Unbalanced

By Kate Douglas

Addie Logan simply stopped to do the right thing. While helping an injured woman in the park, she becomes the victim of a vicious attack and barely makes it home to tend her own wounds. Later that night, tired and feverish, Addie awakens to find two gorgeous men standing over her bedside. Unsure if they are real or a figment of her imagination, she reaches out and unleashes an erotic hunger like none she’s ever known.

Welcoming the men into her bed, Addie experiences pleasures she’s never felt and finds herself becoming very attached to the strangers.

But these men need more from her than just erotic pleasure. They are demon hunters, and the attack on Addie in the park has made her one of them. Entering a world she never knew existed, Addie now dedicates her life to fighting demons and enjoying the pleasures of the two gorgeous men she fights alongside and is coming to love.

Bonus! This edition includes an excerpt from Dream Bound, the first book in the new Dream Catchers series, and from CrystalFire, the fourth book in the DemonSlayers series.

About the Author:

Kate Douglas is the lead author of Kensington Publishing’s Aphrodisia imprint and the author of the popular erotic paranormal romance series Wolf Tales and Dream Catchers, as well as the Zebra series DemonSlayers. She is currently writing the next Chanku series, Spirit Wild. The first book, Dark Wolf, is available now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing
• Release date: Jun 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781937349004

Kate Douglas

A lifelong Californian, Kate Douglas has been lucky enough to call writing her career for most of her adult life, but it wasn’t until she discovered the world of the sexy paranormal that she really found her niche. She’s having such a terrific time creating more Wolf Tales for Kensington’s Aphrodisia line as the imprint’s lead author that she’s still waiting for someone to call and tell her it was all a big mistake. Now with her new DemonSlayers series taking off, she’s definitely having the time of her life. Married for almost 40 years to her very own hero, Kate is mother to two amazing adults and “Dabba” to five perfect grandchildren—and two granddogs. Kate gives credit for much of her success to the fantastic cadre of generous and talented authors who have helped her over the years. She is a firm believer in the philosophy of “paying it forward.” Kate loves to hear from her readers. You can find her on Facebook at facebook.com/katedouglas.author or email her directly at katedouglas.com. There you can also join her newsletter for updates on bookstore visits, signings, and contests for a chance to win books.

Book preview

Cover

Works by Kate Douglas

Paranormal Romances

Published with Kensington

DemonFire

HellFire

Crystal Dreams in Nocturnal

StarFire

CrystalFire

Erotic Romances

Published with Kensington

Wolf Tales

Chanku Rising in Sexy Beast

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 1.5—Chanku Rising

Wolf Tales II

Camille’s Dawn in Wild Nights

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 2.5—Chanku Dawn

Wolf Tales III

Chanku Fallen in Sexy Beast II

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 3.5—Chanku Fallen

Wolf Tales IV

Chanku Journey in Sexy Beast III

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 4.5—Chanku Journey

Wolf Tales V

Chanku Destiny in Sexy Beast IV

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 5.5—Chanku Destiny

Wolf Tales VI

Chanku Wild in Sexy Beast V

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 6.5—Chanku Wild

Wolf Tales VII

Chanku Honor in Sexy Beast VI

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 7.5—Chanku Honor

Wolf Tales VIII

Chanku Challenge in Sexy Beast VII

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 8.5—Chanku Challenge

Wolf Tales 9

Chanku Spirit in Sexy Beast VIII

and as the ebook

Wolf Tales 9.5—Chanku Spirit

Wolf Tales 10

Wolf Tales 11

Wolf Tales 12

The Dream Catchers Series

Dream Catcher in Nightshift

Dream Bound

Dream Unchained

The Spirit Wild Series

Dark Wolf

Dark Moon (TBA)

