I make my way down the hall to Three Horses, who is sending out the troops now. Normally I would send my brother to take care of this, but since that bastard's lying on the floor in a pool of his blood, Which is because of me. After he say sorry to me, I punched him twice, I have to. Three Horses looks up at me and nods in acknowledgment."I just sent fifty men into the Forest of Thieves to take care of business. They'll look until dark and then the midnight the guard will keep watch until sunrise." Three Horses tells me, leaning against the wall. "Do you know where your brother is? I have to discuss a few things with him."I can feel myself heat up again. I stand against the cool wall to breathe the freezing air in through my pores. "He's lying in a puddle right now. Anything you have to say, I can tell himlater." I say it nonchalantly. Three Horses looks at me like I've just grown a second head out of my right shoulder. Because since the beganning he is the in charge of the troop
Three Horses ended him quickly. Why would he walk in the forest alone? This question is also bothering me. In the campsite, they found plans and strategies they were carrying over to Pateros. The Bellechestermen were spies, planning to peer into Stauckana for a few moments before leaving to cross through the Vibrant Mountains on a hidden path.Are they unprepared or they just did that to distract us all...No matter what it is, nothing seems good but whatever I predict and say to Cesar, he just doesn't seem to listen with interest. Maybe he thinks he has better plans but as a Bellechester common woman, I have a better plan than him. Then how better plan do the men of the three Kingdom have as unity.Up until last night, this hidden path in Pateros remained unknown to the kingdom of Stauckana. They call it the "Black Path." It leads down so deep through the Vibrant Mountains that not a flicker of light is to be seen. It is a dirt path and the bones of dead animals that had gottentrappe
Mrudula ran toward me and hold me tightly. Saving me from falling because I am pregnant.My hand winds into her hair and tugs the black strands by the roots. "You will never say that again!" I scream at her. "Ilove him! I love him more than you could ever love anyone— He is King of Barbarian."I'm yanked away by Evalyn and Mrudula. who try to calm me down. Arlena and Camellia just watch Ivona cry on the floor, holding an old rag to her nose to stop the bleeding.They give her a disgusted look. This war is making me go mad. I rush out of the room and down the hallway, tears running down my cheeks. "I can't do it," I cry softly. Cesar is gone. Black Bear is gone. The war is raging. Bellechester will try and assassinate me, I know it. They are known for their exotic poisons and skilled assassins. My baby kicks inside of my stomach. I cradle mygrowing belly in my hands and lean against the wall in the hallway.I'm tired. I'm so tired.I felt two hands hold me and hugged me tightly. I
"How his forehead with his hand."I know, You are scared," he says. "It's okay. I'm here now. You don't have to worry about those Barbarians anymore. One down, plentymore to go."I push him away from me. I held Mrudula's arm and we both stood up. He doesn't understand. Cordelllooks surprised at my actions. "Stop it," I murmur. I'm wipingmy eyes with my sleeve as I look towards the flap of thetent. My ankles are tied with ropes just in case I tried to get away.After seeing my belly protruding from my dress, Cordell's face goes bright red. He walked closer to me, Pushing Mrudula away as hard as she fell on the floor. "El…Elizabella," he murmurs. "Are youwith child?" I don't quite hear him at first. All I know is that I'm upset and I don't want to be here and I need to save myself, my child, and Mrudula.I start murmuring things softly in Hausa, trying to soothe myself with the words of Cesar's ancestors. Cordell's soft mood quickly darkens into a much scarier one. He slams his f
Throughout the course of the evening, I sit against my tree and watch the men talk battle plans and feast upon a dinner that makes my mouth water beyond belief. Constantly Cesar is on my mind. The demons of winter come that night as the men are getting ready to head into their tents for thenight. One throws me a blanket and I greedily snatch it up into my hands, trying to salvage all of the warmth from it. The fire is put out as the last of the men are retreating into their tents for the night. I see Cordell standing by the dying embers. He looks menacing and crazed.I look away from his face and into the desolate forest surrounding me. I hate him, I hate him A lot. He speaks up then. "Don't worry, Elizabella. You won't die in the cold tonight, I have so much revenge for you" he whispers. I still refuse to look at him. "The gods have spoken to me, and we havedecided to use you and your betrayal to our advantage. Tomorrow we shall travel to where your bastard husband is stationed. I
I move my frozen limbs in the snow. I cringe and cry out in pain. "I…I can't move. It hurts so badly."His big brown eyes stare into mine. "Don't give up. You have to come to me" His outline flickers again. He's going to leave soon. The snow is slowly burying me. I can no longer see my feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see a tall, dark figure creeping behind, Cesar. I try to warn him, but my mouth was frozen and I can't seem to work my tongue.He's looking down at the snow, his hand clenching mine tightly. My eyes widen and my breathing speeds up. The snow is slowly covering my face. The dark figure raises a sword. I cry out for him to move, but my hand has frozen him to the gates.The sword comes down hard on him, beheading my lover. I want to scream, I want to cry. But as the last of the snowfall from the desolate sky, my eyes are covered from the horrid the sight of my king's glassy brown eyes staring at me from where he laid in the snow. I'm falling, tumbling through a sno
