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
The birds were chirping out in some distant tree, but their melody still got to Shira, tingling her memory, reminding her of something, something she ought to know, something she ought not to have forgotten – but she had. Her memory teased her. Taunting her with what it was she wanted to remember, but just when it was within reach of her consciousness, it slipped again, far into the recesses of her brain. She could feel the cramps in her joints, and she got up, trying to stretch. It was only then that she noticed she was confined. Her hands were bound in front of her, but her feet were left free. She got up to her feet, it was a little awkward, but she was able to manage it. She turned around to survey her surrounding for the first time. She was in a stone walled room, and it was not very pretty. It would need flowers, and perhaps light curtains to shade the bright light that was coming in through the window, but not to dim it totally. She walked up to the slightly
Sir Baristan had not shut the door after him, but Shira did not feel the inclination to go out. There was something very scary about stepping outside – She remembered it now, what she had dreamed about. She had dreed that she was lost, and when she stepped into the house that looked like hers, the faces were unfamiliar. Shira did not understand how she could even have managed such a dream as she could not remember how her house looked like anymore. What would she see when she stepped out? She felt so much distress that she felt her eyes water. Her tears reminded her of something. She had been very sad recently. Why had she been sad? Had her family treated her unkindly? Why had she been kidnapped? Bracing herself, she pushed the door open, and stepped out, expecting to find anything, from an earth with two moons, to human wolves and werehumans. The plain outside was simply an encampment – or it appeared like an encampment, but the bunkers were built with stones and brick
Farok leaned against the bar table, as the inn keeper watched attentively, contemplating whether to pour him another goublet of wine even before asked. Farok ignored him. If he was poured more wine, he would drink it. If he was not, he would not ask. He had just led his tribe Warriors on a successful fight against a rival tribe, and as was customary, they deserved to celebrate. Their drinking and whoring would be paid from the spoils of war, the rest of which would be given to him, but Farok did not want it. The tribe he had fought with had suffered severe loss of their soldiers, and armory – and they were Walikan. He was simply weakening his own people from within, so that if they ever needed to face the Renaki in true warfare, the Renaki would battle a force that was no doubt less than it should have been. Farok thrived on violence. He loved it. His biggest, most cherished moments with Elana had been on the battle field. However, even though Farok cherished battles, he ha
“Come. Come sit by me Shira lady of the night.” Shira stared at the mind Physician that had come. She could not bring herself to get up and go join him on the floor where he sat. They were both in Sir Baristan’s spacious library, and the mind Physician was sitting on the floor, angles crossed in front of him, and both elbows on both knees. He was cleanly shaven of every single hair on his head – his entire head. His scalp was a shiny bald, his eyebrows and eyelashes non existent, and he did not spot a single beard or mustache. Something about his looks terrified her, and Shira knew instinctively that if she did not take caution, his face was one that would plague her dreams for many nights. But Sir Baristan had said he was the only one capable of restoring her memory, as well as teaching her to harness her gift so that she did not harm herself and those she loved with her powers. Shira stepped forward to join him. Who were those she loved? Perhaps, the mind physician might