I’m proud to announce the release of book 2 in my Wolf Maiden Chronicles, Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf. It is a stand alone, but if you read Werewolf Sanctuary, book 1 you will note it leads to Beast Warrior. I am providing a blur, a glossary of my werewolf universe terms and a review by historical romance author Lindsay Townsend.

Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf
Eva Gordon
Paranormal Historical Romance
Vanilla Heart Publishing
289 pages
ISBN 978-1-935407-31-7

Blurb:
Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf is a historical paranormal romance that takes place during the Viking Era of the Dark Ages. A time when only the strong survive. It is the second book in the Wolf Maiden Chronicles, which depicts alpha lycans and their human wolf maiden mates.

Sigurd, an alpha Norse wolfskin, son of Gunnolf the Red seeks revenge against shape shifting bearskins, Bork the Mad and his son, Mord the Blood Claw for the death of his parents and his older brother Guda. Orphaned, he has been raised by his older sister Brynhild, who convinces him to take a wolf maiden in order to increase their small pack. Despite the warning by Hungerd the wolf witch, he takes a farmer’s new bride with tragic consequences. Alone he joins a long ship until the day he can avenge his pack’s demise.

Emelisse, a Frank wolf maiden, has been raised and educated in the classics, science, literature and languages by female lycans of the Lupercal. Born a runt with a weak heart her father has been overprotective. She refuses to be treated like a delicate vase and rebels by seeking out riding and falconry. Now at age eighteen Emelisse frets that her father wants her to accept Radulf III the Cruel, an alpha lycan of a pack of powerful warriors. She tries to run away with her human lover.

Viking werewolf, Sigurd rescues Emelisse, from the claws of the berserker bear men. He claims her as his ulf hexen or wolf maiden, but she wants to leave lycan society and live with humans. To complicate matters she has been called by her goddess Feronia to save the lycans from a dreaded disease. Their union is wrought with great peril in a world where werewolves must battle against their own kind as well as their fierce enemy, the berserker bear men. Will Emelisse accept Sigurd a foreign lycan as her alpha mate? Sigurd vows to protect her from their enemies but how can he save her before she dies from her ailing heart?

Pack Hierarchy

Lycan: An ancient line of humans that shift into large bear sized massive wolves with distinctive tattoos depicting their specific pack. Also known as wolfen, wolf men, wolfskins and werewolves. Their shape shifting is not painful but rather pleasurable. Lycans are superior to humans in many ways. They have the strength of ten men, and the alpha has the strength of five or more lycans. They can heal over night from severe wounds and are immune to most diseases except for the dreaded rabies and the toxin from wolf bane flower. They are very loyal and gentle with their young and pack members.

Alpha Lycan: Dominant lycans that are leaders of their packs and can are not under the influence of the moon. They can shift at any time. The alpha male must control his pack of betas.

Male Alpha: The male alpha leads the pack. He is the result of a lycan and human woman mating. He is the most powerful member of the pack and like all alphas can shift at any time. Alpha males can only marry a wolf maiden, a human life mate.

Female Alpha: A female lycan not under the influence of the moon. She helps protect the pack and serves as a surrogate parent to all the pack children. Alpha females are barren. The Lupercal or Lycan secret governmental body is run by twelve alpha females.

Wolf Maiden: A human woman with the special palm facing 5 toed wolf print birth mark, which turns bright red when she is imprinted by her alpha life mate. A wolf maiden can be born to a pack or randomly among humans, unaware of her role. She is also known as an Ulf hexen in Viking culture. During the Middle Ages she was also called a wolf witch or a woman marked with the sign of the beast. Though she is meant for an alpha mate, she can marry and though it takes longer can get pregnant by a human and have normal males who can then have future wolf maidens.

Beta Lycans: Lycans that shift only during the full moon. They must be controlled by the alpha since they can become mindless beasts that roam around and kill.

Omega Lycans: Lycans that have been deemed the lowest of the low. In ancient times they were no more than slaves for the higher ranked lycans. The Lupercal no longer allows pack members to be treated like omegas since a near revolt during ancient times.

Lupercii: Human men that serve the Lupercal and Lycans. They serve as spies for the secret lycan society and worship the lycan goddess, Feronia. They often take alpha female lycans as consorts. The Lupercii hope that in their next life they will be born as lycans.

Feronia: The goddess of the lycans. She is said to have been a wolf maiden who took a shape shifting giant wolf as a lover. She communes with her oracles, especially with the leader of the Lupercal and wolf maidens.

