Free NocC 018 - Kristin Miller - Forbidden by Fate - Harlequin 2012-07 by Nocturne Page A

wouldn’t find him. Not unless they knew where Damon had dumped his body.

    Sasha could almost feel the commands shooting through Kenyon’s mind.

    He rushed to Sasha’s chair and went palms down over her. “Who is responsible for Gordon’s death? Who is the Draco who’ll fight in the hot springs?” He was so close she could taste the anger spewing off his tongue.

    “I don’t know his name,” Sasha pushed out. He meant to intimidate her, but Sasha’s blood boiled with determination. “I was on my way home, running through the forest, when I spotted them fighting. I’ve never seen him before.”

    Kenyon sniffed the air but didn’t flinch another muscle. “You lie to me, Sasha. I can smell Draco on you.”

    “I’m not lying, Father. I only feared for our pack’s safety should we face such a monster.” Sasha took in a deep breath as subtly as she could, but she couldn’t detect a hint of Damon. He was testing her will, her story. She raised her chin—a notion of defiance her father caught in his smoldering onyx eyes. “If you had the pack’s best interest at heart, you would not allow the fight to take place.”

    “Tell me his name, Sasha, my daughter dearest.” Kenyon brushed the back of his hand down her cheek. Her skin broke out in a cold sweat. “That’s an order.”

    *

    “You are ready for this fight in strength, speed and courage.” Queen Elixa flipped a honey-blond strand of hair over her shoulder, allowing Damon a glimpse of the radiant sapphire Draco specks arching across her cheekbones. Her specks were legendary. Flawlessly crystal-blue. “But you will not win this fight because of any of those things.”

    Damon kneeled before his queen at the edge of the rainforest, a few feet from the springs and battleground. Even with early spikes of adrenaline firing through his body, Damon was hyperaware of the clan of dragons behind him. Seemed the fight for the hot springs had garnered buzz around Castle Arcane. Their scales created a rainbow of colors on the green canvas of the rainforest: ruby, sapphire, citrine and gold. They were former friends. Family.

    “Enlighten me, Queen,” Damon said, keeping his ears open.

    With gentle fingers, she lifted his chin so that their gazes collided. “Vengeance burns inside you, Damon. I can see it in your eyes. You’ve been waiting for the moment when you can repay the pain those wolves inflicted upon you.” She motioned for Damon to rise to his feet. He did so, dwarfing her petite frame. She eyed him carefully, from his stomach to his chest and then up to his eyes. “You’re the greatest warrior we have. Take the anger bubbling inside you and unleash it on the wolf from their pack. You’ll be unstoppable.”

    She didn’t have any idea what burned inside him or what he’d been waiting for…

    “I will do what needs to be done to earn my way back into Castle Arcane.” Heavy drums of adrenaline pounded through Damon’s ribcage.

    Queen Elixa nodded as the sharp, pungent scent of wolves descended upon them.

    “The fight is about to begin.” With dramatic flare, she spread her arms to the crowd of dragons who’d gathered and let her heavy blue cloak fall open. “The hot springs will soon be ours!”

    Dragons stomped their back feet wildly, stepping forward to line the forest around the springs on the Draco side. High above their heads, wolves climbed over the side of Were Mountain and perched on rocky overhangs leaning over the springs. It seemed every shifter in the area was chomping at the bit to watch the fight.

    Queen Elixa brushed her hand down Damon’s arm. “The hot springs are more than steaming pools of water, Damon. Remember what we are fighting for.”

    The hot springs meant more to him, but that was because of what he and Sasha had shared there. Their love had bloomed along with the purple trumpet flowers drooping over the water. Their passion had flourished, bubbling into something meaningful.

    He wasn’t quite sure