by Alice Wilde
Ero growls, the sound deep and primal. The next second is a blur as Ero moves faster than I can react, pinning me down on my back and stripping me of my lower garments. One of Ero’s hands is firmly around my throat, the other hand pushing his dick harder against my clit as he rubs against me, faster and faster.
I can see sweat beading on Ero’s skin as he tries to control himself. The feeling of desire is so painfully built up inside me that I’m sure I’m about to die, and I close my eyes as I anticipate my climax when Ero changes positions on top of me.
“Ero?” I breathe, his name barely audible on my lips.
Ero doesn’t answer, and my eyes fly open in sudden distress. He’s shifted his hips back, his body trembling as he slowly begins pressing the tip of his cock against my pussy, hard enough that I can feel my body starting to open to him.
“Ero!”
My voice comes out as barely more than a squeak as Ero’s hand tightens around my throat, choking me.
Ero looks up into my face, his blue eyes sparkling as tears spill over and onto me.
“I’m sorry, princess,” Ero says as his eyes fade to black.
“I never would have guessed,” Damien says in a sickeningly dark voice, “that it was Ero whose love would be the strongest to get you in the end.”
I try to scream, but I can barely breathe as Damien finally manages to use Ero’s body to thrust into me and everything fades to black…
It was just a nightmare, I repeat over and over to myself, my eyes still shut tight. I can feel my body slowly waking, but I’m sore in ways I’ve never been before. And then there’s a rush of stinging prickles through half of my body as a heavy weight shifts on top of me. Gods, please don’t be who I think it is.
Slowly, I open my eyes, and I nearly pass out again.
Ero is slumped on top of me, barely moving. I don’t want to believe any of what just happened.
“Ero?”
He doesn’t move.
“Ero,” I say louder, using my free arm to shake him.
He still doesn’t budge.
“Please, Ero, don’t do this to me,” I groan and start to pound on his shoulder with my fists.
Ero lets out a groan as he gradually comes to and freezes as he remembers where he is.
“Annalise,” Ero says without looking toward me, his tone indicating he hopes it’s someone else who answers.
“Yes,” I say quietly.
“Dammit,” Ero says, looking up at me warily. “I need to get up, but this is probably not going to be very pleasant.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see,” Ero says, looking up at me apologetically.
I whimper in pain as Ero moves, realizing he’s still inside me only as he pulls out as gently as he can manage. As soon as he’s freed himself from my body, I roll over on my side and pull my knees up to my chest. Ero pulls a small quilt over me.
“I swear,” Ero says, “if I had known the connection was still possible, I wouldn’t have touched you.”
“I know,” I whisper after a moment of silence. “Damien tricked us all into believing love would keep us safe when it’s exactly what he needed in order to use us. It’s all over now, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know.”
“We’re going to have to tell the others, aren’t we?”
Ero is quiet for a long time. “No, I don’t think we should.”
“What?” I say in shock as I turn to look at him.
“What good will it that do?”
“I…I don’t know, but they have a right know.”
“Perhaps,” Ero says. “But what will it change whether we tell them or not? Our quest hasn’t changed…aside from probably getting a hell of a lot more difficult. I don’t think we should say anything. Not unless we have to.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think it’ll only make things worse.”
I nod my head, hoping we are making the right decision—if there are any right decisions in all of this mess.
“Love?” Ero suddenly asks anxiously. “What did Damien say about love?”
Twenty-Nine
Ero
Leave it to Damien to use something that’s supposed to be pure to further his dark purpose. Of course, he not only had to deceive me into believing that opening my heart to Annalise would keep her safe, but he had to be the one to tell her that I love her…and it was my love that made it possible for him to get what he wanted.
I know this should be the last thing on my mind right now, but he’s stolen our first time together. As soon as Damien took over, my mind faded into a darkness I’d never felt before. I couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. Not that I would have wanted to see him do such a thing to her. But it was completely impossible for me to fight him. Worst of all, he had held me in a stranglehold inside my mind for nearly a minute, letting me know exactly what was about to happen before taking over.
I know it wasn’t of my own volition, but I feel completely responsible. Guilty.
I feel as though I was the one who forced myself on her, and I can’t help but believe that’s true. I should have controlled myself better. I should have kept her at arm’s length.
I never should have opened my heart again.
I never should have fallen in love.
Thirty
Annalise
It was obvious Roan was more than a little suspicious—and pissed—when we arrived back at the castle quite a bit later and informed him that Ero was not staying behind.
I had to run and find Li after Ero and Roan started a shouting match that nearly turned to blows, and we finally came to an agreement. Roan would be in charge of the Highlanders while Ero remained in charge of the Vikings.
However, it soon became clear that neither the Highlanders nor the Vikings were keen on sailing around the world to China.
