Page 108 of The Secret Keeper's Daughter

Einar stops in front of a door. “Your mother’s things are all in here. This is where she kept them, and she only took a little with her when she left. I never had the heart to remove a single item, always hoping one day she’d return. Now it’s all yours. Do what you think best with it.”

Harek opens the door and steps inside.

I start to go in, but he motions for me to stop. If I wasn’t a wolf, I’d argue with him but I do appreciate him looking out for me. Though at this point, I trust my father. Not only did he risk himself and his dragon to help me get my sword back, but he kept my mother’s things all this time. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.

“Everything looks good.” Harek steps back into the hall and looks into my eyes. “Are you going to be okay shifting back? I can be there with you.”

I try to express through my eyes that I’ll be fine. The last thing I want at this point is to shift in front of him. Maybe someday, if our relationship goes in that direction, but for now it’s a big no.

My bones ache, which seems like a clue that they want to shift back into my natural form. I nudge my way past Harek into the room. Then I use my muzzle and paws to close the door between us. If that doesn’t answer his question, nothing else will.

Conversation sounds in the hall, then footsteps. Both grow quieter.

I’m alone. Now I can shift back.

The ache turns into sharp pains, similar to what I felt back at the farm. I close my eyes and whine. This is going to be as painful as before.

Agony rips through every inch of me in hot waves.

I let go, stop holding it back, and let nature take over.

Chapter

Thirty-Seven

When I open my eyes,I’m back in human form, curled into a ball on the floor and naked as the day I was born. I bolt upright, covering myself, and look around quickly. I’m still alone.

It’s strange to be in this unfamiliar room without anything on. Harek and my father could return at any moment, so I need to find clothes now.

This is a bedroom, and the closet is in front of me. I leap up and fling open the door. I’ve never seen so many clothes—not even in the room at Vivvi’s. The mother I knew only ever wore simple clothing, and she had only a few outfits. It’s hard to believe all these brightly colored shirts, pants, and dresses belonged to her.

Who was my mother before she met Gunnar? And why did she let him change her so much? Those are questions for another time. I need to get dressed before anyone returns for me. They’re bound to be concerned since I just shifted for the first time, and not even near the full moon.

I flip through the items, ultimately picking a shirt and pants that look comfortable and are in more muted tones than the restof them. They’re a perfect fit, just like Einar predicted, and the fabric is as soft as the clothes Vivvi provided me.

Once dressed, I finally relax. If Harek and my father return, everything will be fine. But now I can indulge my curiosity. This was my mother’s room—or at least where she stored her things. If I want to find out about her life before Skoro and Gunnar’s iron fist, this is the place to look.

I take in a deep breath and catch the slightest whiff of a floral perfume. But that’s impossible. If she left here more than twenty years ago, no scent could linger that long. Though everything I thought was true about life has been proven wrong in the last week, so perhaps traces of her are still here after all this time.

Sniffing, I follow the trail. The floral scent grows stronger until I come to another closet at the other end of the spacious room. Without thinking, I open the door. A strong whiff of the flowers hits me.

A large chest takes up most of the space. It has a wolf print etched into the rounded top.

My heart races. Will the contents answer my questions? Tell me everything I need to know about my mother’s past?

I reach for the latch, pull it up. Hesitate for only a moment before opening the lid. The floral perfume is even stronger, and suddenly I see why.

Dried teal roses cover the top of the wooden chest. Carefully, I remove them one by one. They aren’t fragile, like I’d expect. Something round and black appears underneath, more revealing with each flower pulled away.

A shield. It has an intricate wolf head carved into the middle, taking up most of the space, and the edges have fancy designs. My pulse drums in my ears as I pull the shield out of the box. It hums in my grasp, vibrating slightly.

That isn’t even the strangest part. The dried roses come back to life, slowly transforming into silky petals and sharp thorns.

My breath hitches, and once all of the flowers have fully returned to normal, the back of the shield calls to me. I find it hard to pull my gaze from the carved wolf on the front but force myself to turn it around. The words on the back take my breath away.

For some reason, I feel compelled to read them aloud.

The Secret Keeper’s Shield.

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