His energy spent and his beast exhausted for the moment, he collapsed onto the animal pelt where he’d refused the only woman he ever truly loved. Her memory invaded him. He felt her touch his face and caress the scars that plagued his body. He tasted her lips and smelled the sweet aroma of her auburn hair. As tears flowed down his face, he caught sight of his mother’s comb lying on the floor in front of him. He slid it out from under the broken pieces of Serena’s crystal necklace. The comb still held Kira’s scent. He ran his fingers over the tiny strands of auburn hair that remained twisted around the teeth. The words she’d said that night finally had meaning.
There was nothing left of her to save.