“You’ve got to be daft!” a man shouts, and others soon join in.
“There’s no way in all of the heavens any of us is sailing that far around the world.”
“How about you survive this lunatic’s journey first and then ask for our aid?” another man yells.
“They’re not wrong,” Li says. “The journey will be arduous, and they have no reason to believe we’ll make it, let alone be successful.”
“No reason?”
“What do they have to gain by sailing all the way to China?” Li asks. “Nothing other than a few more notches on their belts.”
“So, what are you suggesting?” I ask.
Li thinks for a moment. “We go and raise my army first and then come back to join forces.”
“Wow,” Ero says. “Wasn’t this all a big waste of time.”
“How so?” Roan asks in annoyance.
“Do you honestly think Vikings are going to wait around for us to come back and give them orders?”
“That’s your problem, not mine,” Roan says with a shrug. “Highlanders are loyal to a fault.”
“Can we please not argue about this,” I say. “Our situation is only growing more dangerous by the minute and we can’t waste any time.”
Roan looks at me for a long moment, his expression apprehensive.
“Do you know something we don’t, lass?”
“What? Why would you think that?”
“You seem to be a lot more anxious about doing things as quickly as possible these days.”
“I need to take back my kingdom as quickly as possible,” I say. “Damien’s hold on my life is wearing on me.”
Roan doesn’t argue with me, but I can tell he’s not completely satisfied with my answer.
“So, have we decided?” Li asks.
“I suppose,” Roan says, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“It doesn’t look like we have much choice,” Ero says, his eyes flitting to me briefly.
“Then we set sail in the morning,” Li says. “Ero, I suggest you try to convince the Vikings to join us or find a way to get them to swear allegiance to you.
”
“Yeah, great,” Ero scoffs as he exits the room.
I don’t know how Ero managed to do it, but we set sail the following morning with more than half the Vikings we’d gathered along the way. Roan’s family also gives us a ship and crew, much to my relief as their ships are far more comfortable for long distance travel than the Viking ships.
We sail south, making good time. Some days, Ero stays on the ship with us, but most days he sails with one or another of his new crew. I am surprised by how much I am enjoying this journey until we round what Li calls “The Cape of Storms.” I laugh at the nickname, but then wish I hadn’t.
The day is beautiful. As I walk the deck with Ero, he excitedly tells me how he finally feels like the men are beginning to trust his leadership. Then, I look out over the horizon and stop to squint.
“What do you think that is?” I ask Ero, who turns to look where I’m pointing.
Ero’s face hardens. “Get inside, now,” he orders, guiding me toward my quarters as he shouts up at Li and Roan. “Storm!”
Roan and Li look out and begin shouting orders to the crew.
“Stay inside,” Ero says firmly to me, squeezing my hand before pushing me inside and shutting the door. Only a few minutes later, I am thrown to the floor as the ship is suddenly hit hard and wind howls outside.
The crew shouts as they run across the deck, trying to keep the ship from capsizing in the unexpected storm. I wait nervously in my room as the storm only seems to worsen with each passing hour.
The door to my cabin is unexpectedly thrown open, and I jump up from my seat on the bed. It’s Ero. He’s windblown and soaked through.
I step toward him, and he catches me as the ship sways, almost knocking me to the floor once again.
“They’re turning back,” Ero says.
“Who are?” I ask in alarm.
“My men. The Vikings.”
“Tell them not to!”
“I can’t. I’ve only just begun to gain their trust, and they’ve never experienced a storm of this magnitude before. We’ve already lost several ships.”
“What are we going to do?”
“It’s not what we are going to do,” Ero says slowly. “It’s what I’m going to do.”
I stare at him.
“I have to go with them,” Ero says. “We need their help, and I need to learn to lead them. How can I do that if they don’t trust me as one of their own?”
“You can’t be serious,” I say in disbelief.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” I say as tears spill onto my cheeks.
“I have to do this, Annalise,” Ero says as he takes my face in his hands and kisses me softly through my tears. “I have to do this for us. Don’t forget me.”
“Never,” I whisper as Ero lets go of me and runs back out into the storm.
I run out after him and over to the railing just as he grabs a rope and swings onto one of the Viking ships.
“I’ll find you!” Ero shouts over the storm as he turns toward me. “I’ll never stop looking for you!”
I watch on helplessly, his voice ringing in my ears, as Ero and his ship suddenly vanish behind the most massive wave I’ve ever seen.
“No!” I scream out over the stormy ocean.
Roan suddenly grabs me from behind and carries me, sobbing, back to the captain’s quarters.
