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The words, the confirmation, had come out of Erion&039;s mouth without his consent It was as if the beast inside him had spoken But what beast was that? He knehat his sister and brothers&039; mutore sides represented Lycos had the wolf, Helo the water snake, Phane the hawk, and Dillon the jaguar But Erion, though he had so his shift, was no feline In all his long days, he had never knohat he was-besides va Male

Until now?

His gaze narrowed on the female Whatever he had seen in her as she&039;d clireen, the ethereal glow fro compared to what he&039;d felt from her The demon, her demon, had called out to him, and he&039;d wanted to run at it, juh familiar power It was as if he&039;d been branded Her demon wanted to take and contain the part of him that understood, that connected, that desired it

Christ, none of this made sense He didn&039;t know his history, and clearly he didn&039;t know his DNA He wasHe knew that Cruen had created the Breeding Male and that he had added in so the process

But de at hilassy, her demon now hidden from view

Erion wanted it back

"You said you were a va her head

"I am"

"You have de of de back to life from her haze of need "You wanted to knohat I am-well, now you do And what caaze roamed his face, Erion wondered if she&039;d liked or despised what she&039;d seen come out of him "I have no answers," he said Then added with more than a touch of derision, "I&039;ll have to ask istered on her face And if he wasn&039;t mistaken, fear "What?"

"The male who raised me, fed me, clothed me, and ultimately betrayed me is none other than your soon-to-be ue

He watched her process, watched her confusion-watched her pretty brow crease with concern

"How did he betray you?" she asked in a soft voice

Erion hesitated, feeling gri his true identity, his lineage, fro he illing to share

"That is htly

She watched him closely "I kneasn&039;t the only one who kept theirl"

"Which means you will release me"

He forced his bleak mood back and he moved toward her Cruen would not have control over him anymore, not in body or in temper "I knohat you are now, but I don&039;t knohere you come from, why you&039;ve coaze flickered away from his for a moment

"I don&039;t think I do You are too special, too exquisite to have given yourself to that manipulative, heartless, soulless vampire" He shook his head His words, the co, had been i fe glorious and fiery-so he&039;d never experienced in any feement to Cruen than a forced claireat effort to soften his tone "Are you in trouble, Hellen?"

As an answer, a pained whimper escaped her She clutched her sto up as she turned her head to the side

Concerned, Erion reached out to touch her, but she flinched and drew back "What is it?" he said But just as the word exited his mouth and he inhaled the scent around hi" He brushed a hand across her cheek "This strange, problelittered like polished gems Another wave of arousal tantalized his nostrils and he breathed it in and sed it down What the hell had he found hiht up in? This was supposed to have been a si out to be anything but si-and a potential key to his DNA, who he truly was

She leaned in to his hand, and heat surged into his pal to you?"

"Genetics," she uttered, pulling in her air through her nostrils "I was born with an unfortunate destiny"

"What destiny?" he asked, knowing this was foolish, this closeness, this care She was his bait, his ticket to Ladd NothingHe couldn&039;t turn away "Have you had this problem, this heat, since birth?" His hand refused to draw back from her face, her skin Her waraze held his "But I&039;ve kept it under control for a long tied, her nostrils flaring "I et to Cruen"

As she stared into his eyes and silently ile within him to protect her, touch her, hold her, breathe her in, warred with the cruel understanding that she was his currency She didn&039;t belong to him It wasn&039;t his duty to help her Cruen would ease her torh her like wildfire

Erion&039;s nostrils flared, and he ripped his hand fro this female made him involuntarily irrational, made him murderous, and yet he couldn&039;t act on those possessive thoughts in his head because if he did, he would be risking the life of the balas

And that he would never do

"Just a few hours, now," he said,back, away from her, away from her scent "You will be in the araze like paint in the rain, and was replaced with hope, Erion wanted to shove his fist through the wall behind her and roar

But instead he turned around and headed for the stairs, leaving her to care for herself again

This time, without an audience

Cruen watched them, the de turns teaching hihter irritated him It spoke of a brave, fearless heart Much like his father&039;s And right now, that kind of internal strength made Cruen feel even weaker

It re Male who&039;d used him, used his blood, relied on hio soft Helping the Ro to be the father they&039;d always desired, when in truth he was perpetually clinging to the edge of Breeding Male status

Where was that paven? Cruen wondered with displeasure Where had he run to when the well had dried up? Was he a Breeding Male once again? Or was he being cared for by his children?

One of the feave him a tentative, worried smile Cruen had assured the home-that he&039;d located her and was soon to retrieve her

What he did not tell them was that he needed to rest first It hy he&039;d told Erion twenty-four hours instead of immediately He was too weak to flash His lip curled He despised weakness

One of the de her features Then her eyes clamped shut and her lips started to move Cruen leaned forward in his chair, nervous tension flickering to life within hi with her, but whatever it was, it didn&039;t look good Her body jerked, spasripped her arain He couldn&039;t have one of Abbadon&039;s children hurt or falling ill in his care It was enough that the De

As quickly as the episode had come on, it retreated The female&039;s eyes opened and she see back in his chair That was until she looked up at him, her expression a lass and it disappeared The action cost hi, but he knew there was no choice He dropped back in his chair and sucked in a breath

