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Secret appreciated his candor and admired his bravery. It wasn’t easy to give someone complete access to their mind. Everyone had things in their past they didn’t want others to know. Embarrassing things. Regretful things. Deeply personal things that might cause one’s mate to get upset. However, he was right about the most important factor.
Once they were bonded, there would be no secrets between them.
That was the way it was between a D’Aire and their keeper.
Since she would know it all eventually anyway, there was no use in waiting. Not giving herself time to back out, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and prepared herself to dive into the past.
Chapter Five
Usually, when Secretread someone, it felt like diving headfirst into ice-cold water.
The shock of it was jarring.
She was an intruder in their mind. An unseen trespasser, invading on the most private moments of someone’s life. Replaying another person’s memories was like watching a movie with the screen covered in thick oil, difficult to see until the hazy images became more visible.
The moment she touched Talon, everything was different. Their joining felt as natural as breathing. His mind welcomed her in, and each memory was as clear as glass. What was even more astonishing was she actually felt what he had during each and every event, like a faint echo.
She could feel his joy and his sorrow.
His pain and his triumph.
And feeling it made it seem like she was experiencing everything with him.
She’d heard about the Spartan-Rollins family back at Exodus. There were probably very few people on Earth who didn’t know who they were. Most of the family was what would be considered high-profile, but admittedly, Secret had never paid much attention to the gossip.
One of Talon’s fathers was a retired regent, while his mother and other father owned a clothing empire named Starlight Designs. Despite their powerful positions, Ian Spartan, Donna Spartan-Rollins, and Jack Rollins had raised Talon and his three siblings in a home filled with love. Now, Talon’s older brother, Jax, had taken over their father’s old position on the Council of Regents. Jax was bonded in a trio relationship, and they’d just welcomed their first child, a beautiful baby girl named Kiara.
The youngest sibling was Connor, who was still in the academy. Talon worried about the young male since he had a kind soul and a generous heart. He often wished Conner would apply for an exception after he graduated so he could run the family business instead of continuing on as an officer.
Secret was surprised to discover Talon’s little sister, Mya, was the mate of the Adaro brothers who owned New Vega. Since they were cousins of Rogan and Lucian Adaro, the owners of Exodus back in Zion, Secret already knew all about her. She just hadn’t made the connection to her new keeper until she saw Talon’s memories of the young female.
She watched countless memories replay, some good and some bad. She would suffer from overload if she tried to see everything, so she started choosing random memories to view. His time at the academy was interesting, but she felt a blinding rage when she watched him share his first kiss with a girl.
She was definitely going to have to skip over those memories in the future.
When she got to the memories that highlighted his abilities, she was shocked and fascinated by what he could do. She’d heard about people being able to see auras before, but she never expected that someone could manipulate a person’s life force like Talon could. It would have been terrifying if it wasn’t for his honor and integrity. He lived by a strong moral code that only allowed him to terminate evil people.
She now understood why he’d said it would be difficult to explain his past.
His Strike Force Team did ruthless things for good reasons. Not many people could accept that way of life, but she could since she already lived by those same guiding principles. Evil had to be eradicated for good to thrive. That was the way it had always been, but few had the courage to step up and work to make it happen.
When the moment they had met back at the sanctuary flashed through her mind, she was pleased he had felt that same connection spark between them. She’d been worried that it hadn’t been the same for him since he was human, but that wasn’t the case.
Talon Spartan belonged to her as much as she belonged to him.
At first, Secret had thought he was crazy when he had suggested using her abilities this way, but he’d been right. Getting to understand him through his memories made her feel like they had known each other for years. He was a formidable, yet honorable, male worthy of her trust. Knowing who Talon was made her apprehension about their future fade away.
Now, she could honestly thank fate for bringing them together.
Feeling lightheaded, she pulled away from him. “That was…”
When she opened her eyes, her words trailed off. The first thing she noticed was that Talon was extremely pale, and his muscles were tense. There was a stark wildness in his dark gold eyes that she didn’t understand, but she could tell something was very wrong.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
His jaw clenched tight, then released. “I saw some of your memories while we were connected.”
Secret was horrified by that, and embarrassment flushed her cheeks with heat. She quickly realized she should have expected it. They weren’t officially mated yet, but their unique gift seemed to have triggered the bond between them. Linking together was never supposed to be one way, at least not between them.
