Free Black Bear Rising: A BWWM Paranormal Romance (Black Bear Saga Book 1) by Tia Wilson

Nasak raised his head and was surprised to see that his fathers eyes looked close to tears. “Our family has served the clan leader for generations. My father and his father before him and all the way to the beginning of the great clan have served as the general and trusted advisor. When I pass on, the same honour will befall you. Do not fear the ritual, it forges great men from the weaker flesh we were born into. It has been your destiny from the day you were born.” His father took his hand off his shoulder and turned his head and coughed twice into his closed fist. He turned back to his son, his jaw clenched and a distant look in his eyes and said, “You could never disappoint me son.” He got up and left the small hut without looking back.

    The crowd roared even louder as Nasaks father left the hut. They know what is about to begin he thought to himself. Thoughts of running away from what he must face filled Nasaks mind. He imagined a life free of the structure and set rules of the clan. He wanted to live in a place were he could study and read and while away the days filling his mind with as much knowledge as possible. The idea of being a great general and part of a lineage that linked back to the very beginning of the clan did not interest him. All Nasak wanted to do was return to his books and lose himself in the towering and never ending world of knowledge.

    The door of the hut opened and bright sun light streamed in and Nasak squinted out. Ahead of the hut lay a metal walkway that lead down to the circular ritual pit. A hundred or so people ringed the pit and they all shouted in unison as soon as Nasak stepped onto the walkway. The idea of vaulting over the walkways railings, dropping the ten foot drop and then trying to push through the crowds to escape momentarily entered his mind. You wouldn’t make it more than thirty seconds before you would be grabbed and then dragged into the fighting pit. As strong as his urge was to run Nasak couldn’t face the humiliation that he would bring to his father if he tried to run like a coward.

    He stepped forward and the guard shut the door to the hut. Nasak walked to the end of the walkway and looked down at the circular pit below him. The ground was covered in sand and it had been raked and smoothed that morning. At the other side of the pit was a steel door painted blood red. His hands shook as he walked the flight of steps down into the pit. Nasak jumped and spun around when they noise of the metal step being withdrawn startled him. The walls of the pit were a dull grey concrete and too high to be climbed over.

    Nasak spun around looking up at the faces in the crowd. Everything was a blur and he couldn’t seem to focus on any one face. The noise of the crowd seemed to rise and fall like waves on a beach in his ears. He couldn’t make out what they were saying just a noisy wailing static of a hundred voices cheering. His mouth was as dry as the sand on the pits floor and he continued to spin around until he found his father in the crowd. He focused on him and his father nodded at him. He believes in me Nasak thought, maybe he is right about me after all he thought grasping wildly at the idea.

    The noise of metal scrapping filled the air and a cold sweat sprung up all over his body. His loose fitting clothes stuck to his body as he turned to the metal doors. The bolt was being pulled back on the other side. Nasak stood with his back against the wall and he balled his small bony fists. The blood red door slid into a recess in the wall. The crowd fell silent. The corridor behind the doorway was as dark as a sharks eye. Nasak held his breath. The soft pat pat pat of movement came from the darkness until the large bear emerged from the gloom.  

    The crowd erupted into applause as the bear walked into view on all fours and then reared up on its hind legs. The bears fur was a snowy white with patches of golden blonde around its paws, haunches and the top of its head.