by Fel Fern
Keys paused, looking unsure of what to do. The crafty werefox licked at his lips. “Of course, the thief’s yours to do as you please. I’m sure what you have in store for him is a lot worse than the noose.”
“Don’t presume to know my intentions, either,” he said with a sneer. Dimitri just couldn’t allow this bastard to live. The hatred reflected in Cal’s eyes told him enough. Dimitri didn’t know the entire story yet, but somehow, Keys and Cal had some kind of personal history.
“N-no, of course not,” Keys muttered.
“Duncan. Remember what I told you about replacing the corrupt leadership in these towns?” he asked to his second.
Duncan wore a straight expression. His second knew not to question him when he was in this mood. “Yes, Alpha.”
Keys must have understood the implication of his words, because he turned tail and ran. The guards and his advisors looked both scared and unsure of what to do. Keys might be the mayor, the highest ranking position of this town, but Dimitri was the Apex Alpha. He had the power to destroy Thorne Village if he wanted.
Dimitri didn’t even need to change forms. Confident his second would protect and hold onto Cal, he charged at Keys. In seconds, he eliminated the distance between them. Keys must have thought his second form gave him more advantage, because a bloated, obese fox emerged from Keys’s no doubt expensive silk clothes.
Dimitri lunged at him, closing one hand over the furry bastard’s throat. Keys struggled, using his paws to scratch at him uselessly. Blood flowed from the tiny scratches on his hand, but Dimitri ignored the pain and smiled.
“It’s clear to me you’ve run this village to the ground. Out of the villages under our territory, yours had the most access to resources. Keys, I’ll find a suitable replacement for you.” Dimitri didn’t bother putting his canines to Keys’s throat, not wanting to taste Keys’s foul blood on his tongue. With his free hand, he yanked a fistful of Keys’s red fur and tore out his throat.
He dropped the corpse on the ground and faced the rest of the village. It appeared Keys’s other advisors attempted to run, but all of his bear shifters managed to nab them all.
“Gordon, I’ll have a word with you,” Dimitri said, calling out the village’s head guard. The old soldier looked surprised but nodded.
According to Duncan, Gordon seemed to be the only decent man among those Keys had employed, the only one who showed visible anger when Duncan asked him about how Keys managed the village.
Dimitri risked a look to where Duncan still carried Cal. Just wait a little more, Dimitri thought. Once he cleaned up this mess, he’d have plenty of time to give his full attention to Cal. Dimitri had a sneaking suspicion as to why he’d go out of script like this but not now. Dimitri had to wear his authoritative face for the moment, deal with the consequences of his actions, before he could turn to matters of the heart.
Chapter Three
Cal knew he dreamt, because he was pretty certain that in reality, he would soon face the hangman’s noose. Maybe he’d died and this was the afterlife, he wasn’t quite certain. Standing in his adult body and gazing at his mother in bed, he knew this couldn’t be real. She died just shy of his thirteenth birthday, having contacted a severe kind of coughing illness like a minority of some of the villagers.
He stood there, rooted by the door of their house. House, not home. Cal still thought of it as that, because he swore he’d work hard and someday move them out of the small one-room hovel and into one of the bigger, finer houses in Throne Village. Cal never had a chance to do even that.
She looked frail as he remembered, pale, far too thin, and her once long golden locks lay limp against her dress. Blue eyes, just like his, seemed to beckon to him silently.
“Come closer,” she rasped.
Cal approached her with hesitant steps. Being in his house and seeing her in her last moments twisted his insides. He felt completely helpless, drowned in the same emotion he did when he was thirteen. By some miracle, Cal reached the bed and reached for her hand, except he didn’t touch skin but something shiny and hard. Bone.
A scream tore its way out of him, as he gazed at the skeleton wearing her dress on the bed. He wrenched his grip away from her, because that thing on the bed wasn’t his mother anymore. Cal stumbled, nearly fell, but he managed to get up, make his way to the door, except something else barred his path—a huge monster of a bear with jet black fur and blazing yellow eyes. It opened its mouth, showing sharpened teeth.
