page5 (1/1)
She had not voiced it, but Shepherd interpreted the truth Svana found hi in the most primal of ways
All those years, Shepherd's fidelity had been one sided Svana did not hesitate to admit she'd taken other lovers Hadn't he? After all, were they not Alphas? Was it not their right? She had stroked his chest and s him that what they shared was beyond the physical They shared a great destiny, an eternal spiritual bond of love
Gutted, Shepherd had fulfilled his duty to his loyal Followers, to the deadtheir part to perfection; yet he was less for it The world had shifted, he had achieved greatness, but as he left with? Nothing A big black hole where the light had gone out He was incomplete
But then he snant stink of decay Like a gift from the Gods, Claire was delivered; unlikely virtue born out of the filth of Thólos A lotus Claire, with her convictions and her timid bravery, walked up to a st the wolves—to beg for help fro on the friends she would save
One breath of her and he would have taken her, heat or no The Gods had si her in estrous
As he'd rutted the willful, strange thing, Shepherd found she wriggled so wonderfully, felt so perfectly snug encasing his cock, that he had to ensure she could never leave As Svana had claimed their devotion was beyond the physical, their love divine, Shepherd felt perfectly justified in taking Claire, in creating a corporeal a He bonded to keep Claire for hiood of reen-eyed little one's purity was now his own, her nearness succor In Claire, Shepherd had regained thatinnocent, achieved
Yet, now his bondeda city that was destined for plague
The Oly, not while the pair-bond was so daed Shepherd would have to return Claire by force
He could alive me cause to hate you more
What had gone through the a he'd found unconscious on the bathroo i with Svana had left Claire unresponsive and empty—left the cord so fractured, all Shepherd could feel from her was an echo of desolation
It was not a sensation he enjoyed
No amount of attention or space had ment and hatred no matter how he tended her, touched her, or purred All her favorite foods had been prepared, new dresses put in her drawer… she had not even noticed
Claire O'Donnell belonged to hi her back… and force feed her if he fucking had to He would make her adore him like she was supposed to Because she was his, only his, and he did not share his things Ever
He had even prevented the sharing of her body with his beloved Was that not so?Corday had rushed to carry out his er to return to Claire It wasn't because he didn't trust her to stay put, it was because he didn't trust her at all The look in her eyes when Senator Kantor had arrived to guard her had been nothing but calculating There was none of her former fear or skittishness, her reaction numbed as she sized up the Alpha
The Senator could see the change in her as well, Kantor reacting with cautious courtesy They exchanged pleasantries, Corday adier Dane Corday's duties kept him out past dark, and the Enforcer was utterly unprepared for the sight that met his eyes when he returned home
Claire was asleep, curled up on the couch next to Senator Kantor, as boldly purring in the dark
A stab of so unwelcome drew Corday to frown "Did she ask you to do that?"
"No I kneould lull her to sleep," Senator Kantor answered in a hushed tone "Rebecca struggled to fall asleep too I learned a lot tending a"
It was taboo to speak of deceased mates; Corday was surprised to hear the Alphathe sad circuo murder by Kantor's political adversary It had been a sensation and had led to Senator Bergie, several of his staff, and even Bergie's son being incarcerated in the Undercroft