Chapter Thirteen
George slowly swished his paw back and forth through the cool creek water, not even caring about the fish that darted here and there trying to avoid capture. He wasn't hungry. Well, he was. He was a bear. He was always hungry. He just didn't feel much like eating right now.
He wanted his mate. He wanted Leon. Leon just didn't want him. His bear had been so overjoyed to hold their mate in his arms for the very first time. It had been exhilarating, and Leon had smelled so good. Maybe even better than honey.
It just wasn't to be, and the bear was now aware of that fact. If bears could cry, there'd be a river next to him instead of just a measly creek. He rocked back and forth, his misery an acute pain in his chest.
There would be no den for them, no snuggling in front of a roaring fire when winter was upon them and snow was falling outside. No shared honey pots, no salmon dinners for two, no picking berries on a hot summer day.
It was just him, all alone.
The bear chuffed. He'd been alone for a very long time. He was kind of used to it. First his parents had abandoned him, then his clan. Now, it looked as if his mate was abandoning him, as well.
He'd wonder if there was something wrong with him that made the people he cared about leave, but he knew. He'd always known. He was unnatural. An alpha born bear who was an omega. No one wanted that. They wanted big, strong, fierce alphas and small, gentle, delicate omegas. He was neither.
George shuddered out a shaky breath. He had survived being used and betrayed by his parents. He had survived being banned from his clan and not allowed to join another. He could survive this, too.
It wasn't like he had any other choice. He couldn't force Leon to be with him, and he wouldn't want the man if he was there because he had to be. He wanted Leon to stay because that's what he wanted, except that wasn't what Leon wanted.
Sometimes it really sucked being a bear.
A gunshot ripped through the night air, shattering the quiet. George sat up and glanced around, trying to figure out where it came from. He might be on clan land, but hunters were still a danger.
He lifted his nose and drew in a lungful of crisp oxygen. A faint hint of gun smoke hung in the air and something else, something George couldn't quite place. He knew he'd smelled it before, but…
George took off through the woods when he heard a loud shout. Not only did he recognize who had shouted, but it had come from the direction of where he'd left his mate. It hadn't sounded like a happy shout either.
George knew he was making a lot of noise as he crashed through the woods, but he didn't care. His one main goal was to reach his mate as quickly as possible and find out what had Leon so upset.
When he broke through the trees, he was the one to shout…or roar in his case. He raced across the open ground, running full bore toward the man who had Leon pinned to the ground.
He vaguely recognized the man as one of the guards who had been outside the mansion when they went to see Alpha Barker, but it didn't really matter who it was. They were going to die for threatening Leon.
He heard a bunch of yelling as he slammed into the man holding Leon down, but ignored it. Whatever anyone had to say didn't matter. Only freeing his mate mattered.
George swiped out at the guard with his massive paw. When the guard fell to the ground, George attacked. For a moment, he was in a blind rage. He hit out with his claws again and again before going for the guard's throat. He sank his teeth into the man deep enough to taste blood on his tongue, but stopped there when someone called out his name.
"Let him go, George."
George growled, not releasing the guard.
"Do it now, or I'll kill the human."
George froze for a breath then released the guard and slowly looked around. Ford was on his knees being held between two men. Raymond stood behind Leon with an arm wrapped around his chest and a knife to his throat.
Rage and fear ripped through George's chest in equal parts. He growled again, the sound much more threatening than it had been a mere moment ago. Future alpha or not, Raymond would die if a single hair was out of place on Leon's head.
A trickle of blood trailed down Leon's throat when Raymond pressed the tip of the knife against his skin. "Ah, ah, ah. Whatever you're thinking, don't. I will not hesitate to slit his throat if you don't do exactly what I tell you to do."
George sat back on his hunches. He wanted to charge the guy and rip his head off, but he couldn't chance Leon being hurt. That knife was a little too close to Leon's skin for comfort. One wrong move, one jerk, and everything would be over. His whole world would end.
"Shift," Raymond demanded.
George slowly shifted until he stood there in nothing but a cool breeze. He didn't bother trying to cover himself. Shifters weren't really bothered with nudity. Besides, he'd shredded his clothes. He'd need to head home to get more.
"Let my mate go."
Raymond laughed. "He's human. He can't be your mate. We don't mate with humans."
