Chapter Ten
The next few weeks were rough, and as we closed in on the holiday season, I couldn’t seem to get in a chipper mood. I felt horrible for the way things went down between Cade and me. We weren’t dating, but there was still something there, even if it was unexplainable. And unattainable. I had to remind myself daily - morning, afternoon, and night - that Cade was off limits. He was destined for a future I couldn’t share, I needed to accept that and move on. Unfortunately, my heart wasn’t having any of that.
That first Monday after our…fight, I panicked. Cade didn’t show up for class and I couldn’t help the worry I felt. I hesitantly asked Cassie about it and she gave me a sad smile saying that he needed some time, and distance. Apparently he had shifted and ran. A long ways away. They expected him back by the end of the week. Maybe he’d find his lifemate. The thought made my chest seize and I tried to push through the rest of the day. I had no idea what the teachers said, but I had other things on my mind at that point. Steve and Nicole gave me funny looks when Cassie picked me up instead of Cade. But they didn’t comment. I was grateful that they didn’t pry. It wasn’t something I really wanted to rehash at that point.
At school I would go through the motions, dedicate my time to my school work, just to keep busy. I picked out a few familiar faces in the younger grades that were pack members, but I didn’t do more than nod in greeting. While they were all nice and understanding, I still knew it was my fault that Cade ran off. I did go to Tyler’s bonfire that following weekend. While I had some fun, it felt like I was trying too hard to have a good time. I missed Cassie and Bree. Even Brody and Hunter. Cade, well, that was a constant ache.
When Cade returned to school, things were strained between us. I was at my locker when I felt something shift in the air. I glanced up to find Cade staring directly at me from down the hall. We studied each other. He looked a little disheveled, but otherwise I drank in the sight of him. Oh how I missed him. A brief flash of hurt and longing passed through his eyes before his face blanked. Hunter jostled him, breaking our eye contact. I shut my locker and hurriedly walked to my next class. We didn’t talk during any of our classes. Or at lunch. Or study hall. I tried to smile and talk with everyone else, but there was an underlying tension in the group that I knew was entirely my fault. But I had to stick to my beliefs. Cade was a wolf. I wasn’t. There was absolutely no future for us.
With my thoughts constantly returning to Cade, I decided I needed a distraction. The following weeks I made an effort to finish up my college application and hoped they would accept me. Southern Oregon University was an hour away, and outside of McCoy territory. I’d asked Cassie. Chances were I wouldn’t run into Cade that way.
A few days later, the subject of colleges came up again and that was when I also found out that Cade’s elite family school was just for shifters.
“What do you mean, just for shifters?” I asked Cassie one night while we were studying at my house. Bree couldn’t be there since she was working with her Mom on some healing thing. We spent more time at my house now anyway, since there was less of a chance of running into Cade.
“All the prospective alphas have to train as the High Council’s Enforcers for five years. They learn the ins and outs of laws, procedures, and protocols that govern our society. As well as get an up close and personal experience in the life of the High Council.”
“Who would want to do that? I thought you said the High Council were a bunch of old, stuffy shifters?”
“They are but every prospective alpha is required to serve for five years upon high school graduation. I think it’s their way of keeping track of the alphas and knowing who the trouble makers are. Just in case they get any ideas.”
“Ideas about what?” I asked, curiously.
“Like if they don’t like the way things are run, I’m sure the High Council would tamp out the rebels quickly.”
“Tamp out meaning?”
“Anything necessary to keep the peace.” Cassie replied. I shuddered.
“Are they that strict?”
“Tradition and order are important to them. Very important. They don’t take kindly to anyone opposing them.”
“Why would anyone oppose them?”
“You only know the bare minimum on the rules we follow. Besides, we aren’t the only ones, Kendra.” She looked at me quietly.
“I know. You said there are other packs with their own territories.”
“No, I mean shifters.” She paused before adding, “We are wolf shifters, but there are other kinds of shifters too.” My eyes widened.
“Really?” Why didn’t I think of that before?
