His Pale Prisoner

By Celeste Hall

Alana loves the beautiful ranch that her father has built along the edge of the western frontier, but she never considered the cost. She only comes to understand the depth of bloodshed that made her father’s dream a reality, when she finds herself at the mercy of the land’s former residents.

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Excerpt:

Viho's strong arms closed around her, pulling her tightly against his body.
Her forehead fell against his chest as she took several deep breaths, trying to end the fearful spinning of the room.
Yet as soon as the room stopped revolving her body began to tremble. Not from the terrible weakness that threatened to consume her, but from the feel of Viho's body so close to her own.
Wasn't this exactly what she'd wondered about? So often considering what it would be like to feel his arms gently holding her against him.
She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling every inch of her body burned by his touch.
Beneath her palms she could feel the steady beat of his heart, and opening her eyes she looked at her hands in surprise. His heartbeat was as powerful as the rest of him, forcibly striking her palm through the solid muscles that surrounded it, and much faster than she might have expected it to be.
Was he as affected by their embrace as she was herself?
Her own heart was beating like the wings of a dove against the prison of her ribs, the trembling in her body increasing as she wondered whether Viho could hear its erratic thunder.
Feeling his gaze upon her face, she timidly lifted her eyes to meet his, and felt her knees buckle beneath her. Never had she seen such intensity in his countenance.
Those frighteningly dark eyes slowly fell to rest upon her lips, and Alana felt her breath catch in her throat.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Celeste Hall
• Release date: Feb 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465788979

Celeste Hall

Celeste Hall is a passionate writer of paranormal and erotic romance with over twenty-five titles to her credit, including Beware of Wolves, the Kitty Coven series, and her ultra-sexy Seduction series. If you're looking for a sizzling escape from the pressures of a long day, her alpha hero incubi will make you purr.Celeste believes that a great book can do more than offer an afternoon's pleasure, it can change your life. She is absolutely addicted to happy endings. Her favorite stories will often include elements of the paranormal or fantastical, but they will always have a romantic heart.When not writing, Celeste enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors. She also enjoys photography, graphic design, a variety of artistic mediums, gardening, horseback riding and geeking out online - especially on Facebook.You can find a full list of her books by visiting: CelesteHall.com.

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His Pale Prisoner

By Celeste Hall

His Pale Prisoner

Copyright © 2012 by Celeste Hall

Smashwords Edition.

All rights reserved.

Smashwords License Notes:

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Dedication

I grew up in Arizona with access to wonderful monuments like the Canyon de Chelly. I loved imagining what it might have been like to live in one of those ancient cliff houses and they were a great inspiration in the writing of this book. For that reason, I’m dedicating this story to the people of Ancient America, the true survivors and settlers of this amazing country.

Chapter One

The sky was getting darker, but Alana couldn’t bring herself to leave the meadow.

It was so much cooler then down in the valley, especially now that the hot summer sun had at last fallen behind the mountainside.

Lying back in the lush grass that carpeted the meadow floor, she stared up into the evening sky.

Yes, it was much more peaceful here. She could almost forget the trouble that was threatening to destroy her father’s cattle empire.

Almost.

With a rueful sigh, she sat up.

If only her father would fire Jed.

The man was reputed to have been a thief and a gunslinger. Jed claimed to have retired from his wild ways after a near brush with a hangman’s noose, but Alana wasn’t sure she believed that.

She suspected he was the man rustling cattle of the ranch, but for some reason her father hadn’t done anything about it.

In the last year the rustling had become so bad, even Alana could see a difference in the size of the herds.

Yet still her father did not act.

Even more frightening to her, was the way that Jed had recently begun looking at her. As if he could see right through the material of her gingham dress.

Then this morning…

Alana shuddered, drawing her arms around herself.

He had cornered her in the stable while she was brushing down one of the saddle horses.

Leaning against the wall of the horse’s stall, he watched her for a moment, his eyes lingering on the soft rise of her breasts.

You’re shore a fine lookin’ woman, he drawled softly. It seems an awful shame to waste your caress on that horse.

She had ducked her head to hide the sudden flush of indignation in her cheeks, and pretended not to have heard him. As quickly as she could she had finished grooming the gelding, and then escaped into the house.

With another shiver, she stood and plucked a leaf off from a nearby tree. Rolling it between her fingers she started walking back down the path that would lead her home.

From somewhere down near the lake, a frog was starting to chirp, and a chorus of crickets soon joined the symphony.

It was getting late. Her father would be missing her. With a heavy sigh, she dropped the leaf and quickened her pace.

