Forbidden, The Bittersweet Vampire Chronicles, Book 1

  Chapter 7

  Three days later…

  Dawn had scarcely faded into new light when Ariel MacDonnel leaned over the shimmering stream. She was very convincing dressed in her guise as a boy, until she pulled down the hood of her mantle and shook out her mass of gently-curling pale hair, intent on washing her face and hands free of the dust from her long ride.

  The hidden dangers lurking in the forest prevented her from being able to give away the fact that she was a female for long, however. And she was immensely grateful for the well-made, expensive boy clothes she wore, which were of good quality and loose enough for Ariel to disguise her true gender. Methodically pulling her hood back up, Ariel tucked her shiny curls back in place while she silently contemplated the day ahead of her.

  If all went well, within a few hours she would ride through the castle gates where her enemies resided and curry favor with their loathsome warlord. There was nothing more to her plan than that. It was simple and straightforward. The worst part was, instead of immediately killing the Fraser chieftain as she desperately wanted to, she would have to sweetly smile and innocently charm the black-hearted beast into believing her sham story. Never must Ariel’s target guess her true intentions.

  Revenge.

  She smiled wistfully to herself. Too bad she was unable to seduce the brutal ogre. That would definitely give her dagger a closer proximity to his evil heart. One quick plunge and a pleasant twist of her blade and the simple deed would be done, the score that much closer to being even. But seduction was certainly out. She surely did not want a loathsome Fraser touching her.

  Absently, Ariel reached out to pet Muffin, her big, brown, wolf of a dog who was drinking from the stream. She hadn’t wanted to endanger her animal by bringing him along on this trip, but, truth be told, she was glad he was with her.

  Plus, her pet could find her anywhere. If she’d left him at the castle, he would’ve eventually caught up with her on her journey. His frenzied scratching at the castle drawbridge or trenching under the walls in an attempt to escape the MacDonnel castle grounds in order to follow her, would have made the guards on duty very suspicious. Most of the people there assumed that she was on the hunting trip. She’d waited to reveal her intentions of staying home until right before they were set to leave, declaring sickness as the culprit.

  Kaid hadn’t believed her, but he’d understood her fears and hadn’t made her feel bad as he’d lovingly tucked her back into bed, fussed over her for a bit, then kissed her cool forehead before he left.

  As she’d anticipated, he’d ordered her to remain confined in her room while he was gone, staying clear of their spiteful step-mother, who tended to abuse her power over Ariel when the men were away on a hunt. Her maid, Mary, was to sneak her meals, and no one else at the castle was to know that she hadn’t left on the trip.

  It was the perfect opportunity for Ariel to disappear for a few days.

  Too lost in her own thoughts, Ariel hadn’t been listening to the forest around her, only the soothing sound of the stream as it flowed over rocks. So Muffin’s low growl jolted her out of her quiet forethought.

  “You are trespassing on Fraser land!” stated a deep, chilling voice.

  Sucking in a silent gasp, Ariel’s heart fairly leapt through her chest as she stood up, sharply whirling away from the stream.

  Automatically tilting her face to see from beneath her concealing hood, Ariel’s gaze riveted first on the vivid plaid of the hated Fraser clan and then came to rest on the young stranger’s solemn face and massive build. Blinking in wary disbelief, Ariel stubbornly defied her body’s natural instincts to take a step back.

  A short distance away from her, beneath the overhanging tree limbs, was one of the most formidable Highland warriors Ariel had ever seen. He appeared to be several years older than her. His stance was unnaturally still and those sharp, predatory eyes were utterly focused on her hooded form. The tiny part of her observant brain that hadn’t immediately frozen in terror at the sight of him was wondering if he was even breathing.

  The young warrior had raven black hair that almost brushed his bronzed shoulders, a square jaw, and a chiseled face that was set in such a cold, emotionless look that it sent tremors of anxiety up her spine.

