Back From Beyond (Sample)

5. His Story

Adeline sat behind the Alpha's desk where she could look at her two mates. Hunter was looking disgruntled and a bit hostile towards the other man. It was apparent that he didn't believe that he would have to share his Luna with another man. Or perhaps he did believe it and the thought irritated him.

Cameron was looking docile though a bit confused. He also was unsure of the whole state of affairs as he had not been wholly sure he had understood the situation.

"Cameron, I met Hunter here last night in the woods on the southern border of this pack's land. I knew at once that he was my mate." Cameron looked at her with confusion and hurt and Addie fought back a tear at her mate's sudden pained expression.

"But- you are my mate, dear one," he said, wondering if he was being rejected.

"I know," she told him. "That's why this is a confusing situation. I've never heard of someone having two mates before. I am as bewildered as the both of you, I swear it." She was sincere and both of the men knew it. They could see it in her eyes and the feeling rolled steadily through the weak bond they maintained with her.

"I will not share my Luna with another," Hunter nearly growled out. There was a moment of silence at his statement before anyone spoke.

"I am not sure if we have a choice in the matter at this point," Addie said. "When I left the cells, I went to our pack shaman and she told me that the only way to completely sever the bond would be by death. I won't have that happen, no matter how much you may hate me for it. Losing either of you would be like losing part of myself."

"What else did this shaman say?" Cameron asked after a moment, genuinely curious. He had never met one but knew that they made potions and some could even see the future in the stars and moon.

"She said that your past may have been what caused this... strange situation today," Addie told him. Her eyes flickered to Hunter's and she saw the caution there. "She also mentioned it was one of hardship. Can you explain it to us? We may be able to understand why this has happened. The shaman implied as such."

Cameron sat back in his chair and took a deep, steadying breath. He wondered where to begin. It was true what the shaman said, and he mildly wondered when he could meet the woman. She seemed gifted.

"I'm 23 years old. I will be 24 in a few months time. I have been away at school trying to get a medical degree since I was 18 years of age. I had decided that if I hit my 23rd birthday and hadn't found my mate, that I would mark another. She and I- we had dated briefly when we were younger and she also had not found her mate. She was already 24. Her name was Sharla and she was the Beta's daughter. We discussed our decision with her father and he was okay with it."

"Did you- did you mark her?" Addie asked. Hunter gave her a quick look but her face was impassive. She had tried hard to make it so.

"No- I never had a chance to," Cameron told her. "Her brother was against the coupling and he tried to kill me. He succeeded actually. I flat-lined for 5 minutes before the doctor was able to bring me back."

"How did he succeed in almost killing you?" Hunter asked, quietly. "What did he poison you with? And how?" Even though he was not fond of this... arrangement, he was truly intrigued in regards to the man's story.

"I make healthy smoothies every evening for the next day. The man had taken it from the pack house fridge and put hemlock root in it. Ground it up fine so I wouldn't be able to tell. Not that I could anyway- the smoothies don't taste all that great," he answered with a sour face. "I suffered from rapid heartbeat, convulsions, a burning in my digestive tract and other... unsavory conditions. If I hadn't been a Were, I would have most definitely died from it. At one point I went into a coma and suffered from renal failure. The doc was able to save me though, and I was kept in the hospital for weeks after the attempt. After I got well enough, I left the pack in the dead of night. I didn't know if he would try to kill me again. I didn't feel safe with the likes of him around."