As she rounded a large boulder in the path, she heard a horse whicker nearby.

Had her father sent someone to find her?

Her breath caught in her throat.

What if it were Jed? What if he had noticed her absence and come looking for her?

Fear of being caught alone by the man, far from the safety of her father or the other ranch hands, made her heart pound fearfully.

Grabbing up two handfuls of dress skirt, she lifted it high enough to keep from tripping on it and started to run down the path.

There was no sound of pursuit.

Reaching another small opening in the trees, she looked down at the ranch below, straining to see if Jed’s tall bay gelding was still in the corral.

It was gone!

No wait… To her consolation she could see it standing near the front gate, saddled and waiting for its rider.

Alana was so giddy with relief she actually laughed. But the sound was strangled into silence as a powerful arm abruptly tightened around her chest, pinning her arms to her side even as a huge hand clapped over her mouth.

For a moment she was too stunned to respond. Her brain was trying to register what was happening to her.

Fear rushed in. It flooded over her in one terrifying wave after another.

It couldn’t be Jed! It couldn’t be! Her brain screamed over and over, even as she began to feel light headed for lack of air.

She could hardly breathe due to the massive palm covering her mouth and nose, as well as the iron grip around her chest.

The soothing sounds of the forest were gone, replaced by the sound of blood pounding in her ears.

This can’t be happening, she thought, but just as quickly she was aware that she was moving. Whoever was holding her must be a very tall man, for her feet could not touch the earth!

A twig slapped her face, just missing her eye, but she was so terrified she scarcely felt its scratch.

Where was he taking her?

Another wave of terror struck her as she thought of what possible motives the man must have.

She recalled seeing the younger ranch stallion viciously biting and savaging one of the mares, before taking her neck in his teeth and mounting her.

The memory brought a new fear into body, causing her to shake so violently she knew that if the arm were to release her now she would have collapsed to the ground.

But her captor’s grip did not lesson as he carried her further into the trees.

Just as she thought she might lose consciousness her feet once more touched earth, and the grip around her chest loosened slightly.

She reached up to pull the arm away, but as she did so, a shadow separated itself from a nearby tree and came toward her.

As the dark figure stepped closer, the last flicker of evening light caught his face.

A scream caught in her throat as Alana instinctively shrank backwards, crashing forcefully into the rock solid chest of the man behind her.

Panic overwhelmed her. For the man before her…was an Indian.

Her eyes widened in horror as more shadows emerged from the trees.

She was surrounded!

Then came hot breath on her neck.

Be still or I will kill you.

Her thoughts stumbled over one another.

Fear of the savages before her warped itself into an overwhelming terror of the man now holding her.

A small whimper was torn from her throat as he jerked her more firmly against him.

Do you understand? He snarled. Any attempt to run…and you are dead!

She could not reply. So great was her fear, she was incapable of response.

The savages were coming closer. One of them plucked at the small golden chain around her neck.

She shuddered violently at the touch, and felt the arm about her chest tighten so that she could scarcely breathe.

Then one of them spoke, but it was in a language she could not understand.

Her captor grunted a reply and she was jerked around to face him.

By the dim light of the rising moon now cast through the trees, she was able to glimpse his bare chest with a strange symbol painted over one breast.

In her eyes it was the mark of a demon…all that was evil. She was looking into the face of her death and it was a gruesome sight.

The savage spoke again, and to her ears it was a death sentence.

They would not allow her to live.

She had seen the viciousness of their race, their lust for the blood of others.

Despite her effort to deny them, her thoughts fell backwards into the nightmares of her past. Memories she’d long ago forgotten, filled with smoke and screaming.

In her mind she was watching in numb horror as a bare skinned savage reached down to expertly remove the skin from the top of a dead man’s head.

Then her father was at her side, lifting her off the ground and throwing her into the back of a wagon.

She heard her mother’s voice, and could see her running towards them.

Her father reached out his arm to her, but another arm was faster.

A screeching demon emerged from the smoke behind Alana’s mother, horse and rider merging into one heinous monster!

Her mother’s scream is echoed by Alana’s own childish voice, as she witnessed the older woman’s fall beneath those thundering hooves, a knife protruding from her back.

From somewhere behind Alana she hears her father’s voice. The raw grief and horror in the sound he makes sends terror through Alana’s small body.

With a scream of agony and rage, her father lunged after the horseman. But Alana immediately screamed for him to return, terrified of being left alone.

Her father’s face is a mask of pain and indecision as he turns to look at his child.

Alana cries for him again, holding her arms out in supplication.

