The Tempted Read Online Free PDF Page A

with her life.
    Stefan paused when he heard water. It seemed like eons since he’d heard such a sound. It was…musical. Unable to forget it, he shifted from his path and went towards the sound of the flowing water. When he reached the stream, he simply stared.
    The rain stopped and the clouds parted long enough for a ray of sunlight to shine upon the water. The glint of the light off the surface made it appear golden, and caused Stefan to raise his hands to shield his eyes from the brightness.
    Suddenly, he found his mouth dry. He was so thirsty. He took stock of everything before he walked to the stream and knelt beside it. Stefan cupped his hand and brought handful after handful of water to his mouth.
    When he was satisfied, he took in the majestic view of the mountains rising all around him. Even with the gray sky, there was nothing more beautiful than the Highlands.
    It made him think of his friends. They were the only reason he was sane enough to recall their names. It saddened him that he would never be able to talk to them again. He didn’t want them to see what he had become. All three would try and change him, and they would never stop.  
    But there was no changing him back to what he was. The monster was loose. The anger had become a living, breathing thing inside him that nothing could defeat.
    This was how his life was always meant to turn out. His mother had tried to change his future, but there was only so much she could do once his father refused to acknowledge Stefan’s existence.  
    Just thinking of his father sent a wave of fury rumbling through him. Stefan could still remember his father’s stony look, his callous laughter when Stefan was six and ran away from his mother to go to his father.
    That’s the day he learned he was a bastard. It was the day the monster inside him was born.
    It was also the day he learned the only person in the whole world who cared about him was his mother. She tried to help him control his anger, anger that was passed from his father onto him. If not for his mother, Stefan would’ve been lost to his monster, just as his father had succumbed to his.
    For the next ten years, it was just Stefan and his mother. Then his mother died suddenly. Stefan had been terrified of the anger inside him, but there wasn’t fear now. Now, he embraced it.
    He rose to his feet and started back to the trees when a sound to his right drew his attention. His head jerked around and he saw the woman from earlier stumble out of the forest to the stream.
    Stefan hid behind a tree and watched her. She had leaves sticking out of her braid, or what hair remained in the plait anyway. Her gown had patches of mud and dirt on it. After she drank, she wrung out the water from her skirts and hung her head.
    As she sat there, Stefan was shocked to see a buck walk up to her. When the buck lowered his head, Stefan thought the deer might attack her. To his surprise, the buck pawed the earth as if to get her attention.
    When the woman lifted her head, she looked at the deer and smiled. He couldn’t tell what she said from the distance, but she was talking to the buck. Stefan grew more confused when the woman draped an arm around the deer’s neck and it helped her back to her feet.
    Stefan shook his head and turned away. There were still several hours of daylight left. He walked another ten minutes before he found a road that cut through the forest.  
    He remained hidden as a man on horseback rode past. Stefan took note of the plaid and the sword the man carried. It didn’t take long for Stefan to decide to follow the man even though it took him back in the direction he had come from.
    Stefan hadn’t been following the rider long when the man drew his mount to a stop and simply sat there. Stefan couldn’t see the man’s face because of his cloak and hood, but the man was being cautious. A moment later, he clicked the horse back into a walk.
    Stefan was glad of his decision to follow the rider when they