Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
“I thought it would help.”
“I told you a secret. And the first thing you do is get up on stage and tell everyone how you’re going to bring tons of media attention to our mountain. Our privacy means more to us than anything. We can't have word getting out about us. We need to hide. That means no cameras and no crowds.”
I blink rapidly, my eyes burning. “I can fix it,” I plead. “Tell me what I can do to make it right, and I’ll do it.”
“No. Damage is done. Daisy and the others can’t wait to get a bunch of tourists up here. You humans are all the same.” His face is gone cold. He’s looking at me like he looks at Darius–like I betrayed him.
He turns back to the door.
“Where are you going?” My voice rises into shrill territory.
“I need some air. You need to stay here.”
My stomach twists. “Teddy, please.” I don’t want him to leave. It’s less about my safety and more that I feel like I’m losing him. He’s really upset.
“I need to figure out what I’m going to do. Don’t blame yourself, Lana.”
“It’s my fault.” I blink, looking up at the ceiling to force my tears to roll back where they came. “I didn't mean to do this.”
“I know. Maybe it's better that we figure this out now.”
“So what are you saying?”
“This isn’t going to work. You’re human. I’m a werebear. We live in different worlds.”
I press a hand to my sternum, where my heart feels like it’s bleeding out in my chest.
I finally found a family. Too bad I’m the wrong species.
This time when he pulls the door open, I don’t stop him. He murmurs something under his breath that sounds like, “I shouldn't have made this mistake again.”
Teddy
I feel like I’m moving underwater. My senses are dulled, muted. Inside my chest, my bear gnashes and roars.
I ignore him.
“There’s still time,” Matthias says. We’re standing behind the ATV between the waterfall and the cabin. I’ve always loved the sound of the rushing falls. It’s peaceful, musical. But tonight, I hear nothing.
When Tiffany betrayed me, it didn’t hurt like this. But it’s my fault for trusting a human again.
“I still have the leech standing by. You can take her and mindwipe her.” Matthias pauses, waiting for my answer. After a minute of silence, he clears his throat. “You can still help her, Teddy. Just because she won’t remember you, doesn’t mean you’ll forget. You can still hunt down her stepbrother, make sure he doesn’t hurt her.”
“Yeah,” I rasp. But she’ll lose her memories of this time on the mountain. Her memories of the hike to scatter her parent’s ashes. She won’t remember Bentley trying to kill her, which might be a blessing. But she won’t remember Bad Bear Mountain or my brothers. Or me.
My bear bellows, trying to get out. But for once, I’m in control.
Matthias waits patiently. I remember years ago when we had this same conversation. I was a mess. I screamed at him—in denial. It took both him and Darius to calm me down.
Now I’m cold. All my emotion is stuffed down deep inside me, with my raging bear. “If we do this…if we mindwipe her… can you promise me it won’t mess her up? She’ll still be able to run her company and lead a long life?”
“There’s no guarantees, but there’s a good chance she’ll be fine.” He pauses. “Tiffany adjusted. It took awhile, but we had more memories to wipe. Months’ worth. With Lana, we’ll only have to mindwipe the past few days.”
Has it only been a few days? It feels like I’ve known Lana forever. In some ways, I have–I’ve been waiting for her my whole life.
Cutting Lana out of my life will be like chopping off a limb. Hell, I might as well tear out my own heart.
But it’s the only way. I need to keep my family safe. The triplets will hate me for doing this to Lana, but they’ll understand. Eventually.
“I guess if we’re going to mindwipe her, it’s better to do it now than wait any longer.” My chest seizes like my heart is withering away.
I expect Matthias to tell me it'll be a kindness, but he isn’t listening. He’s looking back at the cabin, where the cabin door has creaked open. “Lana.”
I whirl.
“Teddy?” Her dark skin is ashen. “What are you talking about? What do you mean by mindwipe me?”
13
Lana
I’m going to puke.
Teddy’s guilty gaze flies to my face.
Matthias clears his throat. “I can explain.”
“No.” Teddy puts a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I'll do it.” His voice is leaden. He sounds a million years old.
He sucks in a breath and then says quickly, as if he’s ripping off a bandage, “A mindwipe is something a vampire can do. The leeches–vampires–can remove someone’s memories. We do it when a human has found out about us, and we need them to forget. The vampire can take away their memories, so the human doesn't remember about shifters anymore.”