took her to the ground.
His heavy body was on top of hers. Cara managed to get an elbow between him and her throat but she wasn’t sure how long that would last. His teeth snapped right in front of her face and above the side of her neck where her jugular vein rested.
A howl sounded out behind her. Her heart sank. There was another rogue joining the fight. She was afraid she would not live through this, and neither would Sebastian. Tears flowed even faster down her cheeks but they were no longer tears of physical pain — they were tears of emotional agony.
Gregory was snatched off her body and tossed down the alley of trees. Cara stared up in shock at the enormous golden–brown Wolf who stood above her in a protective stance. His eyes were blue, human and instantly recognizable. It was Sebastian!
She managed to stand. Sebastian paced in front of her, his hindquarters twitching and his tail moving from side to side, until Gregory returned and faced him, his own growls low and throaty.
It was Gregory that made the first move, coming in low into the right, then switching at the last moment to attack Sebastian’s left, but a quick slash of Sebastian’s paw sent him reeling up against the side of the house.
Gregory let out a howl of pain and shape-shifted. He faced his brother and said, “Listen to me, Sebastian, none of this was my fault. They made me this way. I never asked for this. I didn’t ask to be part of the Tribe! I don’t want to be part of them! And I don’t want anything to do with the old Fallen order either! A lot of us don’t want that. We want to be free — we want to be able to run like we once did, to know the taste of human flesh.
“Give in, brother, you know you want to. All you have to do is take one bite. It’s the most delicious meat you have ever known.”
Cara felt frozen. Would Gregory be able to convince his older brother to go rogue? And if he did that, would Gregory be willing to share magic with him, blood so that Sebastian could shape-shift?
Gregory’s tone became wheedling. “She’s just a human, Sebastian. She’s nothing like us. And you don’t have to kill her — you can keep her to bleed over and over if you like. I’m experimenting, or at least, I was. You found one of my experiments in the basement, remember?”
Sebastian growled even lower this time and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. Cara wanted to reach out and stroke that golden ruff of fur. She wanted to believe that Sebastian loved her, that she mattered more to him than anything else in the world, but what Gregory offered was tempting beyond belief.
“Why do you think it was so easy for me to turn so many, Sebastian? They were tired of it. They were tired of eating chicken and fish and drinking the pale blood of grass-fed cattle. They wanted the best meat; they wanted human flesh. And they wanted to be able to have the safety of appearing human.
“Why must we be bound by the Covenant rules set out for us by those already long dead? The Fallen has become weak. We have become lap dogs. Tell me that does not bother you, brother. Tell me that you do not long to feel her throat beneath your teeth. Tell me you don’t want the rush of blood in your mouth, in the back of your throat, warming your belly. Look at me, brother, and say that you don’t want that.”
Sebastian continued to pace in front of Cara. Gregory was stark naked. His eyes bored into Cara’s eyes as he said, “Our father seduced a Queen and you will have done the same, but our father was too weak to do the right thing and kill her. He was too weak to know that she was holding him captive to her.
“I did him a favor by killing her. She was a traitor to her own people and eventually she would’ve been a traitor to ours. I caught her trying to leave. She was tired of him, tired of life with the Fallen. She was afraid of me — can you imagine that? She could not leave him when I was young and allow him to give me the attention
His heavy body was on top of hers. Cara managed to get an elbow between him and her throat but she wasn’t sure how long that would last. His teeth snapped right in front of her face and above the side of her neck where her jugular vein rested.
A howl sounded out behind her. Her heart sank. There was another rogue joining the fight. She was afraid she would not live through this, and neither would Sebastian. Tears flowed even faster down her cheeks but they were no longer tears of physical pain — they were tears of emotional agony.
Gregory was snatched off her body and tossed down the alley of trees. Cara stared up in shock at the enormous golden–brown Wolf who stood above her in a protective stance. His eyes were blue, human and instantly recognizable. It was Sebastian!
She managed to stand. Sebastian paced in front of her, his hindquarters twitching and his tail moving from side to side, until Gregory returned and faced him, his own growls low and throaty.
It was Gregory that made the first move, coming in low into the right, then switching at the last moment to attack Sebastian’s left, but a quick slash of Sebastian’s paw sent him reeling up against the side of the house.
Gregory let out a howl of pain and shape-shifted. He faced his brother and said, “Listen to me, Sebastian, none of this was my fault. They made me this way. I never asked for this. I didn’t ask to be part of the Tribe! I don’t want to be part of them! And I don’t want anything to do with the old Fallen order either! A lot of us don’t want that. We want to be free — we want to be able to run like we once did, to know the taste of human flesh.
“Give in, brother, you know you want to. All you have to do is take one bite. It’s the most delicious meat you have ever known.”
Cara felt frozen. Would Gregory be able to convince his older brother to go rogue? And if he did that, would Gregory be willing to share magic with him, blood so that Sebastian could shape-shift?
Gregory’s tone became wheedling. “She’s just a human, Sebastian. She’s nothing like us. And you don’t have to kill her — you can keep her to bleed over and over if you like. I’m experimenting, or at least, I was. You found one of my experiments in the basement, remember?”
Sebastian growled even lower this time and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. Cara wanted to reach out and stroke that golden ruff of fur. She wanted to believe that Sebastian loved her, that she mattered more to him than anything else in the world, but what Gregory offered was tempting beyond belief.
“Why do you think it was so easy for me to turn so many, Sebastian? They were tired of it. They were tired of eating chicken and fish and drinking the pale blood of grass-fed cattle. They wanted the best meat; they wanted human flesh. And they wanted to be able to have the safety of appearing human.
“Why must we be bound by the Covenant rules set out for us by those already long dead? The Fallen has become weak. We have become lap dogs. Tell me that does not bother you, brother. Tell me that you do not long to feel her throat beneath your teeth. Tell me you don’t want the rush of blood in your mouth, in the back of your throat, warming your belly. Look at me, brother, and say that you don’t want that.”
Sebastian continued to pace in front of Cara. Gregory was stark naked. His eyes bored into Cara’s eyes as he said, “Our father seduced a Queen and you will have done the same, but our father was too weak to do the right thing and kill her. He was too weak to know that she was holding him captive to her.
“I did him a favor by killing her. She was a traitor to her own people and eventually she would’ve been a traitor to ours. I caught her trying to leave. She was tired of him, tired of life with the Fallen. She was afraid of me — can you imagine that? She could not leave him when I was young and allow him to give me the attention
Similar Books
