Page 91 of Confusing Hearts

“Speed,” his mother interrupted.

“What’s all this about Mary?” Jason asked, so she relayed the information I had told her. He seemed to take it in stride and nodded his approval with obvious interest.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chase asked me.

I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure at first. It was kind of a slow process, not one defining moment. Okay, so the smell thing a few minutes ago took me back a little, but my hearing has been steadily improving. I knew from hanging out at the doghouse what my hearing limitations were around wolves. After we mated it seemed to improve some. At first, I thought I was just used to it and it wasn’t really any different, but then little things started happening that I really took notice of, like walking around campus last week with everyone whispering and talking about us.”

“Shit, I never wanted you to hear all that,” Chase said.

“Language, Chase,” his mother said sternly.

“Sorry, Mom.”

“Coming here, it was kind of obvious. I think all the new sounds made it a little clearer,” I confessed.

“So why is my speed being tested?” Chase asked.

“If Jenna is experiencing heightened attributes of wolves, your mother wants to see if the same is happening for you. Panthers are well known for their speed and agility,” his father said.

“Do we have to do this in front of the entire family?” Chase asked.

“Son, there’s nothing to be worried about. Your siblings have always been supportive of you,” Mary told him, but he didn’t respond, just turned and looked at his window.

“Hey, what’s wrong? If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. We were just curious,” I told him.

Chase nodded. “You might as well know. My wolf isn’t as fast as my siblings. Even as a little boy, long before my wolf surfaced, I was just never fast. I was big and tough, just slow. So yeah, speed tests aren’t exactly my idea of family fun time. And with a name like Chase, everyone always expected me to be fast. It’s just not me. Plus, I run every single day both in my fur and my skin. You know that, Jenna. Don’t you think I would have noticed if something was changing?”

“No,” I told him. “You run to a steady cadence. I’ve never seen you just let go and run, so I’m not sure you would have noticed.”

He sighed and looked sad. I didn’t have to hear him say the words to understand he had been bullied as a kid for not being the fastest. I was certain being an Alpha’s kid didn’t help any, either.

We arrived at Elise’s and they came outside as everyone got out, standing around waiting for instructions. Zander and Oscar were already wandering off to play in the field.

“Okay Mom, we’re all here. Now what’s going on?” Kyle asked.

“You don’t have to do this, if you don’t want to,” I said to Chase, all eyes turned our way.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I do,” he finally said, quickly stripping off his clothes and shifting. His massive wolf rubbed up against me, letting me know it was okay. He always took my breath away, such a magnificent animal.

“Jenna, I know panthers are short burst sprinters, whereas we are more distance runners. What do you think your short burst speed is?” Mary asked.

“Panther animals can hit up to fifty miles per hour, but shifters are much faster. The fastest I’ve been clocked is zero to seventy-two in ten seconds.”

Patrick whistled. “Girl, that is fast.”

I shrugged. “I can’t sustain anywhere near that speed.”

“Okay. Elise, mark off the half mile and one mile marks, take Liam and Maddie with you for that,” Mary instructed. Jason sat back, looking amused with his mate. I had a feeling that when Mary Westin set her mind to something, an act of God himself wouldn’t stop her. “Kelsey since you hold the record for the fastest known wolf, I’d like you to race him first.”

Kelsey gave Kyle a helpless look. He smiled and walked over, putting his arm around his mate and nodding at her.

“I’m sorry, Mary, I can’t. You’re going to have to use Kyle instead,” Kelsey said.

The look on Mary’s face confirmed she was not a woman used to being told no.

“Mom, listen to her. She can’t,” Kyle said, exaggerating the word “can’t.”

I quickly looked back at Kelsey, wondering if they were trying to say what I thought they were saying. There was only one reason a female shifter wouldn’t, or rather couldn’t, shift.

---