Embrace Me At Dawn Read Online Free PDF Page A

her—hand to hand, martial arts, weaponry and the like—and you must do it thoroughly. Anka has fight in her. I think she’s smart enough. She’s agile. You could help her to be strong and prepared.”
    “ Fuck no! I’ll do it in name only. I’ll put her through her paces, teach her to defend herself. All the women should know that, but there’s no damn way—”
    “ This isn’t your choice, Lucan. As I told Anka earlier when she protested my conditions, this isn’t a democracy. You must prepare her for battle. We might genuinely need her.”
    In combat? He wanted to swear again. No, he wanted to throw something at Bram and hit him in his perfectly implacable face.
    “ Don’t look at me like that. I’m giving you a choice: I can find another to work with her closely every…single…day. Or you can take advantage of this opportunity to spend time with her again and see what comes of it. Your choice. But frankly, I think you need it. You need her. I’m giving you what might be your last chance. I suggest you take it.”

Chapter Two
     
    Anka was shaking by the time she reached Shock’s house. Not at the idea of training or fighting or sweaty, hard work. She relished those opportunities. But being so close to Lucan every day. She sighed. She’d have to tamp down her yearning, try to steer clear of him. With a magical war to fight and not one, but two, rapaciously evil villains trying to tear down humankind and enslave everyone magical, her personal desires simply weren’t important. If she angered or distracted Lucan, he wouldn’t be as focused on fighting—or protecting himself—as he must be. She had to keep everything inside. At least for now. Shock would drag it out of her eventually. Of that, she had no doubt.
    As she wiped her tears away, Anka glanced through the little house she shared with Shock. It was empty. Not that she actually needed to look. The dead silence hanging over the place told her that instantly. When Shock was here, he filled the space with his big presence. The still air around her told her that, after leaving Bram’s, Shock hadn’t returned here.
    Damn. She needed energy before she appeared for her first training session tomorrow. Marrok and Bram would be taskmasters, and she had to prove herself up for the challenge. But that wasn’t all. The trembling, the nightmares, the fury roiling inside her… She needed the emotional release Shock could give her. At least when he chose to. When she begged prettily enough to suit him.
    Sifting mentally through a list of his haunts, Anka finally settled on the most likely. She teleported to the alley behind The Witch’s Brew, then emerged from between a dumpster and some wooden pallets. Once inside the cheery, dark-wood pub, she glanced around. Kari, Ronan’s pretty mate, stood behind the bar, drying glasses. The human swung her long blonde hair behind her shoulder. She wore a checked shirt knotted above her pierced navel and a pair of low-rise jeans around her narrow hips. When she smiled, her blue eyes turned warm.
    “ Anka!” she greeted. “What brings you to the Brew? Can I get you something?”
    “ Hi, Kari.” She looked around the pub with a frown. “Have you seen Shock today?”
    She shook her head, waves of her pale hair brushing her bare waist. “Not yet, dear. But it’s early for him. You can take a seat and wait, if you’d like.”
    She probably should just move on to search another of Shock’s haunts, but sooner or later, he usually turned up here.
    “ Sure. Can I have a…” A request for white wine sat on the tip of her tongue. Warriors didn’t sip chardonnay. But she didn’t care for ale or bitter. “Vodka, the good kind. On the rocks.”
    Kari raised a brow. The barkeep knew very well what she usually drank. But bless her, she didn’t say a word, just poured and handed her the glass. “How are you?”
    She tossed the vodka back in two swallows—and barely managed not to choke. Strong stuff. She winced,