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Shapeshifters, Food, and Snippets

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I have no content today, so here is a snippet.

I sat in a rocking chair on the top floor balcony and sipped my iced tea. On my left, Martin rested on a blanket in the Lotus pose. His eyes were closed. He said meditation helped him with the Bison rage.

It was the golden hour, that magical 60 minutes before sunset when the light turned soft and warm, and the first hints of red and yellow tinted the sky. The world was beautiful, and the tree line at the end of the kill zone turned lovely enough to frame, the tall pines spreading their fluffy branches as if trying to hold on to sunlight.

I glanced at the closest tower. The guard hunkering down under that metal roof was a teenager. A boy, with short dark hair and glasses.  Sixteen tops. On the surface it seemed like an easy enough way to keep teens employed: sit on the wall, watch the woods, ring the bell if you see anything. Except when the trouble started, they would be on the front line.

The door to my left swung open and Troy padded out onto the balcony carrying a notebook and a small plastic cooler.

“Consort.”

“Did you escape?”

He nodded.  “Went out the back door when I heard them coming.”

Troy sat into the other rocking chair and put the cooler by his feet. His left arm seemed to be functional, but he was moving it carefully.

“Did you eat?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

I got up, went inside, went downstairs to the kitchen, and grabbed a tray.  Penderton generously provided barbeque, so I loaded a plate with brisket and smoked chicken, added a beef rib with about a pound of meat on it, a chunk of cheddar, and some fresh crusty bread, and carried it back up to Troy.

He stared at the tray.

“Pledge of loyalty not required,” I told him.

He looked even more uncomfortable. “Thank you.  I didn’t mean to inconvenience you, Consort.”

Ah. It was the fact that an alpha got up and fetched the food that was the problem. “I won’t tell anyone about it if you eat your food.”

“Yes, Consort.”

He set his notebook down and tore into his dinner.

I sat back in my chair.

When shapeshifters ate, they focused on the food completely. They didn’t talk, they didn’t socialize. They ate. Even their formal dinners, like Pack Thanksgiving, went totally silent for the first few minutes.

It took Troy about a quarter of an hour to finish devouring the barbeque.  Once his plate was empty, he sat back, a small, contented smile on his face.

“I know all this stuff is weird and exciting, but you have to take care of yourself,” I told him.

He nodded. “Yes, because if I die, nobody in Wilmington would have any idea how to treat a wounded shapeshifter.”

“No, because if you die, you will be dead. And all of us will be very sad.”

He blinked.

“Things just didn’t go your way today,” Martin rumbled from his blanket, his eyes still closed.  “First, you’ve got your arm broken. Then the Consort had to bring you food. Now you are getting a lecture. It’s hard to be Troy today.”

“Don’t make me come over there,” Troy growled.

Martin opened his eyes.  “And do what?”

Troy showed him his teeth.

“Stay where you are, and you’ll get to keep all of those.” Martin closed his eyes.

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Comments

    • Woop woop! A delightful snippet and the getting in the first comment! – – A good start to what’s looking to be an intense and full on day.

  2. Thanks for the delightful snippet! I’ve been struggling with a cold and I needed something to pick up my Monday morning (still morning on the West coast). Now I can contemplate Kate and Martin and Troy!

    Hope you have a great week!

      • also, love mine naked because many bbq sauces are tomato-based, and I am very very very allergic to tomatoes. sigh.

        • You should try the eastern carolina version of sauce. Vinegar, spices, no tomatoes. Yum!!!

        • I’m allergic to raw tomatoes. I found out that I’m allergic to the citronella wax that is in tomatoes and strawberries a long time ago. Tomato-based bbq sauce I can eat since the wax is changed during the heating process and it doesn’t bother me.

          When I tell that to people, I get the strangest looks. 😀

      • Texas BBQ – You don’t need the sauce, the flavor is in the meat!
        (If you happen to like the sauce, you can add it after you get it served.)

        Personally, I like *all* the barbecue styles – and it’s on my diet! I do miss potato salad, but I can live (longer) with out it.

