Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend Read Online Free Page A

determined to pounce and beat the girl to a
pulp.
    Taggert was hers.
    She clamped down on Taggert’s hand, stepping closer, until
their arms were entwined.
    Mine.
    Taggert’s stride hiccupped. His gaze dropped to their hands
and awkwardness crept over her, but she couldn’t bring herself to release him. When
she looked up, a secretive smile curled his lips.
    He didn’t even notice the girl’s eyes dim with
disappointment or her pout as she flounced away.
    It might have been the only thing that saved the little twit’s
life.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    “ O ne shifter and one human to see the freak show.”
    Raven stood back, keeping her senses locked down tight as
the man at the ticket counter cast her a quick glance. Short and squat, his
face wrinkled, his eyes sunk into his skull, he reminded her of one of those
evil garden gnomes. She felt exposed standing there, vulnerable under his
stare. He probed her mind, and it was everything she could do not to shove back
at the intrusion. He narrowed his eyes when he couldn’t break her shields,
pushing harder until it felt like her skull was about to crack.
    The probe was messy.
    No finesse.
    Though not alpha strength, the signature all wrong, it was
still pretty damned strong.
    He tried to force her beast to react. If directed at anyone
weaker, they wouldn’t have been able to resist the call, especially after he’d amped
up the juice. He studied her eyes, teeth and hands like some specimen on the
auction block, looking for signs of a change.
    After a minute, the old, grisly man grunted then turned
toward Taggert, his faded eyes glowing a pale blue. “Show me.”
    Taggert’s wolf leapt toward the surface, barely contained by
his body, and all the hair on her arms rose at the unbridled wildness.
    Rogue.
    Her throat closed at the implications. If anyone mistook him
for a rogue, they’d be well within their rights to kill him on sight and ask
questions later. She stepped closer, ready to protect him if anyone dared to lift
a hand against him. While the dragon wanted to revel in his wildness, the human
side of her just wanted to ease him. To have their animal so close to the
surface was painful, even more so when they couldn’t shift like Taggert. It was
all she could do not to run her hand down his back and soothe the wildness,
even if everyone discovered that she wasn’t exactly human.
    Her hackles rose as the old man continued to stare. It was a
clear challenge, and she narrowed her eyes, struggling to hold back her dragon
as it raged inside her body, wanting to rip the toady little man to shreds for
the disrespect. “Everything all right?”
    Her words were a demand.
    A second passed in painful silence, and Raven feared she’d
messed up when he finally spoke.
    “One hundred and fifty.” The man slid over two wristbands,
one black and one white. She grabbed the one placed in front of her, slipping
the white plastic over her wrist, watching Taggert from under her lashes. He
appeared calm, as if nothing had happened. That was when she realized it was
normal for him to be treated as a second-class citizen. She hurt for him and the
unfairness of it all. Taggert donned the black band, and then paid the fee.
    Raven was surprised at the amount of cash he carried. “So
much?”
    The man answered before Taggert could speak. “We charge
extra for the human gawkers.”
    There was no heat or bitterness in his derision, just pure
dislike for humans, so Raven brushed it off. “Taggert?”
    He grabbed her arm and steered her away, raising his chin a
little in defiance. “I took all the ready cash you had on hand and put a
portion of it in each of our to-go bags.”
    “Smart.” But that wasn’t what she wanted to say. A slight
blush highlighted his cheeks, charming her into almost forgetting. “You can’t
call your wolf anymore. It’s too dangerous.”
    He’d stepped in front of a bomb to protect her, taking so
much damage that his body had been riddled with shrapnel