JEWEL

The goddess liked to give me things and then take them away. She fated my mother to a murderer, so I could be born into a broken world, then orphaned. Then she gave me Huck, my only constant, who I'd loved since I was a little girl, and fated him to a mountain wolf so he would leave me too.

That day outside the bar, as Huck told me goodbye and went off to fight for a stranger, I saw the monstrous man winning fight after fight in the square. He was skilled—for a low wolf. He was large, strong, mine. My wolf had recognized his scent the minute he made it into town, but I hadn't allowed myself to acknowledge that he was my mate. I'd stood in the alley, just out of view, watching as Huck and he fought for a spot protecting the future luna.

In the end, the goddess took both of them.

Now, she'd given him back so I could watch him die.

I sat on the ground beside him, cursing the moon for shining so brightly. Everyone else was asleep, and I should have been too. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. The white sheet I'd used to cover him had gathered low on his waist, and silver light gave depth to shadow, carving out his physique, highlighting his perfection.

My mouth watered, and I swallowed hard. I'd been around men my whole life. I'd been propositioned by most of them. If I'd wanted a mate, I could have had my pick, and there were plenty of fine specimens to choose from. I'd never given any the time of day, but none had held a candle to him.

Dark hair formed a trail up his stomach, spreading out across his chest. It coated his forearms, leaving his shoulders and biceps untouched, so smooth, strangely unblemished. Every man I'd ever known had scars, but he had none. Or, at least, he hadn't before someone shot him.

I chewed my lip and cast a cursory glance around. Then, finding no one in sight, I let temptation win and scooted closer. I was only checking his temperature. That was all. He'd had several fevers over the past week, and last night's had been the worst.

"Aria. Aria. Aria!" He'd thrashed back and forth as if he were being torn apart from inside, and I'd been helpless to stop it. How could I fight an enemy I couldn't see?

How could I be a woman I wasn't?

Who was Aria? Whoever she was, I hated her. Was he already mated to another? My lips pursed, throat dried. Like mother, like daughter, the goddess really did have an excellent sense of humor.

He was quiet tonight. His fever had broken this morning. So far, it hadn't returned. I pressed a palm against his face as if checking to ensure I was right. A zing shot through me at the contact, and my wolf expanded, urging me closer. With no one around to witness, I gave into her. After all, this would probably be the last time I ever got the chance. Whether he died or woke up either way, it would be over.

"You really are beautiful," I whispered, drinking in his features. He had a full mouth, a straight nose, high cheekbones, and thick brows. Dark stubble covered his square jaw, prickly against the pads of my fingers. Only then did I realize what I was doing, tracing every line of his face as if committing it to memory.

Stop this, I told myself.

Myself didn't listen. My gaze fixed on his mouth. I could steal one kiss now, and he would never need to know. No. Even my wolf knew how wrong that would be.

Then his eyes opened and met mine, freezing me in place.

For the longest time, neither of us moved. We didn't speak. I just hovered as if suspended in time, my fingertips glued to his jaw, our faces incredibly close.

Too close.

My lips parted, but no words emerged. What could I say to a man I didn't know but somehow valued above all others? How could I tell him it didn't matter?

"Am I dead?" he rasped.

"Not yet."

I pulled away, and he tried to sit up, but I pressed a hand on his shoulder to stop him—smooth skin, thick muscle. Electricity surged from the contact, and our gazes held in silent acknowledgment.

"D-don't get up yet. Here—" I grabbed a bottle of water, opened the cap, and tilted it to his lips. "Slow sips."

His attention remained fixed on my face as he drank, and something stirred deep inside my belly.

I pulled away, desperately seeking distance. I was glad he was alive, but I would not allow the goddess to do this to me again. I'd already crossed a line I shouldn't have. Damn my wolf for egging me on. She was no help, and like it or not, she couldn't have him. I couldn't have him. The closer we became, the more it would hurt when the goddess inevitably took him away—or worse.

I climbed to my feet.

"Where are you going?"

"I have strict instructions to alert Huck the second you're awake."

"Wait—"

I pretended not to hear him, and my wolf warred with me to turn around, making it feel like I was walking through mud. The pull was stronger than I had ever imagined. It burned me from the soul outwards, stole my breath, and rocketed my heart. Once I knew I was out of his sight, I clung to the nearest tree and heaved lungful after lungful of summer night air, fighting for control. My wolf persisted. My body shook. It would be too easy to give in. My mother had, and it had killed her. Huck had, and he'd likely killed us all.

