even if he didn’t.
“Shifters, usually teens, sometimes decide they want to live in human lands. Most can’t hack staying in human form indefinitely, and miss the pack and running in the woods, so they’re back in a matter of weeks. A few never come back.”
“The ones that don’t come back—they all told people they were leaving?” What if she was wrong? If all his people were accounted for, the alpha wouldn’t believe a word she said.
Marcus hitched a shoulder and tilted his head to the side. “I’m not sure. Why?”
Time to change the subject again. “Other than being an enforcer, what do you do?”
“What do I do? Like a hobby?”
“Hobby, other job, whatever,” she said.
“Would you believe me if I said I compose poetry and ballads, just waiting for the right woman to recite them to?” He winked, and she burst out laughing. “No? Well, when I’m not on duty with that lug over there, I’m busy building my house.”
“You have a house?”
“Well, right now just the foundation, but I’ll have the walls up soon enough. What? Did you think we lived in caves or something?”
She’d honestly never thought about it. That didn’t seem the right thing to say, however, so she asked him to tell her about his house, letting her mind wander when he started comparing the merits of different building materials. A strange sensation that something was off had been tickling at the back of her mind, and the farther they traveled, the stronger the sensation got. It wasn’t a bad feeling like the way she’d felt when she’d sensed the soldiers closing in on the apartment. It was something else.
Out of habit, she reached out with her senses. The soft natural electrical energy of plants and animals pulsed all around her, but that was it.
“There’s no electricity here,” she interrupted Marcus’s monologue. “Not for miles.” It was weird and alien not to be able to reach out and siphon off as much energy as she needed at a moment’s notice. The energy from plants and living organisms was a mere trickle in comparison to the power lines she was used to. Essentially useless. She could still tap into the energy of building storms, but it wasn’t the same.
For years, she’d wished she hadn’t been cursed with her ability to manipulate energy. It had caused her nothing but grief and pain from day one. Yet, being cut off from it, even temporarily, she didn’t feel the peace and happiness she’d expected.
Marcus nodded. “That’s why I’m using a wood stove to heat my house. Nothing electrical or with batteries is allowed on shifter land. Makes a lot of shifters sick—migraines and upset stomachs.”
An ivory-colored Wolf broke out of the trees between Jackson and them. It circled around Kirra and sniffed, ears back, a low, questioning growl in its throat. She forced herself to stay still and breathe calmly. Marcus didn’t look concerned, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“Yes, she’s human. It’s fine, Dravin. Do me a favor and check our back trail and make sure no one followed us.” Marcus grabbed the Wolf by the scruff of its neck and yanked him away when he moved to sniff her crotch. The white Wolf yipped, but took off down the trail. “Dravin was on guard duty,” he explained. “Look, you see that break in the trees ahead? Wolf’s Run—our home—is just past that.”
Wolf’s Run. The alpha would be there. She needed to convince him to help her. If she messed it up, Francesca would pay the price.
Chapter Eight
T he alpha’s home was a medium-sized log house on the outskirts of a huge field surrounded by woods. An old-fashioned well with a bucket was in the center of the clearing, and maybe twenty other houses were scattered around, each at least fifty feet from the next in all directions.
“My house is over there,” Marcus said, pointing across the field to two large mounds covered in tarps. She guessed building materials were underneath. A long, low
“Shifters, usually teens, sometimes decide they want to live in human lands. Most can’t hack staying in human form indefinitely, and miss the pack and running in the woods, so they’re back in a matter of weeks. A few never come back.”
“The ones that don’t come back—they all told people they were leaving?” What if she was wrong? If all his people were accounted for, the alpha wouldn’t believe a word she said.
Marcus hitched a shoulder and tilted his head to the side. “I’m not sure. Why?”
Time to change the subject again. “Other than being an enforcer, what do you do?”
“What do I do? Like a hobby?”
“Hobby, other job, whatever,” she said.
“Would you believe me if I said I compose poetry and ballads, just waiting for the right woman to recite them to?” He winked, and she burst out laughing. “No? Well, when I’m not on duty with that lug over there, I’m busy building my house.”
“You have a house?”
“Well, right now just the foundation, but I’ll have the walls up soon enough. What? Did you think we lived in caves or something?”
She’d honestly never thought about it. That didn’t seem the right thing to say, however, so she asked him to tell her about his house, letting her mind wander when he started comparing the merits of different building materials. A strange sensation that something was off had been tickling at the back of her mind, and the farther they traveled, the stronger the sensation got. It wasn’t a bad feeling like the way she’d felt when she’d sensed the soldiers closing in on the apartment. It was something else.
Out of habit, she reached out with her senses. The soft natural electrical energy of plants and animals pulsed all around her, but that was it.
“There’s no electricity here,” she interrupted Marcus’s monologue. “Not for miles.” It was weird and alien not to be able to reach out and siphon off as much energy as she needed at a moment’s notice. The energy from plants and living organisms was a mere trickle in comparison to the power lines she was used to. Essentially useless. She could still tap into the energy of building storms, but it wasn’t the same.
For years, she’d wished she hadn’t been cursed with her ability to manipulate energy. It had caused her nothing but grief and pain from day one. Yet, being cut off from it, even temporarily, she didn’t feel the peace and happiness she’d expected.
Marcus nodded. “That’s why I’m using a wood stove to heat my house. Nothing electrical or with batteries is allowed on shifter land. Makes a lot of shifters sick—migraines and upset stomachs.”
An ivory-colored Wolf broke out of the trees between Jackson and them. It circled around Kirra and sniffed, ears back, a low, questioning growl in its throat. She forced herself to stay still and breathe calmly. Marcus didn’t look concerned, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“Yes, she’s human. It’s fine, Dravin. Do me a favor and check our back trail and make sure no one followed us.” Marcus grabbed the Wolf by the scruff of its neck and yanked him away when he moved to sniff her crotch. The white Wolf yipped, but took off down the trail. “Dravin was on guard duty,” he explained. “Look, you see that break in the trees ahead? Wolf’s Run—our home—is just past that.”
Wolf’s Run. The alpha would be there. She needed to convince him to help her. If she messed it up, Francesca would pay the price.
Chapter Eight
T he alpha’s home was a medium-sized log house on the outskirts of a huge field surrounded by woods. An old-fashioned well with a bucket was in the center of the clearing, and maybe twenty other houses were scattered around, each at least fifty feet from the next in all directions.
“My house is over there,” Marcus said, pointing across the field to two large mounds covered in tarps. She guessed building materials were underneath. A long, low
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