Excerpt: The Charmed Souls by Christine Wenrick

The Charmed Souls
(The Charmed Trilogy, #2)
By: Christine Wenrick
Publisher: Red Treehouse Publishing
Release Date: Nov. 22, 2012
Genre: Paranormal Romance


Goodreads
Amazon

Olivia Ann Greyson is a Charmer, a Dhampir with the power to lure the supernatural world’s most dangerous of creatures – and she’s in an impossible situation. She must leave behind Caleb Wolfe, the strong, protective vampire she has fallen madly in love with, in order to learn how to protect herself from the vampires, shifters and demons that will be drawn to her for the rest of her life.

Human Guardian, Alec Lambert, has been assigned to see to Olivia’s training by the organization he belongs to, which is known simply as The Brethren. He takes Olivia to the group’s stronghold in the mountainous regions of Alberta, Canada, where she discovers the answers to her family’s painful past and the extent to which those hunting her will go to capture her. But she also uncovers many secrets and even more questions about this mysterious group she has trusted to protect her – secrets that will have her fighting to get back to the man she left behind.

. . . but will it be too late?

 

Excerpt

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes again was the darkness outside the glass balcony doors to my room. It appeared so black and still, surely one would be chilled to the bone the moment they moved within it. That kind of steely cold could reach inside a person and penetrate every bone and sinew until one was forced to find a heat strong enough to defeat it. That kind of cold was warring within me now, and the only heat I had to fight it with was coming from the cast-iron stove warming my room . . . and it wasn’t enough.

“Olivia?” Dr. Li spoke softly above me. “Do you know where you are?”

I nodded but offered him no words.

“We brought you back here because we thought it’s where you’d be most comfortable. Do you remember what happened?”

I nodded again, finally noticing his concerned face.

“You have some cuts on your wrist that I’ve stitched up. And that arm was hyper-extended, so it’ll be pretty sore for a few hours. Your physical injuries should be healed in a day or so, but I’ll want to check on you a few times over the next twenty-four hours just to make sure there are no other problems.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Gideon replied when I didn’t. “I can see to her from here.”

Dr. Li nodded. “Let me know if there are any changes.”

After Dr. Li left, Gideon pulled a chair close to my bed but maintained a good distance. His expression was grim, quiet, like a father who was unsure what to say to his daughter after an incident like this. “Olivia, I—”

“Thank you,” my raspy voice scratched against my throat.

His brow arched high in surprise at that.

“For getting there in time,” I finished.

 Christine is the author of The Charmed Trilogy. She lives in the scenic Pacific Northwest where she enjoys hiking, camping and photographing many of the wonderful places that served as inspiration for her novels. Her biggest reward in life is any given day when one of her books connects with a reader, because she herself is such a lover of reading.

You can connect with Christine via her:
website | twitter | facebook 

☆ I just finished reading The Charmed Souls and I must say that the excerpt above was the most powerful moment in the entire storyline for me. Rape scenes are my least favorite thing to read, it's right up there with killing puppies and kittens but the author did an amazing job writing it.