  Although he looked young, the magnificent breadth of his chest and shoulders, and the stoutness of his long, muscular legs, made it quite obvious that he was already a battle-hardened warrior--one who had, evidently, come out victorious.

  Ariel’s breath froze in her throat when her superior eyesight focused in on the color of his eyes. The distinct combination of light and dark golden hues was almost hypnotically appealing. They captivated your full attention. It was like seeing a newborn fawn in the forest…so clean and adorable that you catch your breath and smile at the small creature, unable to pull your gaze away. Except Ariel wasn’t smiling as her father’s words flashed through her mind:

  All three Fraser brothers have hair as black as sin and eyes like the flames of Hell.

  Dear God…Ariel silently breathed, in an instinctive, soundless prayer, as she struggled to recover her wavering composure. Was this warrior one of them? One of the monsters?

  Everyone speculated on whether or not the three brothers living in the Fraser stronghold were truly immortal. But there was no mistaking the detached authority and brutal strength that was apparent in every line of this young warrior’s powerful body. And, from the legion of tales she’d been told about the three mysterious siblings, she hadn’t expected one to be as young as this warrior. He appeared to be around Kaid’s age, so surely if he was one of the brothers, he would be the youngest sibling.

  Oh! He might even be a cousin! That thought was immensely comforting.

  Ariel inhaled a deep calming breath. Since childhood, she had been forced to deal with the unbending challenges Kaid set before her. As a chieftain’s daughter--illegitimate or not--she had always felt that it was part of her duty to perform at her best. Ignoring fear, Ariel had continuously accomplished whatever was required of her. Now, faced with an actual warrior from the notorious vampire clan, she refused to give in to that coward named fear.

  To her annoyance, Ariel jumped when the stranger’s harsh voice rang out through the forest, startling her.

  “Do you not realize the punishment for trespassing? That, and spying?” the Fraser demanded coolly, his sharp eyes continuing their indifferent survey of her robed form.

  Mentally cringing over her cowardly flinch, Ariel stubbornly made herself take the tiniest of steps forward. It was merely a slight shuffling of feet—in order to prove to herself that she wasn’t afraid of this scary stranger. Then she realized what he’d said.

  “Spying?” Ariel croaked hoarsely, her dismay growing. She really wasn’t here to spy. She didn’t care what the Fraser’s were doing as long as it didn’t involve her clan. She merely wanted the oldest one to cease breathing…if vampires even needed to breathe.

  Tilting his head to the side, the warrior crossed thick, muscular arms over a wide expanse of broad chest. His bold features looked harsh, unyielding and cold, as if chiseled out of ice. “Have you not heard tales of the unfortunate souls who have attempted to spy on Fraser land?”

  Her slow shrug had the young warrior quirking one eyebrow and grimly shaking his head. “It’s never pleasant. Even when I happen to overhear their gruesome fates being re-told by the locals, I find myself quite…frustrated.” His lips pursed disapprovingly. “You see, they never have to embellish the details.” He paused, gently rocking back on his heels. “Unfortunately, for the trespasser,” his hand turned palm up towards her, indicating that he had classified her as such, “the truth is horrifying enough.”

  Ariel nervously tried to swallow past the swift beat of her pulse, her heart feeling as if it was lodged in her throat. His intimidation tactics were very impressive and working quite well.

  “Now…” he began again, a quiet note of steel entering his voice “let’s try this aga
in.” He held up one finger. “Clan name.” He moved a second digit up. “And what information you were sent to collect.”

  When she still gave no response, he chuckled, but it was emotionless, and the most grating sound she’d ever heard.

  “Obviously, you do not like this particular game. Let’s play another one…perhaps something more painful.”

  Ariel had been temporarily captivated into immobility by the sight of the fierce warrior. Plus, his deep voice was so unexpectedly appealing that she had felt compelled to merely stare at him as she listened, even if his icy tone and what he’d been saying hadn’t been painting a very bright picture of her future. Ariel didn’t want to wind up being just another dead trespasser for the townspeople to gossip about. Or just another scary story that parents could tell their young children to prevent them from wandering too far into the woods.

