Bound by Earth: The Nature Hunters Academy Series, Book 1

By Quinn Loftis and Kelsey Keeton

Tara Thompson cannot be injured. Since the night her parents died in a tragic accident, she hasn’t felt pain of any kind, not so much as a papercut. And she has no idea why. Though her body healed quickly, her heart and soul took its time. Luckily, a loving foster mom and an unwanted best friend stepped in to speed up the process. Despite Tara’s best efforts, her new BFF, Shelly Smith, just wouldn’t go away. By their senior year, the girls were thick as thieves and would probably become thieves if Shelly had anything to say about their future. Thankfully, fate intervenes in the form of a high school recruiter, Elias Creed, who works for a mysterious geological testing company. Cue the dreamy music and soft lighting as he walks in slow motion toward her. Then Elias opens his mouth and Tara laments the fact that the first guy she’s ever been seriously attracted to...is a complete and utter butthead. Still, she can’t seem to shake him, and she and Shelly are both intrigued by the company he works for. Little do they know it’s not a company at all. It’s an academy for those gifted with elemental powers and she’s already been enrolled. And Elias isn’t Tara’s only suitor. The hottest guy in school--Tucker Adams--has been asking Tara out for the past three years and each time she’s shot him down. Now, he’s finally broken down her walls. But when Elias and Tucker both warn Tara the other is dangerous, she doesn’t know who to believe. When the truth is finally revealed, Tara finds out both men know more about her past than she does, including what caused the accident that took her parents' lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quinn Loftis Books, LLC
• Release date: Feb 25, 2020

Quinn Loftis

Quinn Loftis is the author of twenty novels, including the USA Today bestseller Fate and Fury. Her passion is writing character-driven and humor-filled fantasy and paranormal novels, and she believes in happily-ever-afters (but makes sure to evoke every emotion she can before getting to them). Thankful to God and her amazing fans for allowing her to live out her dream, she resides in western Arkansas with her husband, three sons, two dogs, and a cat that thinks he's a dog.

Book preview

Prologue

Look around at your fellow classmates. They are all orphans, just like you. They have all been gifted with the power of earth, just like you. Some of you have known about your power for a long time but were never able to understand it. Some of you are just realizing what you might be capable of. Regardless, we at Terra Academy will help you realize your full potential. You are no longer merely students. By accepting entrance into the academy, you have set yourself on a path to becoming something greater. You are now Nature Hunters. The Natura Venatori. You are necessary because Mother Gaia cannot hunt for herself. She sustains. She gives us life. She protects and provides for us. But who will protect and provide for her? We do. Welcome to Terra Academy. May Mother Earth always protect you.

~Zuri Petrov, First-Year Welcome Speech

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Refuge: Shelter or protection from danger or distress; a place that provides shelter or protection; something to which one has recourse in difficulty

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Jax stood silently in the hospital room, listening. Not to the constant beeping of the machines all around him, but for any hint of the presence of a dark elemental. It was difficult to detect the faint signature of an insidious spirit dweller amid the incessant hum of electricity and bothersome machines surrounding him. Jax disliked machines. Entirely unnecessary in his opinion. Give him a beautiful mountain vista any day, far from the hustle and bustle that surrounded the lives of modern-day people. He was like most other earth elementalists in that way.

When he was satisfied they were alone, Jax turned his attention to the broken girl lying beneath the scratchy white blanket. His disdain for modern technology paled in comparison to how much he hated the dark elemental that had brought him here, the one that had broken this poor girl and killed her parents. Jax hadn’t read the girl’s chart, but he could see at a glance she was in bad shape. She had a cast on one arm and a bandage around her head. The girl’s eyes were swollen shut, set in a face that was so bruised and misshapen it looked more like a bucket of rotten plums than a head.

Thirteen years old. It’s never a good time to lose one’s parents. But thirteen… This girl would have to navigate the most difficult part of childhood with no one to guide her. He clenched his fists. The spirit who did this will pay. Jax would make sure of it. The academy would make sure of it.

 He didn’t yet know where the girl would live—in an orphanage, foster care, or perhaps with a relative—but he would find out soon enough. She was his responsibility now. And when she graduated high school, he would come for her. Then she would find out what really happened to her parents. Then she could do something about it. Until then, he could only wait and observe, quietly protecting her from the unseen war raging around her.

