by Fel Fern
Tiny animals should be scuttling around. Cicadas also made that annoying noise during this season. Cal tensed, turning when his ears picked up the sound of movement behind him. A pair of bloodshot yellow eyes first appeared, then ragged gray fur.
He took a step back as the figure, all six-foot-plus of it, emerged. He pushed his fist into his mouth to muffle a scream. This thing—it was as if it couldn’t decide what it was. It had the shape of a man, except some of its proportions were wrong. Fur covered bits of it, so did skin. It had triangular ears, a snout, almost a wolf head. Bits of old clothing still clung to it.
Cal swallowed, pretty certain if he made any sudden movements, he’d be dead.
Understanding struck him at what he faced. A rabid shifter. He heard of those. Shifters who spent too much time in animal form usually forgot their human halves. This one appeared to have tried to revert back to human form, but failed.
Cal only prayed there was enough humanity in there.
“Look, I’m harmless. We can both go on our separate ways,” he pointed out, keeping his voice calm, his body still. What was he doing?
The thing growled at him, and he spotted pieces of what looked like bloody bits of human skin and fur between its yellowed teeth. Shit. This creature had killed before. Not only that, it was beyond reason and human understanding. It saw him as food and nothing else. Cal would never outrun it, either, even if he managed to distract it. He was certain of that. For one, he knew his body was at its limits. Swimming out of that river sapped out all his energy. He was tired, hungry, and all the fight went out of his body.
Cal’s mind flashed back to his dream of his mother. The real version where she hadn’t become a skeleton. He could still remember her small, frail hand gripping his as she made him promise one thing before she died.
Live, Cal. Even if you find this world hateful, someday you’ll find someone who makes it bearable. Promise me.
Her words had convinced him to live, to steal not only for his crew but for the other villagers in need. Thieving had been a way to get back at Keys and had become his purpose, but even that was gone. The rabid shifter began to circle him, and he had a feeling it would be only a matter of time before it finished its assessment of him as prey and decided to pounce.
Rabid shifters might be more attuned to their animal side, but he had a feeling that only made them more effective hunters. Cal didn’t know what was worse, being torn to shreds or being hanged. Maybe he should have thought this through. Perhaps he shouldn’t have run because he feared seeing Dimitri again for reasons he didn’t fully understand.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he whispered just as the creature pounced on him and sank its claws and finally its teeth into his skin. Cal screamed as pain bloomed all over his body.
Chapter Five
Dimitri smelled, rather than sensed, the presence of another predator in the vicinity. Mangy fur. Copper. A werewolf, except this shifter’s energy felt off, different. Wilder somehow. He understood. Savage had let these lands go unchecked for so long it wouldn’t be a surprise that rabid rogues ran free.
As the Apex Alpha responsible for this territory, Savage should have provided these villages and settlements protection in exchange for a small tithe. However, they didn’t live in an ideal world.
The piercing scream that followed shoved his inner bear right into bloodlust. That cry made Dimitri stretch his senses. It was faint, washed out, but he definitely knew it was his Cal. Dimitri roared in fury, heading right for that direction.
His mate was alive. Alive. That single word kept flashing in his head, but for how long? Rabid shifters were worse than natural animals. They were always hungry, three times more savage, and worse—unpredictable.
Dimitri charged past two trees, finally seeing a half-shifted wolf man and Cal struggling underneath. His mate kicked and clawed at the rabid shifter. Furious as he spotted Cal’s bloody body, Dimitri surged forward.
One swipe of his paw sent the rabid shifter flying toward the nearest tree.
Cal stared at him with wide eyes. Dimitri growled into Cal’s face, but the half-breed wouldn’t probably understand his warning to stay put. It didn’t matter. He glimpsed the bit of bone peeking out from Cal’s left leg. It was broken. More blood on Cal’s front. Dimitri couldn’t afford to make an assessment now. He had an enemy to finish off.
The rabid shifter growled, already recovering from the blow. Dimitri neared him. Things like this creature had to be put down automatically. Usually, when shifters went rabid, the responsibility of killing them fell to their Alpha or a high-ranking member of their pack or clan. No surprise Savage failed in his duty to send out his shifters to keep the areas around his villages safe.
