by Fay Walsh
“What are you-”
“This is a special bear ability that I forgot I possessed. It’s something that… a few shifters tend to tap into, but I definitely am happy that I do,” he said.
The man looked at Darren, his eyes wide with shock.
“You don’t mean-”
“Yes. This is a secret move that is unlocked only when the shifter has found his mate. And I know that Lisa is here with me. She cares about me, and she will be with me no matter what. I believe in her, and I know that when I take you out, I’ll be able to tell her everything. So thanks, Jason, for helping me tap into the truth. You have helped this coldhearted bear learn,” Darren said.
“But-”
“Die.”
Darren’s body moved on its own. He was acting on a different type of energy. When Darren attacked, he didn’t even feel like he was deciding the attacks. They just happened on their own, and he killed the wolf instantly.
Darren felt his claws dig straight into the stomach of this creature, his teeth biting into the throat, causing the wolf to howl and whine in pain. Darren pulled back and spitted out the entrails from his mouth. The wolf was no match for this ability, and soon, Jason’s became motionless, laying there with blood dripping from it. At that moment, Darren suddenly felt his own power diminishing.
“Shit,” he said.
He felt his entire body falling to the ground, going unconscious in the process. He heard a scream coming from Lisa’s lips. His body was being carried somewhere. But, he couldn’t react at all.
He had won.
He could finally let go of his past.
When Darren came to, he saw Lisa sitting next to him. She looked at him with complete shock in her eyes.
“You’re… alive,” she said.
“You thought that this was enough to kill me? Damn, Lisa, give me a little credit,” he teased.
“You dumbass. You were about to die, and then you did that whole… thing with your body. Did I have something to do with this? I felt something at that time,” she said.
“You did. It’s an ability that few shifters have. It’s when they… they realize they have a mate that cares for them. Only then they can tap into it. I know that you couldn’t step into our fight. He wanted to kill me, but you managed to help me. So thank you, Lisa. You’ve saved my life, and honestly, I feel like I owe you an explanation, or ten,” he said.
“You know, that would be nice. Jason was saying a lot of weird things,” she told him.
“Yeah, what you don’t know is... I actually had a very rough past and he was a big part of it. So, he’s kind of the reason why I’m a shifter. I’m fortunate and grateful in a way that he’s done this for me. It’s going to be a bit hard for me to explain everything but... I trust you, Lisa. It’s weird, but I really trust you,” he said.
She nodded. “I trust you too. You’ve saved me countless times, and you helped me defend myself,” she said.
“Yeah, well, I’m going to call the guys and tell them what happened. I need to check with Travis about what to do with these bodies, and the whole place. Let me take care of that, and then we can get the fuck out of here,” Darren said.
“Thanks, Darren. Let’s tidy up this mess, so we can leave,” she told him.
She smiled, and Darren felt the familiar surge of energy from this. He felt happy, secure, and really just… lucky to have her in his life. After the two of them cleaned up, Darren took her hand. He called Travis, and he began planning of whay they should do. He told him to just leave everything as it was, as he would come with the rest of the Clan later on. Darren agreed, as he needed some space to tell Lisa about Tina, about his past, and about being his mate.
This meant the beginning of a different type of life for Darren, one that meant he didn’t need to be cold and collected towards the other woman anymore, but instead, he could be himself. It was refreshing, but first he needed to tell her everything, about the dark side of his past and the fact that he wanted her in his life as a mate.
Chapter 23
Lisa wondered what Darren might tell her about what Jason had said. She wanted to know more about this Tina, how that played into everything, and what this meant for both of them. Lisa was happy that he was at least trying to talk to her, even though she could tell that, from the way he was acting, he certainly wasn’t ready to fully get into it just yet.
Lisa could tell from the pained look on Darren’s face that he was scared to admit everything. However, Lisa wanted to be there for him no matter what, and if this meant listening to him and his dark secrets, then that’s what she would do. When they got out of the office, Darren pointed to the seedy diner down the road.
“I know that it’s not much but… you want to head there?” he inquired.
Lisa laughed, nodding in agreement.
“I’ll go wherever you want to go. Just be honest with me,” she said.
Darren smiled, but she could see the hesitation in his eyes. He was worried and she took his hand, holding it and squeezing it.
“I’m still here, you know. I’m not going anywhere,” she teased.
“Thanks, Lisa,” he said, smiling towards her.
It was the first time that he had actually smiled at her. It made her feel warm inside, that this was the beginning of them.
When they got inside, Lisa insisted they be seated in the corner. The waiter nodded, placing them off to the side, and after the duo ordered a nice big meal of a burger and fries, Lisa looked at Darren with a bit of concern.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Just figuring out where to begin, if you want the truth of it, Lisa,” he said.
