Torkel's Chosen Read Online Free PDF

watched outside the stone barriers with their men.
    Torkel moved away
from her and the little weasel on the other side of her grabbed her arms
pinching the flesh. Faye jerked back from him and put herself on the other side
of Torkel. He was her husband or Chosen which meant he had to protect her.
    The other man shot
her a hate-filled look from his blue eyes and came after her while her Chosen
walked further away. Faye’s eyes bugged. People stared.
    “Hey. Wait!”
    The brochure
hadn’t covered this but her Chosen didn’t stop or glance back.
    “You belong to me,
now. After I punish you for shaming me, I’ll enjoy your lush body,” the man
harshly whispered in her ear.
    At the implied threat,
her pulse kicked up a notch. When he grabbed her upper arm and dug his fingers
into her tender flesh, Faye cried out in pain. Ignoring her, his lips curled at
one corner as he snarled. “You must return the medallion, Torkel the unwanted.”
    Now he pissed her
off. “Get off, you oaf. Torkel, please.”
    The man wrenched
her arm behind her back. Faye lost her temper and kicked him. Hard. He released
her and she charged after Torkel.
    She almost reached
him when she tripped and fell to her knees. Something snagged on her hair and wrenched
her head back. Faye cried out as tears welled. The brute’s breath scraped
against her face smelling of sewage. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
What barbaric practice allowed a man to abuse the women who wanted to be with
them?
    Her scalp burned
but the man wouldn’t let go. He tightened his grasp until she thought he’d yank
the strands from her scalp.
    A loud roar jerked
her head up. Torkel flew across the sand, his face a mask of rage.
    The man managed to
get Faye to her feet but with hope reborn, Faye slipped from the cloak and his
hold, then jumped for Torkel. He caught her mid-air and spun on his heels,
keeping her well out of the crazy dude’s reach.
    Screams and shouts
poured out. The entire place was in an uproar.
    “Halt!”
    Faye wrapped her
arms around Torkel’s broad shoulders and ducked her face into his neck. She
shook hard enough that he had to adjust his hold on her and lift her higher
against the reassuring heat of his chest.
    What was wrong
with this alien planet? Tears ran down her cheeks. “What’s going on, Torkel? I
chose you. I chose you.”
    Axan yelled but
she couldn’t make out his words.
    “Enough,” another
voice shouted.
    Faye dared to lift
her head. Men in red uniforms blocked the other man from her and Torkel. Face
red with fury, he kicked up sand every few steps as he tried to circumvent the
human wall barring him.
    Torkel glanced
down. “Axan is out of control. He protested the choosing and you agreed.”
    Faye leaned back
to see Torkel’s face without the sun in her eyes. “No, I didn’t.”
    His lips pressed
tight together for a moment before he spoke again. “Faye, when Conra ask-”
    “Torkel Alonson,
bring the female forward.”
    He didn’t get to
finish what he was about to say. Two men and a woman in black robes stood on
the sand. Silence reigned.
    “Never have I seen
such a display,” the woman hissed.
    Her blonde hair
curled in ringlets about her head. The features of her face were delicate
enough to get her a role in one of those ice shows as a princess.
    “I must agree with
Merlyn.” This from the man at her side.
    “I second that,”
said the man with the gray braid though his blue eyes twinkled.
    “Faye Reid, you
have caused a stir in one of the oldest traditions on our planet,” said Merlyn.
    “He attacked me.”
Faye rolled up her sleeve to show the purple bruises already forming.
    Torkel growled.
    “You will keep
calm, Torkel Alonson or your maman will deal with you.”
    To her surprise
the tough guy quieted at the woman’s admonishment.
    “I am Naine. We
don’t harm females who come to the choosing. For that, Axan will receive a
sufficient fine.” The first man looked sad and disappointed.
    “I’m Conra,