Lusna: Moon goddess that gave them the gift of painless shifting.

Lupercal: Governmental and spiritual body of the secret lycan society. It is run by twelve alpha female lycans. The leader of the Lupercal is often a seer and or sorceress. Their word is law and any who disobey will be considered rogue and or be punished by returning to their next life as a prey animal.

Lupercalia: Early spring festival when most wolf maidens and beta lycans become fertile. Rituals allow for wild sex escapades.

Den brother or sister: Pack that a lycan grew up with, not necessarily related by blood.

Valeria Luperca: A wolf maiden that has the healing touch. Can heal any lycan both physically and emotionally. Mentioned in White Wolf of Avalon.

Bearmen: Also known as bearskins. An ancient line of humans who could shift into bears at anytime. Their shift is painful. Like bears they hibernate during the winter. They can be slow witted, strong and have a short temper. During ancient times lycans killed most off from the continent.

Lunar Madness: A condition, though rare, which can occur when an alpha suppresses his shift for too long. It will cause the alpha to shift with the pull of the moon until his system stabilizes.

Rabies: A viral disease transferred from the bite of an infected animal. Can cause a lycan to kill many.

Werewolf Bite fever: An infection that can kill a human from the bite of a lycan.

Wolfsbane: A flower that is toxic to a lycan. It is often used as poison because a lycan cannot smell or taste it.

Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf
Eva Gordon
Paranormal Historical Romance (Sophisticated)
Vanilla Heart Publishing
289 pages
ISBN 978 – 1 – 935407

5 Wings.

Vivid and immediate, ‘Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf’ opens in Frankland in AD825 in a dark wood. Chanteloup is the Alpha of his Lycan werewolf pack, concerned for his pregnant mate Elinor, one of the wolf-maidens. The pack can shift from wolf to human at full moon. As Alpha, Chanteloup can do so any time, as can Elinor. He returns to his home to find Elinor in labor with their child. Elinor has a daughter Emelisse, who is destined for greatness and also Lycan, although her mother dislikes this. (Frowned on by the medieval church, Lycans must be secret in their beliefs and shiftings.)

The action moves to Scandia, where nineteen-year-old Sigurd is hoping to fight the Bear Men, mad shape-shifting Berserkers who butchered his family. A Lycan werewolf, Sigurd the Red is a rare red-pelted wolf and a mighty red-headed man. Intent on revenge against the Bear Men and waiting his chance, he goes Viking with humans.

We now see an adult Emelisse, who is about to be betrothed to Radulf, a cruel man and Lycan whom she does not want. She publicly rejects Radulf, but the two packs want the betrothal. Emelisse, who also fears she is pregnant by Galien, a human, feels she has no choice but to leave her father and flee.

Radulf pursues them and kills Galien. That act and her father’s refusal to free her from the betrothal makes Emelisse determined to leave the werewolf world.

Her father agrees to help her protect her unborn child and leave the kingdom for a year. She goes to Lapurdum Abbey. Sadly, she loses the child and soon after the abby is attacked by Bear Men.

Captured, she is rescued by Sigurd, who claims her as his true mate. In their escape from the Bear men Sigurd is injured and she rescues him. That is only the start of their adventures and their deep love for each other.

Full of excitement and full-blooded action, ‘Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf’ is a compelling, epic read that is also richly sensual. I believe lovers of historical romance and paranormal romance will both really enjoy this novel. I particularly found the Lycans and their alternative history, gods, magic and beliefs utterly fascinating. I know that ‘Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf’ will stay with me for a long time.

Lindsay Townsend
Other books in the Wolf Maiden Chronicles

ISBN: 978-1-935407-30-0 for Werewolf Sanctuary

ISBN 978-1-935407-31-7 for Beast Warrior, Viking Werewolf

Coming in November 2009
ISBN is 978-1-935407-32-4 for White Wolf of Avalon: Werewolf Knight

Learn more about Eva Gordon’s Novels and Werewolf Lore on her Website and Blog

http://www.ravenauthor.com
http://evagordon.blogspot.com/
http://www.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com/Eva_Gordon_WKIK.html
http://booktour.com/author/eva_gordon#
http://twitter.com/evagordon

Eva Gordon has offered a copy of Werewolf Sanctuary, the first in her series (in e-book form). All you have to do to enter is leave a comment and tell us who your favorite werewolf is.

Contest will close Monday, October 5th at midnight.