Dimitri waited for the rabid werewolf to charge at him. He could sense one of his bears nearing his location. Cassandra. Good. One shifter was nothing to him, but he didn’t think he could handle Maurice right now. Besides, Cassandra could keep secrets. Like Duncan and most of his enforcers, they’d known each other since childhood.
The rabid shifter must have realized he stood no chance against Dimitri. The creature snarled at him. Dimitri opened his mouth, showing the rabid werewolf teeth. The wolf man looked from him to Cal and finally turned tail and ran.
Dimitri planned to give chase. It would be easy for him. A couple of strides and he could reach the bastard who dared to hurt his mate and rip out the miserable creature’s throat. Maybe he’d take his time, dishing out the pain for all the suffering this creature inflicted on his mate.
“Alpha, he’s bleeding out too fast. We’ll lose him at this rate.”
Cassandra’s words yanked Dimitri back to reality. He gritted his teeth, torn between going after the rabid shifter and tending to Cal. He turned back to Cassandra, who tore at Cal’s shirt to reveal all of Cal’s wounds. He finally saw Cal. His broken leg was the least of his worries. A huge hole gaped out of Cal’s stomach, and he could see some of Cal’s insides.
Fear and anger collided inside of him. He could order Cassandra to go after the rabid shifter but he might need her here to calm his aggravated bear down. No, Cal was his first priority.
Dimitri turned back to human form and knelt next to Cal’s body. He couldn’t think past his rage, his grief, despite knowing those closely tied to him through the clan bonds could feel it.
Cassandra let out a breath next to him. “Alpha, I don’t think we can get him to the healer in Thorne Village fast enough, and the next village—”
“I know. Fuck.” Dimitri didn’t mean to snap at her, but the situation shouldn’t have ended up this way. He had all these plans in his head to take Cal back to his home, to get to know his mate-to-be, seduce him, have Cal in his bed.
“I’ll Turn him,” he finally said.
Cassandra looked at him, wide-eyed. “Alpha, he’s near death, and you’ve never turned a half-breed before.”
Dimitri growled. Only Alphas possessed the ability to Turn a human into a shifter, but those candidates only had fifty-fifty chance of accepting the bear essence he ejected into them. Worse, Cal was badly injured. Most of the men and women he changed had been healthy, strong.
“Either way, he’s dead,” he said patiently. “I can’t lose my mate, Cas. Not now.”
She looked from Cal to him. Neither of them was a healer. Both of them had been trained warriors. It didn’t seem to surprise her that he called Cal his mate. Good thing, too. That meant one less person to explain to. Dimitri didn’t need anyone’s approval of who he chose to mate. He was the Apex Alpha, after all, and the Alpha of the Skull Crushers clan.
“Then do it.” She gave him a nod. “I’ve had a suspicion that he’s vital to you ever since you rescued him, so do the others. If he survives this, then he is meant to be your mate.”
Cal hadn’t spoken a word, made any noise, much less moved. Cal had fallen unconscious, and Dimitri could hear it, Cal’s heart slowing down drastically. Dimitri had to make a decision soon.
Dimitri couldn’t afford
to move Cal, not with his insides peeking out like that. He lowered himself to Cal’s body, keeping his weight carefully off Cal. Dimitri unsheathed his second pair of fangs, then plunged them over the right side of Cal’s neck. He injected that special poison that would alter Cal’s body forever and pushed some of his bear’s essence into Cal.
Seconds passed, and Dimitri pulled his teeth out, his own heart hammering. There were only two outcomes. The first, he just gave Cal the killing blow, or the more hopeful second, that Cal’s body wouldn’t reject his gift.
“You’ve shown me that you’re strong. You were the only one on the executioner’s block who didn’t fear death, and I’ve never met anyone who dared outrun any of my bears or a rabid shifter. Live, Cal. Accept the bear I gave you.”
