Page 47 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part One

“Power. Greed. Having a large pack is a status symbol. It means you’re strong and a good warrior, that you can provide for a lot of shifters, which is becoming more difficult to do, what with humans expanding and improving their tech.”

Part of me whispered that I should drop it, especially with the serious tone in his voice, but I kept going. “Is that what happened with yours?”

“I think so. It’s not very clear. I remember being very young and having to fight, but I can’t remember who or the circumstances.”

What an incredibly heavy burden. I gently squeezed Leo’s shoulder, hoping he’d take some comfort from it.

“I’m sure you’ll remember soon enough.”

“I am sure as well. The question is, do Iwantthose memories back?”

Phew, now, that was aheavyidea and, honestly, I couldn’t answer it for Leo. Try as I might to empathize, I hadn’t been and hopefully would never be in his kind of situation. It was an impossible and complex sort of issue that no doubt was pretty traumatizing.

“If they’re of Ricky and other people you love, I’m sure that getting them back will be a net positive.”

“You’re right,” he said with a nod. “I do wish I knew where Ricky was, because I’m pretty sure you could find a way to break his curse, too.”

I didn’t want to rehash the argument that I hadn’t been the one to break his own curse, so instead I just nodded. “Maybe I can help.”

“Help, how?”

“Well, I imagine you’re not the best with a computer, and I’m pretty handy with ye ol’ search engine, so maybe I could find some clues.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Really? You would do that for me?”

“Of course! Just tell me all of the details you can remember. I’ll type it into the notepad on my phone and then see what I can dig up. It’s a long shot, but there’s no harm in trying.”

Leo let out a breath that was something between a laugh and a wistful sigh. “You really are incredible, you know that?”

I felt myself flush from head to foot. “It’s no big deal.”

“It is to me.”

Yet again, I couldn’t quite bear the intensity in his gaze, so I opened the notepad on my phone before looking expectantly to my shifter friend. “Lay it on me.”

“I don’t remember much,” he started, graciously giving me another reprieve. “Ricky’s only a year younger than me, a bit shorter, and wirier. He’s got dark brown hair and eyes.” He described him some and gave me some other general information. As he spoke, his tone shifted, like he was remembering something particularly unpleasant and trying not to visualize it.

“He was fast; incredibly so. Worked well to balance me. I’m a bit of a tank but,man,could he cover distance I could only dream of. He had a great mind for analyzing things. I always thought he’d make a great alpha, but I think I remember him saying it wasn’t for him.”

It touched my heart to hear him reminisce about his friend, yet it also filled me with dread because I knew how the story ended. At leastfor now.He could only avoid it for so long, because eventually he cleared his throat.

“The last thing I remember is someone putting a collar around him. I was screaming for him, but it’s like he couldn’t even understand me. Like he was just an animal.”

“So, he was cursed like you?” I asked, my heart aching for the man. He was around the same age, but he’d already been through so much.

“Yeah, I think so. They led him away on a chain like he was a pet. It was disgusting.”

“Who are they? Do you remember?”

“I… I’m not sure. I know they’re the enemy.” His voice grew surer as he spoke, as if expressing things to me or making things clearer within his own head. “Yeah, that’s what they were. The enemy. I can’t remember how or why, but I know they’re the ones who hurt my pack. Who cursed us.”

“Can you remember anything about them?”

“No, it’s all too hazy.”

“That’s all right, you’ve given me a lot to go on. You can always try to remember more later. I think it’s best not to force these things and let them come naturally.”

Leo nodded. I could tell from the look on his face that his thoughts were still quite heavy. I couldn’t save him from them, however, and it was a natural part of processing what he had gone through. We finished up our food, occasionally throwing a tasty morsel to the cats, who had never stopped attentively watching our food despite the serious conversation.

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