The Diamond Heartstone Read Online Free

fog,
    the feeling faded.
    The pain in his heart was no longer all consuming. The deeper he
    stepped into this new forest, the more he could feel her. She was here. In
    this place. He must find her.
    He ran through the forest, picked up her scent, and lost it. Then he
    saw her. Sitting on a foreign form of transport. The machine roared almost
    like an animal.
    He sat low in the high grass, watching her. He’d traveled all around
    the universe and had seen all types of beings. But nothing like the caramel
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    The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

    brown of her skin. It was so indulgent, so rich. Her waist length black hair
    was just an added jewel. She was a treasure. One he fully intended on
    claiming for himself.
    She stumbled over to a small pool of water and immersed her arms.
    Was she bathing? He surveyed the pool. She was alone. Take her now. Take
    her now.
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    The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

Chapter Four
    She hadn’t been paying a lot of attention. Not until she heard the
    leaves crunching. The GPS hadn’t shown any cats nearby but the hair on
    the nape of her neck was standing on end. She could swear that there was
    one in the tall yellowed grass to her left. She didn’t chance a look over to
    make sure. If it was a male, he might take the direct eye contact as a form of
    aggression.
    Her bike wasn’t that far away but, counting the time it was going to
    take to start the thing, she wouldn’t make it. But what was the other
    alternative? Stay here and be dinner? Not freaking likely.
    Alycia took a breath, hoping to slow down her thundering heart.
    One . She darted a quick look over into the grass. It shifted. There was
    definitely something there. Two . She bent down towards the water again.
    Three . She pivoted and took off in the direction of her ATV.
    She was almost there but something was right on her heels. She
    yanked the key from the lanyard around her neck. Jumping on the bike,
    she jammed the key into the switch and turned it on. The motor roaring to
    life didn’t drown out the sound of the tiger’s roar.
    With a small squeeze of the handlebars, the bike jerked forward. She
    raised her head in time to see the tiger launch at her. Her hands
    instinctively flew up to protect her face. It hit her squarely in the chest,
    knocking her onto the ground. The air whooshed from her lungs and her
    head bounced on the ground.
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    The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

    Barrick was careful not to land on his mate. She was beautiful. Well,
    once you got beyond the fact that she didn’t have any fur. Her skin was
    more the color of pure Belusian Cream, the rarest delicacy on his world.
    Would she be as sweet?
    He needed to carry her out of this place. He could hear the roar of
    several animals nearby but none sounded familiar. His body pulsed with
    the need to change but it refused to obey. He sat there over her prone body
    trying again and again to change but nothing happened.
    It was that damned mist. It had to be. Once he got free from it, they
    would be safer. He bent over her prone body and carefully clamped his
    jaws on her shoulder. He didn’t want to risk marring her face.
    ‚Uhhh...‛ she moaned.
    He had no illusions that if she woke, he would be fighting to get her
    onto his ship. He dragged her through the tall grass and to the barrier of
    mist. Again as he stepped through it, he felt his body shift again. Once
    free, he tried to shift again. This time it worked. The fur along his arms and
    legs retracted. He lowered her to the ground.
    The bones in his hands cracked and popped as they shrank. Soon
    his paws looked like normal hands. He looked around but the mist was
    gone. The only thing surrounding them was the lush green and red forest
    he’d run through his entire life.
    ‚What the hell is...‛ She leaned up into a sitting position. Her gaze
    swung up to meet his. She stopped talking and scrambled away from him.
    ‚No, you don’t.‛ He stalked forward and wrapped an arm