Read Online Donovan's Woman by Amanda Ashley - Free Book Online

supernatural powers, she had never trusted him when he was in wolf form. And rightly so. Given the chance, he would have ripped out her heart.
    But one night…ah, that one night. She had been insatiable and he had pleasured her for hours. Finally exhausted, she had shortened his tether and chained him to the wall across from her bed . But that night, ah, that blessed night she had forgotten to activate the collar. Perhaps she had not forgotten, but assumed that he would not be able to escape the blasted thing even if he shifted into the wolf, since he was a very large wolf and the collar was very tight.
    But he had not shifted into his wolf form. Instead, he had shifted into a small dog — an ability of which Serepta had been unaware — and slipped out of the collar. Regaining his own form, he fled her room and made his way to the keep’s front door. A guard had tried to stop him but Gryff had shifted again.
    The guard, though armed with a blaster, was no match for a large, angry wolf. Before the man could fire, Gryff launched himself at the guard and buried his fangs in his arm. The man dropped the weapon. With a feral growl, Gryff ripped out the man’s throat and got the hell out of there just as fast as he could.
    Drunk on freedom, he had taken off running and never looked back.
    And now, too soon, he was her prisoner again.
    Marri listened without interruption as Gryff told his story. It was fascinating. Intriguing. Unbelievable. “You were the wolf,” she murmured. “You killed Dakkar and Trist.”
    “Yeah.”
    Marri shivered, unnerved by the thought. She was grateful for what he had done, yes, but…she had heard of shape-shifters but she had always believed they were creatures of fantasy. Now, if what Gryff said was true, they weren’t creatures of myth at all.
    Trying not to be obvious about it, she eased away from him.
    “Are you afraid of me now?” he asked, one brow arching upward. “Afraid I might turn into a wild animal and gobble you up?”
    “No.” It sounded ridiculous, when he said it like that. But she couldn’t forget he had killed Dakkar and Trist and torn the throat out of one of Serepta’s guards.
    “You’re not much of a liar, are you?”
    “That’s what my brother always said.”
    “We’re a fine pair,” Gryff mused. “Your brother wants you dead. Serepta wants to torture me to the point of death and then do it all over again. Doesn’t look like either one of us has much of a future.”
    A sudden chill crept over Marri. “What do think the witch will do with me? She won’t send me back to Artur, will she?”
    “You’d be better off if she did.”
    “Better off? He wants to kill me .”
    “Believe me, dead is better than what Serepta has in mind for me.”
    “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
    “Yeah. She told me if I ever escaped, she would flay the skin from my bones an inch at a time, then heal me and do it all again.”
    Marri shuddered at the image his words conjured in her mind. “She can do that?”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    “And you escaped anyway?”
    “Damn right. Whatever you do, don’t tell her who you are. Your name is Cay. We met in Bosquetown. Got it?”
    Before she could answer, the transport came to a jolting stop. Moments later, the door slid open. She couldn’t really see anything other than a dark shape in the opening. A sudden flare of light illuminated a woman standing in the doorway. She held a staff in one hand, the tip of which provided the light.
    Tall and regal, the woman had flawless porcelain skin, hair the color of cinnamon, and eyes as dark and cold as ebony.
    Serepta.
    She stepped into the transport, moving with a lithe grace. Her long black cloak flowed behind her. She paused in front of Gryff, her gaze frigid as she stared down at him.
    He looked up at her, his own gaze defiant.
    Then, slowly, Serepta turned her attention to Marri. “And who, pray tell, are you?”
    “I’m…” She glanced at Gryff, who shook his head imperceptibly.