Freeing a Tiger's Soul (Tiger Series)
Read Freeing a Tiger's Soul (Tiger Series) Online
Authors: Amanda Anderson
Other Works by this Author
The Tiger Series
The Tiger Within (Book 1)
Highland Tigress (Book 2)
Captive Tigress (Book 3)
Stripes (Anthology Containing Books 1-3)
Full length Novels
Christina’s Chance
Mystery Lover
A Beautifully Normal Life
In Love With The Wrong Cowboy
Reclaiming Life
Novellas
Samantha’s Choice
Redemption of a Soiled Dove
Taming a Montana Maverick
One Good Cowboy
Vengeance
Saving a Tiger’s Heart
¦¦¦
Amanda Anderson
All rights reserved, except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of copyrighted material is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
This book is a work of fiction and any similarities to persons living or dead is completely coincidental and not intended by the author.
ISBN-13:
ISBN-10:
Cover image by
Prologue
“Shite!” Euan
MacT
ern
jerked back
from the warm
, willing
woman in front of him
as if he had been burned.
His heart sped up and then he felt like it would stop.
“What is the matter with ye then?” Evan raised his h
ead from the lass he was tasting and looked to his horrified brother.
The wench groaned when Evan’s lips left her breast, but he ignored her protest and looked to his brother who was kneeling between her plump thighs.
“It…it just… what has happened to me Evan?
Look at me! I’m as limp as rag!
I was ready to plunge into the wench and then this!
”
Euan was staring at his very disinterested member in horror.
Evan snickered
.
“Well, lass it looks like ye’ll have to settle for just the one of us tonight. My brother seems to have lost interest in this sort of sport.”
“Like hell I have!” Euan insisted as the lass raised her
dark
head and stared with wide eyes at Euan’s useless manhood.
“Aye Euan are ye ill then? I’ve never seen ye like that. It seems you’re always ready for a little fun.”
She started to sit up. “Would ye like for me to try to awaken ye then?”
She said concerned. She had shared a bed with the brothers on numerous nights and this was the first time either of them was unable to satisfy her.
She was one of the few human women in the keep and she enjoyed the tigers
’
lusty appetites. She hoped that whatever ailed Euan was not contagious.
“Keep quiet Annie. I don’t know what is wrong with my brother, but ye can be sure ye’ll not be left wanting.
I have plenty of time to see to yer needs.
”
Evan buried his face in Annie’s ample bosom and s
ucked noisily on one rosy tip
.
“Go on with ye then Euan. Let me take care of the lass. I’ll come talk to ye when I am through.” Evan’s muffled words came from between Annie’s breasts.
Euan was pale as he dressed
, to the sound of his brother’s loud grunts,
and made his way to his chamber.
What could be wrong with him?
Could he be ill? He had heard that men suffered this malady when his mate was born, but it didn’t feel right to him.
He had listened intently when the others spoke of the sensation that attacked them when a mate was conceived or born. Both were extremely joyous feelings of warmth and love. This felt cold and dark. Could his mate have been taken from him somehow without him having knowledge of her existence? He felt as if he were losing his very soul in the darkness that threatened his mind.
The sounds of merriment drifted to him from the Hall and he wanted to scream in rage.
Word had come to the keep that Liam’
s sister was found and sure to be
rescued after two years of imprisonment. The Laird
along with his mate and second, along with a company of warriors,
were on their way to Stewart castle to meet with Eva and her mate Darren when they arrived.
Liam had asked Evan, Euan, and Balor to stay behind and keep his castle in order until he returned.
There had been no word to the success of the rescue, but Liam’s people were optimistic.
The
festivities had lasted for two
week
s
now and Euan had
heard it said that they would last until the rescue was confirmed.
Euan had enjoyed the marry making
along with the others, until tonight.
Now he just wanted them over. He wanted to resume a normal routine again.
He stopped when a
sharp pain pierced his mind and threatened his very soul. The
sudden pressure settled upon him and he could no longer take in enough air. He stumbled and fell and the world turned black.
1
Fifteen years later
Euan sat in front of his little hut and listened to the stream as it gurgled over the smooth stones on its bottom. He breathed in the fresh spring air and tried to clear his mind of all of the turmoil that seemed to over whelm him at times.
