Desires of the Otherworld 2: Darkest Hunger Read Online Free PDF Page B

She motioned to her bare throat, reminding Willow of what was no longer there.
    Blessed Fates . The collar was gone. Amber still had possession of her Wolven half.
    Heart pounding, Willow pressed her lips to Amber’s ear. “Is the pack near?”
    Amber nodded.
    Two very different emotions overcame her—relief and an odd pang of regret. “How long?”
    Amber smiled. “Minutes.”
    * * *
    “Guards on the tower have spotted them,” Ian informed Bridon as he rushed into the large dining chamber. “They will arrive shortly.”
    “Damn you, Lucian,” Bridon grumbled as he stood. Everything was going as planned until the daemon vanished.
    Impatient, Ian asked, “What do you want to do?”
    Bridon began walking back and forth alongside the table. He couldn’t take the risk of transporting the females to Walkyr Castle until he knew which one was Willow. He was certain his Fated carried the homing charm Lucian had warned about, the very thing that forced him to travel to a decrepit castle in another dimension to fool those who would come for her. As a king, he had an obligation to protect his people. Bringing a swarm of angry and vengeful Lycae to his veiled kingdom wasn’t an option.
    “We return to the dungeon,” he finally answered, turning on his heel and walking from the room with Ian in tow. “We’ll return the collar to the female who resists the magik and hope her comrades show her mercy by coming clean.”
    “That’s something we should have done hours ago. The sun is—”
    “Rising,” Bridon finished curtly. “I know.”
    They descended the stairs to the dungeon, and twin voices from within became quiet as they approached. It was the two females left together conversing. Bridon recognized the voice of the one who rebuked his claim on his Fated. When they came to the door bolstered by silver, Bridon was relieved to discover the Lycae who reacted adversely was awake and lucid. He peered inside and met the gaze of the outspoken female, experiencing that same hum in his body before it abruptly vanished. Her face was marred with red welts, the skin healing slowly due to the collar.
    “Contemplation is over,” he told the brash Lycae specifically, unwilling to break his level stare. “Does the collar go back on? Or are you willing to cooperate?”
    “Go to hell,” the one on the bed snarled. Her voice contorted as the wolf under her skin rose to the surface and changed the color of her irises.
    “Ian,” he said softly and waited.
    “Aye,” Ian muttered, vanished from his side, and reappeared in the cell. He had the collar around her neck before she was aware of the movement, latching it quickly into place. Earlier, the female’s reaction to the magik in the silver jewelry took minutes to surface.
    They didn’t have to wait that long this time.
    The poor creature thrashed in agony, wailing as tears came to her eyes and seeped down the sides of her face. The other girl seemed torn. She darted her head from side to side, eyes completely wild, as if trying to make a decision.
    “Leave the collar on her,” he bluffed to Ian. “We’ll give them time to think it over.”
    Ian transported from the cell and started to walk away. Bridon said a hasty prayer that he’d read the indecision in the face of the venomous Lycae female correctly.
    “Wait!” she cried out to his relief, rushing to the bars. She pressed her face against the silver, causing more blisters to surface around her cheekbones and forehead. “Please!”
    Bridon walked back to the bars and demanded, “Which one is she?”
    It was as if a floodgate opened. All of the females, with the exception of the one before him, began chanting as one. “I am she!” they cried in a high-pitched chorus, aided by the ear-piercing wails of the girl balled up on the cot.
    “Me,” the girl behind the bars whispered, only audible because of his enhanced hearing.
    “You?” He laughed bitterly, incensed by the cries of pain. He turned to Ian, fully