Romance: Chosen By Her Bear: A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Standalone Read Online Free PDF Page A

innocent soul.”
    He paused and for the first time looked at me. The blood in my body seemed to chill.
    “He had to take a young pure woman as his bride and as they lay other the stars, in the shadow of the trees, the curse would be lifted. It was a simple enough solution, my father thought. He tried to convince me that this was what my destiny is supposed to be. All around him our brothers died, by humans, and he wanted us to be like them! I say NO! I pledged I would never be the one to bring about the end of our kingdom. I will not have that on my head. One man’s curse is another man’s gift. Be that man be my father.”
    He was now pacing in front of the throne. The inhabitants of Greenworld seemed riled up, as if they were ready to go to war, but against whom, it was not clear.
    “I didn’t lose hope. I knew it could not be the whole truth and even if it was, I would carve out my own. And I did. Yes, my brothers, I did. After my father dies, I tracked down that Seer after years of painstaking patience and work, but found him, I did. It took, uh, some convincing but he finally told me the whole prophecy. He told me that my father hid a part of the prophecy from me. That part was how I could ensure that our people would one day take over. Yes, my friends. I see you nodding. I have the key to our dominance. “
    I was shaking. Something was telling me this was close to finishing and I would not like the ending.
    “The key was in that very same future king and that innocent bride. If the king marries the girl and has a child with her, that child will be a boy. That child will be a great warrior and will lead armies into battle that will ensure our victory!”
    The crowd roared and the whole forest seemed to be shaking. I could feel my wobbly wooden cage definitely shaking.
    “In order to accomplish this,” Jacob continued. “I first had to find that girl; the girl with the heart of an as yet not plucked flower. It was not an easy task, I can assure you. I looked for years without success. It was just a little while ago that I found out that there were forces working against me. The reason of my not being able to track this girl was right there in front of my eyes. But I was blinded. I was blinded by trust and kinship. You see, as much as I was trying to find the girl. My trusted advisor Jamie and his son Damien were trying to hide her. They were playing hide and seek with me.”
    The crowd roared and raged.
    “I understand your anger.  I was angry too. But who can deny what has been written in the stars. I found and executed the traitor Jaime and his son Damien went into hiding. But, with a stroke of luck, I managed to find Damien and with him, the treasure that holds our destiny: the girl.”
    The roared exploded in cheers as Jacob pointed at me. I trembled.
    “But before I commence the marriage, justice must be served. New beginnings need the ending of previous lives. Here is your traitor Damien.”
    Suddenly another fire was lit on the other side of thrown and in a similar cage to mine stood Damien, bloody and tired, but resilient and defiant. The crowd was angry now.
    “Now, now. We believe in justice and we will give Damien the opportunity to defend himself. So, Damien, how do you wish to fight your case?”
    There was a hushed silence as everyone waited with held breath for Damien’s answer. Damien’s head was bowed. He slowly lifted it and his eyes locked with mine. I couldn’t stop the tears.
    He tore his eyes away and looked at Jacob. “I demand trial by combat!”
    Not a single attendee, man or bear, made a sound. Jacob was stunned. Never in his reign had there been a trial by combat. The custom dictated that who had been wronged upon will himself fight the trial. It was the way of the stars to judge the guilty one. It was a sacred ritual and was held in high esteem.
    “Are you sure?” for the first time, there was something like doubt in Jacob’s voice but he was bound by the very tradition