Chapter 2

“Here’s your omelet,and after Zoya comes in and then comes back downstairs,I’ll put some laundry into the machine,and then I’m off for the morning.Your turn to vacuum and hang the laundry outside.”Noah placed a glass on the kitchen table and poured Anton some juice.

“Thanks,”the boy said and brushed some of his unruly auburn hair from his eyes.

“You’re welcome.”

Ten minutes later Zoya came in like she did every morning these days.

“Morning boys.”She kissed both of their cheek and picked up the tray with the omelets—mushroom and onions for Lark,sausage,mushrooms and herbs for the cheetah—to take upstairs.

By the time she came back down,Noah had the kitchen cleaned up again,and Anton was finishing his breakfast.

“Anything special going on up there?”Noah asked,nodding toward the stairs.

“Well,apparently Lark did the trick Mikael used on Maxim when he wanted to know his name,”Zoya said,referring to Mikael pointing to keys from his laptop and marking down which ones Maxim grunted at in his tiger form before he was healed enough to turn back human.

“And?”Anton turned to look at Zoya.

Zoya smiled brightly.“Her name is Shani.”

Anton grinned and Noah couldn’t help but whoop.They laughed a little,relieved there was finally some sort of progress.

Besides,knowing someone’s name made a difference.Trust was easier to establish when you could call someone by their given—or chosen—name.

Zoya left soon after,probably to do some chores or teach her kids.All the wolf pack’s four kids were homeschooled and did very well in their studies.The two youngest were still small enough to really just play-learn.The oldest girl,June,was nine and already about a year ahead in her studies.Jude,despite being active mostly in causing trouble with Anton,was also good at his schoolwork when he put his mind to it.Sadly most of the boy’s energy went to other things than his books.

Noah put the first basket of laundry in and pulled on some sandals.The late summer morning was warm,but he could feel hints of the weather starting to change a bit.It was only a matter of time until he’d feel autumn in the wind,and then soon it would be leaves turning yellow and red,and harvest time in their little vegetable garden.

Noah decided to take a walk,one of his special“alone walks”as Anton called them.He needed the solitude like he needed food or air.It fed his soul somehow,made him calmer and the social situations easier to bear.

There had never been anything romantic going on between Noah and Mikael,that wasn’t it.It was just that seeing Mikael with Maxim,and the wolf pack’s alpha pair Zoya and Sean,who fit each other like a glove….Nobody blamed Noah for wanting to be alone every now and then,when the others’happiness became too much for him.He'd been in Finland and at the farm for over five years now,closer to six,if he remembered right.Seeing everyone old enough pair off and either stay around or leave the farm to their happily-ever-afters was getting to him.

The forest on the east side of the farmyard,right behind the stable,the attached wood shed,and the barn,was filled with slightly worn paths and familiar landmarks that felt like home as much as the house did.

As soon as he hit the edge of the forest,he felt the tug within;his cat wanted out.

Sighing,Noah stripped,leaving his clothes on a rock nearby,and let the cat wash over him.He was the son of two regular jaguars,but someone in his family tree must have been special,because from the first time Noah shifted when he was fifteen years old and well into puberty,it became obvious he really was different;his cat was black.

The sleek,black jaguar trotted on a path,sniffing the morning air and scanning for forest animals.The Russian border was miles away,but on the other side of it was vast wilderness.

The deep wilderness of Russia and the relatively close proximity to Siberia meant there were all kinds of wild animals nearby.Wolf packs moved around,often coming close enough to be heard or even smelled by the shifters on the farm.In fact,earlier that summer a random pack of wild wolves had unknowingly saved them from possible disaster.