Slow Burn by Sascha Illyvich Read Free Book Online Page A

slowly, Sonja closed her eyes
and envisioned a healing white light. Starting around her head, it seeped into
her skin, warming her as it surrounded the rest of her body and cleared her
thoughts.
    Discomfort subsided but there would be a bruise for a few
hours afterwards. Sonja let out a careful sigh then opened her eyes and studied
her surroundings. She noticed the iron manacles clinging to her legs.
    At least her arms were free.
    A fraction of light from the tiny window high up in the wall
showed just how dismal the room truly was with peeling gray paint, a small
wooden table beside an iron cot that held a lamp, a glass of water, and a first
aid kit probably lacking anything remotely usable as a weapon.
    She needed to get out of here. Of course she had no idea
where here was. Or who had kidnapped her.
    The last thing she remembered was being shoved against the
puma with silver-tinted eyes and short, black hair.
    Then the emotional wall slammed into her. Anger focused on
one goal, along with mixed feelings of sorrow, had knocked her off balance and
into Max’s arms. She didn’t like that as much as being held by Derrick but it
didn’t really matter now, did it?
    Max had whispered something in her ear she couldn’t
remember.
    Overwhelming sensations of focused anger hit her a second
time, pounding into her with the force of a gale. Then something else happened,
probably the bat to the head, and she blanked out.
    Would Derrick come for her?
    Did he know he became a part of her destiny when she first
laid eyes on him? The first time she saw him was at a metal show—one of her
favorite nu-metal bands had come to town—and she spotted him from across the
bar. She sensed something different about him and realized when she got closer
that she smelled earth, raw power, and cats. Feral, primal, and sleek, she
found the puma inside him right away by searching his aura.
    He had worn a black trench coat that night and lingered by
the bar. Hair hung down in curly waves past magnificent shoulders perfect for
gripping. His rugged jaw, cat-like stare, and the hard set of his body
frightened her, but arousal eclipsed the fear.
    Then he knocked back a drink and went head first into the
mosh pit to pick a scrawny kid up off the floor before he got trampled, or
worse.
    His actions conveyed who he was: a trustworthy man who
looked out for the weak.
    She hadn’t seen him since then, until her show two nights
ago. She’d accidentally used the power of her voice to call him to her. The
frenzy of how much energy she’d taken from the crowd gave her a rush. Combined
with her unstable nature, that burst of lust-filled energy went out into the
crowd, searching for Derrick.
    Luckily, her brother had stopped him, otherwise she’d have
control over yet another shifter; she certainly did not want that. She’d have
to learn to better control her power, or else she’d end up with a small fan-boy
and -girl army. Sonja didn’t possess the drive for such nonsense.
    She didn’t even know if Derrick had noticed her until she
saw the way he looked at her. For a brief second while onstage, she’d been
distracted enough while making eye contact with him to notice just how she
captivated his attention.
    She yearned to explore the potential between them.
    First, she had to escape. Sonja looked around the room,
listened, waited.
    Footsteps thudded against the wood floor outside the door
and hushed voices spoke.
    She couldn’t make out the words.
    Then the footsteps ebbed as quickly as they arrived.
    Perhaps her assailants figured they had knocked her out for
longer than they had. Did they know about her witchcraft?
    They had to. Anyone who heard about her unique abilities had
an agenda for her. It always came down to this. She’d been kidnapped before,
but she wasn’t about to tell her brother that.
    Nor would her band need to know.
    She couldn’t quite erase her band mates’ minds but she could
alter their thoughts slightly. She’d done it after the