“No. It’s always made me feel ugly.”
Brock snorted. “There’s nothing about you that’s ugly.” He tapped on her chest above her heart. “Not in there…” then at her temple. “Not in there, either… and definitely not that scar. So what did you do next?”
“Mom and Dad made me go to therapy. It took me a while to realize if I wanted to be happy I had to make the daily effort. It got better after I figured that out. Still... I can’t let people see it. Once they do, they want to know how it happened and all, and it’s not exactly a topic that makes for light conversation.”
“You’re amazing.”
Sky’s cheeks heated up. “So are you.”
Brock shook his head. “Not like you. To go through something like that and come out so positive... I’m just lucky I didn’t screw this up for good.”
“Thanks.”
“Sky,” Brock breathed. “I’m sorry.”
“I know you are. I’m sorry too.”
“And about how you got hurt…God, if I had been there...”
Sky forced herself to smile up at him. “You weren’t. And it’s all right now.”
“If anyone ever tries to hurt you again…they just won’t live to see another day.”
Sky placed her palm against his cheek. “It made me who I am, Brock. I don’t take anything for granted…it took years, and a lot of therapy.” She let out a long exhale.
“I still think it’s beautiful. You should know, every shifter has a mark.”
“Like mine?”
“Sort of.”
“From what?”
“Whatever it was that would have killed them before they’re turned.”
“So you weren’t born a shifter?”
“That’s right. Didn’t Nash show you his mark?”
“No. He never mentioned it.
“Hmmm. Typical of the kid to do a show and tell without the telling part…every shifter we know about was turned by a woman we call Theriona.”
“Can I see yours?”
“I thought you’ve seen it.” He stepped back and undid his belt and zipper, lowering his pants to his knee to show her a pale pink mark on his thigh. “This is where I was injured the worst during the car accident that killed my father. I would have bled out, but Theriona showed up and healed me, turning me in the process.”
She wasn’t sure if she should, but asked, “She couldn’t help your father?”
“It was too late…she can’t bring anyone back to life. None of us can.”
“Are you all half bears?”
“No. There are a lot of bear shifters here in Sparks, but again, from what Zeke’s shared with us, we turn into the animal that we’re meant to be in our DNA…kind of like predisposition. You can ask Zeke about it, now that you know. He’s our expert on all this shifter business…and by the way, he’s a gorilla shifter.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. He’s the expert, but according to everything he’s researched, Theriona is a prime shapeshifter. It means she can turn herself into any creature she wants to be. We believe she’s immortal, and from what we know, is the only being able to turn humans to shifters. I was born human. Mom and Brianna are human. Every shifter we know about was turned because it was the only way to keep us alive.”
“She sounds like some kind of healing-shifting superhero. Kind of like the opposite of vampires. Are those real?” She noticed Brock stop short, furrowing his brow with worry. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No…but…the truth is I don’t know. I guess I see your point. So they may be real, I just don’t think I’ve ever met one. Most of us feel fortunate to be alive, but then again, at times it’s like a curse. I mean, we have to keep what we are a secret. Humans wouldn’t understand…and if they knew we could heal…the last thing we want is to be discovered and used, or worse, seen as a threat.”
“I see what you mean. Okay now I understand why Nash was wrong for showing me what he is.”
“Exactly. Anyhow, there’s so much more to this, I’d need weeks to give you the big picture…” he paused, and a grin rose up on his face. “I can think of a whole lot of other ways to spend the next few hours before you have to go to work.”
Sky laughed. “Sounds like the Brock I know.”
He wrapped his hands around the back of her neck, tilting her face up to his. Sky closed her eyes and breathed in deep, savoring his scent.
“Joleen suggested I was your true mate,” Sky whispered before he could kiss her.
“She’s right.” Brock pressed a soft, brief kiss against her lips.