Dimitri ran his fingers through Cal’s sweat-soaked hair, hoping in some way Cal heard his plea. It didn’t make any sense. Cal was terrified of him, saw him only as a stranger, but either way, Dimitri planned on changing that once Cal woke up again. He had to believe destiny wasn’t cruel or playing tricks on him. Fate set him on this path for a reason, to become Apex Alpha, to arrive in Throne Village so he could find Cal.
Cal’s body spasmed. Trembles ran up and down Cal’s arm. Cal started convulsing. Dimitri reached for Cal’s hand, alarmed it was so cold. Cal almost felt corpse-like.
“Dimitri,” Cassandra began, sounding hesitant.
“No, I’m not giving up,” he told her. She fell silent, and miraculously, Cal’s hand started to warm up again.
“Don’t fight it,” he told Cal. “Accept it.”
Dimitri could sense it now, Cal’s bear trying to break free inside of him, but it couldn’t, because Cal wasn’t fully conscious.
“Alpha, his wounds are healing. It’s a success,” Cassandra said next to him, sounding relieved.
He shook his head. On one hand, Dimitri was relieved to see the massive wound on Cal’s stomach slowly closing, but Cal hadn’t woken up yet. It would be a hell of a fight once Cal regained consciousness, because Cal would need to face the angry bear inside of him that hadn’t managed its first shift yet.
“The bear wants out,” Dimitri said grimly. Fuck. Nothing ever came easy.
“You’ve done all you can for him, Dimitri,” Cassandra said, touching his shoulder. “It’s up to him now to accept his bear. Like you said. He’s strong.”
Nice to know he had her on his side. He already told Duncan his intentions regarding Cal, but there would be clan mates like Maurice, who wouldn’t easily accept his choice of mate.
He sighed. Dimitri had to consider the worst-case scenario. He answered Cassandra, “That or the beast will rip itself out of him and Cal loses his human side. Then he’ll become no better than the rabid werewolf who attacked him.”
“Have faith, Alpha. Wait. That’s all we can do for now.”
Wait. Dimitri scoffed. As if that were easy, but at the very least, Cal hadn’t died on him yet. The wound the rabid werewolf inflicted on his mate would leave a scar, but that was all right. He pressed a kiss to Cal’s forehead.
“You still have another fight on your hands, Cal. Win. Show the beast in you who’s the one in control and come find me. I’ll be waiting.”
Chapter Six
I’ll be waiting for you.
Who said those words? Cal’s mom? No, it had been a man’s voice, one used to giving orders and one that didn’t take no for an answer. Cal remembered fragments of running away, only to have a rabid wolf man chase him down. He thought he died but recalled seeing an enormous monster of a black bear defending him.
Him? Insignificant outsider him? He groaned. His body ached a little but there was something else. It felt like tiny claws constantly dug at his insides. He still had his eyes closed, but when he looked deep inside of him, he swore he could see a hostile pair of amber eyes staring back at him.
Cal frowned, swore he could see the powerful muscled outline of the creature. As if it heard his wish, it came out, and he sucked in a breath, seeing the bear.
What the hell was happening to him? Was he dreaming? Dead? Hallucinating?
Then the bear bared its fangs at him and charged, claws and teeth out. Cal screamed, jolting wide awake. He could see canvas, felt soft blankets underneath him. Another tent, except much bigger, and it contained a bed, more furniture, but those details didn’t seem to matter.
Pain streaked through his entire body. Muscles screamed in agony—it felt like something wanted to rip out of him, burst out of his skin. He couldn’t think, all he could focus on was that beast inside of him, constantly trying to make its way out.
Cal heard footsteps in the distance. Voices. Other noises. His head hurt terribly. His vision seemed to snap in and out of focus, sharpened, then blurred. He swore he could count the threads of the canvas above his head, and gods, his sense of smell seemed a hundred times more amplified. He could definitely scent the soap used on his skin, even the dirt the tent had been erected over. Baking bread. His stomach rumbled. More importantly, sizzling meat, which made his mouth water.
His hunger overwhelmed him, overrode everything else for a moment.
He stumbled out of bed, but his body refused to obey. He didn’t know what the hell was happening to him. The tent flap opened, revealing a slender young woman with strawberry blonde hair, slightly out of breath.
