He looks at me, his gaze steady, as if he’s preparing himself to reveal something that could change everything.
“I’m not like other men, Hannah.What I am...it’s not easy to explain.It’s not something I wanted for you, but I can’t hide from it anymore.I never should have, and I’m sorry.”
“Blade...”My voice trembles as I try to find the right words.“What are you?”
He exhales slowly.“I’m a shifter, Hannah.A Kodiak bear shifter.I...I’m not human in the way you think I am.”
My breath catches, my heartbeat quickening as his words sink in.AKodiak bear shifter.It’s so impossible, so out of the realm of what I thought was possible, that for a moment, I wonder if I’m dreaming.But then I look at him, the tired eyes, the unshaven face, the man who’snota man anymore in the way I’ve always known.He’s something else.Something powerful.Something dangerous.
The air feels thick in my lungs.“How...how does this work?How long have you been...like this?”
Blade leans back in his chair, his eyes studying me as if he’s weighing how much to say.“I’ve always been this way.I was born this way.But I didn’t want you to know.I didn’t want to pull you into this world.I didn’t want you to look at me like you are now.”
I feel a pang in my chest as I look at him.The man I thought I knew, the one who protected me, cared for me, loved me, is sitting right in front of me.And yet, he’s something I never imagined.A part of me wants to run, but the other part of me,the part that still loves him,doesn’t want to let him go.
“Blade,” I whisper, my voice barely audible.“Why didn’t you stay away from me then?”
He reaches for my hand under the table, and for a moment, everything else fades.“The bear.”Blade lets out a chuff.“The bear knew you were meant for us the minute he saw you on the road that first night.It took me a little longer to catch on.”
“The bear?”
“He’s never been so loud or determined.Even if I wanted to stay away from you, he would never have let me.That first night when we...”he pauses, searching for the right words.
“When we had sex?”I offer.
Blade smiles.“It was more than sex.He bit you.He marked you, and it was then I knew you were ours.”Blade twists in his seat, taking both of my hands in his.“Hannah, you’re it for me.For once, the bear and I are in agreement.”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean, I’ll give you as much space as you want.If you don’t want this, don’t want me, can’t handle the stress of knowing what I am, we’ll let you go.We only want the best for you.”
Nodding, I look at our hands entwined.His touch feels right, and I know he’s telling the truth, but I need time.
Reaching up and touching his face, I say, “This is a lot to process.”
“I know.And I also know humans don’t fall as we do.For us, it’s a certainty...as though we’ve found the other half of our soul.”
“Can you give me time?”
Blade pulls me in for a soft kiss, and my stomach fills with butterflies as I wrap my arms around him.He breaks the kiss and rests his forehead on mine.
“What do you need from me?”
Sitting back, I ask, “Are the others the same as you?”
“No.I can change at will.When Jasper raised the gun and fired, the bear sprang into action.He’s never done that before, but I would have changed anyway.Our instinct is to protect you.”
“Is it easy to change?”
“The change hurts, but I can do it at will.The change happens less in winter as the bear doesn’t like to come out, but he will.”
“What are the others?I know about Prophet, Vex, and Ranger.”
Blade purses his lips together and then says, “None of us are the same.We are all different.Prophet fell from the heavens a long time ago.He said he had a vision of me, and he came to Alaska to find me.”He pauses, his gaze intense as he looks at me.“He’s been my confidant ever since.”Blade stands and paces.“Hollywood is an incubus.”My eyes widen.“It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“Don’t they suck out your soul or something when you have sex?”
“That would be a succubus, but it’s not true.An incubus exudes a pheromone that makes women and men gravitate toward them.Hollywood can usually convince people to do anything, especially women.If he gets a woman pregnant, it can mean the end for her, so he has to be careful who he has sex with.”
