Page 93 of Twinning and Sinning

"What happened? Why did she die? No one was hurting her?" Dimitri came to my side, pulling my arms away from her, and setting her gently on the ground. Women came forth with a blanket to put over her body.

"Her mate," Dimitri whispered. "He didn't make it." I gasped loudly, falling to my rear end. My mouth was covered in the blood that was on my hand, now smeared on my face. "This is what happens, babe. Once you are bonded, and one dies, your soul follows your mate. Only under certain circumstances will you be able to stay alive once your mate dies." Clutching my heart, my eyes looked to Dimitri.

"Such as a child, born through the bond could keep a mate alive until the child is old enough to survive on its own." Dimitri helped me stand; his hand gripped mine tightly. Before I was able to speak, another bear spoke from the back.

"It's her fault, you know!" A younger woman spoke. "We were just fine until that Irish trash came upon this town causing problems. Now they demand the girl with the fire hair. We should take her in or make her leave. Why don't you pack up your potatoes and get out of here? That way, they will follow you and leave us the hell alone."

The entire Red Wolves pack roared with protest. Many shifted into Wolves, and others grabbed spears, slingshots, and knives laced with silver.

"It's not--" I paused, glaring into the Bear's eyes. "My fault. They were here before I came to your town, your territory. I grew up with my stepfather making these weapons, and he was broke, and bankrupt; someone is now supplying him with an enormous amount of money to make these weapons. They don't hurt humans as they do to supernaturals; how does Rinaldi know? Someone must have told him because all my life living under his roof, not once did he mention anything about destroying a supernatural." My face darted to Alpha Mason. His knees were still in the dirt, shaking.

Walking closer to him, Dax stood by my side, holding my forearm. "Alpha Mason, would you know anything about that?" Mason looked up at me, Dax growled harshly.

"W-why would I know anything? I'm trying to protect my people!"

"You seem pretty hell-bent on getting everyone in here, though. Did you know there was an army of Wolves in here? Not only that, but you also have a bunch of Bears that don't seem to take so kindly to you and ignoring orders such as Jonas?" Mason winced as I yelled at him. I turned to Dax.

"You are using your Luna voice on him; he has to listen," his stoic face turned into a reassuring smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that," I whispered. Dax's chest puffed out and pulled me to him.

"It was hot as hell, babe. You are just trying to protect everyone, and that is what makes you the perfect Luna." I hope I can live up to my mates' expectations. I bit my lip, still waiting for Alpha Mason to speak; everyone was watching, waiting.

"We haven't got all day, Mason. So far, you have lost your title for not following proper protocols entering the territory so you might as well spill it," Dimitri snapped, his hand pulling Mason up by his rags of a shirt.

"Fine, fine." Masons put his hands up in surrender. "I noticed that Jonas had been acting suspicious lately; I sent out a few Bears to watch him. He likes to hang out with the hunters in town; he finds out where the best game is instead of finding it for himself. Jonas ended up friending this one hunter several months back that turned out not to be a hunter at all. He was scouting the area, wanting to buy the whole town and everything around it. Turn it into a massive hunting resort and a spa for the women. The place would have cost millions to build and even put in its own small airport. That pissed Jonas off because then our whole tribe would have to move."

Mason brushed off some dirt on his arm and continued. "When one of my Bears heard this, he had to step in because Jonas was getting pissed, his bear was coming to the surface, but it was too late, Jonas killed the human in one swipe. Both buried the human far from town and went on their way."

"You are supposed to report this, Alpha Mason! Alpha Big Claw is the head Alpha of the area, and you denied him that information?!" Dax stepped forward, but Mason stayed grounded.

"I know what I did was wrong, but I was trying to see the greater outcome; the hunter died, so he couldn't report back that this was good land to hunt. Problem solved, or so I thought. More people came; they stayed on the outskirts of town in fancy RV's and campers. We didn't connect the dots until one night, several Bears were out hunting. There was no smell to some hunters they met in the wood them, and the gas spread across the ground. Those that inhaled it instantly died. I saw it with my own eyes. I scrambled up a tree and was lucky enough not to inhale it. I watch each of my brothers get drug off back to their campsite.” Women behind him growled in protest.

“I informed Jonas that he had to stay away from them. No one was allowed to travel at night or to the east side of our territory until they left. They were just in RVs, so they couldn't be permanent. Days turned to weeks and then to months, and we realized they weren't moving.” Mason shuffled his feet.

“I had Jonas start to befriend them, get to know them, and understand them better. I gave him full reign on the area, trying to figure these guys out. Since the day that Prince Dimitri swiped Trey across the chest, I haven't seen him. No one has, and my fear is that he has gone to help those hunters."

"Yeah, no shit!" Dax punched Mason right in the nose. "You are such an idiot! You have put this entire area in danger because you didn't come to us with this information!"

Dimitri and Dax took steps back; both of their hands grew claws. "Do you know how many laws you have broken, Mason?" Dimitri's head shook violently. Dax pulled me back into his chest.

"What's happening?" My breath breathed heavily. My body felt like being yanked into several pieces as I stared and watched as Dimitri scratched, pulling at his skin.

"He's changing into his half form," Dax whispered. "Just like I did," he huskily whispered in my ear.

"Why now?! I can almost feel him changing inside me," I almost sobbed. Dax held me close, turning my face so it was buried in his chest.

"We are all bonded together now," Dax placed a kiss on my forehead. "He's angry that the shifters blame you for bringing them here, he's angry that an Alpha didn't do his job, his Wolf is pissed, and now it's time for him to release his beast."

I could hear the bones cracking; the skin was thrown off his body, hitting the ground with a loud, wet slap. Wolves and bears stood their ground, shaking, not daring to move unless they wanted to be the next victim. A mighty roar left his maw; Dimitri now stood well over 7 feet tall.

"You disrespect my mate; you allowed valuable information to slip through the head Alpha of this region; you have caused every innocent death since they have arrived." The thunderous voice reverberated between the trees. The leaves fell heavily, not in the beautiful way they usually do when the light breezes cause them to fall closer to winter.

No, these leaves were hurried, ready to leave the wrath that Dimitri was instilling into nature around him. Peaking away from Dax's chest, Dimitri approached me, getting on his knees. "What will my queen have me do with this scum?" Everyone looked at me, waiting for an answer. What would I say? I was new to all of this. What punishment would I grant?

"Does he have a mate?" I asked. Alpha Mason nodded his head. I couldn't ask him to be put to death; his wife could be innocent. It made it so much harder.

"Lock him in the dungeons until we question his mate." Dimitri smiled. The warriors from both the Bears and of the Red Wolves Pack took hold of ex-Alpha Mason and took them to the dungeon where Trey had died just days before.

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