A HUNGER SO WILD A Renegade Angels Novel Sylvia Day Copyright © 2012 Sylvia Day The right of Sylvia Day to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in the United States of America in 2012 by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. First published in this Ebook edition in 2012 by Eternal Romance an imprint of Headline Publishing Group Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library eISBN 978 1 4722 0075 4 HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP An Hachette UK Company 338 Euston Road London NW1 3BH www.eternalromancebooks.co.uk www.headline.co.uk www.hachette.co.uk Contents Title Page Copyright About the Author Also by Sylvia Day About the Book Praise for Sylvia Day Dedication Acknowledgements Glossary Epigraph Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 A Taste of Seduction preview About the Author Sylvia Day is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of more than a dozen novels, written across multiple sub-genres, including the international sensation Bared to You, the first in the Crossfire trilogy. She has won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, the National Readers’ Choice Award twice, and has been nominated for the RITA twice. A wife and mother of two, she is a former Russian linguist for the U.S. Army Military Intelligence. She lives in San Diego, California. Visit www.sylviaday.com. By Sylvia Day Renegade Angels A Touch of Crimson A Hunger So Wild About the Book From the internationally bestselling author of BARED TO YOU. If you fell for Gideon Cross, wait until you meet the men who really are out of this world . . . Elijah Reynolds is the most dominant of lycans, a rare Alpha whose skill for the hunt is surpassed only by his primal sexuality. When the lycans revolt against the iron fist of angelic rule, he steps in to command, becoming both enemy and coveted ally in the conflict between vampires and angels. Vashti is the second most powerful vampire in the world, a lethal beauty with a path of devastation in her wake. Tasked with proposing an alliance between vampires and the lycans who killed her mate, Vash approaches Elijah, whose need to avenge the loss of his closest friend calls for Vash’s death even as his passion demands her surrender. Soon, their enmity erodes beneath an all-consuming desire. Elijah has never encountered a woman whose warrior spirit and fierce sexual appetite rivals his own, while Vash is faced with the one man strong enough to be her equal. But as war looms, each must decide where their loyalty lies – with their own kind or with the enemy lover they can no longer live without . . . Praise for Sylvia Day: ‘A Touch of Crimson will rock readers with a stunning new world, a hot-blooded hero, and a strong, kick-ass heroine. This is Sylvia Day at the top of her game!’ New York Times bestselling author Larissa Ione ‘Angels and demons, vampires and lycans, all set against an inventive, intriguing story world that hooked me from the first page. Balancing action and romance, humor and hot sensuality, Sylvia Day’s storytelling dazzles. I can’t wait to read more about this league of sexy, dangerous guardian angels and the fascinating world they inhabit. A Touch of Crimson is a paranormal romance lover’s feast!’ New York Times bestselling author Lara Adrian ‘A Touch of Crimson explodes with passion and heat. A hot, sexy angel to die for and a gutsy heroine make for one exciting read’ New York Times bestselling author Cheyenne McCray ‘Sylvia Day spins a gorgeous adventure in A Touch of Crimson that combines gritty, exciting storytelling with soaring lyricism. Adrian is my favorite kind of hero – an alpha-male angel determined to win the heart of his heroine, Lindsay, while protecting her from his lethal enemy. Lindsay is a gutsy, likable woman with paranormal abilities of her own, as well as a dedication to protecting humanity against a race of demonic monsters. This is definitely a book for your keeper shelf’ New York Times bestselling author Angela Knight ‘A gripping, touching, and scintillating page-turner. [Day] skillfully blends a timeless tale of love lost and found. [This is] a perfect romance with excellent world building that’s rich with angels, lycans, and vampires’ Romantic Times 4½ Stars ‘When it comes to brewing up scorchingly hot sexual chemistry, Day has few literary rivals’ Booklist This one is for all the readers who have so generously embraced the Renegade Angels. Your support and enthusiasm mean the world to me. Thank you! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I remain deeply grateful to Danielle Perez, Claire Zion, Kara Welsh, Leslie Gelbman, and everyone at NAL for being so wonderful with this series and with me. Thank you to Robin Rue and Beth Miller for handling the pesky details. Thanks to the art department for granting my wish to have Tony Mauro design my cover . . . again. I’m thrilled. My love to Tony Mauro for another striking cover. I’m such a fan. It makes me giddy to have his artwork on my books. Himeko, I told you I’d make you a lycan. I did. And thank you to all the readers, reviewers, bloggers, booksellers, and librarians who’ve talked up the Renegade Angels series and shared it with your friends, customers, patrons, and visitors. I very much appreciate each and every one of you! GLOSSARY CHANGE—the process a mortal undergoes to become a vampire. FALLEN—the Watchers after the fall from grace. They have been stripped of their wings and their souls, leaving them as immortal blood drinkers who cannot procreate. LYCANS—a subgroup of the Fallen who were spared vampirism by agreeing to serve the Sentinels. They were transfused with demon blood, which restored their souls but made them mortal. They can shape-shift and procreate. MINION—a mortal who has been Changed into a vampire by one of the Fallen. Most mortals do not adjust well and become rabid. Unlike the Fallen, they cannot tolerate sunlight. NAPHIL—singular of nephalim. NEPHALIM—the children of mortal and Watcher parents. Their blood drinking contributed to and inspired the vampiric punishment of the Fallen. (“they turned themselves against men, in order to devour them”—Enoch 7:13) (“No food shall they eat; and they shall be thirsty”—Enoch 15:10) SENTINELS—an elite special ops unit of the seraphim, tasked with enforcing the punishment of the Watchers.