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protective bubble he had put around his mate, and the temperature would remain constant and comfortable, so long as it surrounded her. Nights in the Kingdom of Spades were still cold through most of spring, but the dome would protect her, just as his fur protected him. She would not be able to smell, hear, or feel the world around her, beyond the barrier, but she would be safe.
    The sun had reached the horizon, casting golden light over his mountain, and caressing the meadow with its last rays. Darronn’s ears twitched, his sensitive hearing attune to squirrels and calin scampering along the boughs of the ch’tok and sini trees.
    In the distance a mountain wolf howled, one of Lord Kir’s pack, and Darronn heard the sounds of many paws, hooves, and tiny feet of forest creatures scrambling for safety from the predator. The cave-dwelling wolves of Emerald City reigned over the lands on the other side of the mountain and beneath it, although they often traveled the Yellow Road between their realm and Tarok.
    As he continued to pace, Darronn sensed the range of emotions sifting through Alexi—from anger to lust to frustration to calm consideration. Like his brothers, Darronn could not read minds, but he could sense emotions of those in his presence.
    Unless the person knew how to hide their true emotions, a rare skill that Mikaela had perfected. Darronn rumbled and bared his teeth at the thought of his traitorous sister. He and his brothers had never sensed the blackness that had claimed her heart and soul. Even now a part of him ached to rescue the sister he had loved.
    What would I give to erase the damage done by my parents’ choice?
    Or could Jarronn be right…that the blackness had already existed within Mikaela? Jarronn believed that the former High King and Queen had recognized this evil and made the choice they felt was best for all of Tarok. Darronn…wasn’t so sure.
    But then I was a fool, blindly trusting Mikaela until her betrayal.
    Not only could she mask her true feelings, Mikaela had also been born with the gift of being able to read a person’s thoughts if they were projected loudly enough. When they were young, in their twenties or so, the four brothers had all eventually learned to shield their minds from their sister. Until they had mastered the ability to block her, Mikaela had enjoyed mentally spying on the young men and teasing them with whatever she had learned. Whether it was mischief they had been into, or an early sexual escapade, she found out all she could about them. It had taken much schooling from the sorceress Leeani for the young men to master hiding their thoughts, and that had been well over two hundred years ago.
    At the memory of the sorceress, a chuckling purr rose up within Darronn. How he and his brothers had lusted for their former teacher. The charms dangling from Leeani’s dark nipples and her sensuous voice had been distracting to the young men. Surely it took them far longer to learn the lesson than they would have if their teacher had been one of the elder, decrepit sorcerers.
    Darronn shook his massive head and raised his muzzle into the wind. Alexi’s perfume of starflower and midnight still hung on the breeze. He scented an anlia buck nearby, too, and hunger burned in his belly for fresh meat. But he would not leave his woman for a moment, not even to assuage his thirst. If need be he could magically summon Kalina to watch her, but he chose to remain with his future queen.
    He had sensed that Alexi felt no hunger, and had caught the scent of wine and good food on her warm breath. Fire burned in his loins, and the desire for his mate was near to overwhelming. Such a challenge she would be to tame…a challenge he would most certainly relish.
     
     
    A warm mouth brushed over Alexi’s, and she parted her lips and gave a soft moan. Firm lips pressed tight to hers, and stubble scraped her skin as a tongue darted inside. With a soft moan of surrender she invited the man’s