Free Stray Cats [High-Country Shifters 2] by Melody Snow Monroe Page B

raced up to her. “Holy, shit, holy shit. That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done in my life.” He grabbed her to his chest and hugged her tight. He leaned her back and held out his hand. “I’m still shaking.”
    Gage moved next to her but said nothing. Something was wrong. “Are you okay?”
    “The voices in my head creeped me out more than shifting, I think.”
    Will nudged him. “Don’t analyze it. Enjoy it. Did you see how easy it was to climb a tree?”
    “That part was awesome.”
    Cavon and Malik emerged as men with big grins on their faces. They said nothing, but both Will and Gage spun around.
    Gage looked between her and her friends. “You’re putting thoughts in my head, aren’t you?”
    Cavon answered. “It’s telepathy. We know what symbols to send. Your brain automatically translates them into words. I know you had some thoughts, but they came out jumbled. With a little practice, you’ll get it.”
    Will moved closer. “Are you saying that Will and I can communicate completely without talking?”
    Cavon inhaled a deep breath. “Yes and no. If you’re near the alignment point, yes, but the farther away you get, the less likely you’ll be successful. Besides, you two are new at it, but even when we’re at the hotel I have some static, so to speak, in the transmission.”
    Will shifted his gaze to her. “That’s incredible.”
    Gage spread his feet wide, looking like he was ready to do battle. “So now what?”
    “It’s up to you,” Malik said. “Take your time. Come out here and run around. Enjoy yourself. Learn what you’re capable of doing. You’ll figure it out.” He nodded to her and both of the men before Cavon and Malik slipped back into the forest.
    Gage shot a glance at both of them. “We need to go.”
    “No fucking way, bro. You heard that dude. We should try that again. I bet it will easier the second time.”
    Gage moved within a foot of his brother, and Sella had the sense they might get into a fight, so she stepped back.
    “Don’t do anything stupid. What if someone sees us?”
    “So? They’d think we’re mountain lions. They have them in Colorado.”
    She was glad that was true. She couldn’t imagine if an elephant shifter or monkey shifter existed. Seeing one of those would make one doubt one’s sanity. Keeping her mouth shut for a change, she wanted to see what Gage’s reaction would be.
    “You act like you’re considering staying here and playing Mr. Lion.”
    “Would that be so bad?”
    Gage shook his head, turned around, and hiked back down the trail. Will stood there. She expected him to either run after his brother or pound something. Instead he laughed.
    “Can you believe my brother? You give us this incredible gift of having some superpower, and Gage walks off.”
    “Being a shifter is a big responsibility, even if you stay in Spirit and don’t come over to Anterra.”
    “How?”
    “I’ve heard it told that over the years there have been a lot of robberies, attacks, and other terrible crimes committed in Spirit. When the cops go after these men, the perpetrators seem to disappear into thin air. A few times a blast of light has appeared. What does that tell you?”
    “There are shifters who live in Spirit?”
    “Precisely. For the most part, they’re wolf shifters.”
    His jaw moved as if he were chewing and digesting what she’d said. “Why doesn’t someone go after them?”
    “Only another shifter would be able to recognize whether a person was a shifter or not.”
    “So the hair on the back of my neck that prickles would feel different if a wolf shifter came around rather than a lion shifter?”
    Cavon should be here to help. “I can’t say how it happens with another shifter, but I personally can tell the difference. You learn the feeling. My stomach gets queasy, but I know for Henla, my younger sister, her jaw tingles. It’s different for different people.” She knew he wanted to learn more about the wolves. “Even