are gonna break my ribs,” I said.
“Nah, Shan, you’re just getting soft, hanging with that pretty vet of yours,” Jaz said with a grin.
“So you hittin’ that or what?” Rita asked, waggling her eyebrows.
“Shut up, you,” I said, going to shove her, but she didn’t move an inch. They might be built like supermodels, tall, whip thin, with long wavy brown hair, but no one was gonna move one of them if they didn’t want it. Rita cocked an eyebrow at me for even trying, as if to say, ‘you forget, Shan?’ “He’s my boss,” I said.
“So?”
“And he’s a lot older than me.”
Both the girls looked at each other and then smirked.
“How about we’re not interested in each other then?”
“Probably for the best. Uncle Rob, he’s got plans,” Jazz said, nodding to the pack. “I think he sees a whole lotta kids coming your way. Little babies who can twist the animals like you can.”
I frowned and studied the girls’ faces. They came from a people that had survived and thrived in a tough environment, as well as against human prejudice, both for their two legged and four legged forms. They had strict rules about who married who, to make sure the bloodlines stayed strong and incest was avoided, but also to keep the community safe by marrying strong women to strong shifters. Outsiders were considered when one of the young people formed a connection, but otherwise, we were largely ignored.
She just laughed at my confused expression, dragging me over to the log they were sitting on, her teeth gleaming white in the low light.
“Who you got your eye on?” Rita asked me, nodding to the pack.
I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat the moment she said the words. The girls cackled when they heard that tiny little movement.
“Still Jai, huh? Nice choice, girl,” Jaz said, resting her elbows on her knees. “My brother… Well, for a while there, I thought his dick was gonna drop off with all the girls he was taking home from the pub.”
But not me, I thought, feeling the selfsame pang I’d felt when I was thirteen, watching the tall, graceful boy with the ready smile lavish his affections on almost every other girl in the class.
Get your head straight, Shan, I snapped at myself. Jai is pack.
“But you know Uncle,” Jaz continued. “Always looking for ways to make the pack stronger. Jai and the boys… It’s time to settle down.”
“So, you’ll be married ladies soon?” I asked, grateful for an opportunity to change the subject. “Do I get to throw you both hen’s nights with those skanky male strippers that came to town for Rita’s birthday?”
“Ew…those Fabio looking boys? Looked like a stocking full of walnuts,” Rita said with a snort, all of us laughing at that. She was right, the strippers had been cheap, that was about it. They were much more interested in each other than the ladies at the pub, and let's just say the stuff about steroids shrinking important body parts… “Getta better show at the end of the rugby game… Now, look. Here comes trouble.”
“Hey, Shan.”
My eyes jerked up to see a pair of long muscular legs encased in jeans before me, my eyes sliding up until I saw it was Jai, Eddie at his side, Jarrah, another pack mate, on the other. That long, wavy, brown hair shone gold at the tips from long days out in the sun, on the back of a horse or a motorbike on the farm, matching those eyes that regarded mine steadily.
Look away! Look. Away. Now! I shrieked silently, but that warm gaze of his held mine, pushing all thoughts of that out of my mind. I was captured by it, my stupid pale face flushing red in response, but still I didn’t look away, not until he moved his hand, holding out a bottle.
“I got you a drink. One of them girly rum pre-mixes you like.” His wrist twisted slightly, drawing my attention to the bottle, the condensation sliding down the side.
“Oh, OK, thanks,” I said, going to take it, but he waited until I was gripping it to reach down and twist the top off for me. “Thanks…” I said lamely. Again. Fuck… I had to find out what the bloody old fellas needed and GTFO. I wasn’t gonna drink tonight, since I needed to drive home and be in bed at a reasonable hour if we were visiting the bloody Capricorn Institute tomorrow, but I found myself