We’re so pleased to have author Chris T. Kat joining us today on the tour for her latest release, Alpha Unit One, New York, from Dreamspinner Press.
Welcome, Chris!
The Animal Within
Thanks so much, Lisa, for having me on your blog. I’m excited to share an exclusive excerpt from Alpha Unit One, New York, my new shapeshifter story.
In my new story, there’s a unique twist, but that’s not what I want to talk about. In Alpha Unit One, New York, we have shapeshifters and humans working together as a team. The shifters come from various species, and usually they’re in absolute control over their animal side. They might get sidetracked occasionally—though never when they’re on a job, then they’re 100% focused—but they’ll always be in full control of their actions. But what if something happens that triggers their feral side? Will the animal overrule everything else?
Let’s see: we have a lion-shifter, a jaguar-shifter, a tiger-shifter, and a wolf-shifter on the team. How would they react if they lost control? I, for sure, wouldn’t want to be anywhere close to any of them if they lost control since all of them would be able to overpower any human. Although I have to admit that writing a dangerous animal stalking their prey sounds appealing to me as an author. There are so many emotions that can be evoked in such kind of situations!
Even if they don’t go feral, how much of the animal within shows in their human personalities? I tend to write some characters acting protectively, especially toward their mates, and this book is no exception in this regard. Of course, I know that some cat species are loners, but for the sake of the story the human side is way more socially inclined.
I also really enjoyed writing the characters in their shifted forms. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t want to sink his hands into the plushy mane of a male lion? That must be totally awesome!
About the Book
The cat’s out of the bag….
In a world that accepts shifters as normal and thinks nothing of human/shifter couples, baby shifters and small shifters are treated as subpar. They are not allowed into the more dangerous professions, and their mates have legal control over what they can and cannot do.
Nicholas Reed is about to challenge the established rules. At twenty-eight, Nick has just been accepted into New York’s Alpha Unit One—an elite law enforcement team, composed equally of humans and shifters, that specializes in drug crimes. It is Nick’s dream job. But if they find out what he’s hiding, his career could be destroyed.
Enter a huge complication in the form of Sam Black, an older lion shifter who is the leader of the unit… and Nick’s mate. Nick wants Sam, and he wants to keep his job, but he can’t have them both. He also can’t choose between them.
[zilla_button url=”https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/alpha-unit-one-new-york-by-chris-t-kat-9760-b” style=”blue” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Available from Dreamspinner Press [/zilla_button]
The Excerpt
Before I had the chance to protest, Annie patted my head. “Ah, but I like it when he does that. Reminds me of a little cub. So cute.”
She winked at Jake, who sank lower in his chair. I sniffed the air—stealthily, of course—and coughed. Seemed someone was in heat and interested in getting a cub. How would that work? Would she be allowed to go into the field if she was pregnant?
“Aw, now you’re wrinkling your nose just like a little tiger cub,” Annie cooed at my right side as she ruffled my hair.
“Geez, fuck off. Even better, go and fuck your boyfriend and get yourself a cub or two, but leave me alone.” I fended off her hands, which seemed to be petting me everywhere. She didn’t stop, just twirled my chair around to have better access. I gazed into her face and flinched. The golden flecks in her green eyes brightened, and her nostrils flared. Right now, she was acting mostly on instinct, her tigress right under the surface.
Oh fuck. Any second now and she’d be onto me!
I slouched lower in my chair, hoping to flex out of her reach. “Sam! I think she’s going feral. Why is she going feral? Sam!”
Suddenly Sam’s comforting scent mingled with Annie’s. I heard him talking to Annie, but I couldn’t make out the words. Fear vibrated through my every pore when she inhaled deeply, the golden flecks coalescing more and more.
More people surrounded us. All of a sudden, someone pulled me from my chair. Annie roared. She stretched out her hands for me. Someone—Sam—slapped her hands away. The skin-on-skin contact made a sickening sound. I wound my arms around Sam’s neck and held on for dear life.
A soft shriek escaped my mouth when Annie roared again. Sam gripped the back of my head, smashing me into his chest, while his other arm secured me around the waist. My heart hammered a rapid bum-bum, bum-di-bum. I gulped in air, smelling Sam, his worry and protectiveness. I curled deeper into his arms, trusting him to keep me safe and for once deciding I could do with some safekeeping right now.
I became aware of Sam rubbing my back in a comforting gesture. My heart rate had returned to normal, so I peeked up at him. His usually stern face transformed into something beautiful when he smiled. I smiled back, barely remembering not to moan in contentment. Preventing the purr in my throat from escaping was way harder than it should have been.
“What happened?” I coughed to dislodge the constriction in my throat.
Sam turned me around, his front now pressed against my back. He was so big and strong that I couldn’t help but lean back into his embrace—just a fraction, of course.
When I spotted Annie again, she was leaning heavily on Jake, who only seemed to be upright because he was sitting on my desk. Annie was in partial shift. She clutched Jake around his torso while she rubbed her furry head all over Jake’s skull. Jake didn’t say anything, simply held on to Annie’s ruff and sometimes offered his neck to her.
“Is she going to bite him?” Julie asked from Roland’s corner of the room. She’d gone deadly pale. Did she even notice that Roland was partially blocking her, touching her?
“No, they’re fully mated. She’d never attack Jake. Look at how relaxed he is.” Sam pointed at the scene in front of us. By now, Annie was licking Jake’s face, enticing soft giggles from him.
“So… how long will that go on? Because I ain’t going back to my desk as long as they’re rubbing all over each other.” I eyed my desk. Hopefully they wouldn’t do more than what they were currently doing, because… ugh.
About the Author
Chris T. Kat stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between teaching, taking care of her family, reading, and sometimes writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as romance, paranormal, and suspense. She also buys way too many fabrics and spends a ridiculous amount of time behind her sewing machine.
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