Destined to Run

by J. Kearston

  I gradually slow my pace. The closer I get, the more I mind my footing. Ducking my head low and shoulders rolling with each sure step, I stalk forward, keeping my massive form low in the tall grass.

  The overwhelming scents from the town add a chaotic mixture to my already frayed senses, making it difficult to discern one from another. It’s exactly why I never actually step foot over the town line, letting the others handle trade. Another waft of blood hits me and pulls my focus back to the task at hand instead of the scenery. Whatever this animal is, it’s hurt badly, and that’s all I really need to know. It will be a mercy killing, my good deed for the day. Nothing deserves to lie dying alone in agony for gods know how long.

  It’s just the circle of life, and I’m very good at playing my part.

  On my next step I pounce with a snarl tearing from my throat that would make grown men piss themselves. Within a split second, I regret it, retracting my claws and clamping my jaw shut as I land. Now that I’m a hairsbreadth away from my prey, the undercurrent of an undeniable scent pushes past all of the blood, something a lifetime of stories never prepared me for.

  My Mate.

  “Our mate, you mean,” a familiar voice sounds in my mind, and my head whips to the side to stare at a face I never thought to see again.

  You’re alive. Even my mental voice sounds breathless, not fully believing it despite the evidence staring me in the face.

  “And you’re scaring the hell out of Rin, so back the fuck off,” he growls and I look down at the wide-eyed woman beneath me.

  The side of her head is matted with blood, but head wounds bleed something fierce, so I’m not sure the extent of the damage without getting a closer look. There’s a wadded up shirt thoroughly soaked not far away that she must have been using to staunch the blood flow and I gently pick it up with my teeth, guiltily offering it back to her.

  “Ozzy, why didn’t you tell me your pussy senses were tingling?” she asks, slowly reaching out to take the offered shirt back, a slight tremble in her breathless voice. “You and your secrets. I keep telling you, they don't add to your mysterious appeal; they’re just annoying. Not a big fan of surprises,” she babbles and I cock my head.

  She’s got a concussion?

  Osiris mentally snorts, brushing past me to butt his head against her back, urging her upright. “No, she’s just weird. She and Cole will get along famously.”

  I sit back on my haunches, baffled at the way this human isn’t a sobbing mess after narrowly avoiding getting her throat torn out by a nearly three hundred pound tiger. I hope you killed the bastard that did this to her.

  His mental sigh has a low growl building in my chest. “She tripped on a root and cracked her head on a rock. It looks worse than it is.”

  She struggles to her feet, unsteady, and I get a better look at the terrible shape she’s in. Her jeans are caked in mud and torn, and the sweat jacket she’s wearing is two sizes too big, slipping off of one shoulder. What skin I can see is mottled with fresh cuts, but also a variety of bruises in varied stages of healing that discredit Osiris’ declaration.

  When she bends down to try and heft an overstuffed backpack from the ground, I growl in my brother’s direction as he just sits there, not making a move to help her. With the shape she’s in, he shouldn’t only be carrying the bag, he should be carrying her.

  I change back, my fury combating the autumn chill as I rise to my feet, naked. “The fuck is wrong with you?” I spit, incensed and taking the bag from her. “I get you disappearing on us as much as it pisses me off, but you find our mate and can’t bother with a damn phone call? Let alone treat her like this?” His lips pull back as he bares his teeth, arching his back and hissing, but he still doesn’t try to defend himself.

  The woman steps up behind me to unzip the backpack, digging around a bit before finding whatever she’s looking for. I stand stock still, not wanting to do anything to freak her out. Humans aren’t nearly as comfortable with nudity as shifters, and I’m still convinced she hit her head harder than Osiris claims. There’s just no way any sane person would be this calm right now.

  She offers me a pair of men’s sweatpants closer to Osiris’ size. They’ll fit, but they’ll be tight. She turns to look at my pride brother, deferring to him as if seeking permission to speak and I hate it.

