Forbidden Love by Natalie Hancock Read Free Book Online Page B

raped you?
    I made them fight to get what they wanted, and that turned them on more than anything.
    Elijah growled.
    When I escaped, they hurt me more. Because I was half-breed, I healed twice as fast, but not fast enough to heal the damage done.
    They damaged your voice box?
    Keta moved her face under his legs. I can’t tell others what happened if I can’t talk. I once saw another woman like me try to escape, and they crushed her throat. Keta shivered at the memory. I took that risk again and again. I guess I am luckier than the other woman, she didn’t make it.
    Why not go home?
    And do what? Have my family kill me for being something I shouldn’t be?
    Keta.
    Keta stood and shifted back into her human form, cutting off the conversation. Elijah whined but she ignored him as she dressed quickly.
    When she pulled out her crossbow and stakes, Elijah shifted back into a human and pressed her against the wall. “What are you doing?”
    She struggled against his grip and got her hands free to sign. The only thing I can to get rid of the nightmares!
    “You aren’t hunting for vampires, Keta. I won’t let you.”
    You can’t stop me!
    Elijah picked her up and threw her onto the bed. He pounced and pinned her there. “There’s only one way you will ever be free.”
    And what’s that?
    Elijah smiled, brushing her dishevelled hair from her face. “Do the same thing I plan on doing. Kill Rio.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Keta was shocked into keeping her hands still, hovering in the air. Elijah was serious, she could see that clearly. He wasn’t laughing, or smiling.
    “Let me explain. I have this command set on me, whether or not you helped me resist the second one. I still have to find Katrina and I have to bring her back to Rio. You said so yourself, the chances of her being alive are slim. Rio will kill me anyway if I bring back his daughter dead. You are tormented with the fact that Rio sold you off to the werewolves and vampires but being half-wolf, you can’t do anything but hunt down vampires. You have no bond with them like you do with the wolves.”
    Keta frowned. I still don’t understand.
    “Then listen. If we kill Rio, we’d both be free.”
    We can’t kill him. It’s not in our nature.
    “We can and we will. Command or not, I plan on finding out what happened to Katrina because she has suffered by the hand of my own kind. It may not have been by my clan, but as I’ve said to you before, I help those who have been where you are. Those who kidnapped Katrina will pay with their lives.”
    Kill Rio? Keta loved the idea of not being tied to the bastard wolf and finding the peace she had been looking for when she killed all those vampires.
    Could she do it? Kill the man that practically owned her?
    Keta was glad Elijah didn’t speak or ease his grip on her. Killing Rio was a ridiculous idea, yet the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to trust Elijah and say yes. This isn’t going to work.
    Elijah raised his eyebrows a fraction. “Why?”
    How will we kill him? And what will stop the next male from acting the same way, selling other women, vampire and werewolf off to those sick men? You know how it goes. You’re connected to Rio and his pack. Killing him won’t break that.
    “Don’t worry about how we’ll kill him, and don’t worry about another male taking Rio’s place. I wouldn’t have mentioned this to you if I hadn’t thought it through. If we find Katrina, and she is alive, we’ll help her become alpha female of the pack. If not, I will challenge anyone who stands in the way of us getting freedom. Me from the command and you from the constant fear Rio brings in your eyes.”
    You’re a vampire. You can’t become an alpha male.
    “No, I can’t. But if I challenge the pack, and I win, I can claim what’s mine and I’ll kill Rio while I’m at it. A fair fight.”
    Keta searched Elijah’s eyes, her brows knitting down. What’s yours? She closed her eyes as Elijah’s lips touched