Hunted
Medusa Stone
Book 1 of 2 Journey to the New World
Dark MM Paranormal Romance | Hurt/Comfort | Captivity
Amazon: https://a.co/d/ijieNCQ
Blurb
Journey to the New World is a saga packed with adventure, nail-biting suspense, courage, and love, in which Eliott’s search for freedom and acceptance, amid danger and tragedy, will keep you at the edge of your seat throughout the entire story.
Eliott, a boy from a large family, raised in the struggle of poverty, sees his entire world fall apart when he’s bitten by a savage creature in the woods, becoming a beast himself.
Rejected by his own family, Eliott finds refuge in a remote village inhabited by others of his own kind, but tragedy strikes again when his pack is massacred by Charles Roderick…., a vicious scientist on a mission to uncover the mysteries of a new species. Kidnapped and tortured, Eliott manages to escape, embarking on a dangerous journey that will lead to rejection, love and the hope of freedom as Professor Roderick hunts him down to the end of the world.
“Hunted” is the first HFN book in a two-book series. The second book, “Rejected”, is needed for further development of the story.
Content Warnings: This book is rated R; not appropriate for readers under 20 years of age; contains elements of violence, sexual abuse, and other very explicit content that can be triggering and/or disturbing to some readers. Reader’s discretion advised.
Hunted Excerpts
Excerpt 1
Eliott woke up from his troubled, feverish sleep, to the terrifying sounds of wooden arrows cutting through the air, and death. His long auburn hair, falling in tangled curls over his pale-green eyes, kept him from witnessing the surrounding massacre. Too scared to stay in plain sight, and too sick to run, he dragged his aching body in search of help, but there was no one left to protect him. No one alive, no one at all…
“This one will do.” Was all he heard before his world went dark.
Eliott woke up in near-darkness. He was naked, cold and alone, crammed in a tiny crate that was shifting back and forth on the back of a cart. Other crates jostled near him, making the air inside stuffy and unbreathable. Eliott moaned softly, wracked with pain and claustrophobia, and for a few moments all he could do was pant weakly for air as he tried not to suffocate.
Everything had happened so fast that he hadn’t been able to process any of it in his mind, assess the current situation, or even mourn the loss of his new family. His cough was fierce, leaving him breathless and exhausted, and the pain in his leg had become a burning pulsation that seemed to expand from his thigh to his forehead. Images of the bloodbath were fresh in his memory and he cried, unable to understand who would kill an entire tribe for sport while they were in human form. Even hunters killed for the fur, predators for the meat… Had they been hunted by humans from the nearby villages? From their old friends and families...?
No... Eliott shook his head, to dissipate the swarm of thoughts cruising through his troubled mind. No one he knew had these types of weapons, or the resources to hire mountain men like those leading the attack...
They spoke English... He thought in dismay. They are taking me away...
Cold air whistled into the crate from three long cracks between splintery boards. The boy saw the openings, about half an inch thick and a foot tall, and crawled to them, his wounded leg throbbing deeply. He could see the road receding behind the cart as the first rays of light filtered through his cage.
Excerpt 2
On the third night, Eliott was too weak and scared to speak. He hadn't had a drop of water or a crumb of food for three days, the straw under his cramped legs was wet and filthy again, and he was going crazy from lack of movement.
This time, the man came into the cage when he noticed the lack of movement. Eliott made no effort to communicate or even open his eyes and, for a moment, Roderick felt a pang of panic. Placing his fingers over the side of Eliott’s neck, he felt for a pulse and was greatly relieved to see that his prisoner was still alive. Taking the light touch and the man’s reaction as a caring gesture, Eliott opened his eyes weakly and grabbed on to his captor’s hand for comfort.
Taken aback by the sudden display of trust, Roderick allowed it while assessing the boy’s condition, not out of care or remorse, but in order to preserve his greatest investment. Once he was sure his prey would live, he determined by his color and the clamminess of his skin, that Eliott was highly dehydrated and would need water very soon.
Holding on to the man’s leg, Eliott rubbed his face gently against the soft fabric, in a submissive gesture, trying to appeal to his captor’s compassion and feel some of his warmth, fishing for a caress, a soothing gesture or a kind word.
Trying to rail the boy in, Roderick entwined his fingers in his prisoner’s long red hair, feeling his soft, pale neck. The boy purred, almost in tears, but said nothing.
Please be kind to me… Please… He prayed, closing his eyes and feeling the gentle touch.
