Page 97 of Forgotten Fate

It was when we met back up with the Monuvian Prince that Aura revealed her true reasoning for going to Zolmara. She had a dream about a wolf.Me. There was no doubt in my mind that the giant dark wolf that hunted her was me. It was fitting, as that was exactly what I was supposed to do. Hunt her.

Then she explained how her dream led her to a mysterious book. She let me look at it, and I immediately recognized the language of the witches written on its old pages. No one but a witch would be able to decipher those words. But the pictures were no doubt of Zolmara and its immortal people.

Before we left the kingdom, we met with Trybe one last time. She gave Aura a necklace with magical properties. As I predicted, she used a decent amount of her own magic to enchant it, with nothing left in her reserves and not enough time to make something for me. I didn’t care. What was important was that Aura had something to keep her safe, and I would never be able to repay Trybe for that. For helping protect my mate.

As she put it around Aura’s neck, I saw her chanting something in a language only a witch could speak or understand, and I knew she was putting a spell on the chain too, likely to keep it from breaking.

Aura was so confused about the properties of the necklace, no doubt thinking Trybe was crazy. It almost made me laugh.

The night we left Monuvia, we made camp in the forest, and I was thrown off when Aura started bombarding me with questions and accusations.

“One minute, you say you won’t abandon me. You say I don’t owe you anything. Then the next minute, you say you’re only continuing for the money. Which is it, Elias?” The tension in her tone made my body stiffen. I could feel her intense emotions filtering through me, even though they were muted by our unset bond.

She was right, though. I had tried to hide my feelings for her, lying about this just being a business deal. But sometimes my true feelings would surface, and I couldn’t stop them. No wonder she was confused.

Then, my biggest dream and worst nightmare simultaneously came to life when she said, “I think I might be falling in love with you.”

I don’t think I had ever stood so still before, my body refusing to move. She couldn’t love me. She couldn’t be with me. I was wicked. I was a vile creature. She deserved so much better than me. I could not destroy her life by letting her fall in love with me. As soon as she found out what I was – what I had done to all those innocent people over the centuries – she would run for the fucking hills. I had to stop this now.

When she fell asleep, I scouted the area to ensure she was safe. Then I set up tracks, starting a mile or two in the direction of Monuvia and leading to her location, but not so close that she would see them. Occasional boot prints in the mud, broken branches here and there – it was just subtle enough that an experienced Monuvian Scout would take notice, but not too obvious that anyone could find her. She would be safe, so long as there were no enemies in the area. I did another search and found no one.

Then I left. I fucking ran. I shifted into my wolf so I could get farther, faster. I needed to breathe. To think. To get away from her before our feelings went too far and I doomed her. When the scouts would find her, she’d be taken back to her father. She would never forgive me, but at least she would live. Whatever happened to me – torture, death… None of it mattered as long as she was safe.

I ran on all fours until the sun came up, unsure of how much distance I created between me and my mate – tens of miles, at least. I shifted back to human form and sat at the edge of a rocky cliffside, finally catching my breath. Even from that distance, I felt Aura’s sorrow as she awoke and realized I was gone. I tried to push it down and ignore it. She was safer without me. She could go back to her life as if she never knew me. I was a terrible choice for her. Fuck what the gods wanted.

Hours went by, and I continued to try to dull her emotions that swirled inside me. I was surprised that I could feel them from thisdistance, but the mating bond worked in mysterious ways. As the day went on, I didn’t move from where I sat. I felt like I was mourning her even though she was not mine to lose.

Then a sudden sharp pain hit my temple. I grabbed at the side of my head, wondering what hit me, when I realized…it wasn’t me that was hit. It was Aura.

“No!” I screamed aloud, causing birds to scatter through the trees. Someone or something hit Aura over the side of the head. A Monuvian Scout wouldn’t be so stupid as to even think of hurting the princess. No, this was something malicious. And suddenly I couldn’t feel her anymore. Was she unconscious, or dead? She couldn’t be dead, I would be able to sense that, even with the mating bond not fully set.

Immediately, I shifted back to my wolf and sprinted back to where I left her.I’m coming, Aura, I thought, guilt and worry overpowering my senses. If something happened to her…gods, I would never forgive myself. Why the fuck did I just leave her there, in the middle of the fucking woods? Of course she was too stubborn to head back home. And I should have known there was a chance the scouts wouldn’t find her. She was strong, smart, and resourceful. I should have realized how far she would have gone on her own – how she’d hide her tracks as well as I taught her.

But someone else found her. My heart sank at the thought of it being Volund or Sarai or anyone equally as dangerous and evil.

Fear and guilt continued to eat away at me as I ran as fast as I fucking could, ignoring how tired I was. I had never ran so fast in my fucking life, wolf or human form. When I finally reached where I had left her, I immediately picked up on her scent. Even though hours went by, I could still smell that sweet, breathtaking aroma.

I followed it while in wolf-form, knowing my speed and sense of smell were even greater when I was wolf. Soon, I found myself ata lake where other human smells began to mix with hers. I sniffed at the ground, my snout brushing against the rocky shore. Then I found her pack, hidden behind a bush with her bow and quiver – and feet from that, her blood.

No. Gods no, what have I done?! I followed the strange scents that entangled with hers. She was conscious now, and I felt her pain, again and again. Something kicked her in the stomach. Then I felt another sharp pain in her temple. I growled ferociously as I ran, birds scattering in all directions. Whoever it was, I would fucking kill them.

Before nightfall, I found two men scouting the woods, her scent all over them. I stopped and watched them from a distance, not seeing Aura with either of them. But before I could make another move, I sensed an intense fear like I had never felt. And it wasn’t mine. It was Aura’s. Something was about to happen to her.

I howled, causing the two men in my sight to whirl in my direction, weapons unsheathed. I didn’t hesitate. I ran for the larger one, and ripped him to fucking shreds without a second thought, his blood and flesh filling my mouth. The other screamed for him, but I took him down within seconds too. Their deaths weren’t pretty, but they were quick.

More of Aura’s fear shot through me, and I darted towards her scent. Within moments, I found myself at the edge of some sort of bandit camp. And there she was, tied to a tree by her wrists and ankles, blood all over her.

I went fucking feral. I looked around and found a man, blood also all over him, standing at the center of camp with a knife raised as he looked in my general direction. He must have seen me because he quickly turned and ran.

There was no second thought. I lunged for him, ripping him apart like I did the other two. I felt a stinging slice go through me, and Imay have yelped, but I wasn’t sure. I kept going, making sure the man I tore apart was nowhere near recognizable when I was done with him.

I finally forced myself to stop, realizing Aura was still in front of me. Fuck. How much did she see? What would she think of a giant wolf killing her captors? What would she think when she realized that that giant wolf wasme? It didn’t fucking matter. I had to get her down. I shifted back to my human form and pulled the knife I recognized as hers from the bandit’s dead fingers. When I reached Aura, she was in and out of consciousness and covered in blood. Maybe she didn’t see anything after all.

I cut her down with her own knife and carried her away, running through the woods at a speed no human could run. I didn’t care. I needed to get her far away, and safe, in case more bandits came back.

I would never fucking forgive myself for this. This happened because I left. Because I was so fucking selfish and needed time to think. Gods. Guilt ripped at my soul so hard, I thought I would be the next to go unconscious.

It wasn’t until Aura awoke and pointed out my wound that I realized I was actually hurt, bleeding deeply from my abdomen. The last bandit must have sliced me with Aura’s knife.