Lunar Court
Aileen Erin
(Alpha Girl #8)
Published by: Ink Monster LLC
Publication date: June 11th 2019
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

From USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Erin

Chris is the guy Cosette always wanted.

Fun. Funny. Lighthearted and sweet. Chris always manages to find beauty and laughter, even when fighting a chapel full of demons. He’s exactly what she needs. Except he’s a werewolf and she’s a member of the Lunar Court — the only fey court that holds sway over the werewolves. Even on his best day, Chris isn’t strong enough to last a few hours in the Lunar Court without becoming a slave. No matter how much Cosette’s heart wants him, she knows she has to let him go.

But when Chris goes missing, Cosette realizes how much she has to lose if the worst happens. Except her mother — the Queen of the Lunar Court — won’t let her go after Chris. Being forced to stay at court is dangerous for Cosette. Assassins keep coming after her, and unless she accepts a mate, it’s only a matter of time before one of them kills her.

Cosette is the girl Chris has always dreamed of.

Chris sees through the tough facade to the girl exhausted from a lifetime of fighting off assassins and court politics. She needs a true friend, someone who she can be herself around, and craves solitude. The same solitude that Chris craves. But he knows he’ll never be enough to survive in her world. So, when Eli — a mysterious archon — requests his help, he figures why not? The guy might be a little shady, but he needs every distraction he can get.

But when Eli says that Cosette’s in trouble, Chris is more than ready to play by Eli’s rules. At least until Eli takes him to the Court of Gales. Chris knows he’s about to play a very dangerous game. Bargaining with the fey is something only a desperate person would do. But what wouldn’t Chris give up to save Cosette’s life?

“These books go by so very quickly, with the pacing making me think I just started reading. I could gobble up a dozen of these novels!” – Carrie Reads a Lot

“Aileen Erin: You did a great job as usual and I’m so excited for Invocation and Lunar Court.” – Lenniland

 

EXCERPT:

I stood from where I’d fallen, sand raining down from my clothes. “Take me back to campus now.”

“I will if that’s what you want, but she’s not there. She left as soon as you did.”

I willed myself to hold onto my shit while I figured out what the hell Eli was saying. “She’s not there?”

“No.”

“Then take me to wherever she is.”

“No. She’s at the Lunar Court. There’s no way I’m taking you there.”

Fur rippled along my skin as I closed the distance between us, ready to tear his throat out if he didn’t tell me what I needed to hear. “Is she okay?”

“So dramatic.”

I growled and he rolled his eyes, effectively taunting my wolf even more.

“She’s alive, for now. But she won’t be for long if you don’t keep heading east.”

I paced away from him for a few steps so that I could think. I knew she didn’t like being at court, but she never told me why. It never occurred to me that it was dangerous. Her mother is the queen and she had Van and a ton of other guards to protect her. She should’ve been fine. Something had to have gone wrong.

“Something has gone wrong.” Eli was reading my mind again, but this time I didn’t care. I wanted the answer. “The Lunar Court is destabilizing, and there’s been a hefty reward for Cosette’s head. One that’s too tempting for them to ignore.”

Motherfucker. “Then you should’ve grabbed Tessa or Dastien or someone Alpha.” I hated that I had to say it, but it was the truth. Even if it burned in my gut hotter than the fires of hell. I was alpha—little a. Little power. “I won’t survive there. I’ll be a slave. Worse than a slave. I’d be no help to her and she can’t—”

“Not if you go to the Court of Gales first and gain more power. Or—more accurately—alter your tie to the moon.”

Everything stopped—the wind, the heat, the feeling of exhaustion that had been beating through every muscle in my body—and all I could hear were his words echoing in my mind.

Someone in the Court of Gales could change my lunar tie?

This was huge. Mind-blowing. Seemingly impossible.

But if it were true, then Eli wasn’t just going to help me save Cosette’s life. He was offering me a chance to have a future with my mate. I would be able to survive in the Lunar Court without fear of being controlled.

No. There had to be a catch. Power always came with a cost, and that level of magic—untying my werewolf from its link to the moon? That was a sell-your-soul kind of bargain.

“If it gives you a shot at being with Cosette, what price wouldn’t you pay?”

My annoyance at Eli and his shitty, patronizing tone hit me first, but was quickly obliterated by complete and all-consuming fear. Fear that made my vision speckle and gray and narrow until my knees grew weak and I knew if I didn’t get air into my lungs soon, I wasn’t going to stay upright for much longer. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t fucking believe I was considering entering the Court of Gales alone.

But that’s exactly what I was going to do. I would give up everything I was for her, and that scared the shit out of me.

Eli was right. Even if I was tricked into exchanging my soul for the releasing of my lunar tie, it would be worth it. If Cosette was in trouble, then there wasn’t a price I wouldn’t pay. “How much farther?”

Eli disappeared before answering, and I was alone again in the sweltering desert.

I reached down for my hoodie and saw a full bottle of ice cold water next to it. And a note.

So you don’t get too uncomfortable while getting everything you’ve ever wanted.

I crumpled the note and threw it on the ground. “You could’ve left food, too.”

I waited for a second to see if something would appear, but nothing did. So, I tied the hoodie around my head, grabbed the bottle, and headed east again. I felt better than I did, and now, I had a purpose. That made all the difference.

I was going to beg, borrow, or steal enough power to save Cosette, even if I had to paint the floor in blood.

 

 

 

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

 

Author Bio:

Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd–from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

 

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway