But Alpha pinned me to the ground, his teeth less than an inch from my throat. His saliva dripped on my skin as his heated breath, heavy with anger and loathing, washed over me.
“You are no longer part of this den, just like your brother. Both of you will spend the rest of your days without a den’s protection.” He slashed my arm, and the smell of blood filled my nostrils and splattered on the red earth. “You are rogue. No den will ever take you in. Get out.”
Everyone stared at me, groveling in the dirt, but refusing to cry. They turned their backs on me and when my bear helped me stand, I staggered to my cabin and grabbed the possessions that fit in my pack.
When I walked out, the den members were inside their homes. I could sense their gazes on me as I hobbled out of the village and into the woods. Though Emerson only had a head start of a few hours, I couldn’t chase him because Alpha would not give up on finding him, and I refused to lead him to my brother.
That night I curled up in the forest, and though most of my injuries had healed thanks to my beast, nothing could fix or erase the sadness at losing my brother or my home.
Emerson’s scent was on every blade of grass, flower, and leaf, but I deliberately chose a different direction. Thanks to my ability to survive in the wilderness, I lived off fish, fruit, and scraps of food humans tossed in the garbage. I found jobs with humans far from the den but lived in the woods, fearing if I rented a room, Alpha’s guys would harass me.
One day as I was hitchhiking, I caught Emerson’s scent. I was at the base of a mountain range, and my bear told me to find our brother. But after gazing at the top of peaks, I set off in the opposite direction, wondering if I'd ever feel safe enough to be with him again.
But that decision led me close to a den. Not mine and not Dex’s, but my scent had been passed to all the dens, and one of the betas found me as I was fishing. He lashed out, telling me I was trespassing, and his claws ripped tendons in my leg and knee.
I was on his land and I was rogue, so I didn’t fight back. If I had, his den could have sentenced me to death because I had no rights, not to fight, or fish, or ask for assistance.
Instead, I lay on the trampled grass after he left, fighting for breath. Day passed into night and another day, and I crawled over the forest floor to the river, dunking myself in and removing the crusted blood from my skin.
I didn’t have the energy to take my fur, and my beast couldn’t perform the shift without my help because the fight and injury had sapped our strength. Sipping water from the river, I propped myself against a tree. With only liquid and no food, I became weaker still, and when I examined my injuries that I expected to heal, they were festering.
Blisters of pus dotted my skin, surrounded by red angry flesh. My legs ached, and I drifted in and out of consciousness. With enough energy to crawl to the river, I bent over and lapped at the cool water. But I couldn’t return to the shade and lay beside the water in the midday sun.
Images of me and Emerson frolicking in the water, taking our first shift together, streamed into my head like a movie reel. If one of us had to die because of our actions, I was glad it was me. I didn’t have a mate and was alone in the world with no friends or family to mourn my death.
Be safe, my brother.
At least now I wouldn’t lead Alpha to Emerson. I’d kept him safe. Would he sense my life fading? I wasn’t sure. We weren’t twins. I hoped he wouldn’t because I wanted him to imagine me still alive, maybe mated and happy as I hoped he was.
My eyes closed, maybe for the last time as my bear beseeched me to try and shift.
I need you, he begged.
We’re going to sit by the goddess and we won’t be in agony any longer.
Even with my eyes closed, the setting sun created shadows on my lids. I wouldn’t be here to see another sunrise and would pass from the earth in darkness.
3
ROLAND
I took off running, not knowing where I was going, but knowing I was almost out of time, running harder than I ever had before. I wished I could shift, to allow my unicorn to take over. His speed was so much faster than mine, but without a destination, I couldn’t chance it. I couldn’t risk being unable to get to them because there were humans in the way, there was a street to cross where I might be spotted, or a tall fence to open.
There wasn’t time for that.
I didn’t know how I knew it, but I felt it deep inside me that something was wrong. My unicorn pushed and pushed for me to go faster and faster, and I was trying. My legs were nowhere near as swift as his.
And then I scented it… blood. So much blood. It burned the back of my nose, unlike anything I’d scented before. Blood was something I came across far too often thanks to my horn’s ability. I was no stranger to the scent. What was it about this blood that made it different?
Three steps later, I saw my destination. A body. No, not a body. I refused to believe I was looking at a corpse. It was a man, slumped against a tree. He wasn’t moving and was covered in blood, but he had to be alive. He had to.
I slowed to a stop, my breath labored, my hands shaking. I needed to get to him, but rushing might make matters worse. I had no idea what got him to his current state, but it wasn’t a simple fight. This man was left to die.
I learned a long time ago that startling someone when they were seriously injured often ended with them hurting themselves more while trying to flee. Before taking my next step, I looked around for any signs of danger. When I ran, I hadn’t been as focused on my surroundings as I should’ve been, and if whoever had done this to him was out there, I had to deal with that first. making sure we were alone.
Closing the distance, step by step, I begged my unicorn to tell me what was happening, why the back of my nose stung, why my hands were shaking, why he’d called me here. He ignored everything other than pushing me to close the distance between us and the man… no, bear. He was a bear shifter.
His chest moved slightly, and it was the most magnificent sight I’d ever seen. It meant we was still alive. Closer and closer I got, now only a foot away. I counted his breaths, comparing them to mine at first. I was still breathing hard and faster than normal. Him? His breaths were shallow and inconsistent.
