Forsaken Hearts — Susanne L. Lambdin

Forsaken Hearts is the second book in the Dead Hearts Novel Series, set a few weeks after the pivotal battle at Pike's Peak, fought between the Fighting Tigers (and all the teenage scout patrol) against a group of scavengers and a zombie horde. After the Freedom Army are nearly destroyed in the same battle, Cadence and her scout patrol take the survivors to a new camp at the Seven Falls. Cadence, now 18, is working to maintain the fragile peace at the survivors' encampment, but dissent within the ranks splits the camp into factions. Cadence is infected. She's not a zombie, nor a vampire, but has turned into a Chameleon - a superhuman. Not only is she immune to all disease, aging, and regenerates at an accelerated level, she may end up faster and stronger than the vampires who have come to Colorado Springs. But others at camp like Thor and Loki of the Vikings, Xena and Phoenix of the Amazons, and all of China Six want to become Chameleons, too. Infecting survivors is the last thing Highbrow, Cadence's second-in-command, wants to see happen, and he'll do whatever it takes to prevent another outbreak. A few girls from the Head Hunters and Amazons, infected by a diseased puma, have created a new werepuma pride led by Luna. The werepumas are loyal to Cadence, but Highbrow doesn't want the shape shifters in camp. Highbrow also doesn't want vampires around, but the Shadowguard, led by the Kaiser, have moved into the former Colorado Springs Air Force Academy. Renamed the Citadel, the Kaiser and the Shadowguard are expanding the vampire empire across all of the United States, and they have their glowing eyes focused on Cadence's camp at the Seven Falls. Not only do the humans provide an easy food source, their best fighters are being abducted and taken to the Citadel to fight in the televised Death Games. The Death Games take place at the former Falcon football stadium, pitting zombies against humans, humans against vampires or shape shifters, and zombie cyborgs against champions. Now that the Kaiser has electricity up and running, along with phone lines, it seems perfectly natural for a new TV show to be aired worldwide - the Death Games - gory, bloody, and a hit among the growing vampire community. But a small group of vampire rebels don't agree with the Kaiser. The Dark Angels, led by Dr. Rose Standish, have vowed to help protect the human race. When Rose and the Dark Angels arrive at Cadence's new camp at the Seven Falls, offering their support and protection, they also bring a possible cure to the virus. But when a Fighting Tiger is bitten by a zombie, it's a mad scramble to find a real cure in time; and the cure just may be Cadence's blood, called Chameleon Blood, that offers the solution. Thor and the Vikings certainly think so, but so does the Shadowguard, who now want to capture Cadence for their own diabolical agenda. Just when you thought zombies offered the only threat in town, now there's vampires. The Shadowguard are growing in number and Vampire Lords and Vampire Makers popping up all around the world, with the most powerful, Lord Salvatore D'Aquilla, eager to become the Kaiser's greatest ally. His own version of the Death Games in Italy are creating quite a stir, and when Cadence and her new team, called the X-Treme Team, find themselves exiled from camp, a few of them might just be end up in the arena. But if Cadence can prevent the Kaiser and his Vampire Lords from seizing power, she may yet save the human race, and that's just what she plans to do; with the help of the Dark Angels. PROTECT THE PEAK OF JOIN THE HORDE. BUT READ THE DEAD HEARTS SERIES. Morbid Hearts (on sale) Forsaken Hearts (on sale) Vengeful Hearts (coming soon) Defiant Hearts (coming soon) Immortal Hearts (coming soon)