“You can explainwhy I got shot and woke up with a bite mark on my neck?”Quinn asks, her voice high with panic and adrenaline coursing through her.
“Yeah, I… Why don’t you go to the bathroom?Then we can sit down, and I’ll tell you everything.Okay?”
She nods wordlessly.As soon as the door closes between us, I turn away and drag my hands down my face.
Fuck.I thought I had more time before I needed to tell her about all this.
This is a good thing,my wolf replies.The sooner she knows about shifters and fated mates, the sooner we can be with her.
Or the sooner she bolts.
We’ll catch her.
I sigh and pace to the window, checking to make sure it’s locked before pacing back to the bathroom.On my second pass, I hear the toilet flush and the water turn on in the sink.
When Quinn swings the door open, I’m right there to steady her and guide her back to the bed.
“Okay, explain,” she says once I have her settled back on the bed, her blankets tucked around her.
I sit in a chair next to the bed and lean closer.“You were shot in that field.Do you remember that?You were on a hike up there.”
“I remember being shot and falling.I remember the blood, then waking up here.”
“I carried you here from the field.I removed the bullet and repaired the damage, but you’d lost so much blood.Every time I thought I’d contained the damage—found the tear, stopped the bleeding—another wound appeared.”
I risk a glance at my mate, who looks pale.
“So, I bit you,” I finish.
She stares at me in shock.
I should hook her back up to the monitors.I might be scaring her half to death,I think to myself.
No, our mate is strong.She can handle it, my wolf replies.
Quinn shakes her head.“You’ve lost me.”
“Yep, yeah, that makes sense.I… There’s more.”
“More?”she croaks.
“Have you ever heard of shifters?”
“No…”
“How about werewolves?”
“Sure.”
“I’m a werewolf.”
Her mouth drops open.
“We call ourselves shifters,” I rush on.“We’re humans who can turn into animals.There are bear shifters, bird shifters, rabbit shifters, you name it.”
Quinn doesn’t blink, doesn’t move a muscle.
“I’m a wolf shifter.”
