[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
primative need took him over. His need for her would be her last advantage over this
walking corpse. Merrick s life depended on her ending this, no matter how repulsive it
felt. Ill feelings, she could handle. Merrick s death, she knew she never would.
Tark purred at the look of desire she gave him and moved closer. Much as he
wanted to sample of her, he hadn t when he brought her to this room from the corridor as
she needed tending. Now though, he would sample the sweet taste of victory over her and
his rival before he killed Merrick, then teach her a lesson for daring to attack him.
She was a lovely little thing and he could see why Merrick had gone after him.
The fool had marked her, but when he died, Tark could place his own on her and she
would be his forever. Even if she died before him, she d still be denied to Merrick. His
mark would mean little as long as her true mate s mark remained on her flesh. Merrick
would live in torment, knowing that another man claimed the woman he thought to be his
mate.
When Tark stood only mere steps away, Dori let out a roar of rage and pounced
onto him. She tore into his leg where his pants had been ripped open in the fights and
sunk her teeth into the bulge of his cock, sharp canines shredding his breeches and
SHADOW AND BETRAYAL H. M. Harrison Page 157
several layers of skin. Tark arched backward with a scream, staggering back before he
fell to the floor in an attempt to escape the pain. She pulled away from him, hearing him
curse her, before she turned to throw up. If only she could remove his blood from her
skin as easily. The feel of it on her felt like a disease.
Dori felt Merrick rousing and fear clogged her mind, choking her. She couldn t let
Tark turn back to attack him. Even injured, the Ganjan still remained at an advantage
over Merrick. With the sedative still working in him, he was in no shape for a fight. She
alone had to end this.
Forcing herself up, stars exploded before her when Tark struck her in the face,
sending her back to the floor. She hadn t even noticed his getting back up in her focus on
Merrick and how to save him. Ignoring her own pain, she struck out with her hand,
clawing at the wound her nails had inflicted in Tark s leg. Her mind lashed him
simultaneously, ripping veins in the already weakened areas. She immediately felt the
further drain on her strength from her attack, but forced herself to ignore it. Weakness
could be dealt with later. For now, she needed to save her mate and all of those she cared
for here.
Tark staggered back, screaming at the pain threatening to drop him to the floor.
He stared at her in shock, realizing the strength of her attack as his leg began to grow
very hot from leaking blood. His face twisted in rage as he turned his thoughts back to
punishing her.
You will pay, bitch, he snarled.
You have to catch me first. she challenged, slamming her foot into the
weakened leg. Tark screamed in pain and fell back, granting her the chance she needed to
get up and flee.
I shall. Tark ran after her, ignoring the agony in his leg now making him limp.
Merrick could wait till he broke this female.
Dori raced out onto the balcony, taking her fight with Tark as far from Merrick as
she could manage. At the last moment before reaching the balcony railing, she threw
herself aside, screaming to the gods for help. Tark tried to turn as she had, but lost his
balance when he hit a loose stone and staggered hard onto his injured leg. His forward
inertia took him over the side of the balcony, taking several vines with him. The scream
of rage he issued at losing her went silent with a sickening crunch.
Please let this be over. Let him be dead and this nightmare be over. It would be
the first time in her life she would make such a wish. She inched forward, approaching
the balcony wall with care. Apprehension of what she would find warred with her need to
find out if Tark still lived. She could no longer sense him, but she didn t know if she
could trust her own senses now. Peering over the railing, she gasped and turned away in
disgust.
Impaled through the back on a branch, tangled in the thorny vines of the drindria,
Tark s body lay ripped open in its grip. His heart completely bisected, he must have died
on impact.
What surprised her was Tark s death and his horribly mangled body should have
assaulted her with every image imaginable from the destruction of Citron and the deaths
she witnessed. Or even her encounter with the Sira beast, which had died in a similar
SHADOW AND BETRAYAL H. M. Harrison Page 158
way.
Instead, all she felt was relief Merrick was safe and this was over. If only she
could convince her now queasy stomach of this being a good thing. The scent of Tark s
blood on her and the taste of it in her mouth made her sick. She wanted to throw up, but
fought it and prayed Merrick would be here soon.