“Yes. But according to the High Council, all other shifters besides wolves are secondary. Seen as less important.”
“Why?”
“Supremacy?” She shrugged. “I told you they are steeped in tradition and that’s the way it’s always been, as far back as I know. Everyone on the High Council is a wolf. Other shifters don’t get a chance to serve.”
“That hardly seems fair.”
“It’s the way things have always been.”
“So, these other shifters. They would be the ones that would be the rebels?”
“Most likely. They are the ones with the most objections.”
“Are there any at our school?”
“No. They aren’t allowed in our territory. They have their own schools.”
“I never figured there would be more of you out there.”
“Mom has some history books around home somewhere. It tells a lot about all the different shifters. Remind me to find you one next time we are at my house.” Speaking of her house…
“How’s Cade doing?” I asked quietly. She sighed.
“He’s moody. I swear his mood swings give people whiplash. He’s half smiling to reassure our parents one second, then he’s running out of the house, shifting midstride, and disappearing into the forest for a few hours. He acts like he lost his lifemate. Which can’t be, because you’re not a wolf.” She looked at me before asking, “How are you doing?”
“I miss him.” I admitted. I didn’t add that it felt like a piece of my heart was gone.
“Maybe you should talk to him. You see each other at school but you avoid him even though I know you want to be near him. He looks after you like a lost puppy.” She shook her head. “I don’t see the harm in spending time together if it’s what you both want.”
“And what happens when he meets his lifemate?” I argued. “I get pushed aside and my heart-“ I cut myself off but Cassie finished the thought for me.
“Will be broken.” She sighed. “Yeah, I can understand not wanting to go through that. But is what you are feeling now that different?” I didn’t answer. The rest of the night was spent on homework and we discussed the upcoming Christmas shopping trip we planned for Ashland.
Cassie followed through on her word and handed me a history book on shifters the next time I was at their house to work on the car. Everyone always gathered around when it was time to work in the garage. It was almost normal if it weren’t for Cade’s steady gaze on me. I made it a point not to look at him. Brody was good about cracking jokes to try and lighten up the mood.
Bree would try to smooth the tension over with little known facts about healing she picked up from her Mom, Diane. Apparently being the Omega was super awesome. Bree was working on projecting emotions of calmness through touch that would help diffuse stressful situations, which could otherwise escalate into an all-out battle if left alone. She admitted that she tried it on me a few times before I knew about wolves. To say I was surprised was an understatement.
I also witnessed her healing abilities when Hunter accidently cut his hand open while working on the car. As soon as Hunter hissed in pain, Bree ran over to him and picked up his cut hand. I watched in amazement as she concentrated and the wound slowly sealed. Like it wasn’t even there. A beat passed where Bree was ecstatic as she managed to seal the wound and looked up at Hunter in happiness. Hunter looked sucker punched. I couldn’t tell if he was surprised by Bree’s achievement or that Bree was smiling up at him. The smile fell from Bree’s face and she retreated back to her seat. To cover her awkwardness, I asked about their natural healing abilities. Brody informed me that if they shifted it helped the healing process speed up, although nothing was as fast as an Omega’s ability.
The week leading up to our shopping trip, I read through the short history book that Cassie gave me. No other history book ever held my attention like that one. There were so many different kinds of shifters. Cougars, panthers, lions, tigers, foxes, grizzly bears, polar bears, hawks, eagles, just to name a few. How could they not have any representation on the High Council? I didn’t understand it, nor did I believe it was fair. There was one small blurb about how other shifters besides wolves used to be represented on the High Council but that was over 200 years ago. A power struggle of some sort brought about the change in leadership. Wolves had been in power ever since.
I tried to do a little research on my own, about what I was, since I needed things to keep me busy. But when you don’t know what you are, or what makes you different, well, you don’t really have a good starting place. To everyone’s frustration, Liam and Mica still hadn’t figured out anything either. They said they had a few leads, but wouldn’t tell me what. I had mentioned my mother’s name, Clara, in the hopes that it might help them. So far, nothing had come up.
