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Louise swallowed hard.
She hated this feeling of terror building up inside of her, but she welcomed it all the same, knowing that fear would keep her on her toes.
Bull, wolf, lion – Aurélien Sauvage literally had the blood of some of the world’s most dangerous predators running through his veins, and to forget that was suicide. She had watched videos of stupid prey that had underestimated their bigger and more powerful foes. They had ended up eaten or mangled to death, and Louise had no desire to share a similar fate.
She would be stealthy and ruthless. She would strike him where and when he least expected it, and she would make absolutely sure Aurélien stood no chance against her, even if she had to destroy his soul in the process.
THE PEOPLE OF THE ISLAND woke early to beautiful skies the next day. It was a good omen, the locals thought, especially as today was the feast of St. Marianne, the patron saint of outcasts and the woman their island was named after.
Banners were hung on the walls, tables were set up, and the scent of freshly baked pastries and the rich aroma of stew began to filter out to the narrow cobblestoned streets between the locals’ small, charming cottages. There was lots of singing and dancing, peppered with laughter and the constant flow of chatter.
But a piercing scream brought an end to all of these.
Plates crashed to the ground, the dancing coming to a standstill as the musicians abruptly ceased playing their instruments. They looked at each other, unable to believe that what they had heard could be real. This island had been safe for the almost two decades it had been their home. That sound – one of pure terror – did not belong here.
But then they heard it again.
And this time, it came with a name.
Aurélien!
The adult men were the first to run. Dropping everything they were doing, they ran towards where the sun was coming from, hearts beating hard at what they would find. To save their young master was the topmost thought in their minds, but when they reached the main road, their footsteps halted and their faces turned white.
They were too late.
Blood was everywhere, pools of it, splatters of it – everywhere they looked there was blood, and the smell of it was so bad it began to make a few of them gag. The sheer amount of bloodshed was horrifying, but as the islanders moved farther down the road, they realized it was only the beginning.
Dead bodies slowly came into view. Some of them were decapitated. Many were mangled. A few were slashed to pieces. One, two, five, seven…when the body count stopped at thirteen, some of the islanders crossed themselves while others involuntarily took a step back, distancing themselves from the carnage in hopes it would help them forget.
But it would not.
BACK IN THE MANSION, Louise was shaking and crying as she tried to tell the billionaire’s staff what had just gone down when the two of them had been on their way to the Sauvage family’s private beach.
“S-so many,” she sobbed out. “They came…he told me to run…” And she had been so thankful Aurélien had done so because then it gave her the excuse to leave the murder scene.
When the island’s head of security asked her urgently if she could give any other information about their assailants, Louise deliberately started to babble incoherently. She wanted it to appear that she was in a rush to tell them everything when in fact she had two million reasons to do the opposite.
Outside the mansion, there was a sudden eruption of yelling, and Louise’s head snapped towards the door. What the—-
BAM!
A powerful shove had the entrance doors flying off their hinges, followed by a furious blur of movement—-
Oh my God, was that Aurélien loping towards her on all fours?
A powerful gust of wind stung Louise’s eyes, forcing her to blink. When her gaze cleared, she found herself staring straight into a pair of glowing red eyes.
Falling off the couch with a scream, Louise backed away, hysterical and terrified. He was alive! He was alive! How could he have survived?
“Louise.” The way Aurélien growled her name heightened her terror – he knew! One of the men must have talked, and now he was going to kill Louise for betraying him.
When he pounced towards her, she screamed again. “Stay away!”
“Louise!”
She shrank back and raised her arms in defense, knowing that one quick swipe of his claws could rip her head off.
His large hands wrapped around her shoulders, and her survival instincts kicked in. “Let me go, let me go!” She struggled and thrashed wildly against his hold. If he thought she’d make it easy for him to kill her, he was in for a fucking surprise.
“Louise, stop it—-”