        • Martin is another shifter in Keelan’s Wilmington team ????, but he didn’t show up in Magic Tides.

      • So nice to find a fellow vegetarian white tiger.

        Let’s split up our attack: I’ll grab the veggies skewers, you get the fruit plate!

  6. Ooooh, Snippet! Thank you, I needed this today. Hope yours is a good one.

    PS: Anyone have any tuna casserole recipes they’d like to share? I am looking for a new one.

    • Keelan does, to him Curran is the Beast Lord, as we can see in Magic Tides- he and his team takes after him ????

        • You can only beat your head against a brick wall so many times before you decide it’s easier to go over or around it. ????

          • And Keelan is of Irish descent, so his skull is thicker than most. Or he’s just more stubborn. Take your pick.

            • I started reading that comment, geared up to be offended, and looked at your surname, which is the same as mine – so fair point, well made ????

              • Hehe, I was honestly ready to swoop in with a disclaimer for people to check the name on the comment 😉

              • Gordon’s biological father’s name was Moynahan. The family came out of County Cork specifically.

  9. Oooohhh, you lovely tease!
    I keep checking it on the app to see if it is available yet even though I know it isn’t lololol

  11. Thank you for the snippet, work is hectic here in New Zealand with the 3 weather events and the amount of claims coming in, nice to escape into KD world.

  12. thank you for the snippet! Hope your day is good.
    I’m on vacation in a mobile home, experiencing a little bit of bad weather – high wind up to 100 km/h (63 mph?).
    Hold your thumbs that we have enough shelter and not much debris flying.

  14. Thank you for the small escape from this world. Now I can think about what came before and after. A little visit with old and new friends.

  17. So nice to visit with Kate!! Thank you!!! Let’s keep that bison rage inside until needed!

    • l limoges everything they write, and always want more! I am addicted to everything ever written buy the two of you! Thank you for making my day.

  19. I love ❤️ the new snippet. Wow and the new characters. Some titles cannot be escaped.

  22. Thank you for the snippet! Annnddd now I have a hankering for smoked chicken. While living in North Carolina I used to take myself to Mission BBQ and have a me lunch, since my family does not like BBQ. Now that Im in New Jersey Im going to have to find their locations here to feed my cravings.

    • I love Mission BBQ’s mac ‘n cheese.

      I lived in North Carolina for a time and learned the hard way to read the fine print on how BBQ is prepared. Also, that I don’t like vinegar-based BBQ, which is what they serve in NC. This was way before Mission BBQ was a thing.

      @Keera, I’m guessing the Mission BBQ in NC was tomato-based like at other Missions and not vinegar-based?

      • At the Missions here, the meat is just smoked, and they give you your choice of sauce from something like a dozen options, in containers on the side.

      • Im NC Mission you got a choice of sauce. So it wasnt as tart. But I did learn to love the vinegar taste at other restaurants.

  25. why has time travel not been invented yet? me wanting to read this now and pulling ‘not’ my hair out…..
    and thanks

    • Troy makes an appearance in Magic Tides. He and his sister Helena are in Keelan’s team during the minotaur fight, and in the end scene he provides medmage care to the saved merpeople ☺️

      • It took me a little while to decide if this was a Kate or Julie snippet since I don’t remember a Martin being mentioned before. Figured it out at the Consort line.

        • I saw Martin but read Marten so thought it was a Julie snippet (WOW yeah), then saw (and read) consort and went Kate, huh, ohh Martin.

          and still went WOW yeah

          doing another read though of Blood Heir at the moment, so thats probably why i jumped to conclusions

      • ohhh the jackals lol
        and now a bison… Keelan seems to be building his team well.
        ????

        • Keelan is a smart shifter. He could lead himself and is likely an alpha, but he’s decided to get a leader (Beast Lord) who leads well, and not trouble his mind further. Smart. Delegating the less enjoyable duties to the Beast Lord, attending to the fun stuff (mayhem etc) himself with his team. Sounds like some people I know. Work less, worry less, party more.

  28. “I have no content today, so here is a snippet.”

