Marked by the Beast: Beastmen of Shadowmere, #1

By Jaide Fox

Lord Conrad held her captive, but he would never possess her heart….

Living under a curse, Ashanti had little to lose but everything to gain by freeing the exotic beastman held prisoner by Lord Conrad’s depravity.  But she did not anticipate the unbidden desire Blasien aroused in her when in his presence, nor did she expect her untamed captive would soon become her master....

She would belong to the powerful shapeshifter: mind, body, and soul….

RATING: Highly sensuous and not for the faint of heart or easily offended. Fantasy Romance.  Length: 40k+.  Previously released as Untamed.  Undergone extensive re-edits and expansion for reissue.

"Four Stars! …another thrilling romantic by author Jaide Fox, who truly knows how to weave fantastic tales of other worlds and creatures that will capture your imagination as surely as it will capture your heart. An exciting and erotic novella that will have you on the edge of your seat." Historical Romance Bookclub 

"Four & 1/2 Stars! I found this tale enchanting and very sexy. I long to know more about the people of Shadowmere that were mentioned in this tale and hope there will be more stories forthcoming! I found the characters very well rounded including the supporting characters and the story itself was truly amazing." Scribes World Reviews

"Four Stars! This is a very fast-paced story that grabbed my attention from the first page and held it through the last. I definitely recommend this story to all lovers of paranormal erotica." Timeless Tales Book Reviews

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrea DePasture
• Release date: Jul 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536579543

Book preview

Shadowmere Book One

MARKED BY THE BEAST

Jaide Fox

Copyright 2012 by Jaide Fox

Cover art by Eliza Black, © copyright October 2012

www.jaidefoxbooks.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Other titles by Jaide Fox:

Beastmen of Shadowmere 1: Marked by the Beast (Interracial Fantasy Romance)

Beastmen of Shadowmere 2: Seduced by the Beast (Interracial Fantasy Romance)

Beastmen of Shadowmere 3: Conquered by the Beast (Interracial Fantasy Romance)

Dark Lords 1: Captured by the Dark Lord (Dark Fantasy Romance)

Dark Lords 2: Seized by the Vampire Lord (Dark Fantasy Romance)

Dark Lords 3: Ensnared by the Dream Lord (Dark Fantasy Romance)

Captured by Aliens 1: Alien’s Captive (Interracial Futuristic Romance)

Captured by Aliens 2: Alien Insurgence (Interracial Futuristic Romance)

Captured by Aliens 3: Alien Intent (Interracial Futuristic Romance—Coming Soon)

Interstellar Mayhem 1: StarCaught (Futuristic Romance)

Interstellar Mayhem 2: StarRomped (Futuristic Romance)

Pleasure Masters 1: Ravaged (Futuristic Romance)

Pleasure Masters 2: Dominated (Futuristic Romance)

Pleasure Masters 3: Mastered (Futuristic Romance)

PleasureBot (Futuristic Romance)

PleasureBots (Futuristic Romance)

Summoner’s Captive (Dark Fantasy Romance)

Earth Girls Aren’t Easy (Interracial Futuristic Romance)

His Forbidden Fruit (Interracial Fantasy Romance)

Mating Rights (Interracial Fantasy Romance)

Bear Trapped (Sequel to Mating Rights) Coming Soon

Archangel (Futuristic Romance)

Renegade (Futuristic Romance—Coming Soon in TAMING THE ALPHA Box Set)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

LADY ASHANTI, WE HAVE captured a beastman. The curse that plagues you will soon be broken. Lord Conrad’s voice echoed through the marble hall as he entered, the sound of his heavy booted stride preceding him.

Astonished, Ashanti dropped the heavy, leather bound Grimoire she’d been studying, her fingers gone weak at his announcement. It landed with a dull thud on the plush carpet covering the marble, forgotten.

A smile that chilled her blood slashed across his dark, weather-worn face.

The fact that he’d done the impossible struck her momentarily dumb-founded. She stared at him blankly, chaotic thoughts assailing her as the reality of what he’d done sank in.

Ashanti returned his smile hesitantly as she rose unsteadily from the scattered pile of pillows she’d been resting on. The light golden chains of her skirt jingled softly as she moved.

