging her behind him.
She looked at Lexxie in panicked
anger but her friend appeared as upset as Heather.
“I didn’t know about this,” Lexxie
insisted. “I swear. He told me it was a Howl.”
“It is a Howl,” Nate objected.
“But rather than dancing and fucking, Heather’s mating ceremony will be the
entertainment.”
His fingers banded her arm, firm,
unbreakable. Even if she managed to break free, where would she go? Rather than
humiliate herself further by kicking and screaming, Heather walked at his side,
chin raised, gaze coolly assessing. He hadn’t exaggerated. The vast majority of
attendees were male and many were from other packs.
The crowd parted for them,
offering her an unobstructed view of the combatants. Three fights were going on
simultaneously, each bout savage and bloody. She crossed her arms over her
chest and forced herself to watch. She would not show fear in the face of this
madness. She had to remain calm and watch for an opportunity if she hoped to
escape.
Escape? Was there really any hope
that she could outrun all these men?
“As soon as this round is decided,
we’ll be down to the final six,” her father explained. He seemed absorbed by
the competition, yet he maintained his hold on her arm. “My money is on Risdon,
but Braden Montego is solid too.” He motioned toward two men standing across
from them. She recognized James Risdon. The other man was a stranger to her.
James was one of her father’s favorites and James had made no secret of his
desire for her. Braden was tall and lean, with sharp features and pale-green
eyes. He stared at her boldly as if he were already undressing her.
One of the combatants screamed and
Heather’s attention returned to the fight. The wounded man held his arm against
his chest, his hand twisted at an unnatural angle. His opponent smiled with
vicious joy and Heather felt sick all over.
“He needs to shift to mend the
bone, but he’ll be disqualified if he does,” her father explained, fascination
making his eyes gleam. Ignoring the pain, the contestant attempted to continue.
It was all so cruel, so vicious.
She started to turn away but her father jerked her back around.
“They’re spilling their blood for
you. You can have the decency to watch.”
Decency? Nothing about this was
decent.
The winners were declared a short
time later and the final six paired off. She tried to calm down, to accept the
inevitable. She was a Therian wolf. Her mate needed to be strong and capable.
That’s all this was, a demonstration of his strength and…savagery! Blood marred
their features and cruel ambition twisted their expressions. They weren’t
allowed to shift and still they looked more animal than man.
This might be “an honored
tradition” but she found it revolting.
Disgust and fear gave way to
desperate purpose. She would not be the prize in this vicious competition. She
would not submit to the brutality of men!
Drawing energy deep into her
chest, she shut out everything but the hot tingle. All around her men cheered
and shouted, calling suggestions to the ones slugging it out in the center. She
tuned out the sounds and focused inward. Ever since she transformed six years
ago, she’d been able to sense her inner self. She’d tried countless times to
transform again but the stakes had never been this high before. If she stayed
here she would die, perhaps not physically, but part of her soul would be
consumed by the indignities they had planned for her.
Energy coalesced in her abdomen,
spinning and twisting into a concentrated ball. Her skin felt tight, painfully
confining, and her joints began to ache. Invigorated by her progress, Heather
slowly opened her eyes.
Lexxie was the only one not
engrossed in the fighting.
Heather felt her eyes burn as the
shift took hold deep inside. Yes! It was working.
Lexxie’s eyes widened and she
shook her head. “Don’t.” Her lips formed the word, but the sound was swallowed
up by the roar of the crowd.
Heather was beyond caution, beyond
caring if this made her look weak or embarrassed her father. She would not
spend the rest of her life with the winner of this horrendous contest. Her
Therian nature had saved her once before. When Carlos threatened her life, it
was as if her ancestors rose up and triggered her transformation. This wasn’t a
typical shift. This was more elemental, a Therian equivalent of fight or
flight.
She surrendered to instinct and
allowed her Therian nature to take over. Her wolf tossed her head, anxious and
ready to escape. She closed her eyes again as her wolf thrust through her human
form. Blinding pain flashed through her being as the shift hit her fast and
hard. Nate cried out and grabbed a handful of fur, but the rest of her slipped
away. Heather spun on her back legs then leapt between two stunned onlookers.
“Stop her!” Nate screamed. “If you
catch her you keep her. And claim her any way you like.”
Her father’s horrible words followed her into
the surrounding forest. She wasn’t sure where she was going or how she’d
survive without her pack. All she knew was her life here was over and she
couldn’t look back.
THE INSIDE SCOOP
Q: Has your perspective on the
writing process changed since you became published?
I still love to write, but this is
my occupation now. I’ve become much more disciplined, spending at least 8 hours
per day writing, editing or promoting.
Q: How do you know you’ve written a
good book?
My best books are the ones that
seem to write themselves. But I rely heavily on my critique partner and beta
readers for honest opinions. It’s impossible for me to be objective about my
work. I’ve had the same critique partner for 12 years, so we don’t pull
punches.
Q: How do you keep your characters
and stories organized?
I have a detailed “bible” for each
of my worlds, but I also use a sort of cheat sheet with basic, yet important
information, character descriptions, occupations, species, that sort of thing.
The information becomes more complicated as each series progresses, so it’s
imperative that I keep track of everything.
Q: What is the one thing you must
have to be able to write?
Actually there are two: coffee and
chocolate.
Q: What
are you currently working on? How is it different from other books you’ve
written?
I’m putting the finishing touches on Royal Obsession. It’s the first
book in my Shadow Assassins series. These stories will feature the children of,
or minor characters from, Beyond Ontariese. The Shadow Assassins stories are
going to take place on Earth and most of the heroines will be human. The
original series was sci-fi romance where these new books will be paranormal
romance with sci-fi elements. No spaceship battles or interplanetary wars. J
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