SHADOW AND BETRAYAL H. M. Harrison Page 159
Chapter Nineteen
Merrick fought away the effects of the sedative used on him by Tark, using a
nearby chair to pull himself up. The only good thing the drug did for him was it allowed
him to recover from Tark s siphoning off his strength. Young as Tark was, he displayed
an amazing level of strength in his abilities. Had he not been after Dori and rulership of
everything he could get his greedy hands on, Merrick would have sent him to train as a
Guardian.
Thinking of Tark let his memories focus enough to remember. ...
Dori, he whispered. Where was she? He would bathe in Tark s blood if she had
perished. He needed to find her and ensure himself she was all right.
Ignoring everything else, he let his mind reach out to find her. Scenting blood, he
looked down and saw it on the floor near the balcony where he could sense Dori. If she
were injured, he would never forgive himself for letting it happen.
He stalked forward, ready to attack anyone who got between him and Dori, friend
or foe. When he stepped out onto the balcony, he spied his mate a short distance away,
leaning against the wall Blood stained her skin and clothing. He could feel her disgust to
have it there and knew it all belonged to Tark. She hadn t marked him--she had lain open
his flesh in multiple places in a fight.
However, Merrick focused on the growing black and blue area on the side of her
face, where Tark had hit her. He seethed with rage at the sight of it and the pain he could
sense it caused her.
Where is Tark? he growled, trying to locate Tark with his mind. The cub was
nowhere in his range, drawing his curiosity. It was too soon for the cub to teleport again.
Especially wounded.
Dori covered her mouth and raced back inside, knocking Merrick aside. He
staggered and turned to watch her flight, only to see her disappear into the bath chamber,
slamming the door behind her. He then caught the scent of blood again, stronger than
before. Dori wasn t bleeding, nor what had been on her strong enough to be the source.
That left ...
Stepping over to the balcony, he looked over and smiled when he saw his rival.
Or what was left of him. Feed well, Kashee plant, he said, then turned back to return to
Dori s room. His mate had saved not only his life, but the lives of all the innocents in his
pride-clan and anyone else that Tark might have targeted. She might not have intended to
do so, but he was grateful to her nonetheless. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
primative need took him over. His need for her would be her last advantage over this
walking corpse. Merrick s life depended on her ending this, no matter how repulsive it
felt. Ill feelings, she could handle. Merrick s death, she knew she never would.
Tark purred at the look of desire she gave him and moved closer. Much as he
wanted to sample of her, he hadn t when he brought her to this room from the corridor as
she needed tending. Now though, he would sample the sweet taste of victory over her and
his rival before he killed Merrick, then teach her a lesson for daring to attack him.
She was a lovely little thing and he could see why Merrick had gone after him.
The fool had marked her, but when he died, Tark could place his own on her and she
would be his forever. Even if she died before him, she d still be denied to Merrick. His
mark would mean little as long as her true mate s mark remained on her flesh. Merrick
would live in torment, knowing that another man claimed the woman he thought to be his
mate.
When Tark stood only mere steps away, Dori let out a roar of rage and pounced
onto him. She tore into his leg where his pants had been ripped open in the fights and
sunk her teeth into the bulge of his cock, sharp canines shredding his breeches and
SHADOW AND BETRAYAL H. M. Harrison Page 157
several layers of skin. Tark arched backward with a scream, staggering back before he
fell to the floor in an attempt to escape the pain. She pulled away from him, hearing him
curse her, before she turned to throw up. If only she could remove his blood from her
skin as easily. The feel of it on her felt like a disease.
Dori felt Merrick rousing and fear clogged her mind, choking her. She couldn t let
Tark turn back to attack him. Even injured, the Ganjan still remained at an advantage
over Merrick. With the sedative still working in him, he was in no shape for a fight. She
alone had to end this.
Forcing herself up, stars exploded before her when Tark struck her in the face,
sending her back to the floor. She hadn t even noticed his getting back up in her focus on
Merrick and how to save him. Ignoring her own pain, she struck out with her hand,
clawing at the wound her nails had inflicted in Tark s leg. Her mind lashed him
simultaneously, ripping veins in the already weakened areas. She immediately felt the
further drain on her strength from her attack, but forced herself to ignore it. Weakness
could be dealt with later. For now, she needed to save her mate and all of those she cared
for here.
