Yikes. My mate could be hunted for the part of his beast that made him unique.
“And because I’m not really part of the pack and a constant reminder of my dad cheating, I’ve been bullied all my life.”
Being rogue sounds better than that,my bear said.
But we can’t insist he come with us.
There were no words to soothe the hurt he’d experienced, so I squeezed his hand.
“So it’s an easy decision to make to stay with you.” He kissed the top of my head.
I blinked away tears because Roland was giving up a place in his herd—though technically, he wasn’t one of them—to be at my side and be a true mate.
“But we have to leave here.”
While Roland didn’t belong with the herd, it did protect him from poachers, but if he mated me, the herd would toss him out and he’d be vulnerable. I was the only one branded rogue, but he’d be like me, without the protection of a den or herd.
I told him of my brother and how he’d said I should find him in the mountains.
“We should head toward the closest mountain range and begin our search. But we must leave now.” Roland would be missed soon because he was supposed to assist the pack healer this morning, and when he didn’t turn up, the betas would look for him.
My mate pulled out some clothes from his backpack. The shirt overwhelmed me because I’d lost weight, and so did the pants, though they were also too short. Roland laughed and said we’dfind better-fitting clothes when we were two days' walk from here.
“We can’t dawdle. They can shift and gallop for miles or use their four-wheel drives to follow our scent.”
Though I had recovered and I could probably shift, I wasn’t as agile as before the attack. I hadn’t walked more than a few steps in days. And what were we going to do for food? I could pick up a job somewhere on a farm or a convenience store, but Roland pointed out we needed to get far away.
He emptied his pack and tipped out the contents. Candy bars and protein bars toppled onto the old blanket. I made a face at the protein bars. How could anyone eat that crap? My bear turned his nose up too.
“Not a fan, huh?”
“It’s fine. If I have a choice between protein bars and starvation?—”
“You’ll choose to starve?” He chortled and ruffled my hair.
“Wait till we find real food and I’ll cook for you.”
That horse feed that was disguised as human food wouldn’t last beyond a few days. But Roland pulled out a bundle of bills from his pocket.
“I’ve been ferreting away money when I can from the housekeeping budget for years. If we’re careful, it’ll last until we find a place to live where no one can find us.”
He sounded so earnest, and I didn’t want to burst his enthusiasm but Emerson and I had acknowledged how difficult finding such a place would be. But with Roland at my side and usheading to a mountainous region where I might find my brother, I was in a great mood. It’d been two years since I’d experienced joy.
“Can you walk or should you shift?” Roland was shoving the supplies back in the pack as my beast mumbled maybe we could accidentally toss the protein bars in the water and drown them.
“Let’s try shifting first while we’re in the forest.” We’d worry about our method of transport when we reached a town.
Why did you get dressed?My beast was eager to shift and wasn’t patient with me removing my clothes again.
My bear took his fur, and it was a relief to be inside him and not have to move or make decisions. Roland was still in human form, and he picked up a bottle. Oh yuck, was that pee? I’d read about soldiers in wartime using urine to confuse not only people but sensors.
My beast rolled his eyes.Does that look like pee?
“It’s skunk musk. I’ll spray it around and then cover our trail with it. Hopefully, it will confuse both the herd and any poachers until we’re far away.
I’ll make sure we’re nowhere near him and that stinky stuff.
My bear trundled deep into the forest while Roland trailed behind with the musk. And when it was finished, he shifted, and I had to shade my eyes from his glittering skin. I took my skin, and my bear complained again, sayingMake up your mind. I hooked the pack over the unicorn’s horn, and we continued through the trees.
