Imprisoned at Werewolf Keep (Werewolf Keep Trilogy) Read Online Free Page B

great oak monstrosity that would have turned away an army with ease, was suddenly thrown open as their carriage came to a standstill. As she watched from the carriage window, a blond young man charged across the threshold and raced down the stairs toward them. He threw the carriage door open and lunged in, grabbing Fidelia roughly by the arm.
    'You a re late. You should have been here yesterday. What damage did you cause because of your wilfulness?' The demand was delivered with such fury that Fidelia felt herself becoming light-headed with terror. This man meant her harm, she could feel the violence rippling off him in waves. But why? What had she done to deserve this treatment?
    Struggling to bre ak the iron grip on her upper arm, Fidelia whimpered, unable to find words to plead for her release. Then she found herself being dragged out of the carriage and up the icy stone stairs, her heavy black skirts causing her to almost trip and fall on the treacherous surface. Only the man’s strong grip kept her upright.
    She could hear the b leating protests of Maude behind her in the carriage. And though the coachman yelled after them, he was neither quick nor motivated enough to reach them before the young man thrust her over the threshold into the Keep.
    'Please, I do not understand what you are talking about. I think you have me mixed up with someone else.' Breathlessly, she tried to stop their headlong dash with words drawn from some braver part of herself. But neither her softly voiced pleading, nor her struggles seemed to make any difference to the madman.
    'Your father sent word that you had become difficult and refused to come willingly. How could you risk another death, maybe more, just to keep your comforts? Such selfishness is tantamount to murder, you selfish little chit,' he berated her as he continued dragging her further into the huge entry hall.
    He was not a particularly tall man, but he was broad shouldered. And from the strength he displayed, Fidelia guessed that he was all muscle beneath his immaculate breeches and simple white shirt. His fashionably long blonde hair fell in waves around his clean-shaven face. She supposed he would be considered handsome, when he wasn’t scowling like the devil himself. His features were certainly cut in classic lines and his bright blue eyes could only be called arresting.
    'J asper, unhand that woman!'
    A s Fidelia skidded across the polished stone floors of the entry hall, Maude’s screaming only added to her own fear and confusion. The sound of her friend's voice was like a lighthouse in a storm. She saw Philomena striding down a curving stone staircase toward them.
    The man called Jasper stopped in his tracks and looked in Phil's direct ion. He visibly blanched, but didn't let go of Fidelia's arm.
    'She should have been here yesterday. Who knows wh at mayhem she caused last night!'
    Phil’s face was flushed and apprehensive.
    'Let her go , Jasper. She is not who you think she is,' Phil said breathlessly, scrambling down the last of the stairs to face the madman.
    Now that help was at hand, Fidel ia felt her panic ebb, and she had a better chance to take in her surroundings and the man who had so effectively manhandled her.
    Phil was quite tall and statuesque for a woman. Fidelia had always felt tiny and insignificant beside her. Today, she stood nose to nose with the marginally taller madman, casually dressed in green velvet that perfectly suited her coppery hair and golden brown eyes. Those eyes were flashing dangerously at that moment, like a lioness protecting her cub.
    Although Jasper was mere inches taller than her friend, the breadth of his shoulders and his barrel chest made him far more imposing. If he’d chosen to, he could have knocked Phil out of the way with one sweep of his arm. For such a strong man to have such finely chiselled, sensitive features was an anomaly. In some ways he reminded her of the Keep itself: A strange mismatch of pieces thrown together