by KH LeMoyne
The cool scent she’d registered from him earlier at the front door drifted out again. Hot damn. Dad wasn’t lying when he’d told them shifting would enhance all their senses. She had no idea scent could invade privacy. She’d heard his “wolves and bears” speech a hundred times, which was much more interesting than “the birds and the bees,” but she’d never paid attention. When she’d detected truth and honesty on Leggett—no, Dani, because, unlike her dad, she’d read the detective’s card—she’d wondered if she’d imagined a connection between scents and feelings. Then, it had happened again at the door with a way different scent. Huge scents. Pretty, delicious, never-before-smelled-in-her-house scents. Her dad had connected with the detective. Beyond trust, she suspected they had the potential for a stronger bond. She just knew it. And after everything her family had been through, she wanted that for him. It was the best thing to come out of her shifting this evening.
“Focus, Margaret.”
Not laden with the anger and desperation triggering her first changing, she now recognized and embraced the sizzle spawning in her fingers and toes. Mouth too, for her jaw bones tickled. Muscles rippled beneath her skin, issuing a bruising sensation as it built and spread. Her bones ached as they cracked and shifted. Teeth elongated through her gums. Everything registered as she concentrated on her body.
Damn, she could do this.
Tingles rippled over her skin. Itching urged her to claw, but she opened her eyes and blinked as her watery vision crystallized. Fur sprouted through her flesh. At first two-dimensional, the room deepened with more angles and emerging shades of light gray upon dark. Heat shimmers from the bodies reflected in her vision as brilliant scarlet streaks.
Her father’s image burst and retracted in a burgundy swirl. Charlie’s chortle echoed in her ears as a sweet chirp. The impact of everything around her pulsed warm and soft. Her heartbeat slowed to a comfortable rhythm, one syncopating with those around her.
No threat.
Belly. Carpet.
Roll.
Rub nose.
What!
“Relax and feel your family, my beautiful daughter.” A hand covered her head and stroked.
Yes. She turned her muzzle there and felt…tiny!
“You won’t hurt any of us. Trust your beast. Search with your senses.”
Charlie’s little hand ruffled her fur and—belly. Good. There. More.
The little hand tickled, and she wiggled on her back along the carpet. A subtle brush of warmth preceded a second hand rubbing at her shoulder. The scent was different from Charlie, but familiar and cataloged in her senses. Not Dad. Good rub.
“Hey, Mags.” Cabot worked his fingers to her neck and teased under her ear. Her tongue lolled as his fingers worked magic.
“Umm, hey. I’m here too.” Sam’s voice rang by her ear, then a sneaker dropped by her head.
She grabbed the sneaker in her mouth and flipped to her feet, her rump high in the air, her tail swishing playfully. Sinking to her haunches, she licked over the laces before she nudged the shoe toward Sam.
“Gross. It’s got cat spit.”
Words didn’t come, but her low, playful rasp echoed and ended in a long purr. She grabbed the sneaker again and dashed to the living room.
“Bring that back.”
Sam made it to the hallway and crouched.
She dropped the shoe and stalked forward. As his eyes widened, she rolled and offered her belly again. It took him a few seconds. The whole time, she closed her eyes and inhaled her brother’s pine, rubber, and balsam scent.
“She’s so going to eat you, Sam.” Cabot’s laugh reverberated above her father’s familiar rumble.
“So not,” Sam said as his trembling hand brushed her belly. He leaned close. “You…like…know it’s me. Right, Mags?”
She rolled a bit and ran her tongue from his wrist to his elbow.
He jumped back but laughed. “Oh, gross.”
Her father’s low growl stopped abruptly. “You made it twenty minutes. Congratulations, Margaret. Everyone go back to your rooms and let her change back.” He patted her head before he turned away. “Slowly.”
If you enjoyed this excerpt HIDDEN is available here
Also by KH LeMoyne
The Guardians of Eden
Betrayal’s Shadow
Warrior Reborn
Destiny’s Mark
Shifters Unlimited
Blood Oath
Hidden
Missing
Traitor (October 2017)
The Portals of Destiny
Return of the Legacy
The Portals of Destiny Tales
Dragon Rider’s Gift – Dragon Rider Trilogy Book 1
The Phoenix Legend Series
Rebel’s Consort
Shepherd
BOOKS written as LW Herndon
The Thaddeus Kane Novels
The Mark of Kane
About the Author
KH LeMoyne writes romance: fantasy, futuristic and paranormal. A former technology specialist, she lives with her family and corgis. If you’d like to receive a new release email alert, and a copy of the Shifters Unlimited Prequel book, sign up here:
http://khlemoyne.com/newsletter
www.khlemoyne.com
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