It takes me a few minutes when I wake up to trulyunderstand why the trees are racing past me, and why my bed smells like an animal. When I finally realize that I'm on the back of a running horse, my eyes fly open as my mouth emits a gasp that startles the rider.My hands and feet are bound together and I'm tied to the horse so tightly that I wouldn't fall off if the mount took a tricky turn or jump. Snow is fresh on this ground, so I know that we're far from where the camp was. I don't say anything when the horse begins to slow down.There are other men on horseback, their armour gleaming in the bright sunlight, their breath rolling from their lips like puffs of dragon smoke. The bitter winter cold bites at my cheeks and nose, making the normal porcelain white skin turn a rather odd shade of scarlet.The pounding of horse hooves against the ground echoes in my head, their strong legs powering through the light snow that would normally slow them down quite a bit. But these horses are
As this something stirs, I can feel the most excruciating pain in my life come back to haunt me. My bones are breaking, shrinking smaller. My skin is splitting, my fur falling away as human skin takes the place of it. My wolf howl is cut off asmy fangs are back to human teeth and human lips form a human scream rather than a howl.And here I am, standing naked as day before my wife and my warriors. My shoulders heave up and down—that whole process was physically exhausting. "C-Ces—" I don't even give her time to finish.In one step I am by her side, clutching her frail body to mine, burying my nose into the collar of her neck. And she's hugging me back. "I almost lost you," I sob into her shoulder. The memories of the knife to her neck, the whip stripping the porcelain skin from her back."And I almost lost you," she sobs right back to me. "I didn't know if you could ever change back." She pulls away to look at me. I'm naked and not having seen my body in weeks makes a faint blush
“Who? Me? You can't hold me against my will Mr. Edwards. I have rights and people will be looking for me. Besides, I'm not the one with glowing eyes.” She accused.“Yes you do have rights.” Lucas took Elsa's hand and turned to leave giving Jason a private look as he left.Jason read his meaning, the girl was his.“where are you going? Lucas, Elsa….I'm talking to you!” she yelled as Lucas shut the door.“Are you going to hurt her?”“No, Elsa, there are other ways.” He nearly took her life when she had brought information of Elsa, but he'd since changed his mind, “She is no threat to us.” He led her to his door, opened it, and allowed her to enter first. Elsa noticed that the room looked as though nothing had happened only a few hours ago. The table and chairs by the fire were gone, obviously broken. She shuddered at the images of the fight. She turned and faced Lucas, “Will that…that is…” She didn't know exactly what to call him.“Jack.”“Yes.” She involuntary touched her neck where h
Ted caught up with her halfway down the hall. “Why don't you believe at least one of us?”She stopped and turned to him, “Because Tanya's story is full of holes. She never wanted Elsa near Lucas in the first place. She tried her best to sabotage that date they had the other night and she treated her like crap. Now she has made up this ridiculous story to make him look like a freak. He is a respected, honest businessman and no one has been able to discredit him, professionally or otherwise.” Linda shook her angrily, “She must think we're stupid enough to believe this crazy story or she would have never told us about it.”“You should always believe your friends. Think of how frightened she was of him and how frightened I was when I saw him last night.”“Of course you were. He's quite intimidating, being so wealthy and all. And you did trick his girlfriend into going out with you. I'm sure you would be fit to kill if someone did that to you. Also, Tanya is a good actress.”“What about
“Natie.” Elsa said in greeting, not knowing what else to say. Despite the woman being a brunette, her short cropped hair had blond and auburn streaks throughout. To Elsa, it actually looked pretty good. She was a heavy set woman and when she smiled dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth making her look undeniably cute and trustworthy. “And this is Melody,” she placed her hand on the other woman's shoulder, “She is an expert in fashion.”“Melody.” Elsa greeted still gaping . Melody was a tall, lovely, thin woman, who was evidently no stranger to fashion. There wasn't a wrinkle on her tan slacks, white embroidered blouse, and multicolored scarf that she wore loosely around her neck and draped over her left shoulder and chest.“It's nice to meet you Miss Collins.” She stated genuinely. She turned back to Elsa, “I know they seem like normal staff here on the estate, but Mr. Edwards does not hire simple staff. We all are highly educated.” She reached up and tipped Elsa's mouth