The Demon Lovers Series

Unbalanced

Unbound

Unmasked

Unleashed

Undaunted

Title Page

Copyright

Unbalanced

Kate Douglas

Copyright © 2011 by Kate Douglas

Material excerpted from Dream Unchained copyright © 2012 by Kate Douglas

Material excerpted from Dark Wolf copyright © 2013 by Kate Douglas

Cover design and illustration by Dar Albert, Wicked Smart Designs

Published by Beyond the Page at Smashwords

Beyond the Page Books

are published by

Beyond the Page Publishing

www.beyondthepagepub.com

ISBN: 978-1-937349-00-4

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without the express written permission of both the copyright holder and the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Excerpt from Dream Unchained

Excerpt from Dark Wolf

About the Author

Chapter 1

Jett! Look out! Locan stumbled, twisted awkwardly to the right and barely avoided the slashing claws and gaping mouth. What the hell was it? Whatever this beast was that hunted him moved with demonic speed, using tusks and fangs and claws with almost mechanical precision.

Jett cursed, but the slash of his sword turned the beast back. It jerked to one side, shook its ugly head and snarled. Locan lunged forward and managed one sharp jab into the creature’s side. It shrieked, spread all four arms wide and seemed to grow even larger.

Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the thing was gone. Wisps of foul-smelling steam drifted on the night air. Locan flopped down on the frozen ground beside his partner. Jett’s breath escaped in uneven gasps and dark blood trickled from a deep gash across his forehead. Slowly shaking his head, Locan stared at him for a long moment before asking, You okay?

Sucking air, Jett nodded. For now. What the fuck was that?

I dunno. Demonkind, but not. Stronger. Smarter. Definitely smarter. Locan lifted Jett’s long black hair aside and dabbed at the blood with his torn sleeve. Sucker has the sharpest teeth I’ve seen. He glanced into the shadows, frowning. Where the hell’s Leah?

Jett shook his head. Stared at the spot where the creature had disappeared. Shit. The creature must have gotten her.

Locan jerked his head up. What? She wasn’t even here. You know she wants out. She wasn’t in the fight.

She was. Showed up just after that—whatever the fuck it was—attacked. She was there. Behind it . . . Scrambling to his feet, Jett cursed. I’m sure the bastard got her.

Fuck. Locan revved up his senses, reached out, waited. Nothing. I can’t feel her.

Me, either. Jett stared at Locan. The link’s broken. If we can’t feel her, how can we look for her?

Locan shook his head. Ice encased his heart along with his nonexistent soul. We have to find her. He cocked one eyebrow and shot a knowing look at his partner. Before one of us ends up killing the other. If that thing realizes what she means to us, it’s all over.

Jett’s harsh laugh sent chills down Locan’s spine. I’m not easy to kill. It’s not like you haven’t tried.

Locan sent him a sharp glance. Exactly. Which is why we need Leah whether she wants us or not. He planted one hand on the ground and pushed himself slowly to his feet. There wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t ache. Whatever they’d fought was strong—more powerful than any entity they’d come up against in centuries of hunting. Leah’s powerful on her own. Maybe he didn’t take her too far. We’ve gotta look for her.

Fuck it. Okay. Frowning, Jett glanced away.

Locan wondered what Jett was thinking. Polar opposites, they’d fought together for centuries, fought each other even longer. Leah was the anchor, the one who forced them to focus on the enemy. The one who had the power to weave their antagonistic souls into a single, functioning unit. She was the one thing standing between him and Jett, the only one capable of keeping their eternal struggle in balance.

The pale glow from a nearby streetlight cast a blue sheen over Jett’s black skin. Crimson blood flowed sluggishly from the rapidly healing slash. He shot a harsh glare of undeniable hatred in Locan’s direction, and winked out of sight.

Locan snarled. Then he sighed. Already it was starting. The anger. The rivalry. The hatred the two of them couldn’t control. Damn it all, they had to find Leah. Now, before he and Jett turned on each other. Before only one—or neither of them—was left standing.

* * *

Addie slurped the last of her margarita, licked the few remaining crystals of salt off the rim and set the glass back on the bar. One good thing about getting laid off. She didn’t have to worry about working with a hangover.

"You okay to walk home,