Immortal Games 01 - Betrayal.pdf - Immortal Games [S-C] - renee2010

Immortal Games: Betrayal

Elisa Adams

No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including

but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior written permission from Changeling Press

LLC.

ISBN (10) 1-59596-438-X

ISBN (13) 978-1-59596-438-0

Formats Available:

HTML, Adobe PDF,

MobiPocket, Microsoft Reader

Publisher:

Changeling Press LLC

PO Box 1561

Shepherdstown, WV 25443-1561

www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor: Connie Alberts

Cover Artist: Sahara Kelly

This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and

which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as

defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely,

where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

Chapter 1

Loneliness had driven him to this -- to a place far beyond the point of no return. Alec watched the

woman stumble through the darkness, making her way up the crumbling walkway toward his front door.

Something inside him rejoiced at the sight, though at the same time, he cursed himself for inviting her here.

Once she learned his secrets, he wouldn’t be able to let her leave. Confessing his secrets to a human had

caused disaster once, and he couldn’t let it happen again. He hadn’t intended on bringing her here -- ever

-- but events beyond his control had forced his hand.

It never should have come to this. He’d made a promise long ago to her father to make sure nothing

happened to her, and now he was stuck. All available options would break that promise.

In the months he’d been watching her, she’d become his obsession, on his mind every waking minute

and he could barely stand the torture. Humans would find his fascination with her twisted and sick. To his

people, it was lust, intense and pure, and this time it meant everything. She was the one woman he

shouldn’t have and the only one he wanted. Now that she was here, she’d have to stay.

He closed his eyes and for a brief second, let the guilt wash over him. She’d accepted his invitation, but

she hadn’t realized she had no choice in the matter. He hadn’t given her one. She was as much a pawn in

this as he was.

His eyelids drifted open. No sense feeling guilty over something he couldn’t change.

She stopped at the bottom of the old stone steps a story below the window where he stood, which gave

him a chance to look her over. She was young, had celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday a few months

earlier -- just before her father had died. An ankle-length, floral dress draped her thin body. Alabaster

skin and long blonde hair completed the picture. He couldn’t see her eyes, but he knew they were blue.

Midnight blue, like the ocean on a cold winter day. It was those eyes that had drawn him to her first. The

woman had fight, a fiery determination that sparked something deep inside him.

“I saw her coming up the walkway. She’s lovely, isn’t she?”

He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of Ian’s voice behind him. He tried to ignore the

disappointment he caught in Ian’s green eyes. “She is.”

And if Ian even thought about touching her, Alec would tear him limb from limb, friend or not.

“What’s her name again? Anna?”

“Adriana.” Delicate and beautiful, yet laced with strength. It suited her.

Living here, in darkness, did not.

She walked up the steps and soon disappeared from his view. “Elena will take care of her?” he asked

Ian.

“You know she will. Who understands your emotions better than Elena?”

“No one.” In another lifetime, Elena might have been his soul mate, but not in this one. He wanted

Adriana more.

Alec stepped away from the window, letting the heavy drapes whoosh closed. The room was once

again enveloped in blessed darkness, the only source of light coming from the brass sconces hung on the

dark-paneled walls. Would Adriana be able to accept his world of darkness, so different from her own?

Ian narrowed his eyes. “You look upset. Do you want me to send her away?”

“No.” It didn’t matter now. Elena had let her inside and now she wouldn’t be able to leave. Guilt

tightened his gut, but other, deeper emotions pushed it aside. There was no place for guilt now.

Loneliness hadn’t been his only reason for having her brought here, nor had the promise he’d made. He

had a trade to offer her -- one he hoped she wouldn’t be able to refuse.

He wasn’t proud of it, but retribution had played a small part in inviting Adriana to his house. Her

father’s betrayal had stabbed him in the back and he’d retaliated without thinking first. Since Frank had

died a few months earlier, just before Alec had found out the truth, Alec had chosen the next best thing.

“She has to stay. There isn’t any other choice.”

“You’re right. There isn’t. Not now that you’ve gone and done this without exploring other options first.”

Alec shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from punching Ian and ruining the face women seemed

to love so much. He took a few steps forward, his anger growing with every one. “Would you rather I let

her die? Because that was the only other choice. You need to remember something. Frank did this, not

me. He brought about this whole problem.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Ian let out a harsh breath. “I just wish it hadn’t come to this. What are you

going to tell her?”

