Carpathian 01 - Dark Prince

angles and planes of his face harsh and merciless. Black eyes gleamed with something dark and deadly. The moonlight reflected there gave an eerie red glow, even a feral quality, to his unblinking gaze.
    Threatened, Rudy scrambled to his feet, making a grab for his mystery lady with a vague idea of protecting her. Although Mikhail was several feet farther away from Raven than Rudy, he put on a burst of blurring speed and his hand was there first, shackling her fragile wrist and yanking Raven behind him, locking her to him.
    "Good evening, Mr. Romanov," Mikhail said pleasantly, his tone so low and silky both Rudy and Raven shivered. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to tell me what you are doing at this time of night meeting in these woods alone with my woman." As he uttered the last word, from somewhere close, a wolf howled ominously, the long, drawn-out note echoing a warning on the night breeze.
    Raven stirred, but Mikhail's grip on her threatened to crush her bones. Be silent, little one. If you wish this human to see the dawn, you will obey me. He is Hans Romanov's son. What is in his mind is what his father planted long ago.
    She paled visibly. Mikhail, his parents…
    I am holding on to control by a thread. Do not snap it!
    "Mr. Dubrinsky." Rudy recognized him now, a powerful figure in his home village, an unrelenting enemy or a valuable friend. Mikhail's voice appeared calm, serene even, yet he looked capable of murder. "We didn't plan this. I came here because…" His voice trailed off. He could have sworn he caught sight of wolves lurking in the trees, their eyes glowing with that same feral quality as the hunter in front of him.
    One look at that merciless face and Rudy let go of his pride. "I was grieving. She was out walking and she heard me."
    The wolves were silent shadows slipping closer. Mikhail sensed their eagerness, the cry of bloodlust. It washed over him and mixed with black jealousy. The pack whispered and called to him as their brother.
    The beast in him lifted its head, roared for release. The human male claimed innocence, but it was easy to read lust in his body, smell the scent of sexual arousal. It was easy for Mikhail to read the taint of sickness in the son, placed there by the father.
    Mikhail's dark gaze swept Raven's small figure. She could stop his heart, take his breath away. She never looked beyond the surface; she had trained herself not to. Mikhail read compassion, sadness, exhaustion, and something else. He had hurt her. It was there in the depths of her enormous eyes. And there was genuine fear. She knew the wolves were out there; she heard their voices urging him to protect his mate. It was a terrible blow for her to realize just how susceptible he was to their primitive logic, to realize how much animal was really in him. Instantly his arm swept around her, dragged her beneath his shoulder, close to his warmth. He sent out a silent command to the wolves, feeling their resistance, their reluctance to obey. They could sense his antagonism to the human, his own lust for blood, the need to Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    vanquish an enemy that might threaten his mate's safety.
    "I heard of your loss," Mikhail made himself say, his arm curving around Raven protectively. "Your mother was a great woman. Her death was a tremendous loss to our community. Your father and I had our differences, but I would have wished his death on no man."
    Raven was shivering with cold and reaction to the knowledge that Mikhail could feel such intense animosity toward anyone. She was the light to his darkness, incapable of understanding that he was first and foremost a predator. His hand moved up and down her arm gently, seeking to reassure her. Mikhail reinforced his command to the wolves. "You had better go home, Mr. Romanov. You need sleep, and these woods are not always safe. The storm has left the animals edgy."
    "Thank you for being so kind," Rudy said to Raven, reluctant to leave her with a man who looked so capable of great violence.
    Mikhail watched the man retreat to the safety of the edge of town, beyond the clearing. "You are cold, little one," he said very gently.
    Raven blinked back tears, forcing her trembling legs to begin walking, one slow step at a time. She couldn't look at him, didn't dare. She had simply been enjoying the beauty of the night. Then she had heard Romanov. It was in her nature to help if she was able. Now she had triggered