The Beast Within by Jonathan Yanez Blog Tour

Description:

My name is Connor Moore, I’ve just graduated from high-school and if my up and down relationship

with Katie, or what to do about college wasn’t enough to worry about, now I have a far greater more complicated

burden to bear.

Fate has chosen to cross my path with Larentia Abelardus, a dark-haired mystery woman who has information

about a father, I never knew. She has a story to tell, a story that questions everything I thought was true; about me,

about my family, about the history of the world.

Concealed throughout the pages of time, there has been a powerful race of human-like creatures manipulating

mankind. This Elite race is made up of five ruling families who have obeyed The Law and continue to keep their

identities a mystery. Now, after centuries of secrecy, an ancient foe is forcing them out of hiding and because of the

blood that flows through my veins, my destiny is tied to theirs.

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Excerpt:

Near soaked, he sat in his truck and dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail. “Laren— Laren, it’s Connor. I’ll explain later, but just trust me — I know everything. You have to listen: Randolph and his family have broken the Law. They’re going to try and kill you. You have to get away from here.”

Connor hung-up and threw his phone against the windshield in frustration. What if she didn’t get the message in time? What if she was already dead and it was too late?

Think, Connor, think. If you were trying to kill two members of an ancient family, how would you do it? They would be too smart to try and fight, that would be breaking one of the Laws. How would you lure them out?

A light switched on in Connor’s head and he had the answer, he only hoped he wasn’t too far behind. Throwing his truck into drive, he sped through the rain toward the Catskill Forest.

 

Tiny moving lights marked vehicles below, and even tinier dots, moving slower, were what Connor guessed to be people. The wind picked up on the roof and tiny goose bumps prickled Connor’s skin. Placing his right arm around Laren, who he assumed must be cold, he was surprised. She was actually warm to the touch. Despite this, she leaned her head onto his chest.

“Isn’t it great? It’s so quiet here; the lights of the city remind me of a Christmas tree, and if that wasn’t beautiful enough—” She pointed to the sky and Connor looked up.

It was breathtaking; the moon beamed its power across the city and welcomed everyone to partake in its soft, strong light. The stars were doing their best to compete with the moon but all fell short, even the brightest star paling in comparison.

“You’re the first person I’ve shared this with.”

Connor looked down at her, so small against his chest, so perfect. She drew herself away from him and looked into his eyes.

“Why are you so perfect for me?” she asked.

“Because somehow we were… are… drawn to each other.”

Placing his hands on either side of her neck, he drew her closer to him and felt her soft breath. He could feel her pulse quicken against his palms. The moon caught her green eyes just right and radiated off them in a way that made her look both dangerous and beautiful. Their lips found each other and the rest of their surroundings fell away.

There was nothing else, no more questions, no worries, nothing but the two of them. The kiss was enrapturing; it took hold of his heart and refused to let go. It was as if something inside of him was made whole again.

They pulled away breathless, neither one willing to break the perfect silence. Time stood still as they gathered themselves.

“Well, I’m glad you invited me up here.”

“I am, too, but Connor, I don’t know if it’s fair to lead you on with my family and everythi—”

Connor cut her off with another kiss. This time when they separated, her eyes were closed, taking time to enjoy the moment.

“Stop worrying; it’s going to be okay.”

 

As crazy as it sounded, Connor was beginning to accept his new reality. “So, where do I fit into all of this?”

“Well for that we’ll need a history lesson.” She cleared her throat. “Since the beginnings of mankind, there have been those individuals possessing more than just the normal set of abilities or skills. Call it what you will — natural selection, mutation, chance — but a select few have stood apart from the rest.

Every people or race has their own name for these beings. The Germans call them ‘The Rulers’ or ‘der Herrscher,’ the Irish — your ancestors — chose the word ‘Roghnaithe’ which means ‘Chosen,’ and in ancient Rome, the Latin word was ‘Beastia’ or ‘Animal.’ The abilities these individuals possess are closely related to many of the abilities found in animals; heightened senses, increased speed, and strength. Another bonus for these select few was the aging process. We still age, but at a much slower rate than our human counterparts.”

She paused in her lecture. “Following so far, Mr. Moore?”

Connor nodded. “I think I should sit down for the rest.”

“Probably a good idea,” she agreed, pausing long enough for him to take a seat.

“Now, with time, these gifted ‘people’ recognized their superiority and banded together forming clans or families. Soon these families began vying for power and rank; it didn’t take long for war to break out and humans were dragged into the mix. The war was so devastating to every side that only five families survived. These remaining five families called a truce and created a Council and a list of rules to abide by to ensure a war of this magnitude would never occur again.”

Katie sat, powerless. The events were unfolding around her at lightning speed. Before she knew what was happening, Faust was ripping her father’s head from his body. It only took a second, and her father’s body fell to the ground.

His head rolled a few feet once Faust dropped it and came to rest near Katie’s chair. She was petrified; her brain couldn’t comprehend the reality around her. Katie wanted to move, wanted to scream, wanted to do something but she couldn’t. Instead she just sat in her chair, staring at him.

Faust grinned at her and made a move toward her mother. Instantly Randolph was there blocking his path, “Okay, okay, Faust, by God you are mad. You win. I will join your cause tonight.”

Faust’s eyes dilated back to blue and his fangs receded giving way to his normal smile, “I knew you would come around, old friend. You have always been the reasonable one. Hope you don’t mind, I invited the others over for an old fashioned meeting before we go.”

Randolph looked defeated, “Whatever you desire, just leave them alone. They have no part in this.”

Faust took a napkin from the table and began wiping Katie’s father’s blood from his hands. He made his way slowly to where she was sitting. Katie’s heart beat faster and faster as he approached. Soon he was directly beside her, playing with her hair in long soft strokes.

Katie was shaking so hard she didn’t think she would be able to talk, but she finally found her voice. Katie cleared her head of the pain, sorrow and disbelief and accepted the anger. She turned on him as she fought back the tears and rage, “You’re going to pay for this.”

Something came over Katie then, something she had never experienced before. She knew the appropriate response to the past few minutes should be fear and sorrow, but all she felt was anger. Anger overwhelmed her and forced her to take action. She reached for Faust, not knowing what she was going to do; bite him, claw him, punch him — she had to do something.

Faust caught her by the neck with one hand and lifted her off the ground like a newborn kitten. He brought her eye level as she fought against his grasp. The animal rage inside of her was building. He squinted his eyes as he looked into hers. “You’re one of us, aren’t you?”

“Faust, no, we had a deal,” Randolph reminded him.

Faust seemed to mull this over in his mind. “Yes, quite right, I won’t kill her then. She can join us.”

The last thing that Katie remembered was two black eyes and Randolph screaming in the background.

About the author:

Jonathan Yanez was born and raised in a Christian household in Oxnard, CA. He was involved in everything from piano and saxophone lessons to swimming and track. Growing up his parents encouraged him to read, and he did - anything he could get his hands on.
Soon he developed a fascination with storytelling and characters that would follow him the rest of his life.

Graduating from BIOLA University with his BA in English Literature he never lost his
love for writing and creating. He now works part-time as a personal trainer and hopes to one day make the move to writing full-time.

Other than reading and writing, his passion is living life to the fullest. He loves; spending time with his wife and pets, watching movies, participating in mud runs, traveling, going to the gym and pushing his limits in everything. This desire takes him anywhere from skydiving and motorcycle riding, to surfing in Hawaii and various types of martial arts. He has his eyes set next on archery and running with the bulls in Spain.

He is married to the love of his life and resides in Southern California with his husky,
Daphne and cat, Helen.

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Event organized by Reading Addiction Blog Tours