Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend Read Online Free Page B

… what was left of it
anyway. She’d slowly watched his life fade from his eyes. In an attempt to save
him, she’d called his wolf to the surface. Forced him to heal. She’d never
expected the situation to be permanent. He’d risked his life to save hers, and in
return, she’d cursed him to live in constant pain.
    “Stop.” Taggert grabbed her chin and lifted her face to his.
“You gave me my wolf. Don’t feel guilty. You saved my life, and I will forever
be grateful. I’m stronger now because of you, strong enough to be a member of
your pack, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Look for yourself if you
don’t believe me.”
    He wanted her to use her senses and see that he was telling
the truth.
    She inhaled deeply, his woodsy smell seeping into her senses.
    Clean.
    Fresh.
    He gazed at her, both fierce and gentle, and … telling the
truth.
    Raven glanced away.
    “Raven.” It was a warning. “Stop trying to fix me. I’m not
broken. You have to forgive yourself.”
    She shivered at his gruff voice, goose flesh chasing across
her skin at his intimate tone. He sounded so delighted and sure of himself, it
would destroy him if she tried to change him back. And despite everything, her
beast was pleased with the changes. No one would hurt him or take him from her,
not with his wolf. “Fine.”
    And she meant it.
    Given the option of changing him or letting him die, there had
been no choice. The brutal truth eased the heavy weight of guilt she carried.
“Now why don’t you show me this circus?”
    Taggert’s smile was blinding, and her breath caught at the way
he went from young surfer to sexy playboy in two seconds flat. He guided her
forward, her hand tingling where it was tucked against his arm, and she wanted
to draw him closer, craving more of his attention.
    A shriek caused her to whirl and magic rippled under her
skin, reacting to her alarm.
    Only to see a child scooped up in his father’s arms and
tickled.
    Her lips curled at the sweet laughter, not able to remember
such things from when she was a child.
    Large tents were set up at the outskirts of the circus like
a perimeter, the place cordoned off by the placement of booths and fences. Lights
were strung between tents on string, the big bulbs lighting up the sky, leaving
only a faint glow to disguise the dinginess. A number of rides were scattered
at the far end of the tents. Dozens of game and food stands were strewn about
in a way that directed people around the fairground in a sort of maze.
    The children were not afraid, and she noted most of the
others wore red tags.
    Taggert followed her line of sight. “They don’t know the
circus is run by shifters, while those who wear the black or white bands came for
the novelty of seeing shifters.”
    One thought came to her mind as she watched the crowd.
    Easy prey.
    Shame immediately heated her face, and she avoided glancing too
closely at the people again.
    All the lights, smells and the press of people quickly grew
overwhelming, the festive air leaving her off balance.
    She wasn’t used to the press of people. Her dragon liked the
solitude and hungered down to observe. People were oddities to her. She’d spend
most of her life as seeing them as the enemy. She tried to follow Taggert’s
lead, not wanting to misstep and draw attention to them.
    Sensing her distress, Taggert pressed closer, standing
slightly in front of her, giving her breathing room to recover. The dragon
huffed, wanting to stride forward and force everyone to move out of their way.
It was all she could do to curb the impulse.
    “Your alphaness is showing.” Taggert gave her a worried
look, a deep line between his brows. “You must try to keep hidden as much as
possible. You have to try to pass for human.”
    Raven understood, her whole body practically humming with
adrenaline, but she had no idea how to shut it off. The beast was too curious,
busy filtering and cataloging thousands of smells. Savory cooked meat, spicy