Shadowed Threads by Shannon Mayer Read Free Book Online Page A

you sure?” Her fingers clutched Alex’s collar, the werewolf having crept in without me noticing. Both of them had eyes the size of silver dollars. Children, I had children for allies. Fuck, I needed Doran to snap out of this binding he was under so I had at least one able-bodied adult backing me up.
    I was in front of Doran, our bodies maybe an inch apart. He was still shaking his head. “Rylee, this is a bad, bad idea.”
    “So is killing you, so is killing Pamela. There are no good choices here. If this will break the tie, we are doing it. So stop your fucking whining.” I closed the distance between us and did my best to ignore the thundering race of my heart. I closed my eyes and pressed my neck against his closed mouth. “Do it.”
    He groaned, his lips brushing against my skin, tongue darting out to taste. I shivered and my heart sped up even more, sweat beading up along my spine. He whispered my name, kissed my neck, and I pulled back to glare at him.
    “None of that shit. Just bite me, damn it.”
    Doran gave me a smile. “Can’t blame me for trying.”
    I leaned back in, pressed my neck hard against his mouth, and this time he wasted no breath. His fangs popped through my skin, and I stiffened at the sharp piercing. He groaned and I lifted a hand. “Let him go, Pamela.”
    The second her spell left him, his arms snaked around me, holding me against him as he drew my blood into his mouth. For most people, it would have been a sensual, sexual moment, and by the way Doran’s lower half felt, he was definitely in the mood. But he hadn’t be-spelled me, so his bite wasn’t doing a thing for me. The bite hurt, and his hard-on dug into me with the unpleasantness of a drunken come on. Overall, not an experience I’d want to write home about.
    I felt a distant twang on my senses and the Child Empress’s attention focused on me. I could feel her gaze through Doran. Shit, this was a bad idea.
    “Jack, how long?” I tried to look to the old Tracker, but one of Doran’s hands snaked up to cup the back of my head.
    Jack had the nerve to laugh. “The first drop of blood would have done it, he’s just getting off now.”
    I slid two fingers between Doran’s mouth and my neck and popped him off like I would a leech; the connection that had started up between me and the Child Empress cut off. Thank the gods.
    The Daywalker reeled back, stumbled across the floor and ended up flat on his back, a trickle of my blood leaking down the edge of his mouth.
    “Sweet mother of the dark goddess, Rylee. That is the most amazing blood I’ve ever tasted.” He giggled, sounding drunk. “And the binding is gone. I can’t feel her in my head. You are a goddess, a queen, a sweet aphrodisiac that I will never grow tired of.”
    I put a hand to my neck, the bite tender, though I could tell he’d not dug in as he could have. I had a bite on my lower back from a pissed off Daywalker—I knew how bad it could have been if Doran hadn’t been holding back.
    “Great. The binding is gone. You can behave now. Pamela” —I strode across to her— “come with me.”
    I left Jack and Doran in the library and headed to the nearest bathroom. Digging through the cupboards, it took me several searches to find what I was looking for. The towel was too big, so using my bowie knife I cut it into strips.
    “Pamela, run this under the hot water, will you?” I handed her the smallest strip.
    She did as I asked, her eyes watching me in the mirror. “Do you think he’s safe now?”
    “Safe as he’s going to be.”
    “Then why did you take me with you?”
    I sat on the edge of the tub and she handed me the strip. Pressing it against the bite I let out a sigh. “Because he’s never going to be safe . Not really. There are very few supernaturals that I would leave you with. Will and Deanna, Jack. Eve. Not Doran.”
    Alex slunk into the bathroom. “Leave Pamie with Alex.”
    “Yes.” I patted him on the head. “I’d leave Pamie with