This was the part that would haunt him tomorrow.

Trigger shrugged out of his plaid button-down shirt and yanked the white T-shirt underneath over his head. He chucked both of them at a tree, pissed the bear was asking to rip out of him again so soon. He’d Changed last night in preparation for Ava’s arrival so he should’ve had at least another week before he needed to do this. And what was he fuckin’ doing? Night one, and she was calling the animal out.

This right here was why he’d hated being around her when they were kids.

She made the bear worse.

And now he knew exactly what kind of torture it felt like to Turn someone. A friend. He’d lost his mind and tried to kill Colton, his best friend, and now look at his life. Trigger had completely ruined Colton’s future. And if he wasn’t careful, he was going to ruin Ava’s, too. Or worse. The bear would just kill her.

Fuck, this was a terrible idea. A growl rumbled through his core as the animal disagreed. The beast liked blood too much for his own damn good. And by the way the bear had studied the dead cattle the other day, he must’ve killed them. It wasn’t the Darby Clan of mountain lions that had done that. He had no one to blame but himself. Trigger, the man, had no memory of doing it, but he’d slaughtered part of his own herd. Those cows had the perfect telltale grizzly kill marks. Claws deep down either side of the spine and deep bite marks right beside them. He hunted them and grabbed them from behind. That was his move. More cattle lost, more money lost, and Ava was going to see just how badly he’d screwed himself into the ground. A wave of shame washed over him and brought on a crippling slash of pain through his middle.

With a grunt, he fell to his bare knees in the snow. He didn’t even feel the cold. All he felt was the ache of the animal, the sickness of the insanity that was about to take him, the tingling of his skin as it prepared to rip apart and re-form as something other. As a monster.

Dad always called the grizzly a gift, but he’d been wrong.

He was a curse.

Natural born shifters were males. All of them. Females didn’t make good monsters, but males…well, they suited the animal.

If he bit Ava, she could Turn, sure. But would she survive that first Change? Probably not. He’d watched Colton bleed out and stop breathing. Crimson had soaked the snow. Five years ago, he’d killed the human part of his friend, and still, half a decade later, he couldn’t get the vision of Colton’s dead eyes staring up at the stars. Or the memory of the exact second they turned from blue to gold. Curse.

Ava needed to do her job and get the hell out of here and away from Trigger as soon as possible.

Another wave of pain slammed through him, and the snap of bones sounded in the night as his spine busted and reshaped. Pop, pop, pop! Trigger gritted his teeth and tried like he always did to die quietly. Because that’s what this was, right? His human had to die so that the bear could live for a night.

Ava was so goddamn beautiful. She didn’t even know it either. She never had. Trigger bowed over as his arm bones snapped. He clung to the memory of her face. He shouldn’t, he knew. It was dangerous to let the bear see her, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to think of something beautiful while he died.

She had short, black hair that she curled up pretty. It was shiny like raven’s feathers. She used to wear it long, but not anymore. He liked it better now. She looked tough. Pretty and tough. He imagined her profile when she’d smiled at Colton when they were eating. He hadn’t been able to stop watching her. The faces she made. God, she was so animated he could read every emotion she ever had just in her eyes alone. He’d witnessed guilt, regret, hope, and relief on her face tonight. Oh, he’d heard their conversation. Heard Colton call her out for not coming home. Watched her react. Pretty, short, raven-colored curls and dark lashes that brushed her rosy cheeks when she looked down. Blue eyes, but not a stormy blue. They were icy blue, like Colton’s used to stay. She had a round pixie face and full lips that always looked pouty. She wore red lipstick like she never expected to kiss a man. Perfectly arched dark eyebrows that told him exactly how she was feeling at any given moment.

He’d watched her like a damn hawk when they were younger, and she hadn’t changed that much in all these years. Maybe she was even prettier now. Curvier. Softer with an hourglass figure he wanted to grab and own. Maybe she was even more animated. More independent for sure, but that was sexy. Ava didn’t need anyone in the whole world, and all that did was make Trigger more interested in observing her. Dangerous game.

“Fuck,” he gritted out as his body broke.

Pretty Ava. Pretty face, but as the bear took him, an awful image came to his mind. Colton’s face morphed to hers, and her pretty face…her perfect, porcelain skin…was marred by the horrific scars that her brother now bore—Trigger’s claw marks.

This was why he couldn’t have pretty things. Why he couldn’t have delicate things. Ava was tough for a human, but next to him, she was still a hummingbird. Pretty to look at, enthralling, but one touch from him and she would be nothing.

And he couldn’t shoulder anymore guilt than he already did.

So just like when he was a kid, he told himself the mantra that made him leave her alone.

She deserves a normal life, and you destroy everything. For once, do something good. Leave that girl alone.

And then the bear exploded out of him with a horrific and triumphant roar, and in the seconds before Trigger ceased to exist, he prayed like always that the bear would stay away from the cabin.