Shadow Shifter (On Hold)

Chapter 20

Kora's POV

As soon as I opened eyes, 3 things told me something was wrong before I could even process what was happening.

One, I woke up not knowing where I was.

Two, Sean was sitting in a chair right next to the bed I was laying in, just watching me.

Third, he was crying.

My wolf whined, wanting to be able to reach out and dry the tears that were streaming down her beautiful mate's face, but I held her back.

He was scaring me.

He didn't look mad, or angry, or even upset with me.

He looked broken, and that scared me the most.

"Sean?" My voice cracked as I broke the warm silence between us, reaching out to touch his hand that was resting on the edge of my pillow.

He didn't say anything, but he didn't break his gaze on me either. He just sat their, starring back at me with a sad smile.

"Is everything ok?" I asked, stronger this time, but I still received silence back. This time, he broke our gaze looking down at my hand that touched his. He took mine in his much bigger hand and gave it a small squeeze, before he finally answered me.

"Yes, but we need to talk." He said, letting go of my hand and running his hands through his hair tiredly.

His words made my heart stop. Was he tired of me? Now that he knew my secret, did he think I was a freak and not want me anymore?

Every scenario of him leaving me ran through my mind in the 5 seconds before he spoke again.

"You aren't the only one that's been keeping secrets. I haven't told you things that you deserve to know, and for that, I'm sorry. My past is.. a messy one and after I tell you about it, I don't know if you'll want to be a part of my future. I'm afraid, considering everything, my future probably won't be much better than the past." He looked back up at me with sad eyes as he finished. I sat up with my legs hanging over the side of the bed, facing him and taking both of his hands in mine.

"Sean, whatever happened in the past is in the past. It can't be that bad." He only closed his eyes and sighed.

"I was 7 when these.. men.. attacked my pack. I remember playing with my little toy cars when my mother burst through our front door, sweeping me up in her arms and running us up the stairs to my room. She threw me down onto my bed and ran into my closet, grabbing a bag and stuffing clothes into it faster than I'd ever seen her move before.

The entire time she was gathering my things she never looked at me, she just kept apologizing, over and over. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."" He whispered to himself, seeming lost in his memories. I watched a tear trail down his as he lowered his head, looking down at his hands. I didn't press him to continue, letting him go at his own pace. Eventually, he started again, his voice strained.

"I never said a word. I didn't ask her what she was doing or what was wrong, why she was in such a hurry or why she was packing everything away. I don't know if it was because everything was happening so fast, or because the way she was acting was scaring me. Once she was satisfied with the contents of the bulging bag, she gathered me in her arms, handed me the bag and ran us down the stairs again.

Once we were outside, running across the yard towards the trees, she told me to shut my eyes, but I didn't. Even though I could see, I had no idea what was happening. There was so much blood, so many dead bodies lying across the field. Some where people from our pack, but some where strange looking men that I didn't recognize, but I didn't ask who they were. I don't think I would have been able to speak even if I had tried.