Filed to story: A Claim of Fortune Book PDF Free by Jaymin Eve
Talon’s eyebrows drew even tighter, as if a flaw would never dare to sully his presence.
“Without my other bonded mates, I will fade away, and so will my power. I’ll be useless to you. My wolf is already broken and mourning, buried so deep in my essence I can barely feel her. You and I alone…” I pointed my finger between us. “…can never be. I’ve already gifted parts of myself to other mates. Mates. I. Love. There will never just be you and I.”
Of everything that had happened since Finley busted into this room, this was the first time the dragon completely lost control. Ash and maple filled the room, until I was sweating and panting against the dense air. Whatever dominance he held over Finley broke as he lost control, and the bear moved again, racing for the exit.
We made it into the hallway, and while Finley moved fast on two legs, it was an awkward gait. “Let me down,” I hissed, tapping his arm. “I can run, and you’ll fight easier without me in your arms.”
The walls around us shook as flecks of plasterboard and stone fell from above, and there was still no sign of a window.
Finley shocked me by dropping me to my feet, and after ensuring I was in front, his snout nudged me to start moving.
I sprinted down the hall as the building shook harder. I couldn’t figure out what Talon was doing until I heard the roar and glanced over my shoulder to find a dragon tearing through the hall, destroying the structure around us as he moved.
When we reached the end of the hall, there was the option to go left and right, and both ways looked exactly the same. Finley nudged me toward the right and I took off again, my body fatigued but my will to get out of here alive and strong.
Not that I was sure what would happen when we made it into the open.
The open skies were a dragon’s domain, and through the broken tendrils of our bond, Talon felt slightly unhinged.
He had lost it at my last statement, and I wasn’t sure he’d even stop for me now.
EMME
We had been underground-in a bunker that was completely buried except for one doorway, that we ran up a single set of metal stairs to reach.
That was why there’d been no windows, and if I hadn’t had Finley’s bear nudging me in the right direction, I’d never have made it out of the labyrinth of halls and rooms.
Two dead guards were sprawled near the exit, puddles of blood congealed around their torn throats. It didn’t bother me. These traitors made the decision to work for evil itself, and death via bear was the consequences of their actions.
As dry, frigid air hit me, I noticed that the bunker appeared to be buried in the middle of what looked like desert. The late-afternoon light showcased the rocky and arid terrain, with large cliffs visible off in the distance. There wasn’t any snow on the ground, which was great news for my bare feet. The rocks would be bad enough, and I didn’t want to add frostbite to the mix.
I mean, I’d have literally run over burning coals or through an icy tundra to get the hell out of here and back to my pack, but it was much nicer if I didn’t have to.
We sprinted as the ground shook, Finley falling on all fours to move faster. My fitness in my human form was woeful at best, and I was filled with an urge to shift, but my wolf remained buried deep, and I didn’t have time to coax her out.
Finley noticed fairly quickly that not only was I slowing, I also breathed like an asthmatic human. In my defense, he was really barreling along, and I doubted many could keep up in their bipedal form. He slowed to my pace, and as I turned to apologize, he swept his head around and hit my side. With a shriek, I was lifted and tossed onto his back, landing awkwardly as I scrabbled not to fall. I caught myself on his fur, and he didn’t give me a chance to get comfortable. He took off rapidly again.
At first it felt weird riding on the back of a bear, but I quickly stopped caring and slumped forward into his fur, my legs hanging awkwardly on either side. I had to keep them a little tucked to not hit anything-not that Finley appeared to notice or care in his race for our safety and freedom.
The ground still shook behind us, and energy in the air crackled against my skin. It reminded me that a dragon was busting through that underground bunker, and he was going to hunt us down like prey.
Finley and I both understood how it felt to be prey, though for him it was only when he was younger. I’d been prey for most of my existence, and even with my alphas and pack, it remained the case.
Slade had tried to warn me that I needed to be stronger in all ways if I wanted to survive. Fitness, fighting ability, weapons. My skills were lacking, and it was never more obvious than today when I had to be carried by a freaking bear because I couldn’t keep up.
Today would be the last time I was this pathetic and vulnerable.
Yeah, I’d always be smaller and weaker than alphas, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t train to be the very best version of myself.
The vibrations picked up, and so did Finley’s pace. How long he could keep this up with my additional weight was a concern, but so far he wasn’t faltering. I didn’t know a lot about bears, but I got the sense that they were fast over short distances and not designed to sprint for miles.
Where are you?
I called for my wolf, and the faintest hint of her essence touched my fingers.
We need to shift.
Her desolate cry was my reply, and my frustration reared up strongly.
I mourned our missing mates too, and the fact that we’d been forcibly mated to a beast didn’t help either, but we couldn’t just give up.
Please. Find your strength.
When I got nothing more than a listless huff, I decided to let her be. She might have the wild spirit of a wolf, but she was also an omega. We weren’t designed to live without our mates.
We were the heart of the pack, and when the tethers to our bonded ones-which also included Talon now-stretched thin, it crushed our spirit.
Only the human side could fight, and I would, with everything I had.
Like that surge of heat and strength back in the bunker. I had no idea what it was or where it came from, but it was power I hoped to find again.
Ahead of us, a parcel of trees rose up to break the endless desert landscape. This random patch of forest was bordered on one side by a rocky cliff that might also offer shelter from a dragon’s sight. Finley beelined for the trees, and we both knew our only hope was to find somewhere to hide and regroup.