Broken Heart 05 Over My Dead Body by Michele Bardsley Read Free Book Online

object, at least on paper, was twelve inches high with a base six inches wide. Angled on the left was the statue of a robed figure holding a gnarled wooden staff; on her right side was a big black wolf. Suspended above them was a crystal orb. Reiner explained the statue was the Moon Goddess and her lover, Tark. The orb was a stylized moon. I glanced at him. “You want the woman to raise her staff and when she does, the orb will glow blue?”
    He nodded. “I based the design on some of the ancient icons, which are still on display in the temple. There used to be many temples, just like there used to be many lycans and Roma. Now, there is only one temple—and not so many of us.”
    I knew that the lycanthropes were a dying race. At least, they had been until Patsy and Gabriel’s union gave them hope. Of course, the loup de sang drank blood like vampires—and not all lycans appreciated that, er, quirk.
    “You know, when we lived in our little village, I served my princes. I was their loyal bodyguard, their friend. I was also their best tracker.” He smiled softly. “Better, even, than Damian.” His tone was reminiscent, and underneath it, something I’d could only describe as yearning. “Do you know the story, Simone?”
    “What story?”
    “Sixty years ago, in the mountains of the Schwarzwald—the Black Forest—Roma and lycans lived together peacefully. Damian had married and was soon to be a father. After years of watching our women mourn and our children die, we had hope.”
    He snapped his fingers and the sound echoed in the stillness. “Then it was gone. Destroyed by the Ancient vampire Koschei and his Wraiths. Those who survived went elsewhere. Even the princes exiled themselves.” Reiner ’s despair was so thick it coated every word. He traced the lines on the paper. “Their father was the last royal alpha of pure blood. Their mother was an American. She was the daughter of a royal and a commoner. In the very early days of our kind, such a match would’ve never been allowed. The royals are different genetically.”
    I nodded. I knew that because the Consortium had explained it at the same time they’d explained why they’d been unable to replicate the cure for the Taint. Right now, the only way to rid a vampire of the disease was to transfuse him with royal lycan blood. As far as I knew, only two vampires had received the treatment: Lorcan and Faustus.
    “Is it true that werewolves were once guardians of vampires?”
    “Lycanthropes have been around much longer than vampires. It is true that some vampires glamoured lycans as guards much the same way they glamoured humans as drones. Of course, the Consortium does not condone either practice. Patrick and Lorcan befriended us. They helped us when no one else would. And that is why Damian, Drake, and Darrius offer their skills and their loyalty.”
    “What about you?” I asked. The question startled both of us. I usually wasn’t so nosy, especially not about someone I wasn’t sure I liked.
    “I joined the Consortium because I appreciated its vision, its goals. But I cannot help but think my people were meant for some larger purpose—and that we have lost our way. We are direct descendents from the Moon Goddess. Her blood runs in all our veins.” He rolled up the paper and wrapped a rubber band around it. “I do not know why She allows our children to die or why She has blessed Gabriel and his vampire bride with fertility.”
    I knew right then he’d lost a child. The catch in his voice and the sorrow in his eyes told me so. Maybe when his village was attacked, or maybe just in the course of trying to raise a lycanthrope baby. . . . Who knew?
    I never thought I’d ever feel anything but disgust for Reiner. I didn’t want to admit that the man was capable of feeling as wounded as me. For a long time, I thought I had the market cornered on pain. After I’d escaped Jacob, I’d beaten my soul bloody with the spiked stick of regret. It was hard