Read Online Blood Vow by Karin Tabke - Free Book Online Page A

at his brother and scoffed. “As if you could.”
    “I can and I have.”
    Rafe shook his head and looked hard at Falon. “I agree not to disable Lucien.”
    Her smile escaped. For now it would do.
    Rafael’s aqua-colored eyes flared. “I know what you’re thinking, Falon. It will never happen.”
    “Never say never, Rafa.”
    He scowled and mouthed the word,
Never.
    Lucien gathered up their swords, and put them in the leather scabbards, then slid them across his shoulders. “Let’s shift and head south. We need to hunt and find a place to regroup and borrow some clothes and provisions.”
    The sudden exhaustion that had settled in moments ago overcame Falon. She was so emotionally depleted; she could barely form another coherent thought. “I don’t want to hunt,” she mumbled, her legs shaking. “I just want to sleep for a week.”
    “We don’t have a week.”
    Rafe looked at Falon. “Can you run?”
    “I think so, but can we find something close?”
    He nodded. “I’ll find something.”
    As they shifted and ran south, Fenrir’s mournful howl filled the air behind them. The hackles on the back of Falon’s neck rose, and for one brief moment she stumbled, feeling a pang of pity for the wolf no pack would accept. But the reality of what he’d propagated over the last eight hundred years, drowned out every emotion except vengeance.
    For hours they ran. Putting hundreds of miles between them and Fenrir. But finally, time and stress caught up with Falon. She dropped, unable to take another step. She had not eaten or drank since they left Vulkasin days ago. Rafael and Lucien moved toward her at the same time. Her eyelids felt like concrete.
    “Please, don’t fight over me. You promised . . .”
    Rafael swooped her up into his strong arms. Immediately Falon’s anxiety left her. She melted into the safe protective cocoon of his body. It was like coming home.
    I’ve missed you so,
she whispered, then fell asleep in his arms.
    * * *
    FALON WOKE TO the savory scent of roasting meat in a big soft warm bed. Stretching, she winced as her tight muscles bunched into knots before finally loosening. The cut on her back was tender. She would ask Lucien or Rafe to tend it—or not. It would set off a jealous jag of posturing and snarls. Geez—would they ever just get along?
    But how could they, she asked herself. She was asking for two dominant males, each who had marked her and who she in turn had marked, to be cordial to each other when they both wanted to be the one she turned to for all of her needs.
    She was being selfish. Even if there were no power of three, she wanted Lucien and Rafael for herself because
she
wanted them both. Swallowing hard as she thought of her father and the repercussions of it, she laid back against the headboard.
    Dear God, if they knew about her parentage they would not only never be hers, but they would despise her for eternity if they didn’t kill her first. It was not fair! She had no control over who created her. Why should she pay for their sins? As angry as she was over her parentage, guilt rode her harder. Rafa and Luca deserved the truth, but no matter how terrible the truth was, she could never reveal it. She deserved to live, but more than her life, she would not risk her child’s life. And she could not bear to see the pain, hatred, and disgust in either one of their eyes when she told them.
    She had no choice but to keep her secret. That resignation eased some of her tension.
    Slipping out of bed, Falon got a whiff of herself. Ugh. She needed a bath but her stomach gurgled for food. She found a pale yellow, strappy housedress lying at the foot of the bed. She slipped it on and looked down. The thin linen material was sheer, her nipples clearly outlined. Great. She brought her hair around to the front, and looked down again. Covered. Not that hiding behind her hair and a thin piece of fabric would curb either one of her alpha’s sexual appetites. They were insatiable