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“My parents weren’t taking a survivalist vacation when they left. They were looking for something, something very important to my kind.”
Mila’s eyes widen, her inquisitive nature causing her to lean forward.
“Do you know how shifters came to be?”
Mila shook her head, the action making her look young and innocent. “No.”
The corner of his mouth raised. “Shifters have existed since long before humans named us. Our stories tell us we were created by magic, a gift given to our ancestors. A gift which would pass through blood.”
“Whose magic?” she asked.
“A being of matter and will with the power to create and to destroy ... a god.”
Mila inhaled sharply but made no move to speak.
“We were creatures with two souls, given the ability to change our skin. More than humans or animals, sentient creatures of magic and blood. We lived with our own kind by traditions and laws passed down from our ancestors. Some of us were gifted, like Gerri, who is able to sense true mates … though I’m not sure exactly what Gerriis.”
He paused, focusing on the spot behind Mila’s head. A sharp grunting sound filled the room as he cleared his throat. His tongue felt heavy and slow, like the moment of exhaustion before you hit your second wind. He was sharing his secrets. The thing his parents died trying to find … Something soft and warm spread heat up to his arm. Mila’s slim, elegant fingers lay around his wrist as if she were telling him,you can trust me.
“When we were created, there were also items that were created. These items had … abilities. The rumors of what those gifts could be are endless, so no one actually knows what they are, save for the guardians they were entrusted to. These artifacts were meant to be passed down, one generation after the next, guarding them and ensuring their power was never abused.”
Her endless eyes gleamed, dark and glassy, as the pieces began to fall into place. “What happened to them?”
“They were all lost in time, except for one. It was hidden. Many years ago, so long ago that even my great-grandparents couldn’t remember exactly how it happened, no bear shifter can. Eventually, people began to see it as a myth, but not my parents. They knew that legends come from truth. That’s what my parents were searching for, the artifact from the legend.”
Mila’s face remained curious but neutral. Almost too much so, but he couldn’t say he was unhappy about it. In fact, he was actually pretty pleased that she was handling all of this information so well.
He shifted closer to her. “It’s been missing so long that no one knows exactly what it is or what it does. That was until my parents came along. They spent all their free time hunting down the artifact, year after year, leaving no stone unturned. Everything from calling in favors to hiring some of the best private investigators and archeologists they could find. They were determined to find it, to find out what it does.”
“So they went to the Arctic in search of it?” she asked.
He held her gaze. For once, he didn’t feel alone. “They went to the Arctic togetit … I think.”
“Theyfoundit?” Her voice rose incredulously, her eyebrows lifting high on her forehead.
“I’m not sure, but my guess is yes. Or they wouldn’t have been killed otherwise.”
It took a moment, but her eyes flickered in horror once Mila had processed Cyrus’s words. Just a quick look of compassion took its place. Her small thumb traced comforting trails on his forearm.
“It wasn’t an accident,” she said quietly. Not a question. A fact.
“My parents flew to the Arctic with only one goal in mind, to retrieve what they believed was the artifact. They had no other reasons for going out that far. Then all of a sudden, there’s a report of a plane crash, but nothing reported made any sense. The plane had minimal damage and was recovered three days later. Their bodies were never found. All while they were on their way to uncover what would be the biggest discovery for polar bear shifters in hundreds of years.” His fists clenched, and his grip was so tight that his knuckles popped. “They had to be targeted. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“By whom? Who would want to hurt your parents?”
“My biggest theory right now is a bear, one of the guardians in the legends, or just some lucky bastard who found it and didn’t want to let it go. Then I started doing some digging, and eventually, I sent my own team up there. It answered some questions, but it left us with several more.
“For one, this person would have to be a shifter since my parents would have been too strong to kill otherwise. And if he’s a shifter, he either knows of the legend or had its location himself. Why else would he attack them? Whoever did this, they wanted something, and I’m willing to bet that something was the artifact.”
“And now you want to get it.”
“It was as good a dying wish as I’m going to get from them. They gave their lives for this hunt, and I want to complete it for them.” The sullen tone in his voice surprised him.
“Then let’s do it; let’s find that artifact.”
“No, Mila. That’s it. It’s over. Whoever is out there killed my parents. I always knew that dying on this job may be the last thing I did, and I was comfortable with that, but now I’m not. I would never risk you getting hurt.” His fingers brushed along the velvet skin of her jawline, “I’d rather have a life with you,” then down toward her collarbone, “than get the answer to this risky question.”
Mila gasped when his thumb grazed over the hollow just below her throat. Her full lips parted, an invitation he intended to accept. He crushed his mouth to hers, slipping a hand behind the nape of her neck. She melted into him, and his world tilted on its access. Her mouth tasted better than he remembered. Sweet and wet and soft.
