Read More Than Life (Arcane Crossbreeds) for Free Online

elongated, and surrounded in a bloodred ring. His dragon shifted beneath his flesh with interest.
    What the fuck?
    “Katya?” He knew he sounded hoarse – disbelieving. Her uncle had sworn she was married into a reputable House in Wales. What the hell had happened? Had they taken her from her new House? Was there a bloodmate missing her? Looking for her?
    “Don’t tell me you’re surprised.” Her lips twisted in a wicked little smile that had his dragon bucking against his control again as she came to her feet.
    Raife frowned and moved in closer to her, but within one blink of his eyes, she was gone. The muffled sound of cloth rubbing together was the only evidence that she’d moved. With a ripple of unease, he glanced to his right. She stood with her hands hanging by her sides, poised, watchful. He’d never seen her move that fast before. Had she shimmered?
    His gaze roved over her. She’d lost weight. She’d been petite before, but she’d been an adorable, soft, and curvy petite. Now she was slim and lithe. The white lab coat she wore came to midthigh and was buttoned up to her chest, the sleeves falling over her hands. When she lifted a hand to push her hair over her shoulder, he saw the silver cuff that ringed her wrist. Nix shimmering. She wouldn’t be able to do it with a silver cuff on. That meant she’d moved really fast.
    What had they done to her? Raife stepped closer.
    With another muted rustle of her lab coat, she moved farther to the side, making a wide circle around him. She was being defensive, keeping her distance from him. He stayed with her, watching her, but drew no closer. For now.
    Her face had lost that roundness; now it was all angles with wide, slightly tilted eyes. She looked almost exotic and definitely dangerous. He was afraid to guess what had given her that slightly feral edge, but the thought of it had fury expanding in him, making the unpredictable spirit of his dragon shift closer to the surface.
    Flaring his senses, he tried to pick up something—anything—from her that might help him navigate this. She was a strange cacophony of emotion and thoughts that produced a shrill sound in his head. With a wince, he eased his senses back some and attempted to separate the mangled layers of her emotions. Her fear and anger lashed against him; the pain and despair gouged into him.
    “Katya, why are you here?”
    She flinched, that ring of flame contracting around her pupils as her nostrils flared. The Sanguen blood aurora. It either meant hunger or high emotion, and the pale tips of her fangs peeking from just beyond her parted lips made him wonder which it was for her.
    “You tell me.” With a quick pivot on her heel, she marched back to the steel door she’d just come through and hit it once before splaying her hand over its smooth surface. She tilted her head to the side and went absolutely still, giving him the impression she was feeling for something. Or listening. She looked up and peered intently at the ceiling.
    “You think I’m responsible for this?” he murmured as he followed her gaze up to dark bubbles that housed the cameras. He’d have died first.
    “Aren’t you?” She dropped her forehead to the door. Her confusion and desperation fluttered weakly against him. His telepathic connection to her had been strong once, but now she felt so frail, a bare pulse of energy teasing the edges of his mind. It had been so long since he’d seen her. Smelled her. He’d thought he’d never do so again. It was killing him to stay where he was. God, her scent alone had his stomach tied up in knots.
    “Never.” His dragon filled him, writhing in its fury. “How long have you been here? Your uncle – ”
    “No,” she snapped. “Leave my uncle out of this. I can only imagine what he thinks happened, what you told him.” She turned, sweeping her gaze over the room as she tentatively navigated around the bed, extending her hand to feel blindly for its edge. It was the only