Scent of Salvation (Chronicles of Eorthe #1) Read Online Free Page B

his hips.
    The female who tumbled down the hill gasped, her tight grip on Kele’s hand weakening as her eyes rolled back. She crumpled to the forest floor.
    Kele blinked at the prone body at her feet. What had happened? Did she just die? She knelt, pressed her fingertips to the female’s throat and found a steady, strong pulse.
    The ground vibrated with the rising sound of growls.
    The alpha had crossed the line and squatted across from her. “Is she hurt?” Sorin brushed a loose strand of hair from the female’s cheek. Concern flashed across his face—so quick Kele wasn’t sure if she’d truly seen it. Dark circles and worry lines made Sorin appear older. Her gut said the female wasn’t the cause of his premature aging.
    Ahote went down on all fours behind Sorin. The fur along his spine stood on end, and his bared fangs dripped saliva. He crept closer.
    “Wait!” She raised her hands to stop the attack but a second too late.
    Sorin twisted in time to meet the assault but her guards were in feral form, and the alpha was outnumbered.
    She heard the crack of flesh hitting flesh, and the scent of fresh blood masked all other smells in the area. The fight didn’t last long. Her guards stood over Sorin’s prone, unmoving body and panted.
    “You better not have killed him!” The idiots. Her father had no tolerance when it came to trespassers. They were usually beaten and returned to Temple land as a warning. Repeat offenders became omegas of her pack.
    But Sorin was an alpha. She shook her head. This was different. Kele had heard the stories about the Apisi, a small pack to the North—too small to be a threat and too crazy to absorb into her pack Her father barely tolerated their existence. She didn’t want them to retaliate over something so insignificant as young males fighting over a female. “Toss him back to neutral ground.”
    Ahote returned her stare with his sharp blue eyes. “You sure? Your father may want to speak with him first.”
    “About what? It’s not like his pack has anything we want.” Trading for the return of a trespasser was a common practice. Someone had to pay the price of breaking pack law. As an alpha, Sorin should have brought a nice bounty, but she knew his pack was poorer than dirt. She ground her teeth. She wouldn’t risk displeasing her father either. He might protect her from others but he didn’t have a problem tanning her ass. “Fine, bring him.”
    She regarded the prone female.
    Ahote knelt on the other side of her.
    “She fainted. Sorin frightened her, I think.” Kele kept her laughter in check. “I don’t care if the Goddess sent her or not. That’s not a good way to leave an impression on an unmated female.”
    Her first guard ran a gentle fingertip over the female’s unmarred cheek. “She acts like she’s never seen a shifter before. Have you ever heard of a hu-man?”
    “No.” Kele bent closer to examine the inside of the female’s mouth. “No fangs. Her canines are too small and dull for a shifter.” She rolled her onto her side. “No wings, tail or fins.”
    He leaned closer. “The light?”
    “That’s why my father sent us.”
    “Do you truly think she came from the Goddess?”
    “She doesn’t work so openly, Ahote.” She rose to her feet. If the female came from the light, she’d need to question her before anyone else questioned her. Maybe she held the key to freeing Kele from the curse of remaining in civil form.
    She assessed the female’s slim shape, a shape that contained a nice touch of extra curves that Kele lacked. “You’ll care for her? Not let these dogs abuse her?”
    A snarl escaped Ahote. “But I’m not interested in a permanent mate.”
    Kele fought to control a grin at his expression. Ahote could use a little humility. “I know. That’s why it has to be you until I find out more about her.”
    He grimaced. “Fine, but you can’t hold it against me if I play with her. This is your idea, not mine.”
    “Fair