Ian, always the voice of reason. Sometimes Alec wanted to wrap his hands around his oldest friend’s

neck and strangle the life out of him, if for no other reason than he made Alec see what an impulsive fool

he’d been, yet again. “Right now, all she needs to know is that I can cure her. Anything beyond that will

come in time. She won’t take this well. You and I both know that.”

“You should go speak to her, at least. She’ll be even more angry if you hide from her.”

“I’ll go see her. Soon. First, let Elena feed her. She looks like she hasn’t had a decent meal in weeks.”

Or maybe months. It pained him to think of her suffering. Though he hadn’t spoken to her in years, he’d

already begun to think of her as his. And she was his. Had been since she stepped past the rusty iron

gate. Maybe even before that, when he’d first entered her mind and she’d accepted him there. When

he’d first realized that her feelings for him were as complicated as his were for her.

“She’s not starving. It’s her illness that makes her look that way, not a lack of a decent meal.”

Alec nodded. He’d known that, and it disturbed him. She’d been a vibrant girl who had grown into a

vibrant woman, but her illness had sapped the life right out of her. Soon, he’d see that life return. If she

agreed to what he had yet to propose. He’d sent the invitation that had drawn her here. Told her he

could cure her of what had been plaguing her, but he’d left out one important detail. Probably the most

important of all. Yes, he could save her life. But he’d have to end it first.

* * *

“Would you like something to drink?”

Adriana stared at the woman who’d ushered her into the house. There was something about the woman

that made a knot form in her stomach, but she couldn’t pinpoint what that elusive thing was. There was

nothing threatening about her appearance -- smallish with a curvy figure that bordered on plump,

shoulder-length hair the color of black coffee, and a youthful face that seemed to project trust and

friendliness. It made no sense to Adriana that she should be wary of the other woman, but nothing in this

situation had made sense since she’d opened up the invitation.

She’d at first decided to ignore the mysterious and unsettling invitation, but something had compelled her

to come. Maybe it was the spark of hope the invitation had ignited in her. Maybe something else, but

whatever it was that had driven her to come to this old mansion to meet with Alec, remained elusive.

Now she stood in the center of the kitchen feeling like she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.

At the same time, a giddy feeling rose in her chest. She’d first met Alec when she was ten. He’d been

her first real crush. He’d come around the house a few times over the years, and by the time she was

sixteen, the crush had turned into something more. At eighteen, she’d been head over heels in love with

the guy and he’d stopped coming to visit her father. Now seven years had passed. There was no way he

could look as good now as he had then. A person could only go without aging for so long.

She held in a laugh at the thought of Alec with gray hair and a pot belly. For some reason it didn’t fit.

“Excuse me?” the other woman asked. “Are you feeling all right?”

The giddiness vanished. How he looked didn’t matter. The only thing that did matter was whether or not

he could really help her. Her father had trusted him, but Adriana didn’t trust easily. She’d reserve

judgment until she’d spoken with Alec.

“I don’t need a drink, thanks.” She tried to force a smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. “I’m fine.”

“How about something to eat, then?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m not hungry, either. I’m curious about why I’m here, and that’s all.”

“Alec will be with you soon, and he’ll explain everything.” The woman’s tone was soothing, her

expression tender, and for some reason, that unnerved Adriana even more. “He’ll want to know you’ve

eaten something first, though. You need to keep up your strength.”

“My strength is fine. I just want to see Alec, please.”

“But --”

Adriana held up her hand, cutting off the other woman’s sentence. One thing she’d learned in the past

few months, since she’d first gotten sick, was that patience was a virtue she no longer had. No one could

tell her how much time she had left, so wasted seconds had become a luxury. “Just go get him. I want to

see him now, or I’m leaving.”

The woman looked like she might argue, but then she relented. “Okay. Wait here. I’ll be right back. But

he’s going to be very upset that you aren’t being cooperative. He’s not quick to anger, but trust me, you

don’t want to see him mad.” With that, she turned and hurried out of the room.

Chapter 2

“Elena tells me you refuse to eat.”

Adriana spun around at the sound of the deep voice behind her. At first, she saw no one, but then he

appeared out of the shadows and her breath caught in her throat. Holy shit . How was this possible?

Immortal Games 01 - Betrayal.pdf

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: