Seduced by the Wolf Read Online Free PDF Page B

trespassing, and something dark has moved into the mountain. My men picked up what seemed to be an odd scent, but then it vanished. Whatever it is, it’s hiding up there.”
    He braced his hands on the railing. “Tell me what’s going on. What are you hiding from me, Ariel?”
    His muscled body became taut. She sensed the leashed power in him. Instinctively, she took a step backward.
    â€œAll I know is when I returned to my people, Cael told me he’d been on your land while you were gone. The women, they let him access it. He didn’t tell me what he’d been doing there. I assumed he was hunting.”
    A sickening feeling twisted her stomach in knots. “Now I wonder what he’d been doing. You know Cael and my people. They hate imbalance in nature, and he did tell me one part of your territory pulsed with negative energy. But he’s hiding something from me as well. What happened on that land, Jarrett?”
    He didn’t answer for a moment. Then he jammed a hand through his hair.
    â€œI think Cael disturbed something that’s been hiding for years. Maybe negative energy caused by a death in the mine. I need to investigate. But not with you. Too risky.” He gave a low growl. “Stay here.”
    The molecules in the air became charged with energy. Jarrett shifted. The large gray wolf, alpha markings on its muzzle, leapt over the railing and bounded toward the forest.
    Splashing sounds indicated he crossed the river. Ariel saw the wolf wend his way up the mountain, toward the mine.
    Foolhardy wolf…she didn’t need protecting.
    And she didn’t follow orders well.
    She leapt over the railing, shifting in the process, and followed his trail.
    The forest was cool and dark, her beloved woods taking on a sinister air as she scampered up the mountain. Ariel knew these mountains well, but today an undercurrent of darkness laced through the pines and whispered through the branches. Senses flared to life as she tracked Jarrett’s delicious male scent of evergreen. He smelled like the wildness always churning inside her.
    Thunder crackled nearby. Her animal half whined, hating the storm. Raindrops began pelting her thick, soft fur. Ariel pressed her nose to the trail, her paws skidding a little as she reached the rock slide. She raised her head and saw Jarrett standing outside the mine. Heard his low growl and saw him enter…
    Instinct raged through her. Ariel lifted her head and gave a low, mournful howl. Jarrett raised his head as if to answer. Suddenly a large, black cloud flew out of the mine, sweeping past him. It headed straight toward her.
    Startled, she instinctively shifted to her human form to fight, but the black mass wound around her like fog. Cold darkness filled her. Ariel fought the instinctive fear to turn and run. Instead, she batted at the cloud.
    The dark, shapeless mass rushed at her again, stroking an icy finger down her spine. Her insides twisted like rope, sending shards of searing pain through her. Blackness clouded her mind. Never had she felt this much pain before. It was like being encased in an icy tomb filled with steel spikes.
    Had to break free, get out… Ariel wrenched away, forcing the darkness out, and through her blurred vision, saw it fly back into the cavern. She struggled to maintain her grip on the loose rock, but skidded downward.
    The only choice was to race down the mountain, trying to get her legs to work. She ran, lost her footing and rolled. Rocks spilled with her, the kinetic force causing a shower of stones to tumble with her.
    Panic raced through her, making thought impossible. Ariel forced it down. No more animalistic terror like before. She could conquer this.
    Using the adrenaline fueled by fear, she concentrated on flowing with the energy, becoming one with the avalanche. Sharp rocks dug into her tender skin, but she ignored the stinging pain and released her natural Fae energy, harmonizing with the