Page 110 of The Secret Keeper's Daughter

Nothing, a voice whispers in my mind that sounds eerily like my mother.Tell no one.

It looks like I’m keeping this to myself.

I take a few deep breaths before opening the door.

Harek’s eyes are wild. “Are you okay? You’ve been in here so long. The first shift is always the worst.”

“I’m fine. Really, it wasn’t that bad.”

“How is that possible?”

I shrug. “How did I shift this far from the full moon?”

He frowns. “That’s what worries me.”

“I’m also a hunter. That must be it.” Or the fact that I’m not only a werewolf and a hunter, but also a Secret Keeper—whateverthatentails.

Harek wraps his arms around me. “I always knew you were special, but there’s never been anyone like you.”

“You have no idea,” I mumble.

“What?” He steps back and gives me a puzzled expression.

Guilt stings for keeping this from him, but what other choice do I have? It seems clear my mother sent me on a mission to finish what she, or possibly another of our predecessors, began.

Harek brushes some hair from my face and leans closer. “Are you okay?”

“I’m just trying to make sense of everything. Do you know why I shifted?”

“Honestly, that’s the first time I’ve seen a non-moon shift happen. I can’t blame you if you don’t believe me.” He frowns and looks away. “But it’s the truth.”

I cup his chin and guide his head until our gazes meet, then I lean closer. “I believe you, and I think you’re right. One of my parents’ abilities must have something to do with it.”

His brows draw together. “Oneof them? Your ability to shift must have something to do with your hunter line.”

My pulse drums in my ears. After being so upset with him for hiding things from me, I can’t keep this from him. My mother would understand.

Unless of course that wasn’t her voice I heard.