The next morning, Tessa donned her apron and grabbed an order pad from the stack in the diner's kitchen.

She was beyond tired after her evening with Drake Morgan.

Her mind was still confused and at odds over what she had learned the night before.

There were bear shifters, and they didn't want to be outed to the humans.

, she could keep his secret.

Not because she was afraid of him, but because he was so adamant about it not being leaked. Drake had a reason for keeping his secret. Tessa understood that more than most. She knew the fear of being found by someone who could harm you.

She'd been running from her ex-husband since the divorce had been finalized three years ago. He'd found her in Tulsa right before Christmas the year before, demanding she return to him.

Bradley had beat her nearly to the point of death, and if it hadn't been for someone calling an ambulance, she'd have been dead behind the place where she worked the night shift.

Once she recovered, Tessa packed her bags and found her way to Olive Branch, Mississippi. The town was large enough, not everyone would know who she was, but it was small enough, the people she did know kept an eye out for her. Tulley, and her boss at the diner, Gaia, always helped her when they could. They'd been more than nice to her since her arrival.

She'd rented a studio apartment above a shop in the downtown area not long after arriving in Mississippi. Tessa had found it in an ad and fell in love with it immediately. The apartment was secluded, and no one could find her. The entrance was hidden behind a tall shrub at the side of the building, and she had her own parking spot in a gravel driveway in the back.

She worked the afternoon shift at the parts store. Tulley paid her minimum wage, and she was able to keep all of her tips from the diner, plus a small wage. Gaia also gave her free meals when she worked, but that was only four mornings a week.

She could always take an evening job, but since her attack, she didn't care much for leaving a job at night. The money she made covered her rent and utilities, leaving a small amount for food.

At night, she usually curled up on the couch in her apartment and watched television until she fell asleep, waking up early to go into work when the sun came up each day. Her only day off was Sunday, and she used that day to go to the local laundromat to wash clothes.

She hadn't made any friends in town since she arrived, unless you called Tulley and Gaia her friends.

"How was your evening?" Gaia asked as she entered the dining area.

"It was uneventful," Tessa replied, remembering not to mention the bear shifters.

She wouldn't even tell people she knew Drake Morgan if that made him feel safe.

For some reason, she felt she needed to protect him and his brothers. As much of an asshole as Drake Morgan could be, she felt something when he touched her. The connection was strong, and Tessa couldn't stop thinking about him.

"What are you doing on your day off, dear?" Gaia continued as they refilled the salt and pepper shakers on each table.

"Probably laundry and sleep, but it all depends on the weather," Tessa told her, knowing on Sunday there was a chance of spring showers. She didn't want to get out in the weather if it was going to turn nasty.

"They're calling for some storms, but later in the day," Gaia offered.

"Great, so no sleeping in," Tessa whined lightheartedly, sliding the full shaker to the middle of the table by the napkins and ketchup bottle.

They worked for another ten minutes before Gaia flipped the sign on the door, telling everyone they were open. A few older men entered the diner, taking their usual seats. Tessa gathered her order pad and smiled as she approached.

"Good morning, gentlemen," she greeted. The men rambled off their order, and Tessa promised to return with coffee.

Gaia seated a couple with a small child as Tessa retuned to drop off the order for the men. The couple was beautiful, and the woman was obviously pregnant with their second child. The man held his daughter close as he looked over the menu. Tessa watched as the woman looked up at her husband and child with so much love on her face, it brought tears to Tessa's eyes.

"That's our local werepanther alpha, Talon Shaw, and his wife, Liberty," Gaia announced as she poured coffee and water for the family.

"They own the bar south of town, right?" she asked, remembering seeing the woman's name on a health inspection report that hung over the bar.

"The Deuce is her bar," Gaia nodded.

Tessa waited by the kitchen as their cook, Tony, worked his magic on the grill.

She ducked out when a new table was seated, taking their order. When she dropped off food for a lady and her grandson, she took the new table's order and off she went.

The couple left after they ate, and for the rest of the day, Tessa couldn't stop thinking about the shifters. It wasn't that she didn't know about them, it was just that she'd been dealing with her own problems when they were found out to be real and not the myths of her childhood.

When she returned home around three that afternoon, Tessa used her phone to look up the shifters on the internet. It wasn't like they had their own websites that told everyone about them.

Oh, she found several hate groups who said that the shifters were abominations and spouted religious reasonings, but she just didn't believe any of what they were saying.

Not after seeing the werepanther alpha with his mate and meeting Drake Morgan.

Yeah,.... Drake was an asshole at first, but after he'd fed her, something changed. He was...nicer...sort of. Whatever he was, Tessa wanted to learn more about them.

One article on a raid of an island a few months ago caught her attention. Apparently, one of the hate groups had hired scientists to study the shifters they'd kidnapped. They were shut down and several species had been saved. The article did not elaborate on what kind of shifters were found the day it was raided, but other websites indicated black and small brown bears, panthers, and wolves had been found on that island.

She wondered if Drake was keeping hidden because of the groups like this one.

She left the diner at noon and hurried home to rest. Saturday nights were always good for a movie on television, and she wasn't disappointed when she found an old classic.

Clouds were darkening as the afternoon faded into evening. The sound of the rain on her apartment window lulled her into a deep sleep. She woke in the middle of the night long enough to turn off the television. She needed to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up at her usual time and started a pot of coffee. The news called for another evening rainstorm, and Tessa hoped she could get all of her chores done before it arrived.

She wondered where Drake was, and if he had been working in his fields. Rex should've had the parts she delivered already installed on the machines they owned.

Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? She'd dreamed of him the past two nights. The dreams were nothing of significance, but he was there, always in the background, keeping a protective eye on her.

Tessa sighed and rinsed out her coffee cup. She wished Drake didn't hate humans as much as he did, and it appeared no matter what she said to try and convince him otherwise would be met with resistance.

"Oh, Drake," she whispered, shaking her head.

Tessa decided to fight the Sunday crowd and do her laundry since she had time. Sitting around analyzing Drake Morgan wasn't going to get things done. Hopefully, he would someday come to his senses and trust humans to a point where he didn't isolate himself on that land.

She gathered her basket and supplies, grabbing her keys as she fumbled with the door handle. Taking the stairs, she slowed as she approached her car. Tears immediately sprung from her eyes at the sight before her. Fear raced up her spine like an untamed wildfire.

On the hood of her car was her cat, Renegade, his blood smeard across the front windshield. Bile rose in the back of her throat as she dropped the basket and ran up the staircase to her apartment. Her hands shook as she tried several times to get her key into the lock. The moment the key slid in and released the mechanism, she ran inside and locked the door. She didn't know who to call. She knew the message was from Bradley, because Renegade was the cat she had to leave behind when she ran away.