    Is that supposed to be a disappointment to us? Because it’s not. At all. It’s awesome. Can’t wait for June!

  30. Thank you for the delicious snippet. I’m craving bbq now so bad…

    Texas horde, is there good bbq to be had in the general vicinty of the Riverwalk in San Antonio? I have a work meeting there in a few weeks (no car though). Your suggestions would be much appreciated…

  32. Wooo hooooo!!

    Yay for Snippets!

    I got a slight bit confused between the Martins, he and she, but am looking forward to learning more!!

    • If I’m reading your comment correctly, you’re thinking of MartEn not Martin ☺️. The little girl Julie saves in Blood Heir?

  33. I was confused. Troy is also the name of a supporting character in Hidden Legacy and isn’t Martin the name of the girl in Blood Heir?

  35. Thank you for this lovely surprise! My body is so run down from allergies that I had to take a day off from work. Thank goodness for allergy medicine.

    So much for getting away from being a Consort and Beast Lord. Sheesh! ????‍♀️????

    • With many days of high wind, allergens are being lifted up to nose level all over. Mr. Wife spent a few days periodically waking up from unexpected naps, despite a full course of allergy shots taken weekly. I dread to think how bad it would have been had he not started getting allergy shots again a few years ago — the science has greatly advanced since he went through a course of allergy shots when he was a child.

  36. The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw the blog title and the opening sentence was “(Don’t) Feed the Horde!”

    Of course the “Don’t” should be edited out of that thought…

      • Indeed! If you ever get the chance to see one in the flesh, their sheer size and mass is boggling. At the top of it’s hump, a male buffalo can be 6 and 1/2 feet tall or just shy of 2 meters. Meaning your average person couldn’t see over one. And mass? Well they normally average between 1500-1800 lbs but some behemoths get to 3,000lbs (1,360kg)

        • Caprock Canyon state park, south of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle has a herd of Bison. We’ll go camping there every now and then and watch the Bison walk through the campgrounds. They’ll also block the roadway and not be in a rush (especially when they are having a “discussion”).
          There’s also have a Prairie Dog town next to the restrooms. Love to hear them chittering away.
          https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caprock-canyons

          p.s. In the US, they are Bison, not Buffalo.

        • They are frequently called buffalo, but actually they are bison in North America. Buffalo are a related species found in Africa and Asia, but quite different. The rangers at Theodore Roosevelt Natl Park made a point of telling us this when I was there some 30 years ago. For some reason it stuck with me heheh.

          • Correct. When you think “buffalo”, preface it with “water”. And yes, water buffalo are terrifying too.

            Back in 1976 the National Zoo in Washington had a bison calf born. It was named Bison Tennial. So there’s another little mnemonic for those who want one.

            • Cape buffalo are especially terrifying and known for being very ill-tempered. Martin could be a cape buffalo.

  38. Oh wow… Kate is consort again, why am I not surprised

    I’m getting giddy goosebumps all over, can’t wait!

  44. Does Eduardo have Bison rage? If he and George had more kids, would one of them be a were bison? Their first is a werebear, iirc.

  45. Thank you for a much needed smile. It’s been a very long, tough 10 days for me and I am beyond exhausted. I needed that tiny escape tonight.

  46. …long ..long is the way to happy reading….i ..can Not…waaiitiingg….+_+;;…muusst havee sstoorryy…

  53. Snippet! Thanks, I can’t wait to spend more time with these characters! (Troy is giving me big early-Ascanio vibes.)

  54. Thank you so much for the snippet! Dealing with Monday, a new not good diagnosis, (but at least I know now), and not feeling good. so it was Needed!
    It is the little pleasures in life that keep us going!

    • “but at least I know now”

      Words to live by. Sending you a hug through the ether, in the hope that it helps a little.

  56. Thank you. Hope the storms are not too bad in your part of Texas and that the new coffee grinder works ok. Thank you have a good week.

