Read Online Banewolf (Dark Siren Book 2) by Eden Ashley - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Eden Ashley
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against him. The way her curves molded into him was a perfect fit as her naked and wet body clung hotly to his. Her shivering stopped. Rhane started reciting the Russian alphabet.
Kalista raised her arms and slid them around his waist. Fingers, not claws, dug into his back. She lifted her head, letting him see her eyes were human again. Relief flooded through him.
“Rhane,” she whispered.
He nodded. “Welcome back.”
“How did you find me?”
He kept his volume low to match hers. “Bailen helped. He gets extra kibble tonight.”
The corners of her mouth upturned in the beginnings of a smile that never reached its full potential. Staring at her mouth, Rhane realized he’d finished the Russian alphabet. Kalista’s presence burned into him. Now it was he who shivered. It’d been so long. He started counting in Russian. That could occupy him for a while.
But his fingers still tightened, were still clutched into the roundness of her hips. Rhane tried forcing them to relax. Her voice helped distract him.
“I did something horrible tonight.”
“It’s alright.”
“I killed someone…something.”
“I know.”
She sobbed and buried her face into his shirt. “What’s happening to me?”
He kissed her hair and her tears. “Try not to think about it, Kalista. We can talk tomorrow.” He sank to the tiled floor, pulling her down next to him. She placed her head in his lap. As hard as it was for him, he simply held her. He was willing to hold her all night if it was what she needed. There were at least three other languages in which he held enough proficiency to count in.
#
Numb, Kali lay in bed next to Rhane. His arms were wrapped snugly about her, and she should have felt safe. But what Kali felt was nothing. There was the chance that if she did allow herself to feel, she wouldn’t survive the guilt, sadness, or rage that threatened to overtake her. Closing her eyes conjured the image of the little boy with Rhane’s features. And when he wasn’t there, the ugly monster with its gray and twisted features was.
Rhane’s breath came steadily. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t awake. If nothing else, Rhane was the lightest sleeper Kali had ever encountered. As she rolled onto her other side to see his face, he lifted his arm a bit and let her move more freely. Light from the waning moon and its surrounding stars shone in through a ceiling made mostly of glass. Kali could see Rhane’s face quite clearly. His eyes were open, watching her. And they were unreadable.
“Tell me what he was like.” She still couldn’t bring herself to say “our son” aloud. It was just as hard to pronounce the child’s name.
Pain flickered across Rhane’s face but was gone faster than the flame from a smothered wick. “He was beautiful, fearless, charming, and incredibly intelligent. One of the most promising fighters I’ve ever trained.”
Kali felt herself smiling. “He sounds just like you.”
“You’d always said if you hadn’t carried him and witnessed his birth, you would’ve sworn the blood oath that I’d spit him out of my own mouth and created life.” Rhane smiled sadly.
“How old was he when he died?”
“For Warekin, aging is calculated differently than chronological earth years. We age in nine-year cycles that translate into a relative human maturity. Rhaven lived for thirteen and a half cycles. His maturity and appearance was that of a human boy of six.”
Kali pulled straight up in bed. She felt cold all over.
“What is it?” Rhane sat up beside her. “Your pulse is racing.”
He looked very worried. She knew how much it pained him to talk about the child, knew he’d spent four hundred years blaming himself for Rhaven’s death. Kali couldn’t bring herself to tell him about her vision of the decomposing body of a six-year-old boy.
“I’m fine,” she lied. “I just can’t sleep right now.” That last part was the truth. There was no way sleep would ever come that
Kalista raised her arms and slid them around his waist. Fingers, not claws, dug into his back. She lifted her head, letting him see her eyes were human again. Relief flooded through him.
“Rhane,” she whispered.
He nodded. “Welcome back.”
“How did you find me?”
He kept his volume low to match hers. “Bailen helped. He gets extra kibble tonight.”
The corners of her mouth upturned in the beginnings of a smile that never reached its full potential. Staring at her mouth, Rhane realized he’d finished the Russian alphabet. Kalista’s presence burned into him. Now it was he who shivered. It’d been so long. He started counting in Russian. That could occupy him for a while.
But his fingers still tightened, were still clutched into the roundness of her hips. Rhane tried forcing them to relax. Her voice helped distract him.
“I did something horrible tonight.”
“It’s alright.”
“I killed someone…something.”
“I know.”
She sobbed and buried her face into his shirt. “What’s happening to me?”
He kissed her hair and her tears. “Try not to think about it, Kalista. We can talk tomorrow.” He sank to the tiled floor, pulling her down next to him. She placed her head in his lap. As hard as it was for him, he simply held her. He was willing to hold her all night if it was what she needed. There were at least three other languages in which he held enough proficiency to count in.
#
Numb, Kali lay in bed next to Rhane. His arms were wrapped snugly about her, and she should have felt safe. But what Kali felt was nothing. There was the chance that if she did allow herself to feel, she wouldn’t survive the guilt, sadness, or rage that threatened to overtake her. Closing her eyes conjured the image of the little boy with Rhane’s features. And when he wasn’t there, the ugly monster with its gray and twisted features was.
Rhane’s breath came steadily. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t awake. If nothing else, Rhane was the lightest sleeper Kali had ever encountered. As she rolled onto her other side to see his face, he lifted his arm a bit and let her move more freely. Light from the waning moon and its surrounding stars shone in through a ceiling made mostly of glass. Kali could see Rhane’s face quite clearly. His eyes were open, watching her. And they were unreadable.
“Tell me what he was like.” She still couldn’t bring herself to say “our son” aloud. It was just as hard to pronounce the child’s name.
Pain flickered across Rhane’s face but was gone faster than the flame from a smothered wick. “He was beautiful, fearless, charming, and incredibly intelligent. One of the most promising fighters I’ve ever trained.”
Kali felt herself smiling. “He sounds just like you.”
“You’d always said if you hadn’t carried him and witnessed his birth, you would’ve sworn the blood oath that I’d spit him out of my own mouth and created life.” Rhane smiled sadly.
“How old was he when he died?”
“For Warekin, aging is calculated differently than chronological earth years. We age in nine-year cycles that translate into a relative human maturity. Rhaven lived for thirteen and a half cycles. His maturity and appearance was that of a human boy of six.”
Kali pulled straight up in bed. She felt cold all over.
“What is it?” Rhane sat up beside her. “Your pulse is racing.”
He looked very worried. She knew how much it pained him to talk about the child, knew he’d spent four hundred years blaming himself for Rhaven’s death. Kali couldn’t bring herself to tell him about her vision of the decomposing body of a six-year-old boy.
“I’m fine,” she lied. “I just can’t sleep right now.” That last part was the truth. There was no way sleep would ever come that
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