My sketches and drawings had taken a turn for the bizarre, but maybe I could chalk it up to all my lessons on other shifters. They were starting to contain depictions of other animals, in all shapes and sizes. I couldn’t seem to get the details right, like they were in a haze and you couldn’t pick out the true image. But I knew what it was. A panther seemed to be the only image I could draw with detail. My dreams were the same way. I knew it was connected to what I was, but I had no way of knowing for sure.
My hearing seemed to be improving too, which I found extremely weird. There were times at school when I had my head down as I worked on my homework and I could hear Tyler talking with his friends about some sports thing. I’d look up to comment, then frown when they were nowhere near me, but across the room. How could I have possibly heard every word? I didn’t mention that, or the new developments in my drawings and dreams to any of the pack. Things were always better swept under the rug anyway, right?
Finally our shopping day arrived. Cassie planned to pick me up at my house before her, Bree, and I continued on to Ashland. I assumed it was just us girls, but I should have known that a trip outside of Pack territory would mean an escort. When I stepped out of the house that morning, I wasn’t prepared for what greeted me. Hunter and Cade waited on the driver’s side of a silver Chevy Tahoe. Bree and Brody stood on the other side. Cassie was making her way toward the front door but stopped when she saw me standing on the front porch.
“Surprise,” she smiled hesitantly and bit her lip. I looked from her, to the others surrounding the Tahoe, then back to her. I raised my eyebrow in question. “Yeah, sorry. I couldn’t leave them home.” I made my way to her and stopped a short distance from her.
“Whose idea was this?” Thinking Cade was the usual culprit.
“Dad’s actually.” Cassie admitted. I looked to her in surprise. “Since we are leaving the territory he wants us to have enough protection to be safe.”
“So we have to bring Brody, Hunter, and Cade along.” I noted.
“Well,” she hedged.
“What?”I asked suspiciously.
“A few of Dad’s Enforcers will be tailing us also.” I blinked at her.
“Come again?” I asked. Hunter stepped up beside us.
“The Alpha’s daughter needs to be protected. We don’t want other packs getting ideas that kidnapping Cassie would broker a deal with Liam.”
“Who would make a deal with kidnappers?”
“We wouldn’t,” Cade answered softly as he approached our small group slowly. “But other packs are sometimes desperate.”
“Desperate for what?” I asked.
“Let’s continue this conversation in the car.” Bree called. We made our way to the SUV and both Bree and Cassie jumped into the back seat. Hunter slid behind the wheel and Brody folded himself into the front passenger seat. This left me in the middle with Cade. I had great friends.
“So why the added protection?” I asked as Hunter turned the car around and headed out of town.
“Our pack is pretty strong.” Cassie explained from behind me. “A lot of packs want a treaty with us, others just want what we have.”
“Meaning?”
“Power and Money.” Cade supplied. I glanced over at him and noted that he was watching me. I couldn’t very well ignore him when he sat right next to me. Cade continued with his explanation. “Our pack is strong because we have a lot of members. There are some packs that have less than ten. Our territory stretches across thousands of acres, while others only a few hundred.”
“How would smaller packs be a threat to you?”
“Blind ambition and stupidity.” Cade answered. “They would try to cement an alliance with our pack by forcing an alliance as the deal to return one of our pack members.”
“Would you do that?” I asked skeptically.
“No. We would hunt down the pack that took one of ours.”
“Aren’t there laws against that? Wouldn’t the High Council have something to say?”
“The High Council leaves pack disagreements to the packs. The only time they get involved is when humans run the chance of finding out or an all-out war is imminent.”
“Or when other laws are tested.” Hunter added.
“So what laws do they oversee?”
“They mandate that all prospective alphas serve as Enforcers for five years, communicate with the other high councils across the world, suppress any unrest-“
“I didn’t know you had other High Councils.” I interrupted, surprised.
“Each continent has their own to oversee their territory.”
“Huh.” That was something to think about. I thought back to Cassie’s statement about their pack Enforcers following us. “So every time you leave your territory you have to have extra Enforcers?”
