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When the woman you love is lost, how hard will you fight to get her back?
Following the birth of her daughter, Kadence Knight finds herself in a battle she never prepared for. With desperation and unhappiness threatening to overwhelm her, a sense of hopelessness pulls her away from the one thing she has always longed for: a family.
As Nix watches his wife struggle with something he doesn't understand, he can't help but feel disconnected to his woman. The Kadence he once knew has drifted into the darkness. In her place is a shadow of the woman she once was, one who is fearful of the impossible...failing their daughter.
This Valentine’s Day, Nix has one goal — to reclaim the woman who gave him everything.
*Please note this is a novella and features the characters from the previous storyline. The events of Reclaimed take place after Incandescent and Affliction. Book one and two in the Knights Rebels MC. To get the full advantage of the story, and character development, I strongly suggest you read in order.
I don’t know about you, but when I had my daughter it was rough. I jumped into motherhood with both feet and proceeded to flail around for months trying not to drown. Not only do you have this tiny person you’re responsible for, but your hormones are going every which way. It’s a tough time for women, and Kadence is no exception.
Looking back now, I know I wasn’t failing as a mother, but when every day becomes a fight against the current, you lose the energy to swim. Dealing with postpartum depression didn’t make me less of a mom, it was a symptom of motherhood. I didn’t plan for it, but I sure learnt from it. In all honesty, I still am.
You’d think that parenthood would be a breeze for Nix and Kadence. They already have Z, another tiny person should be easy. It’s not. Not at all. Kadence is clearly suffering from some sever baby blues/possible postpartum depression. And Nix? Well, he’s at the end of his rope. The man wants his wife back.
Reclaimed is a very quick read. So quick that I found myself wishing it focused more on Kadence’s recovery time. That part of the novella is quickly grazed over. It was definitely hard to read the disconnect between two characters you’ve grown to love as a couple. Kadence is usually this feisty, straight-shooting woman, and to see her broken and lost was difficult. I wanted to reach through my kindle various times just to hug her, and Nix for that matter. When the two finally begin to find their footing, River throws a splash of much needed humor into the mix.
This book hit home for me. I didn’t want to admit it at the time, but I’m pretty sure I myself suffered through some form of postpartum depression. It’s a touchy subject which River approached with compassion and understanding. I’m so glad she chose to write this short novella. In fact, I wish it were a full length novel. I personally can’t get enough of Nix and Kadence and am looking forward to the next installment in the series. Desertion can’t come out soon enough!
Excerpt
“I don’t know what you want from me,” I whisper. Communication was never this hard. The distance growing further between us as each day passes makes me afraid that this is what we’ve become.
“I just want to bring you happiness, baby,” he sighs, but before I can tell him I don’t think he can, Harlow’s cries come through the monitor. I move off the bed to go to her, knowing she will need to be fed.
“You walk out of this room, Kadence, you walk out on me.” His cold tone stops me from moving any further. It’s the same tone he used in the bathroom. “Leave her,” he commands, but the thought of continuing this conversation, where we tear each other down, has me fighting him.
“Nix, I have to check on her.” I continue to the door.
“Don’t you dare leave this fuckin’ room. I’m important too. I’m your fuckin’ husband. Do you hear me? We are important.” His hand sweeps across his nightstand, causing one big crash that sends everything tumbling to the floor. I’m frozen in place, my hand resting on the door handle. The room is silent. The shock of what has gone on tonight so raw I don’t think either of us knows how to process it.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” I repeat, closing my eyes when Harlow’s cries grow louder, sending my anxiety rising. Doesn’t he know he’s only making it worse?
“Jesus, I don’t know. Give me a look, smile at me…fuckin’ touch me. Give me a connection that says we’re on the same fuckin’ side. I can’t continue to stay in this place we are in. I’m drowning here, Kadence. We both are, and I just don’t know if I can keep treading water for both of us. You have to help me, baby. You have to want us to survive.” He falls to the bed, his head dropping to his hands. Seeing him like this, in this state makes me realize that our situation is bigger than me, than him. It’s bigger than either one of us realize.
“That’s not fair.” I release the handle and turn, collapsing against the wall. The wind knocks out of me as his words resonate within me. We are drowning and I have to stop fighting. At this realization, my knees become weak. Standing becomes too hard. I slide down the wall, dropping my ass to the carpet.
