"Aura!" Enoch shouted. "Come on, Aura! We need to talk." He chased her down the small village street. With all of the visitors in the village after yesterday, the street was crowded.

  Aura weaved through the crowd with ease passing all of the shops and the greenhouse where she had been working on herbal medicine for the sick and injured villagers. She didn't want to talk with Enoch again. The last time they talked, Aura was thrown out of her clan, earning her the title, "the exiled Huntress" among her former clan. Enoch had gone overboard that day, which was only a week and a half ago. Her emotional wounds from that night were still fresh in her mind.

  "Seriously, Aura? I thought you were the mature one!" Enoch called as she continued to run from him.

  Aura paused for a moment as she saw the human squadron packing their camp. They were set to leave by midday with their royal prisoners. She felt a yawn emerge as she started moving again. Enoch was hot on her tail. The tired feeling was heavy on her body as she forced herself to speed forward away from her pursuer. Why couldn't this wait until she had some sleep?

  Aura had just delivered the first batch of herbal medicine for the wounded at the makeshift hospital. After the battle yesterday, she quickly got all of the wounded to the medics in the makeshift hospital. It wasn't long before she had a mile-long list of medication requests from the medics. They were running low on their medicine inventory. The sun had long faded from the sky when she reached the greenhouse where she could create the requested medications. It took a whole night, but she made enough of the most requested medications to make a delivery. When she had walked out of the hospital, Enoch chased after her. She had been purposefully avoiding everyone after the battle yesterday. The memory of her forced shift in the meadow flashed in her mind. She sighed to herself. Revealing her true form had caused problems and started the battle between the shifters and the royal guards and knights. It had been her fault. Her identity was compromised, and perhaps her birth clan. She had become a weapon against her kind thanks to that bastard, Shadow. In a way, she had become the silver to injury the entire beast shifter race in Lunaris like her namesake and fur color hinted towards. Sure, she wasn't the one to ruin the beast shifter reputation yesterday, but she was the first. Her internal lashing had caused her pace to slow when she felt Enoch grab her hand.

  "Caught you," he panted. Enoch was still in his orc warrior form, which Aura hadn't seen since he became the Alpha Hunter.

  Aura glared at him. She was avoiding everyone for a good reason. She still hadn't sorted herself out fully. There were questions that she couldn't answer, yet. Enoch said they had unfinished business yesterday, but she couldn’t fathom what business he could have been talking about. She didn't want to start this "unfinished business" in such a public area, so she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the woods. They passed a border patrol that gave Aura a concerned glance. All of the knights knew Aura and Dax had some sort of relationship, so they always kept a close eye on her. She gently waved them off to assure them she was indeed safe.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  They moved further out of earshot of the village until Aura was satisfied. She let go of Enoch’s hand and sat herself down on a low-hanging branch. Aura waited for and dreaded the words that were hanging on the tip of Enoch’s tongue. She wasn't bitter about what happened, but she was wounded by it. She hoped he wasn't about to start shouting again.

  "I'm sorry," Enoch said, shattering the silence between them.

  "What?" Aura murmured. She was astonished that the mighty Enoch was capable of apologizing.

  "Aura, I was blinded by grief and what I thought I needed instead of listening to you. You spent your day doing my Alpha duties instead of healing. I blindsided you with the Elder’s Council to force you into mating me while you were struggling with your feelings for a forbidden mate. All you wanted was to finish your mission and help these people, and I couldn't see that. I apologize." Enoch admitted. He stood, anxiously waiting for the astonished looking Aura to say something.

  Aura inhaled deeply. This was a lot to process. Enoch had finally gotten his head out of his ass. "What changed?"

  A blush rose on his face, which confused Aura. "Honestly, it's your sister… She's the one who helped me see my mistakes after you threw them all in my face. You were right."

  Aura grinned, surprising Enoch. "I knew it! She's had a crush on you forever. You were just a blind idiot."

  "You knew? My head was definitely in my ass. But, yeah, I think I could really fall for her." Enoch smiled thinking about Raika.

  Aura smiled for a moment until a serious expression took the place of her smile. "Hurt her, and I will rip that Alpha title away from you and turn your manhood into gravy to cover your eyeballs to force it down your throat."

  "I swear you are more violent than I am." He said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't dare hurt her. She will probably put me in my place just like you."

  "She will," Aura said confidently.

  "Speaking of, I want to end your exile." He said, abruptly.

  "That's nice, but I can't come back." Aura states without hesitation.

  "Why not? Everyone misses you. You could still be the Royal Herbalist and the Huntress if that's what you're worried about." He answered.

  "I will always be a Huntress, Enoch, but I can't come back. I am a weakness to our whole race because my cover is blown, and I refuse to be the silver knife that kills the beast shifters of Lunaris. Besides, I will see my family and friends, but my life in the valley is over. I am the legendary werewolf and Dryadalis' Royal Herbalist. I can't go back." Aura leans back against the trunk of the tree, letting her legs dangle off the branch.

  Enoch processes her answer quickly, but there are still loose ends in her plan. "Legendary werewolf, huh? Guess, I won't get that ring back any time soon since you'll need to be living as a human with a short life."

  "I know what you are hinting at, and yes, I am aware my life will be shortened extensively. I estimate that I will only live another 20 years at most if I continue to stay in this human form. Don't worry when the time comes, I will ensure my ring is returned to Raika since her children will be the next generation to-"

  "You are only going to live another 20 years!" Dax broke up their conversation. He was flabbergasted at her words. "Is that...is that true?"

  Aura was stunned by Dax’s sudden appearance. What was he doing out here? Was it the border patrol that tipped him off? She looked between an anxious Dax and annoyed Enoch. God must be thoroughly entertained from watching her life over the last few months. Her exhaustion was heavy in her mind. She sighed, “Looks like I am dealing with all of my unfinished business today.”