Page 6 of Rehabilitated

“I can’t go back,” I whisper. “They’ll kill me if they find me.”

“They won’t find you. I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Ever. I swear.”

My muscles relax one by one. Then my stomach growls again.

Russo releases me and stands. “I’ll make you something to eat.”

I sit up, intending to follow him.

“You wait here,” he orders.

I shake my head. “I can’t lie in bed all day.”

He frowns. “Yes, you can. You need your rest.”

I throw my legs over the side of the bed. “No, I’ll grab something to eat and get out of your hair.”

His expression darkens. “Leave? You’re not going anywhere, Ever. You’re home.”

“What?” I gape at him. “What do you mean?”

His brow furrows as he looks at me. “You can’t sense it?”

I shake my head in confusion. “Sense what?”

He looks as confused as I feel as he shifts from one big foot to the other. “I can smell your bear.”

I blink at him.

“You’re a shifter too. You can’t smell me? You can’t tell that we’re fated mates?”

I stare at him in shock, wondering if he’s crazy or if I’m the one who’s lost her mind.

Am I dreaming? Did he really say that, or am I too tired and hungry to make sense of words now?

I stare up at Russo’s handsome face, wondering if I’ve traded one problem home for another.

“W-what?” I finally stammer.

He paces away from the bed and back again. I’m silent as I try to figure out what’s going on.

Finally, he turns to face me. “We need to talk.”

3

Russo

This can’t be happening.

How is this happening?

How does a shifter not know they’re a shifter? And how am I going to explain all this to Ever. She doesn’t seem to know anything about the customs, the traditions, the rules. None of it.

Where do I even begin? At the beginning, I guess.

“I’m a bear shifter.”

She gives me a look of quiet disbelief. “Bear… shifter…”