soothing.
The threatening growl from the giant bear’s throat fell silent. He cocked his head sideways and looked at her. Something flickered behind those amber eyes.
“Dylan, it’s me. Aurora.” She used her full name. The name that only he called her. His special name for her, just his and hers.
Something definitely changed in the bear’s demeanor. Some of the stiffness went out of the creature’s limbs. Dylan was far from relaxed, but he no longer looked like he was about to pounce and tear her throat out.
“Dylan, I want you to come back to me,” she said. “Shift back for me.”
The bear blinked at her. Once. Twice. Then the air seemed to shimmer and the bear was gone. Dylan was standing in front of her, bathed in sweat and blood. But at least it was Dylan.
Still, there was something wrong with his eyes. They still burned like molten gold. He wasn’t all there yet. She needed to do something more. Something to break through to him. There was only one thing she could think of.
“Dylan, I love you.”
Something shifted in his eyes. The gold faded to emerald green. It was like ice breaking to reveal the man she knew. At least part of him. Dylan seemed to be back, but the torment in his eyes didn’t go away. If anything, he looked more wounded and scarred.
“It happened again, didn’t it?” he asked.
Rory nodded.
“I wish you hadn’t seen that. I never wanted anyone to see that. You must think I’m a monster.”
“No, I think you’re in a lot of pain. The fact that you’re still able to go on means you’re the strongest man I’ve ever known.”
“Not strong enough.”
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I was going to keep this secret, but I can’t live with it any more. The guilt is like poison, tearing up my insides. It was me.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“It’s my fault your brother is dead.”
Chapter 6
Rory felt like someone had poured ice water in her veins. She couldn’t believe the words coming out of Dylan’s mouth. Dylan and Hunter had been like brothers. There was no way Dylan could have killed him.
“That’s impossible,” she said. “You would have died before you raised a hand against Hunter.”
“That’s true, but I’m the reason he’s dead. I’m the reason your brother never came home.”
The world seemed to tilt on its axis. Rory could barely breathe or stand. She stumbled and her back collided against the solid trunk of a tree.
“You know, I never knew what you all did for the military. All I ever heard was it was some top secret, classified something or other. And no one ever told me what happened to Hunter. Not even you.”
She couldn’t disguise the accusation in her tone. Dylan’s haunted expression grew darker, like the guilt weighed him down.
“We weren’t allowed to tell anyone,” he said. “Even the people we cared about the most.”
“Not knowing what happened made it harder, you know? The truth can’t be worse than all the things I’ve imagined over the years.”
“Maybe I should have told you everything back then. I wanted to protect you from the truth. But I’ll tell you now if you want me to.”
She wondered what “truth” she needed to be protected from? Her brother was dead. What could be worse than that?
“I want to know,” she said.
Dylan nodded somberly. “How much do you know about what we did?”
Rory shrugged. “Not much. You two joined up as part of the Pact between the government and shifters. The rest is a mystery.”
“Your brother and I joined a top secret military squad called the Sin Eaters.”
“The Sin Eaters?”
“Yeah, it’s an all-shifter special forces unit. There were twelve of us in total, broken up into four fire teams of three. Hunter and I were on a fire team together, along with a lion
The threatening growl from the giant bear’s throat fell silent. He cocked his head sideways and looked at her. Something flickered behind those amber eyes.
“Dylan, it’s me. Aurora.” She used her full name. The name that only he called her. His special name for her, just his and hers.
Something definitely changed in the bear’s demeanor. Some of the stiffness went out of the creature’s limbs. Dylan was far from relaxed, but he no longer looked like he was about to pounce and tear her throat out.
“Dylan, I want you to come back to me,” she said. “Shift back for me.”
The bear blinked at her. Once. Twice. Then the air seemed to shimmer and the bear was gone. Dylan was standing in front of her, bathed in sweat and blood. But at least it was Dylan.
Still, there was something wrong with his eyes. They still burned like molten gold. He wasn’t all there yet. She needed to do something more. Something to break through to him. There was only one thing she could think of.
“Dylan, I love you.”
Something shifted in his eyes. The gold faded to emerald green. It was like ice breaking to reveal the man she knew. At least part of him. Dylan seemed to be back, but the torment in his eyes didn’t go away. If anything, he looked more wounded and scarred.
“It happened again, didn’t it?” he asked.
Rory nodded.
“I wish you hadn’t seen that. I never wanted anyone to see that. You must think I’m a monster.”
“No, I think you’re in a lot of pain. The fact that you’re still able to go on means you’re the strongest man I’ve ever known.”
“Not strong enough.”
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I was going to keep this secret, but I can’t live with it any more. The guilt is like poison, tearing up my insides. It was me.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“It’s my fault your brother is dead.”
Chapter 6
Rory felt like someone had poured ice water in her veins. She couldn’t believe the words coming out of Dylan’s mouth. Dylan and Hunter had been like brothers. There was no way Dylan could have killed him.
“That’s impossible,” she said. “You would have died before you raised a hand against Hunter.”
“That’s true, but I’m the reason he’s dead. I’m the reason your brother never came home.”
The world seemed to tilt on its axis. Rory could barely breathe or stand. She stumbled and her back collided against the solid trunk of a tree.
“You know, I never knew what you all did for the military. All I ever heard was it was some top secret, classified something or other. And no one ever told me what happened to Hunter. Not even you.”
She couldn’t disguise the accusation in her tone. Dylan’s haunted expression grew darker, like the guilt weighed him down.
“We weren’t allowed to tell anyone,” he said. “Even the people we cared about the most.”
“Not knowing what happened made it harder, you know? The truth can’t be worse than all the things I’ve imagined over the years.”
“Maybe I should have told you everything back then. I wanted to protect you from the truth. But I’ll tell you now if you want me to.”
She wondered what “truth” she needed to be protected from? Her brother was dead. What could be worse than that?
“I want to know,” she said.
Dylan nodded somberly. “How much do you know about what we did?”
Rory shrugged. “Not much. You two joined up as part of the Pact between the government and shifters. The rest is a mystery.”
“Your brother and I joined a top secret military squad called the Sin Eaters.”
“The Sin Eaters?”
“Yeah, it’s an all-shifter special forces unit. There were twelve of us in total, broken up into four fire teams of three. Hunter and I were on a fire team together, along with a lion
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