Trapped (23 page)

Author's Note:

I very much hope that you've enjoyed Trapped. It was a lot of fun to write,
but to be honest it was another book that I didn't really anticipate writing back
when I started Broken. I've been consistently amazed at just how quickly the
Reflections universe has expanded (inside my mind at least; getting it all written
is going to take some time still).

I think that Kristin and Ash's story is a worthy read all on its own, but it's
also important because of how Ash and Kristin are going to play into the next Alec
and Adri book. I know some people were disappointed that Trapped came out before I
picked up the next part of Alec and Adri's story, but I hope that you'll all help
convince anyone that is tempted to skip past it, to change their minds and read it.

The Reflections universe now includes, Broken, Torn, Splintered, Intrusion, Scent
of Tears, The Greater Darkness (me writing as Eldon Murphy) and Trapped. If you haven't
read any of those please consider going back and filling in the bits of the story that
you've missed so far. I'm leaving bits and pieces all throughout the story that will
help frame some of the events that happen next with Alec and Adri in my forthcoming novel, Forsaken. The same goes for
the Dark Reflections stories (Handoff and True Believer).

Lastly, thanks again to all of you that are helping spread the word about my
writing. I really appreciate your efforts and hope that all of my readers will continue
to find ways to help grow the numbers of those of us that can't wait to see what happens
next in Reflections.

Acknowledgments:

I'm very appreciative of the efforts of my editors, RJ Locksley and Amy Jirsa-Smith.
They both do tremendous work and I'd endorse them to anyone trying to make a go of it as
a writer.

I have a group of beta readers who also help make sure that I haven't gone off of
the rails too much when it comes to a given story and they deserve a helping of praise
and thanks as well. My family has soldiered along despite the fact that I'm sure that
more than one of them agreed to read my work more out of familial obligation than
because they thought they might actually like anything I had to say. Mom, Dad, Mark,
Shalese, Matthew, Mimi—thanks for sticking it out and helping make the books better
than they would have been without you. Kim Allred is a friend from way back who also
deserves mention for faithfully reading everything and helping with insightful finds
and comments.

Additional thanks need expressed to Obsidian Dawn, www.obsidiandawn.com, for
brushes used in the creation of the cover for Trapped.

Lastly, none of this would be possible without my wife, Katie. Not only has she done
an incredible job on the covers for nearly every one of my books, she's also the one that
believed enough in me to tell me it was time to quit the day job and pursue my crazy dream
full time.

About the Author:

Dean started reading seriously in
the second grade due to a competition, and has spent most of the
subsequent three decades lost in other people's worlds. After reading
several local libraries more or less dry of sci-fi and fantasy, he
started spending more time wandering around worlds of his own
creation to avoid the boredom of the 'real' world.

Things worsened, or improved
depending on your point of view, when he first started experimenting
with writing while finishing up his accounting degree. These days
Dean has a wonderful wife and two lovely daughters to keep him rather more
grounded, but the idea of bringing others along with him as he meets
interesting new people in universes nobody else has ever seen tends
to drag him back to his computer on a fairly regular basis.

Keep up to speed on Dean's latest
projects at
deanwrites.com
.

The power he needs to protect his friends and family is just outside of Alec
Graves' reach. The dominant shape shifter pack in North America is circling like
vultures and there are other, more savage opponents approaching in the distance.

Given the danger he's in, Alec doesn't have time for a broken heart, but
Adri's departure has left him barely able to function. The pressures inside
his pack are building to lethal levels and for the first time in his life, he's
not sure he can walk the path that honor demands of him.

Walking out on Alec was the hardest thing Adri had ever done, but she didn't
bargain for the long-term impacts that would be involved. She hasn't been able to
get past her feelings for him yet and it's starting to impact nearly every aspect
of her life.

Even more concerning, she now knows what the darkness really hides. Dangers
that she thought she'd left behind in Sanctuary are stalking her again, but this
time Alec's pack isn't in a position to protect her.

Something powerful is stirring in the darkness. Something so ancient that even
creatures who've been alive for hundreds of years have long since discounted this new
threat as nothing more than myth.

Normal humans will be caught in the crossfire, but then that's always the way of
things. Geoffrey has no memory of his past life or any idea how to survive in the
violent, dangerous world in which he's trapped. Despite his best efforts, he's about to
find himself in the middle of a conflict that threatens to sweep away everything,
and everyone he's been fighting so hard to protect.

The invitation to join the secretive Guadel should have been the fulfillment of dreams
Va'del didn't even realize he had. When his sponsors are killed in an ambush a short time
later, he instead finds his probationary status revoked, and becomes a pawn between
various factions inside the Guadel ruling body.

Jain's never known any life but that of a Guadel in training. She'd thought herself
reconciled to the idea of a loveless marriage for the good of her people, but meeting
Va'del changes everything. Their growing attraction flies against hundreds of years of
precedent, but as wide-spread attacks threaten their world, the Guadel have no choice
but to use even Jain and Va'del in their fight for survival.

Table of Contents