Chapter 1 - The Hidden Secret
Arthur’s hands trembled violently as he raised the cold steel barrel of the rifle.
Hot tears blurred his vision, mixing with the thick dust and sweat covering his weathered face.
He aimed the weapon squarely at the space between the magnificent stallion’s dark, frantic eyes.
Titan let out another deafening, terrifying shriek that rattled the barn rafters.
The horse reared up on his hind legs, kicking the wooden gate with a force that threatened to shatter it completely.
Every single instinct in Arthur’s body screamed at him to pull the trigger and end the nightmare.
But just as his finger tightened against the cold metal, a strange, muffled sound drifted from the shadows of the stall.
It was not the sound of a rabid animal.
It was a soft, desperate whimper.
Arthur froze completely, his blood turning to ice in his veins.
He slowly lowered the rifle, keeping his eyes locked on the raging stallion.
Titan aggressively moved laterally, deliberately blocking Arthur's line of sight toward the darkest corner of the stall.
Arthur took a deep breath, ignoring the panicked shouts of the farmhands standing a few yards behind him.
He took one cautious step forward, leaning to look past the massive, muscular shoulder of the beast.
Buried deep beneath the thick pile of golden straw, a tiny, trembling hand was visible.
Arthur gasped out loud, the rifle slipping from his grasp and hitting the dirt floor with a heavy thud.
Tucked tightly into the corner, directly beneath where Titan had been viciously stomping to keep Arthur away, was a little girl.
She couldn't have been older than five.
Her clothes were torn and covered in dried mud.
Her large, terrified blue eyes stared up at Arthur through a tangled mess of blonde hair.
Titan wasn't attacking Arthur.
The stallion had been violently shielding the fragile child from Arthur's heavy boots.
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The horse had purposely trapped the rancher against the wall earlier to prevent him from accidentally crushing the hidden girl.
Arthur fell to his knees in the dirt, completely overwhelmed by a wave of shock and profound guilt.
