Mills & Boon : Seducing The Jackal by Seressia Glass Read Free Book Online Page A

we were united in our calling to serve Anubis, most of our
skirmishes were one family group against a clutch of the undead, or solitary
hunters keeping the peace through wits. Sekhanu was the first to unite the
jackals under a supreme commander, to help us see the benefits of organizing and
making us a stronger, more cohesive unit. Meturare was high priest of the Cult
of Anubis and remained our spiritual leader. Together they made us nearly
invincible against the Lost Ones.”
    “What about Asharet? How did she and Sekhanu meet?”
    “Asharet was already high priestess of the Daughters of Isis,”
he explained. “Usually she dealt with Meturare but Sekhanu wanted to form a
closer alliance and make sure the witches were properly protected. He felt that
if an enemy rose against the Sons for uniting, the Daughters would be
vulnerable.”
    They had been, according to Tia’s grandmother, Aya. They’d lost
a third of their coven sisters the day they’d lost Asharet.
    “I don’t know if it was love at first sight,” Markus went on.
“Sekhanu never spoke of softer things like that, but he was taken with Asharet.
She had power and beauty to go with it, balanced by a keen mind and a giving
heart. Sekhanu always said she was his toughest challenge and his greatest
conquest.”
    He packed up the remnants of their meal. “They showed us how
jackals and witches could work together, to forge greater power and protections
together. With them leading us, we were able to protect the land from the Lost
Ones for five generations. And then the night of blood came.”
    “When Asharet and Sekhanu died.”
    A sharp nod. “An outbreak of Lost Ones rising in the desert
near Saqqara had me away from home for several days. When I returned, the deed
was done—the temples destroyed, our leader and priestess dead, our priest
missing, our allies became our enemies. The undead we fought, they were
different. Not mindless creatures intent on taking from the living but focused,
thinking beings that attacked as if they’d been combat-trained.”
    “Do you think they were soldiers who retained some of their
humanity?”
    “Yes, and gained new abilities. I also believe the uprising was
a deliberate ploy to remove a large number of Sons so that the temples—and
Sekhanu and Asharet—were unprotected.”
    Guilt drenched his tone, and she reacted to it. “You couldn’t
have known what would happen. You did your duty as you’ve always done. Sekhanu
and Asharet were powerful, you just said so. They wouldn’t have fallen
easily.”
    “No. But fall they did.” He fisted his hands. “The least I
could have done was die defending them.”
    Rising to her knees, she reached out and wrapped her fingers
around his bicep needing to touch him, to offer some sort of solace. “What good
would that have done, versus the good you’ve done since? Your clan has survived
because of you. I think Asharet and Sekhanu would prefer this to your
death.”
    He snorted, shaking off his sour mood. “Defended by an Isis
witch. Who would have thought?”
    He gathered their plates and tray and placed them on the
dresser. “We have a common enemy, Tia. Someone powerful enough to command the
Lost Ones and secretly betray both the Sons of Anubis and the Daughters of Isis.
I have thought on this for years. Every jackal I have considered capable of that
level of treachery I have discounted. I can only believe the threat came from an
Isis witch.”
    Tia sank back down on the bed. She didn’t want to believe that.
How could she begin to consider that a distant coven sister had set off a chain
of events that created a four-millennia-old blood feud? She knew her circle had
a single-minded respect for power—her own supposed lack had been impetus for her
to become a solitary practitioner. Still, she couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to
overthrow Aya, still a powerful high priestess. If Asharet was even more so,
wouldn’t that make her even less vulnerable? Surely if a