Page 83 of Shifter Situations

If I was going to exert any more energy tonight, then it wouldn’t be for a rabbit.

I was either fighting or fucking.

A deer raced by us, several smaller wolves on his tail. As I let my gaze follow them, I caught sight of yellow eyes. They glinted in the moonlight, appearing to float above the tree branch the tiger was perched on.

She tipped her head when she spotted me watching her, and I nodded in return. I hated politics of any kind, but the silent respect between animals wasn’t awful.

As the moon reached its peak above the forest canopy, I turned to start the walk back toward the lodge. I wouldn’t rush off in a hurry. I didn’t want the shifters to think I loathed their... company?

I didn’t have another word for it, but I knew if we left too early, they’d have even more complaints.

I hadn’t seen my dad, so I searched for his mental signature. His mind was filled with joy. He loved the hunting parties. When Jack and I were children, he’d told us they were a tradition that he and my mother had put into place more than a century ago.

I contemplated meeting Amelia King for the first time since I was an infant, but I couldn’t figure out how to feel about it yet. I knew it wasn’t something that I could plan for; that still wouldn’t stop me from trying.

Did I want her to hug me?

No. That was a ridiculous thought.

I wasn’t exactly a cuddly kind of person, though my mates were warming me up.

When I looked to either side of me, I realized the black wolves were flanking me. I knew Briggs was on my left, but I’d dare say that if I hadn’t been so familiar with his thoughts, then I might not have been able to tell them apart. The similarities between the two were really starting to freak me out.

I was so swept up in trying to visually tell them apart that I nearly stepped on a snake. I felt bad for all of three seconds. Then it struck at me. I jumped back, bumping into one wolf as the other snatched the reptile up by his tail, slinging him into the underbrush.

“Thank you,” I drawled, studying the wolf in front of me.

He tossed his head, turning to keep walking, and the wolf behind me nipped at my haunch.

“If there wasn’t a bond between us, and I didn’t know what your mental essence felt like, I don’t think I would be able to tell the two of you apart right now. It’s kind of weird. I feel like I’m seeing double.”

Baylor swung his head around to glance at Briggs. “I’m not commenting on that. I have a mate, and Stone has already kicked my ass once since I’ve known him.”

Briggs snorted. “So has Vaughn, but I’m guessing that you don’t want to think about that either.”

“Nope.”

“What happened?”

“Bay hit on Freya. He learned the hard way that Vaughn is protective of his sisters.”

I thought about that as we cleared the treeline near the lodge. Did I know that my fae had sisters? I couldn’t remember, but I hoped that they were old enough to see what their mother had been doing.

I was going to kill her.

I wouldn’t leave Vaughn’s sisters without, though.

How old were they? I wondered if they had the same striking, icy eyes that my mate had. If they looked anything like him, then they’d be breathtaking.

I could understand why he was protective of them.

I had—and still would—kill for Jack.

The floodlights on the outside of the lodge illuminated the empty yard. I breathed deep, enjoying the scent of the azaleas framing the wraparound porch. Briggs and Baylor both growled low in warning as another dire wolf approached.

He shifted to his skin, standing naked in front of us. His dark brown hair was mussed, and the lights reflected in his deep green eyes.

“The Elliott boys have certainly worked their way up through the ranks since the last time I saw you.”