Fever by Selina Brinkmann (readict TXT) 📕

“What are you?”, she whispered and followed the path of fur on his arms slowly descending back into his body.

He focused his gaze on her and Evy could have sworn that his nose twitched a bit as though he was sniffing the air.

“I am like you!” he leaned his head on the side and she felt how he studied her body.

Evy had enough of men today. First Dominic who had been in her bedroom without her notice and now this guy. She narrowed her eyes at him. “I am pretty sure that I would be aware if my body changes into a cat from time to time!”

“Not a cat!”, he growled and Evy saw how his skin changed once more but this time his arm was covered in feathers.

“You are a shape shifter!”, she exclaimed and took a step closer to him and touching the soft grey feathers that covered his hand. “How is that possible?”

Roan looked fascinated down to the woman in front of him. Her words and actions were so genuinely. He shifted back and her fingers now lay on top of his. Within a second she had stepped back and he saw her holding her hands together still slightly shaking. What made her so afraid of the man but easily accepting the animal inside him.

“The fever.”, he simply answered. “But far more interesting is how you have found us! His beast might be fascinated by her fragile look but he knew that something as small could be as dangerous as a long time trained soldier. When she only shifted but didn’t answer the black of his eyes started to twirl and placed a finger under her chin and pressed it upward until she met his gaze.

“Why should I trust you? You could be one of them. Trying to gain information from us!”

Evy slapped his finger aside and pointed her at his face. “I do not need to prove my innocence to you! I don’t owe you anything!” she felt how the wind started to react upon her feelings.

“If you want to stay!” he growled, “you better answer my questions. I am Roan Hunter the leader of New Terra. Without my permission you will have no choice but to leave! So if you are seeking help and protection you better cooperate.” He took one step closer to her but this time Evy stood her ground.

“So you want to know about my past? Know about what happened and what my intentions are?” , she paused dramatically, “well I have absolutely no idea how I came here. But I know that the ones I escaped from were and probably still are up to something. I was not poked with needles just for fun, big guy! And if you want to know more than I guess you better start moving and help people like me not threat them and try to kill them!”

Roan sighed when her voice grew louder. “I didn’t try to kill you! If you had listened to Roxanne and not try to escape from me than we wouldn’t even be in this situation, you infuriating woman!”

She just lifted one eyebrow and asked him: “So you say that every time a guy almost twice my size approaches me I should just do what he wants? Nah, don’t think so! And what did you want to do? Keep me in this room forever?”

“You know what!” Roan took her arm and dragged her along, “there is no point in arguing with you right now. Calm down first and then we discuss your situation!”, he did not even flinch when Evy hit him with her fist on his back, “And stop that. I do not want to use force but I won’t tolerate being disgraced!”

“Tough! Release me at once. Cause if not you will wake up to a nasty surprise soon! I might not have your strength but you can trust me that I will find a place that is gonna hurt you.” And with that she dug her nails deep into his back.

Roan groaned out aloud and turned her around to face him. “Do not ever do that again! Or …”

“Or what big guy?” Evy challenged him with a grin and hold up her hand again. However she never came to actually hitting him as he swiftly lifter her up and threw her over his shoulder. When she tried to break free Roan just hit her hard onto her bottom.

She could not believe what he just done and wriggled harder just to receive another hit. “Are you crazy? I will kill you when you have to put me down!”, she kicked him with her feet into the stomach which resulted in him catching her legs with one arm and pressing them hard against his chest. Now there was nothing she could do beside cursing him and trying to come free.

Five minutes later he still hadn’t released her and Evy was more than ready to break into tears. Her lower body hurt as his shoulder pressed painfully into it and she was trying to ignore the tingles his present sent over her skin whenever he pressed her harder against his body.

“Come on Roan, let me down!”, Evy hit him with her palm against his back.

“Why should I?”, he asked and shifted her a bit. She groaned out loud as he pressed his hands in a particular sore part and Roan slowly put her up. However before he could even do something another female voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Roan! What are you doing. Let her down now. I don’t even want to know what else you have done with her. Didn’t I tell you that she was serious injured and you just go around and manhandle her.”, Roxanne came out the woodland and hastily went to Evy who was now resting on the ground. With fury in her eyes she looked up to Roan.

“She wouldn’t cooperate. And I didn’t do that to her. She was trying to get away and slipped from the balcony. Without me she would be dead.”, he went with his finger through his hair, “Why is everybody blaming me. I only tried to do my job!” He groaned when Evy and Roxanne looked up to him and shook their heads.

