He had kept her in his room to keep an eye on her round the clock, but now he wished he hadn’t. He needed the privacy of his room, he needed to think. Her story corroborated Liam’s own, so the boy couldn’t be lying, but someone was. The Shark paced the hallway in agitation. Damn whatever accursed thing had made him kidnap the girl in the first place. She was nothing but trouble. She was a liar, plotting against him with his enemies, and yet she still managed to retain the innocence in her eyes, to look at him so trustingly, her blue eyes seeking comfort from him like a child would. The Renaki males had a very peculiar way of punishing females through the art of love making, and the Shark found he could not do that to her, no matter her crimes, no matter what she did to him. That was one line he knew he would never cross. He could not beat her as well. He had never, and would never still resort to violence against females – but they were just too much trouble. With effort, he put h
Leywin walked over to his window and threw it open. It was not a beautiful view, it overlooked a dirty crowded street, but Leywin still spent time looking out before he finally turned back to face his friend. ‘’Do you realize you might have more to blame in this than she does? Why did you kidnap her, steal her from her father’s tribe, lie to her, seduce her, now you act as though she is the enemy.’’ The Shark smirked. ‘’You sound like her brother or something. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have more interests in her than you’d care to show.’’ ‘’Oh for fuck’s sake, don’t make this a jealousy thing now. Anyone with a heart would pity her plight.’’ ‘’And I don’t have a heart you mean?’’ The Shark snapped, his anger building. Leywin sighed and put down his now empty glass. ‘’What did you want me to talk to Shira about?’’ The Shark was quiet a bit, as his anger receded. He was getting a little hot tempered lately, that had never been him. He had always prided himself
The Shark noticed Shira was breathing unevenly, and the fright in her eyes was very visible. He did not blame her very much though, he had been very graphic when he outlined the punishment he had in mind for her. He had been wrong. He had been careless enough to allow himself get fooled by a fast thinking Renaki make, and perhaps to cover up for his own short comings, he had decided to focus his anger on her. The Rogue wondered why it had taken him so long to realize something that had taken leywin only a few minutes to find out. Shira had been telling the truth – about the bread and meat part. The smart Renaki had given her directions which put her in his path, and he had fallen for the trap hook, line, and sinker, persecuting Shira, and giving the Renaki all the time he needed to get away. There were some things that still did not add up with her story though, like what she meant by escaping in order to protect him, and what was it she had been saying about a raven? Perhap
With each tug, Shira felt the need to tug harder, suddenly, she was twisting and tugging like her life depended on it, and even the bruises only fueled her panic more, till she had worked herself into quite a state. “Stop it Shira!” The Shark snapped. And Shira stopped tugging, as the aftermath of her panic attack washed over her, leaving her shivering, and shaking. Her eyes sought his pleadingly, in anguish. “Please Lord Shark, can you untie me?” The Shark nodded simply, but made no move to get up from his chair. “As soon as you answer all of my questions – truthfully.” Shira was silent. What then would she say, when he asked her why she had stolen – to have enough money to train a raven perhaps, but what might her answer be when he asks her why she had needed to train a raven! “Who is the Renaki male to you?” His voice was cd, devoid of feeling – and yet, this same man had held her in his arms, loved her. “I have told you before, the Renaki male is no one
The Shark got on the nearest horse that belonged to him, once outside the inn, and against his better judgement, he pressed in his heels and set the animal off on top speed. Shira had been the one locked in, but he was the one feeling caged. Honor had never restrained him in the past, the way the sight of Shira’s tears restrained him. She seemed a gentle flower, innocent, pure, one he was tainting with his crude methods and devices. She was also a warrior – a human and female no doubt, but she had been trained in the art of war. He could not fault her swordplay, and he could not also deny that if her battle instructor had made her that good, then he might also be given credit for her beguiling mind. Did she have a beguiling mind, was the chief question. We’re her earnest declarations of love, and her ever ready tears simply an out pouring of her child -like heart, or were they the cunning workings of a mind forever trained to battle. He remembered his former mate, but for s
Liam was running out of time. Sweat trickled down his back as he paced the length of his tiny room, wondering what to do. Six years. Six years of bowing to the enemy, six years of using Walikan scent, and speaking Walikan language. Six years of hiding who he truly was, the son of the most important Alpha in Renaki. And now, his hard work was about to pay off. His father would soon celebrate him as his heir, the way he truly deserved. He only needed to come up with a way to take Leywin out of the picture once and for all. His father needed the girl. Liam chuckled softly to himself. It was funny how the Walkans thought. His father could have tried abducting Farok himself – as impossible a feat as that was obviously going to be, but then after that, no one would be able to force the Alpha to do anything he did not want to do – on the other hand, all they needed to do was kidnap Farok’s mate, and then the Walikan Alpha would be forced to by his silly honor code to do everything wit
Liam hit Shira a quick blow over the head, and waited until he felt her weight deaden, before he lifted her out of the room. He was itching to join Sir Baristan’s soldiers in their defeat of the Shark’s males, but he still needed to keep his cover. Togu, his father’s lieutenant of ambush quickly took Shira from him, and he went once again to fight along side his enemies. “Need some help!” Stark called out to him, and Liam snatched his dagger, still soaked in Leywin’s blood, and went up to assist him. Stark was surrounded by Sir Baristan’s males, and for a savage moment, Liam did not care if he killed any one of his father’s males. They were expendable, his father could replace them any time, they were not Sir Baristan’s blood. And it would serve his father right for forcing him into such exile, to fight along side his enemies. He rushed into the fray, stabbing down one of his father’s males who had put Stark in a precarious angle. “Thanks male!” Stark acknowledg
The Shark sat alone by the night fire that did not serve to take the chill from his flesh. His flesh felt cold, but the blood that pounded through his veins was warm, it called for revenge, for destruction. Zadick, his physician, and the team he had come with had done what they could for his crew, but they were going to heal slowly. His physician had been able to come up with the patent for the poison serum, but he had not come up with an antidote yet. He was stuck now, with fifty of his men injured, seven dead, and his best friend unconscious. And his mate – There was still a tiny possibility that Shira was innocent, that it was Liam who had lied against her, and only Leywin could clear that up. The Shark had made sure Leywin was never left alone with Liam, but he did not believe the lad was capable of that. And Liam had worked tirelessly to ensure as many of the crew as could be saved were saved. He could not fault the lad’s obedience. Shira on the other hand had been