“Yes. Just to be safe.” Bree replied, and then added, “But don’t worry. You won’t even know they are there.”
“Right.”I nodded, unconvinced.
The hour long drive to Ashland was interesting. Bree and Cassie kept up a constant stream of conversation. All the while I could feel Cade watching me. Was he waiting for some sign from me? I still firmly believed that we were better off without each other, but my will was slowly deteriorating with time. There was an unexplainable pull to him that I couldn’t stop thinking about. Or ignore.
Hunter pulled into one of the shopping districts of Ashland and we all piled out of the SUV. I could see and feel the trepidation on the boys’ faces in regards to the long shopping day ahead. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. It felt…good. When was the last time I laughed? Cade’s eyes snapped to me and a small grin tugged at his lips.
“What’s so funny?” Brody asked as he looked around before his eyes landed on me.
“You guys hate shopping.”
“Yeah, we do. But we can suffer through one day.” Brody sighed and Hunter scowled. I didn’t think he agreed with Brody’s statement.
“Where to first?” Bree asked.
“Let’s start on that end and work our way to the other.” Cassie said with a gleam in her eye. Brody groaned and Hunter shook his head. Cade didn’t say anything as he stepped up beside me. I didn’t look at him as Cassie and Bree lead the way, with the rest of us trailing.
The morning shopping wasn’t too bad. There weren’t as many people around and we managed to pick up a few things. I bought a new shirt and scarf for Nicole, thinking she would appreciate it. The boys, mostly Brody, requested we go to the hunting store. We obliged since they were being good sports about waiting for us. I managed to find some outdoorsy items for Steve that Brody and even Hunter said he would like. They said it would come in handy as a Ranger. I took their word for it. Bree and Cassie looked over running shoes and debating the best brand. Apparently when you ran as fast as wolves in your human form, having a good pair of shoes was imperative. We continued down the chain of stores when I noticed we were passing a gallery. I had to stop.
“Hey guys?” They all turned to look at me. “I’m going to take a quick look around, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Bree assured as she backtracked and stepped into the store. Everyone else followed. I perused the wall hangings with different paintings and frames available. Someday I wanted to be good enough to sell my work. I hoped after college I would be ready and able to do something like that.
“Which is your favorite?” Cade asked softly beside me. Without glancing at him, I pointed to the one to our left.
“The lake scene.”
“It’s very pretty.” He commented. We stood there admiring the art for a few more seconds before I cleared my throat.
“I hope someday I can sell my work.”
“I’m sure that day will come. Your work is fantastic. Anyone would be proud to own one of your pieces.”
“Thanks,” I said with a small smile. When I moved to pass in front of him, he stepped back slightly to allow me more room. He then trailed me around the room as we continued to look at the different paintings. We talked a little about one here and there, and I found that he agreed with me on most about which ones we liked. I enjoyed talking to Cade again. It seemed since the conversation in the car, a wall was torn down. And I had no chance to rebuild it. Not that I wanted to. We continued walking around the store and I especially admired a rustic wood frame that made it seem aged. I thought it would look good around one of my drawings of the Pack. I ran my finger over the frame lightly.
“You like that one?” Cade asked.
“Yes.”I replied simply.
“Kendra, the boys are getting antsy. You ready?” Cassie called. I turned my head and noticed both Brody and Hunter stood near the entrance trying not to look bored, and failing miserably. I nodded and both Cade and I followed them out of the store.
We decided to have lunch at the food court. Brody thought this was the coolest idea since he could go to multiple places and not look like a pig. How he came to that conclusion I’ll never understand. I had to laugh as he bought food from four different places and sat down happily to eat. We talked about what else we needed to buy, Brody and Hunter assuring us that we had enough. I grinned as I finished my food. I needed to run to the restroom before we started shopping again but wasn’t sure of the protocol. If they were that worried about other packs making a play against theirs, I doubted they would let me go alone. Not that I was a “real” pack member, but I could still be used as leverage.