He leaned his head against the tree at his back and let the brilliant morning sun warm his face. His now dark hair brushed his shoulders as the slight breeze floated through the air.
This little glad
e
had been his home for many years now.
He had moved away from McNeal Castle as soon as he heard of Eva’s safe return to her family and the birth of Liam’s daughter.
The strange darkness that
had taken him had kept him captive for days. He had awakened to a fearful Evan and tried to remember what had happened. The only memory he had of the night of his collapse was that of a darkness that was all-encompassing and inescapable.
His life had altered that day
. His appearance had been forever stained dark. His hair was now a deep black with only a flicker of its former fiery hue.
The fear and the pain of the darkness had stripped him of his joy
and he had been unable to regain his usual carefree manner. The pressure of the darkness rode heavily on his mind until he was unable to function in society.
He knew that it had grieved Evan when he left the confines of the keep, but he simply could not remain within the walls any longer. He felt an urgency that he did not understand and he could not discern from where it came. Often he felt as if his very soul cried out to him from just beyond the next rise,
that if he could only find what he sought that the darkness would leave him,
but he was never able to find it. He had searched until he had given up
. Now
,
he spent his days in solitude beside the little stream near Liam’s keep and yet far enough away for him to remain alone for the most part.
He hunted for his food and washed in the stream. He kept his life simple in order to remain sane.
He allowed visitors
from time to time
. His brother came often as well as his other friends, but he no longer shared the camaraderie he once had with them. He had even lost the clo
seness he had once shared with the
brother
whom he had shared a womb with
. It grieved him, but he was unable to maintain the bond with so much darkness encasing his mind.
He was afraid it would taint the others and bring misery upon them as well. He did not understand his affliction and therefore was unwilling to expose others to it.
He could feel no joy in anything. No creature or gift could break through his dreary pain.
He had even been unable to go into the keep to see the new
bairns that were born to his people
and he felt shame in knowing he cared not at all for them
. He felt disconnected from them as if he was no longer a part of his own race.
Euan took a long breath and tried to let it out slowly. There were days when he wanted to lay down and never open his eyes again.
He was jolted from his bleak thoughts when and arrow struck the ground next to one booted foot. He stared at it for a moment before he jumped to his feet and unsheathed his enormous sword.
Rage poured into his blood and made his voice fierce when he spoke.
“Who are ye and what do ye want?” He said in a loud voice.
He heard nothing but a tinkling laughter that made his heart almost burst with joy.
He had felt nothing for so long that he did not recognize the emotion for a moment.
He was utterly lost for words
and he only stood like a stone as a lilting voice drifted to him on the breeze.
“I am your destiny and your hope, but you no longer seek me.”
Euan fell to his knees as tears
oozed from his dark brown eyes.
“I sought ye for so long and ye have evaded me. Why did ye not want to come to me? Why was I made to suffer so?”
He buried his face in his hands and the voice came to him again, this time it was thick with regret.
“To us the time has passed quickly. I did not realize you had suffered so great in that time.
I had to grow and wait for the right time to come.
I beg you to forgive me.”
The voice was close now, but Euan was afraid to look up and find that it had only been in his mind. He kept his head bent and his eyes closed tightly.
“Do you not wish to look upon me? I have wanted you to see me for so long. I am here with you now. My father has released me and I have come to you. I am of age to be what you require me to be. Won’t you even look at me?”
“I can
not. If I look to find that ye
are not truly there I will lose my grasp on my mind and be daft till the end of time.”
Euan felt a small hand graze his shoulder and he shivered with the force of his desire that suddenly returned to him.
He felt warm breath on his face as she leaned down to whisper in his ear.
“I am here and I will not leave you again until the sun has gone dark for all time.”
His eyes jerked up and he looked into the
radiant
face of his future.
His breath stilled in his chest as he beheld the beauty of the creature that stood before him. She was not a tiger, but not a human either. She held a strength and purity that shown as she smiled timidly down at him.
“Is there nothing you have to say to me
great warrior
and keeper of my heart
?”
“What is your name?”
Her blue eyes widened for a moment and then she decided to tell him all he wanted to know. Only then would he be able to accept her or deny her as he saw fit.