Release Date: 10/04/13
Summary from Goodreads:
Ava Michaels used to think she was special.
As a child, she fantasized about having magical powers . . . making things happen. But Ava grew up and eventually accepted the fact that her childish dreams were just that, and maybe a normal life wasn't so bad after all.
Now a young college student, Ava meets Caleb Foster, a brilliant and mysterious man who’s supposed to help her pass Physics, but in reality has another mission in mind. What he shows Ava challenges her view of the world, shaking it to its very core.
Because Caleb isn't quite what he seems. In fact, he's not entirely human, and he's not the only one.
Together, the duo faces a threat from an ancient race bound to protect humans, but only after protecting their own secrets—secrets they fear Ava may expose. Fighting to survive, Ava soon learns she's not actually normal . . . she's not even just special.
She's a little bit more.
EXCERPT
When
closing time finally came around, Ava shivered as she walked out of the diner,
huddling deeper into her wool coat and tugging her scarf up over her mouth. She
hoisted her backpack higher onto her shoulder before setting off down the
sidewalk, quickly covering the two blocks to campus and only looking over her
shoulder nervously a handful of times.
Maybe
a dozen.
Fifteen,
tops.
She
hurried down the walkway toward the dorms, the dim path lights flickering
little circles of yellow on the frosted concrete. The moon glowed slightly
behind the haze of wispy clouds, and a shout of laughter drew her attention to
a couple coming toward her, arms entwined. They were dressed as Romeo and
Juliet, their costumes partially hidden under thick coats and mittens. They
kissed, breath clouding around them, and began to run, smiling at her as they
went past.
She
couldn’t help smiling back.
Their
footsteps echoed away until once again, the only sounds interrupting Ava’s
quiet breathing were the crunch of her own boots and the squeak of her backpack
straps.
And . . .
Ava
stiffened, the peculiar feeling sliding over her once again. She scanned the
landscape around her, facing straight ahead but her eyes seeking, carefully
combing the surrounding shadows.
Nothing.
Still,
she couldn’t shake that creepy sensation that someone was watching her. She
quickened her pace, slipping off her right glove and reaching into her coat
pocket to grip her pepper spray tightly.
Was that . . . ?
Were those footsteps?
Ava’s
heartbeat quickened, her palms growing moist even in the brisk cold. She
flipped the safety off the pepper spray, her thumb poised over the button. As
she neared the bridge marking the halfway point to her dorm, she glanced over
her shoulder quickly. Seeing nothing, she hurried over the bridge, cursing the
burned-out bulb that left it in darkness.
Suddenly,
a stifling feeling overcame her—like a dark blanket had been thrown over her
head to suffocate her—and she whirled around, her backpack clattering to the
ground as she whipped the pepper spray out of her pocket and held it at arm’s
length. Ava gulped for air, eyes frantically darting about, and the trembling
hand holding the pepper spray flailing as wildly as her gaze. She was sure
someone was there. She swore she could feel them. She stood frozen with fear,
waiting . . . watching.
After
a few long moments, she shook her head, glad nobody had witnessed her desperate
panic. With a heavy sigh, she pocketed her pepper spray, embarrassed at her own
ridiculousness. She had to stop this nonsense. She was driving herself crazy.
It was just a dream making her jumpy, nothing else.
Just
a crazy, scary dream.
Ava
bent to pick up her backpack, sliding it onto her shoulder as she scanned the
horizon one more time. With a self-deprecating chuckle, she turned around to
continue home.
Only
to stop short in terror.
A
man—a huge man—stood before her, mouth twisted in rage. He towered over her, at
least six and a half feet tall, his shoulders wide, and arms banded with
muscle. Shaved close to his head, his dark hair shadowed his skull, and his
intimidating appearance was only enhanced by the jagged scar running down the
right side of his face, from forehead to chin. He didn’t wear a coat, only a
tight, black shirt and fatigues, black boots on his feet, and a wide leather
belt with a mean-looking gun holstered at his hip.
It
couldn’t be. But it was.
It
was him. The man from her nightmares.
Ava
scrambled back, but he reached out in a flash, gripping her upper arms and
lifting her up so her toes barely brushed the ground. One hand slid to her
throat, and he held her easily, pulling her closer to his frightening face.
“Please,”
she begged, the word catching as she fought to breathe.
The
man’s glare tightened, and Ava stared in morbid fascination at his mismatched
eyes—blue and green—odd and vividly terrifying. She struggled, reaching for her
pepper spray, only to have it slip from her fingers as she kicked out at the
man.
He
responded by laughing humorlessly, flipping her around and banding one arm
around her torso. His grip was like iron, and she could barely breathe.
“Please,”
she said again, dizziness closing in. “I can’t,” she gasped.
A
press of metal to her temple transformed her fearful trembles into horrified
shudders. She had no doubt. She was going to die. Her eyelids fluttered shut in
defeat as he cocked the gun, the loud click echoing off the trees.
Then,
a flash of black, a gust of wind, and suddenly she could breathe again. The
man’s grip loosened, but he didn’t release her.
“Damn
you,” he growled. “Stay out of this!”
Ava
pushed him, her efforts in vain, as he hitched her up in response, tucking her
under his arm like a bag of groceries. She kicked her legs, flailing
desperately as the man spun about, pointing his gun into the darkness.
“Show
yourself, you coward!”
The
same flash of black, another blast of wind, and Ava fell to the ground, her
head cracking on the concrete. She curled onto her side, moaning, lifting a
hand to the back of her head, and squinting in shock at the blood that came
away, streaking across her trembling palm.
Low
grunts and the crack of bone on flesh floated on the air toward her, muzzy with
her disorientation. She tried to focus, but could only make out two dark
figures exchanging blows. Ava tried to sit up, but collapsed back onto the icy
ground, overcome by a shock of dizziness and nausea.
Suddenly,
the two dark beings seemed to meld into one, and in the next moment, she felt
herself floating. She blinked; a face took form above her briefly, the features
cast in shadow.
“Do
I . . . do I know you?” she mumbled, fighting for consciousness.
“I’ve
got you,” a low voice replied, and Ava nodded as a cool palm stroked her
forehead, and the darkness consumed her.
-MORE,
Chapter 4
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