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ChapterOne
Beorn
The idea of being in love is not even a thought anymore because I truly believe that the Moon Goddess has forsaken me. We’re not supposed to lose the one that we love, the person who brought us out of our darkest days and saved us from a certain doom. We were happy. I was finally happy. I found the one person who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and I didn’t care what anybody else thought. All I could do was crave her and then, she was ripped out of my arms. She died there all because I wasn’t there to save her.
If I hadn’t gone out because of the Clan Leader. If only I had stood by her side and knew that they would try and attack her. She was human. Although we don’t discriminate anymore, or at least try not to, there is still that one person out there who is going to make our relationship ugly. I had been a part of the Cave Runner Clan, and I was my Clan Leader’s right-hand man. I looked up to him, and I believed him when he told me that she would be safe in our home. I didn’t think that the people I was supposed to trust were going to destroy everything that I loved.
She was murdered. They tore her to shreds. I felt our bond being torn at the seams and it was too late by the time I got back. I saw the bear-shifters towering over her mangled, barely recognizable body. I don’t remember what happened next, it just all went black. When I came to it, I was in the dungeon, chained to the wall. According to the doctor, I had gone crazy and killed everyone who had hurt my mate. The Clan Leader had to subdue me, and they are deciding my fate.
It irritated me a little bit because there’s no reason that MY fate should be in the balance right now. It should be in the hands of the bastards who killed MY mate, and I don’t regret getting rid of them. The only thing that I regret is it didn’t happen sooner. I should have taken her far away when I saw how people were looking at her but killing someone’s mate… It is forbidden.
I made that clear when I stood on trial. I kept my head high and I didn’t care that I saw crying people in the crowd from the shifters that I killed. I didn’t regret it. I didn’t want them to think that killing my mate had been the okay thing because I would have done it again. They tore her from me just because she was human. We’re not even that conservative of a pack…
Then, the truth came out.
Because I was the right-hand man, I was producing an heir before the Clan Leader would have. I didn’t even know my mate was pregnant but as soon as it was found out, they disposed of her. It made me sick and nauseated when I learned it was the Clan Leader’s jealousy that made me lose my mate. I had never done anything to him, and I thought that he was my friend. I thought that he was the person who was supposed to have my back.
I was so wrong.
They told me that I could stay in the Clan, it wasn’t my fault. I saw how people looked at me though because I killed ‘good’ people who were only following orders. I didn’t care. Anyone who could just do that because they are ordered to should be dead. I ran away, far away from that place, and I now live in the woods as a Rogue. I built my own cabin, making a place for myself. I chased off other Rogues who had come too close, protecting the place that I had held dear. I made a memorial for my beautiful mate, and I promise her that one day, I will see her again.
No one can replace her.
I don’t even care about falling in love… And that’s when I smell the blood.
I freeze, tilting my head into the air as I walk around in my bear form. I’m big, a grizzly bear, and I have no problem defending myself. Sometimes I come across injured prey who had managed to get away just to fall into my hands. It doesn’t smell like prey though, making me a bit curious because nothing has drawn me in like this in a long time…
I just follow the trail.
It takes me a little way away from my cabin, nearing the border of one of the neighboring pack lands. I thought that it might be one of them but that’s when I saw her. I come to a sudden stop when I see the fiery mess of red hair, a thin but curvy woman lying on the ground. Her skin is very pale, and she is covered in blood and wounds. I thought for a minute that she might be dead but the slow, uneven rising of her chest proves me wrong.
I don’t feel the pain as I shift back into my human form, not caring about my naked body. For shifters, it is pretty common to be naked even in front of others. I’ve been doing it for so long, I don’t even notice it anymore. I just don’t know why there is an injured woman, and she smells like a bear. I can’t tell if it is a bear that attacked her, or if she is a bear herself. She has passed out though due to the blood loss, so she doesn’t even budge when I lift her into my arms.
She weighs practically nothing.
A strange grumbling escapes me, maybe a growl, I’m not sure. I hugged her close to me, protecting her. Something about this woman is drawing out my protective instincts. I haven’t felt like this since my mate, and I don’t know if I like it or not. I don’t want to be worrying about someone who isn’t her, but I can’t help myself. Licking my bottom lip, I ignore my aching canines that wish to tear into the soft, tender slope of her neck as I make my way back to my cabin.
I can just get rid of her once she is healed and awake.
ChapterTwo
Cora
I didn’t think that I would be cast out of my clan just because I didn’t want to accept the mate that my family had been pushing onto her. I wanted to marry the person that I loved, hopefully my fated mate if I ever met him, but they kept telling me that it was my duty to do the right thing. I didn’t care what they had to say about it though because I’m not into arranged marriages, and it’s what they were trying to make me do. They didn’t like it and the next thing I knew; I was being attacked.
I remember their teeth sinking into my body, barely missing the sensitive parts of my body that could have killed me if they were just an inch over. It made me sick to my stomach because it was my friends and family doing this to me. I could see the sadistic smile on my prospective mate’s face, as if he was going to break me to get what he wanted. I don’t know why he doesn’t just go and find a girl that actually wants to be with him, but I guess he wanted to pick me because I come from a strong lineage, and we would create strong cubs together. Just the thought of making ANYTHING with him made me want to hurl.
Even if I wasn’t waiting for my fated mate, I would have never chosen him. He definitely wasn’t my type. I’m not interested in people who try to force others and that’s all he was trying to do for me. I loved my parents, I wanted them to be a part of my life, but I didn’t mind leaving my clan behind to save myself. I don’t remember how I had managed to free myself from their snapping jaws and swats. The next thing I knew, I was running.
I was losing blood as well and fast. I’m not sure if it is because they hit something major or if they had bitten me that many times. I wanted to cry and scream. I wanted to demand them to tell me what the hell they were thinking when they did this to me. I wanted to know why they wanted to kill me. I wanted to know what I did wrong to lose them. Did they not love me just because I didn’t conform to what they wanted? Did they not love me because I’m not perfect?
I remember entering Rogue lands which can be a dangerous place to be, but I honestly think I’ll be safer here than anywhere else. I hate being out here alone and afraid. I just want to see my mom and ask her to love me. I don’t want to mate with that rat bastard, but she won’t listen to me. I know she won’t listen to me, and I’ll just have to deal with that.
I collapsed. I know I’m on the ground staring up at the clear blue sky, wondering if this is where I’m going to die. I doubt anyone would find my body until many months later because we’re far away from any civilization for nearly fifty miles. We had to drive nearly an hour just to go and get groceries, and now I’m out here and all alone.
Goddess, what did I do wrong?
I feel the darkness around the edges, threatening to take over. I wonder if I accept the darkness, will the pain stop? Will I be in a better place? I close my eyes, deciding to rest a little bit before making a decision on what I want to do. I sigh softly, feeling the darkness overtaking me for a little bit.