He stepped closer to the bed and glanced around to make sure they were still alone. He placed a calloused hand, hard as stone, onto the girl’s shoulder. Mother Gaia, hear my prayer. A servant of your body needs you now, he whispered. Several moments of silence passed then Jax began to chant.

"Pebble, rock, boulder, stone,

The power of the earth alone.

Strength of granite, grace of jewels,

Minerals, crystals, and gems are your tools.

Bedrock, rise, work through my hands.

Grant this youngling the protection of your land."

He felt a low rumble beneath his feet as the earth’s power traveled from the depths of the ground and up through the building to where he stood. It entered his body through the bottom of his feet and traveled upward. Jax’s heavily muscled frame became rigid, momentarily hard as granite as the elemental power flowed within him. It moved to his arm and down it, flowing from his body into the girl’s shoulder. The girl’s skin, pale from loss of blood, began to change color. First, her entire body became a dull tan, the color of soft Mississippi mud. Then it became burnt sienna, the color of an Arizona mesa. Next, it mottled and speckled like a vein of marble running through bedrock. Finally, it smoothed and became iron-grey before returning to its previous ashen hue. He thought about using his power to mend some of the girl’s wounds as well. He wasn’t great with soft tissue, but he could mend a bone in seconds, not only healing the fracture but making it much stronger than before, infusing the metals of earth directly into the marrow. But miraculous healings tended to invite questions. And questions were the last thing this girl needed right now. She was safe and she would recover. That was enough. He’d simply have to let nature take its course. 

That’s the best I can do for now, little one. Sleep well. And may Gaia protect you, he said softly.

With one last look at the girl, Jax turned and took a few steps toward the door. There he hesitated and turned back. The machines still beeped. The girl did not stir. Jax shook his head and released a labored sigh. He would find the dark elemental before he traveled back to the academy. He’d capture it, rip it limb from limb, and break it like it had broken the human in that hospital bed. It would feel good, but it wouldn’t bring this young one’s parents back.

Jax wished he could take the girl to the academy right now. It was a better place for her than out in the world. At the earth academy, she could be surrounded by people who understood her, who had all suffered the loss of their parents. There she could be protected, taught, and shaped into a ruthless Natura Venatori who took no pity on the dark elementals.

But rules were rules. Once a human found out about the spirit world, their powers would begin manifesting. And the elemental kings and queens had long ago decreed that children simply weren’t ready to handle that kind of power. Jax could agree about wind and water. Those humans attuned to wind and water were too flighty, too changeable. Fire … maybe they could handle themselves when pressed. Fire was the only other elemental school to which Jax gave any respect. But their power still paled in comparison to that given to the students of earth.

So, Jax would have to wait to begin this young one’s education. Still, he was certain he would get the chance someday. She didn’t belong to the other schools. No way. He was sure this girl was attuned to the earth. He had a knack for sensing these things that was legendary among his fellows. To date, he’d never misidentified an elemental attunement within a human based solely on the feeling of the aura alone. Yes, this young one is earth through and through. A future lady of iron. He nodded, content in knowing she would one day be a powerful warrior of the earth academy.

He spoke to the girl in the hospital bed again. I’ll return soon enough, Tara Thompson. Then you will understand who you really are.

Chapter 1

Two months after the accident.

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I don’t intend to take the place of your parents, Tara. Thirteen-year-old, newly orphaned Tara Thompson heard the woman speak though she barely registered the words. And she scarcely felt the woman’s hand upon her shoulder. I just want to take care of you. This is a safe place for you. Consider my home your refuge. Do you know what a refuge is?

Tara didn’t respond. She had little energy to do much more than breathe and simply survive. The world as she knew it had ceased to exist when she’d awaken from the coma. She knew she had been in a car crash, though she couldn’t remember any details about it. Not long after she awoke, some woman from social services had told Tara her parents had been killed. Nothing made sense anymore. The person she thought she was becoming was suddenly gone. Tara was a thirteen-year-old girl who had everything one minute and nothing the next. 

A refuge is a place where you can retreat. It’s a safe place where you can decide how to move forward. Let yourself fall apart and, when you’re ready, you can begin to rebuild, Carol said gently. This is your refuge, Tara. There is no time limit. There are no rules on how you grieve the life you once had, other than you aren’t allowed to hurt yourself or anyone else. A refuge is a place where violence cannot exist. She paused, and Tara could practically feel the concern and care coming from the woman. 

