Hello and welcome to another Weekend Writing Warriors post!
Thank you to all those who visited last weekend! It was great to see so many participants back! This weekend, I'm sharing another snippet from the fifth book in my Shifter Towers series, DEMON ON JACKSON STREET. It is set to release on January 18, 2021. Like all the other books in this series, it is an MM paranormal romance.
Set-up: Last weekend, I introduced you to Toby, sharing a snippet from the very beginning.
This weekend's snippet is from a little later on in the chapter, to share more of what Toby's life is like. Enjoy! (In Toby's point of view)
As I made my way to my apartment building on the corner of George and Jackson Streets, I continuously looked behind me to see if I was being followed. As an omega, it was imperative I constantly know of my surroundings. But being one of only a handful of non-shifters in the whole metropolis of Saramto made me an even bigger target for alphas looking to cause trouble. I couldn’t shift to escape danger or fight back, so I had no choice but to stand there and take their harassment until they got bored with me.
I was nearly home, only a block away, when I heard a wolf whistle. Heart racing, I paused, trying to figure out my best course of action. I darted around the corner, only steps away from the front entrance when the noise came again. From right in front of me.
“Look who we have here.” Benji, a wolf shifter who was the self-proclaimed head alpha on the block, stepped into the glow from the streetlight up ahead. “A lonely omega with a bag full of groceries for us. How kind.”
**And here's a little more...**
As his three cronies stepped out of the shadows, I clutched the bag to my chest. It was all the food I had for my grandmother and I until I got paid again. I couldn’t afford to part with it.
“So, what are we eating tonight?” Chad yanked on my sleeve then wrestled the bag from my arms.
Dan pushed me away as I tried to grab it back. He peeked inside. “Not much by the looks of it.” After pulling out the jug of milk, he tossed it to Mark.
“C’mon, guys. This is all I have.”
There’d been too many days recently where they’d taken all my food, and I’d gone without, sacrificing what I could find for my grandmother. Until recently, Lester, a racoon shifter from the neighborhood, would tell them to leave me alone, but he’d disappeared last month. And Mrs. Apple was too ill and bedridden to chase them away with her broom.
“You’re wrong.” Mark twisted the jug open then began to drink my milk. He wiped his mouth after chugging half of it. “It’s all we have.”
As he dumped the rest of the milk into the sewer, Chad took out a can of the soup broth and whipped it at the abandoned car across the street, smashing the last unbroken window.
DEMON ON JACKSON STREET
Shifter Towers book five
Jet
Once upon a time there was a demon who was the best at convincing people to sell their souls. That was me. Is me. And now I have a new assignment, one Father told me would be difficult. I didn’t know what “difficult” meant until I met the young man, someone who has barely anything. Collecting his soul should be easy, right? There are so many things I can give him. Except, he doesn’t believe he deserves a better life. I have to find something he desires before the assignment is given to my brother. Because Crow uses the most villainous means to obtain souls. Lines I don’t cross. And I don’t want to see Toby hurt. There has to be another way.
Toby
I’m not like them. I can’t shift into a predator to defend myself, or even into a small rodent to run and hide. The wolf shifters know that every time they rough me up and steal my food. I always wish for a guardian angel to protect me from them. Then one day Jet appears, looking nothing like the angel I’d imagined. But I don’t know if I should trust him. He makes me feel things no other alpha ever has. Dangerous things. Not good when I have to stay focused on my grandmother. I don’t know how much longer I’ll have her around.
RELEASES JANUARY 18!
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER:
The first book in the series,
BUNNY OMEGA ON THE RUN
is available in digital and print:
The second book in the series,
MINK OMEGA IN HIDING
is available in digital and print:
The third book in the series,
PIKA OMEGA PLUS ONE
is available in digital and print:
The fourth book in the series,
HIS OMEGA ON STAGE
is available in digital and print:
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Excellent snippet. You pulled a lot of anger/angst from me with this scene. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gem!
DeleteNice guys. I dislike them strongly . . . but then I tend to be prejudiced against alphas in general.
ReplyDeleteYes, these alphas aren't upstanding citizens.
DeleteI hate bullies. You do a great job displaying Toby's worry about his grandmother and the bullies taking their food. I want Toby to stand up to them, yet I know he can't. Aarrgh
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly the emotion I wanted to create in this scene. Things do get better for Toby, but not right away.
DeleteGreat job of making want to jump in and help him. I don't like bullies. Can hardly wait for his hero to make an appearance!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Teresa! Unfortunately, it's going to be a bit yet before his hero arrives.
DeleteOh dear... can we all collectively just punch them? Call down Thor from the skies to show them what a true (good looking) Alpha looks like? Oh wait, wrong genre... ;)
ReplyDeleteHis hero will eventually come into his life, but he definitely won't be who Toby wishes for.
DeleteYou've painted a clear picture of bullying in one f its most insidious forms.
ReplyDeleteYes, this group has been tormenting the neighborhood for a while now, and find new ways to bully every time.
DeleteOh, they will be, but not for a bit yet.
ReplyDeleteOh, now would be such good time for his demon guardian to show up, but I see from your comments you're going to make us wait. Authors can be so mean sometimes ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL Yeah, gotta wait a couple more chapters. Which means, a few more snippets. ;)
DeleteOh dear, that's quite a powerful, annoying and tragic scene! You really packed the emotions in here...so well done. Great snippet!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Veronica!
DeleteYou really show how Toby feels, the challenges of he faces or fears daily. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shari!
DeleteOk - I'm hoping something really really horrible happens to these guys - really really soon.
ReplyDeleteTweeted.
Unfortunately, not soon enough.
DeleteI wish he could shift and teach those guys a lesson.
ReplyDeleteToby wishes the same thing.
DeleteWhat a great conflict--an omega who can't shift. You've really painted him into a corner with that weakness. Unfortunately, I guess things are going to get worse before they get better.
ReplyDeleteYes, it takes a while before Toby get his HEA.
DeleteWhat horrible guys.
ReplyDeleteMost definitely!
DeleteIt's so frustrating when you're in a situation where you can't fight back and actually win. I feel for him.
ReplyDelete