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Unpublished early work under another pen name...
Meet the proto-Abertha!
He'd march across worlds for her...
In the Lushwaste, the prison plane where the universe’s vanquished are exiled, Ilex leads his march across a barren world, in search of his mate. She is not just fated to be his female. She will be the queen and savior of his kind. Finally, after years, her scent lures him to an enemy stronghold, and after a vicious battle, he discovers Mae—a filthy, scarred wretch, not even one of his people. It must be spell work, a plot by the witch who claims she’s been keeping his mate safe for him. Ilex condemns Mae and the witch to the waste, and he walks away. He doesn’t get far before he’s reminded that nothing is as it appears in the Lushwaste. And that if you turn your back for a second, all you’ve longed for can disappear in the wind.
March Lord is a sci fi/fantasy romance in third person, single POV, written long before Cate knew what she was doing. Be forewarned! Intended for adult readers only.
Review from Eva, Goodreads
"March Lord is an interesting book. It's - in parts - like a test version of the Five Packs series only behind a completely different context. I found it interesting to see how different books can be linked through parallel references without them matching at first glance. You really only notice this if you've read a few books in the Five Pack series beforehand. Otherwise, March Lord is a completely independent story, which I felt was definitely worth reading.
Mae and Ilex have their troubles with each other in this story. They are a very unlikely couple and yet their opposites couldn't be more complementary. And the witch Verna? - She really is a beta version of Abertha; albeit carved from a raw wood (But not in a bad sense).
I recommend reading this story to anyone who appreciates characters that lift the mood of the plot with their dry humor and who elicit a shake of the head and a smile from the reader through their "creative fighting methods".