“I need to use the restroom.” I said to no one in particular as I stood up. Cade stood up with me.
“I’ll take you.”
“You know you can’t go in the woman’s restroom with me, right?” I teased to lessen the awkwardness. A small grin graced his lips.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“If you give me a few minutes I can go with you.” Cassie offered.
“If you don’t have to go, don’t worry about it. One of them would have to come with us anyways.” I pointed out.
“All right.” She nodded. Cade and I turned and made our way to the public restrooms. He stopped in the hallway leading up to the doors as I continued inside. I just started to round one of the walls when I collided with a body coming from the other way.
“Oh! Sorry.” I apologized. The other woman, a girl about my age I realized, backed up and studied me. We were the only two in the bathroom from what I gathered and I was a little unnerved by her steady gaze. “Do I have something on my face?” I joked, as I peered around her to look in the mirror.
“No.You smell…different.”
“Uh, is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I laughed nervously. She took a step closer and inhaled deeply. Wow, what a weirdo.
“Well, I’m sorry for running into you-“ I started when I heard Cade’s voice from the crack in the door.
“Everything all right, Kendra?” Cade asked from the other side of the door. The girl’s eyes widened as she looked from me to the door.
“You’re with them?” She questioned with a scowl. I was still back on why she sniffed me in the first place.
“Who are you talking about?” I asked finally.
“Kendra. Answer me.” The door was pushed open a little more, then, all of a sudden, it flew back and hit the wall. Cade stood there and glared at the girl in front of me. “Leave her alone.” Cade stated forcefully. I distinctly heard an animal growl emanating from his chest. Well, that was a first.
“She knows about you?” The girl questioned with raised eyebrows. She glanced between Cade and me.
“That’s none of your business.” He ground out.
“Wait,” I said, trying to follow the conversation. I turned to the girl, “You’re one of them?” I asked and gestured to Cade.
“No.”She scoffed.
“Oh.” I said, once again confused.
“I would never want to be a wolf.” She glared at Cade, and then turned her eyes to me. “You reek of them.”
“Uh…I’m sorry.” I said as I shook my head and stepped towards her. “I what?” I was a little insulted she was insinuating I smelled bad. I bathed daily, thank you very much.
“You smell just like them.” She regarded me coolly before adding, “But you don’t shift.” How could she tell that just by sniffing me?
“Kendra, let’s go.” Cade said and held out his hand.
“I have to use the restroom yet.” I protested.
“Stay. I’m leaving.” The girl replied as she looked me up and down then glanced at Cade. “It’s not good to be seen with one of you.” She stalked toward Cade who barely backed up to let her pass. The girl didn’t look back as she rounded the corner and walked out of sight. I looked back to Cade who still stood in the doorway.
“That was interesting.” I commented. “Do you know her?”
“No,” was his clipped reply.
“Huh.” Cade still stood frozen in the doorway so I cleared my throat. “If you wouldn’t mind closing the door, I’ll be out in a minute.” Cade glanced around the interior of the restroom before he backed out into the hallway.
A few minutes later Cade walked with me across the food court back to our seats. He was closer to me this time and he was constantly scanning the crowd. His vigilance made me a little nervous. The group watched as we approached and didn’t say a word until we sat down.
“Do you know who she was?” Brody asked. I was confused how he would have known what happened until I remembered they could all converse in their heads. Stupid, but useful, shifter gifts.
“No.”Cade growled.
“What was she?” I asked.
“Panther.” Cade replied with a wrinkle of his nose.
“Will she tell the High Council about me?” I asked.
“Doubtful.” Cassie replied. She looked around to make sure no one was listening to our conversation. “She doesn’t want to draw their attention to her.” I remembered what Cassie had told me about the High Council looking down on any shifter that wasn’t a wolf. Well, that was good for me, I guess.
“So what’s the problem?” I asked.
“She said you smelled like us.” Cade pointed out.
“Well, I do hang out with you guys a lot.”
“She also said you didn’t shift.”
“Yeah, heard that part.” I commented.