Cal gazed around the room, desperate to find an escape route. No windows. The only way out was past the beast, but how could a half-breed outrun something like that?
* * * *
Cal jolted awake, his entire body covered in sweat. He expected to see the familiar darkness of his cell in the Thorne Village prison house, but brown fabric gazed back at him. He slowly sat up and looked at his hands. No irons, but the manacles had left angry pink indentation on his skin.
Without the restraints to weigh him down, his body felt a thousand times lighter. Where was he?
Voices from outside his—tent? Yes, that was it. He was in some kind of tent.
“I have no idea why the Alpha would take interest in this condemned half-breed,” said a male voice with a slight growl to it. Shifters, he thought uneasily, his fuzzy memories starting to return. Cal recalled gasping for air one moment and falling, except someone caught him. Back then, he thought his savior was some kind of wild and savage god, but he knew it was worse. The Apex Alpha of the bears. Savage’s successor.
I want a new plaything, and since this half-breed is already sentenced to death, I’ve decided I have better use of him.
Cal definitely remembered this man-shaped monster telling Keys those words. He shuddered but realized he couldn’t afford any sudden movements. The shifters outside might realize he was awake. Why hadn’t they tied him up if he was their Alpha’s new plaything?
Cal might have grown up in Throne Village and had never seen much of the world outside the village walls, but he knew the stories. In their world, only the strong thrived, and the weak wilted away or died behind their closed walls. News of villagers exiting the village only to die a gruesome death was what kept him from leaving.
He had no choice now. Cal had to assume these bear shifters had taken him away from the village. How far? Where was the Alpha? Also outside?
“Calm yourself down, Maurice. Once Dimitri and Duncan return from their final negotiations with the newly elected mayor, you can ask him,” said a woman’s voice.
Dimitri. So, that was the name of the bear Alpha? And Dimitri wasn’t here? Why would the Alpha choose to separate himself from his group, along with Cal? Too many questions made him dizzy.
Cal’s first priority was to get away from the clutches of these bears. It wouldn’t be easy. Cal might be a half-breed, but he couldn’t shift, although he was faster than most humans. He’d been somewhat of a successful thief before he got caught.
Cal would know how to look for the nooks and crannies in the woods, the best places to hide. He could take advantage of that. He’d always known how to adapt to his surroundings, even if the woods outside his village were a completely new playing ground.
No, Throne Village meant nothing to him now, not that hateful place where his mom died and he’d been treated like an outsider his entire life.
“I don’t like this,” Maurice was saying. “It’s not like Dimitri to act out of control. I haven’t felt his bear that way in a long time, so full of rage. I mean sure, Keys was a bastard, but he only ever displayed that kind of anger when he challenged Savage.”
Cal looked around his tent for supplies he could take along with him. If he had any plans to escape he should do it now, right when these shifters seemed to be in deep discussion. He grabbed the blanket he lay on, rolled it, and found someone left a pair of boots and some clean clothes next to the bed.
Cal would have chuckled if he could. This was too easy. They made it seem like he wasn’t a prisoner, but so
me kind of guest. Cal got out of his old clothes and out the new ones on, a comfortable pants about his size, a comfortable wool top, and these boots with thick soles looked like they could go very far. Cal never owned such fine clothes before.
Maybe Dimitri liked toying with his prey. Give him the illusion of freedom, hope, only to dash those away. Savage was said to be like that. Evil to the core. But was Dimitri evil? No use speculating. One thing was certain—he didn’t want to face Dimitri, and besides, he didn’t like the way he reacted to Dimitri the first time their gazes crossed. Almost as if he were actually attracted to him.
Never before in his entire life had he felt so uncertain of his body. One demanding look from that man and he knew, deep in his bones, that he’d surrender without a fight to him.
No way in hell that was possible, right?
“Enough talking,” said another man. “The Alpha and Duncan will arrive soon.”