Finally, after several quiet moments, Carol said, Three months ago, you were a girl with a family, a future, and a general idea of what your future looked like. In one night, one horrific night, that changed. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to be devastated. It’s okay to feel lost. What isn’t okay is to stay in those places forever. A refuge is a starting point. A place where you can gather yourself before you start your journey forward. When you’re ready, I will do everything I can to help you begin that journey.

Tara’s heart beat painfully hard in her chest as the reality she constantly tried to push away crashed over her like a turbulent wave. Tears tracked down her face, but she didn’t wipe them away. Her mom once told her that tears were cleansing. They were God’s way of allowing us to wash away the hurt, anger, and pain. If her mom were still alive, Tara would have told her mother she didn’t know what she was talking about. Tara had cried countless tears, and nothing had been washed away. If anything, the tears just brought more tears. The pain was so much more intense when she cried. She hated it. 

What if I’m never ready? Tara asked after sitting next to the older woman for a few minutes. 

Your life was spared for a reason, Carol said. There is something you are meant to do, and I doubt it is to sit in a room for the next seventy years grieving. Don’t waste your purpose. Your parents wouldn’t—

Tara jumped to her feet as she turned to face the woman. Her fists were clenched tight, and tears blurred her vision You don’t know what my parents would want so don’t you dare pretend to know! Her words came out through gritted teeth as she fought the urge to scream. Tara didn’t want to scream because she honestly didn’t know if she’d be able to stop once she started. She felt if she opened her mouth and let out that first soul-bearing sound, then there would be no end. It would be like breaking a dam on a river that was fed from the ocean. The destruction would be devastating. So, she kept her jaw locked tight, only allowing enough movement to form the words she needed. 

I know they loved you, Carol said in that same calm voice, ignoring the rage Tara was aiming at her. I know if I had a child, and they’d been spared, then I’d want them to go on without me and lead a full, happy life.

I shouldn’t have to go on without them. I’m a kid. They’re the parents. They’re supposed to take care of me. They’re supposed to be here. But they’re not. Tara’s lips trembled as she spoke, and her voice cracked. She opened her mouth to say something else, but there was really nothing else to say, so she turned and ran down the porch steps and away from the house. Tara ran toward the park she’d seen earlier when the social worker had brought her to Carol’s house that morning. Tara didn’t want to hear anything else because nothing Carol said would make things better. Tara had no idea why she hadn’t been killed in the crash, but she didn’t believe it was because there was some grand plan for her life. She wasn’t anyone special. She was just Tara Thompson, once upon a time the only child to Rebecca and Jason Thompson and now orphan. She was just a lost girl with nothing and no one.

When her feet hit the dirt of the park, she finally slowed. She walked over to the swings and plopped down onto one. She leaned forward, rested her elbows on her knees, and placed her face in her hands. Everything hurt. Not because of the accident—her injuries caused her virtually no pain whatsoever—but because there was a huge, empty hole inside of her, and it felt like her body was being pulled apart and flung into that hole piece by piece. There was no support to hold everything together. 

You weren’t supposed to die, she whispered through the tears. You’re supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to be alone. They were words she’d repeated over and over since she’d awoken in the hospital. But no matter how many times she said them, they wouldn’t bring her parents back.

Who are you talking to? 

Tara’s head snapped up, startled by the voice of another girl. Suddenly, sitting in the swing next to her, was a girl about Tara’s own age. She had blonde hair, big green eyes, and an inquisitive expression that was full of honest curiosity. The girl was kind of gangly with her extra-long limbs, and she looked a bit awkward sitting in the swing. 

Are you okay? The girl’s expression changed from one of curiosity to concern. Are you hurt? Do I need to get your parents?

Tara’s heart clenched as she shook her head. I don’t have parents, she said, her voice coming out a little hoarse. 

"Are they dead to you? Because mine are totally dead to me right now. They have no clue how hard it is to be both a thirteen-year-old girl and in the eighth grade. I’ve tried to explain to them that girls my age are ruthless, abhorrent, demonic, soul-sucking bitches who only want to cut your throat and laugh as they watch you bleed out on the greasy cafeteria floor, but they simply won’t believe me. ‘I was thirteen once,’ my mom keeps saying. But I’m not sure if she really was. She acts like I’m exaggerating or something.

