Hunter Bound is the first book of an urban fantasy trilogy set in a contemporary Quebec where humans and supernatural creatures coexist—often in tension. The story features werewolves, vampires, fae, mages, and legendary monsters, all woven into a world of political intrigue, fragile loyalties, and impossible choices.
At the heart of the trilogy is Ellie, a human woman raised among werewolves, who gradually discovers that she is far more than a bystander in this dangerous world. The series explores themes of identity, free will, belonging, and survival, with emotional and romantic tension that deepens from one book to the next.
Release date is set for May 21, 2026.
Here’s an excerpt. Enjoy!
I kicked my car’s tire. Bastien had dragged me out of bed before sunrise, I’d only had one cup of coffee, and just to spite me, my car had started on the first try.
Sitting behind the wheel, Bastien shot me an amused look. I heard the hood latch release. Frowning, I popped it open and propped it up with the rod. He joined me and leaned over the engine. In the cool morning air, he radiated heat like a small furnace. The sun would eventually bring the temperature up, but until then, my jacket was too light. I tucked my hands under my arms to keep from huddling against him. He checked a few parts before feeling around the battery, the only part I was actually able to identify. Then he pointed to another section where some hoses came out.
“Did you mess with your spark plugs?”
“No, why would I do that?”
He frowned.
“The leads are clean, like someone’s been handling them.”
I shuddered with a bad feeling. Karl’s arrival had prevented me from checking the state of my battery the day before. Maybe it was just a coincidence. I shook it off. Bastien didn’t have time to waste on my conspiracy theories. He had to focus on protecting the young mage. I pulled the rod back a little too forcefully and dropped the hood. He jumped back just in time to avoid being decapitated.
“I’ll make an appointment at the garage to have everything checked out,” I ground out.
“Ellie, I don’t like this. You might be in danger. With all the supernaturals in town, now isn’t the time to take this kind of incident lightly.”
His thoughts had gone in the same direction as mine. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried. I shook my head.
“If it’s a setup, it’s probably someone trying to keep you from your post. You’d better call Duke Nikolaj to make sure his daughter is safe.”
Bastien crossed his arms with a stubborn frown.
“I can’t. I’m posing as a stable hand at the stables next door.”
I smiled at the idea.
“That’s straight out of a movie. The girl’s definitely going to have a crush on you.”
He gave an exasperated sigh.
“What matters is that she stops ditching her security team. At the rate things are going, she’s going to give her father a heart attack before we manage to sign the treaty.”
“Ask Bryan to call.”
He nodded and scanned the parking lot. The place was empty except for a security guard watching us from his patrol car. The area had been closed off the night before in preparation for the pregame. With a stern look, the guard had warned us that we needed to clear out quickly. I had escaped being towed at my own expense by only a few minutes.
“I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone.”
I stifled an eye roll. The Faoladh had the annoying habit of viewing my humanity as a weakness. But it was my proximity to them that I exposed myself to danger in the first place. This thought had been nagging at me for several weeks, ever since the preparations for the summit began. I gave Bastien a confident smile.
“I promise to be careful and stay out of trouble. I’ll call Bridget if I have any doubts.”
Pacified, he pulled me into a hug. I thanked him for the ride and wished him luck in the coming days. He replied with an amused grimace before getting into his car and leaving the parking lot. I followed him in my Golf under the watchful eye of the security guard, navigating around the crew, busy setting up a massive marquee for the tailgate, then headed toward the neighboring building.
“So this is where you’re hiding,” Gen exclaimed a few hours later.
I looked up from my sketchbook and blinked. Gen tilted her head to look at my drawing, then she ducked behind my shoulder to get a better view.
After leaving the parking lot, I’d found an armchair in the first-floor lobby of the Charles-De Koninck pavilion. Light streamed in through the large windows, which looked out over the green roof of the atrium. A duck and her ducklings were visible between the long stalks of grass. I set my pencil down and stretched my hands out in front of me.
“It’s… interesting,” Gen said.
I looked up and arched a mocking eyebrow. She shrugged with an apologetic smile. It was no secret that my drawings left her puzzled. Her gaze wandered around the lobby.
“It’s too beautiful a day to be drawing such dark things.”
I looked down at my notebook. A forest stretched across the entire page, the trunks of skeletal trees lined up like silent guardians. In the darkness, one could sense a monstrous shape. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to give it a more precise form. Maybe inspiration would strike later. I closed the notebook gently to protect the pages and stowed it into my bag.
