Falcon’s Captive Read Free

cheeks, arms, breasts, and belly, and for these moments, she wanted nothing else.
    Movement. Flying—when she could. Running otherwise.
    Her world was awash with colors that resonated in her soul. She loved the wind and the endless browns, greens, grays, whites, even hints of black. Most of all she loved the vast horizon with her birthplace, Raptor’s Craig, in the distance. She longed to return to it and surround herself with memories, but she’d spent last night there and hadn’t found the peace she longed for.
    Her body and heart wanted one thing: movement. That’s why she was here today, that and the need to study the newcomers as she’d done back before she’d chosen her mate and then again two days ago. While in mourning, she hadn’t concerned herself with the newcomers, but when hunger had pulled her away from grief and sent her in search of prey, she’d spotted them.
    Hatred had consumed her then. It still did.
    As soon as she stopped running, the sweat coating her flesh would start to chill, and she’d be forced to go in search of the sleeveless hide dress she’d thrown off when too-familiar energy first lent strength to her legs. It was better to keep running, to move instead of think. To fight tears.
    After pushing her long, black hair off her neck, she turned and set her sights on the great lake. Fortunately, the intruders had set up their camp on the bank opposite from Raptor’s Craig. Otherwise, she would have been forced to acknowledge Raci’s killers when grief had been all consuming.
    A handful of the invaders was out hunting this morning. Keeping her eye on five men was easier than trying to keep track of the twenty-some who’d laid claim to the far lakeshore.
    Or was it? Her Falcon senses had always worked in the past, but she was no longer sure of anything.
    Angry at herself because she’d vowed to let go of what she couldn’t change, she stopped and rose onto her toes. Her hands went to her breasts and she tightly cupped them as their jiggling quieted. Full breasts while in human form were as much a curse as a gift. Raci had been fascinated by them. Embracing them, her mate would whisper that they belonged to him as much as they did to her. And she’d believed him. Would still believe—if Raci hadn’t been murdered.
    Swamped by tears, she lowered her head and closed her eyes, sucking in oxygen. But even as she concentrated on cooling her lungs, she knew only one thing would blunt the pain: running. And when she’d returned to Raptor’s Craig, which was the only place the change from human to raptor and back took place, flying.
    “I miss you so much,” she muttered as if Raci were beside her. “Yes, I must come to grips with your death and walk into my future. You wouldn’t want me to drown in sorrow. But you should be alive. Those newcomers—killers—had no right. If I knew whose arrow pierced your heart, I’d tear him apart!”
    She should release herself, but touching her breasts felt so good. Better than loneliness. Not as exciting as Raci’s hands had been and yet—
    “Death stole you before the final bonding,” she muttered, careful to keep her voice low. “That’s what hurts so much: knowing I’m not carrying your offspring! That and knowing these creatures are responsible.”
    Barely able to stifle a cry, she pinched and then massaged her nipples into hard nubs, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t make herself believe that Raci was holding her. Afraid that memories of finding Raci’s cold Falcon body with an arrow through his heart would overwhelm her once more, she started running again. Her lungs, long accustomed to her need for extreme exertion, immediately expanded. Her heart pumped strong and steady.
    Yes! This was life. Freedom. Leaving behind thoughts of revenge.
    Her young, naked body made love to the air and she imagined the precious land of her birth watching her legs churn. Finding a well-worn path to run on, she fantasized that a deer was