Betrayed (Werebear Shifter Romance) Book 3 (Clan of the Werebear) Read online

  Betrayed

  Clan of the Werebear

  by

  Madison Johns

  Copyright © 2014 Madison Johns

  Betrayed, Clan of the Werebear Madison Johns *

  http://madisonjohns.com

  Sign up for Madison’s paranormal romance newsletter.

  https://www.facebook.com/MadisonJohnsParanormalRomance/app_113349772082971

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to persons living or dead (unless explicitly noted) is merely coincidental.

  Cover by Tina Adams http://www.tina-adams.com

  Edited by Cindy Tahse http://www.smashingedits.com

  Acknowledgement

  I’d like to thank the Wolf Pack group on Facebook who have been kind enough to answer my questions from a reader’s standpoint. I’d also like to thank all of the ARC readers. You’ve helped me develop this serial to a higher level.

  Note from the Author

  Let me first say thanks to all of the readers, new or old, who have given this serial a chance. I have been trying to break out of my mold and really feel like I did it with this serial. When I created this storyline, I think I did it right. If you stayed with me throughout all of my cliffhanger endings of the first two installments, I thank you for still hanging in there, and this book will answer all of your questions. It’s much more action-packed and fast-paced. While it still has its adult content and situations warning, it’s not enough to overtake this story. Elaina, Cullen, Damon, and Liam are very dear to my heart, and if you wanted to shake one or all of them to the core, believe me, I did, too!

  Chapter One

  Cullen and Damon faced off in the center of the village. “How could you be so stupid, Damon,” Cullen shrieked. “You knew that Elaina would run the first chance she got.”

  “Don’t put this all on me, brother,” Damon said. “She’s been sleeping in your hut all along. How could you have let her slip through your fingers so easily?”

  Cullen’s face was hard and tight as he fired back with, “I thought she was with you.”

  Shauna sauntered toward the enraged brothers. “She couldn’t have gotten far. You must hurry and bring her back before—”

  “Before what?” Damon demanded. “What aren’t you telling me, Cullen?”

  “I made a choice that will save the village and rid us of the clan once and for all.”

  Damon shook his head, as the sight of Cullen was too much for him. “You sold out Elaina to the clan?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. There’s no way we’d be able to fight off the clan by ourselves.”

  “Elaina has mated with both of us. She very well may be carrying our cub. How could you do this without bringing me into it?”

  “You’d never have agreed.”

  “Hell no, I wouldn’t have. She’s a part of our village now.” Damon glared at the old ones who stood there as stone-faced as ever, Hannah the leader amongst them. He didn’t have to wonder what they thought. He knew they weren’t going to rally any support for Elaina, a werebear, who was known to sympathize with the werewolves, raised by her protector, Samson, a werewolf that hasn’t lived with the pack in years, but a werewolf all the same.

  “She’s an outsider,” Hannah said as she stirred a pot close by. “She was never going to stay here for long. Cullen dragged her back to the village kicking and screaming as it is.”

  “So is that why you insisted she not stay at the human lodge, just so you could betray her when we got back?”

  “You’ve grown soft, brother. Would you have us all perish in a war with the clan that we can’t win?”

  “If you had held your temper with the inspectors, Cullen, then we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

  “You forget, brother, that they had planned to take you with them.”

  “Only after you riled them. If you had planned to betray Elaina the whole time, then why didn’t you give up Elaina that day?”

  Cullen massaged his chin with Shauna close beside him. “I wasn’t ready to just yet. I rather enjoyed mating with her, but after her refusal to leave the lodge, I knew her days at the village were numbered. When we arrived back at the village, Shauna told me how the clan was searching for a young female werebear.”

  Damon grabbed Shauna by the shoulders. “You told them about Elaina, didn’t you?”

  “Y-Yes. If I hadn’t, they would have taken me back with them. I don’t see why you’re trying to protect the newcomer. As you can see, she ran off the first chance she had.”

  Damon shoved her away. “Who can blame her after the way Cullen dragged her back here?”

  “Don’t sound so innocent, Damon. You lured her outside.”

  “I thought you just wanted her to stay with us in the village, not give her up to the clan. You know if they get her in their clutches, her life of freedom is over. I’ve heard of how the clansman, Atar, abuses his breeders. He keeps them locked in chains. Elaina is spirited and he’d beat her into submission. Do you want that on your conscience?”

  “She’ll learn how to abide by Atar’s rules, and in time, perhaps she’ll find a means of escape.”

  “Well, since Elaina’s now gone, good luck with fending off the clan. I won’t stand here and lift a finger to help you locate Elaina.” Damon strode off toward his hut.

  “Get back here, brother,” Cullen shouted.

  * * *

  Shauna rubbed Cullen’s arm. “Not to worry. We’ll find her. The newcomer couldn’t have gone far. She’s too inexperienced, didn’t you say?”

  “If she has shifted, she might have gotten further than we think.”

  Shauna flopped her hair over her shoulders. “If only you knew where she might go. Back to the lodge?”