"What is it?" he called out in a hoarse voice

"My father," the female called up to him "He has just spoken to me inside my mind"

Cruen felt the blood drain froround out, utterly exhausted

But he knew Even before he asked and even before the female&039;s words lifted up to scratch at his wounds

"He knows Hellen isNot to her sister, but to the balas "He is co"

Quiver at her back, bow at the ready, Hellen ran through the Rain Fields, her bare feet pounding the ground, her vision acute, her heart deterues One kill, two, three, four-ha! She wouldn&039;t stop until they were all dead

An arrow shot past her ear and she grinned, motioned for the one who ran just behind her to catch up The rowled his irritation as he ran beside her Clouds rolled in at knee level, but they barreled through the moist puffs, kept pace as the otten away

Hellen reveled in the male&039;s coether; a true partnership And, hell, he wasn&039;t bad to look at either

In one fluid aze, and stretched his bow, flexing his impressive muscles The arrow released, and the squeal and pop of death curled into the air

Hellen grinned at hirinned back "Another round?" he asked, excitement, thrill in his tone

Her body hummed He was so handso to his naked shoulders, his dia to possess hers

"We have hunted forvoice "Are you sure you have e hed She loved when he called her that She grabbed his bow and tossed it into the Fields Hot rain broke fro them from the hips down Hellen flashed hiered back, growled at her, then grabbed her ass and lifted her to his waist Hellen wrapped her legs around him and squeezed, then dipped her head and kissed hiainst his lips He tasted of the Underworld, spice and heat and wickedness Her hands wrapped around his neck, delved into his ht-black hair, and fisted There was a low ruing into her mouth It wasn&039;t a si able to breathe or function unless they consumed each other&039;s essence

His hands dipped under her shirt, cool fingers raked up her back, and she rocked her hips against his

"Shit! You&039;re burning up" His voice sounded faraway instead of a few inches fro hi started I need you"

There was another curse "Wake up, Hellen Wake up now before eon and feasts on you"

She caasp Sweaty and confused, she opened her eyes to both the pain of desire and the face of the male who&039;d just held her close and kissed her fiercely

It was a drea fro-every inch of her, including herup fantasies, insanities

"What are you doing?" she said, realizing he wasn&039;t standing in front of her any her as he normally did

He was at her side, keys out One already in the lock at her left wrist

"You&039;re being released"

"It&039;s ti to Cruen now?"

"Your anticipatory glee disgusts ainst the click of the lock "Perhaps save it for your ry She was so relieved that there was an end in sight for her misery She would have her draft soon, she would see her sisters and finish this bargain once and for all She rubbed her wrists as he dropped down and swiftly took care of the shackles on her ankles Her destiny would be realized, Polly and Levia would be safe, and she would never have to know or access or deny the ulti her father&039;s firstborn

"Hey!" she called out as Erion stood and gathered her up in his ar"

"You&039;ve had your lied I&039;ood his chest felt against her side "My lied because of you"

He nodded "Exactly It is only right that I care for you as punish to make nice here? Humor and chivalry? "That&039;s really sweet and obnoxious and all, but I&039;et weak" My beloved and protective mother saw to that early on

Erion chuckled softly as he carried her up the stairs "Doesn&039;t scent that way to me"

"That&039;s a different kind of weakness," she clarified

"Yes, it is, but I cannot assist you in ta her closer "So this will have to do"

"So, I&039; ornery and just relax Enjoy the ride"

The ride His words brought back the drea his waist

As she&039;d revisited that foolish fantasy, she hadn&039;t been noticing where they were going Or where they weren&039;t Not outside as she&039;d assuhts of stairs

Her hot skin prickled and her ?"

"I asked you to relax"

"You said it was ti you" He reached the top of the staircase, breathing easily as if he carried nothing at all "Before we go we need to clean you up a bit Don&039;t want your lover seeing you like this, do you?"

"Like what?" she said, suddenly indignant

"Ravished"

"I wasn&039;t ravished"

"Yes, you were I saith ed, husky whisper "Don&039;t think I&039;ll ever forget it"

She didn&039;t speak Couldn&039;t It was one thing to push against the need, the heat, the desire snaking through her systeeon-what he had witnessed, what his eyes and as else entirely It not only infla heat, but itshe should never want

She just had to keep re herself that soon she&039;d be with Cruen, soon the draft would cleave to her veins, cooling her blood and ain

"It wouldn&039;t help either of our causes if youlike a wo before a heavy wood door

"I don&039;t knohat a woman of the street is," she said as he carried her inside a large, well-lit room "But I don&039;t think I like the sound of it I&039; because he&039;d crossed the room and placed her in front of a mirror Her sisters used mirrors in the Underworld, but Hellen never had It had always seemed like a waste of time and, frankly, just another reason to feel bad about her appearance Kind of like now, she ression

"Oh My"

Erion grunted "Indeed"

She whirled on him, the vision of her wild hair; tear-soaked face; and dirty, wrinkled gown still weighty in her et whose fault it is that I look so ily"

The violent look that crossed his features made her heart stutter, and she drew back

"Call yourself that again and you will be back in chains," he said "Do you understand aped at him, stunned at his words, his passion

"You need a bath, yes," he continued, "your hair coown, but your beauty is irrefutable and not to be insulted"