The Wolf King’s Bride
Fate of Imperium, #1
by C.A. Worley
Date of Publication: September 10th 2018
Publisher: C.A. Worley
Cover Artist: OliviaProDesign on Fiverr
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Tagline: “No, that was never her fate. Her future was always in the North.”
BLURB
When Kellan, Wolf King of the North, meets his fated mate, she is only a child. He immediately brokers a betrothal and, on the day after her 20th birthday, whisks her away to his castle in the Northland. Kellan is elated, believing he has everything he has ever wanted. His new wife, Nora, doesn’t quite share the same sentiment.
Before Kellan has time to court her, Nora is attacked. An ancient brotherhood refuses to allow an heir of one kingdom onto the throne of another. All four factions in the land of Imperium appear to be involved in a surreptitious struggle for power … while Nora hides a few secrets of her own.
Excerpt:
Nora ran for the
door and Kellan caught her by the waist. “I don’t think so, love.”
She clawed and
scratched at him, using her combat training to try and get free. Her father was
in danger. He needed help.
Kellan was
bemused by his wife’s strength. She managed to score her fingernails across the
side of his face. She drew blood and Kellan was half-proud of her.
In his stupor
over witnessing her abilities, he must have hesitated, because she landed a
hard knee to his kidney. Kellan grunted, but did not let go. He was the
strongest wolf in the pack. His little mate was no match for him.
He carried her
to the bed and held her down with one hand. He reached for his belt on the
floor and his kidney suffered another blow.
Despite his
efforts to avoid it, his cock hardened. He made note to revisit this in the
future. Battling with her in bed was something he wanted to explore.
A punch to his
mouth was enough to dampen his lust. He growled, seizing her wrists and
slamming them above her head.
Holding them
with his left hand, he looped the belt around them with his right. Nora was
bucking like a madwoman, so he flung one leg over to straddle her ribs as he
tightened the restraints.
It took longer
than it should have. Nora was a skilled fighter. Yet another secret withheld
from him.
“There,” he
proclaimed once she was secured to the bed. Her feet were still loose, but he
didn’t think she could get her arms free.
“Please, don’t
do this, Kellan. My father … please!”
“Nora, calm
yourself. I will find him. Did you think I would ignore the vision? I may be
furious with him, but I’ll not ignore my father-in-law’s need for help. Trust
me to do what is necessary.”
“But I can track
him. The earth, it will tell me where he is.”
“As will my
nose. Do not worry. I will handle it.”
“Don’t you dare
leave me like this, Kellan.”
He ignored Nora
as he started to dress, then thought better of it. He would leave the castle in
wolf form, so he could track Edward.
“I will return
as soon as I can.”
Kellan bent to
kiss Nora. Instead of allowing it, she tried to hit his forehead with her own.
“Woman, will you
calm down?” Kellan did not want to get his nose broken.
“How could you?
Are you trying to ensure you’ve earned my abhorrence? Because I can assure you
it’s working,” she seethed.
Kellan recoiled
at the vehemence in her words. “No. Do not say that.”
“How could I
not? You do not listen to me. You have no regard for me. You think of me as a
witch. Do not pretend that you’re not disappointed I’m not a she-wolf. I bet if
I was wolf you would let me go to my father. Instead, you’ve tied me to your
bed like a damned animal.”
“You are tied to
our bed, so I can ensure your safety, Nora. I will be gone from the castle and
you refuse to stay put. I cannot concentrate on whatever your father is facing
if I am worried about you. You are my mate. Nothing is more important to me
than you. Do you hear me? Nothing. I care not that you are an elemental. I
shouldn’t have called you a witch. I am sorrier than you could possibly know.
My anger got the best of me. It won’t happen again. Just as you will not lie to
me again. Mates do not lie to one another. Ever. I am hurt that you could do it
so easily. But we’ll discuss it later. I have to go.”
Kellan had his
hand on the door handle when Nora landed her final blow.
“I may be your
mate, but you are not mine. I am Gwydion. We don’t have mates.”
He bowed his
head as his heart filled with more sorrow than he had ever known. He took a
calming breath, wanting to ward off the reaction he was having to Nora’s harsh
words, but the grief inside him was too big to hide.
Kellan turned
his head towards his wife, eyes wet from the enormity of his heartache.