  “No. She wouldn’t go there. She knows that would be the first place that we’d look. She’s either headed back to her protector, Samson, or—”

  “She’s gone to ask the werewolves for refuge,” Hannah said as she brought Cullen a bowl of brew. “I’m sure of it.”

  Cullen warmed his hands on the bowl and took a sip. His blood was about boiling now. He knew she was headed for the werewolf den and her childhood friend, Liam, that she had spoken about, but it might not go so well for her there as the werewolves had already not allowed her to stay for any length of time.

  The thought of Elaina with this Liam enraged Cullen. He had had no choice other than to sell her out to them. He had to save them all from certain death at the hands of the clan. He couldn’t think or worry about what would happen to Elaina when she was with the clan; he had to look after his family and the longevity of their royal line. Klesa and the boys, Peter and Ivan, could come back when the danger had passed, even. Yes, it was the only way.

  Shauna took Cullen’s empty bowl and returned it to the old ones who would clean it. She then led him back to his hut. Once they were inside, Shauna took off her clothing, and rubbed the front of Cullen’s pants until he hardened.

  Cullen closed his eyes as Shauna took his member out of his pants and worked her mouth on it. All he could do now was accept the fact that Elaina was gone to him forever and that he’d never be able to thrust in her tightness again. When Cullen pushed Shauna on th
e bed, he took her roughly, but instead of being bothered by it, Shauna clung to him and grunted as she bucked hard against him until they both reached their plateau.

  Afterward, Cullen was not a bit gentle when he blurted, “Get out.” He then softened his tone somewhat. “We need to search for Elaina now. I’m counting on you to convince Damon to join us. If we enter werewolf territory, I’ll need both you and Damon with me. With any luck, we’ll find her before she ever reaches them.”

  Chapter Two

  Elaina had waited in the dark until it was nearly morning. Cullen hadn’t come back to his hut, which made it much easier for her to slip out without being detected. She wouldn’t allow herself to feel anything for Cullen now, not since Shauna came back with her wild tales about what she had told the clan’s inspectors. Elaina knew that at any moment, the clan would come roaring into the village and take her back to the north with them. If Cullen had ever felt anything for her, she wondered how it was possible for him to betray her this way.

  Cullen was a fool. Even if Elaina had been at the village when the clan came, she knew that wouldn’t stop them from enacting revenge on Cullen for insulting the inspectors. They’d certainly make an example by destroying the village. Why could he not see that? Even if Elaina continued to mate with Cullen, he wouldn’t be able to stop the clan from taking her, or allowing anyone in the village to remain alive after the clan left.

  Elaina’s heavy paws struck the ground with a mighty thump as she made her way toward what she thought might be the direction of the werewolves’ den. She knew certainly that she was headed away from the territory of the werebears, and closer to where she’d find the Bear Claw Pub. She wasn’t averse to going back there, but she’d much rather do it with Liam by her side. It was important to find Samson and demand answers before the clan wiped them all out.

  Birds flew into the air and Elaina skidded to a halt, listening intently. Large animals were coming in fast up ahead. She scrambled into the bushes off the beaten trail and put her head down, waiting.

  Three large grizzly bears came lumbering by, the hugest ones Elaina had ever seen, and they were headed for the village; Elaina was sure of it. Once they had run past and were out of sight, Elaina carefully crept out and continued on her journey.

  Her heart raced something fierce now. What if they had gotten a whiff of her? What if she was found out? Keep moving, Elaina, she told herself.

  Elaina was soon at the valley and she was home free. She knew that across the valley was the werewolf den, somewhere out there. She only had to find it.

  She walked slower now, scanning the bushes when she entered the woods on the other side of the valley. Two wolf pups came into view, which excited Elaina so much that she unwittingly raced toward them, forgetting that where wolf pups were, the mamas weren’t far off. That was until she heard the low growls of three she-wolves that surrounded her, snapping their jaws at her.

  Elaina lowered herself to the ground, a show of a submissive stance, but these werewolves weren’t having it and charged. Elaina leapt out of the way as one of the gray wolves nearly struck her. She wanted to shout for them to stop, but she was still in bear form and afraid that if she shifted just now that she’d receive a deathblow. Human forms were much more fragile than that of a bear.

  Elaina retreated a few steps and turned in time as another wolf aggressively jumped toward her. She easily deflected the blow and pinned the wolf beneath her.

  “Stop!” a young boy shouted. “Don’t hurt my mama.”

  Elaina released the wolf and shifted into human form, concealing her nakedness behind a bush. “I didn’t mean to. I was just trying to protect myself.”

  Two more wolves entered the fray, one of which was a silver one. Elaina gripped the leaves of the bush and her heart skipped a beat. Could it be, Liam?

  Instead of the wolves going in for the kill, the silver wolf howled out a command to stand back. Elaina fell to her knees. How did she know what that wolf was saying? It came back in a rush; she could understand everything they were saying including one she-wolf who insisted they kill the shifter before she could harm the pups.

