Bear the Burden: McMahon Clan 3 (Fated Mates Book 6) by Rochelle Paige Page A

Glinda?” I teased. “Although, you got the quote wrong. It’s tigers, not wolves.”
    “Ha-ha. Not funny,” she snarked, digging her elbow into my side. “It might have been tigers in the movie, but Finley isn’t a tiger. She’s a wolf. And I mean, technically, I guess I should have said lioness, wolf, and bears instead, but you know what I meant.”
    “Wait a second,” I breathed and pulled her aside so nobody else could overhear our conversation. “How do you know what kind of shifters Finley and Tahlia are?”
    “I just know,” she drawled, looking up at me with wide eyes. “The same way I’d know if someone I met was a witch. Or how I’d notice what color hair or eyes they have. It’s just a part of them.”
    “Have you always been able to do figure out a shifter’s animal by looking at them?”
    “I don’t think so,” she answered. “The only other shifter I had met before you was Damien and I didn’t sense anything different about him even though I knew he was a dragon shifter. Why? Is it weird that I know what their animals are?”
    “Weird is one way to describe it. Usually shifters have to get a good whiff of each other at least to gauge what species they are. And I’ve never heard of any human who was able to figure it out.” What I didn’t say was it made me nervous. Her ability to do this didn’t scare me in any way, but it might worry other shifters. It was one more thing for them to hold against her and I figured they’d be looking for things since she was a witch. My family accepted her because she was my mate, but that didn’t mean others would be as understanding. I knew there would be shifters looking for another reason to try to take her down once they heard about the prophecy, some of whom would be against the idea of harmony between witches and us.
    “I’m not a human, though. I’m a witch. And not just any witch, but one who’s mated to a shifter and part of a prophecy to bring witches and shifters together. Maybe it’s an ability I’ll need for one reason or another. My powers are a gift, not a burden. We might not know why I have this particular one now, but I have to trust in the Goddess. She did give me you as my consort, after all.”
    “You make an excellent point, but how about we keep this newfound ability between the two of us for a little while? You’re my mate, and part of my job is to keep you safe—from anyone and anything.” Her stomach growled loudly. “And fed.”
    “Let’s go inside so I can stuff my face with food while keeping my mouth shut about being able to discern a shifter’s species so easily.”
    I led her into my dad’s house. “Hopefully you aren’t expecting anything fancy. My dad isn’t much of a cook.”
    As we neared the kitchen, the aroma of Mexican food wafted our way. “I think my mom decided to help out with lunch because unless my nose is tricking me, that’s the smell of her tacos. They’re incredible and one of my favorite dishes. Homemade corn tortillas, a salty seasoned ground beef mixture, chopped onions, cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and salsa verde.”
    “You’re practically drooling. You better be careful or you’re going to make me jealous of your mom’s tacos.”
    Audra must have overheard me, because she yelled out, “I know they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but you’ll quickly discover it’s definitely the way to my daughter’s heart. She likes to eat, but hates to cook.”
    “Then I guess I’d better ask you to teach me how to make all her favorites.” Audra smiled at me and nodded as Selene and I walked over to the counter to fill our plates with food.
    When we took our seats at the table, my dad gave me a hard look. “She’s here to help us with the witches hiding Channing, not give cooking lessons.”
    “Dark practitioners,” Audra corrected coolly. “They aren’t worthy of the title witch.”
    “While I understand where you’re coming from, my mom