The Wolf's Mate Book 7: Lindy & The Wulfen Read Online Free

next to him and looked at what appeared to be a feathered dart protruding from the meat of the bird’s leg.
    He pulled it free and sniffed the pointed end.  He let out a harsh breath.  Bront waved his hand in front of his face with a grimace.  “I can smell the feltawin from here!  Someone put a dart in this bird with a tincture meant to drive it insane?  What the hades for?”
    Crimson stood up and looked at the homes that were in shambles and then at the sleeping bird.  “I don’t know, but I’m damn well going to find out.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    Crimson paced outside of his father’s study.  He had just come from the formal inquiry into the rukh’s rampage.  It had taken less than a day for the authorities to find the maker of the tincture that had turned the normally calm bird into a raving beast that had killed over forty fairies, including seven of his men.  The farmer, who lived in Winnower, had inadvertently created the insanity-inducing tincture while trying to concoct a drug that would kill the bird.  It had carried off several of his livestock, and he was angry at the loss.  Unfortunately, the man had been severely injured during the bird’s rampage and had since passed on into the great beyond.
    His father called from behind the closed door.  “Come in, Crimson, before you wear a hole in my floor.”
    Crimson straightened his formal military jacket and opened the gilded double doors, striding inside the study.  His father sat behind a desk carved from a large piece of gold-veined marble.  As a child, Crimson had played under that desk while his father, who had attained the rank of general in the military, had mapped out strategies.
    “How was the inquiry?” his father asked.  Although retired, his father still bore the twin braids at his temples that marked him as a warrior for their people.
    Crimson settled into the straight-backed chair across from the desk and let out a sigh.  “The council ruled to break up the farmer’s belongings and sell them, using the money to make repairs to the town.”
    He arched his brow.  “You’re not satisfied?”
    “Of course not.  Over forty fae died because he was upset a bird took a few of his cattle.  And he had the nerve to die before he could be punished!”
    His father chuckled.  “I understand your frustration, but the important thing is that the bird was taken back to its nest and the glen will be repaired.”
    Crimson ran a hand through his short hair and sighed.  He chose not to grow his hair long and braid the sides like most of the warriors did.  He had never cared for long hair, finding it cumbersome and a hassle.  “You wanted to see me?”
    “I understand that you turned Giwyn from your bed last night.”  His father rested his arms on top of the desk and folded his hands.
    Crimson tensed.  When he’d returned from the battle, he’d spent hours going to the homes of the families of the men that had perished with the rampage, sharing the news of their deaths.  As captain, the task had fallen on his shoulders.  When he arrived back at his home within the Homelna Glen, the only thing he wanted to do was clean the blood and dirt from his skin and fall into bed for about a week.  As he’d walked from the bathing room into his bedroom, he’d been utterly surprised to find a naked woman stretched out on top of his bed.
    She had blinked dark eyes at him and cupped her tiny breasts, spreading her legs in invitation.  She clearly assumed he would be happy to find her naked and willing, but all he was at that moment was supremely pissed off.  Finding her clothes on the floor, he’d tossed them at her and barked at her to get dressed.  At first she looked hurt, as if he’d wounded her with a blade, but then she looked angry.  Dressing, she stormed through the house and declared that he would be sorry that he turned her down.  He hadn’t cared enough to even learn her name.  Which was apparently Giwyn.
    “Mother cannot