“Just do what you feel is right. Trust me, you’re going to need to do a lot to scare me away,” she teased.
He nodded, and she could see his eyes relax. Darren sighed, taking a moment to process everything before he spoke.
“Well, to begin, I honestly am a little bit scared to tell anyone about this. I didn’t really know that I would ever do that. It’s something that I’ve even kept hidden from Travis, and the rest of the guys,” he said.
“Wait, for real?” she exclaimed.
“Yeah. I know, it’s embarrassing, but I wasn’t ready to admit this. All of us carry our stories, so I would also add to their burden,” he said.
“I get that. I mean, we all have our skeletons in the closet,” she told him.
“So, remember how I said that I got hurt many years ago?”
“Yeah. I remember that.”
“I was 10 when it happened. You know, that shifter that I fought, right?”
“Yeah. That Jason guy,” she responded.
“Well, I’ll tell you right now that Jason used to be my best friend. He was a guy that I spent most of my childhood with, and the two of us were close, almost too close, according to some. But, Jason was always there for me, and back then, I had my little sister to think about as well. Tina,” he said.
“Was Tina the only family you had?”
“Yeah. Our parents died when we were really young. Car accident, but I’m pretty sure it was shifters that caused it. They were very much into the paranormal, but they told me to stay away from it for many years. Look at where that got me,” he said with a laugh.
“Well, I mean you met me, so that must mean something,” she replied.
“It does. Anyway, so after my parents passed, my little sister and I were basically bounced around from foster home to foster home and Jason, and I… we grew up in the same foster home together. We were very close and his eventual betrayal hurt me deeply,” he stated.
“That does make sense. So what happened back then? I mean, to make him act like that,” she told him.
“Well, we were happy for a few years. The place that we lived in was nice, we were treated as equals, and I was well… happy, for the first time in a long time. I truly felt this way. But, as time began to pass, I realized that Jason was acting weird. He was my age when it happened, and he had some we
ird obsession with Tina. I was worried, so I would always refuse to meet him. He would continue to get insistent, to the point where it got weird,” Darren explained.
“I see. So he was getting a bit too weird for your tastes.”
“Yeah. I hated it, Lisa. I didn’t like the attitude that he had, the way that he basically thought my little sister and I were playthings, and I felt like… it was only going to get worse with time. So, I was always on my guard, but then, after a bit, he started getting more distant,” Darren explained.
“Distant in a bad way, I’m guessing?”
“Yeah. I wanted to spend time with him, but he was either never able to be found, or something. He kept blowing me off, which upset me, and he still had this strange obsession with Tina. I always thought that maybe he had a crush on her and he was just being a fucking weirdo, until it happened,” Darren said.
“What happened?”
“Well, when I came home from school that day, I found all of the foster kids slaughtered at the entrance,” Darren said.
Lisa’s eyes widened in shock.
“He… he did that?”
“Yeah. He did that. When I saw it, I immediately raced to see if Tina was okay. If she was even there. I looked through every single room, and each time I looked I… I could only see bloodshed,” he admitted.
“What?” Lisa asked.
“I couldn’t believe that someone had just come in and, well, slaughtered the entire place where I was living. The caretakers were dead, and they were some of the nicest around, and my… my friends were all dead. It left a terrible taste in my mouth,” he explained.
“I understand. I mean, I definitely would feel the same way,” she said.
“Yeah. And it was after that. I had looked around everywhere. There was a note, telling me to come to the water tower. That she would be there. So they had left Tina alive. But, when I got there, I was immediately attacked by something. It was… a bear. It ripped off a chunk of my skin, but as it did that, it left something inside of me. That was the bear DNA, the one that would turn me into a shifter. It was a black bear, a huge, sprawling creature, and when I finally came to my senses, I looked in front of me, just to see Tina being devoured alive by… Jason,” Darren said.
His body was shutting down, and Lisa could tell that he was struggling to continue. She put her hand in his, squeezing it subtly, and soon he sighed.
“I’m telling you, Lisa… it hurts to think about it to this day still. It hurts to realize that I had to see my little sister, the only family I really remember, die in front of me. She was devoured right there. And there were worse to come. The sting from the pain where I was bitten and the changes I suffered from changed me. I still shiver thinking about this,” Darren said.
“It’s okay. That’s traumatic. Do all shifters change like that?”
“No. For some, it is consensual. I know that for Travis it was a lot more consensual than mine, and a few of the ones in our clan had a much better experience. I’ve never told the guys my story, I just can’t let them know,” he said.
