“Where did you get hit?”I ask, panic creeping into my voice as I try to make sense of it all.
“My shoulder.”He exhales, his breath warm against my skin as he speaks.“But being a bear shifter means I heal quickly.”His words are calm, almost matter-of-fact, but I can see the weariness in his eyes.
Blade cups my face gently, his touch grounding me as I try to process the storm of emotions swirling inside me.“Could we go inside and talk?”His voice softens, the edge of urgency is still there but now tinged with something deeper.“There’s a lot to tell you, and I want to tell you all of it.”
My voice is barely a whisper as I speak, “Okay.Let’s go inside.”
The keys to my home are in my pocket, so I take them out and open the door.With my hand in Blade’s, he leads me inside and stops to look at my coffee table.Sitting on it is a little wooden bear painted light blue.He bends and picks it up.
“Is this me?”
“It’s weird, but I was carving that before I knew what you were.”
He smiles and puts it back down.“Do you think maybe you knew?”
Scrunching my mouth to the side, I say, “I don’t think so, but you do growl a lot.”
Blade takes my hand again and guides me to the dining table, but he doesn’t sit next to me.He gives me space and sits on the opposite side.
The width of the table feels enormous, but as I take in his appearance, Blade looks terrible.Dark circles hang beneath his eyes, and his face is gaunt as though the weight of everything is wearing him down.He’s thinner, his usual intensity replaced by a quiet exhaustion.
The air between us crackles, and the tension builds with each passing second.He looks as if he wants to say something, but the words never come.He only sits there, his presence both comforting and overwhelming at the same time.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” he says, his voice quiet and strained as if the admission costs him something.
I swallow the tightness in my throat as it threatens to break me.“Then why...why didn’t you tell me?”The question escapes before I can stop it—the pain of not knowing, of feeling I’ve been kept in the dark, spills out.
Blade looks down, running a hand through his disheveled hair.“I didn’t want to scare you.I didn’t want to drag you into a world that’s...not meant for you.”
The truth in his words cuts through me.I feel the weight of it, but I also feel the pull.The undeniable pull toward him, the ache that’s been in my shoulder, reminding me how much I need him, even if I don’t fully understand why.
“Blade, I don’t know what this is...whatyouare.But I don’t want to be scared anymore.I don’t want to run.”
Blade’s eyes lock onto mine, and for a moment, I see something in them, something raw and real.His shoulders sag as if a weight is lifted just by hearing those words.
“You’re not running,” he says, his voice soft but full of conviction.“Not from me.”
Standing, I move to sit beside him and put my arms around his waist, and he pulls me in tightly, crushing me to him.I feel his breath on my hair, the steady rise and fall of his chest.It’s all too much, and yet, it feels so right.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispers, his voice thick.
Closing my eyes for a second, I let his presence wash over me.Everything feels clearer when I’m with him as if I can finally breathe again.But there are questions and doubts, and if I’m being honest, no small amount of fear lurking beneath the surface.They can’t be ignored.Not anymore.
Gently, I pull back, creating just enough space to look into his eyes.“Tell me everything.”
“Are you hungry?”he asks, his voice softer now as if he’s trying to ease the tension in the room.
“No,” I answer, shaking my head.
The last thing I want is food.What I need is clarity.I need to understand what’s going on, what he is, whatweare.
Blade studies me for a moment, his expression a mixture of concern and something else I can’t quite read.He leans forward, his elbows resting on the table, his hands clasped loosely together.
“Hannah,” he starts, his voice low, “I know I’ve done things that made you question everything, but I never wanted to hurt you.I would never have hurt you.The bear loves you too.”
My chest tightens at his words.I want to believe him, to reach for him, to hold onto the man I thought I knew, but there’s still so much I don’t understand.
Sitting up straighter, I curl my hands into fists in my lap to stop myself from touching him.“Then tell me, Blade.I need to understand what happened.I need to know what you are.”
