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Two winters passed, and the dreams continued. But her hope had withered into worry. Perhaps he’d been displeased or detained. God would not be so cruel as to tease her with an unfulfillable fate. After waiting more than a century for the call, those years had been slow and torturous. She became obsessed with meeting her destiny. If only she’d known…
Then one night, he jerked her from sleep. “Get up, girl.”
She woke with a startled gasp “Is it you?” She rose from her pallet, sweeping the mass of red curls from her face.
“Dress and so we may be gone.”
She glanced beyond the clay wall where her parents slept soundly. Her two brothers curled together like puppies beside her, peacefully, and her five sisters scattered about the floor on makeshift cots made of hay and horse hair. “I must wake my family. They’ve waited for you—”
Her grabbed her roughly, as if shaking sense into her. “Are you daft, girl? I said make haste.” He shoved her toward the door.
Not used to being spoken to in such an abrupt manner, Adriel dressed, deliberately trying to wake the others without speaking. Surely, he did not mean for her to leave her family without a proper goodbye.
After tying her shift, she reached for a basket of items she’d packed months ago and he smacked the belongings out of her hand, knocking the contents to the floor. “You’ll have no need for such trappings.”
A horrible weight settled in her stomach as he led her from the cottage, the dark shadows of night obscuring their path as her home disappeared from view. She had yet to even braid her hair. He’d given her too much time and then no time at all.
Wanting to cry out to her family to wake them, she looked back as he yanked her toward his horse. She was his to claim, and she did not wish to anger him before even learning his name.
He was her future now. They could visit her family once they completed the bond and settled into a life of their own. But the abrupt exit from the only life she’d ever known was an emotional one.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she fought them back, not wanting him to think her the kind of girl to give in to nonsense. But she was innocent, and her young heart had filled her head with promises that were destined to be broken.
How foolish she’d been to think they might return to the cliffs after mating to celebrate their union. How naive to believe the bonding of two souls would be pleasant.
The heavy vapor from the snout of his steed cut through the cold and she shivered, but her mate offered no comfort as he hoisted her onto the horse. The dark inky sky offered little light as he held her body to his, absconding her into the endless night.
Clouds crossed the moon in silence, tossing eerie shadows over the unfamiliar landscape. After countless miles, they stopped. She assumed they’d rest, but he only made a quick adjustment to the packs, relieved himself and ordered her to do the same, then commanded her to get back on the horse.
Her legs ached and her clothes were damp from the rain. She shivered, frozen to the bone and in need of shelter. “I cannot go any further. It’s nearly dawn. We’ve been riding all night.”
“I will not have a helpless mate. Get on the beast. Now.”
Her damp shift clung to her trembling body, her bare legs stiff and refusing to move. “The sun will—”
Pain exploded in her cheek. The blow knocked her to the muddy ground, her weak body twisting and her face burning from the force of his open palm.
Her fingers curled into the rain-pocked soil as she spit, unsure if he’d knocked teeth loose. She would never forget the pungent scent of earth and grass against the metallic flavor of her own blood.
It was the taste of shock.
He’d caught her by surprise. For the rest of her life, she’d exist on the edge of anticipation, never quite sure what he was fully capable of, never wanting to suffer the extent of his total cruelty.
Contrite, she rose to her feet and kept her head down.
Without assisting her, he adjusted the saddlebags. “I have no patience for idleness. Get on the bloody horse.”
Adriel’s legs wobbled, and her heart pounded erratically. This monster held no resemblance to the hero of her dreams.
Once she seated herself, he climbed up behind her. His thighs swallowed her and his broad chest formed a hard wall at her back. He himself was a prison and she’d never forget the sight of his enormous hands gripping the leather reins in front of her, hands that could break her.
As far as males were concerned, Adriel’s understanding only went as far as her father and brothers. Observing her mate’s great size diminished the illusion of her father’s magnitude. Her da had always been a looming presence, but he was nothing compared to the cruel giant stealing her away.
