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pressed a kiss on his palm. But his expression remained tight.
    The rich scent of loamy earth and pine drifted over the fence. Her father’s scent. Maybe there was a clue about what had happened.
    Ariel vaulted over the fence post and walked over the meadow, ignoring Jarrett’s warning. She’d gone barely fifty yards when the same stench filled her nostrils, making her gag.
    Pain suddenly speared her foot. Ariel cried out. Struggling to keep her balance, she grabbed her foot and examined it.
    A bead of blood bubbled up. She dotted it with her finger. Suddenly she didn’t want to be here on this land with the malevolence thick in her mouth.
    She ran to the fence. Jarrett clasped her waist and lifted her over. Ariel sat on the ground and examined her foot.
    The puncture mark was gone. No stinger, no sharp object. As if it had vanished.
    â€œWhat is it?” Jarrett gently stroked a finger over her sole.
    â€œNothing.”
    But as they made their silent way back to his cabin, Ariel had a bad feeling about it.
    Â 
    She was Lupine Fae. Filled with magick, light and the ability to draw energy from the earth. His people needed her and her energy. For more than thirty years, they’d lived in darkness after the pack males were imprisoned for fighting with the jaguars.
    Jarrett couldn’t admit the deep truth. He needed her, more than for mere sex. He craved her lightness and truth. He’d forgiven the jaguars for the violence, had forgiven Daimon, the Ancient who had killed his sister. He’d forgiven all.
    Except himself.
    Some things could never be forgiven.
    Ariel erased the shadows always dodging his heels. Maybe with her at his side, he could finally find peace. Her toughness, her ethereal features and her rising passion were as addictive as a drug. He could handle her in bed.
    He could not handle her in his heart. He’d keep her safe, would die himself before letting anything happen to her. But love? Sharing his heart?
    Jarrett placed a hand over his chest, feeling the rapid thump of that organ. He tried to retreat into the dark corners, where it was safe. He found himself craving the safe shadows.
    Light would reveal what he truly was, the beast that had killed.

Chapter Ten
    The climb up the mountain later that afternoon filled Ariel with dread. She suspected what they would find.
    Adrenaline spiked her blood as she trailed behind Jarrett. Whatever was in the mine held her people captive. The mine was made from man, tainted with metal and iron and all things irritating to the Fae.
    Her father had not gone there by choice.
    They reached the mine. Ariel shied away from a rusty iron cart near the tracks leading deep into the recesses. Jarrett peered inside.
    â€œStay behind me,” he told her.
    Ghostly gray light filled the cavern. As they ventured down the narrow tunnel, the light became stronger. Her stomach knotted as they reached a large room filled with old mining equipment. Ariel stopped, stricken by the sight. She heard Jarrett mutter a low curse.
    Her father sat in a corner, surrounded by the other Fae. Pale light spilled from their eyes. The irises were pale and glowed gray. Ariel raced over to her father and fell to her knees by his side.
    â€œFather, tell me, why are you here?!”
    â€œThe land,” Cael mumbled. “It’s tainted. The meadow. Jarrett’s meadow, fenced off…”
    â€œI know. What happened?”
    â€œCan’t kill it, can’t eliminate it. Not us. Only Jarrett.”
    Then he fell forward, collapsing to the ground. A moan came from him. “Can’t stand the sunlight, the exposure, too bright, too much, hurts my eyes. Keep it dark. Safe. The monster.”
    â€œWhat monster? Father, please!” Ariel shook his shoulder but he did not respond.
    Jarrett squatted down and gently propped Cael upward. He felt his pulse. “He’s alive. For now. We have to get him out of here.”
    Lifting her father as if he