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“It’s going to be okay. I have a feeling about it.”
He grunted again, but it was a different pitch. She understood those grunts because she’d heard them literally all her life from him. When she was younger, her brothers used to give her a hard time about what they called her premonitions. They weren’t that. She sometimes got a feeling about something, and it just about always came true. Those sensations couldn’t always be put into words. Right now, when she thought about Misty, the little girl she and Kier were officially going to adopt as soon as the paperwork went through, she felt warm and safe.
“I don’t care if it’s a challenge at first. All good things are worth working towards and all people deserve however many chances it takes to help them find their path in life. We aren’t always born on the right road. Sometimes we have to take the twisty, terrible, scary ones to get to the ones filled with less holes and washouts.”
“You know I hate poetry.”
“That’s not poetry.”
“It’s a metaphor or something.”
She smiled even as she huffed. He was just bugging her. Trying to take her mind off the fog, which seemed to be getting even thicker.
Kier was supposed to be driving with her to pick up Misty. They’d looked forward to this day for months. They’d made the decision when Sam asked if they might consider expanding their family when she was four months pregnant. They’d talked about it together for a few hours, but they both knew this was what they wanted. That was the same night she’d promised Kier she’d move to Greenacre, leaving her clan behind, so they could be a family once the baby was born. They weren’t sure when they’d officially be able to pick Misty up at that time, but if it was sooner, she would have moved in with him before Onyx was born.
“I already know Onyx will love her.”
“She loves everyone. She’s the most content baby I’ve ever known. Sure caused a fuss in Greenacre, her being a girl.”
“That’s because they haven’t had a girl born in generations. It’s pretty crazy.”
“You’re not a human, though. You’re Bear. You have Pinefall genes in you and they’re strong. We have no problem making girls.” Clay was so, so proud of their clan. He was also proud of his own daughter. While most warrior type men wanted a son, Clay had always wanted a girl.
Taylee had only met Glendy after she and Clay were divorced, and she came to live at Greenacre with Emma because she was mated to a shifter there. Emma was a big sister too. It might seem weird that in all the years Glendy and Clay were together, she’d never met her own sister-in-law, but Clay had gone off on his own.
“I’m Bear and I’m proud of my genes. Misty doesn’t know who she is. She’s right on the verge of her transition years. This is an important time in her life. I might be going to live in Greenacre with Kier, but I’m only a few miles down the road. You’ll always be my brother, even if I’m not living on our clan land.”
“I know I’ll always be your brother. You can’t get rid of me that eas—”
“Clay!”
Out of the fog, like a shifting wraith, a shape appeared. Right in front of the truck. It was too late for them to try to stop, but Taylee swore she heard the screech of tires, the skidding of gravel, right before the truck twisted and spun, right before the collision with the moose never happened, the sick thud of the animal hitting metal that never occurred because Clay twisted the wheel violently, sending the truck straight into a ditch they couldn’t see. For a second, there was only air, then the impact, the heart racing sickness of fear spreading through her whole body, the split-second feeling of rage as she wondered why she hadn’t had one of her feelings to warn her, or why she hadn’t listened more closely to her fear, and then her body lurched forward. There was nothing, a great gap of space, then the crunching impact of her whole body striking something.
Then blackness.
Chapter 1
One month later
Taylee
The woods were quiet. Calm. Soothing to the deep cuts that the past month had left on her soul. She knew with a certainty in the marrow of her bones that she’d always felt this way when she was out here alone. Sheknew, but she just couldn’tremember.
Except she wasn’t alone.
Her ears pricked and her skin prickled at the undisguised sound of footfalls.
Who would it be this time coming to check on her? Coming to ask her if she was okay? What did they mean? Was she okay in that very second, or was she okay overall? Because the answer to overall felt like it would forever beI have no idea. I have no clue who I am. I don’t remember anything about you or me or anyone or anything, so how can I be fine? Will I ever remember? If I don’t, then I’ll never be okay.
She turned and looked over her shoulder. Her body prepared for defense, like the newcomer was a threat.
Kier.
She hadn’t known him the first time she’d opened her eyes after the accident, but she knew him now. She knew by the scent of his shampoo, which wasn’t masculine and sharp, but soft and earthy. She knew him by the way he filled up the woods, not just as a large man, but with his presence. She knew him by the way her body reacted, adrenaline preparing her for fight or flight when neither of those were the appropriate response, but she didn’t know how to respond. When he was near, her brain was a vacuum. This was a man she was supposed to feel for. A man who had been her mate, who insisted he wasstillher mate, a man who sent her body into chaos and her mind into confusion.
He lifted his hands when he approached, smiling as softly as he always had, ever since she’d first seen him in the clinic in Greenacre after waking up. She scented maple, the warmth of it matching the highlights in his short cut mahogany hair and the warm, syrupy notes in his soft brown eyes.
“Pancakes,” she whispered.
