Read Deliver Me from Darkness: A Novel of the Paladin Warriors for Free Online

dark liquid running across the table to seep into the remnants of the Tolstoy.
    “You could mark her.” Roland’s aversion to the thought formed a taste far more bitter than the coffee in his mouth.
    The marking was one of the most sacred traditions among the Paladin. It was said that for every Paladin that He created He also created a soul that would perfectly match. It was something every Paladin dreamed of: finding his soul mate. The marking was a signal to all that the mate had been found, accepted, and the irreversible bonding of their souls complete. As time had passed and fewer Paladin females were born, the finding of a true bond mate became rare. Desperation modified the marking, enhancing it with ceremonies and spells to form a bond that was not naturally there. That ceremony was now both a test to see if a pairing was compatible and then, if it was, a seal of intentions. If so, a pair-bond was formed, creating a link between the couple that would grow with time. The strongest of these would eventually mimic that of a true mate-bond in that what one felt, the other felt, what one desired, so did the other. Their minds would be linked, their hearts for one another. But one thing it could never do was link their souls. A pair-bond was a powerful thing, and though it would never be as strong as a true mate-bond, if allowed to form completely, it was irreversible…except in death.
    Roland glanced over at his friend, his blood simmering at the thought of another male bonding with the woman that should have been his. It didn’t help that Calhoun’s eyes had brightened, his finger tapping like a runaway metronome against his lip. Before the urge to leap across the room and claw at the throat of his friend overtook Roland’s control, Calhoun shook his head.
    “No. Right now she’s scared. She doesn’t trust me, and I don’t doubt that she hates me a little bit. She wouldn’t agree to a marking, and I would never do so without her consent.”
    “They will.” I would , he added to himself.
    Calhoun got up to pace the room, his strides jerky and filled with tension. Roland’s own tension burned like a ball of iron in his gut. She couldn’t go to Haven. The sense of disaster accompanying the thought was enough to convince him. The question was why did he feel this way? Was this another case of knowing? Or was this another facet of the unwanted pull she had over him?
    Didn’t matter. Her going to Haven was unacceptable. Some other option would have to be worked out.
    “She can stay here,” Roland found himself saying, even as his body involuntarily stiffened in the plush leather chair. What the hell was he thinking? He could barely keep his hands, let alone his fangs, off her. And here he was offering to look after her?
    Calhoun looked at him carefully, his puzzlement obvious. No wonder, considering Roland had been wanting her gone since the moment she’d arrived. “You think that’s wise?”
    Roland shrugged. “I sleep during the day. I doubt we’ll interact much.”
    Calhoun stood and nodded. “I have to attend my father’s council and see if I can’t gather some information of my own, but I will be back by this evening.”
    Roland followed Calhoun to the door. “Sounds good. We shall breathlessly await your return.”
    Calhoun shot him a decidedly unamused glare.
    Roland smiled, giving the command to open the door. Calhoun paused on its threshold, giving Roland one last measuring look. “You are sure about this?”
    “I’m sure.”
    Calhoun left, and the door gave a deceptively soft snick as it closed and locked behind him. The sound should have been something more ominous, a clang or a creak at least.
    Roland turned to stare blankly at the door to his sleeping chambers, but all he could see was the remembered image of what all those mahogany curls looked like spread out over his pillow.
    Yes, he was sure. He was sure as hell that none of the bastards at Haven were going to get a chance to claim