They made it home that night, their bare bodies still covered in blood. She washed herself off in the bathroom, still full of the thrill of the kill, but despondent that she hadn’t recovered her lost memories.

“I'm going to help you remember,” Grayson said, walking into the bathroom.

“How?” she asked, wrapping herself in a bathrobe.

“We’re bonded. I can see inside you, through our connection.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes—I can’t stand this blankness inside me a second longer. I need to know,” she said skeptically.

“Let's go get comfortable.”

Wrapped in cozy bathrobes, they crawled onto the bed and sat opposite each other on their knees. Reaching out, Grayson took her hands, gazing into her eyes.

Now that Donika was a bear, she was stronger than she had been before. She could feel her body repairing and her mind healing. But the memory of what had happened in New York was still trapped deep inside.

“Close your eyes and reach out to me through our bond,” he said, holding her hands warmly in his.

She took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes. She could feel Grayson sitting in front of her, his warm, strong presence a solid support to her, no matter what the storm. She reached out to him through their connection. She felt herself like a flurry of anxiety, fevered and panicked with frustration. The bear inside him called back to her with a soft growl, calming her nerves.

“That's fine,” he said. “You're doing well. Now let me inside you.”

Donika took a deep breath and relaxed. She saw Grayson in both bear and man form, approaching her through the vast void of space. He walked into her mind as if he'd walked through a door. She greeted him, seeing both her woman and bear form. They came together, standing opposite each other in the land of her imagination. He took her hands and the bears nuzzled each other.

“Show me where you keep it hidden,” he said, the sound of his words echoing off the walls of her mind.

“I don't know where it is,” she said, shaking her head.

“Then we will look together,” he said.

They walked to a cliff's edge. The ravine below was dark and treacherous. She couldn't see into the depths.

“Maybe it's down there,” he said, pointing into the vast crag in her mind.

“I don't go in there,” she said. “That's where I keep my fears.”

“Then we must go there together,” he said.

They walked along the ravine, looking for safe passage down the cliff. They walked on and on for what felt like hours.

“We’ll never find a way down,” she said.

“We will find a way. We must be patient.”

They continued walking and the landscape began to change. Finally, Grayson saw a way down. A meandering trail led along the cliff face, down into the ravine. He pointed at it with a smile.

“There,” he said.

They continued down the trail, switching back and forth as they descended the steep decline. Finally, they made it into the dark, narrow valley between the craggy rocks. The forest was thick with shadows, and she felt a wave of fear knock her back. Her heart pounded and sweat dripped down her brow. She wanted to open her eyes and escape the dream she and Grayson shared. This was not a place she wanted to enter. She kept all her fears there.

“It's all right. I'm right here beside you.”

She felt his hand in hers, warm and reassuring. The grizzly’s warmth beside her nudged her on. She exhaled and followed him along the trail into the forest. An owl hooted, and the forest creatures cried. Insects buzzed furiously as they entered the cold forest. It was dark inside. Not even the light of the moon penetrated the canopy. Grayson pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and lit the way. They continued along the narrow, overgrown trail.

“I don't even know what we’re looking for,” she said.

“We're going to find your memories.”

“But where are they?”

As soon as she asked the question, they were confronted by a gnarled old tree in the middle of the path. Its thick arms reached out, blocking their way, and its bark was like the visage of a deformed face. She gasped and stepped back.

“What is that?”

“It's just a tree,” Grayson said.

“No, it's more than that. There's something inside it. Something I don't want to see.”

“This must be it,” he said, finding an axe somewhere.

Grayson began to swing the axe, hitting the tree with all his might. Blood sprang from the tree trunk as he chopped it. Donika screamed at the sight, covering her eyes. Grayson continued to chop. The axe whacked the trunk over and over. She heard Grayson breathing heavily and finally ventured to look.

He had cut a large chunk from the tree. With one final cut, the tree began to crack and fall to the side. It smacked the ground and sent a reverberation under her feet and through the forest. Blood spilled from the tree, soaking the ground. They walked forward and stared inside the hollow trunk. Inside was a box. Grayson picked up the box and handed it to her.

“You have to look inside,” he said.

“I don't want to. I don't want to know. I don't want to see.”

“You must Donika. You have to remember.”

She bit her lip, unlatched the box, and opened the lid. Inside was a piece of paper. She picked it up and read it. It was the same paper she'd read on her desk in her office the day she punched her boss.

Suddenly she knew. Trans-Food Corporation was knowingly poisoning its customers. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were eating carcinogenic ingredients. And the corporation never cared that it had caused so many deaths. They'd covered it up and had never informed the public. And they’d continued using the same cheap, poisonous ingredients. Her boss had wanted her to continue to defend them, to get them off so that they could continue their treacherous practices.

Donika dropped the box and stepped back, her heart pounding.

“I remember. They’re killing people. They’re killing people with their terrible ingredients, giving them cancer. Poisoning them slowly until there's nothing left. And no cared until me. I know what they're doing. I can stop them!”

Suddenly she snapped out of the dream.

“I remember everything! I remember exactly what those files said. I know why my boss is trying to have me killed. He doesn’t want me to reveal what Trans-Food Corporation is doing. It’s a billion-dollar company and worth millions for the firm and for him.”

“Woah, no wonder. It all makes sense now.”

She looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning.

“I'm calling that federal agent now.”

She picked up the phone.

“This is Donika Devon.”

“I'm glad you called, Donika. We've been helping Fate Valley Police interrogate the suspect all night. She’s confessed to being a hired assassin for Mr. Shyster. She admitted everything.”

“I knew it! And I know why he's trying to kill me too.”

“Oh?” he asked.

“Trans-Food Corporation is poisoning the public. I have the proof, too,” she said, suddenly remembering where she’d left the paper that had made her faint that first night, weeks ago. “It’s in my suit jacket pocket! I forgot it there when I passed out. I packed it up, but it needed dry cleaning. I haven’t touched it since I arrived in Fate Valley. I remember everything! I’ll bring it to you right away.”

She threw on her clothes, and she and Grayson went out to her SUV, digging through her plastic boxes.

“I know it's in here.”

Finally, she found her jacket at the bottom of a box and pulled out a folded-up piece of paper. “This will prove it! This will take down Trans-Food.”

Grayson drove her to the police department. Gripping the paper, she walked inside and sat it on Sheriff Bear’s desk for him and the federal agents to read.

“This will prove that Trans-Food is poisoning people. I'm leaving this with you,” she said. “I trust you will take care of everything.”

Sheriff Bear picked up the papers and read them.

“This should be enough to arrest the CEOs of the food company and your boss, Mr. Shyster,” said the federal agent, picking up his phone.

Donika threw her arms around Grayson’s neck, and he held her close, whispering in her ear.

“You did it. You did it.”

“I couldn't have done it without you,” she said.