Worshiped By The Bear Kings - Complete by Rosette Bolter Read Free Book Online Page A

burning forest.
    “Brad!”
Jasmine cried trying to keep up with him. “Come back, Brad!”
    “WHO HAS DONE
THIS?” Brad screamed. “WHO?”
    He turned
towards Jasmine, his face one of absolute surprise and distraught.
    And then she
saw the true horror creep in…
    “The
Destair…” he gasped.
    A series of
arrows fired out from a hidden location, and struck him in the chest. Brad fell
to his knees in agony, and two more arrows hit.
    “BRAD!”
Jasmine screamed.
    She ran to
help him but then heard the sound of galloping.
    She looked
around in dismay and then out of nowhere it was upon her.
    Rising from
the flaming trees was a black bear riding upon a great stallion, his chest
saddled with a crossbow, and his arms reaching out for Jasmine.
    She was
plucked up and forced onto his horse, without a thing she could do.
    Looking back,
her last image of Brad was him falling to chest, paralyzed by the arrows. And
then a horde of black bears riding horses emerged and followed the bear she was
with, all the way out into the night.

 
    PART TWO

 
    CHAPTER ONE
     
     
    Thunder Brad caught Jasmine’s
terrified gaze as she disappeared into the forest with the black bears, and
forced himself to sit up. He’d been struck – not once, but by several arrows,
and he was well aware that it would only take another arrow or two to kill him
outright. He began pulling them from his body, each causing excruciating pain
as it came out. He bit his teeth together and managed to stand on one leg. The
smoke from the forest fire was making him dizzy.
    Nearby leaves
crunched as the last member of the hoard made his way round the corner, riding
upon what Brad could only describe as the largest and most fierce horse he’d
ever seen.
    The figure
descended the horse in Brad’s peripherals, and as he made his way over to him,
Brad could see he was also in his human form.
    It was Hades:
the infamous leader of the black bear Destair tribe.
    “Are your
wounds fatal?” Hades asked him in a deep tone of voice.
    Thunder Brad
winced, displeased his enemy could see him in such pain. “I’ll live.”
    “Good,” Hades
said. He stooped down to Brad’s level, his chainmail armor clunking about as he
did so. He put his hands together. “This isn’t an act of war.”
    “No?”
    “You and
Spike did great service to my father before he died. Despite your treachery, it
would callous of me to not spare your lives, with one final chance to make
amends.”
    “Your father
said we could have our own tribe. The Uthuro will not be swayed by evil
doings.”
    “There is no
more Uthuro,” Hades said angrily, standing back up. “Look around you, Thunder.
Your tribe, your animals, your forest. We’ve burnt it to the ground.”
    Brad inhaled
sharply, and shook his head. “No.”
    “Yes, you
fool,” Hades barked at him. “Now you will abandon these old ways of yours, and
become part of the Destair again – or you can sit here and burn with the rest
of the forest.”
    After a
moment, Brad sighed. “Perhaps that is what I deserve, for my failure to protect
the forest.”
    “Well. Suit
yourself,” Hades sneered. He moved back towards his horse to regain the saddle.
    Brad’s eyes
shifted in his direction. He thought about Jasmine who had been kidnapped by
the Destair, and considered asking Hades if she could be returned to him.
    Of course, it
would have been a foolish request. And it would let the evil black bear know of
her value to Brad, which could be a dangerous thing.
    No. Now was
not the time.
    Summoning his
strength, he managed to rise to his feet, seemingly unaffected by his injuries.
    In a turn of
admiration, Hades rode over to examine his physique.
    “It’s not all
bad,” Hades said. “A few nights with us, and you wouldn’t even miss your cave.”
    Brad frowned
with confusion. “Which forest are you at?”
    Hades lowered
his eyes, then smiled.
    He took off
in the direction Jasmine had been taken.
    Brad didn’t
take his eyes off