Page 5 of Echoes of Us

Talon maneuvered the truck along the winding mountain road toward Willow’s grandfather’s place, the headlights cutting through the darkness. The ride was thick with silence, heavy with everything unsaid. In all honesty, he couldn’t believe she was sitting beside him.

He had spent months searching for answers, turning over every possibility in his head, wondering what had made her leave.

At first, he had been angry, no, he had been furious, thinking she had simply walked away without a second thought.

Then came the doubt, the sleepless nights replaying every moment they’d shared, every whispered word, searching for a sign he had somehow missed.

Now she was back. She was so close he could reach out and touch her. The scent of her, soft and familiar, that had haunted his dreams, wrapped around him, making his wolf restless beneath his skin.

But she wasn’t the same. There was a weight in her gaze, a tension in the way she sat stiffly in the seat, her hands folded tightly in her lap.

Grinding his jaw, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles going white. He wanted to demand answers, wanted to ask her why the hell she had left. Why had she ripped out his heart and disappeared, but now wasn’t the time.

Something was wrong with her grandfather, and as much as his emotions were a tangled mess, that was what mattered right now.

He stole a glance at her, catching the way her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, the way her teeth worried her bottom lip. She was nervous, even scared, and damn it, despite everything, he still wanted to protect her, even from whatever secrets she was keeping.

Pulling up to the house, Willow was out of the truck before it came to a complete stop. “Dammit, Willow!” He cursed as he jumped out and rushed toward the house behind her.

The nurse came out of the door just as Willow reached for it. “What’s wrong?” Willow asked, her voice shaking.

“I quit!” The nurse shouted, her arms full of her things.

“What?” Willow frowned, stopping on a dime.

“I said, I quit!” She brushed past Talon. “He tossed his dinner at me and said it tasted like pig shit.”

“It did!” Her grandfather shouted from inside the house. “And you poured out my beer. You’re lucky that’s all I threw at ya.”

Willow sucked in a sharp breath, one hand clutching her chest as she exhaled. “You scared the hell out of me.” She glared at the retreating nurse. “I’m sorry that happened, but you could have at least informed my friend that he was okay.”

The nurse huffed, already heading for her car. “He’s not okay. He’s crazy! And he’s too damn ornery to die!”

Jack’s voice boomed from the doorway. “You got that right! I’m outliving all of you!”

They all watched as the nurse got into her car and peeled out of the driveway. She glanced at Talon, who wore a slight grin on his face.

“This isn’t funny.” Willow frowned, giving him a narrowed glare.

“Didn’t say it was,” Talon replied, but the grin stayed on his face.

“How you doing, Talon?” Her grandfather gave Talon a nod, then opened the door. “Well, come on in.”

“Doing good, Jack.” Talon held open the door for Willow to enter first, but she was too busy eyeing him and her grandfather. “After you.”

Willow snorted, then walked in. “Grandpa—”

“Don’t you start with me, Willow.” Her grandfather walked to his chair and sat down. “I don’t need no damn nurse here. I’ve done fine on my own, and if it’s my time to go, I don’t want to go with some bossy woman pokin’ at me and tellin’ me what to do.”

Talon watched the emotions run across Willow’s face and felt for her, but he saw Jack’s point. He would be the same exact way.

“Fine.” Willow glanced around at the mess. “But did you have to throw your dinner at her? Now, everyone in town is going to be talking about it. And where in the hell are you hiding the beer? I cleaned this place out, but you keep coming up with a bottle here and there.”

“Willow, one beer a day isn’t going to throw me into a diabetic coma, so stop your damn worrying about me.

I’ve got my secret places that you will never know about.

” Her grandfather said with a snort, looking at her.

“I love you, girl, but go live your life. I lived mine already and want to be left alone.”

“You’re all I got,” Willow said, and the sadness in her voice broke Talon. She sounded lost, as if no one wanted her.

“Yeah, and whose fault is that?” Her grandfather said, then frowned with a sigh. “I don’t want to be cruel, Willow, but it was you who let one man run you off, leaving a good man behind.”

Confused, Talon looked at Willow to see the shocked look on her face. “How did you know?”

“I didn’t until now.” He replied, then cursed. “Baily Johnson saw Arthur Wessex at your apartment, and then two days later, you hightailed it out of town. I didn’t know for sure, but I had a feeling he had something to do with it. I never did like your daddy, Talon. No disrespect, of course.”

