Page 23 of Let's Talk One True Mate

Burton looked down at his hands and sighed. “I stared at the couch for a long time, then I lay down on it and took a nap. It might have only been five or ten minutes, but when I woke up, I decided I’d gone moonstruck, and that was okay, but I’d hidden Eventine’s body, and that wasn’t. It went on for years—for decades. I lied to Harlan, saying I’d had her body cremated. I checked under the couch in my office constantly. I roamed the tunnels and challenged thefelen—Wade had to come save me more than once. I searched the entire station, top to bottom, several times, then decided I was moving her body in my sleep. I used to check the chest freezer at home compulsively. I know you boys remember that.”

Canyon and Timber looked at one another. They did remember that. It’d been the first thing Burton did every morning and the last thing he did each night.

“I expected to find her body any time I walked into a room, every time I turned a corner.”

“Whoa,” Timber whispered. “No wonder you were so out of it.”

Burton only stared at the ground.

Canyon stood and pulled a Yoohoo chocolate drink out of a cargo pocket, holding it in front of Burton. Burton took it and held it in his hand, eyes still lowered.

Timber gave Canyon a thumbs up, then changed the subject, fast.

“Oh damn, I just thought of something. Check this out. So right around the time Leilani poofed you back in time, both Troy and Track shifted for the first time, at the same time. They took a nap together, and Track woke up as a pup, and Troy woke up as a dude. It was wild, man.”

Then Ella slammed Troy against the wall a few times.

Timber laughed and nodded. “Can’t blame her though. She didn’t know what he looked like as a man, so of course when she found this naked stranger with Track, she whooped ass first and asked questions later.”

Burton met Timber’s eyes and gave a weak grin.

8-Jaggar and Leilani♦♦

Canyon moved back to the edge of the clearing, while Burton yawned—a real jaw cracker. Timber inclined his head, eyebrows raised, giving Burton a ‘we can finish this later’ look. Burton shook his head and waved Timber on.

“Okay,” Timber said, rubbing his hands together. He stood and paced, speaking quickly. “So after the mauling, the beast ran north into Wisconsin. Jaggar had no control at all—the beast did whatever the hell it wanted. Trent followed the beast, and Trent’sechofollowed him. At some point, the beast swung around and headed home while Trent and hisechokept heading north. Right around the time the beast showed back up at VF,Leilani was drinkingdragenblood. Eventine had hoped it would heal her sight, but instead it gave her freaky silver eyes. She couldn’t see the beast so she wasn’t scared of him—and he was gentle as a pup with her. She grabbed him by the ears and they time-traveled again and again that night. At some point, Jaggar gained control and was able to shift.”

Timber nodded to Canyon for the details.

Canyon read off his phone.They went back in time first to Jaggar’s birth, then to a time when he was five years old and met his dad for the first time, then to a time when he was in the military. Then they traveled into Leilani’s past, and watched Grey convince Leilani’s mom to commit her to Roosevelt Asylum.

Burton growled, his expression full of contempt.

From there, they went to a time in Leilani’s past—some incident with an orderly at the Roosevelt. Neither of them can remember that one, but it must have been a doozy because Leilani came back unconscious, so Jaggar left her with Eventine and jumped off the train trestle over Blue Island Gorge.

Burton swiped a hand across his forehead. “Sweet fucking hell,” he said. “A trip straight to the meadow?”

Timber nodded. “Seems like it. They spent some time in the meadow, but their memories are disjointed and hazy.”

Like a dream they barely remember,Canyon added.

“When they came back to their bodies, Jaggar moved Leilani into one of your spare rooms, but he wouldn’t claim her because he didn’t want to hurt her.”

Burton rubbed the back of his neck, nodding. “I remember. His beast challenged me a couple of times in my own house.”

“They forced him to claim her by asking Leilani to dance too many times or some shit—so Jagger claimed her, and then his beast was gone, and Leilani wasn’t blind anymore.”

Burton splayed his fingers and shook his head. “What? You missed something in there.”

“Actually, I totally did,” Timber said. “The way it all happened is unbelievable and it won’t make a lick of sense till I tell you something I forgot—Eventine had already gone to the meadow and asked that Leilani’s eyes be healed.”

Burton’s brow furrowed. “What? How?”

“Dahlia got her in. Crew taught Dahlia.”

“What’s Dahlia’s power again?” Burton asked.

Temporary illusions that look and feel real.

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