Marked (The Coldest Fae Book 3) by Katerina Martinez (novel24 .txt) 📗

fur, they were all vicious, and they were more than a match for the animals that were left.

I wasn’t sure what to do. I was frozen. Rooted to the spot.

Do I run?

Do I fight?

They were killing the Vrren, but did that mean they were friendly? No. Not at all. That wasn’t the sense I had gotten from the one that had sniffed me, not by a long shot. Once the Vrren had been taken care of, one of the wolves started trotting toward Mira, and that was when I finally regained control of my faculties.

“Leave her alone!” I screamed, my voice tearing through the quiet.

The largest of the wolves had its back to me. Slowly, it turned around, its mouth dripping with hot blood that steamed around its snout. The wolf dipped lower on its front paws, sprang back onto its hind legs, and in a flash of soft, blue light, the wolf was gone—replaced by a tall, incredibly muscular man with long, gunmetal grey hair that was dark at the roots, and brighter at the ends.

He had scars on his face, on his bare chest, and along his shoulders and arms. His features were sharp, and angular, his eyes were narrow, but they sparkled with primal intelligence. He wasn’t totally naked, either; he had some kind of black pants on, but no shoes. Like all the other fae I had seen so far, his ears were long and pointed, and just as it had been a moment ago, his mouth was still dripping with blood.

“What… what are you?” I asked.

“You,” he said, in a smooth, but menacing voice, “Will come with us.”

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

 

One by one, the remaining fae changed shape, discarding their wolf forms and standing on two legs. It was extraordinary… the mere sight of it sent shivers down my spine. Despite all the magic I had seen, the wonder of Arcadia, the majesty that is Windhelm, this—this was something else. This took the cake, as they say.

I had grown up knowing magic existed, so to watch the fae wield magic as easily as they did, that had been impressive, but not surprising. Shapeshifters, though, I’d never seen one up close, and while the process of transformation was probably easy to them, to me, it was breathtaking.

Literally, the stuff of legend.

“Are you going to simply stand there?” the large, muscular man in front of me said. “Move.”

That’s right, I’ve been captured.

Again.

“Don’t hurt my friend,” I said.

The fae glanced across his shoulder. One of his friends, a woman, was standing near Mira. The other floated between the group, pacing, watching, perhaps ready to strike if I tried something stupid. I wasn’t going to. Not here.

“You,” he barked at Mira, “Can you walk?”

“I cannot,” she called out.

“Then you will freeze.”

I took a rapid step toward him. “Wait, you can’t—”

The large fae turned in the blink of an eye and caught me by the throat. His hand squeezed around my neck, and I felt myself rise at least a solid foot off the floor. Struggling with his hand was useless, he was a lot stronger than me, but I had two perfectly working feet, great aim, and supernatural strength.

I went for the groin.

The moment of contact was exquisite. The fae’s eyes widened, and he immediately dropped me so he could cradle his aching balls. He doubled over from the pain and started coughing. I took the opportunity to make a mad dash toward Mira, but I was quickly intercepted by the middle fae, the one who’d been watching me.

He tackled me to the ground lightning quick, and by the time I hit the snow, he had taken his wolf form. The wolf pinned me to the ground by my shoulders and snarled. His fur was sleek, and grey, and he easily weighed two hundred pounds.

“Get the fuck off me!” I roared, but the wolf instead bared his fangs and inched a little closer to my face. His teeth were red, and I could smell the Vrren blood on his breath.

“Enough!” Mira screamed, “She is the tath isia, and if you know what’s good for you, you will treat her with respect!”

“That is no white wolf,” said the woman, “How dare you speak those words in our presence, castle bitch? I’ll kill you both!”

“It’s true!” I yelled, “Look at my hand! I have the mark.”

I tried to show them the back of my hand, but I could barely move. As if he’d sensed this, the wolf gently eased the pressure around my right shoulder just enough that I could bring up my hand, but then it bit me, clamping hard around my wrist. I screamed as blood immediately began to trickle from the wound.

“Leave her alone!” Mira shrieked.

The wolf didn’t let go of my hand, but it also didn’t move, it didn’t grind its teeth, it didn’t drag me through the snow. It stayed still, almost like a statue. All the while, the first fae, the largest of them, had finally regained his composure and started walking over—even if his gait was a little funky.

Did that hurt? Aww, poor baby.

Asshole.

Insulting him in my mind made me feel better, took my attention away from the pain in my arm and the streaks of blood worming down toward my shoulder. The wolf and the large fae then swapped control of my wrist; the wolf releasing me, only for the other one to grab me. He clenched his hand tightly around my skin, slowing the flow of blood, but not halting it.

Carefully, he examined the back of my hand, then he looked at me. “Where did you get this?” he asked.

I was biting my lower lip, struggling against the pain. “It just happened,” I said through my teeth. “Now, if you’re done asserting your macho dominance, I’d like to get up now.”

The fae stared at me, his eyes hard and cold. “Struggle again, and we will let you both freeze in the woods.”

He yanked me upright by my wrist, and I shot