Page 4 of Hart's Redemption

He nodded once, then looked over me to meet Dr. Lyons’s gaze.

I blinked, and the world fell away.

The hallway was bare despite all of its ornate decorations. Something about the detail tickled my mind, but didn’t stick. I took a wary step forward, my footfalls swallowed by thick carpeting. The way was lit indiscriminately with light and darkness. I ventured into the shadows, taking the only path laid before me. Despite Dr. Lyons’ warnings of getting lost, I could only travel one way.

I grew wary as the silence stretched on with no change to denote my passage. Another step and another nothing. Another step, and…a door?

Curious, I reached out and found the handle pliable. The door’s trim glistened brightly as it swung inward.

Inside, a small child with dark hair and watery green eyes stared defiantly back at a woman with sharp features and notan ounce of kindness on her face. She backhanded him, and he crumpled to the ground, his sobs filling the overly large room. He couldn’t have been more than five.

I stepped forward to intervene, and the scene dissolved around me. When it resettled, I was in the same room, and a man with dark hair and substantially softer features was talking to the child as he lay in a massive bed that threatened to swallow his small frame whole.

I inched closer to hear their soft conversation.

“Joshua, you know what you mean to me.”

“Yes, Papa.” My heart nearly crumpled at the innocence of the small child’s voice and the instant recognition, not to mention the purple bruise marring his delicate face.

The man with green eyes as bright as young Josh’s smiled. “I have something for you.”

Young Josh sat up straighter, enthusiasm lightening his features. “What is it, Papa?

“Now this is our secret, just you and me. Understand?”

Josh nodded energetically, all ‌his attention focused on his father.

The older man reached down and pulled up a stuffed animal. Josh’s eyes lit up with wonder as he accepted the stuffed wolf. It was an incredible likeness, with gray fur edged with tan and a rust-colored streak, similar to the one I boasted in my wolf form, running down its back. Josh squeezed the plush animal to his chest, his arms wrapping around the toy as if he would never let it go.

I glanced around the room. A fireplace dominated one wall. Shelves of books, another. While maps and diagrams held precedence on the third, there was not a speck of art, no toys, nothing to denote this was actually a child’s room.

Josh’s father ruffled ‌his dark hair, placed a kiss on his forehead, then got up to leave. “Good night, Joshua.”

“Good night, Papa.” Young Josh burrowed beneath the covers, much as I’d seen older Josh do, still clutching the wolf tightly.

I stepped out of the room and closed the door softly behind me. This time when I glanced down the shadowy hallway, there were doors lining both sides. Each one as dark and foreboding as the one beside me.

These are his memories.

Curiosity got the better of me. I walked a short distance, then tried another door, identical to the first. It probably shouldn’t have surprised me that the same door led to the same room. This time, Josh was getting ready for bed and chatting animatedly with the stuffed wolf sitting on the bed. The plush animal showed obvious signs of wear but was wholly intact—an impressive feat, since Josh now looked a couple of years older.

My gaze riveted on the fresh werewolf's bite still healing on his back as he pulled his nightshirt over his head. This couldn’t have been long after the disastrous family hunting trip.

“Don’t worry, Jasper, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” His wince as the fabric settled over the wound betrayed his lie.

She hadn’t even gotten him a healer.

“I’ll be fine in no time. Then we can play again. Promise.” Suddenly, his head whipped around to stare at the door. For a moment, I thought he could see me, but he stared right through me. All the color drained from his face, and he raced towards the animal. He promptly stuffed it under the bed, and I caught a whispered, “Sorry,” before he spun back around.

I jumped as the door flew open hard enough to hit the wall. The woman from before, whom I now assumed to be his mother, stormed in, fury written blatantly across her pinched features. “Where is it?”

Josh deliberately did not look to where he’d hidden the toy. “What are you looking for, Mama?”

My breath caught in my throat at the loud smack that filled the room. A red welt in the shape of a hand sprang to life on young Josh’s face while he fought the tears threatening to streak free.

“I told you not to call me that. Maybe now that your father is gone, you canfinallybe a decent Harker.”

“W-what?”