She had always hated the garments Lord Conrad insisted that she wear, which were more revealing than concealing. Under other circumstances, she might have found some appeal in the jewel colored, gossamer veils and intricately wrought, golden chains that made up her costumes, but she could scarcely stomach having Lord Conrad look at her at all. The lustful gleam that entered his eyes each time he looked upon her near nakedness made her feel far more than indecent. It made her feel befouled, and yet her mind was such a jumble from his pronouncement that she was only vaguely aware of the conflicting emotions that generally assailed her in Lord Conrad’s presence.

An end to her torment!

Years had passed and no end to her predicament had been foreseen to her. She thought the end of her days would be spent here, in this accursed place.

Or would it be just the beginning? She knew he planned to claim her once the curse had been broken—if it was even possible.

How can this be? The beastpeople are forbidden to enter this land, as we are theirs. An uneasiness assailed her at the implications, and she frowned. What had he done?

Typically, the tinkling sounds of her chains drew Lord Conrad’s attention, and this time was no exception. He ran his gaze over her body, his eyes a soulless black as lust filled him as it always did. Careful to conceal her revulsion, she endured his look, pushing it to the back of her mind as she generally did. Please do not tell me you risked your men to enter Shadowmere.

Much as she despised him and her virtual imprisonment, she couldn’t abide the thought of bloodshed and endangerment so needless. She wondered how many men he’d lost to his obsessions but knew it didn’t bear thinking on.

Lord Conrad continued smiling as if she hadn’t spoken, his black eyes glittering like a serpent’s. She refrained from shivering, knowing it would not help her cause. He crossed the distance spanning them and clasped her in his arms, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that she went rigid, trying to hold herself aloof from his armor clad body. His musky smell filled her nostrils and she breathed through her mouth to avoid his familiar scent. His clammy hands smoothed over the bare skin of her waist, his clinging fingers bringing to mind leeches.

Your concern touches me, beloved. Rest assured, we were careful and not detected. He shall not be missed. I suspect he was naught more than a rogue hunter, for the condition we found him in....He was easily taken. He chuckled, his cruelty seeping out like oil, tainting her with his foulness. She wanted desperately to be free of him, to go and bathe his stench and touch from her skin.

She’d learned in the time she had been with him, however, not to allow her revulsion to show, or to let it rule her life. She knew, despite his cruelty, or perhaps because of it, that the certainty that she found him vile would not persuade him to release her. More likely it would only inspire him to torment her more, and if she allowed these feelings to dominate her, she simply could not endure her captivity. She would go mad.

Moreover, she felt a strange compulsion fill her that forced everything else to the fringes of her mind, felt, but tamed by a need even greater than the desire to escape Lord Conrad’s invasive touch.

Ashanti felt the need to see the creature that was to be sacrificed so that she might live.

She had never seen one of these creatures of legend, but it was far more than curiosity that sparked inside her and grew quickly to a desperate need to behold what few mortals had ever seen and lived to tell about.

Myth held that they were loathsome to look upon, that even when they assumed a human-like form, they appeared more monstrous than human, that only to look upon one was sometimes sufficient to drive one insane with pure terror. There were other tales, as well, that, with only a look, or touch, they could fell a powerful man....for what purpose could only be guessed, for in general they shifted and, in their beast form, slaughtered all within their path.

It was insane even to consider going near one of her own will, and yet she found that the need was near overwhelming. Perhaps because she hoped it would cleanse her of the guilt that was burgeoning inside her that the creature was to die only for the possibility that it might cure her?

Knowing it was useless to even try, yet unwilling to abandon the hope that he’d heed her, she dared to request something of him. Her voice muffled by his proximity, she said, I would like to see him. Ashanti felt him stiffen, his arms like a rigid wooden cage, trapping her.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes, his expression a mixture of suspicion, reluctance and pleasure. You are certain?

The pleasure, she understood. He seemed to suffer from an overwhelming need to brag about every accomplishment and there was little doubt in her mind that he was eager to show her his prize.

His reluctance, she might have put down to concern for her safety, but she knew him far too well by now to allow that as a real possibility. More likely his reluctance stemmed from his suspicions, but she was at a loss to fathom how her motives could be suspect, or what he thought she might do.

