Blood and Bones by B.A. Stretke

Ismael Patronne has been at Master Louis DuCane’s right hand from the very beginning. From the dark ages to modern day, he has taken great pride in the coven and empire Louis has built. When the betrayal that their tech specialist Steven Minch had orchestrated came to light, Ismael took it personally. He is in charge of the departments and day to day running of the coven’s security operations and he allowed their systems to become outdated and vulnerable to bad actors. Ismael took it even more personally when an outsider, from the Hadden Coven in Pittsburgh, was brought in to right the ship. It was like having his failures thrown back in his face, or so Ismael felt. He was determined to never lay eyes on the interloper Easton Sans, and his mood contributed to a general distrust of Easton permeating the Coven. When Ismael discovers that the man he has vilified is actually his fate chosen beloved, he finds himself in a hole dug by his own pride and prejudices. Can he fix what he has broken and convince Easton to give him a chance? Easton’s life may depend on it.

Easton Sans isn’t impressed by what he finds waiting for him at the DuCane Coven. Slights, roadblocks, and general rudeness rules the day. All he wants to do is complete the job his master Nikolas Hadden has given him and then get back to Pittsburgh as soon as possible. What doesn’t expect to find is the level of damage Steven Minch did to the Coven and others within his reach. Making his stay bearable is the friendship of Master DuCane’s beloved Ezra. From Ezra, he learns that all is not well at the Coven, but he feels powerless to stop it. When he discovers that his nemesis, Ismael Patronne is his beloved, he feels torn between what his heart desires and the atmosphere of hostility swirling Coven DuCane. Can everything wrong be made right? Easton’s life depends on his beloved and the Coven as a whole coming together to face the greatest threat to their existence.

This may be modern day, but Louis DuCane is a man of blood and bones and he will bring the old ways back to defend what is his.