Hello and welcome to another Weekend Writing Warriors post!
Thank you to all those who visited last weekend! This weekend, I'm sharing another snippet from the fifth book in my Shifter Towers series, DEMON ON JACKSON STREET. After next weekend, I'm going to switch to a new story. Like all the other books in this series, it is an MM (gay) paranormal romance.
Set-up: Last weekend, I shared Jet's inner conflict. Though, he didn't realize what what happening.
In this weekend's snippet, I'm skipping ahead a couple chapters. Toby's grandmother ended up in the hospital, and Toby has withdrawn even more. Jet manages to track him down and tries to talk to him. (This is in Jet's point of view, and Jet speaks first.)
“You work so you can afford to take care of your grandmother, and when you’re not working, you’re at home taking care of her. When was the last time you had any fun away from home? When was the last time you did something for yourself?”
He took another step back. Was he finally realizing who I was? “I do what I need to do. She took care of me, so now I take care of her. We all have to make sacrifices at some point in our lives.”
“But what if you didn’t have to make those sacrifices?” I needed to show him that there was an alternative.
**That's ten. Here's more of the scene for your reading pleasure.**
I needed him to yearn for a better life. “What if your grandmother was better? To the point she could get up and walk, that you could go places together? What if you lived in a neighborhood where you didn’t have alphas harassing you and stealing your food? What if you worked at a job where you were paid better and respected by your co-workers?”
“This isn’t a world where any of that is possible.” His voice was louder, firmer, as he stared past me, his features like stone. “To get any of those possibilities, I’d have to sacrifice something else. And it wouldn’t make me any happier. This is the life I’ve been dealt. This is my fate. Nothing can change it. Not even you,” he spat out. “So, just leave me alone.”
I stood there, stunned, for a moment. There was so much conviction in his words. He truly believed his life would always be like this. And I refused to make it any crueler to get him to change his mind. Perhaps another demon would, but I refused to work like that. I had my own standards as to what I would do to obtain a soul, and making someone suffer any more than he already was to get it was a line I refused to cross.
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.
AVAILABLE FROM:
ALSO AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!
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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A demon with a conscience! Who knew such existed? I like that premise.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ed! He had always used other ways to obtain souls and was shocked it didn't work with Toby. And, Jet doesn't agree with the methods his brother uses to obtain souls.
DeleteThe fact that he's stunned by someone who has accepted his lot only raises the challenge . . . and the attraction higher
ReplyDeleteVery true! Jet's never met anyone who doesn't yearn for a better life.
DeleteYou can tell how much he cares in this snippet, and the depth of those feelings makes me believe he'll find a way to get him through his suffering.
ReplyDeleteHe does, but he has a long way to go yet.
DeleteThat is surprising, that Jet has a line he won't cross. So I wonder what his next move will be if he wants to collect this soul? Great snippet!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenna! There is so much more to this story.
DeleteJet certainly is a complex character, trying to be a demon and do his job yet draw lines for himself not to cross. Great snippet!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Veronica! Yes, he's not your usual demon.
DeleteI am so glad Jet has that line he won't cross. He might be a demon, but he's not a devil.
ReplyDeleteI'm so curious how this will pan out. I mean, can he quit being a demon? Can he stay with Toby?
Good story!
That's exactly it, Teresa! Those questions are answered later in the story. ;)
DeleteGreat emotional scene of his hopelessness. I especially liked "his features like stone."
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Aurora!
DeleteThis has definitely gotten more complex. Both have very strong internal compasses.
ReplyDeleteYes, they both do.
DeleteThis is a poignant scene, showing how Toby refuses to dream of a better life. And that Jet has boundaries makes him more interesting than your typical evil demon. I've been binging on the TV show Lucifer lately, and Jet reminds me of the main character a little, a charming devil trapped between his role and his true desires.
ReplyDeleteA demon that has set lines he will not cross. This has me intrigued.
ReplyDeleteI like your demon with a conscience. But Toby's right. He'd have to sacrifice something to get all that.
ReplyDeleteI like that Toby doesn't think his grandmother a burden he doesn't want to care for. She helped him, now he's helping her.
ReplyDeleteA demon with a conscience. Interesting.
ReplyDelete