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Amazon books, Award winning author, books, Contemporary Romance, fantasy, fiction, Interracial romance, paranormal romance, paranormal vampire romance, romance novels, vampire romance, vampires, writing
I’m thrilled to share that Beyond the Darkness, the third book in my Darkness series, will be available on April 5, 2026. You can now preorder the digital edition on Amazon using this link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GJBLCWLS?ref_=saga_ast_ss_dsk_dp
If you remember Axle from Embrace the Darkness, this book tells his story—how he became something not quite human and not fully vampire. Although it’s the third installment, each novel includes enough backstory in the Prologue to stand on its own, so you can jump in wherever you like.
To save the woman he loves, he may have to become the monster she fears.
Axle Travers never expected the biotech giant Lifeblood of America to be run by vampires—nor that a rogue military doctor would kidnap him and twist his DNA into something no longer fully human. A radical vaccine saved his life, granting power without the curse. But survival always leaves scars.
Eight years later, Axle runs a PI firm in Asheville, chasing monsters in the shadows and burying the truth of what he’s become. Then Haley—his first love and the woman he never stopped wanting—walks back into his life. Fresh from a failed marriage, caring for her dying mother, and reeling from a hurricane, she now faces something far worse: a stalker the police can’t stop.
Axle takes the case, but their fragile reconnection fractures when he discovers her stalker is no longer human. And the secrets behind his own transformation are rising, threatening to destroy everything he’s built.
To save Haley, Axle must decide whether to hide the monster inside him… or risk everything by revealing it, hoping their bond is strong enough to survive what waits beyond the darkness.
Because in a world where monsters wear human faces, the most dangerous one may be the man she trusts with her life.
Here’s an excerpt from Book 3:
“Ms. Connors?”
Haley jumped. Then looked up—and froze when she saw Axle for the first time in fifteen years. His eyes weren’t a weird color as Gordon had described them. They were two amber-brown jewels set in a caramel face, and a trim goatee framed full lips, any woman—and some men—would die to kiss.
His hair was buzzed short now, the wild curls and high fade gone, and he was no longer lean and lanky. He was as tall as she remembered, but he’d bulked up. Considerably. His shoulders were wide, his chest deep, and his designer suit was tailored to perfection.
Her breath caught, and she nearly dropped her phone. “Yes?” The word was more of a squeak than an actual reply. Flushing, she rose to her feet, and her heart did a familiar flip-flop she hadn’t felt in years.
Axle stepped closer and held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Axle Travers.”
His smooth baritone sent a jolt straight to her solar plexus. His fingers curled around hers, and a long-buried, helpless desire surged through her.
Great. Ab-so-freaking-lutely great. Once again she was crushing on Axle, and he didn’t even remember her.
“Hello Axle.”
He frowned and released her hand. “Have we met? You look familiar.”
God, she hoped not. The last time he saw her, she was forty pounds heavier and painfully shy. She lifted her chin. “We went to high school together. You were friends with my cousin, Geoff Pratt.”
“Haley?” Axle’s eyes raked over her, and heat crawled up her neck to settle in her cheeks—and much lower. “Wow. Haley Pratt,” he said with an appreciative smile. “I barely recognize you. You’ve grown up.”
Her outward appearance wasn’t the only thing that had changed since high school. She forced a smile. “It’s Connors now, not Pratt. I got married.” A familiar mix of shame and disappointment flooded her. “Or at least I was married. Ben and I are divorced.”
Just one more thing to add to her list of accomplishments. Item number one: stalking victim. Item two: motherless divorcee and all around failure at relationships.
In an unexpected twist, Axle Travers discovers that the renowned biotech corporation, Lifeblood of America, is operated by vampires. His reality becomes even more harrowing when a rogue military doctor abducts him, altering his DNA and transforming him into something beyond human. Although a groundbreaking vaccine ultimately saves his life by bestowing extraordinary powers, the journey to survival invariably leaves its mark.
Lilly Gayle Romance 