Chapter 9

For another, he wanted Beast to feel free to unburden himself to Beau. Maybe if he knew Beast’s story, he would recall his own.

Even now, it seemed as though the memory, locked away by shock and trauma, his own fragile mind protecting him, was beginning to arise and come to life in snatches that were only foreboding images.

There was a dark alley, its bricks slick with rain.

There was a nauseous panicky feeling in his gut, bordering on terror, when he recalled the alley. There was the feel of someone following and gaining on him.

There were hooded figures that meant to cause him harm.

When Beau tried to recall their faces—or what they had actually done to him—his mind shut down. He knew, though, that in order to heal, he needed to remember what had happened, so he could reclaim his place in the world.

Did Beast remember what had happened to him? Was it what caused him to be living here in the mountains like some kind of hermit?