Of Beasts
and Bonds
Death and
Destiny Trilogy
Book 2
N.D. Jones
Genre: paranormal romance
Publisher: Kuumba Publishing
Date of Publication: August 18, 2016
ISBN: 9780997529333
ASIN: B01FWLXNJG
Number of pages: 403
Cover Artist: Maduranga Nuwan
Book Description:
In a world of mystery and magic,
sometimes old bonds must be broken before new ones can be formed. Who knew that
finding one’s soul mate would test bonds and unleash beasts?
Mami Wata and Oya are now free from their
watery prison and ready to wage a battle five hundred years in the making.
Special Agent Assefa Berber and Dr. Sanura Williams are the prophesized Cat and
Fire Witch of Legend. To save the world from Mami Wata, a water goddess with a
bloody thirst for power and an insatiable appetite for death and destruction,
they must defeat her beasts and the Water Witch of Legend.
Assefa and Sanura are fully in love but
possess only a partial mate bond. While Sanura has merged their auras, bonding
Assefa’s cat spirit to her, she has yet to accept his claiming bite. Their
incomplete mate bond and their new relationship are tested when Mami Wata sets
her malevolent eyes on them, manipulating beasts, sacrificing humans, and
creating heartache. Can their bond survive, or will they drown under the
vicious tide of godly might?
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/p1_YWkNL7II
Excerpt:
With focused golden
eyes, alert gray ears, and keen black snout, the Mngwa took in his
surroundings.
The prickly grass under
his large, wide paws.
The heat of the midday
sun beating down on his thick black-and-gray fur.
The scent of mullah
bamyah—garlic, tomato juice, minced beef, okra, salt, and pepper.
The four snarling big cats
stalking him.
Scanning each strong,
lithe, and ferocious cat, the Mngwa cataloged their stance, their position, and
the distance between each other and from the Mngwa. They flanked him, a large
cat to his front, rear, and sides. If the Mngwa could smile, he would have.
Foolishly, they thought their numbers a strategic advantage that would fell the
undefeated Mngwa of myth and legend. Instead of a smile, he snarled, a baring
of elongated teeth.
A challenge.
The four cats attacked,
their bestial response to his bait.
Four sets of paws struck
the ground, claws digging into grass and dirt, brawny legs propelling them
forward. Razor-sharp teeth bared, husky growls cut through the muggy June air,
and feline eyes glowed with a premature win.
The leopard reached the
Mngwa first, snapping and going for the bigger cat’s neck. Not wasting time
with the youngest of the four attackers, the Mngwa sidestepped the snarling,
snapping leopard. To only pivot, turn, and ram the side of the too-slow feline
with the Mngwa’s massive head. Away from the Mngwa the leopard flew, sailing
through the air and crashing to the ground several feet away.
The three other cats
spared no pitying glance to the downed leopard, who lay on his side, breathing
labored and ragged. A sure sign of broken ribs.
More growls and
snapping, each cat trying for a different part of the Mngwa’s massive body. The
Mngwa was having none of it, so he went on the offensive. Leaping over the
biggest threat, the Bengal tiger, the Mngwa landed nimbly, then ran straight at
the cheetah. Taking the speckled feline by surprise, the Mngwa powered over the
cat, knocking him down before hauling him up by his scrawny neck and shaking.
The cheetah’s fragile neck was held firm between the Mngwa’s curved
saber-shaped teeth.
When the Mngwa no longer
felt resistance, he opened his deadly jaws and allowed the cheetah to fall from
his brutal clutch and slip, nearly unconscious, to the waiting grass.
Smack. Bite.
The lion and tiger
claimed simultaneous strikes on the Mngwa. A swipe across his hindquarters and
a bite to his side. The lion latched onto the Mngwa, his lethal teeth working
to find purchase in the cat of legend’s winter dense fur and even thicker hide.
Like the predator he
was, the Bengal tiger charged while the Mngwa grappled with the formidable
lion. A mix of yellow-and-orange with wide dark-brown stripes, the 510-pound
tiger landed on top of the Mngwa. His weight hefty, his claws long, sharp, and
dangerous. The maw that threatened his nape even deadlier.
The lion kept up his
offensive, kept clawing, kept sinking his teeth in deeper and deeper.
The Mngwa roared, reared
back on his hind legs, forcing the tiger off him and to the hard ground. With a
side dive, the Mngwa dropped the entirety of his 695 pounds onto the 380-pound
lion. His long, dark mane shot up and out with the force of the attack.
The downed lion snapped
and snarled but didn’t get up. No, with the Mngwa looming over him, golden eyes
marble hard, paw raised, claws out and within striking range of the lion’s throat,
the feline had only two choices.
One would see him dead,
while the other …
The lion lowered his
eyes, and then his head.
Submission.
Pleased, the Mngwa
shifted his gaze to the tiger, his other senses having tracked the big cat the
entire time.
He knew it would come
down to this—the Mngwa versus the Bengal tiger. It always did.
The big cats circled,
taking each other’s measure. They searched for an opening, an opportunity to
attack with the least probability of an effective and bruising counterattack. The
combatants knew each other well—style of combat, defensive and offensive
tactics.
