NocC 010 - The Ancients 04 - Bonnie Vanak - Seduced by the Wolf - Harlequin 2012-03 by Nocturne Read Free Book Online Page B

mocked.
    Because I need her.
    They shifted for the six-mile trek across meadows and the river. Instinct urged him to keep to the shadows. His wolf senses flared with caution as he padded across the dead grass, making sure Ariel was at his side. As they approached the Fae colony and a group of cabins, dread filled him. No lights shone from the inside. No welcoming fires as in the past.
    The small village seemed deserted and dead as a ghost town. A foul stench, laced with something familiar, ground him to an abrupt halt. Jarrett’s ears flattened. He nudged Ariel with his nose, signaling her to stop.
    What is that smell?
    It came from the cabin closest to the mountain. Jarrett’s heart banged against his chest. They communicated in wolf form, same as the old days. All his people could communicate telepathically after shifting, but the ability did not extend to Fae. Except Ariel.
    She’d always been special.
    Decaying bodies , he told her.
    Ariel shifted back. Naked, trembling, she stood in the meadow. Moonlight glistened off her pale skin.
    Jarrett cursed and shifted as well, clothing himself by magick. He had no clothing for her. Damn, the temperature was dropping fast.
    But she didn’t seem to care. Instead, she ran to the cabins sitting in the lee of the mountain like gray ghosts.
    The Fae compound was laid out in a square, with a wildflower garden separating each house. Jarrett raced after Ariel, cursing silently. She was lighter and faster, her Fae powers making her feet fly over the dirt path.
    She headed for the largest cabin, darting inside like a frantic dragonfly. Jarrett followed.
    He knew what she would find.
    The stench of death clogged his nostrils, making his wolf howl and want to flee. Jarrett curbed the impulse and tracked Ariel to the back bedrooms. His wolf vision enabled him to see in the cloying darkness. In her hand dangled a length of gold chain and a twist of delicate spirals, light as air and as dainty. Air rushed out of his lungs.
    Cael’s Celestial Luminaire.
    The necklace itself was devoid of bluish light. Dead as the stench filtering through the cabin.
    “It’s dark. It’s never been dark. And he’d never leave it behind, never, he’s never taken it off, it’s his life force.”
    Removing his shirt, he draped it over her shoulders. She seemed dwarfed by it, the tails hanging down midthigh. Her expression was cold and empty as a grave.
    Jarrett gently took the chain from her clenched fingers and folded it into her palm. “I know, Ariel. The light goes out only when his life force is gone.”
    “No. Not possible.” She shook her head, making her dark curls fly around her shoulders. “My father is not dead.”
    She refused to accept it. Her father was strong, vital, and drew his energy from the earth.
    The earth could not have taken his life.
    By rights the Luminaire was hers now. The next to rule her people. What people?
    “Everyone’s gone,” she whispered. A sob clogged her throat. “They’re all gone. They can’t have died. They have to be alive, somewhere.”
    “Ariel, sweetheart, the Luminaire’s light has gone dark.”
    He spoke softly, the words scraping her insides raw. Ariel flung the necklace away from her. It landed on the hardwood floor with a clatter.
    A sob rose in her throat.
    Jarrett enfolded her in his strong arms, holding her steady. Her anchor, solid as the earth she’d loved, the earth that had robbed her father of life. Air rushed out of her lungs in a tidal wave. She could no longer hold back the grief.
    Ariel cried as he rocked her back and forth. She felt his lips brush the top of her head. “Aw damn, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
    The stench of death and decay permeated her pores, squeezing her lungs in a painful vise. With every gulp of air, it felt like death seeping into her body, creeping through her cells and destroying them.
    “I…can’t breathe,” she gasped.
    She let him lead her out of the cabin into the night, out of the