Who's Riding Red? Read Online Free PDF Page A

block.”
    He chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose before settling his lips over hers. The kiss was long and languorous, meant to both soothe and seduce.
    “You’re a rare gem, Lady Redmond. And I would be honored”
    Richard’s declaration was interrupted by a loud rustling in the trees. Before she knew what was happening, he had her hidden behind a large oak tree and his sword was pulled from its scabbard. He tossed her cloak to her and she hurriedly fastened it around her neck and pulled the hood over her light hair.
    “Richard.” Phillipa barely breathed the words, almost too afraid to move. “What’s happening?”
    “I don’t know,” he said circling the clearing as the rustling turned to snarls and seemed to come from all around them. “But if I am in danger you must run to the safety of where the others are camped. Do you understand?”
    “Yes.”
    It was the eyes she saw first. The eerie glow of yellow, lying in wait behind the camouflage of the shrubbery. Growls echoed all around her and slithered over her skin, leaving her flesh chilled and her mouth dry with fear. They walked into the clearing as one horrid beasts the size of the workhorses the farmers sometimes used in their fields. They ranged in color from pale gray to red to brown. But there was only one that was black as the night itself. And his eyes weren’t yellow like the others they were red, like burning embers from the fiery depths of hell and he was clearly the wolf in charge.
    He stood on two legs, where the others were down on all fours. Black fur covered his entire body and his genitalia hung down large and exposed between his thighs. His elongated face displayed fangs that could sure bite a man in two.
    “Where is the girl?” the leader asked, his voice low and distorted. “I can smell her scent on you.”
    Phillipa gasped as her mind reeled at what the beast could possibly want from her. Or how he even knew of her existence.
    “She’s gone back to the others. What do you want with her?”
    Richard faced the wolf bravely, his sword never wavering, and she would have admired his courage if she weren’t certain they were both about to die. She had no weapons to help Richard in his fight, and there was no one near enough to call out for help.
    “What I want with her is not your concern. And you’re lying to me about her whereabouts. She is hidden nearby.”
    “I’ll not let you have her,” Richard said boldly.
    The wolf laughed, a horrible rumble that filled her soul with terror.
    “You will not stop me.”
    The first howl of battle rent through the night like the edge of a knife blade, and Phillipa turned and ran as the sound of gnashing teeth and screams followed her through the forest. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her lungs labored for every breath. Branches slapped at her cheeks and snagged her cloak, but she kept running, even as she felt the ground shake behind her and the snap of twigs as she was pursued.
    A gray wolf jumped in front of her and she skidded to a halt, tripping over a fallen log and stumbling to her knees. She backed away as the wolf stalked her slowly, his yellow eyes boring into her own and his lips pulled back in a snarl so his teeth protrude grotesquely.
    A growl from behind her had her jerking around, and she found herself face to face with the red wolf. He laughed at her, so close he blew hot breath and spittle across her forehead.
    “You can’t run from us, little girl.”
    Phillipa didn’t get the chance to scream. The red wolf stood on two legs and swooped her up into his arms. He ran with incredible speed for what seemed like hours, dodging trees and fallen logs with the dexterity only an animal built of pure power could achieve. She tucked her head against his fur and closed her eyes as she felt her stomach lurch at being jostled. She might have dozed, but images of Richard fighting to protect her plagued her every thought.
    The sky had lightened to the pearly silver of dawn when