“I… haven’t tried to shift for a while.”
“You look good, but just human. You don’t have anywhere near the vitality you should as an alpha.”
“I know.”
“Do you still want us tiptoeing around your wife?”
“Yes,” I say immediately. “The council itself said they were prepared to wait for results and do more research. Sadie is working hard to fit in here, and I know she’d do anything to help us.”
“Anything?”
I don’t answer, just look moodily off into the trees.
“We’re running out of time, boy,” Lorna says, leaning on her walking stick to make her way back to the tables. “You'd better do something, and soon.”
I listen to her slow, shuffling steps receding behind me, and I know she’s right.
But what can I do? I brought Sadie here, just like the ritual said. What else is there?
I look up into the surrounding hills, and the air almost seems to whisper with truth. But I can’t understand the words, and salvation stays just beyond my reach.
Chapter 14 - Sadie
Every day that goes by after I lost control with Rhys, the strange, restless energy I’d been feeling before gets stronger and stronger. I try as hard as I can to ignore it or pass it off as something mundane, but strange events begin to pile up that I can’t explain.
Early one morning, when I’m making coffee, I reach for a teaspoon, only to have it slide across the counter right into my hand. I stare at it in disbelief for a few seconds, a nasty twist flipping my stomach as I struggle with the reality of what just happened.
This can’t be. It can’t possibly be happening.
Rhys comes into the kitchen behind me, whistling softly. I quickly put the spoon in the cup and stir my coffee almost frantically, praying that he doesn’t notice anything strange.
How do I stop this? And where did it come from? What’s happening to me?
“Good morning,” Rhys says, reaching past me for a cup.
“Morning,” I reply, backing away from the counter to sit down at the table with Cassie. I keep my head down, wrestling with my thoughts and denial, but knowing damn well exactly when this cranked into high gear.
When Rhys and I let loose in the library. The orgasm was like an accumulation of this power, and since then, the power has gotten stronger every day.
“Don’t forget, we have Owen’s party tonight,” Rhys says as he sits down at the table.
“I didn’t forget,” I reply. “Were you going to pick me up from work a bit earlier?”
“Yeah, I was. About an hour, I think. Is that okay?”
“Works for me,” I answer, smiling as I take a sip of coffee.
How am I supposed to keep all this under wraps in front of the whole pack? They already think I’m crazy fucking weird, and I have no respect because I’m human. What if I suddenly make it rain teaspoons?
“Am I coming to the party?” Cassie asks, crunching her way through a piece of toast and getting jam all over her cheeks.
“Yes,” Rhys says. “But Auntie Jean will probably take all the kids back to her place before the party finishes because it might run late.”
“Cool,” Cassie says, smiling. “I love Auntie Jean!”
“She’s an absolute godsend,” I say. “She’s really just happy to take all the kids every day?”
“Yep,” Rhys says. “She does get paid a little to cover her costs, and then each family puts in a bit more, and we make sure her family is well-supported. Shifter kids need special supervision while growing. We can’t just send them to normal daycare or school.”
