Page 12 of Hunted

There’s no guessing what he’d rather we were doing instead of this lesson.

“Yes,” Adela says firmly.

Mack blows out a sad sigh. “Pity.”

I can’t help but smile.

He kisses me again and gets to his feet. Then he studies me for a beat, his expression thoughtful. “Your power has never been something you’ve had to control, Aerin. It’s you. You’re a healer. Just let yourself believe it.”

“I’m doing more than my share of believing, trust me,” I mutter. “But no matter what I do, it isn’t there. What if it’s gone forever?”

“It’s a part of you, just like your kindness and your beauty. It’s there, love.” He glances at my belly. “Maybe Thumper has something to do with it?”

I briefly smile at his sweet compliment, but shake my head. “It’s not Thumper. Maybe it’s gotten harder to control since Thumper started using my bladder like a punching bag, but I never could control my power the way I should. It’s so easy forIvy and Adela. My power just does what it wants most of the time.”

“Have you tried doing nothing? Maybe accept that right now you’re busy growing a human and your powers are going somewhere else.”

I blink. “Going somewhere else?”

“You’re a natural healer, Aerin,” Mack says. “When someone is in pain or hurting, you instinctively reach out. Maybe your power is still there, still working, but instead of going out, it’s going inward?”

Even Adela looks thoughtful. “That sounds interesting.”

I look down, resting a hand on my belly. “You mean to Thumper?”

“Maybe.”

“But Thumper isn’t hurt.”

He kisses my forehead. “But she might be afraid and need reassurance.”

That actually sounds plausible. I’d rather not wait another three months to find out if my power comes back when Thumper is born, but it sounds like a possibility for my powers to be fading as my pregnancy advances.

If I can get Ivy on the phone long enough to have more than a five-minute conversation, since the rare times I’ve spoken to her, she’s sounded harassed, busy and stressed, I could ask her if other omegas in the Lonergan Pack also lose their powers when they’re pregnant.

Mack turns to Adela, saying mildly, “I’d appreciate not having my mate sitting on a hard ground for long.”

It’s not like him to lay down the law. He only seems to do it when it involves making sure I’m okay.

“Your mate is just fine.” Adela snorts.

Mack is the leader, but Adela thinks and does what she wants.

I smile at Mack’s tired sigh as he walks inside, pausing at the doorway to catch my eye. “Call if you need me.”

“I will,” I assure him.

Then I close my eyes again and try to tease out a power that once came so easily to me I had to use brute force to stop myself from healing someone, but which no longer seems to respond to my call at all.

“Aerin?”

The door closes and I listen to Mack’s footsteps as he makes his way upstairs to continue working on a surprise he’s been busy with for the last couple of weeks.

When I’m almost positive he won’t hear me, I turn to Adela and say quietly, “All I know how to be is an omega. Now I’m not even that.”

Shifter ears are sharp. If Mack knew I was harboring such colossal doubts about my identity like this, he’d be right back here, doing his best to soothe them away.

I’m tired of needing to be soothed and comforted. It’s nice, and I’m grateful for it, but lately, it just reminds me of how weak and useless I am. Of how I felt back in the Boone Pack when my dad didn’t make any time for me.

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