  “I’m going to just go ahead and assume this is one of your friends based on the direction of the conversation?” He nods his head in affirmation and I frown, confused, but she continues before I can open my mouth. “Pack man?” Osiris narrows her eyes at her as she gives him a teasing smile. “Excuse you, but this is the time for jokes.” She frowns. “Because if I don’t laugh, I might cry. I’m about five steps away from just calling it quits, curling up in a ball, and letting nature take its course. I fulfilled my side of the deal, but I changed my mind. I’m not cut out for this.”

  Baffled, I struggle to keep up with everything going on. “Wait a minute. You can hear him? But…you’re human.”

  She looks at me in confusion. “Hear him? Like reading minds? And I thought I hit my head,” she tosses in my brother’s direction, wincing when she turns hers too quickly. “I know he can understand me and it gets awfully awkward having every conversation one sided, so I improvise.” The earlier part of my declaration finally catches up with her and she eyes me suspiciously. “What do you mean ‘mate’?”

  I look at Osiris. “At least face me as a man. You owe me an explanation.”

  My mate’s face softens, and she suddenly looks so tired, the exhaustion she claimed no longer hidden behind jokes and willpower. “He can’t.”

  While she starts filling me in on everything she knows, we start walking in the direction of the house. My eyes continuously flit in her direction, watching the way she drags her feet and stumbles, but continues to forge on without complaint. It takes everything I have not to just scoop her up and carry her the rest of the way, but the more I hear about the abuse she’s endured, the angrier I get. And something tells me that a woman that’s suffered at the hands of pissed off feebs wouldn’t appreciate me acting like I have a claim to her; especially since humans can’t scent their mates like shifters can.

  By the time I’m pushing open the front door, it’s almost midnight. Rin stumbles to the couch, nearly passing out before her head hits the cushion. Reluctant to keep her awake even longer, we need to at least clean her head injury so she doesn’t end up with an infection. I tell her as much, gently shaking her shoulder, and she groans, trying to push herself up lethargically.

  “I can carry you if you’d rather,” I tentatively offer. “Once you’re cleaned up, you can take Osiris’ bed instead of the couch.”

  She nearly sobs with joy at the prospect, stretching up her arm half-heartedly before it flops back down towards the floor. “Yes please,” comes her muffled reply, face buried in the cushions.

  My lip twitches in amusement, gently maneuvering her to get a better hold. As I cradle her against my chest, her face lolling against my shoulder, a contented purr lodges in my throat before I make a fool of myself. But simply the fact that even as battered and bruised as she is, that she instinctually knows she’s safe with me, soothes my baser half in a way I can barely explain.

  Carting her to the bathroom, I set her on the counter and she thankfully wakes up enough to stay upright. As I press a wet washcloth against her skull, she leans into my touch instead of flinching away, despite her small hiss of pain.

  “Sorry for being such a burden.” Her voice is groggy as she fights to keep her eyes open.

  Osiris jumps on the counter to rub against her arm. Bottles go clattering to the ground since he’s way too fucking big to be walking on the counter despite his runt-like size.

  “Not a burden,” I assure her, wanting to tear apart the men that made her feel like she had to apologize for giving us the biggest gift we could ever ask for.

  She brought our brother home.

  I’m not going to think of her as a gif
t, because I’m not like the assholes she left behind. The concept of a mate is a gift, sure, but she isn’t a thing that the universe just hands over to us. We don’t get to own her, we get a shot at being happy with her. I can see how it could come out wrong to this woman easily and I make a mental note to be extra mindful of my word choice when we discuss it in the morning, because like hell am I about to let something as monumental as this drop for long.

  Rin conveniently skimmed over the topic on our walk home, pretending like she didn’t hear me. She needs that right now, and making sure she’s alright is a higher priority at the moment, despite how much I’d prefer otherwise. I’ve barely been holding it together as it is, borderline feral these last few weeks. This punch to the gut, fueling the instincts I’ve already been wrestling to rein in?

  I nearly lost my family once, I’m not about to let it happen again.

