Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
“When you get older, your wolf may come out, or he may not,” Sam said gently. “But you’re still a wolf, whether you can shift or not.”
“What’s shift?” JT asked, grabbing a pebble and flinging it down the trail.
“Well, since I’m a grownup I can shift into my wolf form. Let him out and run. Do you want to see?”
JT’s eyes practically bulged out of his head. “Yes!”
Sam looked at me, brows raised.
“Can he? Please?” JT wiggled with eagerness.
I smiled as a sense of relief washed over me. I’d feared a day would come at some point where JT needed to know more about what he was. I’d figured I at least had until puberty. Ted had told me that was when they first shifted. But Ted had also said a baby with a human might never shift, and to him, that was a bad thing. Still, I’d been bracing against a future where I had to deal with this on my own.
But I wasn’t on my own with JT anymore.
Sam was here, and he understood everything about what my son experienced. Thank God. I was barely handling rafter climbing. I wasn’t sure how I could handle my precious baby turning into a wolf. What if he didn’t turn back? Now I didn’t have to face that moment alone.
I realized they were quiet and waiting for my answer.
Did I want the man I was falling for to show me his wolf?
Hell, yes, I did. I might even swoon.
“Go for it.”
Sam grinned and stood, jumping down from the boulder in a single bound. He started stripping his clothes off.
JT instantly stood to undo his jeans like he was going to get naked, too.
“No, just Sam, bud. We’re going to stay dressed.”
Oh my God. What was it about kids and keeping their clothes on?
“Oh.” JT slouched a bit in disappointment. It was clear he wanted to do everything Sam did, which made my chest feel warm and gooey.
Sam looked up at us, winked and dropped to all fours. Then… holy shit. A giant white wolf with pale blue eyes stood in his place.
“Whoa,” JT said in awe.
“Whoa,” I repeated.
We both scrambled down the boulder.
“Oh my God, Sam.” I didn’t know why I had to touch him. Had to feel that fur in my fingers.
He lay down on his belly, as if to make himself less frightening for JT, who had frozen at the base of the boulder with wide eyes.
“C-can I touch him?” JT asked.
Sam whined, his tongue slipping out like he wanted to lick JT’s hand.
I dropped to my knees beside Sam, burying my fingers in his fur. I stroked his soft, silky ears. “You can touch him,” I encouraged JT. “It’s still Sam. See?”
Sam nuzzled JT’s hand until JT gingerly patted his head. “He’s big.”
“Yes, he is,” I said appreciatively. I’d seen Ted’s wolf, and it was impressive. I found it exciting. But Sam’s wolf thrilled me. It was almost as if I had that sense of recognition that Sam said he’d felt when he first met me. Like I’d dreamed about this giant white wolf before. Like I’d been waiting my whole life to meet him in person. Tears filled my eyes.
“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” I choked, throwing my arms around Sam’s neck.
The next instant I found myself wrapped in his arms, sitting on his lap. He’d shifted back to hold me.
24
SAM
* * *
The scent of my mate’s tears made me instantly shift back to man form. Changing shape was harder for some shifters than others. My sister, Sylvie, had to concentrate hard and breathe deeply as she pictured her wolf before she shifted. My other sister, Genevieve, thought it was painful–she said it hurt her joints and made her want to puke. My mom said it felt like being birthed every time.
For me, shifting had always been fluid. One moment, I was on my belly in wolf form with my mate’s arms around my neck, the next instant, I had her cradled on my lap, my arms secure around her.
“Whoa,” JT said with awe again.
“Yeah. Whoa.” Clio buried her face against my neck, as if to hide whatever emotion had surfaced to make her cry.
I didn’t know her well enough yet to be able to guess what was wrong.
JT seemed to understand we needed some privacy, though, because he looked at us for a moment, then said, “Okay, I’m gonna go let my wolf run.”
Clio lifted her face from my neck and made her voice almost sound normal. “Okay, babe. We’ll be right behind you.”
We both watched as JT zoomed away.
“You okay?” I asked. “I smell tears.”
“Of course, you do.” She let out a soft puff of laughter. “You wolves and your super-sniffers catch everything.” She didn’t sound bitter, so I figured she was talking about JT, not her ex.