“While the two females snarled viciously at each other, Ric grabbed a stick from the ground and waved it between Jess and Blayne. “Look! Look! A stick! Who wants it? Who wants it? Go get it!” He threw the stick and Jess and Blayne watched it flip across the forest floor. Once it landed, they looked back at Ric.“Dude,” Jess told him, “that was just rude.”

“It was a hate crime.” Jess looked at Ric and back at Blayne. “You mean they attacked you because you’re bl—” “A hybrid. Exactly!”

“Jess and Ric watched as a shifted Blayne chased the squirrel, caught the squirrel, toyed with the squirrel, let the squirrel go, only to go chasing after it again. Until she was distracted by the crow that she tried to catch in her mouth.“So…when are you due?”Jess winced at Ric’s question as Blayne ran into a tree, backed up, and went after the bird again.“Mid-March.”“And you’re having a—”“Yes. Yes, I’m having a wolfdog.”“Huh.”Blayne was turning in circles now, trying to catch her tail.“Blayne,” Jess called out. “Blayne!” The wolfdog immediately stopped and started to walk over to Jess and Ric. Too bad the dizziness got the best of her, though, because she stumbled sideways into another tree and slid down, panting.”

“What are you wearing?” Blayne glanced down at the tiny velvet green minidress she wore. “Jess asked us to be Santa’s helpers tonight.” “You look like Santa’s whores.”

“The barking of the dogs was getting louder, closer once more. Jesse's finger curledaround the trigger. He tried to still his mind from all thoughts. But the image of MissAlthea lingered.Sweet-smelling Miss Althea with her warm smile and her so very round parts. She never looked at him mean or like she was afraid. She looked at him loving, warm and loving, like she looked at the boy. She looked at Jesse that way. And he liked it. He really liked it. But he wanted it different, too. He was not a boy. Jesse was a man. He wanted Miss Althea to see that. He wanted to put meat on her table. That's what men do for the women they love.”

“Nothing's going to happen between us until you're ready for it to happen."She stared at him, stil clutching her stick in a death grip, then finally nodded and silently walked to her car. She let Toby in the backseat, then opened the passenger door and slid the tip of her stick on the floor to lean it against the console."Jess," Ian said quietly.She turned, still not saying anything."Just so long as you know that it is going to happen.”