Midnight Whispers - Paranormal Romance by Catherine Bullard Page B

Kyra one
thing—the shifters had just gone through a funeral of their own.
    She found
Bryce as he was emerging from an unfamiliar house, also solemn and dressed in
black. He tried for a smile when he saw her, but it was clear to her that his
heart wasn’t really in it, which was fine by her—she didn’t have the
energy for a smile either.
    “What
happened?” she asked, closing the distance between them.
    “The man
whose wife had lost her child during the attack died yesterday,” Bryce said
quietly, leading her off the streets and into his cabin. “We buried her today.
Ian, her husband, has been inconsolable, but I had to leave him when I sensed
that you were here.”
    Kyra stared
at him as he closed the door behind them. “You shouldn’t have left him for my
sake. I would have been fine going back home by myself.”
    Bryce shook
his head. “I didn’t want to leave you wandering the village by yourself without
my protection. Besides, he has other clan members with him for support.” He
took her gently by the shoulders, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “You
look like something is troubling you.”
    Kyra looked
down. “It just… this is a dark day,” she said quietly. “One of my aunt’s
friends just lost both of her sons. They were killed by some kind of animal.
Seeing their mother today, so struck by grief, made me think about my own
loss.” She swiped at her eyes fiercely. “I know I should be grateful I’m alive,
but I feel so ashamed when I realize that I’m so busy I forget to think about
my parents. I look around at these people so wrapped up in the grief of losing
their own family members, and feel awful that I am not also the same way. I feel
like I should be suffering too; perhaps that I should have died as well. It
doesn’t seem fair that I survived and my parents didn’t.”
    “Hush.” Bryce
drew her against his chest. “I’m sure your parents are grateful you are still
amongst the living, and they wouldn’t want you to have died with them. I know
what you mean, and it took me a long time to realize that just because my loved
ones have passed, it doesn’t mean that I cannot continue to live my life. They
have moved on, to whatever place it is that we go after we die. It is only
natural that we move on too, and it isn’t disrespectful to them.”
    Kyra wrapped
her arms around him and held tight, soaking in the warmth and comfort he
offered. “What you say makes sense to my head, but my heart is struggling to
accept it.”
    Bryce stroked
the top of her head, and then released her. “Come, and let me show you
something.”
    He led her to
his bedroom and knelt down in front of a small wooden table pressed into a
corner of the room. On top of it stood a tallow candle, and next to it a knife
with a carved wooden handle and a jade pendant.
    “This is my
memorial shrine to my parents,” he told her.
    As Kyra knelt
down beside him, he picked up the pendant and held it up for her to see there
was a wolf etched into the flat surface, sitting back on its haunches with its
head tilted up so it could howl to the night sky. “Belonged to my
mother—she wore it every day of her life. And this knife was my father’s;
he never went hunting without it. When I feel the need to be close to them, I
come here, light the candle, and just talk to them. I don’t know whether or not
it works, if they really hear what I am saying, but sometimes I feel like they
are here, like they are actually sitting next to me when I talk to them. It
comforts me, and helps eases the pain.”
    Kyra
reverently touched the pieces, and then touched Bryce’s hand. “I had no idea
people did things like this,” she murmured. “It… seems almost holy.”
    “You can make
one of your own, you know.” Bryce curled his fingers around hers, then brought
them to his lips. “I know you said you lost everything, but you might be able
to find something to use.”
    “Yes,” Kyra
murmured, her eyes transfixed on