  57. This scene makes me feel a bit sad for Kate only because she’s still getting called Consort and she and Curran worked so hard to try to get away from that and their titles. I realize Curran will always be Señor Beast Lord wherever he goes and Kate will either be Consort or Sharrim depending on who she’s talking to. They kind of remind me of Meghan and Harry trying to carve a life away from the royal family only to have the royal family’s legacy follow them wherever they go and no matter what they do (not to open a debate on them here but that’s the best contemporary comparison I could think of).

  59. I read all your posts. I really enjoy the snippet and the picture. Thank you for all the pleasure you guys give me. DRAGONBOGLE

  63. Martin was also the name of that kid that ended up apprenticed to an assassin, no? Hope she turns up again. I identified with her attachment to cookies.

  67. “The world was beautiful, and the tree line at the end of the kill zone turned lovely enough to frame”–Hah!

    Thanks for the snippet. And like so many, I now want BBQ. Messy Mac with BBQ turkey tips from Alabama Que. Yum.

  69. My brother in law had some bison that he thought was a good idea to use with training his horses. He soon realized his stupidity, bcse they chased him. LMAO

    • I had a friend who was almost convinced by another friend – hers, not mine – to go into the bison meat business. I had a little talk with her about the required infrastructure for that project. She decided start with beef cattle instead, a decision she never regretted. She never did go into the bison business.

    • There’s a whole FB page called Yellowstone Park—Invasion of the Idiots whose watchword is “Do not pet the fluffy cows.” Said fluffy cows look something like that guy up there ^.

      They also have a pic of one of the fluffy cows with a pair of very torn jeans hanging from his horns…

  71. Thank you! I really enjoyed it.
    I’m having a weird day, I’m trying to get over a cold. Still tired and our internet keeps dropping. We have had internet problems really bad since Christmas. Have had repair people out, replaced modem. So I did something and I am waiting to see if it is a good thing or a bad thing. I signed us up for Verizon’s 5g service just a temporary tryout to see if it helps. They thing is this not something I do, this falls under what my husband covers, so I am a little uneasy even though it is temporary.
    ????

    • I had internet connection issues with Spectrum when they did their overnight maintenance earlier this year. One of their tech guys came out and found a couple of splitters in the wall where the coaxial cable is attached. The apartment has numerous places where coaxial cables can be placed.

      We both looked at one of the splitters in bewilderment since it was one from the 1990s, which is no longer being used. After that, I haven’t had any problems. ????‍♀️????

      • I wish it could be something like that. Our problems have actually been determined to be outside the house. With my invisible degree I think it is a growth issue using cable in a big suburban neighborhood. The nice thing about this Verizon trial is we will keep the old internet to see if we like the new. Since my husband is still working about 95% from home we really need the internet. Plus I need it to keep up with my favorite authors.

        The funny part is that when we moved here someone had run cable into every room in the house and when remodeled we found a big pile underneath the house.

  75. I do not think you truly grasp the joy the very word snippet now brings me! In Pavlovian terms it really rings my bell. Happy brain chemical poof into my brain! This happens even if I can’t read the snippet immediately. Knowing I have a snippet to read? Happy! On really stressful days at work -love my job hate the new software, the horrific email and the under performing connection- I occasionally remind myself there will be a snippet in my future . All that aside I love this snippet! It is so Kate! Nice insight into Troy and fabulous tease for Martin! Thanks so much!

  77. Ok that was seriously fun and makes me say, more please! June will be here with the hated heat before we know it, but it’s still not coming fast enough. And oh how Kate must just love being Consort, not Kate. Thanks!

  82. I love snippets on a Monday. the Friday group is always fun but sometimes I need an escape or chuckle early in the week rather than at the end of it.

    Count me as another who flashed to Troy in HL event though the tag said it was Kate Daniels’ world.

    I always crave BBQ but try to save my stomach from that type of punishment. I love a sweet sauce. I will make do with the carnitas I have on hand.

  84. thank you needed that to face the day today.
    also hoping that clicking the bell thing in your twitter profile will work so that I don’t keep missing your posts anymore since they changed what they changed to mess things up.