"I mean, how is it fair that I get grounded for saying ‘ruthless bitches?’ They didn’t seem to care that I’d also said they were abhorrent, demonic, and soul sucking. I am telling the truth about those bitches, yet my dad can scream obscenities at the vehicle in front of him because the driver is supposedly making him late to work when we all know that’s a big fat lie. He was running late to work all on his own because he kept hitting the snooze button on the alarm this morning. It’s not the fault of the person who was driving the speed limit. C’mon!" She rolled her large green eyes.

Tara stared at the girl, wondering if she ever actually breathed. She was sure this girl hadn’t taken a breath throughout her entire monologue. Tara was also trying not to punch the girl in the face because she would give anything to have her parents back so they could ground her for cussing or having a bad attitude or anything they wanted to. 

Damn, you’re a tough crowd. Don’t like to talk, huh?

Who are you, and why are you talking to me? Tara finally asked. 

Oh, frack, sorry. I’m totally lacking in social skills, or so my mom tells me like every frapping day. I’m Shelly Ann Smith. Yes, my initials spell SAS. My parents didn’t think that through very well when they chose my name. Shelly waved her hand as if her parents were positively ridiculous. Who are you? And why are you sitting in the park crying?

Tara realized Shelly was truly clueless, or just one of those people you had to be almost cruelly honest with because they just didn’t get normal social cues. Tara didn’t have the energy to protect the girl’s feelings by letting the news out gently. This girl asked so she was gonna get the truth. Would Shelly feel like a complete ass afterward? Probably. Did Tara care? Nope.

I’m Tara Thompson, and I’m crying because my parents were killed in a car accident two months ago. I don’t give a crap if your parents are pissed at you for cussing about the stupid mean girls at your school. My parents really are dead … to me and everyone else on earth.

Shelly’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. "My mom was right. My social skills suck balls. Dude, I am so sorry. And I said my parents were dead to me. Damn! You probably want to throat punch me or something."

Tara nodded. I do want to throat punch you. But hitting someone takes energy. I’m out. I got nothing left. Her shoulders slumped forward as she wrapped her arms around the chains of the swing. 

Shelly sighed and started moving her swing side to side, just enough to nudge Tara’s swing and make her gently rock. Tara added no personal space boundaries to the mental list of things that was wrong with the strange girl who’d sat down next to her uninvited.

Where are you from? I mean, I’ve never seen you around, and Buffalo, Kentucky is a small town. I’m sure I would have already befriended you by now, Shelly said matter-of-factly.

You make a lot of friends or something? Tara asked. She’d much rather focus on Shelly’s issues than her own.

Actually, you’re pretty much my first.

Tara’s brow drew down. I’m your first friend? Are you new here, too?

Naw, Shelly said, shaking her head. Born and bred in good ol’ Buffalo. I just get on people’s nerves as a general rule. I might have had some friends a year or so ago. But a wave of hormones seems to have taken over the town’s entire female population last summer before the start of seventh grade. Those friendships blew up in an explosion fueled by PMS and estrogen.

What makes you think I want to be your friend?

 One… Shelly held up a hand and ticked off a finger. You’re new in town, which means you don’t have any friends. Two, you’re brooding and angry, which is the perfect complement to my gregarious, fun-loving self.

Tara waited for more, but Shelly didn’t go on. She simply rocked back and forth with a small smile on her face as if she were quite pleased with herself.

That’s all you got? Tara asked. The fact that you think I’m desperate for a friend because I’m new and because you’re so annoying you need someone un-annoying to temper your own personality?

Pretty much, but I’m winging it. You caught me quite unprepared to make a new friend. Give me another hour to think about it, and I could have an entire debate prepared on the subject of why we are destined to be BFFs, complete with a bullet-point presentation.

Tara thought her words would anger Shelly, or at least hurt her feelings. But they appeared to roll right off the girl’s back, as if she were impervious to insults.

Maybe you’re just so desperate for a friend you don’t mind befriending an angry, orphaned girl who actually doesn’t need a friend. Tara pursed her lips and waited. She looked Shelly straight in the eyes. The other girl seemed to be seriously weighing Tara’s cruel words, but she still didn’t seem put off.

I see where you’re going with this—Shelly nodded—but I don’t do desperate. It’s not my style. Bitchy, overzealous, too-curious-for-my-own-good, those are definitely me. But desperate, no. I also know you’re just trying to push me away with mean words. It won’t work. Once I decide I want someone to be my friend, then it’s going to happen. You should just accept the situation. It will make your life easier.

