Seduced by the Wolf by Bonnie Vanak Page A

it between his palms. Jarrett cocked his head. “Your hands are warm. The air’s frigid, but you’re warm.”
    Ariel touched the Luminaire. “The necklace. It has a natural protective element.”
    He slid a hand up to cup her cheek. She leaned into his touch, grateful for the support. Never had she felt so alone as back in the cabin. Her people all gone, her father probably dead…
    â€œNo one took them from their homes.”
    Ariel looked at his solemn face. “But they all vanished in the night.”
    â€œThere were no signs of a struggle. I know Cael. He would never go without a fight. Like his daughter.” Jarrett jumped off the boulder and began to pace. “Not a scratch on the woodwork, nothing knocked down. No forced entry. Whatever has them did not take them by force.”
    â€œThe stench, the decay…” Ariel fingered the necklace. “It seemed unnatural.”
    â€œYour people are accustomed to the cycle of life. What was inside the cabin was not part of the cycle. It was artificial.”
    â€œAs if someone placed it there, a dark magick…” Ariel’s heart skipped a beat. “As a warning. The stench came only from my father’s cabin.”
    â€œAnd not the others. He put it there, Ariel. It was a message.”
    â€œLike breadcrumbs in the forest. He put it there for me to follow.”
    â€œWhich you are not doing.” Jarrett whirled, his expression dangerous. “I will. But I won’t see you endangered.”
    â€œHe’s my father. My people. You think I can’t save them? You think I’m not strong enough? This is my fight Jarrett.”
    â€œI won’t risk losing you.”
    A whisper riding the cold wind. His features were stark in the moonlight, his chin granite, his eyes stricken. For a moment she saw straight through the barriers into the heart of him. The real Jarrett. Colors swirled around him.
    His aura. The necklace enabled a Fae to read a person’s natural aura. Ariel reached out a hand and touched his.
    It shimmered with pale streaks of gray, laced with the fiery red of pain and the blackness of death. The agony made her flinch. The colors swirled and screamed, filling her head with claws raking over her flesh, shredding it to ribbons.
    Ariel cried out and dropped her hand.
    He went toward her, but she shook her head. “No. Give me a minute.”
    Cloying fear clogged her throat. Her colony had vanished, her father, a tower of strength, was missing. She was alone.
    But the thought didn’t faze her. It was the screaming pain inside Jarrett that sent her reeling.
    How could he live with that? And something else nagged her.
    Despite the darkness and harsh reds of his aura, she’d read no other emotions. No grief, no anger. Not even guilt.
    Clearly he still hadn’t let go and moved on after the battle that claimed Chloe’s life.

Chapter Nine
    Jarrett had made a promise. He’d find her colony and her father. They were still alive, and that hope fueled Ariel, especially since she knew he’d never break his promise. Not the way he’d broken others.
    That night, he slept with Ariel, his arms cradling her to him protectively. He couldn’t fend off her worries and fears, but he could keep her safe.
    At all costs, he had to keep her safe. This delicate-looking but tough Fae had wriggled past his barriers and sank into the cold stone he called his heart. He wanted her to be happy, he realized with a start as they ate breakfast the following day.
    He’d do anything for her. But he couldn’t give her the one thing she desired most…his love.
    But maybe he could try to make her happy while they formulated a plan to attack whatever it was on his mountain. Jarrett suspected the black mass that Ariel said attacked her had claimed her people.
    This afternoon, they’d check it out. For now…
    He pushed back from the table and braced his palms on it.