  Eight

  Rin

  As I turn my head, a pained whimper slips out, the pillow sticking to the gash on my head and tugging at the sensitive skin. I can only imagine how pathetic I looked as nature kicked my ass, making it abundantly clear that I didn’t belong out there. But honestly, between the bugs, my aching muscles, and the cold, hard ground? I’m not a fan.

  Camping might be something I could get behind eventually, with better supplies, but trekking through nature on the run? I’ll gladly take the fabric of this pillow pulling at the wound on my head over another cold night in the woods any day.

  Ozzy rumbles low in his sleep and I bury my face against his front leg near his neck despite how incredibly warm I am, just soaking up the comfort. As something shifts closer to my back as I move, I tense.

  I passed out before my head hit the pillow last night, so deeply in fact that I never noticed something, or rather, someone, climbing in beside me during the night. It takes me a few minutes to talk myself out of panicking, but if Ozzy isn’t spazzing out, there isn’t anything to be afraid of. And I trust his instincts far more than my own in this uncharted territory.

  That, and I’m obviously broken. When Ares nearly tore my face off last night, sure, my heart was hammering with fear, but I didn’t feel the impulse to scream. I think I was more scared at being caught off guard than I was at the prospect of potentially dying. It’s like an instinctual part of me knew that he wouldn’t truly hurt me, the same way I’m able to curl up beside Ozzy so easily.

  I can’t see him from this angle, but the stranger's body stretches the length of mine and then some, clearly in his animal form. There's no doubt he could tear me apart with little effort if he wished, so the fact that he's snuggled up against me comfortably instead isn't lost on me. The heat he gives off is immense, and with the chill in the air, I lean into him with my eyes closed, staving off reality for just a few more minutes.

  I’m pressed between two shifters, and all I feel is an overwhelming sense of peace and safety. Obviously my better judgment leaves much to be desired, as noted by the way I set my life on fire.

  The door creaks and I feel both bodies beside me tense, awake and alert in an instant before settling back down just as quickly, further confirming that my instincts aren’t that far off base. I may not know much about them, but I know they won’t try to hurt me, and isn’t that all I can really ask for after inviting myself into their house?

  “Cole,” Ares states, surprised and stopping dead in his tracks before snapping, "You can't just go sneaking into someone's bed like a fucking creep! Not even going to introduce yourself before scaring the hell out of the poor woman?"

  The figure behind me stirs and I finally risk a look over my shoulder, accepting that my attempt at willful ignorance and avoidance is futile with Ares around. No matter how overwhelming things may be, pretending they aren’t happening won’t make them go away, as nice as that would be.

  Fur such a deep black it has a subtle blue shine to his silken coat, the panther at my back stretches his paws in front of him while bowing his back. With as deadly as even Ozzy is despite his small size, I can only imagine the damage Cole and Ares are capable of. Yet they just give off an air of laid back people that would rather keep to themselves. They may have no sense of personal space, but after the lonely, cold life I’ve lived, the easygoing affection is a welcome change.

  Cole brushes against me before gracefully stepping off of the bed and striding from the room. I sit up, fighting against my building headache. Ozzy flops on my lap, twisting and turning like he can’t get comfortable.

  I reach out to scratch his side to make him settle down, looking up at Ares for confirmation. “Is he always this needy?”

  His lip twitches before casually tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans and rocking back on his heels. His black t-shirt is pulled tight over his broad chest, making his unusual orange eyes pop even more dramatically. Even as a human he gives off a dangerous air, one that should scare me away after these last few weeks, but instead draws me in.

  I’m attracted to his strength in the way I covet it for my own. No one would dare try to hit me if I radiated that level of power, though I can see how this desire could be turned into hate. Humans envy them, and hate that they’re everything they secretly wish they could be, but refuse to admit. We come up lacking in comparison and instead of admitting we’re lesser, we hide behind our numbers and call it strength instead of fear.

  “I could say he just likes you, but nah; he’s always been this annoying,” Ares teases, smirking down at Ozzy. He bares his teeth, but doesn’t get off.

