The Mountain’s Shadow
August 14, 2019
The Lycanthropy Files, Book One
She’s a scientist who doesn’t believe in werewolves. That won’t help her if they tear out her throat…
Joanie Fisher is one breakthrough away from curing Chronic Lycanthropy Syndrome. But when suspicious events sabotage her career, she’s forced to continue her life’s work in the estate of her missing grandfather. Deep in the Ozark Mountains, Joanie’s research at Wolfsbane Manor takes a turn when a real-life werewolf asks her for help…
As she continues the search for a cure, missing local children and a chilling family curse collide. When Joanie discovers the truth, it may be too late to stop a devastating threat that could destroy the entire world…
The Mountain’s Shadow is the first book in the Lycanthropy Files, an urban fantasy series with the bite of a medical thriller. If you like hair-raising mysteries, complex characters, and stories that blend science and magic, then you’ll love Cecilia Dominic’s transfixing tale.
Praise for The Mountain’s Shadow (click on source for full review):
“THE MOUNTAIN’S SHADOW is a complex, sometimes chilling paranormal. Author Cecelia Dominic has you so deeply involved in this story that you cannot put it down. The romantic moments are almost non-existent but what is there is sweet and not graphic. There are a lot of twists and turns to this storyline, and at a few points you find yourself wondering if there are any good guys to the plot. To be honest, I did find it a little too complicated for a quick read, but this is a good book from a different angle in the paranormal world. If you are looking for something different give THE MOUNTAIN’S SHADOW a try.” – Fresh Fiction
“Debut novelist Dominic is also a clinical health psychologist and has wisely chosen a subject area familiar to her, a choice that places this story above the average paranormal romance in plot, as well as in characterization… The book has elements of mystery, too. All in all, fans of romance, the paranormal, and mysteries should enjoy this book.” – Library Journal
“I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a werewolf book with a twist.” – Authors to Watch blog
” I ended up loving it and had a ball reading it. I think what I really liked about this story was the story behind the werewolves, how they came to be and how they were being exploited. I think that the story behind the werewolves is so interesting, original and I can totally see it happening in the real world.” – Ms. Nose in a Book blog
“This story has SO much going for it! Unique, great writing, suspense, captivating….I love how the elements came together and brought so much to the book. Joanie is a kick butt character. Sure, she’s made some mistakes in her life, but hey, isn’t that what makes one realistic? I could spend a day in her world and not be bored for sure!” – Storm Goddess Book Reviews blog
“I’ve never read a book where the author set the scenes as well as in this book. From the first scene, I was hooked. The whole story is complex with tons of twists and turns. The main character, Joanie, is such a smart lead, you’ll be hooked on every word she says. I think the book really sets the stage for the next one in the series. This 4 star book is the perfect weekend read for when you just need to get away to a different world, xo!” – Keep Calm and Blog On blog
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Excerpt:
At three o’clock I was wide awake. Sure, I felt like someone had hit me over the head with a wine bottle, but something had awakened me, and for once it wasn’t the usual nightmare. Although at that time of night, it seemed like bad dreams couldn’t be too far away. No, it had to be something else, something external. I listened and discerned voices coming from outside. For a moment, I dismissed it as the usual hubbub outside my apartment, but then I jerked fully awake. I was at my grandfather’s manor in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas. The only people in the house were me, Lonna and the butler.
I put on my robe and slippers and tiptoed down the hall and stairs. My feet remembered the location of the creaky boards and avoided them. Instead of going through the front door, I crept through the kitchen and out the side door to the small kitchen garden.
The almost full moon illuminated the lawn and surrounding trees with weird shadows. I paused and crouched behind a hedge and tried to still the beating of my heart so my ears could pick up the voices again.
“Let Ronan make the kill,” one of them, a female argued. The voice sounded familiar. I peeked through the shrubs and saw a pack of wolves too large to be Arkansas red wolves or coyotes. Two of them, the largest and smallest, were black, and they were accompanied by a silver wolf and a golden one. They circled a deer, the animal’s eyes wide with fear at having been driven out into the open and surrounded by predators.
“He’s messy.”
“He’s young,” another replied.
Talking wolves? Am I dreaming? I shut my eyes and opened them after a few seconds. Nope, still there.
“I don’t know, guys. We shouldn’t be here.”
“The old man always let us hunt here. Why should now be different?”
“His granddaughter—”
“Is a flat-chested, elf-faced ivory-tower academic who won’t even know we’ve been here.” It was the female’s voice again. “If you’re careful, Ronan.”
The golden wolf lunged at the deer but misjudged its angle, and two of the others leapt aside as the animal crashed through their circle, hooves flying.
“We’ve got to figure out how real wolves do this,” panted the silver one as they took chase.
Real wolves? I shook my head. It was too incredible. What were these things? And what did my grandfather have to do with them?
I waited five or ten minutes to make sure they wouldn’t come back and staggered to my feet, my head still reeling from what I’d just witnessed. Especially the last comment by the gray wolf. If they weren’t real wolves, what were they?
“Amazing night, isn’t it?”
The voice shocked me, and I wheeled around. For a moment, it sounded like my grandfather, and I was transported back in time to my childhood as he and I stood on the balcony and found constellations. I was never good at it, my brain already bent to the reality of math and science rather than fanciful creatures in the stars.
A flicker of flame and then the smoldering ash of the end of a cigarette brought me back to the present. I coughed.
“Thought I’d light up while you thought about your answer.”
Leonard Bowman stood there, leaves stuck to his sweater and jeans. The light of his cigarette and the moon flickered in his dark eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same question.”
“It’s my grandfather’s house.”
No answer, just a long stream of smoke.
“It’s my house,” I finally said. The words felt awkward on my tongue, and I became aware I was standing in my nightshirt and boxers in a flimsy robe on a cool night. I shivered.
“So your lawyer says.”
I tried my best imitation of a Gabriel shrug. Leonard smiled and dropped the cigarette, which extinguished with a hiss in the dew-damp grass.
“So do you always lurk in the bushes of your own house?”
My cheeks burned with the flush that crept up my neck. “Not always. Sometimes I lurk in the trees.”
“I’d be careful if I were you, then.” A smile flickered across his lips, but his eyes remained serious. “You never know what might be in the woods around here.”
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