It’s cold, for Dania, at least. I can take the cold; my body keeps heat more than my small sister. I wrap the large blanket I managed to steal from one of the surrounding houses tighter around Dania. She’s shivering, and her lips are blue.
I lay behind her under this massive tree in the forest; my arms wrapped tightly around her tiny body. Hopefully, my body heat will help me keep Dania alive through the night.
It’s hard trying to keep someone alive out in the wilderness, especially a human. Dania needs to be somewhere warm, with people who will love and care for her, but I don’t know where the hell to take her.
Dania and I were banished from our pack two weeks ago after the man, whom I believed was my father, found out that I wasn’t his child.
Okay, that’s a lie. I was banished, Dania was not; I pretty much abducted her. Correction, I did abduct her.
I had waited all my life for the day I would come of age and be able to shift. All I wanted was to be the bear I knew I was inside.
The day I had been waiting for finally arrived, and the high council gathered the pack around the massive fire burning brightly. The Kulumi Pack had always been big on parading around first-time shifters. There was nothing seedy in it, but to the King, it was a time to celebrate the younger generation becoming adults.
I was a late bloomer, years later than everyone else, which was unheard of for a Princess of Kulumi.
Males shift by the age of fifteen, females by sixteen. Some can shift as early as thirteen; both males and females have done so. However, those who shift at such an early age are born for combat, strong in ways most will never be. They are then trained for battle and thrust into the King’s Army whether they want it or not.
My elder brother, Brody, shifted at the age of twelve, which was nothing new for a Royal family member. Everyone was so proud of Brody, and he soon began his combat training.
It was not required for my brother to train for such a thing, but that’s what Brody wanted. It wasn’t long before Brody was leading the King’s troops, and he was feared throughout bear packs everywhere.
When I didn’t shift at twelve like my brother, the elders told Leopold that it was not such a big deal. Not all Royals will shift so young.
However, when I still hadn’t shifted at eighteen, the King and his people began to believe that I had no bear or that I was too weak to release the animal within. It made the King look weak for producing such a disappointment, thus meaning Leopold was ashamed of me.
He never mistreated me, though he made sure to let me know how ashamed he was. I was the cause of the whispers from Kulumi’s people. I was the girl without a bear, and I was nothing like them.
The council called a meeting where Elder Jones pointed out that grief can cause the bear to shrink away for some time. I had lost my mother, our Queen, and it had affected me deeply. If the bear had gone into hibernation, it could take years for her to awaken. He also said that forcing the bear out would never work; she can only arise when she is ready.
The Elders agreed that this is what had happened and that I should be given time to recover. Each person agreed that they could sense the bear within me and that they knew how powerful I was. I was no shrinking violet, and I could hold my own.
So, of course, when I went to the King and explained how I could feel the bear inside clawing to get out, excitement filled the castle.
Transformation night was even more special because the Princess was finally transforming. The clan would all soon see just how strong their Princess could be.
My older brother, my best friend, explained that I had nothing to fear, and soon, everything would be as it should.
I stood in front of that fire, my beautiful white dress that hit the floor, swishing around my ankles in the slight breeze. I was so proud, so happy.
My fiancé watched with a proud smile on his face as the change began to take over me. I’d been told how the first change would consume me, that I wouldn’t feel the difference, but as soon as the bear inside of me was set free, I’d know what true freedom was.
I lost everything that night, my friends, family, and fiancé. I would never be the same, forever altered and unloved.
I never loved Christoper, but I was betrothed to him the moment I was born, the way my mother was to Leopold.
The clan didn’t care much for bonding when you were Royalty; if you found your mate and bonded great.
If not?
Tough shit.
As a princess, a mate was chosen for me. I wasn’t allowed to find someone of my own. It was what was expected of me as the daughter of the King.
Christopher and I were friends, but love and bonding never came into it. Yet, it still hurt that he turned his back on me.
I thought I meant something to him; I thought we were friends. But it turns out that I meant nothing to him at all. All that mattered to Christoper was standing and what he looked like in the eyes of the people.
My father was the King, and it was my duty to marry a man almost as high up in the chain as I was; that’s why he chose Christopher. Christoper was the son of a Lord. Lord Byron Von Aimes of Barkley.
Even though I didn’t love Christopher, I was willing to do my duty for the good of the pack. It’s not like Christopher and I didn’t have fun, we liked each other very much, we were close friends.
I was happy to do what was required of me, and I thought Christopher was happy with me too. But he turned his back on me quicker than I ever thought anyone could. Christopher cared more about his standing within the pack than he did me, and it hurt.
