homeland in Egypt.” Zena Vuk’s chest tightened and her heart pounded against her ribcage at the thought of Hrebeljanovic’s curse and Niko making the grand sacrifice. “Why would he turn on us, and how do we know he possesses the power to carry this curse forward?
2
My Serbian Wolf
Charisma Knight
“Ah, Zena Vuk, how young you are, my Nubian beauty. I cannot run from the task at hand. How will it look if a leader shirks his responsibilities?
Would you really want me to dishonor myself, and tarnish the memory of Prince Nemanjic? Furthermore, I cannot allow the demise of our three youngest tribe members. They are—special, you see.”
Zena Vuk gritted her teeth, knowing Niko was not being honest with her in some matters. Her stomach churned as instinct warned her about his lack of truth.
As she folded her arms against her breast and eased herself away from him, Niko reached for her. She didn’t want to feel his touch. That would tear her heart to pieces. Feeling defeated, she peered at the Serbian landscape. She took in the beauty of the moon and how the light made the blanket of snow on the ground glitter like millions of diamonds.
Her head pounded from the stress and her heart ached when she contemplated her life without Niko. She inhaled the brisk winter air. Her mate moved toward her, and the desire to choke back tears overwhelmed her. She bit her lip hard until it bled. A howl slipped past her lips as she peered at the moonlit landscape through tear-filled eyes.
“Answer me, woman!”
Zena Vuk frowned as she observed the muscles in her mate’s jaw twitch.
Niko’s temper was rising. She could have sworn she felt waves of heat roll off his body and onto her.
“Why are you dishonest?” Zena Vuk wanted to destroy something. She gazed around the humble area where she and Niko had enjoyed countless evenings of love making. Nausea set in and her heart ached. She wanted to be angry at him, but for some unknown reason, she could not.
“Listen to me.” Niko’s voice was stern, causing her to shudder.
“Hrebeljanovic is a powerful warlock who can magnify our suffering a thousand times over. I assure you, it can be a fate worse than death.” She frowned and averted her eyes from Niko’s only to have him gently grasp her by the chin so he could stare into her eyes again. “Don’t avert your gaze from me when I speak of such matters. The safety of our tribe is established, as long as I commit to this.”
3
My Serbian Wolf
Charisma Knight
Slouching her shoulders, she leaned against the hard body of her mate.
Tears brimmed within her eyes and spilled over, flowing like a river and cascading down her cheeks. Her mind made an effort to wrap itself around the situation at hand. A brief glimpse into the not too distant future assured her loneliness awaited, and there was nothing she could do to prevent that.
“What is this sentence?” She frowned, fighting the urge to cry out in heartache.
The warrior shifter exhaled and flashed his mate a most intense look, causing her heart to drop. Whatever news he was about to deliver was not good. “I must exist as a human and then I’m to be banished from this world and into another if I do not relinquish the young ones to him.
“Hrebeljanovic believes, since we are wolf shifters, we should have triumphed over the Ottoman Empire. He neglects to remember our prince’s code of refraining from using our shifter form during the heat of battle, and that we are a peace loving tribe. We were forced into a war we did not want.
Hrebeljanovic also believes if our three tribe members had fought in the war as they were supposed to, we would have been triumphant. What he fails to acknowledge is the fact that Prince Nemanjic was a man of honor and fairness, teaching shifters not to use their powers against humans.
Hrebeljanovic is just the opposite, and is a mad man.”
Fury consumed Zena Vuk and she cursed Hrebeljanovic. “The bastard!”
Her emotions were out
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