Today is the release day launch of Alpha Bear by Bianca D’Arc! Check out the book, the exclusive excerpt, and enter the giveaway, plus grab your copy today!!
A man with a plan…
John is the Alpha bear of Grizzly Cove, a town built to his own design, made up mostly of bear shifters. He brought them all together, so it’s on him when the community comes under attack.
A woman of power…
Ursula is more than she appears, and when her secret comes out, she’s afraid the shifters aren’t going to take it well, but John surprises her. He needs her help to combat the evil targeting the town, but there seems to be more to their relationship.
A battle to the death…
When evil attacks from the ocean, can John afford not to utilize Urse’s skills to protect the town and people in it? Better still, can John reconcile his inner bear’s demand that she is his mate, with his lifelong dream of leading his people into a new way of living—in a town built just for them? Or will he have to give up Grizzly Cove in order to keep the woman he loves?
Exclusive Excerpt:
It had been hard to leave home—and especially Nonna—but she’d practically forced them to go. Nonna had a bit of foresight and had been known to make the odd prophecy now and again. The girls had learned to listen when she gave them advice, and this time, she’d been adamant. She’d told them that their futures were waiting for them in Grizzly Cove and that they shouldn’t be afraid to embrace their destinies.
The fact that she’d been so vague, while at the same time being so forceful, meant that she knew a lot more than she was saying. But that was her burden as a clairvoyant, she’d always claimed. She had to balance how much to reveal of the future with what she called la forza del destino, or in English, the power of fate.
Luckily, that particular gift hadn’t manifested in either of the girls. Personally, Urse thought it would be a real pain in the ass to know what was going to happen and have to decide how much to say in order to arrange the best outcome. That was a little too much like playing the Almighty for her comfort. She didn’t trust herself not to mess it all up by saying too much or too little to the wrong person.
Better such things were left to Nonna. She had years of experience and the purest heart Urse knew. Nonna could handle that kind of pressure way better than either of her granddaughters. Which was probably why that gift hadn’t passed to either of them, though Nonna claimed it could manifest later in life.
That was something Urse was definitely not looking forward to—if it should ever come to pass.
Thankfully, her thoughts were interrupted by the tinkling bell that hung over the door that led to Main Street. Since they weren’t open for business yet, it had to be Mellie returning from her sugar run to the bakery down the street.
“Thank the Goddess! I’m about to starve over here, Mel. Gimme one of those honey buns, right now!” she yelled toward the front of the store.
Urse had been stacking books all day, taking them from the back storeroom to the shelves out front, where she was working on their displays. Mellie was supposed to be helping, but she’d gone AWOL about twenty minutes ago, claiming she was just going to make a quick run to the bakery to get snacks.
“I would if I could, but I’m afraid I don’t have any on me,” a deep voice said from the open doorway that led to the front of the store.
Urse jumped to her feet, dusting herself off. She was a mess. Dammit. And in front of the hunky mayor of all people.
“Oh, sorry, Mayor Marshall. I thought you were my sister, finally returning from the bakery.” She smiled, hoping he didn’t notice how messy her hair was, or the fact that she was wearing zero makeup. Great. Just great.
“Call me John. We don’t stand on ceremony around here all that much.”
Except for maybe full moon ceremonies, she thought privately. She and Mel were still arguing over whether or not to come clean to the shifters about who they were and what they knew. Urse thought they should tell someone—probably the sexy mayor—before they went any further. If the shifters in town didn’t want two strega in their midst, that was their right, and Urse certainly didn’t want to stay where they weren’t welcome. She might be doing all this backbreaking work setting up the store for nothing.
But Mellie didn’t agree. She wanted to keep their secret a little longer. She was enjoying ogling the handsome shifters a little too much, if you asked Urse. Of course, nobody was asking her, and Urse didn’t want to go against her sister’s wishes.
Urse was trying to talk her around, and for the moment, they were at a stalemate.
Continuing with her work, in order to hide the real direction of her thoughts, Urse bent to pick up a heavy box of books. She was just getting her hands under the edge of the box, when two much bigger hands appeared beside her, shooing her away. John lifted up the cardboard box that felt like it was stuffed with anvils—Urse had tried to lift it before—like it was loaded with feathers.
“Where do you want this?” he asked casually.
“Just up on the workbench, please,” she said, unable to keep herself from admiring the way his muscles stretched out the fabric of his shirt sleeves. Hoo-boy. The man was built!
And those sexy brown eyes that flashed with intelligence just made her heart go pitter-pat. His lustrous golden brown hair made her want to run her fingers through it too. She and Mellie had drooled over the mayor when they’d first met him, and the reaction hadn’t faded. The man certainly made an impact on Urse every time she saw him. One she tried hard to tamp down.
The rumor mill around town—aka the Baker sisters who owned the shop down the street—said that the mayor was single, but Urse feared the Alpha shifter wouldn’t want to get involved with a witch. Plus, there was the fact that he didn’t seem to realize that she and her sisters weren’t entirely human. That would have to come out, eventually, but… Oh, it was just so complicated.