  “I didn’t come here to harm the pups or anyone else. I’m looking for Liam, my childhood friend. Tell him that I’m looking for him,” Elaina said.

  The silver wolf ordered the others to head back to the den and Elaina watched as the wolf transformed into human form, and it was indeed Liam—a very naked Liam.

  Once the other werewolves scattered, Elaina waltzed over to Liam and gave him a hug, pressing her generous curves into him, and that’s when she felt his arousal. He pushed her back, staring down at Elaina. He pushed her hair over her shoulders and surveyed her curves. Instead of feeling embarrassed or shamed, Elaina felt herself grow wet between her plump thighs.

  Liam took Elaina’s hand and led her toward a pool of water close by, one that had a waterfall that fell from high above. He landed in the water with a splash, beckoning Elaina to join him.

  It was easy to forget why she had come to find Liam when he was so close and perfectly naked. Elaina climbed a large rock and jumped off it, landing with an even bigger splash than Liam. She came up sputtering. “This feels great.”

  He swept his palms over his head that was now quite wet. “Really, you shouldn’t be here. It’s forbidden.”

  Elaina swam close to Liam. “What’s all this talk of forbidden? If it’s forbidden to want to mate with you, then someone needs to make new rules.”

  “The clan would murder us both.”

  “What do the rules of the clan have to do with you werewolves? Don’t you make you own rules?”

  “Yes, but a pact was signed many years ago and Damien agreed to abide by those rules to keep the peace here.”

  “He made a deal with the devil then, because you can’t trust the clan.”

  “You should have stayed where you were. This is not the place for you, Elaina.”

  Elaina had to make him understand. “It has to be safer than where I’ve been.”

  His brow shot up. “And that’s where, exactly?”

  Elaina sighed. She really didn’t want to go into the whole story. “Just know that the Clan of the Werebear is searching for me, and if I had stayed at the village where I was, I would have been taken by them.”

  “What village is that?”

  “I found a village of werebears that live in peace, as you do.”

  Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his face betrayed no other sign that he was even aware of Cullen and Damon’s village. “And you found a mate?”

  Elaina didn’t want to answer Liam’s question. She’d rather not divulge any more than necessary. If he knew she had allowed herself to be taken by two werebear brothers, he might not understand. She scarcely understood herself. “No. Samson was right in so many ways, but I think he’s hidden more things than we know.”

  “Like what?”

  “Who I really am, for one, and what does the clan want with me? Who is Samson really, and why was he chosen to protect me? I mean, was it really such an accident that he found me that fateful day? I believe the clan murdered my parents and I want to know why.”

  Liam’s eyes widened. “That’s many questions. Perhaps you should find Samson and ask him.”

  Elaina treaded water. “I can’t go alone. You know that.”

  “I can’t go. I’m an alpha now.”

  “And Damien?”

  “Died a few days past.”

  “The clan is onto me and Samson might keep me locked up if I go to him now. There are so many things I need to explain that might involve us all.”

  Liam frowned, taking a few steps back as Elaina neared him.

  “What are you afraid of, Liam?”

  “You and your mating fever.”

  Elaina laughed. “That’s passed now, but for some reason I feel hot when I’m around you.” Elaina moved in and tried to kiss Liam, but he pushed her back, shoulder width apart.

  “Behave yourself, Elaina.
I cannot mate with you.”

  Elaina shrugged off his hands and took ahold of his manhood, stroking it. Liam sighed and gently removed her hand. “Cease, Elaina.”

  Elaina tilted her head to the side. “You have a mate now?” Elaina felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach when he didn’t answer her. “Don’t say you have a mate, Liam. You’re all I have thought about.”

  He shook his head. “Oh, and were you thinking about me when you allowed that werebear to mount you? Don’t lie, because I can smell their scent on your skin.”

  “Werebears, you mean. I coupled with two of them, brothers. I’m ashamed to admit that I allowed them to share me, but I really couldn’t see another way out of the mating fever. The thing is that once the fever passed, I no longer felt the urge to be with them like I had.”

  Liam’s face tightened, but he leaned forward and kissed her ever-so-softly on the lips, his hands gripping her shoulders, slipping on the moisture that pooled in droplets there. Elaina’s head swooned and she grabbed the back of Liam’s neck, giving in to the kiss. She then darted her tongue into his mouth and he stiffened, pushing her back.

  “Go back to your werebears. I’m sure you’ll be missed.”

  “I can’t,” Elaina choked out. “They have come for me. I passed a group of bears on the way here. I’m sure it’s the clan. My life is in danger. If they find me, I’ll be forced to breed for them.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Cullen. He’s one of the leaders of his village. The clan has been taking all of the men from their village to fight against the werewolves to the north.”

  Damon’s body stiffened, taking a quick glance around. “I’ll go with you to see Samson, but I can’t stay long. Some of our hunters have smelled the clan close by.”

  “Yes, I told you they’re searching for me. They plan to take me to their fortress in the north to be a breeder if they find me.”

  Liam removed Elaina’s hands from his neck. “Then there’s no time to waste.”