  Ariel suddenly gasped in surprise as the warrior slowly began stalking towards her, a menacing, controlled purpose in every step. Muffin immediately moved far in front of Ariel to block the vampire’s path, his protective stance intimidating, his warning growl starting low and then increasing in volume.

  Pulling herself together, Ariel automatically assessed her only escape option. Turning her head, she glanced towards her horse, Lady, who had been enthusiastically grazing on the lush green grass by the stream. She was disgruntled to see that her steed had wandered even farther away.

  Suddenly, Muffin let out such a terrible, heart wrenching series of yelps that fury immediately flooded thru Ariel’s veins. Protective instincts had her promptly pulling a knife out of her boot. Her teeth were clenched together in rage as she turned back to face her enemy. Letting it fly, she threw the blade with unnatural precision and even more force than normal. The stunning fact that the large Fraser easily caught her flying blade an inch before it would have embedded deep into his heart, surprised Ariel, but didn’t stop her. She quickly moved towards Muffin, dead set on putting herself between this monster and her beloved animal. Her pet was now curled up in a fetal position under a nearby tree, his furry body visibly trembling.

  The Fraser warrior, still holding her knife, paused in place to watch her approach, her protective actions apparently tweaking his curiosity.

  He was no longer walking towards her, but Ariel’s emotions were still in a viscous turmoil. Withdrawing two knives from her belt, she threw them simultaneously, desperately wanting to stab the merciless Fraser right in his putrid heart.

  Once again, the Fraser warrior easily caught both of her knives before they imbedded in his chest, his swift reaction eerily graceful as he seemed to pluck them right out of the air. One dark, sinister brow smoothly lifted, emphasizing the silent mockery on his face. “Thank you,” he murmured drolly.

  Ariel was becoming increasingly annoyed that her other strengths weren’t firing up around this dangerous enemy. She was naturally stronger than any mortal, but when she was truly angry--like when raiders attacked the MacDonnel village--she could be quite lethal. Unfortunately, those deadly instincts weren’t working right now. It was immensely frustrating.

  Blatantly demonstrating that he wasn’t worried in the least that a hooded stranger—who had just thrown three knives at him--stood only a dozen feet away, the vampire casually glanced down, studying the blades as he weighed them in his hands.

  There was a cynical twist to his lips when the black-haired devil glanced back up, narrowing his eyes to re-assess his opponent. “These are finely crafted,” he admired in mild surprise, obviously impressed. “I assume they were gifts that my father gave you? Are you one of his…subjects?” A spike of jealousy suddenly entered his emotions. “If you’ve secretly come to fight me in order to avenge his honor, save yourself the bother.” His eyes were cold and emotionless. Faint mockery laced his voice as he reputed, “My father has no honor. Plus, I would kill you before you drew in your next breath to scream.”

  Absently shaking her head in denial to his questions, Ariel stared at him in shocked disbelief as his words reverberated through her head. Father? What was he talking about? If the three vampire brothers had a living father that would mean that there were more than just three of the monsters. And if there were more than just three, how many more vampires were there in the Fraser clan? That unnerving thought had her swallowing uneasily. But his next words had her seeing red again.

  Purposefully being antagonistic, the vampire flipped one of her blades into the air and easily caught it behind his back. His words were almost begrudging as he praised, “I must say, everything about these knives pleases me. It’s odd but they feel so perfect that I don’t even want to put them away.” Slicing his gaze to her hooded form, he goaded, “I will enjoy practicing with my new blades later.” Bending down, he tucked all three blades into his right leather boot.

  Ariel's blood boiled over at his remark. The Frasers had already taken so much from her people. She was not letting this enemy warrior keep her favorite knives, as well.

  Fortunately, her best friend had taught her the importance of making strategically sound choices and staying calm during any fight. Unfortunately, that training flew right out of her mind as outrage flooded in. She wanted to fly at this brawny warrior and scratch his eyes out.

