Framed

Part 2

*5 YEARS LATER*

The light from the full moon was all the help that I needed as I snuck towards the border, a bag full of stolen food hanging from my mouth. This was the fifth time that I had entered Silver Valor's land. And I knew that if I was caught, it was an automatic death sentence.

I was within sight of the border and my freedom when a ground shaking roar erupted throughout the forest. I froze as I searched for the source; though I didn't need to. There was only one creature that I knew of that could have made a roar that loud; a Spartan Bear.

From the sound the roar came, I knew that it had already crossed into the pack's territory. And I also knew that a patrol wouldn't be in this section for another full hour. Slipping my bag of ill-gotten food into a hollow stump, I took off in search of the bear.

The closer I got, the more perturbed Bellona and I grew. We could sense that something just wasn't quite right. Suddenly, a quick flash of grey fur caught my eyes. I was about to move when Bellona froze. There's something off about it. She whispered softly as I crouched lower to the earth. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in. An almost too sweet scent hit me and I had to bite back a whine that threatened to slip free.

Forbidden magic, Bellona spoke and her words turned my blood to ice. There could be only one explanation as to the source of forbidden magic; a very old and a very powerful witch. The Spartan must have ticked off the wrong woman, I thought as I moved forward silently. There was a reason why such magic had been outlawed so long ago.

The magic was very powerful, too powerful for most non-magic welding creatures. If used on you, it would eat away at your mind, driving you crazy while it killed you from the inside out. I felt sorry for the shifter, but there was only one cure; death. Very quietly, I began to move closer, looking for a better position in which to strike at him.

Just as I got into position, the sound of a child's laughter filled my ears. A young boy, no older than five, stumbled from the brush, unaware of the danger that was just yards away from him. The bear's head snapped towards the child, and I caught a glimpse of its blood red eyes as they narrowed in on the unsuspecting boy.

A rumbling growl came from the bear's throat and the boy stopped, his eyes scanning the forest for danger. Knowing that if he didn't get away now, he would be killed, I made a decision. Howling as loud as I could, I lunge forward, drawing the bear's attention my way.

He lumbered towards me and from the corner of my eye, I watched as the boy spun around, hightailing it in the opposite direction. Even though it had cost me my advantage, I was glad that the boy was out of harm's way. The enraged bear swiped at me, his claws digging into my left hip. They dug deep, leaving behind a wide gash that had blood gushing from it.

We circled each other, swiping or lunging forward, drawing blood with each attack. The fight drone on and time seemed to cease for us. I was growing weak and tired, but so was the Spartan. Knowing that I wouldn't last much longer if we kept this up, I jumped forward, sinking my teeth as deep as I could into its neck.

It released a deafening roar of pain as it began to shake its head as hard as it could, as it tried to get rid of me. In his broken mind, I'm sure that shaking me like a rag doll was a good plan, but it worked in my favor. With each vigorous shake, my teeth only sunk deeper, drawing more blood. The metallic taste of his blood filled my mouth as he gave one last shake. I went flying backwards, taking the majority of his throat with me.

My body slammed into a tree, knocking the wind from my lungs and stunning me. I lay at the bottom of that tree, my eyes glued on the bear before me. He took several steps my way and I feared that my life was over. The light faded from his eyes as his body fell forward, crashing hard into the ground.

The only sound that could be heard was the frantic beating of my heart. Slowly I stood up, aching in places that I never knew I had. Taking several small steps towards the fallen beast, I gently nudge it with my paw. He was dead.

Satisfied that the boy and his pack were out of danger, I slowly began to make my way back towards the spot where I had stashed my bag. It was my hope that I would be long gone by the time the patrol came through and found the body. And no one would know that it had been me who had killed the Spartan Bear.

To them, to all the packs, I was the wild rogue that cared for only herself and no one else. If this got out, my reputation would be dealt a heavy blow. I chuckled softly as I tried to calm my racing heart. The truth was; I still cared about the innocents. It was those who thought they could get away with the crimes they had done and blamed someone else that I had a problem with.

I managed to put fifty yards between me and the carcass before my legs gave out from under me. The fatigue and blood loss from the fight were too much for my already weaken body. The last thing I thought before darkness took over was that I regretted not eating that cherry pie yesterday.