Geneviève waved for me to follow her outside. A cool breeze lifted my hair. I turned my face toward the sun and closed my eyes to appreciate the warmth. Gen called my name, and I picked up the pace to catch up with her.
The campus had come alive since I’d arrived. I breathed in the scents of cooking and BBQ as we zigzagged through groups of fans. The red and gold coffin with the Carabins effigy made me smile. It was going to be a gorgeous day, and the fans were in a festive mood. Gen finally stopped in front of a red pop-up canopy. A huge matte black smoker sat under it. A group of students gathered around the tent, all with beers in hand.
“Fred’s cooking. He’s making pulled pork.”
Of the dozen or so people there, I knew four. Gen introduced me to the others, but I couldn’t manage to remember their names. I took the beer I was offered and listened to the conversation with one ear.
I waved my hand when I saw the girls from the 50/50 raffle pass by in their red vests. I paid and they took my info with a smile and wished me luck. As I was pocketing my tickets, I heard someone call my name. I turned around just in time to catch a football in my gut. I wrapped my arms around it by reflex and took a step back to regain my balance.
My back hit a solid mass. I turned, an apology on the tip of my tongue, and found myself face-to-face with Karl.
His mirrored sunglasses reflected my surprised expression. The corner of his mouth quirked up in the ghost of a smile. My heart skipped a beat, and my thoughts scattered to the wind.
“Throw it back!” shouted one of the guys behind me.
Seeing my lack of reaction, Karl took it from my hands and tossed it back to them in one fluid motion. The ball traveled in a graceful arc before landing exactly in the hands of the guy who’d called out to me. I turned my attention back to Karl. His smile was perfectly disarming. He took off his sunglasses and hooked them into his collar. He was wearing a forest green short-sleeved t-shirt that made his blue eyes pop.
“Hi, Ellie. Did you manage to find out what was wrong with your car?”
I cleared my throat, determined to sound like an articulate university student rather than a teenager with a crush.
“No. But it started without any trouble this morning. My reputation as a resourceful girl just took a hit,” I said mockingly.
He placed a hand on his heart.
“I’m willing to testify on your behalf if that helps.”
I shook my head, laughing. My gaze drifted behind him.
“Did you come alone today?” I asked.
I gave myself a mental kick. The question was a bit too revealing. Luckily, his attention had shifted to the crowd further away.
“No, I was with some friends. They’re at the Budweiser stage. There’s a band playing. But it’s too crowded, so I decided to walk around the parking lot.”
His eyes came back to me, and I shivered at the intensity of his gaze.
“Want to join me?”
Gen appeared at my side just as I was opening my mouth to answer.
“I think we know each other,” she said to him.
Karl held out a hand and introduced himself. Gen pursed her lips and pretended to think. She pointed a finger at him.
“I’m almost sure we’ve passed each other in the halls.”
She nudged me with her elbow.
“We have a class in a room right next to his.”
Karl’s gaze darted between us. I shrugged with an innocent look.
“It’s possible,” I said.
“I didn’t know you two knew each other,” she continued ingenuously.
I breathed to keep my cool. She was going to pay for this. Karl came to my rescue.
“We ran into each other yesterday and talked for a bit.”
“And you’re both here today. What a coincidence. Want to stay for a beer?”
Karl smiled at me.
“Maybe later. I offered to walk with Ellie around the lot.”
“Good idea. See you later!”
She toasted Karl with her beer in one hand and waved me off with the other. Turning my back to Karl, I widened my eyes at her in a silent reprimand. Her subtlety needed work. She just gave me a satisfied smile. Hopeless. I faced Karl and gestured toward the central alley.
“Let’s go.”
His smile sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I followed him through the rows of booths. His shoulder brushed mine a few times as we navigated around other supporters.
He radiated as much heat as a Faoladh. Between the cool breeze and him, goosebumps covered my arms. I forced myself to see it as nothing more than a chance accident. Until he literally put his hands on my waist to steer me around a group playing a washer toss game. The players cheered when one of them managed to land the washer in the pipe at the center of the box. A shiver of anticipation ran up my spine, and I did my best to stay calm.
My smartphone vibrated in my pocket, bringing me back to the present. I pulled it out and saw a text from Bryan.
Where are you?