That put Cal in a panic mode. How did the shifters know that, because of the clan bond? Cal overheard from some of the fox shifters who belonged to Keys saying that the clan or pack bond connected their beasts to their Alpha. Keys was a joke of an Alpha compared to Dimitri, though.
He slowly inched his way to the back of the tent and opened the flap. Tall trees looked back at him. Wild undergrowth. Heart racing, he crawled on his belly out of the tent. Don’t make sudden movements, nothing to alert the shifters, Cal told himself. Some arrogant shifters usually dismissed humans and half-breeds as if they were beneath them, but Cal knew he was capable, that he’d escape and somehow survive.
Cal relied on his past experience with the shifters he and his crew used to sneak up on in town and continued his slow crawl to the trees. Reaching the spot, he slowly stood up, gazing at a downward slope. A snarl arose behind him, followed by two more.
“Don’t try to run from us, half-breed, you won’t get far,” Maurice called out.
Crap. Cal should have thought this through. Of course, these bear shifters were worlds apart from any other shifter he’d managed to outwit in Throne Village. No choice. He slid down the slope, only to hear someone yell behind him.
In moments, those shifters would change form, and unlike Keys and his werefoxes, these bears would prove to be lethal opponents. His ass hit the bottom. He stood up shakily, glanced back, and let out a choking sound, sighting one massive brown bear charging at him.
Cal had no time to waste. He broke into a run, not caring where he was heading. Cal was lost and he knew it, but these shifters were new to these woods, too. Dimitri and his Skull Crushers had just taken over Savage’s lands, probably knew nothing about them.
That evened the playing field a little. Cal ran until his leg muscles burned, only managing to stay ahead by constantly changing directions. He eventually hit a dead end. Cal skidded to halt, finding himself at the edge of a cliff. Beneath him, a rush of water. A river, but this was maybe a thirty-foot drop.
A scrape of claws on rock made him turn his back. Cal was soaked in sweat, and his legs felt like they’d give out on him, but he was more terrified of the brown bear that must be the twice the size of any normal bear. He saw the village once bring in an injured bear they caught outside their walls for food, but that animal seemed so tiny compared to this bear shifter.
The shifter flashed him long, wicked teeth and put one furry clawed paw forward, flashing ebony claws that looked as long as any hunting knife.
“I’m not going let myself be taken again,” he whispered, edging toward the cliff. “I won’t be your Alpha’s plaything. I’m no one’s property. Wouldn’t it be better off if I died?”
That seemed to give the shifter pause.
“I heard you all discussing me, wondering why your Alpha took me. I won’t survive this drop, so just walk away,” he said.
Not true. He might or might not survive it, but the shifter didn’t know that. The shifter hesitated, and he took that advantage to launch his body into a running start. His breath caught, Cal leapt, heart hammering, only to plunge into the dangerous depths below.
Chapter Four
“You had one fucking job to do. Watch Cal,” Dimitri thundered, his bear rising to the killing edge. Not good. These men and women were on his side, answered to his call whenever he asked them to, would give their lives for him if he wanted them to.
“Calling him on a first name basis now?”
Dimitri narrowed his eyes at Maurice, walked up to him, and growled into his face. Maurice flinched, probably sensing his angry, seething beast.
“You. You said he jumped off the cliff. Why didn’t you go after him?” Dimitri asked. His anger turned from hot to cold, the more dangerous kind, and the six shifters understood that.
“No human or half-breed can survive that jump,” Maurice answered with a frown.
Dimitri didn’t know when he moved, but claws slid out of his left hand and touched Maurice’s throat. He could sense Maurice’s agitated inner bear. Dimitri could do it, end Maurice’s life now, but what would that prove? Maurice was also one of his enforcers, a warrior he’d trusted at his back. Why now? Maurice had always followed his orders without question. What changed?
“Make another mistake and you’ll be demoted to senior warrior,” he said.
Maurice opened his mouth, probably to protest, but wisely, he didn’t speak again.
“Find him. Search around the area and don’t come back to me until you’ve recovered him, dead or alive,” he said.
