Her Mates' Touch

Chapter One

His horse was reaching it's limit. He could feel it's heart thrumming against his calves like a trapped drum-it's mouth agape and frothing. The beast wheezed, and he worried it would collapse from under him. But he couldn't stop to let it rest. There wasn't any time. He forced it through tough thickets of thorns, over fallen trees and around obstacles so quickly that he feared he'd break his own neck. His legs were sore and his hands were running themselves raw with all of the yanking and jerking of the reigns. And his pursuers were closing in fast. When Nolan had devised this route, he had figured that no one would pursue him through the Forbidden Forest because it was labeled "forbidden" for a reason. He was certain the only forces he'd have to tackle through it would have been the occasional wild dog or angry bird. What he hadn't expected was the caravan of bandits waiting just within the brush, and for them to be so well concealed that he wouldn't notice them until they were on