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hiccupping a cry that I'd been holding back. "I was so scared. So scared he'd kill you, but I couldn't shift, couldn't do anything. Nothing worked. I had no control over any of my powers. I'm so sorry!"
    He tilted my chin up and gazed into my eyes. "It's not your fault. And besides, you saved Sam. You made the Beast leave."
    I shook my head. "I don't know what happened. It didn't make sense. None of this makes sense."
    He kissed me, which shut me up. And I kissed him back, happy to be lost in his arms, tasting him and holding him and feeling him against me.
    He pulled back and wiped a tear from my eye. "Does this mean we've made up?"
    I considered a moment. "We still have things to talk about, but I can't fight with you anymore. Life is too short. Too fragile."
    "I love you, Rose. I'd do anything for you. Anything."
    "Then can you support me in my practice with Talon. I have to learn to control what I can do. It could get me killed if I don't. I need to train. Tonight."
    I didn't want to leave him again, but I had no choice. We didn't know how long we'd have before the Beast came back for Round 2 and I needed to be ready.
    "Can I join you?"
    His request surprised me, but I nodded. "Sure. It's not as exciting as it sounds, so be prepared. Talon made a tent outside in the woods, said he'd feel too trapped in the mansion. I'm heading there now if you want to come."
    In truth I was glad he came with me. It comforted me knowing neither of us would be alone tonight.
    Talon had made a camp fire in front of his tent and sat meditating into the flames. He looked much like he did the first night I met him.
    I sat across the fire and Derek sat with me.
    I jumped straight into my worries. "I couldn't shift tonight. The Beast attacked and I couldn't do anything. I need to get better."
    "I am sorry I was not in attendance," he said in a gravely voice, looking up from the flames. "I've been isolated too long to mix well in crowds. But I would have only been in the way. I was injured long ago," he said, his eyes taking a far away look and his voice dipping into a cadence of oral storyteller that had been lost in our print and digital time. "I once had a family like Derek's. A pack of Shifters. I was the eldest and it was my duty to defend the pack and teach them. We were attacked once, by hunters. I did what I could to save them all, but it wasn't enough. My family was slaughtered. It was that day that I shifted into something other than wolf. I transformed into a giant elk and killed the hunters with my horns. But when I turned back, I was not myself." He pointed to the horns on his head. "For days I writhed in pain and agony, until I taught myself to control my form bit by bit. Unfortunately, I learned too slowly and I was weakened because of it. In the years to come I mastered more and more of my powers, but never regained my physical strength, and often I retained a feature of an animal I struggled to control."
    He saw the look of fear and sadness on my face and softened his voice. "I did not have help. No one knew what was happening to me. Fear not, my child, I can help you without the suffering I endured."
    Derek cleared his throat and squeezed my hand. "I'm so sorry about your family. I almost lost my brother once." He glanced at me and smiled. We both thought back to the time I accidentally sent his brother's soul to a demon dimension. Derek had also almost been lost to me, but I'd risked everything to rescue them both. It was the only thing that exonerated me from my crimes.
    "I can see how important it is that Rose trains. And I thank you for taking her as your student. She means everything to me. I would not survive if I lost her."
    Tears formed in my eyes as Talon instructed us both to close our eyes so he could take us deep into meditation. Once again I met my animals in my special room, and I examined each, getting to know their signature and the feel of them. I spent the next several hours trying them on, learning to become