I want to run. I want to hide. I want to do anything I can to get away from this man.But I don't want to end up killed. So, I don't move. I wait until he walks out into my sight. He’s tall with silver eyes, dark hair, and a muscular body. He's holding a bow and arrow much like the one that the alpha tried to kill Raphael with. Like the arrow I killed the alpha with.“Shift into your human form,” he orders. I don't want to turn into my human form. I feel more vulnerable in my human form. And I already feel vulnerable enough. I don't want to give this man more power over me.I also don't want to be killed right now. So, though I pause, I shift into my human form.“That's better he says. “Now, let's get out of this cave.”“Why are you doing this to me?” I ask as we march back through the cave. “Because I need to do what I need to do to survive out here” he says. “I need to make money to provide for my pack.“I am a mercenary. I take people as a bounty for the rogues. And I su
I'm running and the feeling is incredible. Adrenaline floods through my body as I try to get away.I am getting away. Or at least, I think I am. I look back and he's gaining ground, but the river is up ahead. And I know I can leap across it. I know I can get away.I move faster, feeling this strength in my muscles. I know that if he gets ahold of me, I won't get away. He's stronger, but maybe I'm faster.Adrenaline is my upper hand. He's just fighting to catch someone he can sell. I'm fighting for my life. And that motivation makes me faster. That motivation gives me strength like I've never had before.I reach the river but I don't slow down. Instead, I propel myself forward, hoping to get across the water. If I can get across the water, I can get away from him.If I fall though, I'm within his grasp. He’ll be able to do whatever he wants to me. And I don't even want to think about what will happen if the wrong person gets ahold of me.I leap. My feet leave the ground and I hope
BRIAN’S POVWhen I look at her, something strange and magical takes over completely. And I don't understand it. It's like I'm seeing her for the first time.It's like before when I saw her as just a prisoner, I was able to ignore this connection. But something has changed. Now I can't. Maybe that something was there all along. Because when I saw those wolves attacking her, I knew I had to do something. It felt like I was fighting for my own life. It felt like it was the direst situation I've ever been in.And now, I know why. This lonely, wandering, woman is my mate.No, it can't be. There's no way this person is my mate. There has to be some mistake. I don't know why I feel the way I do, but it has to be a mistake.Still, I can't look away as we stare at each other. She is just so fascinating to look at. I'm too drawn to her. I can't fight it. I can’t look away.“Do you...” Samantha starts but then cuts herself off. She has something to say but she looks reluctant to say it.
The more Brian and I talk, the more convinced I am that he's my mate. As I listen to him tell me about life in the forest, I start to understand why he loves it so much. It sounds so peaceful. It sounds like the kind of life I'd like to live.Maybe I will live that life now. If I don’t get sold of course.I don’t have a pack to go to now. I need to figure out a new way to live my life. And maybe I won't rejoin the pack. Maybe this kind of life is for me.I'm starting to think that any life with Brian is the life for me. I've never been like this before. I wasn't even like this with Rafael. But this is different. I know this man is my mate.“Do you...” I'm scared to say it. I'm scared because what if his reaction is bad? But I need to know. “Do you feel a strange connection to me? I think I feel a connection to you. I know it's strange but...”“I... I feel it too,” he whispers. “It is strange. I don't understand it. But I can't deny that I feel it too.”I can't believe it. It's al
As Brian fights the man in front of him, I free myself from my binds. They aren't tied tightly. I don't think anyone expected us to get free. I think they all thought that everyone there shared the same point of view, so this comes as a surprise to them. They don't think of us as anything more than property that can’t fend for themselves.But my fight isn't over yet. There are other people on sale here, and I'm not going to leave without them. I would never do that.So, as Brian fights the men who would like to trap us, I free those in chains. And those that get free help me free the others. Soon, everyone is fighting. Some people are fleeing. Everything disrupts into chaos.I shift into my wolf form and fight the people I can fight. But I'm exhausted. So, once the captives get away, I look at Brian.“We have to run,” I tell him. “We have to get out of here. We have to run.”Brian looks at me and I worry he'll change his mind. I worry that he'll stay and fight just because of
“I trust you,” I say.I’m not sure if I trust this rope, but I do trust Brian. And Brian seems to think that this will work. Plus, I'd rather die from a fall and have my death be quick than fall into the hands of someone who would torture me. I’d die either way anyway.“Then jump,” he says. And that’s that. Brian is running. I have no choice but to run with him. So, I take a leap of faith and I run. Together, we run to the edge of the gorge, and then we leap.It's the most terrifying thing I've ever done. It feels like leaping to my death. It feels like the worst thing imaginable. I reach out for the rope and hope that I can grab it. And I do.I grab the rope and I swing. I use my momentum to get over the gorge, and then I jump. I jump and I land on the ground.We grab a hold of the ropes before they can fall back and cut them so our pursuers can't take the same path. Then, we drop the ropes into the gorge and we walk away together.He's my mate and I'm his mate. And so
