Red Moon Rising(72)
Kaden might. He’s big for a human and he held you down easily enough.
She pushed the thought out of her head and squirmed against him again.
“Stop you’re squirming.” He grunted.
“You’re holding me too tightly.” She hissed.
His hand tightened around her ribs almost painfully. “We need to make it look real, do we not Lycan?”
He reached up and swatted her long hair away from his face irritably. “Keep your hair out of my face Lycan, or I’ll cut it off.”
“I have a name. It’s Sophia, not Lycan, and if you even try and cut my hair I’ll rip your throat out.”
“And how do you plan to do that with your hands tied so firmly to the saddle Sophia?”
She tipped her head to look at him. “I have teeth, remember?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and she had to fight the urge to lick her lips. “Aye, I remember.”
Was it just her imagination or did his gaze linger on her mouth? He gathered her hair in one hand, twisting it and pushing it over her shoulder.
“I’m surprised Draken even wants you.” He said suddenly. “He hates half-breeds almost as much as he hates humans. He’s even kept them as slaves.”
“I’m not a half-breed.” She replied.
“How is that possible? Your mother is a human.”
He paused. “She is not your mother.”
Sophia shook her head. “She’s my step-mother.”
“Were you angry when your father took a human as his wife?”
“No. Avery may not have given birth to me, but she is my mother. I love her.”
“Where is your real mother?”
“She was taken by the leeches when I was a child.” Sophia said shortly.
He didn’t offer his condolences, and she craned her neck to look at him again. “How did Draken keep half-breeds as his slaves? Were they unable to shift?” She was finding it hard to believe that a Lycan, even a half-breed, could be captured and kept as a slave so easily.
His hand rubbed at his neck. “Draken has special collars for the half-breeds. They’re made of silver. It keeps them weak and if they’re even able to shift, the collar has silver points on the inside.”
“Gods be damned.” Sophia breathed. She could almost picture what would happen to the Lycan who tried to shift while wearing that collar. As soon as their body began to swell during the shift, the silver points would embed into their flesh and kill them.
She shivered lightly. Lycans were strong and had healing powers, but they were not immortal. A Lycan could not survive a beheading or being stabbed through the heart. The bite of another Lycan, if left untreated, had the power to kill them. And all Lycans, half-breeds and full-bloods, were particularly vulnerable to silver. A wound from silver would fester and become quickly infected in even the strongest of Lycans.
Shortly after her father had married Avery, Jeffrey had told her a story of a Lycan who had been scratched with a silver dagger. It was a small scratch, barely bled, but within two weeks the Lycan was dead.
“It spread Sophia. The silver causes an infection that cannot be treated, and our healing powers are useless against.” Jeffrey had told her earnestly. “You must always be careful when you’re near silver. Do you hear me girl?”
She had been both fascinated and terrified by the idea of a Lycan dying from a single scratch. She had been plagued with nightmares for weeks, and had woken her father and Avery nearly every night with her screams. She had begged and pleaded to be allowed to sleep in their bed with them, a request that Avery had indulged.
A small smile crossed her face. At the time, she had thought her father’s exasperation at having her share their bed for nearly ten nights had been caused by her childish fear. It was many years before she realized the truth, and it had only made her love Avery more. She may not be Avery’s child but the Red had always put her own needs aside when it came to Sophia and Nicky, as well as her birth children.
When she had finally confessed her reason for the nightmares, Tristan had been furious with Jeffrey. It had taken many conversations and reassurances from Avery and her father, before she had been comfortable sleeping in her own bed again.
She suddenly stiffened against Kaden and he pressed tightly against her.
“What is it?”
“They’re close.” She murmured.
“That’s impossible.” He scanned the trees around them. “We’ve only been riding for a few hours. They would not have made camp already.”
“I’m telling you they’re close. The dagger – quickly!” She hissed.
He pulled the dagger from his belt and held it one hand as he used the other hand to unbutton the first few buttons of her shirt. He pulled her shirt open and rested the point of the dagger over her heart.