Free Mountain Moonlight by Jaci Burton Page B

be tied up and forced to  have sex. It’s the only way she can come.”
    “You fucking prick.” That was it. Conner unbuckled his seat belt, intending to climb into the backseat and beat Peter into a lifeless pulp.
    Noah stopped him by  laying a  hand on  his arm. “He’s digging  his own grave. Let him be. One way or another, he’ll be taken care of.”
    Surprised Noah wasn’t encouraging him  to kill the bastard, Conner shrugged andrebuckled his belt, conjuring up ways to  torture Peter.  Painful, bloody ways. He’d bet he could get the  wimp to cry like  a little girl,  too. He’d love to  show  him what  it felt like to be helpless and at the mercy of  someone bigger, stronger and meaner.
    The vehicle in front lurched to a stop at  the top of a rise, then inched forward slowly. When they pulled up alongside Katya’s vehicle, Conner pulled off his shades and climbed out of the vehicle to stare at the sight in front of them.
    Like a beacon revealing a lush paradise, the sun had broken through the  denseclouds overhead, shooting spectacular rays of light over the valley floor. The valley was an emerald oasis of thick grass, filled with  wildflowers of every color that  seemed togrow in clumps like bouquets.
    High above the clearing, forbidden and imposing, stood a tall castle of grey stone,so light it was almost white. Crumbling and in  disrepair, it had to be centuries old with two towers reaching toward the sunlight as  if beckoning the renewing warmth. Iron gates surrounded the area in front of them, with tall fencing as far as he could see.
    Those fences would never hold in a wolf that didn’t  want to be  contained. He’dhave to think about how to fix that.
    Woodland surrounded the castle, thick and  pungent with the smell of fresh earth and pine. Conner heard but couldn’t see  water flowing somewhere around them.  Mountain springs must flow throughout the castle grounds. The tops of the trees reached almost the to the highest point of the castle towers, sheltering it to the sides, yet the castle front stood unfettered by foliage or camouflage of any kind.
    Katya turned to them, a glow of pride on her face. “Welcome to Braslieu Castle.”
    Her words were spoken with all the dignity befitting royalty, her eyes sparkling with a glow of excitement. Katya hopped out of the vehicle and approached the gatedentrance, speaking in rapid Romanian to the guards stationed there.

    47

    Jaci Burton

    He really needed to learn their language,  since it would have been good to know what she said to the guard. The sentry nodded, eyed him and Noah suspiciously, then opened the  gates and let them through.
    Noah shot Conner a look that  said “be on watch”. They really had no  idea what to
    expect.
    They drove up a long, narrow road toward  the front of the castle. Thick bushes  lined both sides, obscuring their view of the surroundings. They parked their vehicles at  the front entrance. Two men came out and Katya directed them toward Peter. The men  frowned, their faces red with anger as they hurried toward Peter.
    Conner grinned, saluted a now very pale Peter a goodbye, and followed Katya and  Elena in.
    They stepped into a foyer that had seen better days, yet still maintained an  old-world charm that Conner found pleasing.
    Though the wood floors needed resurfacing, they were still beautiful, no doubt made from the trees surrounding the castle. The curving staircase off the foyer was carpeted with an old, threadbare pile. The  same kind of wear showed on the tapestriesdecorating the wall. Faded beauty surrounded him. This place needed a major overhaul, yet it still shined clean and with the  pride of the people who cared for it.
    The two men dragged Peter inside. Before long, a crowd gathered, whispering to each other and eyeing both he and Noah,  along with Peter. Katya spoke to the guard who started to drag Peter away, but he dug in his heels and shouted something in