What I must do kills me. I know I have to do it. I have no other choice. But that doesn't mean I like it. And she'll never know that. She'll never know how much it'll hurt me to leave her behind.And it's for the better. It's good that she'll never know. I have to make sure she never knows. Because if she knew how strongly I felt for her, this all would be so much worse.tTe next morning, the sunrise shines on her face, reaching through the cave to illuminate her beauty. And she is beautiful. She's gorgeous. I want to be with her so badly.It's a troublesome feeling. And I never thought I'd find trouble like this. Not after Ellie. When she died, I never thought I’d find love again.Then, Samantha came into my life. I didn't know someone like her existed. And I almost wish I hadn't met her.No, I can't even say that. My life would be duller without her in it. But it's going to hurt so much to say goodbye to her. It's going to kill me.“I'll make us breakfast,” she says quietly.“
Hours go by and still Brian doesn't talk to me. At first, I try to engage in conversation with him. But eventually, I give up. I can't make him want to talk to me. And I don't want too. I want him to want to be with me. But he clearly doesn't. So, we continue the journey in silence. My heart breaks. Not only does my mate not want me, but soon will be separated forever. This is horrible and I don't know what to do. I can't stop it. I can't make him want to be with me. I can't believe he doesn't want to be with me.“Samantha,” he finally says. And it sounds so nice to hear him say my name. I wonder if he changed his mind. Or at least maybe now we don't have to go through this in silence.“Be careful at this river,” he says as we approach a river. He looks cautiously across it.I can't really understand why. The water seems rough, but nothing we can't get through. Sure, our paws might get wet. But in the heat of the sunny day, our paws and fur will dry out quickly.Maybe it's
It took awhile for Brian to heal completely, and I’ve been so thankful for that recovery for every day that I was worried he’d be stolen away from.“It’s still difficult to deal with the guilt,” I admit to him, as we wake up in our bed that morning. He rolls over to face me and takes me in his arms.“What do you mean?” he asks.“You almost died because of me,” I remind him, my eyes getting teary at just the thought of it. I almost lost you completely.”“But I’m still here,” he assures me. “It’s not your fault. You were led to believe something that was untrue, and your response makes perfect sense considering that.“Besides, you saved me and that can’t be forgotten. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you. And I appreciate the sacrifice you made every day.”We kiss and once again I’m reminded of how special he is to me, how important our love is. Not that I’ve ever forgotten it.“I fall more in love with you each day,” I tell him.“And I with you,” he says. “Especially today.
It all makes so much sense, too much sense. Brian didn’t actually have anything to do with Dylan’s death, but his guilt has led him to believe so. Which is why he didn’t protest when I blamed him for it.I feel sick to my stomach. I can’t believe I blamed him for it. He clearly already feels so much pain regarding Dylan’s death. He has taken it all upon himself when he doesn’t deserve it.I made it worse for my mate. I rubbed salt in the wound of his pain. And I still can’t fully believe I would do something as horrible as that. My heart breaks for him.In that moment, I know what I have to do. I have to make things right. I have to assure him that he’s not at fault, he never ways. I have to try to heal the heart that I’ve broken.It’s going to be difficult do that, I understand. He might never want to speak to me again. But I have to at least try.Just as I’m about to stand though, another scene flickers upon the water. This one fills me with horror.I see Brian. He has berries
Watching Brian leave is the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to witness. It tears me up inside. I can’t imagine my life without him.He confirmed it though. He didn’t try to deny that he killed his best friend. He didn’t give a good explanation for it. She was right all along. Brian killed his best friend. That’s something so dishonorable that I simply can’t forgive it. I can’t be with someone like that.So, then why does it feel like we’re meant to be? I still can’t understand that. We’re so obviously wrong for each other. He killed an innocent man. He even said he was kind. I would never do something like that. So how is someone who’s capable of such things my mate?Surely the universe is a cruel, unforgiving place. Fate must’ve laughed upon me as it decided who my mate would be. It wanted me to be tortured. My heart was always destined to be broken.I watch him go and wait until he’ll be far enough away so I won’t run into him before I go outside. The cool, night air r