“Life isn’t fair, Kadence. I wish it was, but it just isn’t. Look where we both have come from; look where life has taken us. We won’t survive if you won’t talk to me, Kadence. Talk to someone.” He stands to come to me, but having him in my space only makes things worse.
“Please don’t.” I draw in a breath, defeated. His frustration and concerns only prove what a bad mother I’ve been, what a bad wife I’ve become.
“Don’t what, Kadence? Don’t make me walk away. I want my wife back. I don’t know what’s happened, but I don’t like who you’ve become.” His voice is pained, as broken as my soul feels. His confession doesn’t surprise me, but it still burns. I know I don’t like who I’ve become. How do I expect Nix to like me?
“You don’t think I ask myself that question every day? That I don’t look at myself and ask what is wrong with me? I don’t know who I’ve become, Nix. All I know is I should. I should know who I am.” My head thuds against the wall in defeat. I can’t keep going on like this. I can hear Harlow’s cries quietening, as she resettles herself, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting out of this room.
“I know who you are, Kadence. You’re the woman I love. The most amazin’ mother to our daughter, our son.” Saying Z is my son pulls at me harder. The fact that he, too, is affected by what is happening hurts even more. Nix walks over and squats to my level, careful not to get into my space, but close enough for me to reach out and touch him if I wanted to.
“Why don’t I know that? I should know that Nix.”
“You don’t have to know. I know, the kids know and that’s enough.”
“It’s not enough for me.” My hand itches to touch him, to feel his hardness under my fingers, but sitting broken on the floor of our bedroom, I know I can’t. I can’t touch the man who means everything to me and I hate myself for it.
“When did you stop trustin’ yourself?”
“I don’t know. When did I stop being myself?” I counter, and my admission halts him for a moment. He crawls forward, coming closer into my space. His warmth, his calming presence wraps itself all over me.
“The first step is askin’ for help, baby. Let me help you. You don’t have to be alone. Let me learn to breathe the ugliness you see. Let me share the darkness, Kadence. Just don’t push me away.” His pleading pulls at me, pulls at the hatred that has settled inside.
“I’m not doing good, Nix,” I say, looking up and giving him what he needs. What I need. “Somewhere along the way, I woke completely lost and overwhelmed. And every day, it gets harder and harder to deal.” A sob tears from deep within me, and walls I’ve been hiding behind crumble down.
“I know, baby.” He pulls me into the hardness of his chest. “We’re gonna be okay,” he promises, and everything in me wants to believe him. Everything in me wants to trust he has me. That he has us. But the truth is, I’ve drowned in so much self-doubt and uneasiness, that trust seems so far away.
Purchase Links
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Series Reading Order
Incandescent (Knights Rebels MC #1)
Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA Amazon AU / B&N / Kobo / ibooks
Phoenix ‘Nix’ Knight thought pulling his club out of the illegal shit his Pops got them into was difficult.
Until he meets Kadence.
Kadence Turner has no business lusting over a student’s father, especially the president of the Knights Rebels MC. Nix is crass, obnoxious and dangerously sexy and for some reason, Kadence can’t seem to hate him for it. The bossy biker breaks down her defenses, but unlike the old Kadence, the woman she is today won’t give in without a fight.
The tension is undeniable, the attraction fierce. A man that wants what he wants and a woman that will fight him every step of the way.
****
Affliction
(Knights Rebels MC #2)
Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CAAmazon AU / B&N / Kobo / itunes
Three little words are all it takes to rip his world apart. Lost in his own affliction, Sy has been living in a darkness that he doesn't ever want to let go of.
Until she arrives and shines her light so bright that nothing else mattered.
She was only in it for the chase, for the thrill of capturing the unattainable.
But what happens when her world shatters around her, spiraling her into the darkness beside him?
Can his affliction be her resurrection?
Or will two lost souls living in the depths of deception let it destroy them?
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River Savage is the author of the Knights Rebels MC Series.
An avid reader of romance and erotic novels, her love for books and reading fueled her passion for writing. Reading no longer sated her addiction, so she started writing in secret. She never imagined that her dream of publishing a novel would ever be achievable. With a soft spot for an alpha male and a snarky sassy woman, Kadence and Nix were born.
Facebook / Twitter ( @RiverS_Author ) / Pinterest / Website / TSU / YoutubeEmail: riversavageauthor@gmail.com
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