The Eden Series: The Complete Collection Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Don’t shoot, please!” The tone of his voice was slightly mocking, which annoyed her even more than their mere presence.
    “Wolf,” she breathed in frustration. “What the hell are you doing here?”
    “I should ask you the same.” He smiled, his white teeth a bright contrast to the dark around them. As he came closer, she could see him more clearly. Even in the cold Wolf wore only his signature riding pants and no shirt. His bronze skin and fit upper body looked as comfortable in this weather as they would in the heat of the middle of summer. His long brown hair hung down to his shoulders, the thin leather headband holding it in place. She couldn’t see the pale green of his eyes, but she could feel their heat on her face.
    Wolf was the latest from the Riders sent over by the Chief in the west. Every year they would send them their best Rider to join the High King’s army. Wolf was a natural athlete, as comfortable on his horse as he was on his own two feet. Elisa’s father had already informed her of their planned marriage, which was normal for the daughter of the Captain. She was their best archer, so she was obligated to take on a worthy husband such as him. Although he seemed to take to her somewhat in the beginning—as much as he did with most of the girls in the Capital, she thought—she always found herself mildly irritated with him and he with her, thus making their encounters few and far between. She was only seventeen that year, and most women were not duty-bound to marry until their nineteenth birthday. That gave her two years to either convince Wolf to take another woman or convince her father to let her out of their betrothal.
    “How did you get out of the city?” she asked.
    “The same way you did,” he replied casually. She hated being followed.
    “Good evening, Elisa,” she heard the second voice. It was Logan, Wolf’s shadow. The two were inseparable, so she wasn’t surprised to see him there. He wasn’t nearly as tall and athletic as Wolf—or as good-looking, she admitted—but there was something pleasant about Logan. He wore his black hair tied back and had thick, dark eyebrows that were always lowered over his pale grey eyes.
    Nodding her head in acknowledgement, she turned back to face Wolf. “You need to go back,” she instructed him.
    “All right, I will,” he said, putting his hands lazily in his pockets. “Just as soon as you tell me where you’re going.”
    “What makes you think you have a right to know where I’m going?” she spat, feeling her anger starting to rise. She still hadn’t taken the arrow out of the bow and tossed around the idea of shooting him in the shoulder just to give her some distance. It was an impossible idea, of course. She would probably be whipped if she purposely shot a King’s man.
    He laughed at her hostility. “Elisa, stop being so defensive. I just want to make sure you’re not doing anything too dangerous all on your own.” This pissed her off even more. She didn’t need anyone with her to be safe; she was just as good a warrior as any of the boys were. “Maybe Logan and I could help you with your little expedition.”
    “I don’t need your help,” she replied hotly. “I’m on a mission from the High Priest, and I’m sworn to secrecy.”
    She watched as the two boys looked at each other in surprise. “The High Priest?” Wolf asked, not looking at her, but looking still at Logan. “Must be important—what do you think, Logan?”
    “I think it’s pretty risky of him to send her out during the night, with all the sightings of beasts running through these woods,” Logan replied in his deep monotone voice.
    “I agree.” He nodded his head. “I heard there were even some of those tall ones lurking about, so why risk her?” He nodded in Elisa’s direction.
    Feeling her anger peak, she hit Wolf in the back, making him turn around as quick as lightning, grabbing her hand in mid-air as it approached him a second time.