I was banished that night with no possessions and no help from anyone, banished and disowned. Either I left right there and then, or they would literally tear me apart. The only thing I took with me was my sister.Why did I take her?Because it would only have been a matter of time before the King found out the truth.You see, my mother, it seems, couldn’t help herself when it came to handsome men, even other shifters, shifters with different animal abilities. She fooled the King into thinking that I was his cub; how she did that, I don’t know. Not with the King’s ability to sense a shifter even when they’re wearing a glamour to hide their true selves.However, I know my mother was powerful, an Alpha in her own right. She was strong and commanded attention from everyone around her, and as Q
“Anja?” My little sister’s hushed, painful voice pulls me from thoughts of the past and my possible future.I pull myself into a sitting position against the tree, dragging Dania with me and holding her close to me.“I’m here, Dania.”“I am so cold.” She’s crying again.Ever since we left Kulumi, Dania has done nothing but cry and beg me to take her back to her father. She’s never had a mother, but Leopold never blamed Dania for Mother’s death. In fact, the King loved Dania so much more because she was the last link to his soulmate.I know how hurt the King must be, and I know how much it’s killing me that my sister begs the way she does, but I can’t take her back. If I take her back, I’ll be tor
Leopold, the King, looked older somehow, even though it’s only been a couple of weeks. He looked stressed, grieving for Dania. Guilt gnawed at me for what I’d put him through.How could I have done that to him?Because my aunt made me believe it would be the best thing for Dania. Plus, I was terrified of leaving her behind in case my aunt let anything slip about my sister.However, seeing the state of my once father hurt my heart so badly. My sadness at being cast out meant nothing at that moment. It didn’t matter that his love for me had vanished, he still loved Dania, and she needed him badly.With tears in my eyes, I hugged my sister tightly, kissed her head and told her that I loved her. I told her that if she ever needed me, all she had to d
“I can’t believe you’re doing this, Orrin. She’s a damn bear; you said so yourself!”I roll my eyes at Adrian.I lean back in my chair and raise an eyebrow.“And who gave you the right to speak to me like this?”“You’re not my Alpha or my King right now, Orrin; you’re my brother. You cannot mate with a bear!”“I don’t know what she is, Adrian,” I scrub my hands over my face and sigh. “I didn’t sense anything. I only believed she could be a bear because of the little girl with her.”Adrian sowls, which causes me to growl at him.He might be my brother, but I will not put up with this disrespect from anyone!
I woke up in a massive bed in an opulent bedroom, one larger than I had ever seen. It was grand, in fact – the kind of room someone of Royal blood would occupy, and I lived as a Royal, so I know what I’m talking about.The four-poster bed, covered in silk, sits against the back wall, and a blazing fire surrounded by a marble mantel sits directly in front of the bed, oak dressers with flowers in glass vases on top. Yes, it’s beautiful.Yet there I was, a complete mess in a room I had no place being in.The second I sat up, two women around the age of fifty came rushing over. They checked the back of my head thoroughly before deeming me fine, with no damage.Thank the God’s and Goddess’s.They handed me a plate filled with raw meat and fruit. I shovel
The smirk on the King’s face as he looks me up and down tells me that he is indeed the reason I am here.Were those men who took me from the woods looking for me specifically?Did Orrin send them after me because I ran from him?I ran because the vision scared me, and it scared me because I never imagined I would spark with the first wolf I came across — especially not a King and obvious powerful Alpha. But then, I’d believed I was a bear until two weeks prior.I’m forced to my knees in front of the King by two men pushing on my shoulders. The sound of the drums suddenly ceases when the King holds up his hand. I’m grateful because the pounding of those drums was causing a migraine.That’s crazy; shifters don’t suffer from migraines.
I don’t want to strip in front of these people, but if I don’t, my clothes will be torn from my body when I shift. But I can’t bring myself to remove my dress, so I don’t.Orrin eyes me curiously when I crouch down with my right hand on the ground. I lift my head to look at him, this beautiful, powerful man whom I feel my heart and body yearning for. I’ve heard of this kind of connection before, but I have never felt it.Why would I?If Orrin is my mate, then that’s why no connection of this kind was ever mine before this moment. I haven’t lived as a wolf for a month yet, and I have so much to learn.Although I would be a liar if I said there wasn’t sexual chemistry of some kind between Christopher and me. Christopher used to tell me that’s all we needed, even
Anja was beautiful out there, just as I knew she would be.When I sent Galagh and Emroy to search for the mysterious woman in the woods and her feral child, the only thing on my mind was the vision we shared. I’m not sure if it was my foresight or hers. Only the most powerful of shifters possess the gift, and I doubted that Anja was such a shifter.I couldn’t settle; nothing I did calmed my mind. As the days passed, I became more determined to find my mate.There was something that bothered me, however. I knew Anja was a shifter; I smelled it on her, the bear within the moment she ran from me. It bothered me because I couldn’t stop thinking about her, but wolves and bears avoid each other at all costs.So why the hell did the Moon Goddess pair me with a damn bear?