“I’ve seen
“I haven’t seen that movie, but Hollywood’s version of shape-shifting usually isn’t anything like the real event. I’m just warning you that it might be a little . . . unnerving.”
“I doubt it.”
“Okay.” But he sincerely hoped it would unnerve her. Her line of questioning certainly was unnerving
After fun and games with the human version of Jake Hunter, she’d begun to convince herself that maybe he wasn’t that different from any human she might hang out with. Perhaps hooking up with him wouldn’t have to change her life very much, after all. She was building castles in the air. Time to bring her down to earth.
Chapter 16
After freshening up and putting on clean clothes, Rachel was in a jubilant mood as she and Jake left her cabin. Jake had appropriated her backpack to carry a couple of stainless steel water bottles, a bag of trail mix she happened to have on hand, and his cell phone.
He’d turned the phone off with a comment about hating the sound of a phone in the wilderness. But he admitted they were helpful in an emergency. Anyone watching the two of them setting off down the trail would assume they were simply day hikers out to enjoy an Alaskan summer day.
Not quite. By the time they returned to her cabin, she would have seen something few humans had. She suspected that Jake wanted to scare her a little with this shifting business. Maybe it was a test, and if so, she intended to pass it with flying colors.
The more time she spent with Jake, the less ridiculous she found the idea of mating with a werewolf. She was an artist who lived an unconventional life. She spent long hours in an isolated workshop, so logically she’d be a better candidate for an alternate lifestyle than a corporate type.
Lionel’s presence in her life could present a challenge, but she might be able to get around that. Other humans had done it. She’d read enough of Duncan MacDowell’s book to believe that Were-human pairings weren’t the unmitigated disaster that Jake insisted they were.
She’d love to be able to talk with one of those humans, but she couldn’t do that. She wasn’t supposed to know what she knew, so that kept her trapped in silence. Jake was her only source of information, and his view was biased.
And yet, as they set out on the narrow trail he’d chosen, Jake in the lead, she wondered if his views were as rigid as they had been a few days ago. They’d had some really hot sex, and some cozy shared moments of friendship. He seemed as crazy about her as she was about him. If she was willing to consider the possibility of this mating business, then perhaps Jake could be swayed.
First, though, she had to show him that his shifting demonstration wouldn’t freak her out. She was slightly apprehensive—anyone would be—but this was Jake. She’d keep that in mind during the transformation and all would be well.
They arrived at a fork in the trail, and Jake turned back to her. “I was planning to take the left fork, but I just remembered that you sent Lionel out searching for wood.”
“I did. Sorry about that. I was only thinking about giving him a job so he could both earn his regular wage and get out of our hair.”
“Yeah, I know. But I’d hate like hell to run into him.” Jake adjusted his sunglasses, which made him look seriously hot, and glanced through the trees. “Do you have any idea which way he might have gone?”
“No.” Then she had an inspiration. “But surely he’ll want to stay close to his truck so he won’t have far to carry the pieces.”
Jake’s smile flashed. “An obvious point I completely missed. He’s nineteen. He’ll want to conserve energy. If we hike a good distance down the trail, either trail, we’ll be far beyond where he’d go.”
“I’m sure we will.” She was dazzled by how gorgeous he was. The dappled shade lovingly caressed his broad shoulders, and his worn jeans seemed custom-made for his lean hips and tight buns. Now that she’d sampled the rugged beauty of a werewolf in human form, she couldn’t imagine being satisfied with anything less. Jake would simply have to see things her way.
“Then we’re off. Let me know if I’m going too fast for you.”
“I’m fine.” She blessed the long legs she’d inherited from her mother’s side of the family. Although she couldn’t match Jake for sheer athleticism, she could keep up if he didn’t go any faster than this.
If she hoped to snag herself a werewolf, she’d have to demonstrate some stamina. Once again she wondered if the other humans tried to keep up with their more physically gifted mates or if they’d reached an understanding about human limits. If there wasn’t a support group for human mates of werewolves, there should be.
She chuckled to herself. If Jake could read her mind right now, he’d have a stroke. But if he imagined that he had total control of what would happen between them, he had a lot to learn about her.
“What’s so funny back there?”
She’d just suggested that they should always tell each other the truth. Time to put up or shut up on that score. “I was wondering if there was a support group for human mates of werewolves.”
He came to such an abrupt halt that she almost ran into him. His shoulders rose and fell with his deep inhale and exhale before he turned to face her. With his sunglasses and forbidding expression, he looked like a cop about to hand out a ticket. “That’s not the solution we’re going to choose for this problem. If you’re thinking in that direction, then you—”
“Need to think again.” She laid a finger against his perfectly sculpted lips. “But isn’t the point of brainstorming solutions to consider all the possibilities?”
He wrapped her hand in both of his and eased it away from his mouth. “That isn’t a possibility.”
“Why not?” She couldn’t see his green eyes behind the sunglasses and she thought he might have worn them on purpose as a shield. In the shade of the fragrant evergreens, he didn’t really need them, which was why she’d left hers at home. “Don’t you want me?”
His jaw tightened. “That’s not fair. You know I do.”
“Then take me. Make me your mate. It’s not like we’d be the first to do that.”
“I don’t care if a hundred Weres have taken human mates. It’s still a huge mistake, and I won’t contribute to the chaos it causes.”
“What chaos? Duncan says the pairs that are already mated are living in harmony with their Were families. Someone named Emma is mated with a werewolf named Aidan, and—”
“Yes, and they’ve already had a baby born of that mating, but no one can predict if the kid will be Were or human. Her parents won’t know, and
“I suppose it would be unsettling not to know until it happens, or it doesn’t.” She wondered which the child would wish for. Would she want to turn out like mom or dad?
“That’s my point. Emma and Aidan have chosen that stress for themselves, which is one thing, but they’ve also chosen it for a baby who has to live with that choice, like it or not. I won’t do that.”
Rachel wasn’t ready to give up that easily. “Why did they make that decision to deal with the stress, do you suppose?”
“They claim to be soul mates who belong with each other.” Jake’s voice faltered for the first time. “I can’t . . . I don’t really believe that’s true.”
“Why couldn’t it be true? And if it is, their child has the benefit of two parents who are devoted to each other. That’s huge, probably more important to the kid’s well-being than the Were-human dilemma.”
“That’s a judgment call.”
“One I’m prepared to make. Damn it, Jake, I wish you’d take off your sunglasses so I can see your eyes. This is an important conversation we’re having, and you’re hiding.”
