Taken by the Alpha Wolf Read Online Free PDF Page A

out.
    “Shifting back at the swamp drained all my
energy. I don’t have any magick. So I can’t heal fast, pick up
scents or sense when someone’s about to hurl a ball of power at
me.”
    Seeing his puzzled expression, she hastened
to add, “I can Change into a wolf and back. But only in the wild,
like the Everglades. You saw how hard it is for me to shift back.
And my other magick…it’s gone.”
    He gave her a wry look. “Gone? Magick doesn’t
just vanish, Cyn. Unless your parents sold it on eBay to pay for
this palace.”
    Cindy pushed off the massive bed, anger
feeding her strength. “Stop it, will you, please just stop it. This
whole your family versus mine, I hate it!”
    Etienne snagged her wrist, gently pulling her
back.
    “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “That was
uncool of me. Please, sit. Tell me. I want to know. I’m
listening.”
    A heartbeat of silence as she sat. Finally,
she sought the courage to continue.
    Gods, she couldn’t look at his face, see the
dismay there when he found out the truth. She stared at the carved
mirror above her dressing table. “When I turned 12, and shifted for
the first time, my great-gram gave me a gift.”
    She stopped, listening to the hallway
grandfather clock tick. Time. She needed time. After a minute,
Etienne touched her hand.
    “Go on.”
    His fingers were warm, and she was so cold.
Cindy wondered if she’d ever feel warm again. If he could help her
find the warmth.
    “I’ll show you.”
    When she’d unlocked the drawer and brought
the Orb to him, his eyes widened to the size of plates.
    “Whoa.” Etienne passed a big palm over the
ball. He inhaled deeply, his features evening out as the Orb’s
soothing scent settled over him. The Orb glowed golden, then green
and blue colors shadowed his face. “An Astra Orb. My paw-paw told
me about them. Absorbs energy, works with your magick to amplify
it. Very rare and very powerful.”
    “It contains my magick. All of it.”
    Etienne’s hard jaw worked as he handed her
back the Orb.
    “I loved my great-gram, she was my best
friend. But she was dying, her heart was giving out. I cried and
cried, and refused to let go.” Cindy gave a little laugh. “I poured
all my magick into the Orb. I figured I was young and had all these
powers.”
    “You wanted to save her,” he said
quietly.
    “I used the Orb to heal her. I was only 12, a
kid, I failed to understand that it was her time. All I did was
prolong the agony. She never left her bed, just lay there, her
heart still beating, a living skeleton begging for death.” Cindy
cupped the Orb, staring at it in misery.
    “Finally, my father called for the Kallan,
the immortal Draicon who can end life.”
    Etienne nodded. “The old Kallan. He preceded
my brother, Raphael.”
    Cindy twisted her hands. “He sent great-gram
into the next realm. But the Orb still contained my magick. I
couldn’t get it back. And as I grew older, I became less of a
Draicon and more human. I’ve tried everything to remain close to my
Draicon roots, but I can barely shift, Etienne. I am nothing in
your world.”
    “Cyn, why didn’t you tell me before?”
    His voice was gentle. It threatened to
unravel the last thread of her control. “You’re an Alpha, next in
line to lead your pack. You have enormous powers and I have
nothing. How can you be a leader when you have a defective
mate?”
    Etienne studied her with an impartial look.
No betrayal of emotion. He must be great at playing poker, she
thought.
    “I’m barely a Draicon. It would be like
having a human as a mate, and you know what that would mean for
your pack, Etienne.”
    Still no emotion, but tension knotted his
body. He seemed as taut as a coiled spring.
    “There has to be a way. I don’t believe in
no-win scenarios.”
    A hint of steel threaded through his deep,
laconic drawl. Etienne looked determined. His confidence fed her
faint hope. Always that iron clad control, wanting to win and
refusal to accept defeat.
    Then