She would fight for him. She would sacrifice herself for him. Just don’t let Daniel find him.

The further she ran, the closer the smell became. She thanked God she didn’t smell blood. She broke past a tree and came to a cold stop.

Several emotions flitted through her: surprise, relief, sadness. Darien knelt before a gravestone with a beautiful, incredibly full bouquet of flowers. She realized then that when she’d run to him in town, he’d had them in his hand when he came out of the florist shop, but she hadn’t even noticed. Now she realized, and she felt horribly rude and intrusive.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...I—” she fumbled for the right words. Something that wouldn’t involve her spilling her secret about Daniel. Thinking of none she finally settled with, “You were gone when I woke up, and I was worried.”

He nodded at her and motioned with his head for her to come closer. She didn’t want to. This place was filled with sadness, the same deep sadness that he held so closely wrapped around him. And this gravestone, this place, was the reason for it all.

But what about helping him? If she wanted to help him, and she wanted to so very much, then she must be strong for him. A part of her longed to see this lykaen whole. It would be an amazing sight.

She sat next to him and looked at the gravestone. The gravestone was smooth marble. The front had a glossy finish and not one but two names were on it. A lump formed in her throat as she read the words: Dana Carrow and Renee Carrow. Below the names were the years. Her brow furrowed as she read the date under Renee’s name. It said simply: 2008.

The stone was cleared off any leaves or twigs that might have fallen on it. It looked almost brand new. She looked over at Darien, unsure what she would see in his face because this place obviously meant so much to him.

She stifled a cry at what she saw there. Raw pain. Agony. This man had suffered something terrible and had never gotten past it. The pain looked as fresh as if he’d just buried whoever laid here.

She stayed quietly as his side, hoping, waiting, for him to say something.

He pulled the plastic wrap away from the flowers and gently spread them across the front of the stone like an offering. Cassie’s heart was breaking watching the gentle reverence with which he touched the white flowers and then the headstone. Finally he rested his forehead to the marble as if in prayer.

Cassie swallowed hard at witnessing this strong, lykaen man in such pain. Who could have cause this much grief in him? His mate? His child? She wanted to cry out for him.

The sound of his voice startled her. “I met Dana at a bar. That night the bar was packed full and everyone was into their drinks. Except her. I remember the song playing on the jukebox was Behind Blue Eyes. When I first saw her I thought she looked so lonely, not even a smile on her face, sitting all by herself. I had to talk to her.”

He laughed a little; the sound raw in his throat. “I asked her out to dinner and she kept refusing me. She always said I was too this and too that. It took a few weeks but I finally convinced her. That night on our first date she admitted she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s baby. I didn’t care. I still don’t. I just liked her. She made me feel good and whole. We moved in together and had eight months together. Then in one night it all stopped.”

Cassie couldn’t hide the tears shining in her eyes. She shook with the need to put an arm around him and hug him. But she was afraid he’d shake her off with how raw he was. Right now she knew she was learning more about this man than most people had a clue to.

“We were gonna name the baby Renee after my mother. Nature’s a real son of a bitch sometimes. It gives and gives, then snatches away those that are precious to you in a matter of hours.”

Terrified to know, Cassie asked, “What happened to them?”

He sucked in a sharp breath and rested a big hand on top of the stone. “She was due any day. That night, on this night exactly three years ago, we had a fight. She said she didn’t love me, that after the baby was delivered she didn’t want me around because the real father, Greg, said he was ready to step up.” He choked out a harsh laugh. “I spent all those months talking to Renee, singing to her, telling her how much her Daddy loved her, and she was going to take that away from me. I was angry. I went to the bar and got shitfaced. By time I got home it was late and I could barely tell if I was walking or crawling.”

“I called out to her. She didn’t answer, so I figured she was sleeping or just ignoring me. I checked in on her and...” he exhaled a shaky breath. “And there was blood all over the bedsheets. Her skin was sweaty and white. I called 911 but she was already dead—hour’s dead I found out later. They said she went into labor but there were complications. Both her and the baby died.”

Cassie dried her tears with her shirtsleeve. Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. He tensed beneath her and gently unwrapped her arms from him.

“Don’t cry for me, Cassie. Cry them. They’re the ones who lost their lives that night. Not me.” He stood and walked away.

But you did, she wanted to cry out. But she kept her mouth closed and stood on wooden legs to follow him. Feeling like a hollow shell of herself, she followed him back to the cabin.

The man was living in a horrible past, and she honestly had no idea how to help him.

If he was pushing her away about his past then what was he doing with his family? Cassie walked back to the cabin with legs that felt like they were stuffed full of lead. Darien Kategan needed her help, and she didn’t know why but she knew that she could help him. She just had no idea how to yet.

A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. She didn’t have enough time. Daniel saw her. He was much closer to her than she’d thought. He would send everyone in his power after her now. If she was lucky--and given her life experiences she wasn’t--then she’d have a week tops.

Did she have enough time to change someone’s life?

She was going to find out. Because she was running out of time and so was Darien.

* * *

Was it a good idea what she was planning? Probably not. Did she think it was awesome—oh, yeah?

When she got back to the cabin, she found Darien chopping more wood. She honestly hadn’t realized what he was doing before, but this simple act was his way of getting away from it. He didn’t drink or use drugs. He chopped wood. For a carpenter, she supposed it made sense.

Darien was stubborn, and his soul was etched with guilt and pain. She needed to show him that there was still happiness and kindness. Ugh, she felt cheesy just thinking it but it was true.

Besides, he could chop down this entire forest if he wanted to, and from the looks of the wood stacked around the cabin that’s what he was trying for, but it still wouldn’t make him feel better.

“Hey, lykaen,” she said striding towards him. He didn’t answer her so she continued, “Thank you for sharing that with me.” Still no answer. He hefted the axe high and let it drop hard again and again. “I need blood.”

The axe slipped and missed its mark. She grinned like a fool. Maybe this would be easier than she thought. He glared at her with hard eyes, so she held up her hands to show him her ouchie.

“See? I hurt. I lost some blood when I fell, and honestly I’m just a little famished. If you let me have a snack, I’ll make you dinner.” She threw in a cute wink for good measure. He lifted the axe with one hand and buried it into a log. She sighed at the sight of his big muscles. The lykaen was strong. He made her purr just watching him work.

“Fine but remember what I said about taking too much.” He stalked inside and she skipped happily after him.