Page 13 of Scout’s Honor

“No idea.” Dallas sighed. “Can I get that everweft?”

“Yeah,” Dakota said. She grabbed her water bottle and drank, then moved closer to him. “Did Mom know she glowed?”

“I don’t know…” Dallas said. “I tried to talk to them about your glow a couple times when you were born but I figured out pretty quick that they didn’t see it. I tried to convince myself I wasn’t seeing anything for years… then I accepted it, I guess. It became something secret and special about you… and Mom.”

Dakota nodded and they shared a rare quiet moment.

“Well, okay then.” She shrugged and whacked her water bottle against her hand. “Let’s get you everwefted. I called the other witches—”

Dallas grinned.

“What?” Dakota demanded.

“You’re a witch,” he said.

“And you’re a giant pain in my ass,” she retorted, but she was grinning, too. “It’s hard to get used to, I know. I’ll never shift.” The smile stayed on her face.

He shrugged. “Magic’s good, too.”

“Hell, yeah, it is. Let’s do this,” she said, whacking the water bottle against her palm again. “Lemme see the leg.”

Dallas rolled up his pant leg, exposing his prosthesis and sleeve. Dakota came close and touched his leg just above the sleeve. Her touch swarmed the stump and soothed the swelling. Dallas tried not to let his eyes roll back in his head—it felt so good to be free of the pain even just for a moment.

Dakota was talking. Dallas tried to listen. “I think I've got it. Aven was easy, because he's my mate, and I'm intimate with him.”

Dallas made a face and grunted.

She pointed the water bottle at him. “And you’re going to be difficult because of your prosthesis and your ego the size of Uranus.”

Dallas leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and laughed. He’d been knocked down several pegs recently, but it still was good to hear his sister act like he was normal.

“Here it comes, big bro,” Dakota said, standing and backing up. She tossed her water bottle aside, then cupped her hands and wound up like she was on the pitcher’s mound—

Dallas raised a hand, palm out—

Dakota whipped a magical ball of turquoise light at Dallas’ face. It hit his palm and the light burst out, suffusing his body, feeling like pop rocks against his skin.

After ten seconds, the light began to fade. After twenty, it disappeared.

“Was that necessary?” Dallas asked.

Dakota laughed. “Nope, but it was super funny.”

Dallas shot to his feet and jumped into the air straight up, shifting as he went, relishing the look of surprise on his sister’s face. His clothing disappeared and his prosthetic leg changed shape and grew a paw pad with claws. Dallas landed on a weight bench as a black jaguar and roared his thanks to his sister in a sawing, guttural roar.

She grinned and gave him a thumbs-up, then she spoke in his mind.

It looks so good!

Dallas gaped at her, almost falling off the bench.

Dakota laughed merrily. No one told you about the telepathy between shifters and switches yet?

Dallas shook his head no. He shifted back into a man, and his outfit of jeans, boots, and long-sleeved Navy Seals hoodie reappeared.

Dallas looked down at himself. “Huh. Look at that. All good.”

The aglet on one of his shoelaces exploded and metal shot across the room, pinging off a weight machine. Dakota ducked, laughing.