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Cain’s Shadow

by Lisa Oliver

Hellhounds who love scritches, a hellhound baby who’s as adorable as he is menacing, a special tree with beautiful buds, and Lord Hades in a pale pink shirt. This story has everything to make you smile.

Hellhound Cain was beyond frustrated. He couldn’t even visit his pack mate in New York without some curly headed blond following him around. It wouldn’t be so bad, but every time Cain tried to talk to him and ask him why he was being stalked, the man just disappeared. Which was a shame because the blond was cute…

Oliver Jackson, known as Ollie, didn’t know why he had to keep following the mystery man all over the place. He got a stomachache if he tried to stay away, and his magic insisted on translocating him to where the unusual stranger was. But then, one day, an amazing dog with flame-filled eyes sniffed at the tree he was hiding in, and Ollie’s life changed forever.

Elven swords, magical summons, and even a meeting with Death himself - life was anything but smooth sailing for Cain and his new mate. Pack mate Beau was on the verge of a nervous breakdown as his and Blue’s baby was due any day and that just added to the tension.

Reading Precious Blue (Hellhound Collar series #2) will help readers better understand the secondary characters, but this one can be read as a standalone. The story is a complete HEA, with no cliffhangers, although the Epilogue sets the scene for the following book in the series, involving a different couple.

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Excerpt:

Caught up in the simple enjoyment his jacket gave him, it took a moment for Ollie to realize someone, or rather something was sniffing at his tree. Peering down through the leaves he saw the most amazingly ginormous dog. Wow. Ollie loved animals. They never judged him. They typically didn’t stick around for conversations either, but he never felt judged by the animals he’d grown up with. His smile wide, Ollie tried out a tentative whisper, “Hey, big guy. Are you just saying hello, or did you feel the need to water the tree?” He didn’t want to spook the lovely animal.

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The big dog looked up and Ollie gasped. “Wow, you have such incredible eyes. All flaming and intense. You are just amazing. Are you here by yourself?” Glancing around, Ollie didn’t see anyone who looked like they could own such a wonderful animal. His mind flicked to the mystery man – This is totally the sort of dog I could imagine that guy owning – but of course, mystery man was probably enjoying after dinner drinks with friends.

In the meantime, the dog was nodding his head. “Oh, my goodness. You understood me. You’re here on your own?”

The massive head bobbed up and down again. “I can’t believe it, I’m so happy right now.” Ollie wanted to squeal with excitement. “None of the other animals I talk to seem to know what I’m saying. Did you… do you think you might like to go for a walk with me? I can’t go far.” Ollie lowered his voice, and said in a whisper, “I have this connection to some mystery man, and I don’t know why, but I find if I go too far away from him, my belly aches. But we could walk around the park if you wanted to?”

The big hound looked sad for a moment, but then he nodded again and gave a deep woof. Ollie chuckled in delight. “I don’t understand dog speak, but I’m going to take that as a yes. You have such a lovely woof. Hang on. I’ll come down.”

It would’ve been easier to translocate, that was how Ollie got up the tree. But he didn’t want to do anything to startle his new friend. Animals were so much easier to deal with than people and he felt as if he had a bond with the animal already. Taking care not to fall, he was halfway down when he felt a large head pushed up under his butt.

“You’re so cute,” Ollie glanced down over his shoulder. “I swear you’re making sure I’m not going to fall.”

COLLAPSE

About the Author

Lisa Oliver's first fiction book was The Reluctant Wolf, book one in the Cloverleah series. Since then she's written more than ninety other titles spanning a number of different series including Bound and Bonded, Stockton Wolves, Balance, The God's Made Me Do it, City Dragons, The Necromancer's Smile, and the Alpha and Omega series. A huge fan of the true mate trope, Lisa's books are all paranormal, all M/M (although a few M/M/M have crept in too) and all have an HEA.

When not writing, Lisa can be found with her nose in a book. Her adult children and grandchildren have found the best way to get her off the computer is to offer her chocolate.