  The room devolves into heavy silence, both of us struggling to find where to start. There’s just been so much so quickly, a million things that need discussed, that it’s hard to know where to begin.

  “Thank you,” I finally manage. “For letting me stay here for a while, I mean. I sort of strong-armed Osiris into agreeing to let me hide out here in exchange for getting him out of the city, but concept versus reality is a funny thing. Logically, I knew he had a pack here I was helping him find, but that didn’t really translate into actual people in my mind.” I cringe. “Not that I don’t think you’re people! Just,” groaning, I close my eyes and rest my head against the headboard. “I wouldn’t blame you if you aren’t comfortable with a plan you had no say in. I’m not about to force you to let me live here, I just need some time to come up with a long term plan. Mostly, I figured you guys stood a better chance at helping him since I’m pretty much useless.”

  There’s a dip on the bed as he sits near my feet. Waiting until I break and look at him before speaking, his patience puts mine to shame. “If you’re ready to quit pretending you didn’t hear me last night, you’d know you already have your answer.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek, stomach flipping with nerves. A few calming breaths, and I decide he’s right. I need to rip the bandage off and face facts, because refusing to talk about things just because they’re hard or uncomfortable only exacerbates the problems.

  “I think I was just seeking affirmation, you’re right.”

  He doesn’t act like my need for approval and assurance bothers him in the slightest. “Happy to remind you as often as you like,” he says with a simple shrug. “Pride, by the way, not pack.”

  I give him a contrite look. “Sorry, my knowledge on shifters is pretty limited. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  His jaw tenses like he’s clenching his teeth, but he makes a conscious effort not to appear hostile or threatening. Still, his words come out angry, but they aren’t directed at me.

  “Let’s clear this up right now. You don’t need to apologize for everything, you’re not a burden, and everyone in this house is more than happy to let you stay.” As Ozzy meows at him, Ares swipes a hand down his face, looking weary, but more level headed. “Sorry. It just pisses me off thinking about the way they treated you.”

  “The way we left couldn’t have helped matters either.” I grimace. “Between him killing Jax and them thinking he abducted me, kidnapping a mage is going to be riskier than it alrea
dy was.”

  He blinks at me. “Hell you mean, kidnapping a mage?”

  I gesture down at Ozzy. “Since he’s still an ocelot, I’m assuming you don’t know how to fix him either. So logically, since mages did this, we’re going to need one to fix him. And seeing as how I can’t even walk through the woods without busting my head open, the chances of me pulling it off alone are slim. Hence, coming here for help.”

  Ares rests his elbows on his knees, cradling his head and swiping his hand over his face in exasperation before pinning me with a look. All the while, Ozzy lounges on my lap, grumbling any time I get distracted and stop scratching him. It helps, though I hate to admit it, to have something to occupy my hands while under such an intense glare.

  “One thing at a time, alright? Osiris will live for a few more days while we work some stuff out before I can even start in on what a terrible idea that is. You’re our mate, Rin, and that’s a pretty big fuckin’ deal to us.”

  “Why do you think I'm your ‘mate'?” I sigh, my headache only growing.

  “Not think; know. You smell like mate. Shifters are teased even as cubs with the prospect of finding their elusive, fated mate, but few ever do,” Ares explains. “It’s not unheard of for a human or mage to mate with a pride or pack, just rare.”

  “And if only shifters can sniff out their mates?” I humor him, because it just seems absurd. “How am I supposed to know if you’re lying?”

  The two of them look at each other, holding a silent conversation with their eyes. “I don't know,” Ares finally admits.

  “I've never heard of a rejected mate,” he adds, clenching and unclenching his fist as he glares at Osiris. “You're not thinking of rejecting us, are you?” he asks, turning wide eyes on me.

  “You’re not talking about just you, you mean Cole and Osiris as well!” I exclaim, tossing my arms up before Osiris nags me into more pets. “How can that even work? Do you expect me to just accept everyone that walks up and decides I belong with them?”