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"Co what she was really talking about "You didn’t let what happened to you happen, sweetheart They were feral Shifters They wanted you--they took you"

"You don’t know You weren’t there I did it to ht into it, took ive me, and I’m alone With no one Just o low as he stroked both hands down her back "And what are you talking about, you did it to yourself? It wasn’t your fault, honey"

"Yes, it was I was stupid So stupid"

Ellison s the satin war in him "Well, once you tellthat Shifters do whatever they want, and ferals don’t even bother to be polite about it Don’t keep this inside yourself, Maria What happened?"

"What I did ainst irls, didn’t want them influenced by me That’s the main reason I came back here I could take it ifhis kids to be afraid of er "Marquez is right You’re brother’s a bastard, and I’d like to explain it to him Noant to hear your side of the story, so I can tell you again that it wasn’t your fault"

When Maria looked up at hih Ellison’s heart He understood the loneliness he saw in her--he too had been ripped away fro he knew and loved when Shifters had been discovered and rounded up twenty years ago

He’d watched his sister lose her mate to a freak infection, and he’d watched his own parents ether rather than submit to the Collars He and Deni had been left alone, bewildered, with Deni’s two little cubs to take care of

"I fell in love," Maria said, tears of anger in her voice "No, it wasn’t love I didn’t understand what I was feeling Luis was a stranger, exciting, handsome And I fell for his lies"

"Luis was the Shifter who kidnapped you, right? And took you to Miguel?" Dylan had told Ellison what he’d pried out of Maria--that a wolf Shifter had abducted Maria to add to the pack at Miguel’s instigation But Dylan had given Ellison only cursory details, and only after Ellison had badgered hi about Maria

"I didn’t know Luis was a Shifter, not until later," Maria said "I was a stupid girl, bored with being a good daughter and aiting to ht man Luis convinced me to run aith him And I did it Because I’m an idiota"

The tears finally came She didn’t sob uncontrollably, but beads of tears formed on her lashes then splashed quietly to her cheeks

"And the asshat Luis turned you over to Miguel" Ellison’s anger made his voice harsher than he ht Luis was takinghouse, where he would marry me But then he revealed he was a Shifter, and he took me to the abandoned warehouse When I saw the other Shifters, I was scared and tried to run away But they dragged me down into the basement and said I had to stay there with the female Shifters They locked us in"

Dylan had prettywords e A spark snapped in his Collar, warning, and he stepped away froht have forgiven me if I’d been abducted," Maria said "But I walked away froht, and then I thought he’d protectto cool hi it hard She didn’t need a Shifter going kill-crazy in front of her, but Ellison fought the instincts that o of your own free will, so stop saying you did Shifters kno to coerce Trust me, I’ve lived with them the past hundred years They do what they want, Collared or no, and these were crazy-ass ferals You ht have walked out of your house on your oo feet, but you didn’t go of your own free will, sweetheart But even if you had, Luis should have protected you That’s what mates do They protect you from all others Every evil in the world He didn’t do what he was supposed to" And for that, Ellison wanted to taste his blood

"Luis did try to protect uel killed hiuel killed Luis’s cub before that, or as good as--he let the cub die My cub"

"Goddess" Ellison’s Collar flashed another spark, but his rage negated the pain "Maria"

In the wild,of the other o as Shifters became less barbaric, and also realized they needed diverse blood to survive The instinct to kill a rival’s offspring, though, was still there In a co every bit of co themselves be driven by the needs of the beast--the alpha’s instinct to kill another’s cubs would be strong

Ellison hadn’t known until now that Maria had lost a cub She’d never spoken of it, and Dylan hadn’t mentioned it--maybe Maria had kept it from everyone But Ellison should have known from the emptiness in her eyes