Chapter 3 Roland
ROLAND
I took off running, not knowing where I was going, but knowing I was almost out of time, running harder than I ever had before.
I wished I could shift, to allow my unicorn to take over.
His speed was so much faster than mine, but without a destination, I couldn’t chance it.
I couldn’t risk being unable to get to them because there were humans in the way, there was a street to cross where I might be spotted, or a tall fence to open.
There wasn’t time for that.
I didn’t know how I knew it, but I felt it deep inside me that something was wrong. My unicorn pushed and pushed for me to go faster and faster, and I was trying. My legs were nowhere near as swift as his.
And then I scented it… blood. So much blood. It burned the back of my nose, unlike anything I’d scented before. Blood was something I came across far too often thanks to my horn’s ability. I was no stranger to the scent. What was it about this blood that made it different?
Three steps later, I saw my destination. A body. No, not a body. I refused to believe I was looking at a corpse. It was a man, slumped against a tree. He wasn’t moving and was covered in blood, but he had to be alive. He had to.
I slowed to a stop, my breath labored, my hands shaking. I needed to get to him, but rushing might make matters worse. I had no idea what got him to his current state, but it wasn’t a simple fight. This man was left to die.
I learned a long time ago that startling someone when they were seriously injured often ended with them hurting themselves more while trying to flee.
Before taking my next step, I looked around for any signs of danger.
When I ran, I hadn’t been as focused on my surroundings as I should’ve been, and if whoever had done this to him was out there, I had to deal with that first. making sure we were alone.
Closing the distance, step by step, I begged my unicorn to tell me what was happening, why the back of my nose stung, why my hands were shaking, why he’d called me here. He ignored everything other than pushing me to close the distance between us and the man… no, bear. He was a bear shifter.
His chest moved slightly, and it was the most magnificent sight I’d ever seen.
It meant we was still alive. Closer and closer I got, now only a foot away.
I counted his breaths, comparing them to mine at first. I was still breathing hard and faster than normal.
Him? His breaths were shallow and inconsistent.
My stomach dropped as I recognized his breathing pattern. I’d heard it before too many times and always in the last days of a herd member’s life. He might’ve been a shifter, but his healing was far too slow. He wasn’t going to make it left on his own.
I inhaled again, and what I had interpreted as stinging before wasn’t that at all. It was recognition, a recognition my unicorn had refused to let me have. I’d pester him later for why. For now, everything that mattered was in front of me. This man… he was my mate.
But there was more to his scent than that. Something about it didn’t sit right.
Rogue. My unicorn said it as fact, but without the disgust that came from the last one we’d encountered.
To be fair, the last rogue was given “freedom” with his marking instead of facing the consequence he deserved, which was death.
He’d been a horribly violent member of a neighboring pack and had killed a child in his rage.
He’d earned our disgust. This man? We didn’t know his story yet, but I refused to believe that fate sent me a mate that wasn’t worthy.
This alpha being rogue changed everything.
I couldn’t take him back to the herd, like I’d been planning.
They weren’t friendly to strangers on a good day, but they’d have let him be healed first and dealt with after.
Being rogue took that off the table. Not only would the healer not help me, but my father would probably demand to end his life quicker.
Or maybe my father would make sure he was helped only to have someone waiting for him when he healed. My father was an ass like that, and if he thought he could earn favor from someone in a position of power by turning a rogue in, he was going to do it.
The safe and “smart” thing for me to do would be to walk away and pretend I hadn’t seen a thing. Once I touched the man, once I accepted my unicorn’s claim that he was mine, I would be involved, and my life would be in danger.
But I couldn’t do that. Absolutely not. And even if I wanted to, my unicorn wouldn’t let me. He recognized this bear as ours. There would be no rejecting him for any reason, and especially not a selfish one like keeping my hooves clean.
“I’m here.” I fell to my knees and checked his pulse. It was there, but barely. He was weak.
If I hadn’t been forced to help so many others the past few days, I’d be strong enough to heal him, but I had been, and I didn’t have enough strength for that. I needed the healer if I had hope, but that was no longer an option.
I would heal him as completely as I could and go from there. First, I had to make sure we were safe, because I wouldn’t be able to protect him once I began working on his wound. It would pull all of my strength, and depending on who crossed our paths, could put an even bigger target on him.
“I’m not leaving, I promise,” I whispered, and I got up, pushing through my unicorn’s attempt at stopping me. I need to protect him. I have to make it safe first.
My plea seemed to work, and I was no longer fighting against myself to move.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my “special spray,” the one I used to keep other shifters from me when I wandered alone.
It was my own creation, a shifter and animal repellent, skunk musk mixed with a little something extra.
It was designed to keep wild animals away and confuse other shifters.
I sprayed as I ran, making sure I covered as wide an area as possible. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t perfect, but it might buy us some time, and that was what we needed.
Border secured as best I could, it was time to go. I didn’t want to, but if I healed him without clean water, I was in trouble. I’d be working against myself.
I looked back at him as I left. Please don’t die. Please.
Ideally, I’d go back to the herd and get supplies, but there wasn’t time for that. Grabbing my bag I’d lost mid run was the best option. It was closer than I thought, when the pack came into sight. I snatched it up and slung it over both shoulders, not wanting to risk dropping it again.
Goddess help me, my strength would be able to help seal the wound and the clean water could help wash some of the bacteria away, unlike the river water that would be riddled with it. Paired with the antibiotics and the gauze I had in my pack, maybe we had a shot.