Prologue
Belusian Prime, Theta Galaxy
‚You have the credits?‛ The woman in the dark hood reached out to
him with a wrinkled hand from the dark shadows of the abandoned
transport room.
Barrick held out the small black card charged with one hundred
thousand credits. An extreme amount. But he was willing to pay any
amount for her services. Her knobby fingers snagged the card without
ruffling the fur lining his hand. Faster and more agile than she looked.
She put the card into a reader. Three beeps later and he could almost
see the grizzly white of her smile. It seemed jagged. Like an animal who
knew how to render flesh from bone.
‚Ahh. We are agreed. I need just one more thing from you.‛ The
woman reached out to him again. This time she bypassed his hand and
ground her palm against the fur on his chest. Her furless skin felt warm
and smooth.
She flexed her fingers and white-hot blinding pain pulsed through
him. Her fingers seemed to slip through his skin. They closed around his
heart and squeezed the organ. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Was
she trying to kill him? Had he been duped? Unfortunately, this part of the
ship was barely used since each of the crew now had personal wrist
transporters.
5
The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown
Calling on the beast from within, he loosened the rein on his control.
Blood rushed through his veins like a flood overpowering a river. He’d
show her what happens when you cross the ‘White Tiger’, the most feared
man in the Theta Galaxy. He hadn’t earned the moniker for nothing.
Crossing him meant death. A slow painful one.
‚I think I have it,‛ she said, pulling her hand back.
Barrick’s chest bowed out, following the path of her clenched
fingers. She was pulling his very essence out.
‚Lady, what you’re about to have is a whole lot of trouble,‛ he
panted in metered breaths. The bones in his hands popped as they
elongated into paws. The fur surrounding them thickened.
‚Don’t even think about it unless you want me to cancel our deal,‛
she said with icy calm
‚Easy for you to say. I’m not trying to kill you,‛ he growled through
clenched teeth. ‚Yet.‛
‚Down boy. I’m not killing you.‛ She laughed at him. ‚I am
removing your heartstone. I’ve been told it is quite painful.‛
‚Look, witch, whatever you’re doing, finish it. Or I won’t be
responsible.‛ His nose shortened and seemingly melded into his face. He
could smell her now. She didn’t smell old. She smelled of dust and hope. If
hope had a smell. Her look and her smell didn’t mesh.
More of her trickery? He never should have agreed to use only the
floor’s track lighting. Too many shadows to hide in. No matter. When his
eyes changed he would get a true look at her. And if she continued to cause
him any amount of pain, there was little anyone would be able to do to
save her. The room was empty. There was nowhere for her to hide.
‚There it is.‛ Her hand slid from him without a sound. She held a
heart-shaped crystal in her pristine hand. It was amazingly clear with four
sliver thin black stripes running through it. ‚Almost pure. I’m amazed.‛
She slid him a challenging glance as she stroked the crystal with her
fingers.
‚That did not come out of my chest.‛ His beast seemed to all but
disappear. He had never banished the animal so quickly before. Something
slid up the side of one arm and down the other.
6
The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown
‚Sure it did. This is yours and it will lead me to your true mate.‛
Her thumb stroked along side the stone again.
‚How long?‛ He bit his lip. Now the slight caress ran down the hair
on the back of his calves. He turned quickly looking for the culprit.
Something was wrong. It took several seconds for him to figure out what it
was. Everything around him appeared dull as if someone had drawn a
screen over his eyes. His normally super sharp vision was dull,
Belusian Prime, Theta Galaxy
‚You have the credits?‛ The woman in the dark hood reached out to
him with a wrinkled hand from the dark shadows of the abandoned
transport room.
Barrick held out the small black card charged with one hundred
thousand credits. An extreme amount. But he was willing to pay any
amount for her services. Her knobby fingers snagged the card without
ruffling the fur lining his hand. Faster and more agile than she looked.
She put the card into a reader. Three beeps later and he could almost
see the grizzly white of her smile. It seemed jagged. Like an animal who
knew how to render flesh from bone.
‚Ahh. We are agreed. I need just one more thing from you.‛ The
woman reached out to him again. This time she bypassed his hand and
ground her palm against the fur on his chest. Her furless skin felt warm
and smooth.
She flexed her fingers and white-hot blinding pain pulsed through
him. Her fingers seemed to slip through his skin. They closed around his
heart and squeezed the organ. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Was
she trying to kill him? Had he been duped? Unfortunately, this part of the
ship was barely used since each of the crew now had personal wrist
transporters.
5
The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown
Calling on the beast from within, he loosened the rein on his control.
Blood rushed through his veins like a flood overpowering a river. He’d
show her what happens when you cross the ‘White Tiger’, the most feared
man in the Theta Galaxy. He hadn’t earned the moniker for nothing.
Crossing him meant death. A slow painful one.
‚I think I have it,‛ she said, pulling her hand back.
Barrick’s chest bowed out, following the path of her clenched
fingers. She was pulling his very essence out.
‚Lady, what you’re about to have is a whole lot of trouble,‛ he
panted in metered breaths. The bones in his hands popped as they
elongated into paws. The fur surrounding them thickened.
‚Don’t even think about it unless you want me to cancel our deal,‛
she said with icy calm
‚Easy for you to say. I’m not trying to kill you,‛ he growled through
clenched teeth. ‚Yet.‛
‚Down boy. I’m not killing you.‛ She laughed at him. ‚I am
removing your heartstone. I’ve been told it is quite painful.‛
‚Look, witch, whatever you’re doing, finish it. Or I won’t be
responsible.‛ His nose shortened and seemingly melded into his face. He
could smell her now. She didn’t smell old. She smelled of dust and hope. If
hope had a smell. Her look and her smell didn’t mesh.
More of her trickery? He never should have agreed to use only the
floor’s track lighting. Too many shadows to hide in. No matter. When his
eyes changed he would get a true look at her. And if she continued to cause
him any amount of pain, there was little anyone would be able to do to
save her. The room was empty. There was nowhere for her to hide.
‚There it is.‛ Her hand slid from him without a sound. She held a
heart-shaped crystal in her pristine hand. It was amazingly clear with four
sliver thin black stripes running through it. ‚Almost pure. I’m amazed.‛
She slid him a challenging glance as she stroked the crystal with her
fingers.
‚That did not come out of my chest.‛ His beast seemed to all but
disappear. He had never banished the animal so quickly before. Something
slid up the side of one arm and down the other.
6
The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown
‚Sure it did. This is yours and it will lead me to your true mate.‛
Her thumb stroked along side the stone again.
‚How long?‛ He bit his lip. Now the slight caress ran down the hair
on the back of his calves. He turned quickly looking for the culprit.
Something was wrong. It took several seconds for him to figure out what it
was. Everything around him appeared dull as if someone had drawn a
screen over his eyes. His normally super sharp vision was dull,
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