Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Weakness invaded my limbs, and my knees buckled. I crashed onto the floor. Heat engulfed every inch of me, so much worse than before. Despite being on my back, dizziness struck full force, but not before I caught a glint of a blade.
No! No, no, no. This wasn’t the end. I wasn’t ready to die, had too much to do. Needed another hug from my mother. To tell Mirren and Thora goodbye. To save Callen.
With fury warping her—my—features, Sorcha struck. Paralyzed by the drug, I could only brace myself, waiting for pain. Death. But…
Nothing.
She missed? I struggled to focus and realized she watched something over her shoulder. Another realization came. She waited for Callen. Wanted to be caught in the act of attempting to murder me. No way she’d risk losing the body she would soon inhabit.
I fought wave after wave of fatigue, darkness, and the shadows constricting my vision. The battle paid off! As she refocused on me, as if ready to deliver the blow, a huge presence whooshed up behind her. A man. He clasped her wrist, stopping her fake strike.
Callen.
My husband’s face shimmered before me, his eyes alight with azure rings. A full berserkerage?
Don’t fall asleep! Too late. The threatening darkness finally snared me in its irresistible web.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Bye-bye Berserker Blues: When Finding Love Means Dodging Battle Axes
From A Beginner’s Guide to Berserker Bliss
Author Unknown
Moaning, I blinked open my eyes. My head swam and ached, my temples throbbing. Confusion sprouted as I took stock of my surroundings. A room. Spacious but sparse. The only pieces of furniture were a bed and an uncushioned chair.
I eased up, and chains rattled. Chains? I frowned as my gaze followed the link of metal to a cuff secured to my left wrist. Shock jolted me, unleashing memories that crashed into my thoughts like mini-wrecking balls. Being set up and locked in a secret passage. Escaping and running into Sorcha, who had taken control of my body. Fighting. Pain.
Callen.
My heart raced as I looked myself over. Oh my goodness! I was me again. Elizabeth. No more pale skin and freckles. No wedding ring on my finger. My dad’s coin ring hung from my neck.
Joy and regret clashed, but they couldn’t override my confusion. Shouldn’t I be dead? Callen had been worked into a rage. Yes? Had Sorcha calmed him? Or had I?
I must have. Why else would I be alive? A miracle! Except, he couldn’t have known where the calm had come from. From his viewpoint, I’d attempted to murder his fated. The surest way to provoke a berserker to deliver your end.
I yanked at the chain, but it held steady.
“You can’t free yourself. The metal is rasensteel, which is reinforced to hold a sentinel lost in rage.”
Callen’s rich baritone hit my ears, and I threw my gaze across the room. He stood in the open doorway, so beautiful he made my eyes water. In an off-white cable-knit sweater and slacks, he appeared warm and relaxed. But his icy blue eyes told a different story. Had he taken the gelu root?
He strode into the room. Thora ran in behind him just before a guard shut the door, sealing us inside. She made a beeline for me, jumping onto the bed as if she knew who I was despite my new face. Overcome with gratitude, I scooped her into my arms, burying my face in her soft fur. A familiar tickle erupted in my nose, and I sneezed. Then I sneezed again. And again.
No, no, no. I’d missed the precious canine too much and longed to cuddle. If I maintained contact, however, I would break out in welts and stop breathing.
“I love you, baby girl, but I can’t hold you right now,” I rasped, releasing her on the floor. She perched at my feet. Good enough for now.
Callen eased into the chair with the grace of a man assured of his power. “I will ask you questions, and you’ll answer truthfully. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said with a tremor in my voice. He didn’t know me, but I knew him and comprehended his ruthlessness with those who weren’t Isobel Bruce.
“You snuck into my home and tried to murder my wife. Why?”
I swiped my tongue over my lips. “I didn’t.” Azure rings appeared and crackled in his irises, but I continued anyway. “Isobel switched places with me, then Sorcha, who was Mackenzie, who switched places with Isobel before switching places with me.” What a tangle! “Give me a chance to prove it.” There were memories only I knew.
He worked his jaw, but there was no ring twisting, dang it. The bottom dropped out of my stomach when he stood, picked up the chair, and carried it closer to me. As he sat, his legs caged mine. My breath hitched, his incredible scent enveloping me, reminding me of sweeter moments we’d shared.