Page 84 of Shrouded in the Dark

My brain felt hazy. It took several moments for it to catch up and his statement to make sense.

“What?” Moving my head, I met green eyes with flecks of brown in them that were wide in shock. “Jasper?”

Relief clashed with a painful grimace raced across his face. His large hand reached up to touch my cheek with a tenderness that melted my heart.

“Hey, Becca. It’s so good to see your eyes.” His thumb ran down my cheek.

My skin tingled at his touch and I felt a loud purr fight to come out of me.

I froze. Jasper furrowed his brow in concern.

“Becca?” He kept his hand on my cheek.

When that purr threatened to come from my chest, it hadn’t been me. I sat up hurriedly, the blanket pooling in my lap.

“Turn around,” Seth’s voice snapped out.

I glanced to the doorway to see Seth standing in front of Wyn, who stared straight into his eyes and a loud grumble released from his mouth.

“Enough,” Axel barked from my other side. “Turn around, Wyn, for her modesty.”

Modesty? That’s when I glanced down and my eyes slammed shut as my arms crossed my chest.

“Why am I naked?!” My outraged squeak would be comical if I wasn’t so horrified.

“You don’t remember?” Cody was next to Jasper. They were both kneeling on the ground next to where I was. He held up the blanket so I could hold it up to my chest.

I was on an air mattress. I looked around the room in horror. My room was destroyed. Furniture was shattered, torn apart in pieces. Remnants of my clothes were thrown everywhere.

“Remember? Remember what?” A sharp pain rocked inside my head like a ping pong. “Ow.” I lifted my hand to touch my temple and stared in horror. Half of my arms skin was shredded. I could see bone and muscle but there wasn’t a lot of blood. “Oh God!”

Panic started to set in. My breathing started to quicken, yet that weird feeling from before, which had wanted to purr, pushed at me, calming me. The warmth of something wrapped itself around me, offering comfort.

No one was touching me, though.

“What’s happened to me?” It took a few tries before I could ask this. The guys stared at me with looks ranging from sympathy to heartache. Why didn’t my mangled hand hurt? That really should hurt, right?

“The rogue, he came after you.” Cody was the one to break the awkward silence. His gentle look helped my heart rate slow down. “We got here too late. You were,” he glanced away. “Dead. You were dead.” His hands ran over his face. “We didn’t know what to do. Gary gave us a Hail Mary. We all bit you. You were dead for a little over an hour.”

Flash. Visions of a mutated looking wolf-man biting my hand. My screams in the bathroom hadn’t reached anyone’s ears but mine. Flash.

I gaped up at Wyn. He was just as handsome with his square jaw and buzz cut as I had last seen him. “What did you mean when you called me a hybrid?” I glanced down at my hand as I moved my fingers. There was the pain I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t overwhelming. I think I figured it out, but I needed to hear it again.

Wyn’s lips twitched in a half smile. He still hadn’t moved from where he leaned against the wall near the door. Seth stood between him and the rest of us.

“You’re a shifter, now. A hybrid. Like me.” He rolled his neck, popping it. “You’ll notice that you don’t feel that pain? Like there’s something moving under your skin?”

Warily, I nodded in confirmation. “Yes.”

“That’s your other half. Like these boys do, you now have an animal partner. Just a bit more special than theirs.” Wyn wouldn’t look away from me, even as Seth growled. I didn’t mind having his attention on me.

Shifter. I was a shifter? That feeling of whatever was inside of me prodded at me. It wanted to communicate but I had no idea what to do.

“I’m a shifter.” I really should be having an anxiety attack. Why wasn’t I freaking out? Or passed out from being overwhelmed?

I did know one thing. I was starving.

At the thought, my stomach grumbled loudly. All the men’s eyes went to where my stomach was hidden underneath the sheet. Cody snorted while Jasper smiled softly.