  Without thinking about the possible consequences, she grasped her final knife and hurled herself at the young warrior’s chest.

  As if bored, he caught her slender wrist, easily plucking the blade from her hand.

  His ultra quick reflexes were making Ariel feel unbelievably foolish. Forced to use a more basic form of protection—which happened to be the only option she had left--Ariel swiftly aimed a knee between his legs.

  With a foul oath exploding from his lips, the warrior hastily avoided her attack.

  Unfortunately, Ariel immediately regretted her reckless reaction when she felt the hard, quick cuff he delivered right above her ear. The force of the heavy blow wrenched her head to the side and a sharp pain radiated throughout Ariel’s neck and skull, ripping a distressed cry from her throat as she stumbled sideways, debilitating agony exploding in her head.

  Squeezing her eyes shut, as if trying to block out the pain, Ariel’s hand immediately flew to her head, inadvertently knocking her hood off in the process. Long, silky blond curls spilled free in wild disarray as she careened backwards, landing hard on a large fallen tree. A soft grunt involuntarily left her as she jolted to an unexpected stop against the rough bark of the huge dried-out tree trunk.

  Over the ringing in her ears, she heard the Fraser growl something low and harsh in Gaelic.

  Fearing this Fraser’s continued attack, Ariel quickly rolled to one side and blindly slid off the tree, not caring a bit about her pride as she plunked down on the flat, grassy area. In her weakened state, she barely managed to curl into a tight ball to protect her insides against any potential blows from the warrior’s heavy boots. Then she just laid there, both delicate hands clutching her pounding head and her eyes still tightly closed against the excruciating throbbing in her skull. She had known that a vampire would eventually attempt to kill her during this secret trip, but somehow she’d never imagined it would happen so quickly.

  A moment later, when she felt someone gently smoothing pale curls away from her face, Ariel was in so much pain that she couldn’t even manage to flinch away from the stranger’s touch. Her expression turned stricken as she warily opened her eyes just wide enough to see the stark disbelief written on the young man’s brooding features. With his big, muscular frame kneeling down next to her in the grass, he seemed quite a bit larger than she’d originally thought. And even through the haze of pain, she noticed how dark and sinister he appeared with that shoulder length black hair falling forward against his chiseled jaw and the unnerving focus of his intense, fiery gaze on her.

  Oh my…

  Unfortunately, Ariel’s mind was so consumed by the throbbing in her skull that she couldn’t focus on how attractive the male was for long, especially since he was pro
bably about to finish her off.

  “Don’t touch me,” she breathed in a tremulous whisper, a note of desperation in her tone. Ariel had never felt this vulnerable in all her days and she didn’t like it.

  Thus far, the only emotion he’d really exuded was a cold wall of indifference. But now curiosity and an abundance of guilt radiated from the young warrior, both seeming to grow as she continued to lay there, helpless and unmoving. It seemed almost as if this emotionless Fraser actually felt bad for striking out at a female, even though that female had been dressed as a male.

  When he began to ease forward, his big body leaning over her prone figure, Ariel’s frantic heart skipped a beat, her gaze dimly taking in his striking features and well-built physic one more time before her eyelids closed again. To her surprise, she felt his large hand flatten on her lower back as his fingertips gently dug into her ribs. Slightly lifting her up, he completely removed the rough tree limbs from beneath her slender frame. The effortless way in which he stepped over her and chucked the fallen tree away had Ariel’s heart skidding to a complete halt, especially when she heard how far away the huge object had landed. That had been no light feather of a tree. It would have taken six normal men just to drag it across the clearing.

  The evidence of such great strength seemed to finally confirm in her hazy mind that this warrior was definitely one of the Fraser vampires. Unfortunately, that fact didn’t help ease her nerves. Uncontrollable panic started to set in and her breathing began coming out in short, choppy pants. Then her whole body began trembling and Ariel tensed up, trying to make it stop.

