B00XXAC6U6 EBOK by Caris Roane Read Free Book Online Page B

hawk, the way his eyes focused like a predator on whatever he was looking at.
    Her heart picked up its cadence. She blinked a couple of times because Stone had never looked more handsome in his life, though she couldn’t say why. A sudden and very powerful desire began to rise within her. She’d always liked and admired Stone, but she’d never experienced a romantic interest in him like she did now.
    She also felt his chronic blood starvation like a pressure against her breastbone. She wanted to feed him. Needed to. And she needed to do it now.
    At about the same time, she felt something very strange flow through Ian, a vibration unfamiliar to Regan. The muscles of his back flexed and released only to tighten again.
    A strange chuffing sound came out of his throat. She looked up at him, shocked to see that his fangs had settled low on his lips. “Ian?”
    A low growl came from his throat as he slowly slid his arm from around her then eased her away from him. At the last moment, he pushed her behind him.
    “Get in the house. Now.” His voice was low, almost unrecognizable.
    Regan didn’t understand until she heard Stone growl as well. He stared at her, a hungry glint in his eye, nostrils flared, fangs on his lips.
    Oh, no.
    It was all so new she’d forgotten: she was a blood rose. And Stone was one of the most powerful of all the ruling mastyrs.
    Her heart set up a heavy racket, the pulse sounding in her ears. The blood rose part of her felt ramped up and excited beyond words for what was about to happen. The other part, the sensible, womanly fae part knew these men were in deep trouble since each had quickly devolved into a primordial state.
    She trembled from both excitement and horror. She needed to do something, yet she was unable to move; she wanted to see the men fight for her.
    Ian charged first, levitating and flying at Stone so fast he was only a blur. Using his head, he caught Stone in the chest, forcing him backward several yards. He landed on top of Stone at the foot of a large boulder not eight feet from the cliff edge.
    When Ian rose up, Stone flew upward with a combination of levitation and sheer strength, catching Ian’s chin with his fist.
    As Ian’s head jerked back, he flew in an arc through the air, then came to earth with a dull thud, landing on his back not far from where she stood. But by the time Stone moved in again, Ian was already on his feet and the battle was on.
    Fists flew, the men grunted when struck and at times howled with a kind of fury Regan had never heard before.
    They were equally matched and as they struck each other, they neared the cliff edge. Regan’s excitement began to wear off, replaced by an almost paralyzing dread.
    She began to shake as the nature of the battle settled in hard. This would be a fight to the death over possession of her.
    And she couldn’t let it happen. She couldn’t be the cause of the Nine Realms losing one of their most powerful mastyrs at a time when their world was on the brink of a civilization-ending war.
    She sank to her knees.
    She had to look away from the battling pair and close her ears to their terrible guttural sounds.
    She had to reach Vojalie and she had to do it now.
    There was one thing she did understand about her blood rose state. All the women who for whatever reason launched into this new state of being also gained power.
    She took deep breaths and let her blood rose ability add new strength to her telepathic skill. The resulting vibration stunned her, but she made quick work and summoned the one woman who could help her.
    Vojalie, she pathed. I’m in trouble. Please hear me. Vojalie, I learned early this morning I’m a blood rose and right now Mastyrs Stone and Ian are battling, but neither is in possession of a rational mind. They will fight to the death if something isn’t done. Can you help me?
    For a moment, nothing returned, but it wasn’t Vojalie who responded. Instead Davido, her husband, a very ancient and powerful