“What does that mean?” Bree asked with a frown. “Of course Kendra doesn’t shift, she’s not a shifter.”
“Yeah.” Cade replied without commenting. He looked around the group and cleared his throat. “We should keep moving if we want to be done and get home at a decent time.”
The discussion of the restroom girl was left unfinished as we made our way through the last of the stores. I finished my shopping of what I could. The rest I’d have to do online since one of them were always with me. It was kind of hard to buy something for someone when they were with you all the time.
When we returned to McCoy lands, the pack was in a giddy mood. I looked around at all the younger kids who played in the yards and chased after each other. Some were in human form, others were in wolf form. I’d asked Cassie how they kept their secret from just anyone driving up their lane to the houses. She told me the Enforcers were their first warning system. They each served on guard duty surrounding the immediate property and then there were those that went on border patrol. The immediate property Enforcers were in charge of maintaining secrecy of the pack and the early warning system of any humans that approached. The ones on border patrol scouted for intruders on their territory and maintained the borders.
As we piled out of the SUV with the other Enforcer SUV parked beside us, I turned when I heard my name shouted.
“Kendra!” I finally found Tanner bounding toward me with a big grin on his face. He was initially a little shy and embarrassed that he shifted in front of me, but now he was more than happy to have me around. He skidded to a stop in front of me. “You wanna play with us?”
“What are you playing?” I asked as Cade stepped up beside me. Tanner glanced over at him then back to me.
“Just tag. A few of us started already but you always like to play too. That’s why I asked.”
“Sure. I’d love to.” I smiled down at him.
“What about me?” Cade asked from beside me. Tanner gave him a long look. Ever since I’d started hanging around more and, honestly, not letting Cade get his way all the time, Tanner became a little braver too.
“I suppose you can.” He replied, still eyeing Cade. I had to hide my laugh. “But don’t pick on Kendra just because she can’t shift. It’s not nice.”
“I’ll try not to.” Cade responded dryly.
“I’ll know if you do.” Tanner said warningly before he turned abruptly and ran back to the waiting pack of kids. I glanced at Cade, trying to hide my grin, unsuccessfully.
“I think you’re a bad influence.” Cade teased softly.
“I’m good for your pack. You need someone to keep you on your toes.” I replied as we moved to join the kids.
“You’re a part of this pack too and I don’t need any of the pack challenging me.”
“Tanner’s like, six. It’s admirable that he’s looking out for others.”
“Yes, it is.” He paused before adding, “So you think a six year old looking out for you is more acceptable than what I do?”
“You are overprotective, verging on dictation, and borderline caveman.” I gave him a look before adding, “Tanner is sweet in his protectiveness.” I grinned.
“Burn, man,” Brody said from behind us. I glanced back and just noticed that he and Cassie were joining us in our game of tag. “Little Tanner’s winning over the ladies more than you.” Cade scowled but didn’t get a chance to answer as Tanner, who’d turned wolf pup, nipped Cade’s pant leg and jumped back, playfully wagging his tail in the air.
“You’re it.” I grinned as we all scattered. We played for a good half hour before I was too tired and dropped off to the side to catch my breath. Of course, everyone else was in tiptop shape and kept playing. Brody and Hunter’s parents walked by me on their way to the McCoy house. I’d only met them a few times but they were friendly, for the most part.
Brody’s parents, Garret and Janine, smiled as they passed me. They ran one of the businesses in town along with others from the pack. Hunter’s mother, Kristi, worked at the elementary school and nodded at me as she passed. Hunter’s father, Reith, gave me a steady gaze on his way by. He was never very open with me and always seemed to be keeping a watchful eye trained in my direction. I’d learned that Reith was one of the older pack Enforcers. I watched as each of them made their way to the front porch of the McCoy house. The mothers went inside as Garret, Reith, Liam, and Darren, Cade’s Uncle, stood on the porch and seemed to start a deep conversation by the look on their faces. I’d met Darren a few times and he seemed like a nice guy. He reminded me a lot of Liam, which made sense seeing as they were brothers.
