Page 4 of Forsaking His Mate

Tears brim in my eyes and my father swipes his thumb over my cheek, wiping them away as they fall. “I should never have kept you here. It was selfish of me.” He swallows hard, his throat working as he tries to control his emotions. I feel my own stick in my throat as I try not to sob. “When you were a pup, there was a woman who came for you. She knew what you were and she wanted to take you somewhere safe. I wouldn’t allow it. I wanted you close. You are my child, the light in my darkness, my heart and my soul. Selfishly, I didn’t want to let you go, but I should have.”

“What woman?”

His tongue slips out to wet his bottom lip. “Her name’s Hester. She’ll explain it all to you,” he assures me. “You have to go.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to go.”

He squeezes my hand. “She can protect you in ways I can’t.” Sucking in a breath, he closes his eyes. “My little Tess, I’ve always known this day would come. You’re different, special. Our kind is not tolerant of either. They’ll want to destroy you. They think you’re a freak, an abomination, but you’re a miracle. Never forget that.” My heart feels so full with his words that I can’t stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. “There will always be a place for you here, but I need you safe. Find this woman.”

I have no idea how I’m supposed to find her when I don’t know the first thing about her.

“How?”

He smiles so sadly it makes my heart clench. “She said you’d know where she was and that you’d be able to find her when the time was right.”

The cryptic words have me frowning. What the hell kind of answer is that?

“She was wrong. I don’t even know where to start looking,” I say, a hint of desperation lacing my tone.

“You will. Trust yourself. Tessa, go!” I hesitate, unsure of what to do. He sounds crazy and I want to stay; I don’t want to leave him like this. “Go now!” he snarls.

I close my eyes and take a breath. I have to go and not because some mystical woman told him I had to, but because the threat of the hunters after me is very real and I can’t be responsible for any more deaths.

Sobbing, I kiss his cheek and stand. “I love you, Papa,” I say.

“I love you too, my girl.”

I give him a watery smile, taking in every inch of his face and committing it to memory before I turn and run. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I don’t want to leave my dad bleeding in the dirt, but what choice is there? Stay and get us both killed or run and hope they come for me, not my family?

I take off at speed.

I might not be able to shift or outrun a full-blooded wolf, but I’m not as slow as a human either. I have better stamina, a faster pace, and more strength, but I still have limits.

Eventually, I start to tire, though I keep going until my lungs feel as if they are on fire. The sound of fighting and baying gets quieter until I hear nothing but the sounds of the forest. I don’t dare turn on the pack bond again to find out what is happening. I know if I hear them suffering, I’ll return, and that would put them at greater risk.

Jumping over a thick tree root, I drop into a pile of leaves. Here, there are no tracks or paths, telling me that human and wolves are not venturing this deep into the woods. I slow down my pace, the uneven forest floor making it hard to run without risking injury. Every noise has me looking over my shoulder.

I have no direction in mind and my only aim is to put as much distance between me and those hunters as possible. Questions race in my head and I wish I could have stayed to find out more.

Who is Hester, and how am I meant to find someone I’ve never met before?

The sky overhead starts to darken and my legs ache fiercely. My back is a ball of pain, but I keep moving. I don’t know why but it feels right to head in this direction and Dad did say I should trust myself.

My feet fail me, and I stumble over a rock. Throwing a hand out to stop my fall, I can’t stop the cry that escapes me as it connects with its jagged edges.

I land on my hip and wince—this is not my most graceful moment, considering I do have wolf in me. Wiping my muddy hands on my jeans, I start to slowly rise to my feet until a vision hits me so violently it drives me back to the ground. Spreading my fingers, touching the dead leaves and the dirt, I try to ground myself as pain erupts through my skull.

As the forest wavers before my eyes, I see a raven-haired woman with eyes that are almost as black. She’s studying me as if she is truly standing there.

I’m in pain; I can’t breathe without feeling like there are shards of glass in my airways, and that alone tells me this is unlike any vision I’ve ever experienced.

Hester…

The name floats through my mind, and I know she’s the one I’m looking for.

“Where are you?” she asks.

No one has ever spoken to me in a vision before. I usually just get a glimpse of something that is about to happen. This is new, and honestly terrifying.

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