Roderick waited for him to speak, but he didn’t. “What do you want, dog? Are you not going to beg me this time?” The man prompted him to break the rules. “C’mon! I dare you...!”
Not understanding the words, Eliott kissed the man’s hands and legs in silence, trying to please him and gain his approval. Marveled by the effects of his conditioning, Roderick urged him to say anything at all, but the fragile beast had learned his lesson. He was rewarded with food and water and a quick raking out of the filthy straw.
Opposite to what his captor intended, the boy was getting all sorts of mixed signals, making him believe that his own display of affection had caused the man to soften up, and not his silence and Roderick’s experimental purposes.
The cleaning, however, was not seen by the boy as a reward at all, but a punishment since the raking of his crate came once more, at a price.
Author InterviewHUNTED “Journey to the New World” INTERVIEW
My book Hunted, the first of a 2 book series, tells the story of Eliott, a boy from a large family, raised in the struggle of poverty, who sees his entire world fall apart when he’s bitten by a savage creature in the woods, becoming a beast himself. Rejected by his own family, Eliott finds refuge in a remote village inhabited by others of his own kind, but tragedy strikes again when his pack is massacred by Charles Roderick…., a vicious scientist on a mission to uncover the mysteries of a new species. Kidnapped and tortured, Eliott manages to escape, embarking on a dangerous journey that will lead to rejection, love and the hope of freedom as Professor Roderick hunts him down to the end of the world.
Hunted is my first Paranormal book, and it has been quite a rollercoaster of emotions and contradictory feedback! I usually write dark LGBTQ books based on true stories of sex-trafficking and captivity that are really close to my heart and rewarding to put on paper, but that limit my creativity somewhat, as Itry to stay faithful to the actual events. By writing this book, I wanted to explore the thin line between fiction and reality, creating an original story, full of action and adventure, without giving my audience a quick, happily ever-after feeling from chapter two. I understand most readers enjoy the “feel-good” stories where the hero survives every struggle and comes out victorious from early on, and where the villains are “not so evil”, soon becoming the main character’s love interest…. I love those too and some of my other books will please that type of audience, but that is not the case with Hunted.
This book is for lovers of the very DARK genre, not triggered by explicit content, violence, non-con situations and intense emotions. Of course, there are tender moments of compassion and care and a window to freedom, love and happiness but, just like in real life, those will not come easy to Eliott.
My goal with this book is that, by getting to share my character’s feelings, thoughts and emotions, readers will be able to empathise with Eliott’s suffering and start second guessing how they treat others, simply because they are different. Maybe, that way, many of us can rebuild a kinder, more patient relationship with those we don’t understand, and be tolerant and accepting of everyone in need of our affection. Perhaps we cannot create happy endings for everyone around us, just as our protagonist didn’t get his right away, but we can always offer the act of kindness that Eliott so desperately needed.
In short, a book like this can really make you question your own morality and, if people are willing, can encourage an honest change in the way we behave and treat each other. I Hope others come to the same realisations and self reflections that I did when writing this book.
My next step will be publishing the second book in the series within the next 4 weeks. Rejected, will close the saga with a happier outcome for Eliott, hopefully leaving my readers with a much sweeter taste.
I know this book series, like a few of my other books, will be subject to praise, but also harsh criticism, but if that’s what touches my reader’s hearts and makes them think, then it is a risk I am happy to take! Besides, like one of my fellow authors said: “You can not always please every reviewer…, but you can always kill them in your next book!”
Medusa Stone.
Biography and Links
Medusa Stone is a novelist and poet, born in Spain, winner of the Humanitarian Literary Award, international blogger and journalist.
Passionate and driven by the defense of human rights, she moved to the United States in the year 2000, where she became an advocate against human trafficking, author, and fervent activist against sexual exploitation and slavery.
Through her novels, Medusa Stone explores the misuse of BDSM as an excuse for sexual abuse, with vulnerable characters in the hands of powerful men and organizations. Much of her writing explores the dark nature of humanity, shining a light on human rights violations, and enacting change one novel at a time.
When not trying to change the world, Medusa enjoys traveling in her caravan, playing music, and creating art... Having met many mystical characters through countless supernatural adventures, she decided to explore the Zenith Universe, through her new line of Dark Fantasy/Paranormal romance.
You can find more detail about her work at www.medusastonebooks.com where you can subscribe to her email list for freebies and alternate endings.
Web page
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