Page 465 of His Hungry Wolf

“Think about it. Didn’t you once tell me that she seemed to know things other people didn’t?”

“Probably. But…”

“…And didn’t you say that for generations your family has believed that it’s lucky?”

“Sure, but that’s just people making excuses for their actions.”

“What if it’s not? What if from the time they acquired this land, they had experienced things they can’t explain. And, not knowing about the supernatural world, their only explanation was that they were lucky?”

Lou’s eyes dipped considering it.

“That means that I could have been one of you,” he realized.

“One of us?”

“Yeah. Like everyone else in our group. I could be special like you.”

I clutched his shoulders. “Lou, you don’t need magic to be special.”

“You say that, but you’re a wolf shifter. You’re about as special as they come.”

“I can’t shift,” I admitted letting him go.

“What?”

“I’ve lost the ability to shift.”

“You’ve lost it.”

“I haven’t been able to since the thing with the dragon. First I thought I was a little freaked out about the attack. Then I thought that visiting your estate was like being at a football stadium, and that it was preventing me from turning. But after being away from here for weeks I still couldn’t. I just can’t do it. So, if not having magic means you’re not special, then I’m not special either.”

Lou rushed to me wrapping me in his arms.

“I didn’t know. You never said anything.”

“What was there to say?”

“That you were hurting and needed my help.”

I took hold of him pushing him away.

“There’s nothing you can do. I don’t know what anyone can do. I’m sure it’s all in my head. I’m trying not to think about it so I don’t make it worse. It’s just hard to keep out of my mind.”

“What do you want me to do?” Lou asked vulnerably.

“Nothing. Let’s just find what your grandmother left you?” I told Lou needing to do this for him.

“It’s in the bramble,” he repeated.

“We can go there now.”

“No,” he said touching my chest and looking up into my eyes. “We need to wait until it’s dark. If we crossed the lawn now, anyone looking at the backyard would see us. We can go after dinner. Maybe after everyone has gone to bed,” he said planning.

He withdrew from his thoughts when my stomach growled again. He looked at me.

“You must be starved.”

“I think my stomach just likes living on the edge,” I joked.