Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“You son of a bitch, how dare you touch my wife!” Bear’s big hand tightened around the assailant’s throat.
“I…didn’t…know,” the man choked. His eyes were bulging from their sockets and he was clearly having a hard time breathing now. His face was getting darker and darker as Bear choked him.
Aleena couldn’t say anything—she couldn’t even get up or make a move to cover herself though both her breast shield and her skirts were flipped up, exposing her. She felt frozen to the dirty ground of the alley watching in horror as her new husband seemed to swell and grow to the size of a monster as he choked the life out of the man who had attacked her.
“You’ll pay for what you did to her. You’ll die for what you did!” he roared.
There was a cracking sound and suddenly the man’s head was lolling limply to one side and the life had left his eyes. Aleena felt cold all over as she realized what had happened.
Bear had broken the assailant’s neck with one hand and now he was standing over her with a menacing growl still rumbling in his deep chest.
The huge Kindred tossed the attacker aside. The body landed in the alley like a bundle of rags and just lay there, not moving. Then the red eyes turned towards Aleena and she felt her stomach fill with ice.
Her husband was out for vengeance. He had found her in the act of cheating on him—even though she didn’t want to cheat and let another man change the color of her eyes, it didn’t matter. By Karpsian law, rape was still considered cheating, even if it was against the woman’s will. Bear had punished the man she’d been with and she was no doubt next!
Aleena was certain she was going to die.
27
BEAR
Aleena started scrambling away, her eyes wide with fear. After a moment, some of the red haze began to clear from his vision and Bear realized it was him she was afraid of.
He had gone into Rage when he saw her being attacked—it was a berserker-like fury that all Kindred warriors felt when they saw that the woman they loved was in danger. It made a Kindred look even more fierce and frightening than usual—he must have scared her when he’d killed the attacker who had been on top of her.
“Aleena—” he began, reaching for her, but she shrank away.
“I’m sorry, my Lord Husband!” she gasped, huddling in a corner. Her face had gone pale in the dim light of the alley and she was shaking with fear. “Please,” she begged. “Please, don’t kill me!”
“Kill you?” Bear said, frowning. “Why would I kill you, baby? I came here to save you!”
But his words seemed to have no effect.
“I’m sorry!” Aleena was crying now. “He didn’t change the color of my eyes, even though he tried—please, my Lord Husband—don’t hurt me!”
Bear realized that she was too upset to understand that he truly wasn’t mad at her. Settling beside her on the dirty pavement, he scooped her trembling body into his arms.
“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry,” she kept repeating.
“It’s okay…it’s all right, baby. Everything is going to be all right.” Bear cradled her soft little body close to his chest and stroked her long coppery hair.
At last, she quieted against him and stopped apologizing but he could still hear her crying. The sound tore at his heart.
“Aleena, sweetheart, please don’t cry,” he begged softly. “I promise I’m not mad at you and I swear I would never hurt you.”
“You…you’d feel d-different if you knew what I d-did,” she whispered brokenly.
“Come on,” he said, standing up with her still in his arms. “Let’s get out of this stinking alley so we can talk and you can tell me all about it.”
He carried her back to the waiting hovercoach and put her inside. Then he got in beside her and ordered the coach to take them home.
On the way there, Aleena was quiet and withdrawn. She looked down at her hands with red-rimmed eyes and didn’t say a word. Her skirt was torn and her hair was a mess. There was dirt smudged on her pretty face—she was probably in shock, Bear thought. The attack he had witnessed had been brutal—he wondered if he had gotten to her in time. He would have to examine her once they got home, to see if she needed treatment.
He tried not to remember the sight he’d seen—the attacker on top of Aleena and her clothing all in disarray, exposing her. The thought of that son-of-a-bitch hurting his wife made Bear so angry he was in danger of going into Rage again!
But he knew that seeing him in Rage frightened Aleena, so he took deep breaths and did his best to control the protective fury inside him. He just wished that he’d killed the bastard more slowly—he deserved prolonged agony for what he’d done to sweet, innocent Aleena!