The Corollaria by Courtney Lyn Batten Read Free Book Online Page B

she’d always felt pulling her to him, seemed so much stronger since last night, and she knew somehow that that was connected to all this too. Her wolf. That’s what Samuel had called him.
    “Luke,” Emily mumbled against the soft fabric of his shirt. She pulled back just quick enough to see the strange mixture of annoyance and pain and agreement in Curtis eyes. She tried to ignore it.
    “You have to find him. He can help.”

Chapter 5
     
     
    C urtis watched Emily for a few minutes after she’d fallen back asleep. He gently brushed his knuckles over her cheekbone.  Leaning forward, he tenderly kissed her forehead. He lingered a moment, a jumble of emotions and instincts warred inside him. Has it always been this complicated with her?
    He sighed when he pulled back. Maybe it had. Curtis bent forward and rubbed his palms over his face, pushing his fingers against his closed eyelids. He felt tired in a way he never had before. Not so much that he needed sleep, but that his mind and emotions had been stretched so far . He just needed to find a quiet minute alone to figure it all out.
    Over the last few days he hadn’t been told much. Samuel had brought him to this same house and explained to him what he had become, and that he needed Curtis’s assistance.
    “Emily?” Curtis croaked. His voice was hoarse and his throat dry from disuse. The older vampire’s thin lips curled up on one side.
    “Ahh, so you have some affections for the girl,” Samuel drawled. Curtis frowned. There was something in the vampire’s tone that suggested he had already known that.
    “I need you to bring her back to me,” Samuel instructed. His voice was pleasant enough but his dark eyes held no gentleness, just a hard fierce edge. Curtis was sure the vampire wasn’t accustomed to people saying no.
    “Are you goin g to hurt her?” Curtis asked.  His voice was shaky and his head swam with questions. What did he want with Emily? Why her?
    Samuel leaned forward with narrowed eyes and his lips pursed together in a thoughtful, albeit calculating, expression, “Tell me, Curtis Banan, how long have you been in love with Emily?”
    Curtis sucked in a sharp breath, startled by the man’s keen awareness. He’d never said that out loud to anyone. Not even Emily. He knew that Emily had feelings for Luke. She looked at him with those big blue eyes in a way that made Curtis ache for her to look at him. 
    Samuel’s mouth curved and he stood up, walking over to the cherry wood mantel . He picked up an intricate gold frame with a worn black and white photograph. There was a softness to his features, a wistfulness to his slight smile. He ran a long pale finger over the image of a young fair-haired woman.
    There was a long beat of silence and Samuel seemed to be transported momentarily to another time. Eventually, he cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice, “I can help you Curtis. If you help me, you could be with her. Forever.”
    He turned away from Curtis completely and muttered under his breath, “Instead of letting the dog have her.”
    Emily shifted in her sleep, mumbling softly.  Curtis’s eyes flicked to her. His self-control was waning. The sweet smell of her blood filled his nostrils, causing his mouth to pool with saliva and the dry scratchy burn in his throat to flame, signaling his thirst.
    Curtis rose to his feet and crossed the dark room, pausing with his hand on the door knob. He turned back to look at Emily one more time.  It was starting to become all too clear that she was never his. He took another unnecessary breath and silently slipped from her room.  
    The long hall was dark and quiet as he walked slowly down it. There were no wi ndows in this part of the house. Just a few flickering candles along the wall lit the way. He twisted the golden door handle to the room he was given.  He already knew that Samuel would be waiting for him on the other side.
    He pushed the door in and entered, his blood instantly