Page 37 of Predator

You can do this, Fallon. You got this.

No, I don’t.

I grit my teeth. I probably look like I’m suffering from constipation, bearing down as I try to do something I’m pretty sure I can’t. I push against nothing, finding nothing, doing nothing but making a fool out of myself.

My eyes snap open.

“Forget it. I tried. It didn’t happen. Whatever.” Tossing back my hair, giving my body a quick shake, getting limber to hide my frustration and embarrassment, I reach down for the hem of my tank top. “Time to practice going wolfy instead.”

At least I know I can do that.

Before I can tug off my shirt, Eleanor holds out her hand, a small frown on her adorable face.

“Fallon… you know I’m just trying to help right? I push because I… oh, sweetie. I was here when Lucas lost Jolie. There almost wasn’t a pack after he got sucked into his grief. It took years for us to be a family again… and if there’s any way to keep history from repeating, I want to do it. I’m not a wolf. I’m pack, but I’m not a shifter. There’s not much I can do to help, but?—”

Letting go of my tank, I rub the front of my shorts. “I know, Ellie. And I appreciate it. You’re right. It’s just so damn frustrating that I’m, like, the world’s worst supe. A shifter who went feral right away, and a witch you can’t do any magic. If I wasn’t Lucas’s fated mate, he’d never waste any of his time with me.”

And there it is. My biggest fear muttered out loud as I turn my head, glancing at the woods across the clearing.

“What?” Eleanor sounds surprised. “Oh, Fallon, hon. You don’t honestly believe that.”

Of course I do.

I know I’m his mate. I know he loves me. But would he if there wasn’t anything tying us together? I fell for him long before I knew anything about supernaturals, just because he was gorgeous and he was kind, and he was the Prince Charming in my fairy tale before I ever discovered he was really the big, ‘bad’ wolf.

It’s why I so desperately want to prove myself. That I’m not the damsel in distress who needs his protection, instead of being a protector—and a predator—just like the rest of the wolves in the pack.

Magic would’ve been nice, but I’ll stick with what works for the moment.

“I’m gonna practice shifting,” I tell her again, ending the conversation because I… I don’t really want to talk about this right now. “Fair warning. I’m stripping now.”

“On that note,” Eleanor says, getting up from her seat on the back porch, “I guess I’ll go on inside. But if you need me, holler. I’ll hear you.”

I’m sure she will.

One good thing about being able to turn into a wolf? At least Eleanor respects me enough that she trusts me to stay outside alone.

Or maybe she respects that she’s mated, I’m mated, and neither one of the guys would be too happy if I stripped in front of her. Lucas, obviously, since we’re still too newly together; his open jealousy over Tristan is a sure sign of that. And Kirk… well, I probably shouldn’t have hit on his mate when I was making my first impressions on the pack.

Sure, I was kidding. Jade was pissing me off, and despite how obvious I was—that I was into Tristan at first, but head over heels for Lucas once I met him—I couldn’t resist teasing her by coming on to Eleanor.

It’s true. She’s way more my type than Jade which is probably why we settled into an easy friendship and I’ve barely been able to tolerate the blonde she-wolf. Like I told Lucas before, though, I don’t poach. She’s Kirk’s mate, and I’m Lucas’s, and the entire pack knows that… but tell that to a possessive wolf shifter.

Probably a better idea to wait until things are a little more settled before I start running around naked like some of the other wolves do.

I don’t want to waste any of my clothes. I’ve found it easier to shift outside—something about communing with nature, I guess—so shucking off my clothes and leaving them crumpled on the porch is what I do when I’m trying to practice.

The first few shifts don’t come easy. I’m still stewing over how ridiculous I felt, trying and failing to do any kind of magic even when I shouldn’t. I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m only half and half. It took taking Lucas as my bonded mate to give me the boost I needed to shift, and since I’m not about to fuck Remy or one of the male witches just to be able to zap people, I’ll have to be happy with the amount of power I have.

Then, because I want so desperately to do it easily, I start to have performance anxiety. You don’t know how fucking awkward it is to be standing there, tits out, the chilly air making your nips hard as hell because your fur coat is stubbornly refusing to materialize until you’re tapping your foot against the packed dirt, negotiating with your human body to become a wolf again.

Of course, then I laugh because what else can I do? It’s a pretty funny picture, and I’m just glad I don’t sense anyone on their way back to the pack house. Last thing I need is Jade miraculously showing up after her recent disappearance just to poke fun at me for not even being able to shift right.

Just the thought that she might is the kick in the ass I need. Imagining her smirk if I stay here in my skin, I arch my back and finally fall forward on my paws.

I do that back and forth about five times before deciding to sniff around the back clearing as my wolf. Now that I’ve got the knack of shifting, it’s time for me to work on my tracking skills. Deciphering scents, footprints, paw prints… I’ll prove to Lucas that I can help.

And I convince myself of that—until I miss the obvious approach of a stranger, only realizing that someone is nearby when an unfamiliar male voice calls out, “Excuse me? Hello? Is anyone home?”

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