I can barely sleep as I wait out the storm in the captain’s quarters over the next few days. I’ve nearly given up hope that we’ll make it out alive when Roan wakes me and I follow him out on deck to find the skies bright and cheery and a steady wind blowing in our favor.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d never have believed we were in the midst of deadly storm only a few hours earlier—and if it weren’t for the noticeable absence of Ero.
I try to help as much as possible, but there’s little I can do besides keep out of the way. Roan joins me in my quarters when he can, even going so far as to sleep beside me some nights. But there’s a noticeable tension between us now, and he won’t stop asking me if everything is all right. Of course it’s not. Ero’s gone and the world is ending, but I can’t say that to Roan. So, the answer is always yes.
My favorite part of this journey so far has been clear calm nights spent with Li, learning the names of the stars and their meanings. I don’t have to think about anything when I’m around him, and he always has something to distract my mind.
We stop at ports every so often to resupply, but we never stay for more than a night, and usually not even that long.
The days turn into weeks, and I find myself getting seasick more and more frequently with each passing day.
“You need to eat something,” Roan says, rubbing my back as I puke over the side of the ship for the second time that morning. “Eat this cracker. I’ll get you some fruit.”
I slide down onto the deck weakly and do my best to nibble away at the cracker Roan has handed me.
The crew hurries around doing various tasks, and I catch more than a few side-eyes as I remain slumped against the side of the ship’s railing. I look up as a hand is offered to me. Li.
“This may not be the most ideal place for you to rest,” Li says. “How about I take you back to your cabin?”
I don’t really want to go back indoors, but I know Li’s right.
“Fine,” I sigh, taking his hand as he helps me to my feet and back indoors. I take a seat on the edge of the bed, exhausted. I watch as Li walks back across the room to the door, but instead of leaving, he turns the key in the lock. He keeps his back to me for a long moment before turning to face me.
“When are you going to tell Roan?” Li asks.
The question takes me completely by surprise. “Tell Roan?” I ask in bewilderment. “Tell Roan what?”
“That you’re pregnant.”
My mouth falls open in astonishment. “Pregnant? I’m not pregnant.”
Li sighs and crosses the room to me. “Annalise, I’m a healer. I know when I’m seeing the symptoms. Besides, I can feel the baby growing inside you whenever you touch me.”
I stare at him, my eyes wide with shock and fear.
“How long have you known?”
“I guessed something had happened before we even left Scotland, and I have no doubt Roan guessed as well,” Li says. “But I didn’t know for sure until a few weeks after Ero disappeared.”
“It was Damien,” I say quietly. “Ero didn’t do it on purpose.”
Li’s jaw hardens, and he nods in understanding.
“Well, we certainly have our work cut out for us then, don’t we?” Li says quietly to himself.
I can barely breathe, my mind reeling.
Li stands and walks back to the door of the cabin, unlocking it.
“Don’t forget to speak with Roan,” Li says. “He deserves to know.”
I nod numbly, falling back onto the bed as Li shuts the door behind him.
And I thought things couldn’t get worse…
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Her Warrior
The Royal Shifters Book 4
https://amzn.to/2LayAZa
Three gorgeous shifters. A queen fallen from grace. One formidable Chinese quest.
It seems as though the whole world is turning against me…
Now that Ero is gone and Roan is barely able to look me in the eye, my heart is broken. I would have jumped ship long ago if it weren’t for Li.
Upon arriving in China, I soon realize that this kingdom may prove to be the most daunting of challenges yet. Suspicion and stares seem to follow us wherever we go, and we are sure t
o be noticed…and not just by those who wish to help. With my life and honor at stake, I don’t know how I’m going to convince one of the greatest kingdoms on earth to join us, but this is my last chance.
Can I persuade the Emperor to help us or will he see Li as a threat to the throne?
Li.
My violet-eyed leopard.
My soul comforter.
My Warrior.
Her Warrior
The Royal Shifters Book IV
Prologue
The pole came down hard on Li’s back, knocking the wind out of him.
“Again.”
Li forced himself to his feet, and this time managed to duck beneath the pole as it swung toward him. He took his chance and spun, driving his foot into his instructor’s back with a powerful kick.
The man stumbled but didn’t fall, instead dropping into a roll while simultaneously swinging his weapon back at Li. Jumping backward, Li lowered himself into a defensive stance.
“Good,” the commander said. “You’re learning quickly.”
“Thanks,” Li said, relaxing slightly but not letting his guard down completely.
“Enough for today. I’ll report to the emperor about your progress.”
The commander straightened, and Li slowly stood as well, still wary. He could never be quite sure if a training session had truly ended or not until Commander Chen put back whatever weapon he was using for the day. There was a small sound behind Li, and he froze in place, readying himself for a surprise attack.
“Li?” It was a young woman’s voice.
Commander Chen bowed and turned to leave as Li breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face the woman.