Speed, size, and agility
were on the Mngwa’s side. Yet, the toxin from an animal no longer than an inch,
the golden poison frog could kill a dozen men. Its tiny size and bright colors
deceiving. Not, at a length of 120 inches and 43 inches of shoulder height,
with a tail just as long, there was anything small about the Bengal tiger
baring his gleaming white teeth at the Mngwa.
The Mngwa underestimated
no one—no matter the outward appearance of the enemy. Even the cat of legend,
if incautious, could taste the bitter tang of defeat. So he watched and waited
and plotted the tiger’s downfall.
The tiger charged, all
muscle and menace. His long, powerful legs ate up the distance between them,
determined copper eyes all for the Mngwa.
The cat of legend braced
himself, choosing to face the big cat head-on. He wanted this fight, the primal
challenge that only a great beast like the Bengal tiger could give him. A
glorious battle of fangs, fur, and claws that would push, force, and compel the
Mngwa to prove his worth, his manhood, his undisputed dominance as the predator
of predators.
Crash.
The ground shook - the
Mngwa and tiger locked in a feral clench.
Biting.
Clawing.
Pulling.
Strong. The tiger was so
strong. But not strong enough.
The Mngwa opened his
mouth wide and clamped down on fur and flesh. The neck of his opponent was
thick with rigid muscles and delicate veins. The pulse of the tiger’s life a
strong, fast throbbing beat in the Mngwa’s deadly mouth.
The tiger whimpered his pain. Neither loud nor
long. But enough, enough for the Mngwa’s ears to detect the effect of his
attack. Yet the tiger fought on, as the Mngwa knew he would. As the Mngwa
wanted him to, the tiger too stubborn, courageous, and fierce to submit so
easily.
No, there was much fight
left in the Bengal tiger.
He swiped at the Mngwa,
vicious claws finding vulnerable underbelly and drawing blood. It hurt, but not
enough for the bigger cat to release his vice grip. The Mngwa sank his teeth
deeper into the side of the tiger’s neck, tasting blood and prideful were-cat
magic.
Her gardenia scent
slammed into his senses seconds before the Mngwa and the tiger were surrounded
by a ring of raging fire. Breaking his hold on the smaller cat, the Mngwa
turned to see an angry fire witch barreling toward them—green eyes cold,
red-gold hair and long striped sundress blowing in a wind that came out of
nowhere. Her deadly focus was all for the Bengal tiger who, unlike when he fought
the Mngwa, trembled with fear.
Lightning hissed.
Thunder growled.
And fire witch magic
crackled in the blistering summer air.
Dammit, he had to do
something and fast. Retreating as far as he could go within the cage of fire,
the Mngwa propelled himself forward, accelerating when he approached the heated
barrier and jumped. With ease, he cleared the four-foot high ring of fire and
landed, with an oompf, on top of a glaring Sanura.
“I can’t believe you
just—”
He licked her. From the
front ring bodice of her green-and-orange striped dress, up her toned shoulders
and around the tie neck, and into thick hair covering an ear, the Mngwa tasted
his witch.
“Get off me, you big
furball. I can’t breathe.”
Satisfied and
comfortable, the Mngwa nuzzled his witch’s face, neck, and her heaving breasts,
unfazed by Sanura’s angry protestations. The only part of him that pinned the
witch down was his massive head and part of his chest. But, the Mngwa supposed,
even that much weight could be heavy on a woman who, while five-feet-ten-inches
tall, weighed no more than 140 pounds. With a teasing snort that had a lock of
her wavy hair flying upward and out of her eye, the Mngwa decided it best to
give the fire breathing witch some relief.
With a single thought
from Assefa—I’ll take care of our witch, my friend, go to sleep—the cat gave
way to the man. A transformative effect where fur and hide succumbed to hair
and skin, paws and claws shrank to hands and legs, and golden eyes, muzzle, and
fangs retreated, waning under Assefa’s command.
“Is that better?” Assefa
smiled down at his hot-tempered girlfriend, right before settling the whole of
him on top of the whole of her.
Very nice. Sanura made
for the best mattress—plush, lush and with the right amount of firmness.
“You’re naked.” A huffed
complaint that did nothing to encourage Assefa to move off her.
“Of course. My Mngwa
doesn’t like clothing.” He shifted on top of her, letting Sanura feel just how
naked he was. “He thinks pants are too binding. What do you think?”
She closed her eyes and
shook her head. “I think you need to worry more about that big damn tiger you
were fighting rather than your Mngwa in boxers.”
***
About the
Author:
N. D. Jones lives in Maryland with her
husband and two children. She is the founder of Kuumba Publishing, an art,
audiobook, eBook, and paperback company. Kuumba Publishing is a forum for
creativity, with a special commitment to promoting and encouraging creative
works of authors and artists of African descent.
A desire to see more novels with
positive, sexy, and three-dimensional African American characters as soul
mates, friends, and lovers, inspired the author to take on the challenge of
penning such romantic reads. She is the author of two paranormal romance
series: Winged Warriors and Death and Destiny. N.D. likes to read historical
and paranormal romance novels, as well as comics and manga.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/NDJones
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NDJonesauthor
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ndjones001
Tour
giveaway
3 Death and Destiny (Novels With Soul)
Packages
Package will include autographed copies
of “Of Fear and Faith” and “Of Beasts and Bonds,” as well as a 4x6 art print
design by Najja Creations of Kuumba Publishing. Contestants (winners) may
select from one of six designs.
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