Captured by Desire Read Online Free PDF Page A

would return. It was hungry, and would stop at nothing until it had Jules.
    Deep into the night Cristian waited. He knew when Jules had finally let sleep claim her, for she had stopped humming. But the Wendigo never went far.
    Each time he came near Jules, Cristian would step into his path waiting to attack, and each time the Wendigo would turn away.
    It was playing with him, letting Cristian think he had outwitted it. Cristian grinned and began to plan his attack.

Chapter Five
     
     
    Jules opened her eyes to see the sun. She said a silent prayer of thanks and let out a shaky breath as she sat up. It had been a long, torturous night, one she hadn’t thought to survive.
    She licked her lips and rose to her feet. The trees had been marked with deep gouges from the Wendigo. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She was one of the few who knew true evil existed in the world, but to come face to face with it was more frightening than she had ever imagined.
    Her gaze turned from the marks to the ground. All around the protective circle were large footprints three times the size of any man’s, but never once had it stepped too near the symbols.
    “The Wendigo,” Jules whispered. She went down on her haunches and looked closer at a print, noting how much it resembled a human, but also how different it was.
    She stood and turned to see what else she could find when she spotted Cristian sitting on the ground with his back against a tree. His shirt was ripped across his chest in five distinct cuts.
    Without thought to her own safety, Jules ran out of the circle to him.
    “Cristian.” Her throat closed at the thought of him wounded. She reached out and gently touched his chest, afraid to find him dead, but more afraid that she couldn’t help him if he was gravely injured. No sooner had she touched his skin then he grabbed her hand.
    Her gaze flew to his face.
    “Jules?” he whispered.
    Panic seized her as she looked into his green eyes. “How badly are you hurt?
    “I’m not,” he murmured, his eyes closing. “Just tired.”
    She pulled her hand from his and looked between the cuts in his shirt to determine how deep the cuts were. But despite the blood on his shirt, there wasn’t a wound.
    Jules fell back onto the ground and stared at him. She had seen his eyes go yellow, seen the talons and teeth. And she had witnessed his unnatural speed. It appeared he could also heal himself.
    As she looked at him now, she wouldn’t know he was other than a man in search of his parents. But he was so much more. Instead of fear, Jules felt a thrill run through her.
    She glanced around the forest and knew she had to get Cristian inside the circle before the Wendigo returned. She wrapped her arms around him and tried to drag him.
    “Jules?”
    She continued to tug. “You’re the only way I’ll get off this mountain alive. I can’t have you taken by the Wendigo while you’re sleeping.”
    To her surprise, his eyes cracked open a slit and he crawled into the circle only to collapse onto the ground, immediately asleep.
    Jules stepped back into the circle and stared down at the man at her feet. They had precious little food in their packs, and she worried just how long Cristian would sleep.
    It had been easier in the dark to close her eyes and not search for anything, but in the light of day, Jules found herself peering into every tree and bush for the Wendigo.
    While Cristian slept, she pulled out her father’s letters and read them again, searching for clues to where he might have gone.
    It was hours later before Cristian stirred. He rolled onto his back and cracked open an eye.
    “Feeling better?” she asked him.
    He jerked upright and looked at the tree he had been leaning against. With his hair disheveled, he stared in surprise at where he was. “How did I get here?”
    “I tried to drag you, but when that didn’t work, you crawled.”
    His green eyes narrowed on her. “You left the circle?”
    “I thought you