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what
    happened?” It was too personal and
    she knew she should be pulling
    back from him out of self-
    preservation—what chance did a
    wolf and jaguar have at a
    relationship?—but she wanted to
    know everything about Rainer.
    His jaw ticked once but his pale
    gaze never strayed from hers. “They
    were killed by vampires because
    someone betrayed them.”
    The way he said “someone” was
    odd, but she didn’t comment. His
    hand, which still rested on her
    belly, flexed once. “Tell me what
    happened to yours.”
    She should have expected it since
    she’d asked him. The only person
    she’d ever told about that night was
    Sabrina. “I was five so it’s all a little
    fuzzy, but men broke into our
    house really early one morning.”
    Estrella shut her eyes, trying to
    banish the images but that only
    made it worse. “They must have
    been shifters, or maybe vampires—
    I didn’t know they even existed
    until now but I guess it’s possible—
    because they were so strong.” Her
    voice cracked on the last word as
    flashes of the blood soaked
    bedroom swam in her mind.
    “Look at me,” Rainer said softly.
    When she opened her eyes, his
    expression was soft. “You don’t
    have to tell me the rest of it.”
    She wanted to, though she wasn’t
    quite sure why. She needed
    someone else to know about that
    night. That she wasn’t crazy, despite
    what the cops had said. “My mom
    got me to safety. She broke a
    window and basically threw me
    outside. Told me to run. Screamed
    it at me actually.” Saying the words
    out loud felt so freeing. She’d never
    been able to tell her friend the rest
    of this story but she was going to
    tell Rainer. “My mom told me to
    run and hide in the human world. I
    knew I was different, I could turn
    into an animal after all, but I didn’t
    really comprehend what she meant.
    I knew what she meant by run,
    though. So I did. I shifted forms
    and then ran until...I heard my
    father scream. The sound was
    horrific so I turned back. When I
    got back to my house I looked in
    the living room window and saw
    my father dead on the floor.” He’d
    been decapitated, but Estrella
    couldn’t force herself to say the
    words. “I watched as one of them
    killed my mom with a long sword.
    Later the cops said only my father
    was dead and my mom was
    missing, but I know what I saw.”
    The damn memories were burned
    into her brain. She didn’t care what
    anyone said. Her mother hadn’t just
    disappeared. Maybe her killers had
    taken her body but she’d seen what
    they’d done to her.
    She’d run until she’d felt as if her
    legs would fall off. Then she’d
    shifted back to her human form
    once she’d reached the heart of
    Miami. A police officer had found
    her wandering the streets naked and
    helped her.
    Rainer tunneled his hands
    through her hair and pulled her so
    that her face was against his chest.
    He murmured soothing sounds as
    he stroked her back and told her
    not to cry. That’s when she realized
    she was. The last time she’d cried
    had been the night her parents died.
    She swiped away the wetness on
    her cheeks, hating the way her chest
    ached and throat burned as she held
    back even more tears. What she’d
    just told him was definitely bad
    first-date etiquette. She’d pretty
    much broken every rule, but it was
    hard to care. Even if she’d admitted
    way too much about herself, she
    was glad he knew this about her.
    Finally, someone knew the truth.
    And not just someone, but Rainer.
    She could be herself in the
    bedroom with him so she might as
    well just put it all out there right
    now. He’d protected her last night
    and now he was comforting her.
    “I’ll fucking kill them,” he
    murmured so low she almost didn’t
    hear him.
    Startled, she pulled her head back
    to look at him. “What?”
    “Whoever killed your parents, I’ll
    —”
    She pressed a finger to his lips
    and shook her head. She’d buried
    her ghosts a long time ago and the
    thought of him putting