Read Online Raphael | Parish by Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright - Free Book Online
Authors: Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright
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kill.”
Raphael waved aside the apology. Although it was rare to use the words of power that would force a Pantera back to his human form, he knew his cat would never have allowed his friend near.
“You did what you had to do.”
Bayon folded his arms over his chest, his expression grim. “The obvious question, is...why did I have to do it?”
“Damned if I know.” Raphael’s memories were hazed by the surge of adrenaline that had gripped him from the minute he’d realized Ashe had left the safety of the bar. “I was tracking Ashe when I caught sight of the stranger.” His voice thickened with fury. “When I realized he was trying to skewer her with an arrow, my cat took over.”
“Did the stranger do anything to you?”
Raphael arched a brow. “Do?”
“Shoot you with a poison arrow?” Bayon asked. “Cast a spell? Use a secret military weapon to force you to change?”
He snorted at the moronic questions. “It didn’t have anything to do with the stranger. I changed when I came close enough to feel Ashe’s aura.”
Both men glanced toward the silent woman standing in the center of the room. Instantly she held up her hands in a gesture of innocence.
“Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t do anything.”
“Could it be the child?” Bayon suggested.
Raphael frowned, considering the precise second he’d shifted.
As he’d sprinted across the dark street there had been terror that he was going to be too late. And a blinding fury that anyone would try to hurt his mate. But his last memory was the sweet smell of lush land and female magic.
Ashe’s scent.
“I’m not a medic or a philosopher,” he at last said with a shrug. “All I know is that my cat decided this female was mine at first sight and it wasn’t going to let anyone or anything hurt her.”
“Maybe the elders have some idea,” Bayon muttered. “We need to get her home.”
“My thought exactly.”
“Wait,” Ashe protested. “This town is my home, not the middle of the swamp.”
Glaring toward Bayon, who parted his lips to demand Ashe’s compliance in his usual blunt style, Raphael moved to stand directly in front of her, his finger brushing over her too-pale cheek.
“Is it truly your home, ma chère , or somewhere that you live?”
“I—”
“The truth.”
Their gazes locked, her dark eyes revealing the lonely, wounded child who’d been unwanted her entire life.
Until she’d walked across his path.
Now she would never, ever be lonely or unwanted again.
Cupping her cheek in his hand, he prepared to convince her just how desperately he needed her, when Bayon made a sound of impatience.
“I hate to interrupt, but this touching scene will have to wait.”
Raphael glared at his friend. “Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?”
“It’s in my job description.”
“No shit.”
Reaching into his back pocket, Bayon held out a scrap of material.
“Here.”
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
Raphael’s sensitive nose curled at the stench of rotting flesh and something else. That same ‘wrongness’ he’d smelled on the humans entering the hotel earlier. With reluctance, he flipped aside the folded material to reveal the patch of skin cut into a perfect six by six square.
He hissed in shock.
Not at the fact that he was holding a slab of flesh. He was a predator who’d just ripped out the throat of a man.
But at the sight of a brand that portrayed the outline of a raven with wings spread in front of a full moon.
“Where did you get this?”
“I returned to dispose of the body,” Bayon answered. “This was branded on his lower back.”
Beside him Ashe gave a gasp of horror. “Oh my god, is that his skin?”
Raphael flinched, wishing he could protect her from the darker side of his nature. Christ, it was bad enough she’d had to witness him tearing apart a man just a few feet away from her without having to endure the gruesome prize he held in his hands.
Unfortunately, this brand
Raphael waved aside the apology. Although it was rare to use the words of power that would force a Pantera back to his human form, he knew his cat would never have allowed his friend near.
“You did what you had to do.”
Bayon folded his arms over his chest, his expression grim. “The obvious question, is...why did I have to do it?”
“Damned if I know.” Raphael’s memories were hazed by the surge of adrenaline that had gripped him from the minute he’d realized Ashe had left the safety of the bar. “I was tracking Ashe when I caught sight of the stranger.” His voice thickened with fury. “When I realized he was trying to skewer her with an arrow, my cat took over.”
“Did the stranger do anything to you?”
Raphael arched a brow. “Do?”
“Shoot you with a poison arrow?” Bayon asked. “Cast a spell? Use a secret military weapon to force you to change?”
He snorted at the moronic questions. “It didn’t have anything to do with the stranger. I changed when I came close enough to feel Ashe’s aura.”
Both men glanced toward the silent woman standing in the center of the room. Instantly she held up her hands in a gesture of innocence.
“Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t do anything.”
“Could it be the child?” Bayon suggested.
Raphael frowned, considering the precise second he’d shifted.
As he’d sprinted across the dark street there had been terror that he was going to be too late. And a blinding fury that anyone would try to hurt his mate. But his last memory was the sweet smell of lush land and female magic.
Ashe’s scent.
“I’m not a medic or a philosopher,” he at last said with a shrug. “All I know is that my cat decided this female was mine at first sight and it wasn’t going to let anyone or anything hurt her.”
“Maybe the elders have some idea,” Bayon muttered. “We need to get her home.”
“My thought exactly.”
“Wait,” Ashe protested. “This town is my home, not the middle of the swamp.”
Glaring toward Bayon, who parted his lips to demand Ashe’s compliance in his usual blunt style, Raphael moved to stand directly in front of her, his finger brushing over her too-pale cheek.
“Is it truly your home, ma chère , or somewhere that you live?”
“I—”
“The truth.”
Their gazes locked, her dark eyes revealing the lonely, wounded child who’d been unwanted her entire life.
Until she’d walked across his path.
Now she would never, ever be lonely or unwanted again.
Cupping her cheek in his hand, he prepared to convince her just how desperately he needed her, when Bayon made a sound of impatience.
“I hate to interrupt, but this touching scene will have to wait.”
Raphael glared at his friend. “Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?”
“It’s in my job description.”
“No shit.”
Reaching into his back pocket, Bayon held out a scrap of material.
“Here.”
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
Raphael’s sensitive nose curled at the stench of rotting flesh and something else. That same ‘wrongness’ he’d smelled on the humans entering the hotel earlier. With reluctance, he flipped aside the folded material to reveal the patch of skin cut into a perfect six by six square.
He hissed in shock.
Not at the fact that he was holding a slab of flesh. He was a predator who’d just ripped out the throat of a man.
But at the sight of a brand that portrayed the outline of a raven with wings spread in front of a full moon.
“Where did you get this?”
“I returned to dispose of the body,” Bayon answered. “This was branded on his lower back.”
Beside him Ashe gave a gasp of horror. “Oh my god, is that his skin?”
Raphael flinched, wishing he could protect her from the darker side of his nature. Christ, it was bad enough she’d had to witness him tearing apart a man just a few feet away from her without having to endure the gruesome prize he held in his hands.
Unfortunately, this brand
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