Hidden, Clan of the Werebear by Madison Johns

since she wanted to know more about Klesa. “How did you come to live here?”
    She sighed. “Well, I lived far from here, but I was taken from my home by a shifter by the name of Jesup.”
    “Was he a wearwolf?”
    “Yes, how did you know?” When Elaina didn’t answer her, Klesa continued with her story. “He wasn’t nice at all and he forced me to mate with him a few times.”
    “Did he take you to the pack?”
    “No. He did it on the way there. I escaped one night and found my way into the werebear territory. Cullen and Damon found me and brought me to the village. I was quite injured and I was nursed back to health with the help of the old one. In time, I learned to love it here and eventually coupled with Cullen. He got me pregnant that first time and I gave birth nine months later. I knew then that I’d have to also sleep with Damon and was given three months to recover from childbirth. He was kind to me and I didn’t mind being with him in that way. Again, I got pregnant and gave birth to his son, too.”
    “So that’s why the boys look like twins.”
    “Yes, they’re quite close together, a year apart. Ivan is quite big for his age, though, so they appear to be even closer in age.”
    “Cullen seems like a good father.”
    “They both are. I’ll really miss them when I have to leave. I just hope that the clan doesn’t find me.”
    “Or any of you.”
    Klesa gave Elaina a hug. “Promise me that if something happens to me that you’ll look after my boys.”
    Elaina shook her head. “That’s silly. You’ll be fine. The boys will be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
    “I need to be realistic, though. I’m not a shifter like you. I have the survival skills of a gnat.”
    Cullen and Damon strutted toward them. “We’ll be voting by the stream,” Cullen said.
    Twenty minutes later, the members of the village each voiced their opinions. “She should be executed,” the old one insisted. “It’s the law.”
    Cullen massaged his chin. “I know, but our numbers are so few now, and Shauna is a good hunter.”
    “Not so good if she had killed your brother.”
    “Perhaps we could discuss her options. We could give her another chance.”
    “We’ve already given her too many.”
    “So how many believe we should put Shauna to death?” Cullen asked.
    Hands were raised and Damon’s face whitened. “She didn’t mean to try and kill me.”
    “It doesn’t matter what she intended, but I believe she intended to kill someone,” the old one said.
    “Yes,” Klesa said. “If not Damon, then she’d kill the newcomer.”
    Elaina fidgeted. “I don’t want this on my conscience.”
    “It’s not,” Damon said. “Shauna broke the law and deserves whatever punishment that the village decides. I won’t allow my feelings to change it.”
    “So how do you feel about Shauna?” Elaina asked. “I can’t believe it would be easy for you to see her life ended.”
    “No, but neither can I show weakness. She’s tried to kill rivals in the past and I’m sure if she’s allowed to remain in the village, she’ll try to kill you, Elaina.”
    “I’m not worried about her. I can take care of myself. Please, don’t do this.”
    “You could barely make it by yourself in the wilderness,” Cullen pointed out.
    Elaina clammed up as they took their vote. She felt like something had stabbed her in the gut. She had a bad feeling about this and just wished they would listen to her.
    Cullen stretched his neck as he counted the show of hands. “So, it’s ruled that Shauna will be executed by tonight.”
    Elaina dropped to the ground in shock. How could they do this? Sure, she knew that Shauna deserved punishment, but Elaina felt so responsible. If she hadn’t had that nightmare and cried out, things would be different.
    Cullen helped Elaina to her feet as the rest of the village left. “Stop blaming yourself. You need to understand that this is the way we handle problems in this village. Everyone had a