“You should stay here, Jenny. The Mitchell pack has many kinds of Lupines, and some of us can teach you that discipline. I’d be happy to help as well. I’ve learned, through effort, to control my Fae powers.”
But Fae powers, as impressive as they were, didn’t equal what she could do with magick.
I could kill your son right now without much effort, before you had time to open your mouth and scream…
The ugly thought made her recoil. Nausea rose in her stomach. How could she even entertain, for even a second, such an evil idea?
Jenny swallowed past her gorge and pushed off the chair. “I’ll let you go, Sam, I, I, have things to do.”
But the other woman grabbed her wrist, staying her. Her fingers were slightly calloused and lean, elegant but surprisingly strong. Glancing down at her, Jenny saw a toughness to the half-Fae, half-Lupine she’d previously missed.
“Don’t run away from what you are, Jenny. Until you come to terms with it, and accept, you’ll never be happy.” Sam’s glance at her son wasn’t filled with a young mother’s tenderness, but a steely resolve. “I plan to teach that to our son, because Hunter will have mixed blood because of me.”
“I’m not like you,” she blurted out. “You have no idea.”
Then, because she needed to push away Sam, and let her know the dangers she faced, Jenny told her the truth. “I was thinking I could kill your baby and you wouldn’t stand a chance of protecting him. That’s the kind of power I have, Sam. You don’t want me for a friend. Let go of me.”
But the other didn’t release her grip. “A thought doesn’t mean much, Jenny, unless you act on it. You could have killed Hunter when you were alone with him. I believe you have these thoughts because you want to distance yourself from people so you won’t hurt them. So you can run away before they grow close to you.”
Then the other woman’s gaze sharpened. “Except Troy has grown close. You didn’t run from him.”
Jenny’s shoulders sagged. “I tried once, and he came after me. He’s persistent. Fast.”
Finally Sam released her hand. She laughed. “Sounds like a typical Lupine male who’s made up his mind about his mate. They like to pursue their females. It’s the hunter inside them.”
“I’m not the mating kind,” Jenny muttered.
“You say that now, but in the end, you can’t fight your own instincts. Besides, Troy is cute. With his looks and his stamina, he’d be excellent in bed. Or maybe you already know that.” Sam winked.
A shiver raced down her spine of anticipation as she recalled Troy’s hungry look as he stared at her mouth. “Yep. He probably is.”
Sam nodded. “Give him a chance, Jenny. Focus on Troy. He’ll help you control the magick you fear. I did the same with Darius. He’s my rock.”
“Why are you so nice to me?”
“Because you need nice. I sense it.” Sam went to the playpen and scooped Hunter into her arms. “And I sense we need you. A storm is coming. A big one, and we’ll need every bit of help we can get.”
She vanished into the house, leaving Jenny to ponder her ominous warning.
Chapter 8
For the next five days, Jenny stayed at the ranch, sometimes sleeping in the cabin, sometimes shifting into wolf and staying in the woods. Troy was nothing but patient, understanding when she told him she had to sleep in the woods as wolf. Instead of opting for the comfortable cabin, he accompanied her, sleeping next to her as wolf as they had many times on the open road.
Confusion filled her. She didn’t know what to be anymore. While being a nomad, she felt alert and knew how to watch her back.
This was different. Almost too comfortable. Comfortable had a way of kicking you in the back of the knees when you least expected it.
The air still felt tainted with a darkness she couldn’t figure out. Maybe others had reasoned it away, but she did not.
On the morning of the sixth day, Jenny took the golf cart at their cabin and drove it to the corral where Troy said he’d be working with the horses. He had a surprise for her for lunch.
She stopped the cart before reaching the corral and walked to the fence, standing on it to watch Troy work.
Two horses were in the corral. The chestnut looked like a colt, high-strung and restless, the other, a white horse, seemed calm and gentle. Troy had ropes attached to each horses’ halters. He walked the end of the rope and held up two apples. The gentle horse walked forward and Troy rewarded him with the treat. The younger horse balked.
“Come on. It’s good.” He waved the apple. “Come get it, it’s sweet and delicious.”
He’d used the same soothing, deep tone with her the night he’d saved her in the alley. Fascinated, Jenny clung to the rails, wondering if the colt would surrender and take the apple. For a minute the colt balked and then he walked forward. Troy fed her the apple, murmuring to him.
Such a gentle touch with horses. He seemed peaceful, not like the restless wanderer who roved from city to city, always looking over his shoulder. It’s because this is home to him. He’s found his calling, and his home.
He turned, saw her and smiled. “Give me a couple of minutes to put these two back in the barn.”
“What are you doing?”
“Darius asked me to train this colt,” he pointed to the chestnut. “They just bought him. Fireball’s spooked by some of the cowboys, and needs a gentle hand.”
Troy gestured to the white horse. “Calypso here is an old pro at showing new horses the ropes. She’s older and isn’t used as a work horse anymore.”
She jumped off the fence into the corral. “You have a way with animals.”
His smile widened. “I like horses. Thing is, you can’t train
