The Scarlett Legacy (Woodland Creek) by Woodland Creek, K.N. Lee

in the light.
    All sounds were magnified once Olivia was in her second form. She climbed out of the window and hopped to the ground by a shimmering strand of spider web.
    The road was silent as she scurried across the street and to Avalon’s mansion.
    The ground was covered with dew as she made her way over the front garden.
    Olivia loved the invisibility that her shifter form brought her. She could go anywhere virtually unseen.
    She crept along, passing by the men that Avalon had hired to watch his home. Finding entry wasn’t difficult. She crawled into a window with a hole in the screen.
    Inside all was quiet.
    Too quiet.
    Up the walls and stairs she went. She’d been in the Albrecht Mansion a few times in her life. The schools all used to have field trips there to learn about the town’s history. Remembering the layout of the mansion gave her an idea of where Avalon’s bedroom might be.
    Olivia went up the stairs, guided by her memory, and sensing his presence, she found the master bedroom.
    She paused as she watched Avalon sleep in his large antique bed.
    Early sleeper.
    Even as a spider she was frightened by the old Albrecht Mansion. She was a creature of the shadows, but the cold and dark of this ancient house left her on edge. All she wanted was to get in, bite him with her venom, and get out.
    She hopped from the ceiling; a single strand of the sparkling web carrying her to the chandelier above his bed.
    What she thought would be an easy task shifted in an instant. She screamed inwardly as he sat straight up and captured her in a mason jar.
    Olivia panicked. She had two choices; stay in her spider form which would make it easier to kill her, or transform and fight. She chose to fight. She shifted into her human form, shattering the glass all over Avalon’s comforter.
    He grabbed her by her naked waist, slamming her into his lap the instant she was human again. “What a surprise. Wes sent out his whore wife to do his dirty work.”
    He shook her. “Did you know your husband was a coward? You must have realized it when he sent you to kill my father.”
    Olivia cried out as his large fingers pressed into her flesh. An intense heat shot through her flesh and into her muscles, paralyzing her with pain.
    As hard as she tried, she could not shift back into a spider again. She was trapped, and too weak to free herself.
    “Where do you think you’re going?”
    “Stop!” She pleaded in between gasping cries of pain. She was defenseless against his wizardry, but that wouldn’t stop her from fighting for her freedom.
    “Let me go!” Olivia jabbed him in the throat with her elbow and he pulled her arm back, pinning it to her side as he flipped her over his head and onto the bed.
    Her eyes widened with shock at his speed and strength. He was more than a wizard.
    The maniacal look in his bright green eyes frightened her more than any fear she’d ever known. She’d never stared death in the face before.
    Avalon wrapped his hands around Olivia’s throat, a snarl morphing his face into one of wicked pleasure. As his grip tightened she knew that his face, so full of that sadistic look, would be the last thing that she’d see.
    She just needed enough leeway to bite him, but his grip on her throat was too strong. She gasped for air.
    Tears filled Olivia’s eyes.
    Her mother had warned her about marrying a Scarlett, and she had done it anyway. Still, she would love him to the end.
    She held her final breath for as long as she could, scratching, clawing, and struggling in every way she knew possible.
    Someone banged on his bedroom door. “Everything okay in there, Avalon?”
    Avalon didn’t lessen his grip on her throat as he shouted over his shoulder.
    “Everything is fine. Get back to your post, and tell the men to keep watch.”
    Olivia felt his hold on her abilities falter and shifted back into a spider in half a second. He growled with anger as she shot out another silk strand to his headboard and soared across