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water’s edge. A small, orange fishing boat floated out in the center of the water. A patient fisherman sat at the bow, toying with the line of his fishing pole, and all around us the breeze moaned through the pine trees.
    I reached for her hand and led her along a trail toward a granite boulder. Every time we touched the mate bond pulled at me, like I walked into a spider web and might never get free.
    “Lana?” I pointed up at the eight-foot-high boulder in front of us. “Can you jump up there?”
    “Jump?” She stared at the top. “You’re kidding, right?”
    “Not at all.”
    She checked the rock again like it might have shrunk, then crossed her arms. “No one can possibly jump that high.”
    I leaned in and kissed her cheek. Her eyes grew wide and she blushed. I couldn’t resist the grin tugging at my lips. “Watch me.”
    Rolling my head to loosen up, I took a few steps back and gave the area a quick look-over. Other than the fisherman out on the lake, there didn’t appear to be anyone else around. I sprinted toward the rock and leapt into the air. Nothing felt better than pushing my body and feeling the power brewing inside. I landed at the top of the boulder and smiled down, daring her to follow.
    “Unbelievable. How did you do that?”
    “You can do it too.” I straightened and glanced at the lake. “You just don’t know it yet.”
    She shook her head. “No way.”
    “Last night you turned into a big, bad-ass jaguar. You can make a little eight-foot jump onto a rock.” Something drew my attention back toward the water again. There was a disturbance in the air—I could feel it but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. I looked back at Lana. “I told you I’d prove you have enhanced abilities.” I opened my hands, ready to catch her. “Let’s do this.”
    She walked a few paces back, bitching and moaning the whole way about how impossible it was and something about suing me if she broke her leg. Finally she ran, and the moment she let go, her natural abilities took over. Her strides were fluid. Her feet pounded the ground, legs pushing hard until she jumped.
    Lana landed in a crouched position right beside me. Gazing down at her footprints, I caught the pungent scent of adrenaline wafting off her.
    “That was amazing.”
    I nodded. “Just the beginning.”
    “I was always a tree climber, and I kicked ass in my college self-defense classes. I could flip guys twice my size, but I just thought I was stronger than I looked. I never tried jumping…” She looked over at the water. “I can’t believe this.”
    I caught her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Give it time.”
    We sat on top of the boulder, and I worked on helping her recognize scents with her eyes closed, relying on her atrophied shifter senses. Seeing the joy on her face and knowing I had something to do with it… It didn’t suck.
    A breeze brushed over us, and I closed my eyes, breathing in all the scents the air offered.
    “Can you tell who is out on the boat?”
    She took a deep breath. “I know it’s a man, and he’s probably older.”
    Fast learner. “And how do you know that?”
    “He’s wearing a thick layer of Old Spice aftershave. I don’t know anyone under fifty who splashes that on.”
    “Nice.” I nodded. “You’ve probably been doing this your whole life without realizing you had heightened abilities. Like a person who doesn’t realize they’re losing their twenty-twenty vision.” She glanced my way, and I added, “You know, you can’t tell your senses are any different because you’ve always lived with them. Until someone points out your abilities, you don’t realize they’re there.”
    She rolled her eyes and nudged my shoulder. “You’re just trying to make me believe I turned into a giant cat last night.”
    “Well, there is that.” Her eyes hypnotized me, and I had to touch her. Taste her. My fingers ran along her cheek and into her hair. Her breath warmed my lips as the wind shifted.
    I