“None taken. He was a bastard.” Talon said absently as things started adding up in his head. “But you seemed just as shocked that she left.

“I was.” Her grandfather replied, “I wasn’t sure that’s what happened, and well, it’s not my story to tell, son.”

Talon frowned, his gaze landing on Willow, who looked terrified. “Excuse us.”

“Go on.” Her grandfather waved them away. “Take care of your business. I got me a show to watch.”

Talon grabbed Willow’s arm and headed outside, down the porch steps, around the house to the backyard before letting her go. “You let my fucking father run you out of town?” Talon tried to keep the rage from his voice, but he failed.

“Talon, you don’t understand,” Willow said, her eyes shifting away.

“Then make me understand, Willow,” Talon spat, then turned, running his hand through his hair, trying to get a grip.

He had spent a year trying to hate her. Then, he blamed himself, thinking it was something he did to make her run.

And now to learn it was because of his fucking father made him livid.

“From where I’m standing, it looks like you gave up on us without a fight. ”

“Fuck you, Talon,” Willow hissed, then gave him a shove, which had him turning around so fast she stumbled backward. “I left because I loved you. I left so you could live out the life you were destined to have, and that life didn’t include a weak human.”

“And who said?” Talon hissed, then laughed in disgust. “My father?”

“You were to be mated to a Shifter,” Willow whispered, tears in her voice. “What was I supposed to do, Talon?”

“Come to me!” He smacked his chest so hard that Willow winced. “You should have come to me, dammit!”

Willow shook her head and then looked to the ground. “I couldn’t.”

“Bullshit,” Talon growled, leaning in toward her. “You chose not to. There’s a difference.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I chose not to because if I had told anyone, especially you, your father threatened to take my grandfather’s land.

” Willow laid out that bombshell. “So yes, I chose not to ruin your life or my grandfather’s life.

We both know that your father would have made good on that threat, and neither you nor I could have done anything about it. ”

The truth hit Talon like a punch to the gut.

His father had forced her to leave, giving her no choice but to run.

Rage clawed its way up his spine, hot and merciless.

He should have been shocked, but he wasn’t.

Arthur Wessex had spent his entire life controlling people, bending them to his will.

And now, even from the grave, he was still trying to rip apart what had always been his. ..Willow.

Talon’s wolf snarled inside, pacing, restless, and demanding to be set loose—to run, and tear something apart.

His gaze roamed her face. He then stared into her beautiful eyes and saw the truth. Reaching out, he swiped a tear from her cheek. “I would have left with you, Willow.” Talon’s voice was rough, stripped bare of everything but the raw truth.

“Talon… you were meant to be Alpha.” Her breath hitched as she swallowed hard.

“We talked about that so many times. I loved you too much to ruin it for you. I was afraid you’d end up hating me.

” She looked away for a second before meeting his eyes again.

“One thing your father was right about… I am human.”

“I don’t care.” The words came out like a growl, fierce and absolute. He pulled her into his arms like he had wanted to do for a year.

She tensed for half a second, like she didn’t believe this was real or was afraid he’d push her away. Then, with a quiet sob, she melted against him, clutching the back of his shirt like he was the only thing keeping her standing.

“My father was a bastard,” he murmured, his lips brushing against the crown of her head as he held her tighter. “I never would have taken a Shifter woman because I can’t.”

Her eyes searched his, wide and vulnerable as if she was afraid to believe it, afraid to hope.

Talon pressed his forehead to hers. “You are my Mate. My only one. Human or not, that will never change.” He pulled away slightly, staring into her eyes. “Do you still love me, Willow?”

“I never stopped.” She whispered as another tear escaped, shifting her gaze from his. “Do you forgive me?”

He forced her to look at him again to see the truth in his eyes. “There is nothing to forgive.”

The moment their lips met, it was as if no time had passed—like a year of pain, distance, and longing had never existed. The connection between them was still there, burning just as fiercely, if not more so.

Talon crushed her against him, his grip unyielding, his kiss desperate and consuming. He poured everything into it—the anger at losing her, the agony of missing her, and the undeniable truth that she had always been his.

She responded just as fiercely, her fingers tangling in his hair, her body pressing against his as if she, too, was afraid this was just a dream that would slip away.

But this wasn’t a dream or echoes of the past. This was their future from this point forward.

Talon deepened the kiss, his wolf howling in satisfaction, and he knew—he would never let her go.