The heat of Ahiga's rage shuddered through my bones as I huddled against Calian's back. Fear was not something I was accustomed to experiencing. Fighting back was ingrained in my bones, and I refused to allow myself to be manipulated or bullied by him. I was concerned by his anger directed at the man who was defending me, but I couldn't put my finger on why. What was it about this stranger's safety that I was so concerned about? I felt Calian lift his arms up and shrug. "Even if I knew where she was, what makes you think I'd tell you?" "She is my betrothed which makes her MINE." Ahiga shouted. I could hear the annoyance starting to boil over in my "fiance".  Calian shook his head. "No, no she isn't. Even if she were to marry you, she is still her own person. You do not own her. Kiera is allowed to make her own choices." "Since when are you on a first name basis with her!?" I heard Ahiga sneer. When the man in front of me folded hi

When I pulled my face away from his muscular back, I noticed the gate that surrounded their settlement. It was absolutely stunning! As an alternative to chopping down trees to construct a barricade separating them from the outside world, they had grown redwood trees around the perimeter of their camp. Between the trunks, they had bamboo filling in the gaps. The bamboo was cut back in a neat way to keep it from growing too big. I squeezed Calian's hand that was still holding mine. "How did you grow those so fast?" A small sneeze escaped him and he murmured "excuse me" before turning to meet my eyes. His gaze was unreadable as his mouth quirked up into a sly smile. "We had a witch."  My heart raced as the phrase "had" kept replaying in my head. "What happened to the witch?" His smirk dropped into a frown. "She betrayed us." As something that I couldn't place ignited in his eyes for a split second, he shrugged. It was almost as if his eyes w

She continued. “Well, it did work out for him. He lost all his power and most of his influence within the tribe. All our food supplies dwindled. The only way he could feed the pack was by doing bad things to other people. As I’m sure you’ve already heard; Cannibalism.” Lora laughed and I could only sit there, dumfounded. Charlie let out a snort along with her. I clasped my hands in front of myself and ignored her ‘pack’ phrase. “Why didn’t you guys rebel sooner?” "Kiera, I know you have never rebelled like that in your life. Neither had we." I felt a tear slide down my cheek. It was true. I hated the constant questioning, the never-ending investigation, and the fact that I felt so alone in it. It didn't help knowing how I would bring shame to my family if I went against the Tribe's rules. "I am sorry." "I

CalianI knew what would happen if I kept hanging around that girl. The stunning, dark-skinned brunette had drawn my attention the moment I had glimpsed upon her floating in that lake. Just from that moment, I knew how brazen she was. When her mouth opened and the music of her voice rang through my ears as she chewed me out, I was hooked. No matter what my infatuation with her was, she could never be mine. I slammed the wooden table in front of me as her face flashed in my head. The frown displayed on her face when I accepted what her father demanded of me, hurt.Kiera had trusted me. She put faith in me after seeing her naked so many times and I betrayed her. Although her nudeness was innocent on her end, the thoughts running through my head were not. Several times a day, I had found myself hard, daydreaming about smothering my face between her sumptuous breasts and taking in her lovely scent of embarrassment. Realization of my wayward thoughts hit me as I struggled to adjust the

Kiera2 WEEKS LATER...The lush grass tickled my exposed back as I layed there watching the little amount of clouds quickly move along the sky. The cooling breeze caused shivers to adorn my spine as my intuition caught on to the upcoming storm making it's way overhead. My sunbathing in the tan undergarments that I wore, was about to come to an end the moment the sky decided to let go of it's tears.Yet again, the calming scent of the murky lake water soothed my rising nerves. This felt more like a home to me than the village did recently. It was quiet and relaxing to be out here. I could be myself and collect my thoughts here, and yet, that nagging feeling was always present. Thinking about heading back to the village killed my mood quicker than I could prevent it.Whispers - everywhere I turned. Deep down, I knew it was home, but it no longer seemed that way to everyone around me. Even in my mother's voice, the sadness she felt towards me presented itself loud and clear.Depression