Page 39 of The Mating Need
Sam kissed the top of her baby’shead.
“You’re not one of them?” Jenny felt awe that Sam seemed so open and honest withher.
“No.” A wry smile curved her mouth upward. “I’m used to different, being different myself. On this ranch, different can give you advantages. I hope you’ll give us a chance and stayhere.”
“I’m only passing through. Why would you want me to settle here?” Jenny felt the familiar tug of the open forest, the need to retreat from ordinary Lupines and Skins. Yet Sam intriguedher.
“I sensed you’re a good soul, Jenny. Not only because you saved Hunter.” Sam touched her own chest. “Here, inside. I have a sense about people. And if you’re willing, I’d like you to be myfriend.”
Something inside her eased. “I’ve never had a friend before. Not in a long time. Troy’s a friend,but…”
“He’s a guy. Not the same thing.” Sam grinned and Jenny grinned back ather.
The grin dropped. “We need good people around. Dark times are coming,Jenny.”
Hunter released a small squeal as his mother hugged himtighter.
“I know.” Jenny turned and stared into the jagged line of mountains in the distance. “I don’t know how, but it feels like a tremendous battle has begun. And we’re all thepawns.”
“Not pawns. Soldiers. We have advantages the dark forces lack.” Sam reached out and squeezed her hand. “We have each other and we have the love that binds ustogether.”
“Love can be a disadvantage. It can make us foolish and take risks we shouldn’t.” She thought of her family, her starry-eyed mother always trying to please her father. Her parents, who loved their alpha and followed him when common sense cried out to remainhidden.
“Love can be a powerful weapon against evil.” Sam’s voice went soft. “I look at our friends, like Kyle, who is half Satyr, and how much he loves his mate and would die for her. It makes himstronger.”
Intrigued as she was, Jenny wasn’t convinced this ranch was for her. The pull to be on the move felt toostrong.
Equally as strong was the instinct of self-preservation. Yet she wanted to be friends with Sam, who didn’t pressure her and welcomedher.
“I am different.” She spread out her hands. “Only Troy knows, and he doesn’t know everything. I have these… powers… other Lupines lack. They scare me at times because I feel like they’re controlling me, not the other wayaround.”
Sam got up and placed Hunter in the playpen on the porch. When she returned to her chair, her expression wasthoughtful.
“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 Faepowers.”
But Fae powers, as impressive as they were, didn’t equal what she could do withmagick.
I could kill your son right now without much effort, before you had time to open your mouth andscream…
The ugly thought made her recoil. Nausea rose in her stomach. How could she even entertain, for even a second, such an evilidea?
Jenny swallowed past her gorge and pushed off the chair. “I’ll let you go, Sam, I, I, have things todo.”
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 previouslymissed.
“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 ofme.”
“I’m not like you,” she blurted out. “You have noidea.”
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 ofme.”
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 toyou.”
Then the other woman’s gaze sharpened. “Except Troy has grown close. You didn’t run fromhim.”
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 insidethem.”