Bob Mathews had been a truck driver for twenty three years. He hadn't a wife or kids, so his job was his life. He had tried the wife thing once, but like everything else in his life, it didn't pan out. The only thing that he stayed with him through his fifty six years, had been his love for the big trucks and the lonely roads. He was definitely a shallow man, who had seen too many bar fights and women who found men that drove the big rigs appealing, but they weren't the kind of women you'd bring home to your ma. He tucked a cigarette in his mouth as his right hand searched for his lighter on the seat. He was singing, rather badly, to an old Willie Nelson tune as he watched the road ahead. A light drizzle made him turn on the wipers. His hand was still searching for his lighter, and out of frustration, he took his eyes off the road and glanced down. He quickly found it and flicked it, causing an eerie glow inside the cab. He released the little red tab causing the flame to extinguish,
Dreadful realization hit her as his words sunk in. He thought she was worthless compared to his mortal pet! She turned and slammed her fists against the wall. He couldn't do this to her. He told her he still cared about her. She could try and make him love her again. No, that was impossible, she saw the way he looked at that woman in his bed. She never thought she could witness that kind of emotion from him. Her features began to change in her turmoil. He didn’t mean it, he was angry, her mind tried to reason and she would prove it, “I could kill her.” Her words had the opposite effect.His eyes flashed instant fury, “Not if you value your life Celeste!” his voice reflected the incredible power he held. Her face registered alarm and she crouched in front of him at his threat, “Could you kill me Lucas?” she hissed through her teeth. “Is she worth it?”He didn't hesitate, “Yes!”“Over here! Over a mortal!”“Yes!” he roared.“You are a fool Lucas, she is mortal!”“Not for much longer, y
She'd never felt such joy at the feeling of his flesh fully against hers. His firm body pressed her into the mattress and she relished the protection of his weight. She could feel his hand down her leg and gently, pulled it up against his waist as he settled between her thighs. His hand then circled down and cupped her bottom, causing her to lift her hips against him. She struggled to catch her breath against the electrifying feeling his hands did to her skin. She needed something from him that she couldn't say or know. He'd awakened an immeasurable desire in her and every inch of her being flared with tingling heat. She gasped loudly as he entered her. He covered her mouth with his bringing her back to their ecstasy. She moaned against him and he began to move within her. She expected pain, but there was none. The feeling was electrifying and it created a hunger in her. She wanted more. She moved underneath him in time with his thrusts. Lucas loved the chase; it was almost his fav
She put her fingertips on his lips, “Then let me stay and maybe something will change on how we feel, and that this is just mere infatuation. Or maybe it will just reinforce how we feel for each other and this is real. Either way, I have to know.”She had a valid point. He knew this was real, because this was new to him and he'd been infatuated many times. This wasn't just infatuation, “I have a dark side Elsa.”“We all do.” “You may not like what you see.”“Impossible.” She breathed.He groaned and for the second time kissed her. She had won.Ted lay in his bed staring wide awake at the blanched plaster ceiling of his dorm room. He was pissed off at Linda for laying the blame at his door about Brad. He fumed about it for the last two hours before he rolled over and succumbed to a restless sleep.When Emily returned to her apartment, she noticed the door had been pried. Without thinking someone could still be in her apartment, she pushed open the door and walked in. She turned on t
Her eyes narrowed, “I have had enough of your insensitivity. It's no wonder Elsa doesn't fall for you. You are rude, sarcastic, and a liar.”He glared back at her, “What is it with you? Why can't you just leave me alone? I have tried to tell you that I'm not interested in you, but you just can't take the hint! You're like that cat that came back. Take a hint! You are a spoiled rich daddy's the girl who cries if she can't get what she wants and you treat your friends like dirt.”Her mouth fell, “Oh! Really! At least my friends have a higher I.Q. then a rock,” She was referring to Dirk by a thrust of her thumb over her shoulder at the door of Deter's, “and I'm not the one who tricks naïve girls into your little love schemes…” He was about to protest, but she refused to let him interrupt, “Give me some credit, how obvious was that with Elsa? At least I'm honest and upfront about the things I want!”He grew angry and seized her by the arms. The only time he ever laid his hands on a woma
“but Lucas, to anyone else it looked…”“…You forget, I'm not everyone else.”She looked at him, “You make this too easy.”“It should be.”She buried her face in her hands and sighed, “See, I don't know how you know all that and all the other things I feel. I've never felt like this before and you're so sure about yourself and how you feel,” She looked at him, “I just don't know how to deal with this.”“There is no need to be afraid.” He pulled her closer to him and left his arms around her, “just go with it. “ he nuzzled the top of her head with his nose, closing his eyes at her exhilarating scent, “And I've never felt this way before either.”She pulled back and looked at him her eyes wide with wonder, “really?”He smiled, in all of her wide-eyed innocence she was very breathtaking. “Really? You don't have to worry. It will take care of itself. ” His hand came up and stroked her soft cheek as she laid his head against his arm.“I hope so.” She murmured.He leaned down and kissed the