Page 10 of Coming Home

“Now, let’s work out the details,” Lily said.

Much to my horror, she pulled over the easel Peyton had set up for Eve to draw on now that she could pull herself to stand, and they started diagraming a plan to get Walker and me together.

“Pass me the bottle,” I told Clara. “I’m going to need a lot more wine for this!”

Ben

Chapter 4

“Jake, do it again!” I yelled.

It was his fifth time up a steep incline and back down. Each time I added more weight to his pack. He was currently up to two hundred and fifty pounds and although that cocky smile of his had disappeared two trips ago, the kid was still going.

“Are you trying to kill him?” Jeff asked with a chuckle.

“No,” I said. At this point I was too fascinated by him. “Just finding his limit. I’m not sure he has one. This kid just will not stop. What is he? Even for us, this level of strength and endurance is rare.” I couldn’t hide the admiration in my voice.

“No idea what you’re talking about,” the major said to me with a wink, reminding me we weren’t free to talk openly.

“You really don’t know?”

He sighed. “Son, I look for the signs. It’s not like there’s some magical test I can give to confirm you guys. I just watch and discern, and Jake’s been on my radar from day one.”

I nodded, not wanting to admit a simple genetics test was all he needed. Fortunately, the military liked to shoot stuff into us, not take blood out, and if they did it was for basic tests like iron where they weren’t looking closely enough to tell the difference. “I can definitely see why, but isn’t that a bit risky?”

“How so?”

“What if you’re wrong?”

Major Collins threw his head back and laughed. “I’m not. I never am. You’re too easy to spot. Can’t say I’ve been able to grab you all. Heck, I’m fighting tooth and nail for Jake right now. Everyone wants him, but my higher ups pulled rank, and the two of you leave tonight. I need to get him out of here before someone else starts really pressing for him.”

I nodded, excited to hear I was getting sprung.

“I’ll break the news to him when he gets back down,” I said.

Jeff smiled. “Give him a break, Shay.”

“Maybe,” I said.

Collins headed back off to wherever he came from and I waited.

Jake came down the hill and dropped his pack without a single complaint. He was certainly a determined little shit. I could see the fight still in his eyes. He’d go again without a complaint. He stood at attention and waited for my next order.

“At ease, Jake. Take a break. Hydrate.”

He startled and looked a little confused. I hadn’t exactly been nice to him for even a second since Collins made me choose him. I resented that I’d been told to pick my guy and then in the next breath strongly advised it be Jake.

There were two other suspected shifters in the mix, and I wondered what would happen to them. I often thought of what my life in the army would have been like if I hadn’t been picked up. Our animal spirits needed to shift on a regular basis. I could do that around my team without consequence. There was no way that would have happened in a regular squadron.

“Take a seat and relax,” I told Jake. “Get some water. I’m serious. You’ve been assigned. We roll out tonight.

He sat down hard and looked humbler than I’d ever seen him before.

“You’re serious? I made it?”

I rolled my eyes. “Jake, did you really think there was any chance in hell you wouldn’t make it on a spec op team?”

He shrugged. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. You know, be a part of a small forces unit, that brotherhood, and hopefully make a difference in the world, too. I came here determined that I could survive anything thrown my way. That’s what got me up the mountain each time. I mean I swear that pack gets heavier every time I put it on.”

---