Forbidden (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

he insisted on calling Cleopatra, to graze, Snow White saw something alight on a quivering leaf.
    It was a bristling, yellow and black insect.
    Slowly, she drew her gaze to the boughs of the juniper tree above. She hurriedly threw a look over her shoulder. Wolfsbane was tethering Coleoptera to a stake in the ground. Snow White took note of his dark brown leather jerkin and charcoal grey pants, a contrast to her white tunic and light brown coat.
    Her heart pattering wildly, she swung round again, and held out her hand to the insect. It ignored her. Her hopes sank. Those in her conservatory had been nurtured by her, and it took many days of close contact to get them to that level of trust. But insects in the wild would take precious time to bond to. Time that she didn't have.
    A faint cry pierced the air. “Snow White!”
    She froze. Tom Cherry’s voice! It came from the trees south to them, and was carried by the wind. He was looking for her! Possibly on horseback, and possibly backed by his brothers. She flashed a look at Wolfsbane, and saw – from the look of consternation on his face – that he heard it too.
    “I – ” she began, but with several loping strides, Wolfsbane reached her side. She cried out as he caught her around the waist and wrestled her to the ground. Her elbows flared with pain as they struck the patchy grass.
    “Why is he here?” he demanded, pinning her down.
    “Because he thinks you’re going to kill me!” She jerked up her knee to smash him between his legs. Wolfsbane cried out. He rolled off her, groaning.
    “No,” he gasped, “you misunderstand me, I’m trying to protect – ”
    She jumped up and grabbed a small rock with her right fist. His eyes widened. But she did not bring it down on his skull.
    Instead, she flung it at a large conical structure that hung from the juniper tree above. The structure was cream-colored and patterned with whorls that looked like the compacted fleece of sheep. Several insects hummed softly around it.
    Please, she pleaded.
    The stone struck the wasps’ nest dead center.
    “Wha – ” he began.
    Snow White ran, her shoes slapping the ground, and dove into an untidy thicket. The hum of wasps behind her reached an unholy frenzy. She heard Wolfsbane cry out. She didn’t stop or look back. When provoked, she knew that wasps attacked dark-colored objects, including people wearing dark-colored clothes. She ran and ran, the bushes and brambles clawing at her arms and legs, ripping the fabric of her sleeves and pants. A twig struck her forehead just above her eye. Panic made her ignore all pain.
    She ran until her lungs gave and her legs were on fire. She gulped in huge breaths that caused her to wheeze like an old woman. It was only then she stopped, her body doubling over, and listened out for the wasps.
    When no hum came, she waited for a long while, debating whether to call out for Tom Cherry. She decided against it for fear of the wasps attacking her rescue party.
    Instead, she made her unsteady way back to where she left Wolfsbane, the guilt rising to her throat. Her pulse clomped to a staccato beat when she reached the clearing. She wondered if she had the stomach for this.
    Wiping away the hot tears that sprang to her eyes, she took a deep breath and stepped out. The wasp nest was barely dented. A few wasps still circled around it, their anger apparently satiated. The horses and Wolfsbane were nowhere to be seen. Two stakes and two broken tethers lay on the ground.
    Cold fingers of dread crept through Snow White. She had counted on the horses and supplies to navigate out of the Enchanted Forest. She wasn’t going to return home, no way. Now she was stuck in a hostile forest, with wild beasts and unresponsive insects and goodness knows what.
    A low groan a little way off behind a clump of trees alerted her. She was immediately wary. Should she run? If the horses weren’t here, there was no point in sticking around. But the groan was repeated, and it