“You shouldn’t get up yet,” she said in an accusatory voice.
“Mila, stand back. His bear can go berserk any moment,” said a cautious male voice. “Someone call for Cassandra or the Alpha.”
“Bear? What did you call me? No, I’m not,” he began, stumped. “I’m just Cal.”
Strange. One look at the young woman and the muscled male in armor outside the tent and he could tell. They were both bear shifters. Shifters and what kind of animals they had inside of them couldn’t be identified by humans or half-breeds, only fellow shifters. That would make him…no. Impossible.
Images flashed through his head. Cal remembered his broken body, his insides pooling out, and thought he was done for until that commanding voice spoke to him. Told him he was strong. To live. Two words said to him by his own mother.
He could finally put a name to that concerned, handsome face.
“Dimitri,” he whispered.
Just saying the bear Alpha’s name made his condition worse. He cried out, falling to his hands and knees. God. Brown fur appeared over his arms. This couldn’t be real. He must be dreaming.
Savage once demanded all the villages in the area to surrender their condemned criminals in the hopes of Turning them, to increase the number of bear shifters he had at his disposal. Cal knew so few made the transition that most of the villagers called it a kind of massacre, because so many candidates died.
How could he, a thief, a half-breed, succeed where so many had failed?
“What’s happening to me?” he cried out.
“The first change is always hard. Bear shifter cubs learn it slowly, but that’s not the case for newly Turned shifters,” said the young woman in a tone that reminded him of the teachers in the village school.
“Mila, stand back,” the male said with urgency. When Mila didn’t budge, he yanked her back. The bear shifter warrior eyed him, and his bear didn’t like that. It didn’t like being cornered or challenged. Mila, his bear understood, was some kind of healer, gentle, would never hurt him. But this male?
Cal literally growled at the man, like he’d forgotten how to use words.
“Cal, right? Get out of the tent. Our bears don’t like confined spaces.”
Our bears?
Okay, this man hadn’t hurt him. That was a good sign, right?
Fur covered his chest and shoulders, but it hurt. How could he tell the bear shifter how much pain he was in? Dying felt a lot better than this. Right?
“Dustin, you’ve done well. I’ll handle him,” said a new voice, the one he’d remembered in his sleep.
Handle him? Yeah right. Except the change halted. Dustin left,
and Dimitri peered at him, expression unreadable. The Apex Alpha looked a lot bigger than he remembered, even without his furs and leather armor. Not that the Alpha needed protection. He remembered Dimitri tossing aside that rabid werewolf like it were nothing, not a real threat.
“Help me,” he whispered. “You Turned me into this.”
“I saved you.”
Cocky Alpha. Cal should have expected that.
“I—” Another growl tore out of his throat. The beast inside of him kept pushing at him, and he didn’t know what to do with it. He shoved it back, but the pain only intensified.
“Don’t fight your bear, Cal. You need to make peace with it, accept it as part of you.”
Accept the scary animal in him? Cal wanted to argue, but there was a certain firmness in Dimitri’s voice that was hard to argue with. Back when it was just Mila and Dustin talking to him, his bear didn’t even listen, but it was different with Dimitri.
This is what being Alpha means, he thought. Did the other bear shifters felt this calm, this certainty when Dimitri was with them?
“That’s hard,” he finally managed to answer.
“It doesn’t have to be. Make your bear your ally, Cal. Don’t let it win, though. Remember, you’re partners.”
It’s not that easy, Cal wanted to yell, but he swore. His bones broke, and he moaned, deciding to give Dimitri’s advice a chance. He looked deep inside him and saw the animal defiantly looking back at him. How could he even begin to tame this thing?
“Fate brought me to Throne Village for a reason, Cal. Did you seriously believe what I told Keys? I didn’t take you with the intention of making you my slave or plaything. Why would I do everything in my power to save you otherwise?”
He jerked his head up to Dimitri at those words.
For the first time, his bear reached out to him and spoke one word.
Mate.
“That’s right,” Dimitri said with a predatory smile that made his heart race.