Tark staggered back, screaming at the pain threatening to drop him to the floor.
He stared at her in shock, realizing the strength of her attack as his leg began to grow
very hot from leaking blood. His face twisted in rage as he turned his thoughts back to
punishing her.
You will pay, bitch, he snarled.
You have to catch me first. she challenged, slamming her foot into the
weakened leg. Tark screamed in pain and fell back, granting her the chance she needed to
get up and flee.
I shall. Tark ran after her, ignoring the agony in his leg now making him limp.
Merrick could wait till he broke this female.
Dori raced out onto the balcony, taking her fight with Tark as far from Merrick as
she could manage. At the last moment before reaching the balcony railing, she threw
herself aside, screaming to the gods for help. Tark tried to turn as she had, but lost his
balance when he hit a loose stone and staggered hard onto his injured leg. His forward
inertia took him over the side of the balcony, taking several vines with him. The scream
of rage he issued at losing her went silent with a sickening crunch.
Please let this be over. Let him be dead and this nightmare be over. It would be
the first time in her life she would make such a wish. She inched forward, approaching
the balcony wall with care. Apprehension of what she would find warred with her need to
find out if Tark still lived. She could no longer sense him, but she didn t know if she
could trust her own senses now. Peering over the railing, she gasped and turned away in
disgust.
Impaled through the back on a branch, tangled in the thorny vines of the drindria,
Tark s body lay ripped open in its grip. His heart completely bisected, he must have died
on impact.
What surprised her was Tark s death and his horribly mangled body should have
assaulted her with every image imaginable from the destruction of Citron and the deaths
she witnessed. Or even her encounter with the Sira beast, which had died in a similar
SHADOW AND BETRAYAL H. M. Harrison Page 158
way.
Instead, all she felt was relief Merrick was safe and this was over. If only she
could convince her now queasy stomach of this being a good thing. The scent of Tark s
blood on her and the taste of it in her mouth made her sick. She wanted to throw up, but
fought it and prayed Merrick would be here soon.
SHADOW AND BETRAYAL H. M. Harrison Page 159
Chapter Nineteen
Merrick fought away the effects of the sedative used on him by Tark, using a
nearby chair to pull himself up. The only good thing the drug did for him was it allowed
him to recover from Tark s siphoning off his strength. Young as Tark was, he displayed
an amazing level of strength in his abilities. Had he not been after Dori and rulership of
everything he could get his greedy hands on, Merrick would have sent him to train as a
Guardian.
Thinking of Tark let his memories focus enough to remember. ...
Dori, he whispered. Where was she? He would bathe in Tark s blood if she had
perished. He needed to find her and ensure himself she was all right.
Ignoring everything else, he let his mind reach out to find her. Scenting blood, he
looked down and saw it on the floor near the balcony where he could sense Dori. If she
were injured, he would never forgive himself for letting it happen.
He stalked forward, ready to attack anyone who got between him and Dori, friend
or foe. When he stepped out onto the balcony, he spied his mate a short distance away,
leaning against the wall Blood stained her skin and clothing. He could feel her disgust to
have it there and knew it all belonged to Tark. She hadn t marked him--she had lain open
his flesh in multiple places in a fight.
However, Merrick focused on the growing black and blue area on the side of her
face, where Tark had hit her. He seethed with rage at the sight of it and the pain he could
sense it caused her.
Where is Tark? he growled, trying to locate Tark with his mind. The cub was
nowhere in his range, drawing his curiosity. It was too soon for the cub to teleport again.
Especially wounded.
Dori covered her mouth and raced back inside, knocking Merrick aside. He
staggered and turned to watch her flight, only to see her disappear into the bath chamber,
slamming the door behind her. He then caught the scent of blood again, stronger than
before. Dori wasn t bleeding, nor what had been on her strong enough to be the source.
That left ...
Stepping over to the balcony, he looked over and smiled when he saw his rival.
Or what was left of him. Feed well, Kashee plant, he said, then turned back to return to
Dori s room. His mate had saved not only his life, but the lives of all the innocents in his
pride-clan and anyone else that Tark might have targeted. She might not have intended to
do so, but he was grateful to her nonetheless. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]