  88. It’s hard to be Troy today.
    I love that. I would buy a tee-shirt with that on it. Especially if it featured a bison doing yoga.
    Thank you for the snippet.

  94. Sweet!
    I hate missing a post until the next day. Unfortunately, when I got home yesterday all I wanted to do was get off my bad hip.
    Then there was a new book – aaand that was all she wrote for the day. (Next activity was evening treats for the furry gargoyles. I am allowed to skip that for any reason.)

    Thank you for this taste of the next novella. I’m looking forward to reading the whole thing!

  96. So cool. ???? Thanks! Assuming this is a snippet from Magic Claims? (so looking forward to it). If not, still, thanks!

  98. Oh Brilliant Writers: You bring me such joy. Thank you for sharing snippets of your daily life and your stories.

  99. I very much enjoyed this snippet!

    FYI, I was a vegetarian for 7 years until I met my husband, Mr. Meat and Potatoes Only (from Texas, naturally.) A year ago (almost 30 years later – where has the time gone???) I decided to go back to vegetarianism. (And no, I didn’t require anyone else in my family to join me. I’ve gotten very good at cooking meat for them, vegetarian option for me, and sides we all share.)

    However, this post and all of the BBQ comments are sorely testing my resolve! ????

    Side note: if anyone is lacking a good BBQ joint near them, I highly recommend ordering online from Joe’s in Kansas City. They started out years ago serving BBQ from a gas station and are now well known. I found out about them on Food Network, and ordered online many, many times. I used to LOVE the ribs and burnt ends, and hubby loves the brisket!

  102. Thank you so much for this great snippet, Move it! can’t wait to get your new book????

  103. What a great line!! “Stay where you are, and you’ll get to keep all of those.” An all time awesome line!!
    Thanks for the snippet!
    And great BBQ is all about the rub, not the sauce. the rub is what flavors teh meat and the sauce is supposed to compliment the meat not be the reason to eat is..

  104. Nice, thank you, thank you, I’m so glad we’re in “snippet season” again!

  105. I was just thinking today, am rereading Magic Rises, that when I read about Hugh I see Vincent D’Onofrio.

  113. March … April … May … June
    I better go reread Magic Tides and Chapt 1 of Magic Clams (hehehe)

    YAY! Squeeeeeee!

  114. Hmmmm. Interesting to see them calling Kate “Consort” again. Especially since I’m in the middle of a reread of all the KD books, currently on Magic Rises (book 6).

    I’ve gotten a good start on my Flax sweater since reading about Ilona starting one a couple of blog posts ago. And listening to KD goes extremely well with knitting.???? I’ve also just finished crocheting a Laura Top from Namaste And Crochet, for any crocheters out there.

  115. Depression kicking my butt, so thank you very much for the snippet. Listening to Blood Heir and trying to keep all the details straight. I may have to take notes! I read it so long ago I don’t really remember much besides general plot… Oh well, rereads/listens are more fun that way!

  118. I read “Troy” and, for one brief moment, thought we were back in Hidden Legacy! Then saw “Consort” and had to do a quick mental adjustment. haha! Looking forward to more!

  121. love the snippet and can’t wait for the book.

    I notice Mod R does random comments which is awesome.

    Mod R… could you just say Hi. It would make my day.

    Thanks.

  122. Hmmm can a werebison be a render? That would be awesome. In warrior form will Martin be minatour-like or something else looking like the Goatmen from Diablo video game?

    Thank you for the snippet. Awesome start to a week.

  124. Yay Snippet!!!!! Much needed after this past weekend – 80mph winds, trees down on fences, roof damage, no electricity until late Sunday, lost food – BUT we are very luck compared to others.

    Thank you muchly! 🙂

  128. Lubię tę nową serię ????. Chyba tęskniłam za Kate … Wszystkie opowieści ze świata postzmiennej Atlanty mają swój urok, ale Kate to Kate.

  129. I didn’t read through all the replies to see of anyone else asked; but wouldn’t there be a problem with Kate feeding another male? Does being Curran’s mate now, exempt her from that?

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