Deadly Seduction (Feral Protectors 3) Read Online Free PDF

which strangled her throat.
    She tried to convince herself that no one stood in the shadows watching her. No one waited to get her alone. No one was going to attack her. Intellectually, she understood where the fear was coming from, but emotionally she couldn’t stand being so exposed.
    “How many more flowers do we need?” Gwen asked.
    “Enough to fill the basket. We’re going to have to crush them into beeswax to make more salve. I had no idea how much we’d need until I saw his injuries.”
    “Are you sure we should have left him? Maybe he needs us right now.” Maybe Akila would take her back to the cave, back to safety.
    Akila stood. “Lucian is staying with him. His skin’s starting to heal and his color’s back. He still has a week or so before he’ll be able to put weight on that leg.”
    Gwen yanked a plant from the ground and separated the root and flower from the stem. After dropping the pieces into the basket, she reached for another plant. The faster she moved, the faster they could return to the den.
    Akila said, “Be careful. You don’t want to bruise the flowers. You’ll release some of the medicine if you crush them now. Wait until we gather the beeswax and then you can mash them as much as you want.”
    Gwen dropped the flower tops into the basket. “How much do we need?”
    “Fill the basket to the brim.”
    Another three inches of arnica and then they could leave. Gwen drifted away from Akila toward a thicker patch of flowers. She dropped to her knees to tug on a snug root. The darn thing wouldn’t release its hold on the earth no matter how much she pulled. Maybe it wasn’t ready to die.
    Gwen knew that feeling. When Zane had left her lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the forest, she’d considered surrendering to the darkness. But her will to live was too strong. She’d managed to drag herself across the forest floor for hours before she’d passed out. Another wolf had found her half-dead and had carried her back to the den.
    A branch snapped. Her head jerked toward the sound. The muscles along her back tensed. The sensation of being watched prickled along her skin like icy rain.
    As she backed up a few steps, her mouth went dry. Less than ten yards inside the tree line, a shadow contorted. A scream caught in her throat. It was just like last time.
    She stumbled back, tripping over a freshly fallen log. She landed on her back with a thud. A long shadow stretched across her chest. She turned her head toward the person casting the shadow but the vibrant sunlight blinded her.
    Unable to contain the terror a second longer, she threw back her head and screamed. But to her horror, not a single sound escaped her lips. Her paralyzed vocal chords refused to work even as Akila stepped into view.
    “What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Akila demanded.
    Gwen rolled onto her knees and pointed at the forest. “He’s here. He’s here. It’s happening again.”
    “Who’s here?” Akila squinted.
    “Zane!” Even as she hollered his name, she knew she wasn’t being rational. But in the midst of one of her attacks, fear overran logic.
    Akila helped her stand. “No one’s in the forest. There’s nothing to worry about. Zane’s dead and you’re safe.”
    Gwen’s gaze darted from the forest to Akila and back. “I just thought… I thought I saw someone.”
    “We’re the only ones out here.”
    Gwen hung her head. “I guess I did it again.”
    “Did what?”
    “Made up a boogieman when there wasn’t one.” Shame slackened her shoulders.
    Akila wrapped her in a motherly embrace. “You did much better this time than the last time we tried to go into the forest.”
    “But I’m still afraid.”
    Akila released her. “It’s been nine months. You can lay around all day and live in the shadow of the attack, or you can fight to get your life back. The choice is entirely yours. I can only help you so much, then you’re going to have to help yourself. Every time you come into the