Blood Law by Karin Tabke Read Free Book Online Page B

attacks as well as a
few from the Vipers, a Slayer-backed gang of bikers, but Rafael knew he would
have to reinforce every inch of the compound with the coming of the Blood Moon.
The quickening had begun. But their survival rested on surviving the rising.
    Over
the last two decades, the Slayers had systematically reduced Lycan numbers to
fewer than a thousand worldwide. Add to that the division of the Vulkasin pack,
and there were fewer to protect the bloodline. He and his brother were the last
alphas of the pack. Until he marked his chosen one—the alpha female who matched
him in courage, heart, and strength—the line could not continue.
    The
irony twisted within him. Of course, once he found his destined mate, she would
be offered up to Lucien as the payment for Rafael’s deed. It was why he had
refused to choose and mark his mate. How could he knowingly sacrifice her? He
couldn’t. Yet, if he did not, his line would die.
    Rage
at his brother intensified. Would that Lucien admit his woman was Slayer, there
would be no sacrifice. But if Lucien did admit it, the Blood Law would demand
his life as payment.
    It
was an impossible situation, one that would only be remedied by death.
    Rafael
kicked open the door that led to the more private rooms in the communal
building. Then, after striding across a wide expanse of hardwood floor to a
steep stairway and down a short hall, he kicked open the thick oak door into
his own quarters. He moved through the main room and into his bedroom.
    He
grimaced when the subtle scent of lemony spice wafted around his nostrils.
Lana. She was always leaving her scent on his bedpost in hopes of driving him
mad with lust. She refused to accept that he took from her only what his body
needed, never his heart.
    Never
his heart.
    Rafe
fought back a bitter laugh. As alpha, he had his pick of any female in his
pack, even the paired ones. Not wanting to create harsh feelings among his pack
males, Rafael stayed away from their females. He would rather be a lone wolf
than share his mate, even with the alpha, so how could he expect his pack to?
He made a point of taking only the unattached pack females to his bed. Their
scents appealed to him for only a brief time before he set them aside. Yet they
all vied for his affection, even knowing that in the end, it would mean their
deaths to love him. He could not bring himself to mark a Lycan, only to see her
sacrificed. His decision not to pull the trigger, so to speak, had become an
increasing problem. For his pack to survive, he had to take and mark a mate.
    So
lately, he had taken to fucking human females. Unless marked, a human could not
conceive with his seed, and he was immune from human disease. But the best part
of sex with a human was that he never had to see her again. No longing looks,
no whines for attention, no backbiting. He’d taken more and more to cruising
the cities for human sex to quench his ever growing primal fire. But even so,
lately, his moods had darkened. He spent most days running through the forests
until he had no strength to run another step and his nights hunting Slayers. He
had a hunger for something else. Something with meaning, something out there,
something . . . taboo.
    It
was a double-edged sword he wielded. There was no debating the
three-century-old covenant. Though many council meetings had convened to sidestep
or find a loophole, the laws were written in Lycan blood after the great war of
the North and could not be challenged.
    He
would take a mate, and Rafe could only hope she lived long enough to conceive,
for once she conceived, so, too, would the females of the pack, and the line
would survive another generation.
    He
growled, frustrated and angry. Resentment for what he could not change ate at
him, but when he laid the girl down on the linens, he did so carefully.
    Her
long body molded into the thick down comforter. In seconds, the pale yellow
cotton was blood-soaked. She groaned in pain. When she moved her right leg,