Treasured by a Tiger
(Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 13)
By Felicity Heaton
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Despised by his tiger shifter pride as an abomination, Grey
has ventured far
from home, deep into the bowels of Hell in
search of answers about the
machinations of Archangel, the
mortal hunter organisation who held his twin captive.
With no
knowledge of the realm, and little skill with the local
languages, he
quickly finds himself at a dead end—until he
crosses paths with a beautiful
hellcat female who rouses his
darkest most dangerous instincts.
Lyra has been a
fool, falling for the charms of a male whose
only desire was to make a fast
buck by selling her. Shackled
and collared, her strength muted by magic, she
awaits her
time on the stage at a black-market auction, but before it can
come,
all hell breaks loose and she seizes a chance to
escape—and runs straight into
a majestic warrior who steals
her breath away and tempts her like no other as
he battles
alone to free everyone.
When Lyra offers
her services as a translator to repay Grey
for saving her, will he be strong
enough to resist the needs
she awakens in him and spare himself the pain of her
inevitable rejection when she discovers the truth about him?
And when the
powerful male in charge of the slave ring
starts a bloody hunt for Lyra, can
she escape another collar
and find the courage to trust the tiger who is
capturing her
heart?
Someone peered over
his shoulder.
A black clawed
finger landed on the piece of paper in front of him, close to his. “Here.”
Grey jumped and
growled at the male beside him. The warlock. Wizard. Whatever the hell he
wanted to be called. He reeked of magic and death.
Even the succubus
backed off, her usual bright smile and sultry air turning cold and dark. She
said something, and the male said something back at her, a bite in his tone.
“You speak
English?” Grey didn’t want to talk to the male, but he wasn’t going to get
anywhere speaking with the bartender or anyone else in the joint.
The male didn’t
nod.
Not a good sign.
“This is here?” He
pointed to the name on the piece of paper again.
The male nodded and
looked around. “Here.”
It was a start.
“You speak her
tongue?” Grey pointed towards the bartender. “Speak. Her.”
The male frowned,
his icy green eyes darkening a shade, and looked at the female, and then back
at him. “Yes.”
Getting there.
But the male didn’t
really understand him. He couldn’t ask complicated questions and have him relay
them to the bartender for her to answer, and the male wouldn’t know the answer
to them himself since he was clearly just passing through and using the village
as a rest stop.
He needed to boil
it down into something the male might understand.
“Mortals. Humans.”
It was worth a shot. He pointed to himself. “I’m looking for mortals.”
The male’s eyes lit
up. He pointed east. “Mortals.”
Grey looked in that
direction. East. The dragon realm and the Devil’s lands were east of here. He
slid his blue gaze back to the male, his hackles rising and his animal side
growing restless, prowling beneath his skin.
Was the male
telling him the truth?
“Mortals?” Grey
pointed east, along the length of the bar.
The male nodded and
attempted a smile. It came off twisted and disturbing rather than reassuring.
“Definitely?”
Because he was starting to get the feeling that the male was trying to get him
killed. “Because dragons are that way.”
The male shook his
head. “No dragons. Mortals.”
Grey pulled the map
out of his trouser pocket, spread it across the bar top and jammed a finger
against the area Sable had labelled as ‘here be dragons’ and had drawn what he
imagined was meant to be a dragon, but it looked more like a snake fighting a
spider.
“Dragons.” He
tapped the paper.
The warlock shook
his head again, his eyes darkening another shade and his thin lips flattening.
He jabbed a black claw against a spot west of the dragons, and east of their
current location.
“Mortals. There.”
So close?
Was it possible?
“Here?” Grey
pointed to the map.
The male looked as
if he was going to kill him if he asked again, an inky sort of darkness growing
around his pupils to devour the pale green of his irises.
“Okay. Here it is.
Got it. Thanks.” Grey bundled up his papers and his backpack in his arms and
left before the male could even think about muttering a spell to flay his fur
off his body.
He breathed deep as
he hit the village square again, shaking off his nerves and the sensation that
the male was trying to get him killed. He just smelled of death, that was all
it was. It had put Grey on edge.
He looked back at
the tavern. Even the succubi had avoided the male. He turned away from the
village and headed east, glancing at the male’s tent as he passed it. It was
set up a good distance from the rest of the tents and from the huts, placed
right against the perimeter wall of the village.
That struck a chord
in him.
The warlock had
come to the village, but had separated himself from them, was keeping his
distance even though he obviously wanted to be around others.
The male had been
helpful, but because he had looked different to the others, Grey had found it
difficult to trust him. He had judged him on his appearance, and had believed
he wanted to kill him because of that. He was no better than the others.
He should have
been.
Experience should
have taught him something, should have made him react differently to the male,
but he had treated him with suspicion, just like the rest.
Just like his pride
had treated him.
All because he was
different to them.
Gods, he was no
better than them.
He hated that.
It weighed him down
as he trekked east, following the lead the male had given him.
