Captivate Me (Book One: The Captivated Series) (33 page)

Again, Kai and Iris
retrieved the dagger, but the others – now more infuriated and
determined than ever – decided to attack. Iris wiped the officers
out, no problem, and then choked the dark-haired girl for ripping
the dagger away again. A blond-haired boy behind the log snatched
it, and I grunted in frustration.
Choke
her out, sis!

The spiteful little shits
behind the log threatened Kai, something about setting him on fire.
Flames sprung from the red-haired girl’s palms.
“Run, Kai!” I yelled out, my body shaking, a bead of sweat
sliding down my back.
Fuck.
What had my sister gotten into? I should have
been here earlier. I should have been here to help them.

Flames engulfed Kai, and I screamed,
mirroring my own sister’s shriek. Frustrated and scared, I knelt to
the ground as my sister crouched protectively over Kai, the dove on
her shoulder squawking, and I dug my fingers into the earth. More
threats were exchanged, and a jock-looking kid with broad shoulders
blasted her with wind into a tree. The bones in her body shattered,
her bird exploding into blood and feathers. I screamed again. A
hollow, unnatural sound for being in a vast forest, my voice still
cloaked by the spell.

My cries continued, clawing their way
out in agonizing rips as I watched the blond boy sever her neck to
finish the job, and there was nothing I could do about it. He
helped the raven-haired bitch from the tree and her apparent lover
with his bleeding arm.

Having had enough, I opened my eyes,
my forehead pressed against the ground where my sister’s body had
lain. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I soaked in what little of
her life-force remained. The energy from her fear and anger still
lingered here. I soaked it in like a sponge, igniting my own
seething hatred. Hatred for what had happened. Hatred for these
evil bastards who had done this to her. My sister – a third of my
heart and soul – gone. Reduced to a headless corpse.

I let out another cry – this time
laced with a bitter, acidic rage – and I stood to my feet, dirt
clinched in my fists. They would pay for this. All of it. I’d hunt
them all down and make sure it was slow and brutal and merciless.
I’d calculate it to the last minute detail, and when the time was
right, I’d strike.

These kids were about to come face to
face with a wrath they’d never known, they just didn’t know it
yet.

Next in the
Series:

Iris (Novella: The Captivated
Series)

Available Now!

Click
here
for
links to purchase.

Fight for Me (Book Two: The Captivated
Series)

Spring 2015

Want to read about Kat’s
origins?

Discover the story of her
parents, Alyx and Isaac, in Books One through Three of the Alyx
Rayer Chronicles. Visit Susan’s website at
www.sjpiercebooks.blogspot.com
for links to online retailers under “Published Works”. Book
One, Marked for Vengeance, is FREE!

Other Goodies!

Want to see who Susan would cast to
play each character in a movie version?

Want to listen to a personalized
playlist she put together for the book?

Visit the page dedicated
to all things Captivated on her website
here
.

A special note from the
author:

Check out this music video by indie
band Jimmy Real. The song touched me profoundly when writing Kat
and Gabriel’s love story, especially toward the end of the novel.
Love isn’t always easy, and sometimes you even have to fight for
it. In these lyrics, the singer pleads with his love, that if there
is any hope at all for them to be together, he won’t go. What scene
does this remind you of? And, ironically enough, the lead singer,
James Shealy, looks A LOT like Gabriel.

My favorite line of the song: “All we
need now is time and sacrifice. Please don’t hide; love won’t
strike the same place twice.”

Listen to their music
video for “I Won’t Go”
here
on You Tube. Their
album was released on iTunes and Spotify in April 2014.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Susan James Pierce has a
degree in Marketing Management, works for a Fortune 500 company in
Atlanta, Georgia, and devotes her precious spare time to writing
Paranormal, Fantasy and Sci-fi novels.
Please visit
http://www.sjpiercebooks.blogspot.com
and sign up for her mailing list or subscribe to
her blog if you'd like to hear when new books come out!

For a listing of her available
books, click
here.

Find her on Facebook
here
.