Page 58 of The Mating Need
Now she did look up to see his solemn expression. “What did Aidensay?”
When he finished telling her, her heart sank. “This is what you want, Troy. Stay here with the pack. They needyou.”
“I need you with me,Jenny.”
“Then we have a slight problem, don’t we?” She laughed again, no humor in the sound. “I told you not to fall in love with me when we first met. I’m badnews.”
“You’re different. That’s notbad.”
But he didn’t sound as convinced aspreviously.
“Why did you tellthem?”
“I had to. Something inside me compelled to warn them. I couldn’t stop it any more than I can stopbreathing.”
She studied her hands. “It’s the same thing that drove my family away, Troy. I got to the point where I couldn’t hideanymore.”
This was going to hurt, but he’d leveled with her about his family. Time to finally level with him about herpast.
“You should know exactly what I did the day my family died,Troy.”
His gaze turned solemn. “You told me someone shot them from ahelicopter.”
“They did. I didn’t tell you why we were running when it was dangerous to shift intowolves.”
Every action had a reaction in her life. Even the smallest ones that seemed inconsequential. She learned the hardway.
“You think you drove away your family when you were seventeen. You didn’t lead them into a deathtrap.”
Troy braced his hands on his knees. “Goon.”
“I was 21 when these … powers… started manifesting themselves. It was terrifying. I didn’t know what to do, so I turned to my parents. I thought they would understand. I mean, I was their daughter and maybe it was a result of my DNA.” Jenny took a deep breath. “Instead, they freaked out. They… wanted to leave me. They said I was an adult now and could care for myself. They did theirduty.”
Troy’s jaw tightened. “Duty? That’s a hell of a thing to tell yourdaughter.”
“Their only child.” Jenny tried to smile and could not. “They’d always been attentive and caring, but growing up, I felt something was missing. Especially when I saw other Lupines with their parents – tender,loving.”
His gaze turned thoughtful. “Jenny did you ever consider if you wereadopted?”
“Yeah. It crossed my mind. Even asked them at one point, and they grew so angry I never askedagain.”
She stood and began to pace. “It would explain a lot of things. Anyway, the day after I told my parents I woke in my bed to hear noises in the house, like furniture being moved. Ran out into the living room. They weren’t making me move out. They were doing itinstead.
“I tried to stop them. Begged them not to leave. It wasn’t just them. The whole damn pack was leaving. Leaving me behind. I howled. Turned into wolf and howled because I was an adult and big girls don’t cry. The alpha came by and told me I had to accept myfate.
“I agreed. Only if the pack did one last run as wolf with me. Just so I could remember them. I promised I wouldn’t hurt anyone, and I would let them leave if they did that. I figured it would buy me time, a few days, because there were Skins in the area shooting wolves fromhelicopters.
“I guess I was desperate for them not to abandon me I didn’t count on the alpha’s urge to leave me behind would be greater than the threat of Skins. The alpha ordered everyone on a pack run. The Skins in the copters showed up and they killed everyone, except me. I hid by my mother’s body and then used my powers to transport myself into the cover of the trees. When I returned, the helicopters were beginning to land, I guess, to claim their prizes. I felt horrible and guilty. It was my fault. I used my powers to cremate the bodies so there could be no wolf trophies. And then I used them to dismantle the copters… I gave them more of a chance than they gave the pack. Skilled pilots could land, even with damaged machines. These pilots were notskilled.”
Troy held out his arms. She resisted at first, but he enveloped her in a tighthug.
“It wasn’t your fault. They never should have abandoned you. Never. You only wanted tobelong.”
“I can’t belong, Troy.” His jacket muffled her voice as she buried her face into his shoulder. “You must understand this. I’m not meant to belong to a wolf pack. Whatever I am, I don’t fit into the structure of a normal pack. Even one like this filled with hybrids and half-breeds.”
“Let’s not think about that now. Let’s relax, get you settled. Live fortoday.”
“What are you going to do, Troy? I can’t stay here and I won’t subject you to a nomadic life when you need apack.”