It took him across
the valley basin to the foot of a low mountain range.
He looked along it
in both directions, and then at his map. By his calculations, the quickest
route would be over the mountains, because the range stretched in both
directions for miles. If he tried to go around, it would take him at least
another day to reach the destination the warlock had marked for him.
By then, Archangel
might have moved on.
He adjusted his
pack on his shoulders, huffed and started forwards, picking a path up the
gently sloping side of the mountain. He crossed a trail around two hundred
metres up and followed it as it wound through the sharp towering rocks and up
through tall crevasses that sliced into the black mountain. The trail grew
narrow near the top, heading towards a sweeping curve between two peaks.
He brought his pack
around to his front and pressed his back against the black rock as he edged
sideways along the path, his eyes on the steep drop to jagged rocks below and his
heart hammering against his ribs. No damn way he was going to fall. He breathed
through the fear, refusing to let it get to him, and looked to his right,
focusing on the path instead.
It opened up a
short distance ahead.
Relief was quick to
sweep through him when his boots hit the wider path and the trail led away from
the edge, over the ridge.
Gods, he was tired.
He pulled a cloth
from his back pocket and wiped the sweat from his brow, and ran his other hand
over his silver hair. He would rest on the other side. This high up the
mountain, he was unlikely to run into any wild beasts. He could spare a few
minutes to catch his breath and rest his legs. He unhooked the canteen from his
pack, took a swig of the tepid water, and capped it and put it back again. He
was getting low.
Thorne had warned
him not to trust the water in Hell.
Apparently, some of
it wasn’t water at all.
Grey didn’t want to
know what that meant.
He figured it
wouldn’t end well for him and that was enough to have him steering clear of
hitting any stream he saw for a refill of his canteen.
He reached the top
of the mountain.
His breath caught.
Good gods.
It was as if he
could see the entire world.
Or at least all of
Hell.
Beyond the valley
far below him, steeper mountains rose, forming ridge after ridge into the
distance, where the sky glowed bright gold. The Devil’s domain.
Hell was bleak,
grim, but had a strange sort of beauty to it from up here.
He started down the
mountain, his eyes leaping back to the view whenever they could, drinking it
in. It was incredible. How big was Hell? He should have looked back in the
other direction at the ridge to see if he could figure it out. Maybe he would
stop there and drink it all in if he came back this way.
He picked out a
spot to rest as he scouted the route ahead of him, a nice flat space just a
little over halfway down the mountain and only accessible from one side, giving
him some protection.
He was close to it
when lights in the valley caught his eye.
He slowed his steps
and tracked them as they flickered and danced, a row of flaming gold spots
crossing the darkness, heading to his left, deeper into the valley.
Archangel?
He looked in the
direction they were heading, and frowned. More lights glowed there. Another
village? Or a base of operations for a mortal hunter organisation up to no
good?
Thoughts of resting
scattered and he marched down the mountain, intent on reaching the valley floor
before the people walking towards the settlement reached it. He needed to find
out if they were Archangel soldiers, and he needed to do it before they joined
up with the others. He could handle a few hunters, but not an entire base of
operations.
His boots skidded
on the loose black shale as he hurried down the mountain, and he fought for
balance more than once, attempting a controlled slide that would get him down
into the valley quicker than using the paths.
When he hit the
valley floor, he paused for breath, his eyes scanning the dimly lit world
around him. He spotted the torches off to his left, about five hundred metres
out from his current position. He drew down a deep breath, held it in his lungs
to steady his heart and centre himself and exhaled slowly. His senses
sharpened, his animal side rising to the fore, allowing him to see into the
darkness ahead of him.
Allowing him to see
the people crossing the valley.
Every inch of him
stilled.
And then a slow
burn started in his blood.
It wasn’t
Archangel.
He growled low in
his throat at the sight of the large male figures, at the thick chains they
gripped, and the captives they dragged along behind them.
It was slave
traders.
He caught a flash
of the two tiger shifter females he had found huddled naked and terrified in
their cages, held against their will by Pyotr, the male Maya had been promised
to as a cub.
That burn grew
hotter, fiercer, blazing white hot, and he curled his hands into fists, his
emerging claws digging into his palms as his tiger side raged, battered his
control and pushed him to react, to obey his instincts.
To protect.
No one deserved to
be treated that way. No one deserved to be abused, mistreated, held captive and
condemned to a life of fear.
He snarled through
his fangs.
Dumped his backpack
and stripped off his t-shirt.
These bastards were
going to pay for what they were doing.
Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today
international best-selling author writing passionate
paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates
detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense
emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that
vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and
wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If
you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian,
J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine
Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-
selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong,
powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm
series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books.
If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful,
passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic
Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled
with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to
demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look
at the new Eternal Mates series.
selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong,
powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm
series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books.
If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful,
passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic
Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled
with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to
demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look
at the new Eternal Mates series.
If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in
touch, you can find her at the following places:
touch, you can find her at the following places:
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