The Last Warrior (Shifters Unbound #13) - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,43

step toward the eagle. It cocked its head and stared at him from a brown-black eye that was all Rhianne.

Ben strode another step. The eagle fluffed out her wings, hooked beak opening in warning.

She was beautiful. Reddish feathers flowed from her head, becoming more golden as they skimmed down her back. Wide talons gripped the earth, and lighter blond feathers dusted her breast and the tufts around her legs. She was far larger than a natural golden eagle, standing as high as Ben’s chest, her wingspan massive.

“Rhianne?” Ben asked softly.

The eagle fluttered her wings once more, then settled them to her sides. Behind them, wind chimes rang on the veranda, jangling and dancing.

The air shimmered, and when it cleared Rhianne, unclothed, sat hunched in on herself in the exact spot the eagle had stood.

Jaycee started for her, but Rhianne cried out in fear, throwing up her hands as though she’d never seen Jaycee before. Dimitri put a hand on Jaycee’s shoulder, holding her back.

Ben carefully approached and went down on one knee. “Rhianne, sweetheart. You all right?”

Rhianne raised her head, her hair and face damp. “Ben?”

The word was shaky, on the verge of tears. Ben reached out and carefully took her hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were part Shifter?”

“I’m not … I don’t … I’ve never …” Rhianne gazed at him in absolute terror, then her face crumpled, and tears poured down her cheeks. “What is happening to me?”

Ben gathered her to him. Her warm hair fell around him, exactly as he’d fantasized, but now his desires were stemmed by worry and compassion. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Sending a warning glance to the others, Ben lifted Rhianne, cradling her against his chest, and carried her back to the waiting house.

“She can’t be a Shifter.” Dimitri declared this as he lounged in the kitchen, his hands wrapped around another beer.

Rhianne was now tucked into a bed down the hall, her red hair fanning across the pillows. Halfway to the house, Rhianne’s tears had dried, and when Ben had laid her in the bed, she’d fallen into an instant and profound sleep.

Exhaustion, Ben told himself. The stress of being captured by a hoch alfar asshole, then hauled away from everything she knew and brought to the human world against her will. Not to mention a long night dancing and battling snakes, plus the physical exertion of shifting into an eagle and flying around in the darkness.

“Why not?” Jaycee demanded, even as she leaned into Dimitri, seeking the comfort of her mate.

“Shifters don’t fly, for one thing,” Dimitri answered. “We have big cat Shifters. Lupines, and Bears. That’s it.”

“Foxes, remember,” Ben said. “Made by the Tuil Erdannan. Why couldn’t one of them make raptors as well?”

“Reason number two,” Dimitri went on. “Both her parents are Tuil Erdannan.”

Ben nodded from where he slumped on the bench at the window, his energy gone. “I agree. She doesn’t really have that Shifter look to her.”

Jaycee’s eyes narrowed. “What look is that?”

“Predatory,” Dimitri answered before Ben could. “You know a Shifter has an animal inside who’d tear out your guts to defend his territory, even while he’s smiling at you and throwing back a brew.” He lifted his beer in demonstration.

“You have a point,” Jaycee conceded. “Plus, there’s scent. She does not smell like a Shifter at all.”

No, she smelled like roses and the wildness of the night.

Ben pressed his fingers to the table. Tattoos on his right hand spelled out the word Ben, and on his left, Gil. “I have the feeling her dear father had something to do with this. Messed with her DNA or something. Experimented on his own daughter. No wonder Lady Aisling threw him out.”

“You think that’s what happened?” Dimitri asked.

“It’s a theory. One that fits with what a shithead her dad seems to be. Dylan wants to take him down? Well, I just joined Dylan’s team.”

Jaycee glared at both men. “Why don’t you two stop theorizing and ask her?”

“When she wakes up, we’ll have a talk.” Ben thought of the fear on Rhianne’s face that had wrenched his heart. “But I don’t believe she’ll have an answer.”

“Poor kid.” Jaycee sent a sympathetic glance out the open doorway to the hall. “I didn’t exactly have the best childhood, but then I found Kendrick and Dimitri, who did everything they could to take care of me. Rhianne’s caught between two formidable parents, both with their own agendas, which can’t