Free Virgin Prisoner: Bred to the Beast (Werewolf Breeding Erotica) (Bred to the Beast: The Virgin Trilogy) by Fannie Tucker Page A

born.
    Of course, a Baron's daughter could never apprentice to a Wise Woman in the Lower Quarter; the thought would be scandalous to those conniving hangers-on in King Volgar's court.  Still, Rela's country origins afforded her a more practical view of the world than most city folk held.  She knew herblore could come in handy when a sickness began to spread.
    Now Magdha 's twisted old hand gave Rela's arm a stout squeeze.  The Wise Woman's black eyes held a mischievous glint as she smiled.  "You'd best get on back to the castle, Lady Rela, before that handsome fellow on the black gelding comes looking for you again."
    Rela's face reddened suddenly, a sharp contrast to her pale golden hair.  Collen was a handsome youth barely older than Rela herself, with a roguish smile and dancing green eyes beneath a tumble of black curls.  His sharp mind barely tempered his tendency to get into trouble.
    She'd met him two years ago when she'd first arrived in the city to begin her education.  Her father had thought it wise to expose her to the workings of the city and its fine tutors, whom she shared with the more sophisticated sons and daughters of nobles and upper-class merchants.
    Collen was one of those, the son of a wealthy banker.  Although he wasn't a nobleman, he had a gentle nature beneath his brash exterior .  He made his interest in Rela known almost immediately, and Rela had fallen for him soon after.  Now she hoped to wed him someday.
    Magdha saw her red face and cackled.  "Just don't let him put that thing of his in you, girl, or I'll be brewing you a different kind of tea, and I promise you won't like the taste!"
    Rela widened her eyes, shocked that the old woman would speak so plainly.  "Why, Magdha, of course not!  Collen would never..."
    The crone cackled again.  "Girl, men of that age follow the cock between their legs like a cart behind a horse.  You watch yourself with that one, I tell you!"
    Rela busied herself with her cloak, pulling up the hood to hide the even deeper crimson sprea ding across her face.  "Thank you for the lesson, Magdha.  May I return on the morrow?"
    Magdha cleared a space on the countertop and began pouring the mixture Rela had made into a clear flask.  She grinned at Rela and arched an eyebrow.  "You may, my Lady!  If Collen doesn't carry you off to an inn somewhere!"
    Rela swelled with pride to see that Magdha thought she'd created a usable potion!  Still, she sniffed at the old woman's taunting words.  "Even if I'd allow him to do such a thing, I haven't time.  I've been invited to Prince Malgar's feast this evening."
    "Invited," Magdha snorted.  "Hah!  More like summoned."  Magdha held a low opinion of King Volgar and his son, one she wasn't afraid to share with those she knew.  Rela wished she would exercise greater discretion.
    Rela turned to go, but Magdha's voice stopped her with one hand on the doorknob.
    "Rel a," she said, "don't mistake my words.  All young men want the same thing, but that Collen a good-hearted boy, and a lady could do much worse than to take him for a husband, nobleman or no.  I hope you'll remember that.  Those mongrels in Castle Darkmoon may have power, but power can't keep a woman warm at night."
    Rela smiled and nodded her head.  "I'll remember," she said, then hurried out into the cold. 
     
    Fall had come early, and a chill wind pushed through the narrow alley outside Magdha's shop.  People bustled along the cobblestone walkways, cloaks pulled tight about their bodies.  On the hill to the north, Castle Darkmoon loomed like a pile of black stone over the city.  Low clouds made the Lower Quarter gray and dim, but the castle felt even darker somehow, as though the light shied away from its bulk.
    Rela set off toward the castle with her head down against the cold.  In just a few months, her tutors would release her, and it would be time to return to her father's estate in the west.  Would Collen follow her there?  His own father