The Necromancer's Prey: The Paranormal Council, #3

By Laura Greenwood

An owl shifter is investigating her people - so why can't this necromancer resist him?

Rory's been an outcast her whole life, never feeling like she fit in with the other necromancers. With the Shifter Council investigating a rogue, her loyalties are torn between the people she doesn't belong to, and the shifter she can't seem to stop thinking about.

When Alden saves Rory one night, the attraction between them becomes too difficult to ignore, and he finally starts to accept that she could be his mate.

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The Necromancer's Prey is book three of The Paranormal Council, a fated mates paranormal romance series. It can be read as a standalone and includes a shifter-necromancer m/f romance.

 

If you enjoy fated mates, light-hearted paranormal romances, intertwined standalones, a hint of steam, quick reads, and plenty of swoon, check out the complete Paranormal Council series today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Drowlgon Press
• Release date: Jun 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386607786

Laura Greenwood

Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy romance. When she's not writing, she drinks a lot of tea, tries to resist French macarons, and works towards a diploma in Egyptology. She lives in the UK, where most of her books are set. Laura specialises in quick reads, with healthy relationships and consent positive moments regardless of if she's writing light-hearted romance, mythology-heavy urban fantasy, or anything in between. You can find a full book list and more information on her website, or in The Paranormal Council Facebook Group. Happy Reading!

Book preview

One

Alden

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Alden sighed as he watched Bjorn leave. While he was glad that he and Arabella had finally accepted the rather obvious mating bond between them, he also felt a little jealous. Not because Bjorn had caught Arabella herself, though she was an attractive, if somewhat formidable woman. Rather, it was what they shared that made him feel that way. It was the same feeling that he’d thought he shared with Janelle, before she’d left him. He’d thought that he’d been lucky enough to find his mate while he was still a teenager, but time had soon shown him just how wrong he was.

Alden pushed a hand over his face, frustrated by the direction his thoughts had taken. It’d been years since he’d thought of Janelle. And his frustration was only increased by the fact that he needed to call Rory. Not only had he told Bjorn that he would, but she genuinely needed to know what the bear shifter, and former Council member, had uncovered. Alden squashed down the small part of him that was excited to talk to her, and tried to focus on the issue at hand. A while back, Arabella had brought their attention to what had since become known as the Necromancer problem. As a defence attorney, she’d been representing a woman who’d been falsely accused of murder. She’d soon discovered that the marks on the body revealed a much more sinister culprit than anyone had first thought. Hence, Alden’s working relationship with Rory.

Rory was the first, and only, necromancer he’d ever met, and he wasn’t all that sure what he made of her. She was tall, curvy and easy on the eyes, with a surprisingly upbeat personality for someone that dealt in death magic. And therein lay the problem; Alden liked her. Not just physically either. That he could live with as just a side effect of being a male shifter, and having a high sex drive as a result. But instead, he found himself enjoying her company, and at times like this, loving the fact that he had an excuse to call her.

He picked up his desk phone and dialled the number he denied knowing by heart, only to be greeted by her answering machine. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised; most paranormals had day jobs, even those with political positions like him and Rory.

A knock sounded on his office door, reminding him of his own job. He looked up to see Rhianna, one of his grad students, standing there with a worried look on her face. He’d long suspected that Rhianna was more than just human, but he’d never actually seen anything to prove that. Even her smell was odd, a little like the fae he’d come across before, but not quite. Plus, he’d never seen her do any magic. It was mostly how she looked that made him think she had fae blood in her, with her long dark hair and delicate features, teamed with a raw sex appeal that was common among them.

And that sex appeal had been difficult for Alden to ignore, even though he knew he had to as her professor. Yet a couple of weeks ago, that all stopped. He could still sense it rolling off her, but it no longer made him want to rip her clothes off and take her on his desk. He wasn’t all that sure whether the change was something to do with him, or with her, but it had coincided with him meeting Rory. The meaning of which wasn’t something he liked to properly think about.

Professor? she asked nervously. He felt instantly guilty for the direction of his thoughts, even if they weren’t as bad as they had been in the past.

Is everything alright, Rhianna?

It’s just about the assignment. I’m struggling to interpret the text and was hoping you could help. She looked at him, hope shining in her eyes. He waved towards the seat on the other side of the desk.

What is it you’re wondering about?

It’s just this poem; I don’t get what people mean when they say it’s about the industrial revolution. She handed him a printout of one of William Blake’s poems, and he reread it, despite the fact he already knew it by heart. He did it mostly to give himself some time to figure out how best to present the case to her. Literature was Alden’s passion, and had been since he’d studied his first Shakespearean play at school. He knew it probably wasn’t the most manly of interests, particularly for a male shifter, but he also couldn’t bring himself to care about that.

Thankfully, Rhianna was a smart student, not to mention one who was actually interested in what he had to say. It wasn’t until his phone chimed, nearly an hour later, that he realised how much time had passed. Luckily, he didn’t have any more lectures, but reading the text, he did have somewhere important he had to be.

I’m sorry, Rhianna, I need to go. But if you’ve got any more questions, you can email me. I’ll try to get back to you as soon as I can. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Thanks, Alden, I think I’ve got it. She looked slightly unsure about using his given name, even though it was commonplace in universities. She stood, packing up her things as she did. Thanks again. She gave an awkward half-wave.

He hated the relief that surged through him as she left, knowing that it would be less than an hour until he saw Rory again. Except that wasn’t right; Rory was just someone he worked with. Nothing more. All he needed to do was remember that.

Two

Rory

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Being a necromancer sucked. Most humans seemed to think that vampires were the ones they should be wary of, but mostly because they didn’t realise that necromancers existed. But the paranormal community did, and they were treated a bit like social pariahs as a result. Not that Rory blamed