series and I hope to pick it up again soon.
The two characters in this story are actually the same too from the Halloween short, Cat Out of Hell. I just had too much fun with those two characters to let them go so quickly. Anyway, hope you like Katrina and Joey's story...
Salvation, however, finds her. Joey’s been looking for her since the night he saved her from the werewolves. Katrina ran from him. She saw him take the form of a leopard on that fateful night and he can’t undo that. To her, he’s not much different than the creatures that hunt her.
Yet Joey is determined to make Katrina his. He can offer her protection among his kind in the new town they inhabit. He can take care of her, save her from a life on the street.
And he can seduce her, bringing her hours of pleasure unlike anything she’s ever known in the human world…
Remember Joey from Eyes of the Leopard 5: Captive and Cat Out of Hell? He's back along with the rest of your favorite demon leopards and their mates. Find out what happens and enjoy the new Leopard Tails.
Reviews:
"I really enjoyed this book for several different reasons. First, I enjoyed revisiting the previous heroes and heroines from this series and getting to know Joey. Also, Ms. Jordan has a way of writing that makes it very hard to put down the book. Don’t forget the ice water because her sex scenes are totally hot. I was entertained from the beginning and certainly am looking forward to reading more about these men and women." - 4 1/2 Hearts, Lisa Freeman, The Romance Studio
"Whew, what a world Katrina has found herself in. Just when she thought that she had seen it all with the werewolves, the man they pimp her out to turns into a leopard. Joey knows he can keep Katrina safe and happy, if she would just trust him. They are very good together and the sex is unlike anything Katrina has had before, tender, hot, passionate and all for her. The story is well paced and keeps the reader interested in the little corner of the world that Joey and his friends have made for themselves. I am looking forward to reading about the other characters that were introduced in the story. This story stands alone very well, and still entices the reader to go back and read about the others, and look forward to those that are coming." - 4 stars, Brigit Aine, JERR
"The follow-up to the delicious Halloween treat, OUT OF HELL, ALCHEMIST is an erotic and suspense filled little nibble that just wets the appetite for more of these dangerous and seductive leopard shifters." - Isabelle Spencer, RRT Erotic
"Alchemist is the first in a new series that builds off characters in Ms. Jordan’s Eyes of the Leopard series. I enjoyed the world in which this story takes place, and I loved Joey, a hero with a tortured past who was gentle and very protective of Katrina. Alchemist is the start to what should be a fun series." - Amelia, Joyfully Reviewed
"Leopard Tails: Alchemist is an engaging story centered on a pack of shape-shifting leopards and the humans that share their small circle. This is the first story in a new series by Isabella Jordan. The interaction between Katrina and Joey is sizzling hot and tender at times, too. With a bit of suspense that will surprise readers, the plot is light-hearted and enjoyable. The secondary characters create a world that readers will be interesting in visiting again. This reader is looking forward to the next installment. Isabella Jordan has done a great job at creating memorable characters in Joey and Katrina. It had been months since this reader read the short story, Cat out of Hell by this same author, but I instantly remembered the story upon starting this one. Nice job." - 4 Angels, Shayley, Fallen Angels Reviews
"Leopard Tails: Alchemist is an intriguing story set in a world of shapeshifting black leopards, and the few humans with whom they have shared their secret. It’s also the first in Ms. Jordan’s new series that follows this interesting group. While on the surface, this novella might appear to be a little dark due to what happened to Katrina to make her run. If you’ll look deeper, it’s anything but. It’s a fast paced and light-hearted look into an unfamiliar world where the shapeshifters just want what everyone else has…love, happiness and family. The sex between Katrina and Joey is both tender and passionate as they struggle to find a place in each other hearts. There’s also just enough suspense to keep the story interesting and the surprise twist at the end on finding out who the culprit is will make you laugh. The secondary characters are a great addition to the plotline, enriching the overall story. I look forward to the next tale in this series with Leopard Tails: Submissive in the future." - Mystical Nymph, Literary Nymphs
Excerpt:
"This is going to shock you," Joey warned her.
