1 Short Story: Broken

The sun was barely setting, the rays making the trees look longer across the yard. In the bushes next to the house a small rabbit nibbled on the weeds, watching its surroundings for danger when a sharp cry rent the air. The rabbit bolted out of the bushes quick to enter the woods and the cover it provided.

In the yard a small female was wailing in anger and pain. Her cries growing more rampant as her heart shattered. Before her life ended, another soul entered her domain. "Quite now, go back to the Goddess. I'm here now." The girls soul and that of unmanifested wolf's soul merged and left this plane, going back to be embraced by the Goddess. Leaving behind her sorrow.

In her place was the accursed one, the shifter and her wolf that committed a crime against the Goddess.

"Sadie, you here with me yet?" Macy spoke aloud. This new body belonged to a young shifter, not yet of age, but somehow already found her unfaithful mate. In her fit anxiousness, she killed the female wolf that was sleeping with her fated partner. The pain of his infedility shattering her soul, making room for Macy and Sadie to take her torture upon themselves.

"I'm here Macy. I've disabled our scent. Jeez, I can't wait for our pergatory to finally end." The wolf's voice echoed in her mind. She would have laughed at the tone of voice, but this was just the beginning of the hell she would suffer.

"Get ready, he comes."

Macy looked over at the door, the beautiful alpha was still covered in his lover's blood. His face was contorted in pain and anguish. From the woods several soldiers emerged, all converging on the newly awakened Macy and Sadie.

"Get down on the ground, dog" The alpha command forced the young shifter down to her knees before she could stop her body from going lower. Behind her a great force hit her in the back of the head, causing her to lose consciousness.

The men gathered the young girl up, looking over at the their alpha. "Alpha, she hasn't shifted yet. What should we do?"

"Take her to the cells. I need to know why she killed Grace. I need to know how she killed her since she's what, maybe thirteen and Grace was a fully shifted adult wolf." Alpha Connor instructed. He watched as his beta gathered the girl up and walked away. His eyes couldn't stop looking at the innocent face, the delicate features and long red locks hanging down. She would be a beauty once she grew up. Well, would have been a beauty.

Connor followed the soldiers after cleaning the blood and getting the omega's to remove Grace, her funeral would be set in two days. The pain of losing his childhood sweetheart, the only female that he had ever loved wrenched his gut, causing him to double over in pain.

She had been his light to the darkness that kept pushing at him. She was kind, always looking out for him. Now, she was gone.

For no reason. The anger surged throughout his body, clouding his rational brain. Why would a shifter kid kill his Grace?

After giving some last minute orders, he descended down the stairs. Connor rarely used the cells. The air smelled of mildew and fresh blood. He walked into the holding cell where the child sat. Her body strapped to the chair, her head strapped back as well. Her limbs held down by leather clasps, making it impossible for her to move. She barely fit in the device, the strap across her forehead high, almost unable to be used at all.

"What is your name kid?" Connor asked, as he looked at her angelic features.

After a small pause the child spoke, her voice sounded young and innocent, "Talia" Macy answered, as the bodies original soul was named. Her wolf would have been known as Jade...Macy felt her heart hurt for the child. At least she would not be forced to suffer.

"Talia, why did you kill Grace?"

"She took something that didn't belong to her," Macy answered. Part of her punishment was she could never tell them about the host being their mate. Never. This was her punishment for killing the Goddess's first born daughter. For killing the most beautiful soul she had ever met.

An accident, but one that resulted in her death nonetheless.

"What did she take?" Connor asked. The child was lying, Grace never would steal anything, she didn't have to. He would gladly get anything she ever wanted.

"Maybe she took something, but didn't know it wasn't hers." Macy answered. This was her first punishment. 'Sadie, how can we get him to hurry up? I don't want hours of torture?'

'Tell him to f*ck off when he asks you another question? He seems kinda emotional. That may work' Macy tried to nod, but the strap stopped her.

"Well, theres a problem with your words. Grace didn't have a reason to steal, and anything she took wouldn't have been a death sentence in any case. So, tell me why you killed her." Connor's voice lowered, kicking in an alpha command.

"Well Alpha, I guess since you don't believe me, you can f*ck off," Macy said, her voice sounding even more innocent to the shifters ears as she cursed sweetly. Then she laughed.

In her laugh Connor saw Grace, her smile as she told him another story. Her hand on her stomach as she told him about the new life they had created. The joy he felt knowing that they would be parents. He felt the blood rushing to his head. His chosen mate and unborn babe.

Gone.

Why?

The child continued to laugh. "She smelled pregnant, Alpha, was the whore pregnant?"

Connor saw red. He grabbed a sickle from the side and slashed down, cutting the childs hand off.

'F*ck Sadie, that hurts. It hurts. I can feel the child's pain, even though she is gone...her mate...'

'Keep laughing Macy, the faster he kills us the faster we can leave...' Sadie tried to take some of the pain. Just enough to keep Macy acting.

"Is that a yes? Poor alpha" Macy's voice cracked.

With every inhalation she could smell this bodies, her mate, her body craving this man that continued to cut her piece by piece. 'Dear Goddess...this is truly torture.'

Macy looked down at the floor, where both hands twitched. The blood loss was making her dizzy. Soon.

Soon she could move to her next host.

She felt her control slipping, if he discovered that this body was his mate before she died...her next hosts suffering would be even greater. Sadie pulled all of her power to control the pheremones, covering her mate scent from the alpha.

Connor looked at the child. Her body covered in blood, her pale flesh becoming paler, until she lost her last breath.

He reached over to ensure that her heartbeat beat its last.

At his touch, small tingles graced his hand along with the sweet scent of lilacs as her last breath left her body.

The bond of a lost mate ripped through his body, causing him to stagger and fall, landing on her little hands.

"No, no no nononono"

****

'Sadie, you OK?'

'I'm ok Macy. Are you ready to do this for the next two hundred years?'

'No. It hurts.'