This Curse: (The Grace Allen Series Book 2 ) Read Online Free PDF Page B

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thought I was dressed and in full glamour. The door shook, windows rattled and
the air seemed charged with an eerie, otherworldly energy. This was no mere
windstorm! I fought the urge to panic. It was as if something was trying to rip
the house apart. I stood by the nearest window and peered out.
    The night was still, not a leaf stirred on any of the
trees. The porch swing sat calmly, not a creak, as if the world outside were
frozen. I sharpened my senses, opening my mind to scan the darkness between the
trees.
    I sensed him a second before he stepped out of the
darkness. This man was spooky. Dark thoughts tumbled in his head, violence,
lust, and a hunger for power.
     I turned and leaned my back against the curtains,
sighing as the promise of rest fled. I turned, glancing out the window again to
get a better look at my potential attacker. He was tall and muscular, like a
typical thug should be. He had black hair slicked into one of those faux-hawks.
At first it looked like he was wearing a long sleeved shirt with some crazy
designs on it, yet now I could see that he was in fact shirtless and covered in
tattoos. His jeans were shredded and looked to be about a hundred years old and
his muddy feet were bare. 
    “Damn it! What the hell now?” I muttered as I steeled
my resolve. I wasn’t scared, because, lets face it; I was pretty hard to kill.
I just really wanted some peace.
    The trees cast long shadows in the light of the full
moon as I stepped from the warmth of my house.
    He stepped from the shadows and slowly approached.
The feral look in his eyes told me that he had a little something extra going
on. I felt my mind touch his and I shook my head at my rapidly dissolving
rules. Entering minds was such an invasion but I found I could do it with
little harm to my conscious. From the cocktail waitress earlier this evening to
this grungy looking murdering psycho, I figured mind reading was just a means
to an end. The day I start reading minds automatically without a second thought
was the day I needed to shut myself away from humanity all together.
    I closed my eyes touched his thoughts. He was a scout
and I had just showed him all he needed to know. I was home and according to
his assessment, I was alone and helpless. Yeah, he wished. Violence
bubbled to the surface of his mind and a sickening smile spread across his
filthy face. He took a step closer to my house as a huge wave of muscular, unwashed
bodies broke through the trees and bushy sage. I sighed, resolved to the fact
that I was about to have a very bad night. Then, recognition dawned.
    Well, shit.  
    Patrick’s pack had come to call.
    My limbs tensed as adrenaline flowed through my
veins. I scanned their faces, only recognizing a few here and there from the
club. They were all filthy as if they’d rolled and tumbled through the desert
instead of walked upright like men.
    They stood their ground and I shivered as a thought
occurred to me. How did a bunch of wolves cause my house to shake the way it
had? The thought barely had time to form a moment before Voltaire appeared
out of thin air in front of me. Oh Lovely.
    “Madea, I see you wear a false face.” Voltaire’s ugly
shriveled eyes rolled inside his hideous face, taking in my glamour. “Tell me,
are you so unsightly? I truly hope this is not the case, for that would surely
upset my plan.”
    I frowned at him, my teeth grinding in my mouth as I
tried to process his words. Voltaire has a voice that could make a mortal’s
ears bleed. He is a full-fledged demon straight from Hell. Yep, and he is every
bit as scary as you would think. When I first met him, I almost passed out from
the sound of his voice alone. His ability to strip you down and examine every
cell is a frightening reality and an even worse feeling. He could sense my
glamour and that meant that he was able to use his powers on me. I was really
not okay with that.
    “Voltaire,” I began, “how horrible to see you.
Complimentary as always I