I wait anxiously for Samantha to get back. I can't help but worry about what she'll say. I'm not even sure what I want her to say. Could someone like her really want to be with someone like me?It's too unbelievable to even fathom. But she listened to me. She didn't run away. She listened to me and it seemed like she was willing to give me a chance. So, will she give me a chance? Will she still want to be my mate after everything I’ve done?My fate rests on her. If she doesn't want me here, then I'll leave. There's nothing more to say than that. I'm not going to stay here and bother her if she doesn't want me here.But if by some miracle she does want me here, then I'll stay. Of course, I'll stay. I couldn't leave her. Especially not if she wants me here.I pace around my room, too stressed to go downstairs and have conversation. I think about the money I have saved up. After my mate died, I moved back in with my family to heal. Now, I have enough money that I could get a new h
Walking outside, this village already feels like home. I'm so grateful to be here. No matter what happens, I'm grateful I found this place of peace.Things are a little more complicated than that though? Aren't they. It's not so easy considering everything my mate has done. Now he'll stay with me now, I'm not sure how to feel about everything. It's all such a shock.I walk around the village, hoping that the fresh air and exercise will give me answers. But these answers aren't quite so easy to come by. It is hard work, trying to work out the morals I would expect my mate to have, and what to do now I’ve learned he hasn’t always upheld those morals. I never thought I'd have to be worried about how I respond to a killer. I always thought that kind of situation would be easy to decide between.And maybe it is, honestly. Maybe I already know what my answer will be.I stop at that thought. Maybe I already know what my answer will be.I do already know what my answer will be. I know t
I have to admit that Brian’s admission that he's killed people does shock me. I never thought my mate would be a killer. I don't like that he's done such awful things.Sure, I have also killed people. But I didn't kill people because someone hired me to kill them. I killed people because I needed to. And I hated the feeling of killing peopleEven though the people I killed were people I had to kill to defend myself, I hated how it felt to kill them. I hated taking a life. I hated the feeling of their blood against me. It was one of the most awful things I've ever done. And I take each life that I've had to steal seriously.“Is that what you're going to do next?” I ask. “Are you planning on killing more people? Is that what you're off to do?”There's a lot riding on this. If he says he's going to go off and murder more people, then there's no way I can be with him. I can't accept that. But if he's changed, I'm not too sure what I’ll do. I don't know how I feel about all of this, b
Of course, Molly and I don't talk the whole way back to the house. We leave plenty of space between us. The line has been drawn, and neither one of us wants to cross it. Neither one of us wants to spend any more time with each other than we have to.Neither one of us also wants to cause a commotion within the family. So, as we approach to the house, we walk closer to each other. We pretend like we're friends. I don't want to cause trouble for anyone, especially not Brian’s family.“How was your walk,” Diane asks, as we enter the house. “It was wonderful,” I say. “I'm enjoying getting to know everyone. And I'm thankful for you all welcoming me here.”Molly seems upset at that, but I doubt she'd want me to tell the family what she said to me. I doubt she'd want Brian to know. I need to talk to Brian. That's all I know for sure. I need to talk to him and try to make sense of what’s going on here.“That's wonderful that you girls are getting along,” Diane says. “You’re fitting in w
Dinner with Brian's family goes amazingly well. It feels like we were all meant to fit in together. And they all welcome me in like they would another family member. I can't believe how perfect it is. I can't believe how perfectly my mate fits with me.Shortly after dinner, Molly comes to join us. The family welcomes her in too, like they know her very well. And something about her strikes a chord of jealousy within me. There's something about the way she interacts with the family and with Brian that makes her feel like competition.I try to shove that to the back of my mind though. I don't want to be a jealous mate. I don't want to come in and mess up whatever Brian has going on here. So, I try to get to know Molly in a nice and respectful way. I try to be as kind as I can to her as I can be. We talk about life and the kind of things I just can’t talk about with guys. I get to know Brian’s friend and I start to see why he likes her.“We seem to be getting along well together,” Mo
Spending time in the water together is like a dream. Brian I talk about nature, we talk a little bit about the past, we talk a little bit about the future.I know he's still holding a lot back. That much is obvious. There are things he won't talk about, there are ways he's shutting me out. He has so many walls, I don't know how to get behind them. I don't know why he's so aloof. I don't know why my mate holds so much space between us.But at least he's opening up to me in a way that he never opened up to me before. He's letting me get to know him. And getting to know him is wonderful. Getting to know him is everything I've dreamed of in a mate.I hope that means he's changed his mind about leaving. I hope that he'll stay even once we reach his pack. I can't imagine us being apart now. I can't imagine him wanting us to be apart now.But it's still a little tough. Because I felt this way before about him, and he still wanted to leave me. At one point in time, he wanted to sell me.