Mated to the Warrior Beast
[COMPLETE] What life is left for a warrior when there is no more enemy to fight? ...He knelt before her in the posture of a soldier giving honor to their Queen. And she didn't even know it. “Harth," he rasped, "I come empty-handed. I bring no weapon. Because I swear to you, I will never choose to harm you. Never draw your blood—in anger, or in fear. I bring no shield. Because I vow I will never defend myself from your eyes, your hands, your mind. I am yours.” ***** After a year of peace in Anima, Tarkyn finds himself... lonely. As the Captain of the Queen's Guard and a lion-shifter, he has met every female in the tribes, but never found his mate. Certain he must have overlooked someone, Tarkyn undertakes a grueling ritual, pleading with the Creator to reveal her. But the ritual presses him to the end of even his formidable strength. Yet, the Creator heard his cry... Discovered on the brink of death by his mate, Harth, and nursed back to health, Tarkyn now faces the most difficult battle of his life. Because Harth isn’t just a stranger to the Anima, she is a weapon of the humans who tried to destroy them. Can the love of a warrior and his enemy bring peace to Anima? Or will they be torn apart forever by war between their peoples? ***** STANDALONE STORY: While Tarkyn's story is a part of the Anima world and fans will be reunited with some of their favorites as side-characters, Tarkyn and Harth are new POV characters and their story is a new plot arc, so their story can be enjoyed without reading the previous books! But please add Falling in Love with the King of Beasts, and Taming the Queen of Beasts to your library to enjoy later! Cover Art by artist: Aenaluck. Find more incredible art and support the artist on www.patreon.com/aenaluck
Bonded
If you like music while you read, try "Louder than a Lion" by Eisley. It's what I was listening to while writing this chapter!
*****
~ HARTH ~
She couldn't let go of him. She felt weak like a child. Not because her body couldn't fight. But because the fear was so overwhelming, she wanted nothing more than to flee.
Actually, that wasn't true. She'd fled into Tarkyn's arms because that was where she most wanted to be—curled into him, inhaling his smell, buffered from this strange world and these awful people by his arms, his strength, his will.
She could feel him—his rock-solid resolve to protect her, his certainty that he could fix this, but his rage and fear that she'd been hurt.
She hadn't been. Not really. Now that she felt a little safer, she could see that the guards had been careful with her, though it hadn't felt that way at the time. Her shoulder was a little sore, but it wasn't anything that wouldn't heal in a day, two at most.