The smell of smoke is filling her nostrils. The screams of the dying are filling her ears. And sheer panic now fills her young soul.

At last Alana’s father turns and jumps into the wagon. Lifting the reins, he slaps them against the backs of the four frightened horses, and the wagon lurches forward.

Alana is knocked to her knees by the sudden motion of the wagon but manages to twist around and look back at the fallen body of her mother.

Mommy!

Why was her father leaving her mother behind?

Mommy!

Alana’s childish voice was lost in the sounds of death and agony surrounding her, yet she continued to cry for her mother, even as the light of the fires and the sounds of the massacre faded behind them into the night.

As the images flooded through her, Alana became that frightened child once more, surrounded by the demons of her nightmare.

Fear made her weak, but the burly fist in her hair kept her from falling.

Who are you? The savage holding her asked coldly and Alana blinked in surprise.

To hear English words coming from his mouth was as frightening and overwhelming as having a ghost appear and speak.

Savages weren’t supposed to speak her language! It went against everything she’d ever believed.

Did you hear me? He demanded, I asked who you were!

The savage holding Alana jerked her back towards him.

Where do you live? He asked, varying his approach, and sudden awareness struck her.

They were a raid party!

There was now no doubt in her mind as to what these savages intended. They wished to find the ranch, murder her family, burn the buildings, and steal their horses.

She had heard of similar massacres in the area. These men must be those responsible for the tragedies.

The thought of her father lying cold on the earth with the flesh skinned from his scalp made her stomach heave.

Despite the trembling in her legs, Alana lifted her chin resolutely. She would die before she told them where they could find the ranch!

Ten miles east, across the river, she lied, and cringed as her captor suddenly laughed in her face.

You lie, he sneered. But I expected as much from one of your people.

Alana felt her face flush with indignation, but it was just as quickly swallowed by fear.

He already knew where she lived. She wasn’t fooling anyone but herself by hoping it was otherwise.

She had to warn her father!

Without thought for the danger to herself…she bolted.

Oh, but she should have known.

He was upon her instantly. Grabbing her around the waist and toppling her to the ground.

She tried to scream, but he rolled her over and clapped a hand over her mouth. The weight of his body crushed the air from her lungs, yet she refused to surrender to him.

Catching a handful of his shoulder length hair, she jerked his head backward and used her free hand to dig her nails into the powerful muscle in his arms.

She was rewarded by a grunt of surprise, then a slap across the face so hard it made lights explode before her eyes.

Instantly her body fell limp.

Without giving her time to recover, he jerked her to her feet and dragged her back to his companions.

I should kill you now and save myself the trouble you might cause, he snarled, but Alana sensed there was something more behind his actions. Something that was restraining him from murdering her.

Go back to hell, savage! She spat fiercely, and then gasped in fear as he jerked her up against him.

She braced her hands against his chest and felt the hard hot flesh beneath them.

With her head fallen forward and hair in her face could not see his eyes, but judging from the tremble in his body, she knew that he was raging.

Never had she felt such intense hatred from anyone. It was like a tangible fog filling the air around him.

She had the feeling that she was witnessing a personal battle within him, as he struggled to refrain from tearing her apart with his bare hands.

At last he seemed to regain some control over himself, and motioned to one of the men behind her.

Alana felt her back tense in preparation for the knife she expected, but instead her wrists were jerked behind her and tied together.

She bit her lip to keep from pleading for freedom, for she knew they would not give it to her, and she would only further secure their contempt.

There was a sound from her left as horses were led out of the trees.

They were small, scrawny looking animals, not the powerful ranch bred horses that she was accustomed to.

In truth, she was amazed these half starved beasts could carry the weight of a man, but even as she watched the savages swung up onto their bare backs.

Alana felt a rush of hope as she realized they had only enough horses to carry themselves and not an extra mount for her. Perhaps they would only leave her tied and alone in the woods?

If they did, she was sure she could somehow cut the rope that bound her and find her way back to the ranch before they reached it.

But her hopes were dashed to pieces as their savage leader reached down and jerked her up into his lap.

Let me go! She screamed, but his hand immediately clamped over her mouth and she felt the cold steel of his knife press against her throat.

Her body froze, her mouth going dry at the sensation of imminent death that hovered so near.

His breath touched her ear.

Enough! If you try to escape, I will kill you. If you try to yell for help, I will kill you. If you so much as speak without being spoken to, I will kill you.

Alana swallowed a whimper of desperation before it had a chance to be heard. She could not allow him to carry her away. If she did, she would never see her father