Escaping The Beast: A Darkhills Romance (The Darkhills Series Book 2) by Elizabeth Greene (young adult books to read TXT) 📕

father for the way he had treated her and seemed to have no qualms in summoning her for a deal of which she knew nothing about.

Yet she had held her head high and stared back at Lucian with a look of imperious daring. She was a queen, and her father was not worthy of such a daughter. Lucian ran his hands through his hair in agitation. She had held his gaze fearlessly. He knew his unnaturally dark eyes were intimidating, most people couldn’t stand to look into their depth for more than a few seconds. But not Katherine Daxton. She had pierced him with her own eyes of light brown, the flecks of gold within them taunting him with a promise of summer sun that he would never again experience.

And now that incredible, courageous, and alluring woman was out there in the wilderness, most likely lost and alone and most certainly fighting off the cold in just the thin clothes that she had been wearing.

This was all his fault. He still wasn’t sure what exactly had caused her to run, the crumpled letter that he had found on the floor of the great hall indicated that it was something in what he had written. Unless that was to throw him off the truth and escaping had been her plan all along? Perhaps her father hadn’t driven far and was waiting to rendezvous with her in the hills. Lucian shook his head at that. Mr. Pines had already reported that Kyle Daxton had spent his first few hours in the city visiting a strip club and then a brothel of sorts, squandering his time and showing no immediate concern to retrieve his daughter. Lucian had chosen not to share the news with Katherine for fear of upsetting her.

An alarm buzzed on his phone, telling him the sun was setting. Within an instant he was outside, perched on the edge of his balcony. From where he crouched he had a perfect view out across the hills. The cloud cover was thick enough that he didn’t need to squint against the remaining sunlight. He focused his vision on where he had first seen Katherine slip into the cover of the trees, there were heavy footprints in the soil where she had been running. He should be able to track her still, if he got close enough he would be able to pick up her scent.

He launched himself over the balcony and landed firmly on the rooftops of the east wing of the mansion. He ran on light feet over the tiles, leaping off the edge of the building. His feet made no sound as he sprinted across the forest floor, following the path once taken by his guest. She had taken a meandering route through the trees, most likely trying to confuse anyone who might try to follow her. But the impressive Miss. Daxton didn’t know about creatures such as himself. He could see the footsteps clearly in amongst the darkening pines and he could very faintly taste her scent on the breeze.

He ran relentlessly for almost half an hour before he came across a clearing where she must’ve stopped to rest. The scent lingered more heavily there and he reached out and splayed his hand over the spot where she had leaned against a thick pine tree. A shimmering strand of her golden hair danced in the cold air, trapped against the rough surface of the bark.

He tilted his head slightly, catching the scent of her trail once more, and doubled his speed. He would find her, of that he was certain, and then he would bring her home, get her into a warm bath and ensure she ate a good meal before getting some sleep. Even if he had to enthral her to make it happen, she would have a restful night. He knew she hadn’t slept soundly the night before. He had sat on the edge of her bed and watched as her brow had furrowed in her sleep. He knew at the time he had crossed a line, that he shouldn’t be in the room with her while she slept, but he hadn’t been able to resist the urge to try to understand her better.

Lucian couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her. She was indeed beautiful and the memory of the crimson lips that had argued with him over terms of their arrangement stirred something within him. There had been a flicker of appreciation in her gaze as she had tracked her eyes over him, her scent had become warmer as he had allowed her a moment to scrutinise his appearance. Despite her impressive poker face, he was convinced the attraction between them was mutual. But then she had shut him out. Perhaps she was merely playing him, trying to establish a position of power and influence over him by employing her sexuality to lure him in. If that were her plan then the next two months were going to be extremely difficult for him. Then again, two could play that game.

The sound of a distant roar had him stopping in his tracks.

Dear God, no.

Of all the deadly creatures to be out hunting, why did the apex predator have to choose that evening to scour the forest. Lucian squared his shoulders, it appeared the stakes for finding Miss. Daxton had just increased.

A terrified scream ripped through the air, making his blood turn to ice. He was moving before he had even registered that his feet were eating up the ground at an alarming rate. If the creature laid one claw on her, he would kill him.

The sound of her breathless struggle combined with heavy huffs drew Lucian to the large clearing in the trees where he found Katherine as she swung a large tree branch up towards the outstretched talons of a dragon.

“Release her now, Etienne.” Lucian shouted as he sprinted to engage with the large beast.

The giant, horned head of the dragon peered round at him in