John tossed the box easily to the workbench and stood back, just looking at her. She didn’t know what to say, which was unusual for her. Urse was usually the more glib-tongued of the two sisters. But there was something about the way he was looking at her.
Their eyes met…and held. Time seemed to stand still. The earth seemed to stop spinning. Just for a moment.
And then, the bell out in the front of the store rang cheerfully, and the world started turning again.
“Hey, Urse!” Mellie yelled on her way into the store. “I got the honey buns. Damn, those Baker sisters got lucky with their shifter mates. I can’t decide which one is hotter—or cuter when they’re running to keep up with their gals. I’ve never seen so many shifters in lurve before—” Mellie’s explosion of words ceased the moment she stepped into the back room and realized they weren’t alone. “Oh, crap,” she blurted out, coming to an abrupt halt in the doorway. “Hi, Mayor Marshall.” The last came out on a squeak.
John looked from Urse to Mellie and back again. “And just what would you two know about shifters?”
Bianca D’Arc is the USA Today bestselling author of over 50 romance novels. She has twice won EPPIE Awards for her work, along with the Australian Romance Readers Favorite Erotic Romance eBook of 2008 for her first werewolf romance, Lords of the Were. She is a native New Yorker who worked as an executive on Wall Street during the summer of 2001. She changed careers after the tragic attacks of 9/11 and started seriously pursuing publication in 2005. She has a Bachelors degree in Biochemistry, a Masters in Library Science, and a Juris Doctor, but she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She loves her garden and plays the piano, ukulele and guitar.
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Sue A.
April 9, 2016 at 8:03 pm
A unusual world with unique inhabitants. But a universal story of love and community and the lengths you will go to to protect them both.
Thomas Murphy
April 9, 2016 at 6:38 pm
sounds like a great book! thanks for the giveaway.
amy
April 9, 2016 at 2:28 pm
Sounds like a great book!
Daniel M
April 5, 2016 at 9:18 pm
such a lovely post
Deb p
April 3, 2016 at 5:41 pm
the book sounds interesting.
Danielle Chapman
April 3, 2016 at 5:03 pm
Thanks for the giveaway!!!!
tasnime
April 2, 2016 at 2:39 pm
This looks so interesting, I have never heart about anything like it.
Samantha D
March 28, 2016 at 7:42 pm
Ive never read anything about were bear! Def interested!!
Penny Olson
March 25, 2016 at 8:21 pm
Looks fun! Thanks for the post!
ELF
March 25, 2016 at 12:11 am
Cute tie-in, Ursula and bears. Thanks for sharing the excerpt and for the giveaway and congrats on the release!
ELF recently posted…Lies I Live By by Lauren Sabel (VNBtM, guest post, excerpt and GIVEAWAY)
Stacey A Smith
March 24, 2016 at 6:41 pm
sound like a great! Hot Book! can’t wait to read it.
Jen B
March 23, 2016 at 4:09 pm
I loved the excerpt.
Debbie
March 22, 2016 at 9:10 pm
Love that excerpt! Now I have to read this – I love this type of story. Please and thank you
Linda Romer
March 22, 2016 at 8:54 pm
Alpha Bear sounds like a great story ♡ I would love to read this book. Thank you
Maria Theresa Santos
March 22, 2016 at 8:31 pm
Sounds amazing
Dovile
March 22, 2016 at 1:28 pm
Enjoyed it!
Rachel B
March 22, 2016 at 1:05 pm
This sounds really exciting! Looking forward to reading it. I love bear shifters and can’t wait to find out Ursula’s secret.
Rachel B recently posted…Release Blast w/ Giveaway: Wicked Enchantment by Sabrina York
Edye
March 22, 2016 at 10:51 am
Sounds like a unique book! 🙂
Edye recently posted…2016 Goals
Rita Wray
March 22, 2016 at 9:17 am
I liked the excerpt, thank you.
Sue G.
March 22, 2016 at 8:11 am
Great excerpt! Sounds intriguing!
bethany whitling
March 22, 2016 at 7:52 am
I love the release,book covers are great,great book excerpt, thank you for sharing……
william gossage
March 22, 2016 at 6:31 am
It was great and the book sounds like it be a great read
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons
March 22, 2016 at 6:16 am
I love bear shifters. This looks great. Yet another author I’ve yet to read, but really need to try.
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…Graphic Novel Review: Alias by Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos (@mlsimmons) #JessicaJones
Betul E.
March 22, 2016 at 5:35 am
Cant wait to read this book!
Mai T.
March 22, 2016 at 2:49 am
A very intriguing story line! Can’t wait to read this book!
Vanessa N.
March 22, 2016 at 2:11 am
Great excerpt but I can’t wait to read what John does next.
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Jeanna Massman
March 22, 2016 at 2:01 am
Bear Shifters are very interesting characters. I can’t wait to find out more about Ursula.
Cheri Oggy
March 22, 2016 at 12:54 am
The excerpt sounds really terrific!
Roselle Torres
March 22, 2016 at 12:16 am
I enjoyed the excerpt! 🙂
Trudy Dowling
March 22, 2016 at 12:08 am
What a great release day. Can’t wait to read this.