Sentinels: Wolf Hunt. Doranna Durgin

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Doranna Durgin spent her childhood filling notebooks, first with stories and art and then with novels. After obtaining a degree in wildlife illustration and environmental education, she spent a number of years deep in the Appalachian Mountains. When she emerged, it was as a writer who found herself irrevocably tied to the natural world and its creatures—and with a new touchstone to the rugged spirit that helped settle the area and which she instils in her characters.

      Doranna’s first fantasy novel received the 1995 Compton Crook/Stephen Tall Award for best first book in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres; she now has fifteen novels of eclectic genres on the shelves. Most recently she’s leaped gleefully into the world of paranormal romance. When she’s not writing, Doranna builds web pages, wanders around outside with a camera and works with horses and dogs. There’s a Lipizzan in her backyard, a mountain looming outside her office window, a pack of agility dogs romping in the house and a laptop sitting on her desk—and that’s just the way she likes it. You can find a complete list of her titles at www.doranna.net, along with scoops about new projects, lots of silly photos and a link to her SFF Net newsgroup.

      This is for my friend Lorraine Bartlett/Lorna Barrett, for all the stuff behind the scenes, and for Writers Plot!

      With my thanks to the Magna Owners of Texas, who helped me find just the right motorcycle for Jet.

       Mythos

      Long ago and far away, in Roman/Gaulish days, one woman had a tumultuous life—she fell in love with a druid, by whom she had a son; the man was killed by Romans, and she was subsequently taken into the household of a Roman, who also fathered a son on her. The druid’s son turned out to be a man of many talents, including the occasional ability to shapeshift, albeit at great cost. (His alter-shape was a wild boar.) The woman’s younger son, who considered himself superior in all ways, had none of these earthly powers, and went hunting other ways to be impressive, acquire power. He justified his various activities by claiming he needed to protect the area from his brother, who had too much power to go unchecked…but in the end, it was his brother’s family who grew into the Vigilia, now known as the Sentinels, while the younger son founded what turned into the vile Atrum Core.

       Glossary

      Sentinels: An organization of power-linked individuals whose driving purpose is to protect and nurture the earth—as befitting their druid origins—while also keeping watch on the activities of the Atrum Core

      Vigilia: The original Latin name for the Sentinels, discarded in recent centuries under Western influence

      Brevis Regional: HQ for each of the Sentinel regions

      Consul: The leader of each Sentinel brevis region

      Adjutant: The Sentinel Consul’s executive officer

      Aeternus contego: The strongest possible Sentinel ward, tied to the life force of the one who sets it and broken only at that person’s death. Meghan Lawrence has placed one of these on Fabron Gausto, reflecting any workings he performs back on himself

      Vigilia adveho: A Sentinel mental long-distance call for help

      Monitio: A Sentinel warning call

      Nexus: The Sentinel who acts as a central point of power control—such as for communications, wards, or power manipulation

       Doranna Durgin

      Atrum Core: An ethnic group founded by and sired by the Roman’s son, their basic goal is to acquire power in as many forms as possible, none of which is natively their own; they claiming to monitor and control the “nefarious” activities of the Sentinels

      Amulets: The process through which the Core inflicts its workings of power on others; having gathered and stored (and sometimes stolen) the power from other sources

      Drozhar: The Atrum Core regional prince

      Septs Prince: the Atrum Core prince of princes

      Septs Posse: A Core drozhar’s favored sycophants; can be relied on to do the dirty work

      Sceleratus vis: Ancient forbidden workings based on power drawn from blood, once used by the Atrum Core

      Workings: Core workings of power, assembled and triggered via amulets

       Prologue

      Marlee Cerrosa, stuck in a boring internal security meeting where everyone else had more seniority than she, pretended her cell phone wasn’t ringing.

       Is he insane, calling me here?

      She smiled apology at the others, wishing that the Mission Impossible ring tone didn’t come through quite so clearly. Their understanding amusement came through just as clearly, along with a hint of condescension—although she didn’t imagine they knew it showed. She was the youngest on this Brevis Southwest team, and the most human of those working internal tech support—barely enough Sentinel blood to be here at all. And so she still worked out of a corner cubicle, batting cleanup and grunge