If that’s so, then why haven’t you made any replacement friends for the ones you lost? Tara challenged.

Shelly gave her a duh look. "Because I don’t want to be friends with any of the ruthless, abhorrent, demonic, soul-sucking bitches. I’d rather be friendless than have girls who’d just as soon backstab me as they would look at me. They aren’t even loyal to each other. I don’t need that."

Tara didn’t know what to say. The truth was, she didn’t want a friend. She didn’t want anyone. She just wanted to crawl into a corner and die.

Did you move here after your parents passed because you have family here? Shelly asked.

Tara shook her head.

So who do you live with?

Some lady. It’s a foster home.

Oh, wait—Shelly held out a hand—don’t tell me. I bet I can guess. You’re living with Carol Peters, aren’t you?

How’d you know?

Shelly grinned. Mrs. Carol is the kindest person in this bison turd bowl. She’d give a person in need the shirt off her back and her last dollar if it meant getting them back on their feet. She’s had other foster kids. Some deserved her kindness, some, well, they deserved a good kick in the nuts or vagina, depending on their own personal chromosome. But it doesn’t matter to Mrs. Carol if they’re deserving or not. She loves them all and gives everything she has. Shelly narrowed her eyes on Tara. What kind are you going to be? Deserving of her kindness? Or are your girl parts going to need an ice pack?

Anyone ever told you that you’re pushy and intrusive?

Only every day of my life since I came out squawking like a banshee at the doctor who had his head in my mother’s business, Shelly said without an ounce of shame. Life’s too short to cater to other people’s sensitivities. If I worried about offending people, then I’d never get to say a word. My head would probably pop right off my shoulders from all the pressure building up with the need to speak.

Look, Tara started as she stood up from the swing, I’m sure you mean well—

I don’t, Shelly interrupted. I’m serving my own selfish purposes, but please, do go on.

I don’t need a friend, and I don’t want a friend. I just want to survive the hell my life has become, and I want to do it alone. Tara started to walk away but only made it a few feet before Shelly spoke.

I’ll see ya tomorrow, BFF. Mrs. Carol makes a mean Sunday casserole, and I’ve only missed it once when I had the flu. And that was only because my mom said it wouldn’t be nice to give Mrs. Carol the flu when what I was getting in return was a nice, warm casserole.

Fantastic, Tara muttered under her breath as she headed back the way she’d come. As she walked back to Carol’s house, she realized one good thing had come from meeting Shelly in the park. She’d been distracted, at least for a little while. Shelly talked so much and so fast it was difficult for Tara to even think about her own pain. Maybe she didn’t want a friend, but it might be that she needed one—especially one as annoying as Shelly—in order to survive her grief.

But she wouldn’t admit that just yet. Tara would wait and see how the day went tomorrow. If Shelly was able to distract her again then perhaps she’d allow the girl to stick around. If not, well, she’d just have to become one of those ruthless bitches Shelly hated so much. Then she wouldn’t be so determined to be Tara’s friend.

Jax sat in a rental car, staring across the road at the park, watching Tara as she sat on a swing, her head downcast. He tensed and narrowed his eyes as a skinny girl approached and took the swing next to her. He focused his inner eye for a few moments—listening, sensing the elemental world around him. Nothing. The skinny girl was completely human. 

A new friend. It was exactly what Tara needed. Jax said a silent prayer to Mother Gaia, asking her to ensure this new girl would stay a true friend to his charge. It had been tough on Jax these past two months, watching the girl under his protection have to struggle through the first few weeks without her parents. Without anyone. It had been much tougher on Tara. So many times Jax had wanted to reach out, to talk with her, to offer her whatever comfort he could. But a giant man appearing out of nowhere usually didn’t offer much in the way of comfort. And what would he say anyway? Hello, Tara. Sorry your parents are dead. But it’ll get better. Guess what? I know who killed your parents. A dark elemental. That’s right. There’s an entire hidden world out there controlled by light and dark elementals. And you are going to be a part of it one day. Probably wouldn’t go over too well. Jax scanned the area one more time, just to be sure the two girls weren’t being watched by anyone else. When he was satisfied Tara was safe, or at least as safe as she possibly could be under the circumstances, he started the car and drove back to the woods.

Chapter 2

One year after the accident.

