Free Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) by Jennifer Thibeault Page B

the hatred that most of his own felt towards the humans since he could pass freely between the two worlds. Often befriending humans, and frequently bedding the females, he only sought refuge of the colonies to hide the fact that unlike the humans, he didn’t age beyond what a human would consider thirty. Only after meeting Arriana, did he decide to permanently reside in the colony.
    It was two hundred years ago that Leus returned to the northeast colony after spending three years among humans. The colony was located just outside the farthest borders of Ruthers, a fair sized city for the time, but nowhere near its current population. It was set up like many human villages. With the businesses and community building in the center and the homes cascading out in all directions.
    Walking down the rock lined, dirt road, Leus glanced disinterestedly around the town as he headed to the home he hadn’t seen in years. With each step forward, he noticed changes in the neighborhood that he had, on-and-off his whole life, called his home. There were new houses built next to aged homes that Leus would recognize in his sleep. Flowers in front of some, trees in front of others, laundry hanging from lines, tools lying up against walls. They were all homes lived in by loving families.
    Leus greeted neighbors as he passed, recognizing most of them. A group of young children chased each other around the road, laughing and shouting. Leus watched them play as he approached his home. At that moment, his life was altered.
    A young woman, with golden blonde hair and amber eyes, stepped out of the house next door to the home he was finally going back to after so long on the road. Appearing only in her early twenties, she was of the newest generation of leanthans. She was not yet fully grown and she exhibited the large feline eyes of her line.
    The woman turned back to her home, and the light melody of her voice travelled smoothly across the yard, as he listened to her address her family within. Leus stopped in front of his house and watched her, not wanting to miss a second.
    The woman rivaled him in height, nearly six feet, a characteristic that was almost impossible to find among human women but was very fairly common among women of his own species. Her frame was slight, each movement delicate, almost as if she were dancing and as she caught Leus’ eye, she smiled. It wasn’t the sweet smile that Leus expected, but a wide, jubilant, Cheshire cat smile. Perfectly pink lips lined her brilliant white teeth, only adding to her beauty. That was when he knew his life was here in the colony with her.
     
    The sun sprayed though the venetian blinds covering Alex’s windows. That alone separated the morning from the night before, since each person in the sitting room had remained awake and focused all through the past twelve hours. The room wasn’t as neat as it had been; papers littered the top of the table and others were divided in stacks along the floor. Each piece had been analyzed, discussed, memorized, and discarded.
    A heavy knock on the front door drew everyone out from their own thoughts. Alex jumped from his seat, as if expecting an ambush right in his home. Abby groaned loud enough to ensure Alex heard her annoyance. She had always been the more grounded sibling, not prone to overreact like Alex always did.
    “You know that’s dad’s knock. Relax, why don’t you.” Abby stepped past Alex and lightly shoved him on the shoulder as she made her way to the foyer. She paused briefly at the door to look through the peephole. It never hurts to double check. And after confirming that her first instinct was correct, she opened the front door to welcome her father back to the discussion.
    “Hi, daddy.” Abby greeted him, as he walked into the room.
    “How you doing pumpkin?” Bradley’s demeanor relaxed as soon as he started talking to his daughter.
    “Terrific, daddy.” Abby grimaced at him, bringing the whole room to an awkward burst of