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reappear in his cougar form. “Cheater,” I yelled, smiling. He actually stuck his tongue out at me, or was he licking his nose?
    His brown and tan body was a streamlin ed work of art. I admired the way his powerful muscles bunched and relaxed as he ran beside me, passing me gracefully. He seemed to be having a great old time making me stare at his tail, until I decided I was warmed up enough, kicked into super gear and left him behind me in the dust. He could watch my human tail for a while.
     
    Chapter Six
    An hour later, I appeared on the cabin porch, soaked from rain and sweat yet much more relaxed. I’d come back because, well, I wasn’t an idiot. I needed their help if this was really going to happen, and more and more I was starting to believe that it might.
    Ethan was sprawled out in cougar form growling at me softly. He rolled over onto his back practically demanding that I rub his belly. Nope, not happening.  Still his eyes were pleading with me for attention, so instead, I scratched under his chin and behind his ears and he purred loudly. Just keeping that male pride intact. I smiled at him in superior female satisfaction.
    Suddenly he leaped up and started licking my face with his rough and gooey tongue. I raced into the cabin, laughing, and headed for the shower. Bleah !
    Rob was waiting for me when I came out and suggested that I throw my dirty clothes in the washing machine by the back door.  I was not excited to see that he had the blood test kit set up at the table. Sighing, I sat down, slumping in resignation. He took three vials of blood in a very professional manner, giving me a good whiff of his familiar wintergreen fragrance to relax me.
    He smi led, his dark eyes glittering with humor.“This is the real me, kid. I seem to have a gift," he joked. I noticed a small dimple on the left side of his mouth when he smiled, and his skin was smooth and perfect, not a wrinkle anywhere.
    “Why do you call me kid? You’re not much older than me.” He didn’ t look a day over twenty-three.
    “Sorry, I’ll stick with Jackie. But I’m older than you think.”
    We both laughed suddenly as the sound of gentle snoring drifted in from the porch. Rob was turning into kind of a nice guy. Or maybe I was just starting to see him that way. “I guess you’ll be using that minty scent often with me. I get pissed off a lot.”
    His expression turned serious, making him look slightly older. “We didn’t know you existed at all until about three years ago when Garrett discovered you running on a deserted road alone. We’ve watched you since then and we know you haven’t had an easy life. We can all understand and relate to your anger. In fact, we’re counting on that controlled fury of yours to become useful in our future operations.”
    I frowned at him. “Are you breeding an army?” I turned away angrily and thought about being secretly observed duri ng the last few years. I spoke quietly, my voice tight with emotion. "Maybe you should've thought about showing up earlier and saving me from—some hard times.” I stood and walked to the window, hoping he hadn't seen my eyes tear up. “I sure could have used a white knight.”
    His voice softly echoed his concern. “We work under certain restrictions dictated by our laws and for that reason, we couldn’t take you any earlier. We had to wait for certain physical markers which indicate that your change is close, like those headaches you’ve been having and the change i n your scent. Those things happened within the last three weeks. We couldn’t make assumptions without that kind of strong evidence.”
    He stood and gave my arm a squeeze. “You’re smart and you're strong. You channel your anger and make it work for you in a positive way. We're going to help you through this.”
    I thought about what he’d said as I watched him label the vials and pack up his blood kit, bundling up the medical waste in a special container. “Do all the new shifters get