By some miracle, my mate survived.

Now, I had to survive him.

With a soft growl, I continued, trudging through the trees to the little section Huck had claimed for his own. Of course, he was awake, still tinkering with his busted gun. What he planned to do with it was beyond me, but he acted like it contained the answer to all our problems.

"Huck?" I whispered.

"What is it?"

"He's awake."

His head snapped up, and then he jumped to his feet and stormed past me. I hurried after him, catching up just in time to hear him ask Bear, "What happened?"

Bear struggled upright.

"He shouldn't—" I started.

"Not now, Jewel!" Huck barked. "Was she hurt?"

Bear made it into a seated position, then his eyes shifted to me before narrowing back on Huck. "The last time I saw her, she wasn't seriously injured."

"I didn't ask if it was serious! I asked if she was hurt! How was she hurt?"

"Huck," I warned. He was upset. I understood that better than I ever had before, but he was taking it out on the wrong person, and my wolf didn't like it. "You need to calm down. It isn't Bear's fault."

"She was bruised," Bear said, drawing Huck's attention back to him. "But she wasn't broken. Titan had her in the dungeon. I stole the key and got her out, and she was well enough to get us through the castle undetected. Her wolf is strong."

A tense silence stretched, and when Huck spoke again, his voice was muted. Deflated. "And then what happened?"

"We were almost to the trees when they shot me. I blacked out for a while after that. Woke up, and it was dark. I was too injured to do anything, so I headed for the low town in the hopes of getting help."

"That's it? You don't know anything else?"

Bear shook his head.

Huck's throat worked, then he nodded once and started away without another word.

I caught his sleeve as he passed. "Huck—"

"Not now, Jewel."

He tugged his arm free and kept going, and I watched him long after he was out of sight. He didn't mean to be so cold. I knew that. His wolf had been in control since he returned to the valley. But that didn't numb the sting. All our lives, we were two halves of a whole. A package deal. A united force. When bad came, we faced it together. Now, things had never been worse, and he wasn't mine anymore.

"Your name is Jewel?" Bear asked.

I closed my eyes. Hearing him say my name was like an alcoholic taking a sniff of whiskey. He wanted to talk, to get to know me, and I wanted so badly to let him.

"I'm Bear."

"I know."

Quiet stretched, one beat, then another. I should have walked away, but my feet wouldn't move. Was this how my mother had felt? Had she been trapped in the moon's gravity all the way up to her last breath?

"I'm going to get some sleep," I said. "Do you want me to have someone else sit with you?"

"No."

"Can I get you anything before I go?"

"Are we not going to acknowledge who we are to each other?"

My breath caught and held. There it was. "I would prefer we didn't."

"Why?"

"It's easier that way." I turned to face him.

He'd twisted as if readying himself to get up, and the change in position jarred me. Did he plan to pounce forward and mark me here and now? I couldn't let that happen. I took a step back.

Bear watched the action with laser focus. "Easier how?" he asked carefully.

"I have no desire to be fated," I said. My wolf raged, fighting for control, and it took every ounce of strength I had to silence her. Now was the moment to do what Mama couldn't. I would not be like her. The valley hadn't killed me. Hunger hadn't killed me. Sickness, dehydration, and icy cold winters hadn't killed me. No matter how hard the goddess had tried, I was still here. Still breathing.

"Neither do I," he admitted.

I blinked. Aria! Of course. He had another. That should have pleased me; It made things easier...but it didn't. Not at all. Not even a little. "Then there's nothing to talk—"

"But this is the goddess's will. You and I both know she doesn't do things without reason."

"Reason?" I scoffed. "The goddess hasn't exactly been kind to me."

His eyes skimmed over me. "I'd argue she's blessed you quite a bit."

If I was a peacock, every one of my feathers would have splayed. People had been telling me I was beautiful my whole life, but somehow it meant more when he did it. I shook my head. "Oh, well, at least I looked good as I suffered."

"It wasn't the goddess who built the valley."

"She didn't exactly stop it, either. Did she?"

"Perhaps that's what she's doing now."

I laughed, but it was a humorless sound. "Is that what she's doing? We have a broken gun, broken wolves, and I'm not sure if you noticed, but our alpha isn't exactly in his right mind. Am I supposed to just allow her to break me, too?"

"I would never—"

"You're right. You won't, because I—" My teeth clenched. Three little words; that was all. Three words could save my life. "I reject you."