Forbidden by Fate by Kristin Miller Read Free Book Online Page A

glorious.
    She’d almost forgotten how soul-staggering this really was.
    They soared for minutes. Hours. Didn’t matter. Sasha didn’t know if she’d ever get a moment like this one again. She laid her head on Damon’s back, closed her eyes and listened to the deep rumble of his breathing.
    When she felt as though she’d fallen into some kind of trance, Damon’s body rippled from head to tail, pushing her upright.
    They’d flown to the bottom of Timeless Gorge, to where the river narrowed and turned sharply around a protruding chunk of mountain. She squinted into a large shadow at the base of the mountain and realized it wasn’t a shadow at all.
    It was a cave.
    “There?” she asked, looking behind her to gain her bearings. She had no clue where they’d veered or how long they’d flown. Only that she’d never seen this part of the river, or the gorge, before. “The cave?”
    His body rippled again, quicker this time, as if he’d nodded in response. Then he dove toward a stretch of black sand in front of the cave. His wings beat hard once. He stretched upright, beat them fast again and then settled gently on the sand. He leaned to the side so Sasha could dismount.
    The onyx-black sand was oddly smooth and fluffy beneath her feet. Like it’d never been walked on before. Where the devil were they? Surely she would’ve heard rumors of a luscious, black-sanded beach. They were surrounded by rock, with only a touch of green peeking over the gorge above their heads.
    Sasha dropped Damon’s backpack to the ground, picked up a handful of sand, letting the black pebbles slip between her fingers. They were smooth from water wear. This whole area, and probably the cave, had been swallowed by the river at one time.
    By the time Sasha spun back around, Damon was back in human form, shoving his legs into his pants. He zipped up and slung the backpack over his shoulder and then headed right for the mouth of the cave like he knew what lay in its shadowed mouth.
    She hesitated. Did he know what he was getting into? Had he come through here before?
    “Come on,” Damon said. He turned back, propping his foot up on a rock. “Don’t tell me you’ve come all this way just to turn back now.”
    “It’s not that I want to go back…”
    She simply didn’t want to follow him into that cave. Rogue Were packs often dwelled in caves along rivers, and they weren’t always friendly, even with wolves from like-minded packs.
    “Oh, come on,” he said, offering his hand. “I know this is the edge of Draco territory, but I wouldn’t worry about other dragons bothering us. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe.”
    It wasn’t her safety she worried about.
    The land may’ve been Draco territory, but the cave was the perfect place for rogue Weres to plan an unexpected attack against a Draco or two. Damon might’ve been able to take care of himself against one or two werewolves, but a pack of them? No way.
    Taking his hand, they walked through the wide mouth of the cave. It was dark, but Sasha’s superior Were vision allowed her to see perfectly. Once her eyes adjusted, she could see every crevice and every turn with crystal clarity.
    The further they trudged, the more Sasha realized this wasn’t simply a cave, carved out of the mountain from river wear. This was someone’s home, with candles lit in iron sconces to lead the way, and a warm, inviting scent emitting from somewhere in the walls.
    Wolves. Though she didn’t smell them, it didn’t mean they weren’t here.
    She stopped.
    “Damon, I don’t think—”
    “It’s all right,” he said, tugging her along. “I want to show you something.”
    “This is someone’s home.” She bit her lip and peered around the corner. More lights. More warmth radiating from within. “We don’t belong here. Let’s go.”
    He smiled, and Sasha could’ve sworn it lit the cave a shade brighter. “It’s my home.”
    “Your…” Her eyebrows rose in surprise as Damon dragged