  When he immediately came right back to her side and knelt down again, Ariel could practically feel his inquisitive gaze on her once more and she cautiously lifted long lashes, her pain-filled violet eyes zeroing in on his grim expression. Unfortunately, in her weakened state, she couldn’t possibly manage to defend herself if he attacked her.

  Trying to calm her slender, shaking form and racing heartbeat, Ariel resorted to a trick she sometimes used at night when her mind wouldn’t slow down long enough to fall asleep. Completely ignoring the Fraser male, she looked past him and focused her gaze on a distant tree trunk, immediately letting its image blur in front of her.

  In this horrible moment, when there was nothing else Ariel could do but wait out the debilitating pain, she used all the imagination she possessed to relax and pretend that she was back at home, safely snuggled in Kaid’s huge comfy bed, with her big bear of a best friend possessively tugging her in closer to his side.

  Occasionally at night, if she couldn’t go to sleep, she would roll onto her side, facing away from Kaid. Acting disgruntled by her actions, he would then turn on his own side and wrap one burly arm around her ribs, pulling her back firmly against his strong chest. Then he would kiss her multiple times on the temple and cheek, which always caused Ariel to let out a soft, pleased giggle. Nuzzling his face into her abundance of hair, he would soon be fast asleep. After that Ariel would turn her gaze toward the tapestry that covered his window, letting the embroidered landscape slowly blur in front of her…and, like always, she would fall asleep to the sound of her best friend’s heart beating.

  Ariel’s unfocused eyes closed a little more as she distracted herself further by musing over Kaid’s nighttime behavior.

  [Ariel~past]

  Her warrior best friend would always grumble and grouch when she became overly tired while helping the villagers during the day, but Ariel knew that he secretly adored when she was completely worn out at night. In her exhausted state, she would boldly crawl right on top of his chest in bed, curl her arms around his neck, and snuggle in close, grumpily threatening to end his life with a dull, rusty blade if he even thought about leaving her alone in the room that night. Then she would fall into a deep sleep with his arms protectively wrapped around her and waves of happiness and pleasure rolling off of him. Kaid cherished the moments when she truly needed his comfort and protection. Ariel loved him and his peculiar, possessive nature so much.

  Unfortunately, Ariel’s blank, unfocused stare was starting to upset the overly-attentive vampire whose rapt gaze was solely focused on her. His strong, nauseating wave of fear, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of remorse, pulled Ariel away from her comforting imagination, and she let out a low, grumpy sound.

  The young warrior’s broad shoulders seemed to relax somewhat at the sound, but his brows were still formidably low, his expression grim and concerned. With grave uncertainties, Ariel watched in surprise as the vampire shifted until he was lying stretched out right alongside her, so close that a sense of unease inched the length of Ariel’s spine, making her wonder if this was what a wounded animal felt like when a vulture was circling overhead.

  As the big warrior began to reach out, obviously intending to examine the extent of the damage he’d inflicted, apprehension filled Ariel’s pretty gaze, and her heart started pounding in a wild beat. “No…” she faintly whispered, weakly lifting her hand to block him.

  His long fingers loosely encircled her forearm. “Let me,” he commanded in that deep, silken voice--a voice that had turned so chilling a few minutes earlier when she’d failed to respond to his questioning.

  His narrow-eyed threatening look wasn’t enough to guarantee her cooperation, however. In fact, it inspired the exact opposite. Refusing to let anxiety take a deeper hold, Ariel became extremely stubborn. Pulling her arm free from his loose grasp, she sent him a quelling frown, as she successfully covered the injured spot on her head again, and then grunted in childish satisfaction because she was preventing him from touching it.

  Unfortunately, her actions seemed to entertain the monster. “Don’t be such a baby,” he gruffly ordered with a surprisingly amused undertone.

  Reaching out, his big hand slid underneath her smaller one, carefully palming the side of her skull in an almost affectionate gesture, before moving over to gently probe the area where a bump had already taken shape.

