Read Online Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend by Stacey Brutger - Free Book Online

line.
    From the look on his brutish face, she suspected the latter.
His features were too close together, his forehead a little too big, his jaw a
little too square. Hair covered nearly every inch of the man, springing up from
his knuckles, sticking out of his ears, even peeking from the collar of his
shirt.
    Taggert grabbed her hand and tugged her after him as they
scooted past the man. The ringmaster eyed them suspiciously, but their act must
have convinced him as he allowed them to leave without a word of protest.
    * * *
    “We can’t stay here.” Taggert dragged her directly toward
the exit this time, the desire in his eyes banked as he glanced back at her. “I
won’t risk losing you.”
    The edge of the fairground stood less than thirty feet away,
his determination to protect her instinctive. Not only was she female, she was
his alpha as well. Raven hadn’t grown up in a pack and didn’t realize how much
the need to protect her was built into their existence.
    They would do anything for her—even kill.
    She should find it barbaric, but she couldn’t help be drawn
to them all the more. Part of it was primal, years of evolution built in her
DNA, attracting her to the strongest protectors. The bigger part, though,
feared their lack of self-preservation when near her. Worry churned in her gut,
leaving her wondering how she was supposed to keep them safe.
    Raven didn’t protest as Taggert practically picked her up,
the urge to leave like a tsunami. The threat built at her back, waiting to
ensnare them. As much as she wanted to remain and help the trapped shifters, it
was too dangerous.
    She wouldn’t risk her people.
    “Do you want to know your fortune?” A woman stepped in their
path. Short and lithe, she was dressed as a typical gypsy with a loose blouse
and a colorful layered skirt. She had a scarf wound through her long dark hair,
but it did little to tame the wild curls. Large, dangling earrings completed
the look. A string belt was looped about her waist, fake gold coins twinkling
even in the darkness, and chimed with her every movement.
    “No.” Taggert easily sidestepped, herding Raven behind him,
but the woman persisted, grabbing his arm before he could pass.
    Raven lurched forward to rip him away when Taggert stepped
between them, and she somehow ended up tangled in Taggert’s arm instead.
    The gypsy reared back but didn’t loosen her hold. “It will
only take a minute. Free of charge for all those who paid for the freak show.”
    Taggert shrugged off her hold, nearly pulling the poor woman
off her feet. As the gypsy staggered to remain upright, Raven instinctually
reached to steady her, not wishing to draw more attention. As soon as their
skin touched, color leeched from the gypsy’s face. A sickly-sweet smell
thickened the air, and things clicked into place.
    A witch.
    Desperation widened the gypsy’s eyes, and she clutched Raven’s
hand. “Please. I will be punished if I don’t read your rogue’s future.”
    Stark terror filled her eyes with tears, and Raven found
herself nodding. Despite herself, a tinge of sympathy rose as she remembered
what it felt like to be trapped. “That’s fine, but he’s not—”
    Taggert plucked her hand from the woman’s grasp, and brought
it to his lips, then nibbled on her fingertips. “They know I’m a shifter and
you’re human. There is no need to hide that I’m not human here.”
    She had been going to say he wasn’t a rogue but followed
Taggert’s lead. Shifters were allowed to intermix with humans, take lovers, but
anything more was frowned upon.
    No serious relationships between the species.
    Duty to the pack must always come first.
    The gypsy smiled, her relief palpable as she reached for
Taggert’s hand. The sight of another woman touching him, especially after the
mermaid, left her fingertips aching as claws threatened to erupt. Her gums tingled,
her fangs ready to descend and tear into the woman. The beast stretched under
her skin, growing