Dimitri didn’t intend to wait around, either. He stripped out of his clothes and shifted to his bear. He already sent Duncan back to the base to update the others about the situation in Throne Village. Dimitri was supposed to head back after some alone time with Cal, but this had to happen.
Fuck, but Maurice better hope Cal survived that fall, because his bear would be inconsolable. Fur covered his entire body. Claws and fangs emerged. Dimitri fell on fours, satisfied when his other shifters did the same. They spread out and instead of heading toward the cliff where Cal had fallen, Dimitri headed out to the river.
Cal was a survivor. Dimitri had to believe his mate-to-be was tough enough, that his will to live was strong enough. Otherwise, Dimitri wouldn’t know what to do, because finally he found his long-lost mate. Dimitri couldn’t afford to lose Cal.
* * * *
Cal fell head first into the raging water. He sunk like a stone as the river’s current carried him further downstream. More and more liquid entered his lungs, but he kicked his legs, maneuvered himself upwards until his head emerged to the surface. Adrenaline raced through his entire system. Good, because he needed the extra kick.
Cal expected to be tired, but damn. He just managed to outwit a powerful bear shifter. Well, not exactly outwit. He saw an opportunity and took it. That bear shifter didn’t want him around anyway, seemed to consider him as a threat to his Alpha.
He would have laughed, if he had the luxury, because what kind of danger would a half-breed pose to the all-powerful Apex Alpha of all the bears?
Now, he needed to get back to shore. Thank God for those extra swimming lessons he took with some of the village fishermen eons ago, at a time Thorne Village still encouraged fishing outside of the village walls.
Sighting dry land, he lurched his entire body toward his left. It took longer than expected. Cal’s body needed to remember how to swim, but he finally managed to drag his body out of the coursing river and into the sandy part of the bank. He lay on his back for a couple of moments, staring at the afternoon sun above him.
In a few more hours, it would be sunset, then nighttime. Anyone knew a human or half-breed trapped during night time hours in the woods wouldn’t survive long. Real monsters and gods were rumored to come out when the sun was gone. He heard one of Keys’s guards say that a Doomsday Dragon had been recently sighted around this area.
“Superstitious tales to frighten children,” he muttered.
Yeah right. As if the Doomsday Dragons really existed. According to the stories, humani
ty nearly won against the paranormals in the last war. Until the four Doomsday Dragons had swept in and showed humanity what they were truly up against.
Cal shut his eyes. He was on his own, out here in the wilderness with no weapon, save his wits. Just like always, ever since his mother died. Frightening himself with stories like that wouldn’t help him.
Physical strength was one thing, but mentally, he had to toughen himself up. He knew another village lay westward of where he was. They’d probably be wary of outsiders, but he’d figure out how to deal with that problem later on.
First, Cal needed to survive. Find shelter for the night. He forced himself to stand but laying down had chased off the initial rush of adrenaline. Cal felt like lying back down and doing nothing. His stomach growled. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate, either.
“One problem at a time,” Cal told himself.
He went further into the woods. Keep going, he told himself. Sure, he was hungry and wet, but he wasn’t injured or dead. He stepped on a fallen branch and the creaking noise of wood made him flinch. He looked around him slowly. Gut feeling told him something wasn’t completely right with his surroundings, but what?
Hopefully, Dimitri’s bears would write him off as dead. Predators like that would usually go for another prey, right? Dimitri was an Apex Alpha. One lost plaything could be easily replaced by another. Cal touched his chest. Why did that thought make him a little sad?
No use thinking about that werebear Alpha now, but his mind kept circling back to that absurd moment when their gazes crossed. How Dimitri caught him easily when the rope was cut. Did Dimitri himself cut off that rope?
Cal would never know why Dimitri would go out of his way to save him. He’d probably never get his answers now.
He entered a clearing, and he realized what was wrong. Silence greeted him, filling the entire space, which seemed wrong. The trees, bushes, and shrubbery, they all had healthy green leaves. No sign of death.
