Destined - Forever #3 (Sample of Published Book)

Chapter 1 - Part 2

Crystal

"You can't stay here forever," Claire told me in a resigned voice.

My eyes flickered to her and I studied her for a few moments before I pulled my gaze completely from the slit in the curtain. Her light brown eyes held my deep green ones. Her long hair had once been a dark chestnut brown but now it was gray, the color a reminder of her aging.

The small cottage was surrounded by thick forest. Other than the occasional sound of a forest animal, it was silent. For the moment I was safe but she was right. It was only a matter of time before I was found.

The only reason I had been able to hide up to now was because Kyle and the pack weren't looking for me on their territory. Claire lived on the edge of the territory away from the main compound.

The vials filled with wolfsbane I had taken from the medical center before I had left Keri's pack had also helped to mask my scent. It was almost impossible for them to find me as long as I kept injecting myself with small doses of it.

I gnawed on my bottom lip as I tried to contemplate my options.

"I wish you didn't have to go," Claire added and I left my lookout by the window to take the few steps to put me in front of her so I could hug her close. Her body was old and frail in my embrace. I held her tight, never wanting to let go. A deep breath in and then I exhaled it sharply, trying to build up the courage to do what I needed to. The back of my neck throbbed with a familiar heat as I held her.

When I pulled away from Claire, she brushed my cheek and looked at me with glistening eyes. Once I stepped away from her the throbbing at the back of my neck eased.

"Maybe there's a way you can stay," she said, her voice hoarse with emotion. The lines in her face deepened and I felt a pang of guilt for putting her through this. I shook my head. I wanted to stay but we both knew that was impossible. I didn't have a lot of wolfsbane left and once I ran out of it Kyle would pick up my scent. He would find me and I couldn't let that happen. The sooner I left, the better for everyone.

"I can't. We both know that," I reminded her, and she nodded.

"You'll be safer here," she said but I was shaking my head at her.

"I'm not safe anywhere," I said, saying out loud what we both knew deep down inside. It was hard to admit that it didn't matter where I went, I would always be looking over my shoulder and expecting the worst. From the day I had entered the world, my path had been guaranteed. There was no changing it.

"Your parents loved you," she murmured softly and I felt her words pull at my heart. "They wouldn't have wanted this life for you."

I swallowed my emotion down. I didn't blame them. I had been told I had been an unexpected pregnancy my mother refused to end. Their story had been a forbidden love story without a happy ending. They had both been killed shortly after I was born.

"It's not their fault," I said. I had no bad feelings for the parents who had brought me into the world. When I thought of them they were faceless. Claire had no pictures to show me. She had often described what my mother had looked like but it was hard to keep those features she described in my mind. I had inherited my fiery red hair and green eyes from my mother. Claire had cared deeply for her and had been a good friend to her. Their friendship had ensured Claire had watched out for me through the years and we had formed our own close friendship out of it.

"Liv and Robert have been so worried about you," she told me. I felt a pang of guilt at the mention of my adoptive parents. I loved them like they were my true blood parents but the truth was they weren't. They had raised me from a baby but the blood that flowed in my veins wasn't theirs. They were good people and they didn't deserve what I had put them through but there had been no choice. By leaving, I had kept them safe. No one was safe around me.

"There's no way I can tell them the truth," I said even though we both already knew it. Knowing my secret was too dangerous.

I had started to notice slight changes after my sixteenth birthday. Strength I couldn't explain as well as the sensitive circular mark on the back of my skin. Granted I had been expecting some changes but these had been unexpected. Frightened and unsure, I had confided in Claire.

Finally realizing it was time to come clean, she had told me the story of my parents and my birth. That day would be engrained in my memory. It was the day I had discovered why I was different, which had only increased my fear. Only Claire and my real parents knew the truth. If the wrong person discovered my secret, it would be dangerous.

For a moment she stared off into the distance before pulling her gaze back to mine. I knew she missed my mother dearly. She had lost her close friend and I had lost any chance to know my parents.

Claire had done what my parents had instructed to dissipate any suspicion by pretending I was an abandoned baby in need of a home. She had told the pack she had found me abandoned outside her front door.

Inside the pack I had been given to Olivia and Robert to raise and they had done their best to give me a loving home. They had loved me like I was their own. Up to my sixteenth birthday I had lived a normal life within the pack. After discovering the truth from Claire, I made the decision to leave to keep them safe. Discovering my existence risked the lives of the people who loved me. I had been scared but there had been no choice.

Claire and my parents loved me and they would have done anything to protect me. And if Kyle had discovered I was his mate, it would have put his life in danger as well. I was his to protect.

Even now, over a year later, I was in the same situation I had run from before. I had to get away before I was discovered. But I had nowhere to go and there was no one who could help me. There was no plan of action, just a need to get as far away as possible.

Subconsciously my hand went to the back of my neck and touched it gently. The burning sensation continued on the slightly raised skin of the circular mark. The wolfsbane would hide my werewolf traits but it wouldn't stop the throbbing at the back of my neck hidden underneath my flowing red hair.

It reminded me of who I was and why I couldn't stay there. It was the reason I had to leave.

Kyle. Thinking of him made my heart ache. The werewolf in me wanted to go to him and live the destiny that had chosen for us to be together. But I had to resist it.

Memories of seeing him for the first time since I had run away swept through my mind, making me put a hand on my heart to handle the emotion I felt. He couldn't understand my actions. After the fight with the rogues had been won I had left as quickly as possible before he had a chance to confront me. It had been cowardly but if he knew the truth he would not have let me go. I still had no idea if he knew he was my mate. Had Keri told him?

Afraid for my safety since there were still a few rogues in the area, I had found safety with the only person I could trust.

Now that the war with the rogues was over and things had died down, it was safer for me to leave. And I had to do it soon. It was only a matter of time before Kyle found me here and once that happened there would be no hiding who I really was.

"Come have something to eat," Claire suggested, breaking me out of my heavy thoughts that burdened my small shoulders.

Not having much of an appetite, I took one last look out of the gap in the curtain to ensure there was no one in the vicinity before I followed Claire into the kitchen. Despite my lack of hunger, I ate as much as I could. I needed to keep up my strength.

The unknown loomed over me. I had nowhere to go and, other than Claire, I had no one I could trust. I had to find a place where I could hide away from everyone—humans and werewolves. Irrespective of whether Kyle knew I was his mate or not, after a while he would give up and stop looking for me. I had to believe that.

There had been times I had wondered if staying alive was worth it but when I thought of my parents' actions to ensure my survival, I felt the strength to carry on.