Was that Carol? Did you ask her? What’d she say? Shelly said as she walked into Tara’s house—well, Carol’s house—as if she lived there herself.

Why, yes, Shelly. You may come in. Thank you. Would you like some cucumber sandwiches and tea? Tara asked in her best British accent.

Oh, come on, you heifer. You wouldn’t eat cucumber sandwiches if they were the last food on earth. They aren’t a pissy food. You only eat pissy food. What the bloody hell did she say? Shelly bounced up and down on the balls of her feet as if she were four instead of fourteen.

What is pissy food, exactly, and why do you keep coming over? Tara replied, ignoring the question.

Because I’m a glutton for punishment, Shelly said. What’d she say, bitch?

Have you ever thought that maybe your parents dropped you on your head when you were a baby and that’s why you’re so freaking neurotic?

"There’s no maybe about it. They did drop me on my head when I was like a month old or something. That’s old news. What isn’t old news is the answer that Carol just gave you when you asked her if you could go camping with my family this weekend, because if I have to suffer the wilderness then you better believe you are going to suffer right along with me."

Tara had tried for the past year to get Shelly to go away. She’d been mean. She’d attempted to do the whole clingy friend thing, but that had just gotten weird because two clingy friends… Well, it’s just weird. She’d threatened Shelly with bodily harm and had even pushed the girl off the trampoline, causing Shelly to break her arm. Actually, that had been an accident, but she’d totally tried to make Shelly think it had been her plan all along. Still, Shelly was undeterred. The girl was like a bad rash. 

Yes! Tara growled. I can go. She squeezed her eyes shut against the high-pitched squeal she knew was coming. Shelly didn’t disappoint.

Jax watched Tara walk away from the Smith family campsite. The girl—Shelly—was still hanging about, forcing Tara to be her friend. For this, Jax was grateful. Though Tara didn’t seem to recognize it, Shelly’s friendship was one of the few things keeping her going. Jax could plainly see it. Watching from a distance, he noticed the subtle things that bespoke of healing. Occasionally, Tara didn’t keep her eyes directed at the floor. Sometimes, her shoulders weren’t quite as tense. Every so often, she didn’t snap at Carol. These things were steps toward gaining her life back—small steps, but steps nonetheless.

 And Shelly’s family seemed kind, which was another bonus. They’d almost adopted Tara as their own, going out of their way to include her in family outings. Tara thought it was only out of pity, but it wasn’t. The girl both resented and longed for these acts of kindness from Shelly and her family.

The love from the Smith family provided a practical benefit beyond merely making Tara feel better. They offered protection, though none of them even knew it. The phrase protection from the elements wasn’t merely a saying that described the shelter offered by the walls and roof of a house. No, there was an unseen, spiritual protection provided as well. A dark elemental generally couldn’t enter a home where a family had been living for any significant period of time. Jax didn’t fully understand it. He wasn’t sure anyone did, even the elemental kings and queens. Well … they probably did, since they understood the world at its elemental level. But certainly, no humans comprehended the mystery surrounding the protection offered by a home. Jax was certain about one thing, though. The more love in the home, the more hugs given, the more boo boos kissed, the more birthdays celebrated, the more prayers said before bedtime, the greater the protection. The Smith family’s house had that in spades, and so did Tara’s foster home.

Jax couldn’t watch over Tara every minute. He had his teaching job at the academy that kept him busy … oh, and there was the whole hunting down and executing dark elementals thing. Though he hated it, during those times when he couldn’t be in Buffalo watching over Tara, he simply had to trust in the protection spell he cast over her and the shelter offered by Carol and Shelly’s family.

I’m going to go grab some sticks for the campfire, Tara said as she emerged from the tent she would share with Shelly that night. Her friend was right behind her.

Ugh, said Shelly. That’s going to be great for my skin, tromping through the wilderness collecting sticks.

Stay here, said Tara. I’ve got it.

No, no, I can’t let you wander off into the forest alone. You might get eaten by a velociraptor or something. 

"You do realize that Jurassic Park wasn’t based on true events, right?"

Maybe, maybe not. You don’t know, Shelly replied. "Who’s to say there isn’t some island out there in the middle of the ocean covered with dinosaurs running amuck? They might have evolved naturally,

Reviews for Bound by Earth

[Nicole Cramer Starling · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Quinn Loftis never disappoints. This book has completely captivated me now I am hooked on another of her series. Thank you Quinn!