Katrina took a drink of the tea he'd made for her, enjoying its subtle mint flavor. She sat curled in one of the plush chairs in his living room. Joey's house was only a couple of blocks from Ilia and Molly's and just as nice as theirs. Katrina loved the wrap around porch and the tall windows. The interior could use a little more decoration she thought, but all in all it was a very nice place.
"Considering what I've been through the last few months, I don't think there is much you can tell me that would shock me, Joey."
Joey leaned forward on the couch to rest his elbows on his knees. His dark eyes were searched her face, his expression guarded.
"Up until last year, Katrina, I lived in a laboratory." His deep sigh filled the room. "It was the only place I'd ever known. I was created there."
Katrina's mind spun with questions at his admission, but she didn't want to push too much. She didn't have to know everything right at this moment. The look in his eyes let her know that he was watching her reaction closely, looking for acceptance or rejection. Her acceptance, she sensed, was important to him and she made the decision to try and listen with an open mind.
"You were created?" she asked, trying not to use a negative tone.
Joey nodded.
"Like a test tube baby?"
"Exactly. Only there was no mother who carried me inside her. I grew in incubators and machines until I was ready to enter the world as any other infant would."
"So you were a human as a baby, right?"
Joey smiled a little at that. "Right."
"Were there others like you?"
"Yes. One of them is here. Alex. You'll meet him. We escaped together. Rather, he was already planning to escape and he let me tag along with him."
Katrina set her glass aside, thinking through what he'd told her so far. He'd been created in a lab? If she hadn't seen the things she had already, she might not have believed him.
As it was, she had no reason not to believe him. And he was watching her with such hopeful eyes. That alone had her heart squeezing in her chest.
"Who created you, Joey?"
"We're not sure," he explained. "The only thing we do know for certain is that they will kill us if they find us. They've already tried a couple of times."
"Sure, you're proof of their misconduct." Katrina nodded. "I just can't help but wonder why they would create you that way, half man, half leopard. What did they hope to accomplish?"
"I don't think they originally created us, Katrina. I think they created a copy of something they found out in nature."
"So that's what you meant about some of you being born into the world?"
"Yes. Alex, Nicole, and I were all created in that lab in New York. Somehow they got DNA from another of our kind, someone who was naturally born this way."
"Who is Nicole?"
"She was in Alex's litter. She's married to Vitali, Ilia's brother."
Litter? Wow.
"Where are they from?" Katrina went on.
"The Kerensky's are from Serbia. They have a sister named Nadia who moved here. She's married to another Serbian, Mikhail. They have a son together and they have a nanny from their country, but I don't know for sure if she's one of us. I suspect she is."
Katrina was asking a lot of questions when she hadn't intended to but she just couldn't help herself. They were popping into her mind faster than she could think.
"So that son will be like you guys."
"Right."
"The Kerensky's are naturally what the men at the lab made you to be," Katrina reasoned.
"That's right. They'd never had any dealings with the scientists though. They have this whole legend of how they came to be. Vitali even has some spooky painting in his home. He told Alex the whole thing one night and Alex told me. It's all about barbarians and dark magic. Creepy stuff."
It was fascinating to Katrina to learn that there were creatures like them existing in the world and the world was completely unaware of them. They knew the moment some politician made a joke that could be misinterpreted or got a blow job under his desk, but they didn't have a clue that these leopard people or werewolves existed. Incredible.
"So you can just change into leopard whenever you feel like it?"
"When we feel threatened, yes, we can change. Sometimes anger will bring it on. The biggest problem is sex."
"Sex?"
"We can only mate with our own kind, Katrina. Mating with a human will bring on the change as well. You have to realize that there aren't very many of us. For some of us, having humans for lovers is our only option. Not that it's a sacrifice." Joey winked at her on that last bit.
"Wait." Now she was confused. "I'm human and you've made love to me."