“You didn’t really ask me! You were just ordering me and never even considered that I might be the victim.”, Evy glared at him.

- O no, she wouldn’t make it easy for him. If Roxanne had as much power over him as she thought. She would make sure he regretted ever touching her in this way.

“You behaved like a caveman!”

Roxanne slowly went up and poked her finger right into his chest.

“I do not care if you are the king of the world. Without me, you probably be dead. And as a one of your oldest friends I tell you that if you ever come near Evy again without proper intentions I will kill you myself and bury your body somewhere where no one will ever find your bones! Do you understand?”

But Roan hadn’t listened to any of her words after she had said her name. Evy. His eyes were transfixed upon her and his beast was pushing him to go closer to her, to take her as his own. Shaking his head he tried to clear his head and to focus on Roxanne. She looked at him annoyed and asked him once more, “Do you understand?”

And having absolutely no clue what she was had said and was talking about, he simply nodded and watched the two women walking swiftly away.

The beast within him growled when it saw Evy leaving him but Roan reasoned that something must be terrible wrong as he could never be attracted to such a dwarf of woman. He didn’t mind when the women were slightly smaller than him but she reminded him more of an elf than a human. Having held her close to him he now knew how fragile she was and it clearly didn’t take much to break her if he set his mind on it.

Trying to ease his tensed muscles Roan shifted to his favourite shape the eagle. Unfolding his wings he spun himself high into the air until the hills and New Terra lay far behind him. From here he was able to oversee all the movements in the villages nearby and in his territory. Focusing on Roxanne and Evy he made sure that both of them arrived safe within the safe zone again not trusting any of his guards with the safety of those two. Roxanne as she was too precious for their welfare and Evy, of course because she was a new threat. But as he finally gave into the battle against the beast within him, which knew more often than not what was meant to happen, Roan also couldn’t resist the need to look out for her. His need to protect her.

The cool air and mild breeze far up in the clouds brought his temper down and he could finally remember the entire encounter with a clear head. Not only had he scared Evy but she had also told the truth. His animal would definitely have realized it if she had lied to him. She might not have told the whole truth but she didn’t mean any harm towards them.

- But why had she feared his touch.

He nervously circled his territory. Evy hadn’t reacted like a women who simply was repulsed by him. Roan wanted to find out what had happened with her. And how she came into New Terra without triggering an alarm was still a mystery. Some of their members had said something about an angel falling from the sky but after her fall from the balcony Roan doubted this statement. Evy just didn’t appear like she could control the element of air even in the slightest.

With a cry he launched higher into the air and let the wind caress his wings. His sharp eyes lost Evy and Roxanne when they entered the sanctuary and Roan knowing that they were safe for now turned around and flew into the sun.

In the hill Roxanne turned Evy around as soon as they arrived the entrance. Grasping her hands she looked her into the eyes and asked concerned:

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Shaking her head, Evy replied with a shrug: “It was more his behaviour which was shocking. I was frightened when I saw him behind me at the alcove. Without him I would have been seriously injured when I slipped. But he didn’t need to fling me over his shoulder. That really hurt because his shoulder pressed into a bruise.”

Roxanne released her breath. When she had seen his eyes focusing on Evy she had feared that something serious had happened. Hearing that she wasn’t hurt after her encounter with Roan was promising. Maybe he was finally considering opening the gates and negotiating with the mors instead of fighting them.

However she hadn’t liked the way he had looked at Evy. Like she belonged to him. Roxanne knew about the animalistic drive in him due to his shape shifting nature.

- It couldn’t be. He was far too serious to be interested in a woman like Evy.

She reasoned with herself. With a grin she unclasped their hand and suggested:

“Why don’t we find the cafeteria? My biggest fear was you meeting Roan. As you have managed that better than imagined you are probably in for some food and nice chat instead of sitting in your bedroom all alone.”

Evy crooked her eyebrow. “You think that this encounter went well?”

“You are still alive and here. If he hadn’t liked you or your intentions you wouldn’t be with me anymore, trust me.”

Evy froze in her spot. “You mean that he did actually kill someone because he didn’t like him?”

Roxanne pushed her a bit forward and whispered. “He didn’t kill him because he didn’t like him. Roan killed him because he betrayed our kind. But as for killing, I believe when he was in the camps captured by the mors Roan was forced to do far worse than only killing. But this is neither the place nor time to