Perhaps he suspected that the sight of the creature might deprive her of her wits and feared he would end up with a blubbering lunatic?

The thought almost brought a smile to her lips. She suppressed the urge even as she dismissed her anxieties about his suspicions. She didn’t care what he thought, what he suspected, or how it might affect her in the future. She felt that, regardless of possible consequences, she had to see the creature.

You will take his life. I wish to see the beast who sacrifices so much for me. It was rare that she made a request of him, and she hoped this time he would oblige her wishes.

He turned to go, and she felt defeated, but then he held his arm out to her. Very well, but I warn you, ‘tis not a fair sight.

AS THEY STEPPED INTO the dungeon and the heavy wooden door closed behind them, Ashanti noticed with some relief that a small circle of light surrounded them, provided by a solitary flickering torch. A guard sat in a rickety chair just inside the dungeon that occupied the nether regions of the castle. Stout and prone to drink, he stumbled awkwardly to his feet as they entered, bobbing his head more out of fear than respect. Lord Conrad fixed him with a long, cold stare but said nothing. Instead, after that one, hard stare, he seemed to dismiss the frightened man, turning instead to pick up a torch, which he held to the one on the wall until it, too, flickered to life.

Beyond, the dungeon seemed to stretch into an eternity of darkness. Ashanti shivered, but not from the cold and damp that permeated the air, crawling across her scantily clad form like the lifeless hands of a dead lover. The place reeked of sickness, torture and death. The darkness seemed almost a tangible thing.

Without a word, apparently oblivious to her distress, Lord Conrad strode down the narrow corridor leading to the cells. Closing her mind to the possibility of other occupants, Ashanti followed him, staying close only because the heavy blackness was even more repellent than Lord Conrad’s proximity.

An odd sort of anticipation blossomed inside her as they traversed the narrow, twisted corridors that seemed to lead off in every direction with no apparent design. A part of her mind counted the paces and turns they took, an instinctual reaction rather than through conscious effort, as it flickered through her mind that it would be all too easy to become lost in this labyrinth of darkness.

She was more conscious of the tempo of her heart, which seemed to outstrip their pace. Fear? Unaccustomed activity?

She dismissed the last almost as soon as she thought it. Despite her affliction, she was not such a weakling as to become breathless and weak from so little exertion, so that her heart labored to support her.

The fear....She acknowledged she felt some, and had every right to it, all things considered, but she knew there could be no real threat or Lord Conrad would not have brought her...would not have come without men to protect them. He was not a coward, but neither was he a fool.

At any rate, it was more than just fear. It was anticipation, and it grew stronger as they progressed, more powerful, until she could not dismiss the fact that it was not altogether a product of her own mind. Something was reaching out to her, touching her in a way she had never been touched before.

She tried to dismiss those thoughts as purely fanciful imaginings, but, in her heart, she knew it was more than that. It was as if she was rushing to meet a long, lost lover.

That thought was so stunning that she stumbled and almost fell.

Lord Conrad stopped. Briefly, she thought it was because he’d heard her. Then she noticed he’d stopped before a cell and was staring fixedly at something within.

A rush of mixed emotions filled her. Almost reluctantly, she moved forward until she was standing beside him peering beyond the bars and into the dark cell.

Why is he naked? Ashanti asked, her amber gaze drawn to the creature...the man... within like a magnet despite the dimness of the barren room.

Lord Conrad blinked, as if awakening from a daze, but instead of answering, he turned and thrust the torch he held into a rusted iron brazier bolted to the wall outside the cell. The flames flickered, casting eerie shadows.

In the dappled light, she could see the trussed man who dwarfed even the large cell. His massive arms were stretched above his head and manacled with heavy chain to the damp stone. The muscles of his chest and shoulders strained in pain and the effort not to collapse, his legs spread and chained to the wall as well. Ashanti remained well away from him, the bars a barrier between them, but his size was still impressive even with the distance. He was tall—no—huge, towering above her height by at least a foot, and she was as tall as any man. Ice blond hair, like pale gold, fell past an impossibly wide chest and clung to his narrow waist, baring and hiding tantalizing bits of