My curiosity got the better of me about their deep conversation and I stood up and circled around to the other side of the kids’ tag zone and sat down closer to the porch. Remember when I said my hearing was improving? Well, I wasn’t about to waste a talent like that when the group of four men seemed to be discussing something pretty serious. I zoned out the noise in front of me to focus on the one conversation behind me.
“You have to acknowledge that her knowing about us is a threat.” Reith said in a soft demanding tone.
“A threat to whom?” Garret countered. “The girl is hardly going to go blabbing to the other kids in school. They would laugh at her faster than they would believe anything she said about shifters.”
“Humans can’t know about us.” Reith insisted. “She’s a danger to our pack. What happens when the High Council finds out?”
“She’s not human.” Liam replied evenly. “We know that. She doesn’t smell like a human.”
“She doesn’t smell like a shifter either.” Reith growled.
“I haven’t been around her as much as you since I’ve been away on pack business,” Darren commented, “But I can tell you her scent does resemble a shifter. I just don’t know if what I’m scenting is hers or a result of her spending so much time with your kids.”
“She’s not a wolf.” Reith argued. “We’d know one of our own.”
“But she doesn’t smell like any other shifter.” Garret countered.
“Have you had any luck finding information on her?” Darren asked, I assumed to Liam.
“No.” Liam answered. “Any of the wolves we trust to talk to have never heard of a human, for all intent and purposes, not smelling like a human.”
“Did they have any theories?” Garret asked.
“Some. But we would have to contact other shifters to learn more.”
“You can’t do that.” Reith protested. “We don’t associate with them.”
“I know.” Liam sighed. “Which makes finding answers even more difficult.” There was a pause in the conversation before Liam asked, “You all heard about the shifter that the kids ran into today?” They must have nodded because Liam continued. “She was adamant that Kendra didn’t shift. But smelled just like us.”
“Again, it’s probably just because she spends all her time with your kids.” Darren argued.
“Perhaps.” Liam responded. I was jarred from listening to any more to the conversation when Tanner ran into me, back in his human form. He sat down beside me.
“Why can’t you shift?” He asked bluntly. After spending some time with him, I found out this was his usual line of questioning. Tanner liked to get to the point, quickly.
“I’m not a shifter.” I replied.
“Who says?”He asked.I shrugged.
“Everyone, I guess.”
“But you’re not human.” He pointed out.
“Guess not.”
“So, what are you?”
“Not a clue.”
“Huh.” He paused before asking, “Are you going to be Cade’s mate?” I almost choked before I managed to come up with a reply.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because he likes you. Like, really likes you.”
“Oh, well.” I hedged as I bit my lip.
“Do you like him?” He looked up at me.
“Of course I like him. He’s a great friend.”
“If you like him you should be his mate.”
“You should love someone before you decide something like that.” I hedged.
“Oh, yeah. Mom and Dad say they love me all the time. Have you told Cade you love him?”
“Umm…no.”
“Why not?”
“Tanner, sometimes things don’t always go the way we want to. Even if I did love Cade, we could never be together. I’m not a wolf. I couldn’t be his mate.”
“If you were a wolf, would be his mate?”
“Boy, you are full of questions aren’t you?” I smiled weakly trying to get him off the subject. He shrugged.
“Mom says I ask too many questions. I just like knowing how things work.”
“Don’t worry. You have your entire life to figure that one out.” I ruffled his hair lightly as he tried to dodge me.
“Hey, you want to play again? Before we have to go in for supper?” He asked eagerly as he rose to his feet. I laughed. Change of subject? Mission accomplished.
“Sure. I’m game.” I followed him back into the chaos, our conversation and the one I overheard faded to the background, but not completely forgotten. What if I was a wolf? Then Cade and I would have a chance, his pack wouldn’t be in danger, and I wouldn’t be in limbo wondering why my parents left me for no reason. Okay, that last one I still might not know, but at least I’d be two for three. I sighed at the thought of how simpler things would have been if I was a wolf. If only.