  Closing her eyes, Ariel took a stabilizing breath. In an effort to distract her mind from a pain that didn’t seem like it would ever go away, she gently scolded him, “I’m sure I heard cracking when you bashed in my skull.”

  His tone was surprisingly defensive as he bluntly replied, “You’re quite the talkative little trespasser now, aren’t you? If you’d used that breathy little voice of yours earlier, it would’ve been much easier for me to determine your correct gender.”

  Reacting with interest to the aggressive tone of his voice, Ariel shifted her face a little, curiously watching the big warrior in narrow-eyed silence as he lay propped up on one elbow in the grass. Her eyes slowly studied every detail about him before meeting his serious, direct gaze once more. Her weak tone was full of sarcasm. “So…you prefer to speak with every trespasser before you strike them on the head as hard as you can?”

  A flicker of annoyance crossed his face. “That wasn’t as hard as I could have hit you. And most people choose not to trespass on Fraser land,” he pointed out dryly.

  Her sarcasm escaped without effort as she muttered, “Maybe because your welcoming tactics are sorely lacking in warmth and friendliness.”

  There was an ironic cast to his gaze. “We don’t want visitors of any sort.”

  She softly snorted and--just as she would have when talking with Bran--Ariel chose to be randomly argumentative merely to amuse herself. “Well, being strict about visitors eventually leads to all sorts of irreversible problems.”

  His dark brows furrowed. “What problems would those be?” he demanded curiously.

  “Well, never adding fresh blood to the clan will eventually result in inbreeding, which can ultimately lead to dull-witted, possibly violent people,” she informed him with a very pointed look.

  Ariel saw his dark eyebrow quirk with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

  “I presume that you know this from close, personal experience with the issue,” he mocked dryly, pleasing her with his quick-witted response.

&nb
sp; “Nope,” she announced pertly. Although, sometimes, when Bran was truly being a brainless baboon, Ariel would get so frustrated that she would glance up at him and ask if he was sure his parents hadn’t been related when they were born? First cousins, perhaps? Brandos would give her such a killing look that it would send her into helpless giggles. Even though she always knew that he would make her pay for those unwanted comments later, riling up Bran was still fun.

  “Most people would consider it unintelligent to trespass on Fraser land,” the vampire rejoined cynically.

  In an innocently, hopeful voice she hinted, “Well…after you let me go today, I will inform everyone I see that—besides the head injury--it wasn’t so bad here. I’ll tell them that it got much better after you rubbed my injury and told me you were sorry,” she murmured with another meaningful glance. “Then you will have lots of new people swarming here for admittance into your dark, scary castle. I’m sure of it.”

  An almost dangerous calm came over the dark-haired vampire.

  His lack of reassurance that he was, indeed, going to let her go, made Ariel’s nerves flare back up. Her voice was low as she casually mentioned, “Your clan is sort of known for making people’s throats disappear.” She paused to swallow, her eyes filling with apprehension as she quietly questioned, “Is that what you’re going to do to me? Rip out my throat?”

  For a heartbeat of time, his hand paused in its ministrations, before he curtly replied, “Yes.” But something in his face told Ariel that he was lying and she snorted out a short laugh which made his formidable brows shoot up, fiery eyes flaring incredulously.

  Her alluring gaze widened as she negotiated, “I was supposed to speak to someone in your clan today, but if I leave Fraser land instead, could you possibly give me my favorite blades back and then wait to rip out my throat until the next time I visit?”

  “No,” he told her after a moment’s contemplation.

  Blinking up at him, she questioned, “Is that a no for the knives part or the throat part?”

  “Both,” he bit out flatly.

  Ariel’s lips pinched together in obvious displeasure and she closed her eyes before snippily muttering, “Well, I’m definitely going to stab you, then!”

  A strangled noise, almost like a choked off laugh, came from him and Ariel’s eyes creaked back open to glare daggers at the insolent warrior.

  “And how are you going to do that when I am in possession of all your knives?” he questioned lightly.