Nora was shocked
to see tears forming in Kellan’s eyes. One spilled and mixed with the blood
from the scratches on his face. The ones Nora had put there only a moment
before.
“I may not have
your heart, Nora. But you have mine. You can wound it easily. Yet, I give it to
you, freely, with no expectation of anything in return. I’ll endure your hatred
to ensure your safety. For this, I’ll not apologize.”
With that,
Kellan exited the bed chamber, leaving behind the only thing he had ever truly
held onto—hope that his mate loved him.
Author Info
C.A. Worley is the alter-ego of Romance Author Cass Alexander. Where Cass tends to focus on humor in her publications, C.A. loves to write fantasy. She chose to write under the two different monikers to not confuse (or tick off) her readers.
C.A. currently resides in the Midwest, but was born and raised in the South. She spends her days working from home and her evenings are spent shuttling her kids to and fro. Her dinners are subpar, but she makes a mean dessert.
When she's tired of living her sons' travel sports schedules, C.A. enjoys a glass (or four) of wine. She needs the liquid courage to click the publish button for her fantasy romance novels.
Her motto is, "Be Brave," and she tries to live it every day—it takes a healthy dose courage to get through this thing we call life.
The Book Junkie Reads . . . Interview with C.A. Worley
How would you describe you style of writing to someone that has never read your work?
The Wolf King’s Bride is the first time I’ve written in 3rd person omniscient. It’s also the first book I’ve written set in a place and time far different from our own. As such, it drastically impacted my usual style of snark and one-liners (under another pen name). Being the narrator who knows everything about everybody, I tried to use dialogue and prose that fit the imaginary land of Imperium. Some of it may seem a bit antiquated, but I’ve also ensured it has some degree of modernism. I also had to be far more descriptive in this novel because Imperium is an imaginary land—and I had to do it without coming across as rambling.
What mindset or routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in general whether you are working on a project or just free writing)?
I usually have a sense of urgency to get something finished. I’m a task-oriented person and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I check things off a list. If I approach a novel as a task, such as, get a certain word count or a number of chapters completed, I it spurs me to continue—not very romantic, but it is efficient. If I sit down without any sort of goal in mind, I can easily get stuck in my own head with nothing on the paper.
Do you take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development? Or do you build upon your character during story creation?
I do take character prep to heart. These people are “real” in my head. I make family trees, brainstorm names, look up meanings of names to ensure it fits the personality, list out traits, etc. I have a strong sense of who they are before I start writing. What has been most surprising has been, as I get further into the story, some of my characters take on bigger roles than I’d anticipated. Some of the villains might actually warrant a degree of empathy. That’s tough for a reader who starts off detesting a character. I love complicated creatures and I’ve explored this more so in the second book of the Fate of Imperium Series. It wasn’t until I had 50k words down that I realized the backstory to one of my villains was far more important than I originally thought and it’s altered part of how I’m ending the book.
Have you found yourself bonding with any particular character? If so which one(s)?
Um, yeah … I’m pretty sure I’m in love with Kellan, King of Burghard, and not just because he’s a super sexy wolf shifter. Sure, he can be highhanded, but behind his domineering attitude is a male constantly trying to do the right thing for everyone no matter the cost to himself.
Do you have a character that you have been working on that you can't wait to put to paper?
Yes! The middle sister, Evelyn, whose story will be told in the third book. I was a middle child and it can be a balancing act, playing mediator while also trying to become who you’re meant to be. It can be tiresome at times and can force you to develop a healthy amount of coping mechanisms when you’re always in the middle. She’s the witty one who is completely open to the fanciful idea of finding a mate, as opposed to Nora and Eden.
Have you ever felt that there was something inside of you that you couldn't control? If so what? If no what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?
OMG, yes. My opinion, usually in the form of an inappropriate joke. Seriously, my filter is broken and I have always had trouble holding my tongue when I think I’m right. It’s not a great quality to have. At a young age, I learned to add humor to my quips so they don’t come out as harsh (I hope?). My older brother has the same problem and we’re not exactly sure how our parents didn’t disown us the second we were old enough to leave the house. I’m in a constant state of, “Oh, should I have said that? Let me look up some fancy words so it sounds smart instead of smart-alecky next time.” I’m 41 and still working on the little monster inside me.
Presented by
