As Brian fights the man in front of him, I free myself from my binds. They aren't tied tightly. I don't think anyone expected us to get free. I think they all thought that everyone there shared the same point of view, so this comes as a surprise to them. They don't think of us as anything more than property that can’t fend for themselves.But my fight isn't over yet. There are other people on sale here, and I'm not going to leave without them. I would never do that.So, as Brian fights the men who would like to trap us, I free those in chains. And those that get free help me free the others. Soon, everyone is fighting. Some people are fleeing. Everything disrupts into chaos.I shift into my wolf form and fight the people I can fight. But I'm exhausted. So, once the captives get away, I look at Brian.“We have to run,” I tell him. “We have to get out of here. We have to run.”Brian looks at me and I worry he'll change his mind. I worry that he'll stay and fight just because of
“I trust you,” I say.I’m not sure if I trust this rope, but I do trust Brian. And Brian seems to think that this will work. Plus, I'd rather die from a fall and have my death be quick than fall into the hands of someone who would torture me. I’d die either way anyway.“Then jump,” he says. And that’s that. Brian is running. I have no choice but to run with him. So, I take a leap of faith and I run. Together, we run to the edge of the gorge, and then we leap.It's the most terrifying thing I've ever done. It feels like leaping to my death. It feels like the worst thing imaginable. I reach out for the rope and hope that I can grab it. And I do.I grab the rope and I swing. I use my momentum to get over the gorge, and then I jump. I jump and I land on the ground.We grab a hold of the ropes before they can fall back and cut them so our pursuers can't take the same path. Then, we drop the ropes into the gorge and we walk away together.He's my mate and I'm his mate. And so
What I must do kills me. I know I have to do it. I have no other choice. But that doesn't mean I like it. And she'll never know that. She'll never know how much it'll hurt me to leave her behind.And it's for the better. It's good that she'll never know. I have to make sure she never knows. Because if she knew how strongly I felt for her, this all would be so much worse.tTe next morning, the sunrise shines on her face, reaching through the cave to illuminate her beauty. And she is beautiful. She's gorgeous. I want to be with her so badly.It's a troublesome feeling. And I never thought I'd find trouble like this. Not after Ellie. When she died, I never thought I’d find love again.Then, Samantha came into my life. I didn't know someone like her existed. And I almost wish I hadn't met her.No, I can't even say that. My life would be duller without her in it. But it's going to hurt so much to say goodbye to her. It's going to kill me.“I'll make us breakfast,” she says quietly.“
Hours go by and still Brian doesn't talk to me. At first, I try to engage in conversation with him. But eventually, I give up. I can't make him want to talk to me. And I don't want too. I want him to want to be with me. But he clearly doesn't. So, we continue the journey in silence. My heart breaks. Not only does my mate not want me, but soon will be separated forever. This is horrible and I don't know what to do. I can't stop it. I can't make him want to be with me. I can't believe he doesn't want to be with me.“Samantha,” he finally says. And it sounds so nice to hear him say my name. I wonder if he changed his mind. Or at least maybe now we don't have to go through this in silence.“Be careful at this river,” he says as we approach a river. He looks cautiously across it.I can't really understand why. The water seems rough, but nothing we can't get through. Sure, our paws might get wet. But in the heat of the sunny day, our paws and fur will dry out quickly.Maybe it's
I cough myself out of sleep. When I wake, sand and water are in my lungs. Mud coats my body. But I'm alive. Being alive is what’s most important. I know that for sure. I won't take that granted ever again.As I slowly adjust to my surroundings, I realize with horror that I might be the only one who is alive. I don't know where Brian is. I don't know if the rogues have gotten ahold of him. And I don't know what to do to find him.I sit up on the mud and scan the riverbanks. The water is rushing by quickly. I must have gotten lucky enough to be caught on one of the rocks and washed up on the riverbank. I don't know how I survived. I don't know how I'm going to keep surviving.I know I have to keep surviving though. I have to find Brian. I can't lose another mate. I won't.There is no sign of Brian anywhere. The riverbank is completely empty. There's no sign of the rogues either, which is a good sign. Maybe I won't have to fight for my life yet again.What if Brian fighting for h
BRIAN’S POVI knew what my fate would be once I entered that camp. I could see it in their eyes. I could hear it in the whispers around me.I'm going to die.There was a point in time in my life when I want to die. After my first mate was killed, I felt guilty. She was killed because of me. I’ve always known it was my fault.My mate was killed because I had taken the wrong person, and someone who loved them came after me. They killed her as revenge. And I knew I deserved to die after that. I know that honestly, I still do deserve death after everything I’ve done.However, I can't help but be sad about it now. I just barely found my new mate, and I don't want to leave her. I want to explore the connection we have. I want to love this beautiful woman.I know I can't though. I couldn’t before because it was too dangerous for her to be around me. I can’t now because I won’t be alive for much longer.They are going to kill me. I've accepted my fate, and I'm just glad I got to meet
I'm terrified as the burly looking man towers over my mate. I'm terrified and I don't know what to do. I don't know how to save him. But I know I must save him.Then, it feels like something different stirs within me. All of the pain I’ve felt since Rafael challenged the alpha bubbles within me. All the fights. All the sadness. They add up into a hurricane slowly building.My fear floods through my bloodstream. And I'm tired of being afraid. I'm tired of not knowing if my mate will die. I'm tired and I want to do anything I can to destroy these people.I look around me for anything I can use it as a distraction. I can't just run into this fight with my wolf skills. They are also wolves, and they can destroy me. There are too many of them. I can’t take them all on myself. I have to have more weapons. I have to figure out what to do soon.There are vendors all around the area. This is a busy part of town. There are lots of options. So, I take stock of all of them and try to figure
“That was... quite the fight,” I say.I can't really say what's really going on in my mind because I can't quite put words to it yet. I know I'll tell her eventually. I just need a little time to come up with the words and sort my own thoughts out.“That was,” she says. “It feels like I don't even know quite what happened. It all happened so quickly. I've never fought with a sword like that.”“You've never fought with a sword like that?” I ask. “That honestly baffles me. You did so amazing. How did you learn to fight with that if you never fought with a sword before?”“I really don't know,” Samantha says. “I didn't think I could do something like that. I'm just as shocked as you are.”That's the word I'm thinking of. Shocked. I'm shocked by her skill. I don't know quite how to fathom it.I can't fathom it. It's impossible. And now I learn that she's never fought with a sword before, it becomes even more impossible.“Well, you did well too,” she points out.I think of all the ti