  Suddenly sobering, a deceptively guileless expression crossed her face.

  His eyes narrowed on her in contemplation. “Do you have another blade that I don’t know about?

  Trying to make him think that she was lying, her voice was small and innocent-sounding as she stammered, “No.”

  Dark brows lifted over enigmatic eyes. “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

  Wanting him to think her a terrible liar so that he would more readily accept any deception she feed him later, Ariel made a slightly grumpy, defensive face, tucking her chin further into her chest as she whispered, “You already have all of my knives.” It was a true statement. “You’re just being greedy!”

  Sliding a quick peek over to him, Ariel was a bit surprised when his chiseled lips were pressed together, obviously trying to prevent a smirk, his golden gaze twinkling back at her in a conspiratorial way, as if he found her apparent dishonesty amusing. For some reason that look actually made real guilt flicker over Ariel’s expression…especially when he grunted, pretending to believe her answer, his lips losing the battle as he finally smirked. Ariel sighed and rested her eyes again. Vampires were confusing.

  Long moments passed and his interest only seemed to increase further. She could actually feel his intense yellow eyes roaming over every inch of her as she lay there, still barely moving except to breathe.

  “Is the pain any better yet?” he queried almost solicitously, seeming in no hurry, as he continued his gentle ministrations.

  “No!” she instantly grouched.

  “Not even a little bit better?” Unexpected humor laced his tone.

  After a long pause, she grudgingly admitted, “Maybe a little.” Surprisingly, the throbbing pain in Ariel’s head was starting to ease somewhat as he continued to lightly rub her scalp, basically petting her head, as if that would make it all better.

  Eventually Ariel felt his hand leave her hair, his knuckles slowly caressing along her soft cheek, then her jawline, as a sense of fascinated wonder started overshadowing his other emotions.

  “Are you contemplating the best way to rip out my throat?” she demanded irritably, her eyes still closed. “It’s probably a bit smaller than the ones you normally encounter, so it shouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

  His tone was bland as he confessed, “Actually, your neck looks a bit deformed and puny. I don’t know that I want to touch it.”

  That surprised a long flow of muffled giggles from Ariel in helpless appreciation of his jibe and she could tell that her odd sense of humor secretly pleased the big male. “Different is beautiful,” she defiantly told him, quoting her adopted grandmother, Hannah.

  She heard him harrumph doubtfully. Then, almost soundlessly, he breathed, “You are beautiful.”

  She pretended not to have heard him, even though her heart did a stupid, little fluttery thing. He was a violent Fraser. She did not care what he thought.

  A moment later she felt an increased sense of confusion and opened her eyes to see that he held a long pale curl in one hand. He was rubbing the soft strands with a thumb, his brow furrowing as he closely examined the shiny lock.

  “I’ve never seen hair like yours,” he stated in open fascination, that deep voice of his doing odd things to her insides.

  Ariel felt herself bristle. “It’s just boring old hair, like everyone else’s,” she grumbled defensively, even though people had sighed over the beauty of her thick, blonde curls her entire life.

  “It’s like heavily-spun, pale silk and looks like there are tiny jewels reflecting along every strand.”

  “You have good eyes,” she muttered sourly.

  His disturbingly bright, yellow gaze flicked back to hers as he breathed, “What are you?”

  Ariel’s blood instantly ran cold, so startled by his horrifying question that she gasped in outrage. Insecurities that were rooted from early childhood onward made memories flash through her mind…

  [Ariel~past]

  The worried whisperings of her clansmen when Ariel could see who was coming from an unnaturally far distance.

  When she had run through the night as if it were daytime, while others stumbled around, their hands outstretched.

  When a fight had broken out between two brothers in the distance and Kaid had mentioned aloud that he wondered why the two big warriors were so upset. Ariel--being all of three-years-old at the time--had helpfully reported that one had tried to kiss the other ones girl. The people nearby had indulgently chuckled at her young imagination, until they’d later learned that what she’d said had been accurate. That was when their looks had turned cautious and guarded around her.