My jaw tightened, and I held back an exasperated sigh. Karl raised his eyebrows, clearly intrigued by my change in mood.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
I quickly typed a mundane reply. If I replied with a single letter, he’d send someone. Growing up, these random check-ins had seemed normal. Until I realized that my friends’ parents didn’t do it. And that I was the only person in the pack subjected to them. Christian had established this procedure for my safety, but it often felt like a reminder. Just in case I forgot that my movements weren’t entirely my own.
I put my phone back in my pocket and offered Karl a forced smile. He pointed out a group that had been bold enough to bring an old couch. I left my frustrations behind and showed him a grill shaped like a football. At a fast-food chain’s booth, he got us two smoothies.
“So, what does an anthropology student do in her spare time?”
I shrugged.
“Nothing special. Gen forces me to take kickboxing classes. The rest of the time, I’m studying. Since my parents pay my tuition, it’s in my best interest to pass my classes.”
“You could work at the student support center,” he said.
I shook my head.
“I’m in the category of students who ask for help rather than those who offer it. And you? What do you do in your spare time?”
“I assist with youth climbing classes at the PEPS. It takes up most of my Saturdays.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Karl: athlete and philanthropist.”
He gave me a self-deprecating smile.
“If anyone asks, tell them I only do it to get a discount on my gym membership.”
I burst out laughing. As a member of the Rouge et Or, he didn’t have to pay for a membership. He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.
“I think it’s important for kids. At their age, sports kept me from getting into a lot of trouble.”
I nodded, remembering Bridget announcing that she’d signed me up for every imaginable extracurricular activity. It had followed a series of unapproved excursions into the forest. My guardians had called it “running away”, whereas I thought the word “free-range hiking” was more appropriate.
In hindsight, the behavior had been self-destructive. I was subconsciously trying to put myself in danger by going off alone and far away. Bridget’s activities had allowed me to clear my head, then take a liking to various sports and the discipline required by training.
Our circuit eventually brought us back to our group’s tent. Upon our arrival, the circle widened to include us. Karl introduced himself to his nearest neighbors with a handshake. I watched him silently. The way he took charge of his interactions with others reminded me of Christian. There was no doubt in my mind that Karl was the type to know what he wanted and be willing to do whatever it took to get it.
Fred handed him a beer, and a discussion about football and the upcoming game followed. The guys were debating strategies and game play, but I struggled to follow, my knowledge of football being much too generic for that level of detail. Thomas shook his head stubbornly, and Fred waved a hand, exasperated.
“I’ll draw it for you. Does anyone have a scrap of paper?”
Gen gestured toward me.
“Ellie surely has some.”
Karl reached out, and I gave him my beer with a thankful smile. I opened my bag while Thomas continued to argue. I pulled on my binder, and my sketchbook followed. I set it aside, preferring to give them a sheet of lined paper rather than one of the pages from the notebook. Fred grabbed the pencil I held out to him with a distracted thanks.
Gen and the others leaned over the table to look at Fred’s sketch. Karl pointed to my sketchbook.
“May I?”
I hesitated for a second before handing it to him. It wasn’t a matter of false modesty or because I wanted to keep my drawings secret. But I’d often had negative reactions. I knew perfectly well that my drawings didn’t appeal to everyone.
Karl turned the first page and raised his eyebrows in surprise. I took back my beer, which he’d set on the table beside him. I took a sip to keep from snatching my notebook out of his hands. He lingered on each drawing before moving to the next.
He nodded appreciatively at one I’d done last week. A woman was kneeling naked, her hands on her chest cracked like clay in the sun. Her back was shattering from the inside, and the fragments were turning into birds whose flight extended to the top corner of the page. Karl blinked several times.
“It’s…”
“Strange? Disturbing?”
He shook his head, his eyes still fixed on my drawing.
“Intense. It’s so real, I can feel the pain.”
I raised my eyebrows. It was the first time anyone had put their finger exactly on the emotion I’d been trying to communicate. He turned the page and stopped at yesterday’s drawing. He nodded silently.
I wanted to know what he thought of it, but my throat was so tight I couldn’t speak. He finally reached this morning’s drawing and took a deep breath, as if caught off guard. His gaze met mine. I couldn’t decipher what he was feeling, but he looked troubled. I reached for my notebook. He closed it carefully and handed it back without a word.
Gen approached, breaking the tension. She handed me my ticket, then handed one to Karl.
“We had a no-show. This ticket is the one next to Ellie. It would be a shame to waste it.”
Karl took the ticket with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s the kind of offer you just don’t refuse.”
I opened the cooler and grabbed another beer. I was going to need it.
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