Seduced by the Wolf by Bonnie Vanak

of death clogged his nostrils, making his wolf howl and want to flee. Jarrett curbed the impulse and tracked Ariel to the back bedrooms. His wolf vision enabled him to see in the cloying darkness. In her hand dangled a length of gold chain and a twist of delicate spirals, light as air and as dainty. Air rushed out of his lungs.
    Cael’s Celestial Luminaire.
    The necklace itself was devoid of bluish light. Dead as the stench filtering through the cabin.
    â€œIt’s dark. It’s never been dark. And he’d never leave it behind, never, he’s never taken it off, it’s his life force.”
    Removing his shirt, he draped it over her shoulders. She seemed dwarfed by it, the tails hanging down midthigh. Her expression was cold and empty as a grave.
    Jarrett gently took the chain from her clenched fingers and folded it into her palm. “I know, Ariel. The light goes out only when his life force is gone.”
    â€œNo. Not possible.” She shook her head, making her dark curls fly around her shoulders. “My father is not dead.”
    She refused to accept it. Her father was strong, vital, and drew his energy from the earth.
    The earth could not have taken his life.
    By rights the Luminaire was hers now. The next to rule her people. What people?
    â€œEveryone’s gone,” she whispered. A sob clogged her throat. “They’re all gone. They can’t have died. They have to be alive, somewhere.”
    â€œAriel, sweetheart, the Luminaire’s light has gone dark.”
    He spoke softly, the words scraping her insides raw. Ariel flung the necklace away from her. It landed on the hardwood floor with a clatter.
    A sob rose in her throat.
    Jarrett enfolded her in his strong arms, holding her steady. Her anchor, solid as the earth she’d loved, the earth that had robbed her father of life. Air rushed out of her lungs in a tidal wave. She could no longer hold back the grief.
    Ariel cried as he rocked her back and forth. She felt his lips brush the top of her head. “Aw damn, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
    The stench of death and decay permeated her pores, squeezing her lungs in a painful vise. With every gulp of air, it felt like death seeping into her body, creeping through her cells and destroying them.
    â€œI…can’t breathe,” she gasped.
    She let him lead her out of the cabin into the night, out of the foulness squeezing breath from her lungs. Ariel took a deep gulp of air. Jarrett leaned down, wiped away her tears with his thumbs.
    â€œStay here.”
    Shrugging into his shirt, she inhaled the spice of his scent, the rich masculine fragrance of wolf and man. She gulped down air, grateful for the cool breeze touching her cheek and removing the scent of decay. A minute later Jarrett returned, clutching something. He opened his palm.
    â€œLook.”
    Tears blurred her vision. She wiped them away. Crying would not help find answers. Ariel stared at what Jarrett held in his hand.
    Bluish light glowed from the delicate necklace. Faint, but steady.
    Confused, she touched the charm. “But it was extinguished!”
    â€œInside the cabin. The stench is stronger in there as well. Did you notice how the moonlight was muted inside the cabin? As if something clouded the air.” Jarrett’s mouth thinned to a tight slash. “Some kind of darkness taking over.”
    â€œCael’s alive?”
    â€œFor now. We have to find him, and the others.” Jarrett slipped the necklace around her neck.
    They cut across the meadow, not daring to shift in the process. Jarrett sensed whatever stalked the Fae still lurked. He couldn’t risk a shift and even a few seconds of being vulnerable.
    When they crossed over into his territory, Jarrett sat on a boulder. Ariel joined him. The blue light of the necklace glowed fiercely, as if the moonlight touching it were a torch.
    â€œSomething was odd back there.” He picked up her hand, rubbed