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"Just don’t tell your irl is the one," his father replied, voice weary "It will break her heart"

"I already ahed "Move her to a guest room in fifteen "

"It’s e do Why don’t you come upstairs with me See me out"

Footsteps echoed on the ce bag and closed er loved er came for me fifteen ht in the basement and didn’t wake up once

38

Two days later, we drove to the deserted er pulled his SUV to the side of the dirt road and we got out I squinted against the hot afternoon sun and followed hih a sparse copse of trees to a round, fathoround--another place where the parched earth had been sed by the mine Icy air oozed froer, why did you bringmy hands over er looked at loo-shee here," he whispered

Dread turned er’s arently, wrapping his arms around my waist "My father killed the Walkers that stayed to see if you were dead Their bodies were disposed of in this sunken mine shaft"

I shivered in spite of the hot afternoon "Who was the wohtmare

"When the Skinwalkers need to conated Speaker--soone before my father arrived, but I described her to my father He believes she’s the Speaker for a Skinwalker naer’s arer’s eyebrows rose "Do you know Rolf Heinrich?"

"He was one of the tigers--theer’s face His hands grew claainst h the fabric of my T-shirt "Are you certain he’s the man you killed?"

"Yes"

"You killed the Skinwalkers’ leader--their uess, I would say the ability to survive against impossible odds is one of your natural instincts" He looked atit from his arm My nails had ht above three wolf-inflicted scars on the back of his wrist

I thought of Rolf Heinrich’s naked corpse lying atop the tiger pelt "If a Skinwalker dies in the shape of an animal, does he turn back into a human?"

"No If you kill thee back They are dead anie back to their human shapes, but they’re not like us They don’t heal Sometimes they still die"

That made sense Rolf Heinrich didn’t die instantly He shifted back to his natural form and bled to death My stomach churned and I peered over my shoulder, toward the distant dirt hill topped by a faded red flag

"What is it?" Bridger asked, his hand slowlyup and down my back

"There are three bodies in theHill," I whispered "Two are animals, but the third one’s Rolf Heinrich"

He pulled htheit’s too dangerous to leave the abandoned mine as it is, which is true, but that isn’t theof your hunters"

I looped ainst his chest "How many died?"

"Only a few Most of them left after you were shot"

"How’d he … kill … them?"

"My father …" I looked up when he didn’t continue His lips were pressed together, as if he couldn’t speak another word He looked at me and took a deep breath "He had a lot of help--other Shifters"