Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Within moments four of the six lay motionless upon the ground.
The last two dropped heavily to their knees, trembling.
“Mercy,” one gasped desperately.
“We did not know who you were,” the other pleaded. “We swear it. We will never cross your path again.”
The beast stood over them breathing heavily, blood dripping from its sharp tusks, while its glowing eyes remained fixed upon the terrified men. Then slowly its massive head turned toward Bria.
The clearing fell silent except for the rushing stream nearby and the ragged breathing of the surviving men.
One of them quickly nodded toward Bria as though understanding some unspoken command.
At once, the vines binding her loosened and slipped harmlessly away.
The beast suddenly threw back its massive head and released a deafening roar directly into the faces of the two kneeling men.
The sound struck through the clearing with such force that Bria flinched where she stood.
The beast then slammed one enormous paw against the ground hard enough to shake the earth beneath them.
The men cried out in terror.
“Run!” one shouted frantically.
Neither waited another moment.
They scrambled clumsily to their feet and bolted into the forest without so much as a backward glance, crashing wildly through the trees in desperate panic while the beast watched them flee.
Then silence settled over the clearing once more.
Bria slowly rose to her feet. Her heart still pounded violently from all she had witnessed, yet now that the danger had passed, she found herself unable to look away from the massive white creature standing only a short distance from her.
Blood dripped from his huge tusks and stained spots of its white fur. Its chest rose and fell heavily as his golden eyes fixed steadily upon her. Not the eyes of a mindless beast, but the eyes of something far more dangerous, far more aware.
The beast snorted once, a rough burst of breath curling through the cool air between them, then suddenly turned and disappeared into the forest with astonishing speed despite its massive size.
Bria remained standing there several moments afterward, unable to move.
Then the emptiness returned. The sharp aching emptiness she felt whenever Kaelan left her side slammed into her so suddenly that she nearly staggered beneath it.
Her breath caught on a whispered, “Nay.”
The beast had appeared and the emptiness vanished. The beast disappeared and the feeling returned.
Bria’s pulse quickened painfully.
Her thoughts flew wildly back through everything she had seen since meeting Kaelan. The strange connection between them. The fierce possessiveness she felt inside him. The way he always spoke carefully whenever the beast was mentioned. His unexplained injuries vanishing completely. And now this.
Fear and disbelief twisted violently together inside her. It could not mean what she suddenly feared it meant.
A man could not become a beast. Could he? The thought horrified her. Yet somewhere deeper inside, beneath the fear and confusion, another truth settled heavily upon her.
If the beast truly was Kaelan… then even in her terror, some part of her had still recognized him. That realization unsettled her more deeply than anything else.
Slowly she walked toward the stream and crouched beside it, lowering her aching wrists into the cool rushing water. The vines had left angry red marks across her skin, but she barely noticed the sting.
Her thoughts remained trapped elsewhere: on Kaelan, on the beast, and on the impossible truth beginning to take shape inside her.
How could she fear him and yet still feel safer with him near than apart from him? Nothing made sense anymore.
Bria closed her eyes briefly while the cool water rushed over her wrists. Then a shadow fell across the stream. She did not startle, nor feared who stood behind her. The emptiness consuming her had vanished once more, which could mean only one thing.
Bria slowly lifted her gaze.
Kaelan stood above her, not a bruise marked his face, not a trace of blood remained upon him. Even the swelling around his eye had completely vanished.
The savage beating she had watched not that long ago looked as though it had never happened at all. Yet strangely… seeing him whole again did not frighten her nearly as much as it should have.
Kaelan said nothing. He simply lowered himself beside her near the stream and gently reached for one of her wrists. His fingers remained careful around the angry marks left by the vines as he scooped cool water into his palm and slowly let it flow across her skin.
The tenderness of the gesture tightened painfully inside her chest.
He tended her other wrist the same way, his touch gentle and filled with quiet concern while silence stretched between them.
Bria watched him carefully. He had risked his secret that could prove dangerous if discovered outside of Driochmor. He had risked his heart, declaring his fierce love for her even though she might reject him and leave him to never truly love. He risked everything for her without hesitation.