  Even as a very small child, Ariel had heard uncomfortable whispers after her mistakes and never made that same error again. She’d learned to adapt quickly, in order to fit in with everyone around her.

  [Ariel-present]

  A small growl purred in her throat before she gritted out, “I’m a normal girl!”

  “I’m aware that you’re female,’ he confirmed solemnly. “That fact is quite obvious to me now.”

  Ariel didn’t take note of his warm, appreciative look. She was too irritated. “Let go of my hair!”

  Quirking one bemused eyebrow, his thumb lingered on the silky strands a heartbeat longer before he reluctantly honored her request.

  Going up on her elbow, Ariel huffed and gave him a venomous glare, outrage blazing in her beautiful eyes. Drawing on her own burst of anger, she let all the helpless rage from the Frasers
attack on her clan come to the forefront as she gingerly struggled to rise, stubbornly refusing to look at the despicable Fraser again.

  As Ariel made it to her feet, he did so, as well. And when she swayed, he chivalrously came to her aid, extending his arms as if to assist her.

  “No!” she shrilled in a hoarse whisper, shooing him off with her hand as she put a trembling hand to her pounding head. “Don’t touch me or my dog!” She thought she heard a low chuckle but wasn’t sure. Colors were still swirling behind her eyes and she felt slightly nauseated.

  Studying her with open interest, he answered frankly, “I didn’t lay a finger on your precious dog, if that’s what you want to call that beast, for I know of his kind.”

  Ariel didn’t quite know what he was trying to insinuate but she took exception to his mean name-calling. “You are the beast!” she spat, recklessly provoking him even though she sensed that he could be quite dangerous. “To hurt a defenseless animal is despicable!”

  His eyes narrowed at her insult. “Your wolf—though, even that name is too mild for him--is far from defenseless,” he corrected. “And I didn’t touch a hair on his overgrown, mangy head. I merely hissed at him,” he patiently explained, drawing his lips back over his white teeth in a soundless demonstration.

  “You lie!” she shouted, then winced at the pain shooting through her throbbing skull. Lowering her voice, she hissed out a warning, “Don’t look at my pet! Don’t talk about him! And don’t even breathe near him or I will kill you!”

  As if she hadn’t just threatened and insulted him, the Fraser sent her an arrogant look. “Just in case you haven’t realized it, yet,” he began, pausing long enough to tilt his head closer to her before continuing in a patronizing whisper, “You’re not very good at killing me. And your pet…” a smirk appeared on his handsome face, as if he was going to enjoying saying the rest of his sentence, “…he cowed down like a little pup.”

  Ariel didn’t take the insult well…at all. Steam was practically coming out of her ears. What was it about this male, whom she had just met, that made him so aggravating? He was too arrogant, she decided. A mean, arrogant Fraser!

  Thrusting her left hand on her hip in obvious agitation, she then silently held out the other hand toward her knife, the one blade of Ariel’s that this huge male had negligently slipped into his belt when he’d so rudely knocked her down.

  Glancing at her outstretched hand, and then back up to her face, he lifted one dark eyebrow in mild disbelief.

  With her lips pursed together in disapproval and his impending death written in her beautiful eyes, she wiggled her fingers impatiently towards the blade, silently insinuating that he should immediately give it back to her.

  Suddenly, an antagonistic grin of amusement twitched on the grim warrior’s full lips. Arrogant pride exuded from every line of his powerful body as he slowly pulled the knife free of his belt, his smug expression challenging her to use it as he confidently laid it in her outstretched palm.

  Then he purposely goaded her, blatantly insinuating that she was a coward, by mocking, “You would’ve known what happened to your precious animal if you hadn’t been bravely contemplating the quickest way to run away.”

  That tipped Ariel right over the edge to crazy. With murderous rage almost choking her, Ariel let out a low, continuous growl deep in her throat. Quickly adjusting the knife handle, she lifted her arm high and stabbed him.