Free Seduced by the Beast by Jaide Fox

straight on through the day to cover so much ground.  Had he not
rested at all?  “That is not what I asked.”
                He smiled
briefly.  “Your persistence is admirable.”
                “That is a
pleasant way of saying that I am bull headed.”
                Raphael kicked
dirt over the fire and packed their few supplies.  “We are being followed.”
                There was no need
to ask if she should be alarmed--she was already.  “Are we in danger?”
                He didn’t look up
from his task.  “There is always danger in Shadowmere.”
                “How do you know
we are being followed?  Have you seen them?  Who follows us and why?”
                “It is vampire,
but their mind is shielded.  I believe they will not act until they know our
purpose, and by then, we will be under Ravenel’s protection.  Getting out again
is another matter entirely.”  He stared off into the distance, back the way
they had come.  “I may return to Barakus to find it under their sway.”
                Swan was
appalled. “You risk your rule for me?  Why?”
                “I made a
promise.  I am a man of my word.”
                His words brought
her no comfort.  When she said nothing, in fact, stood rooted to the spot, he
said, “We’ll need to travel faster.  I must shift.  I warn you now, you’ll
likely be frightened.”
                She watched as he
set the baskets down and unbuckled his kurt and red cape, averting her eyes at
the last minute to avoid searing her mind with the image of his nakedness.  He
packed the black garment in a basket and crouched on the ground.
                “Will it hurt?”
she asked, backing up a step as she watched him, unblinking.
                “There is some
discomfort if you are a changeling or it is your first time, but I was born
this way.  I have shifted for decades.”
                “Decades?  How
old are you?”
                Raphael looked at
her once, his eyes glowing with amber light, though he didn’t answer.  He hung
his head, allowing his long hair to shield his face from her view.  His muscles
tensed, jumping as though a surge of power coursed through his body.  A wave of
black fur flowed over his flesh like a rising tide, enveloping his bronze skin
and leaving none of the man behind.  His curled fists formed into great paws
with black claws that scoured the hard earth.  Ivory teeth flashed from the
long muzzle as his hair shortened and turned to fur, revealing familiar amber
eyes.  In but a moment’s time, the man before her had shifted into a wolf nearly
the size of a pony, as seamlessly as water flowing.
                She was held by
those golden orbs, mesmerized as he padded close and dropped to allow her to
ride him.  Swan hesitantly gathered the baskets and climbed atop him.  His fur
was incredibly soft and long enough she could gather a hand hold.  When she was
settled, he rose and took off at a full run.
                His speed raised
chill bumps on her skin, cool air whipped her hair in a frenzy at their
passing.  The land rushed by in dizzying starkness.  Swan bent and cradled her
face against his warm neck, burrowing into the fur.
                There was no
doubt in her mind they would soon arrive at Ravenel.  She only prayed they
would not be stopped.

 
     
     
    CHAPTER SIX
     
                The fortress
loomed above, crouched on a rise like a great cat ready to pounce.  The gates
of Ravenel cracked open as Raphael bounded up the final stretch of land toward
them.  She didn’t wonder how those inside knew them as friend--could only be
thankful there would be no wait for entrance.  Swan clung to the baskets and
Raphael’s neck, pervaded by a sense of fear and desperation that had grown with
every mile they