“I don’t blame you. I’m so sorry,” she said.
“When Jason and that bear left me, I was basically left for dead. I thought that this was the end, that I was about to die, but then, I somehow woke up, stronger than ever, but unable to control my emotions. That’s where… that’s where the anger and frustration at shifting came in. I went on a rampage, hitting things, destroying property, trying to suppress my need for bloodshed. For about a month, I was in pain, until it settled out. I didn’t know what to do, Lisa. I felt like... I felt like I had lost my chance,” he explained.
“But you didn’t. You’re still here,” she said.
“Yeah but, the fact that my little sister was taken from me saddens me. It is the reason why I’m so cold to this day, why I act the way I do, why I… I was so passionate about making sure that you didn’t die. I didn’t want to lose you, Lisa. In fact, I still feel that urge to protect you. You remind me so much of her. I couldn’t do a thing back then, but I’m glad that at least I could do something about it now,” he said.
“They’re not going to come after us… right?” she asked.
“God no. Shifters don’t do that. The shifters, once they kill someone, hide it, and that’s that. But, I do wonder who he was working with. He mentioned something, but he refused to give me a good enough answer. It wasn’t just Thomas. No, Thomas was a mere lackey, but I had a feeling he was going to cause more trouble than he was worth if left alive,” Darren said.
“Yeah, I… I feel guilty for killing him, but it was in self-defense, right?”
“Correct. You did do it in self-defense. There is nothing wrong with that, and there is nothing wrong with protecting others. I mean… I don’t want this to sound creepy because you remind me of Tina, but you evoke that need to protect. But, it’s a much bigger need than what I felt with her. With her, she was a comrade, someone that I trusted, but with you, I really do want to protect you and I want to be there with you. It’s weird, because, I can’t stop thinking about you. I feel like... I feel like you’re the one, my mate, and I’m just too much of a fucking idiot not to have realized it sooner,” he said.
Lisa laughed, realizing that this was his attempt at confessing his feelings. He looked at her with utter confusion.
“You’re terrible at confessing your feelings, you know,” she teased.
“I’m sorry, I don’t normally do this,” he said.
“I know. It’s cute though. But, I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same thing,” she said
Darren blushed and Lisa thought that was adorable.
“So you’re okay with sticking by my side?”
“Of course. I mean, we can talk about the details of this later on, but for now, I’m just glad that… that you told me the truth. That’s what I’ve wanted Darren. The truth. I know it’s not easy for you, but the thing is, I can tell by the look in your eyes that you feel better by telling me everything. You’d have to do a lot than that for me to hate you. I couldn’t imagine what I would do losing my family like that,” she said.
“It’s terrible. I don’t recommend it,” he said with a small grin.
“Yeah. I mean, I like having at least some family alive, and nearby,” she said laughing.
“Well, I have to say thanks, Lisa. For everything really. It’s strange to have someone so supportive by my side. I’ve always been… kind of a loner, you know?”
“Yeah. I can kind of tell. You were cold, but your heart is warmer than you make people believe,” she teased.
“Thanks,” he said with a smile.
They held hands and Lisa could feel the tightness of his grab. Despite the hardened personality, he was nice, and she felt like he was finally coming forward and being honest with himself.
After a bit of talking, and some eating, they finally got up and left. Lisa felt happy, completely at ease with Darren. Everything about their relationship felt right and it would get even better with time.
The two of them went back to her place, and when they got in Darren looked at her with a serious glance.
“There is one thing that I actually never said, something I’ve been a little embarrassed about mentioning, but I can’t lie to you, Lisa. I can’t,” he said.
“What?” she inquired.
“The truth is… I love you, Lisa. A lot more than I care to admit. I know that it’s not easy for me to say, but the truth is, I want to be with you,” he told Lisa with a smile.
Lisa paused, her face red from the passion that he was saying these words. They sounded true.
“I feel the same way about you. But what’s so damn special about me?”
“I think you just understand. Not everyone gets it. Not everyone realizes just how important having that support means, but you get it and that’s something that I honestly love about you,” he replied.
She blushed, nodding in agreement at the way he said those words.
“Yea
h. I’m glad. I feel the same way. I don’t know how to say this, but I feel the same things you do. I wanted to see where this would lead, where being with a shifter would take me, after spending all this time with you. It just… it feels right,” she admitted.
“It really does, Lisa. I honestly kind of suck at this type of thing, but there is something about you that makes me want to see where this will lead,” he replied.
“Good. Because I want to as well,” she said.
The two of them looked at one another, and Lisa could feel her heart practically beating out of her chest. When he pressed his lips to her own, the kiss that they shared was different, it was magical, and it felt right.
