Page 10 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

Seth stared morosely at the ground. “Testing. You should’ve seen them when they realized I had psychic abilities. At least here I’m not the only one.”

Jake sighed. “We’re still only two. Which means we’re rare enough for them to want to… study us.” He shuddered.

“What if we’renotthe only ones?”

Jake stared at him. “What do you know?”

Seth shrugged. “Just a feeling I get sometimes. It might be nothing.” Except he hoped it was more than that. Maybe therewereseveral of them, all as worn down and depressed as he was. “How long have you known about your gift?”

Jake smiled. “A long time. Like you I kept quiet about it. My mom knew, though. Too much stuff happened that I couldn’t hide. And when I went to college, I told someone there. He was a professor, a really cool guy. Bear shifter. But yes, I’ve always known I could do things few others could. I must say it’s given me a few surprises over the years. A few shocks too.”

“What kind of shocks?” Seth glanced toward the experimentation block. So far no guards were heading their way.

It was too much to hope they’d be left alone for once.

“When I was younger, I had two best friends.” Jake’s face glowed. “I married one of them. Her name was Miranda, one of the swiftest, most beautiful tigers I’d ever seen.”

“And the other?”

“His name was Nicholas Tranter, and he was a couple of years younger than me. A medical student and also a shifter.” Jake chuckled. “I’ll never forget the first time he shifted in front of me. I almost fainted.”

“Why?”

“One minute he was a slim guy, the next he was an African elephant.”

Seth wished he could have seen that. “Was that the shock you mentioned?”

Jake shook his head. “The three of us were close. One time we went on vacation together, to Kansas, and it was there that I saw something I don’t think Nicholas meant for me to see.”

Seth’s breathing hitched. “What?”

Jake fell silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on the horizon. “I think he was in love with me.”

“Oh wow. Did he ever tell you how he felt?”

“Not a word. Then again, I wouldn’t have expected him to. Nicholas was an honorable man, with integrity, and he knew how I felt about Miranda. What hedidn’tknow—because I never told him—was that I was bisexual. Not something I shared with anyone except Miranda. And I didn’t really tell her.” Jake smiled. “I didn’t have to. Nothing seemed to escape her keen eyes. Oh, she was subtle about it—at first, at any rate. She’d often mention that I should invite Nicholas over. That I should ensure our friendship didn’t lapse.”

“And when shewasn’tbeing subtle?”

He smiled again. “When I wouldn’t rise to the bait, she told me I should try sleeping with my friend to see if it was something I was missing out on.”

Seth chuckled. “Yeah, not so subtle after all.”

“Maybe I should have, but it wouldn’t have been something I needed to ‘find out.’ Miranda said she would be willing to share if I wanted a third in our relationship, but—” Jake sighed. “—I only wanted her. But in my dreams? The three of us might have been together. Of course, that was before I found out about true mates.”

“Wait a minute. You said Nicholas was in love with you.” Seth stared at him. “But you loved him too, didn’t you?”

The skin around Jake’s eyes crinkled. “Nothing gets past you either, does it?”

“What happened to Miranda? Do you know?”

Jake said nothing for several long seconds, and Seth could feel the waves of sadness and fury rolling off him. “The last time I saw her was at an airport. She was saying goodbye to me before I left to fly to Italy. I hated leaving her and Dellan, but….” He huffed. “There are some requests you can’t refuse, and that was one of them.”

“You didn’t go home?”

“I never got the chance. I was taken before I’d even packed my bags for the return flight.” He glanced at his surroundings. “How was I to know that trip was to be my last taste of freedom?” He sighed. “I’ve spent half my life incarcerated, kept away from the outside world, cut off from any news of what is going on out there. I have no idea where she is, or if she’s still alive. I can’t bear to think of how my disappearance would have changed her life. How long after it did she finally give up all hope of ever seeing me again?” He raised his chin. “Let’s change the subject.”

Seth nuzzled Aric’s tee.You know you’re going to see him again, don’t you?

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