"I know. I'm able to avoid changing when I make love to you with drugs. The scientists in the lab developed pills that prevented us from changing as an experiment. Somehow, Alex was able to smuggle a bunch of these out when we escaped but that supply won't last forever. We need to find some way to replicate the pills. If we can find a way to do that, we can live free of this half-life shit and just be like normal people."
What an awful situation for them to be in. It had to be a bleak existence.
"You were able to change to fight the werewolves."
"Well, we can fight through the pills' effect if we are endangered. We figured that out fast."
"And then you just change back?"
"Not just." His expression darkened on that note. "In order to return to our human form, we have to kill."
Kill? Shit.
"Kill what?"
Joey shrugged, appearing uneasy now. "Killing a human is guaranteed to work. According to Vitali and Ilia, killing a large animal works just as well. That would work in a pinch and there are a few farms up here. I can't imagine the farmers would be very happy."
Katrina now understood the seriousness of their plight. Unless they were lucky enough to find someone of their own kind to be with, they had to secure the drugs the scientists developed or be alone. Otherwise they'd be forced to kill and that would put them at risk. With today's forensics they could be discovered easily if they were suspected of killing livestock, wild animals, or worse, humans. If the world found out about them disaster was certain. She couldn't imagine what would happen to them.
"How many of you did they make?"
"There were three primary litters. Not many of us survived. Once we were old enough, they injected us with hormones, threw us into the breeding room, and let us have at it. Then they didn't have to create others. They just let us fuck each other silly and each year the females produced young. Every January it started to coincide with the mating cycle of leopards in the wild. Even now, without them shooting me full of that shit, it's a hard three months to get through. It's like being unbelievably horny and nothing you do brings you release or relief."
"What did they do with the babies?"
Joey's expression held a hint of sadness.
"I don't know. They kept the males separate from the females. I never saw them."
"You could have children that…"
Joey nodded slowly.
How scary. Was it the government doing that to them? Independent researchers playing God? Well, she was glad that Joey was out of there. They would be on the lookout from the men who'd made them just as she would be on the lookout for the wolves. In that, she completely sympathized.
"I wonder what they intended to do with you," Katrina said, thinking out loud.
"I think about that all the tine, Katrina. I don't know. I really don't know."
Okay, now they were getting really gloomy. Katrina had enough of gloom and desperation over the last few months to last a lifetime. She had a roof over her head, food to eat, and she was starting to feel safe.
"Well, you're all here and safe now. You're working together to have more of those drugs made. Do that and you guys can be like normal people, just like you said."
Relief slowly crept into his face as she spoke.
"We are all safe here now."
Joey rose from the couch and approached her. She wanted him to, so she stood and waited.
His mouth slanted down over hers, halting her words and claiming her with a kiss that wiped her mind clean of all else. It was different from the patient, nurturing kisses he'd treated her to before. This kiss was demanding, masterful. It revealed the darker, dangerous side of the man who was now her lover.
That kiss and the heat that had built in her body while they'd been talking, combined to send pulses of pure heat racing through her blood. With an urgency that surprised her, she wanted him. She needed him now.
Katrina began to kiss him back with a demand that equaled his and he crushed her to him. Joey went wild, primitive, tearing at her blouse and jeans. He growled low in his throat with the same desperation that she felt while he rapidly shed his own clothing.
Roughly Joey turned her away from him so that she was facing the filmy, white curtains covering a large picture window. She caught a glimpse of the fading sun while she stood there in the grip of the most powerful lust she'd ever experienced, aware that anyone walking along the street right now would get quite a show. Joey's rough hands pulled her back against him, the feel of his naked flesh pressed tightly to hers was a powerful sensation that made her pussy walls quiver.
Katrina's skin quickly heated and his own burned her back like flames. Joey bent her forward and thrust his cock fully into her until his balls slapped against her.
Oh, yes. He stretched her, filled her in a way that made her desperate for more. When he began to move within her, she gasped in pure pleasure. The angle at which his cock filled her pussy was amazing and devastating, hitting sensual triggers inside her that she never knew existed.
This series is tied to the Eyes of the Leopard series and I hope to pick it up again soon. 
