Rebirth (Rogues Shifter Series) by Gayle Parness Read Free Book Online Page A

it makes you feel any better, I can’t swim. I start to panic in about three feet of water.” He looked a little embarrassed, but reached out to wipe the tears off of my cheeks with his ripped shirt.
    “I guess an island is a great place for you to be a prisoner,” I sniffled.
    He laughed. “Yep, without a boat I’m stuck here. But I don’t really feel like a prisoner and neither should you. We’re here to train and then we’re free to leave.” He brushed a stray leaf out of my hair and tried to do the same for his own.
    I looked up at him and attempted a smile. “Thank you , Ethan…”
    He interrupted me. “Rob would have ca ught you. But you’re welcome.” He leaned over and kissed me gently on the forehead. Then he got up and walked in the direction Rob had gone, making sure that I could see how cute his butt looked as he walked away. Back to the old Ethan, I sighed and then smiled. A few minutes later I followed his spicy scented trail back to the cabin.
     
    Chapter Eight
    Rob was cooking a big pot of pasta and Ethan was making a salad. To help out, I figured that I’d get the washing machine going. I wandered around the various rooms picking up everyone’s dirty clothes and towels, sorting and then starting a l oad of darks. My original set of ripped clothes had already been washed and dried and were folded on the dryer. I looked them over and figured that I could rip the jeans to make shorts and I could still wear the ripped tee shirt over a sports bra. It would give me an edgy look out here in the wilderness, I laughed.
    We a te dinner quietly, no one wanting to bring up what had happened unless I did. As I watched them eat, I realized that the dynamics in the room had changed. I wasn’t angry at them anymore. I was sad about my parents, but I didn’t feel the rage that had been making me lash out at them. For some weird reason, they seemed to care about me. And even stranger, I was starting to care about them, too.
    “It was my anger that got me up that tree,“ I said to no one in particular. “I was really mad at Ethan for acting so smug.”
    Ethan raised his eyebrows in pretended shock. “Smug? Moi?”
    I ignored him and asked Rob, “Is that what you meant about using my anger for a purpose?”
    “It’s not just your anger; it’s your determination and ability to focus on a task. You go after a goal without hesitation. Your strength, physically and mentally, at that moment is increased tenfold. Most shifters stay at an even balance, they’re this strong or this fast all the time, but you have these incredible spurts of power. It’s quite cool, really. I wish you could have watched yourself climbing up that tree.” Rob looked at me like a proud teacher.
    “Yeah, she’s definitely unbalanced.” Ethan laughed. I threw a roll at him and he caught it without even looking, taking a slow bite to taunt me. “Yum, thanks.” He licked his lips.
    “Does Ethan still get doses of the crazy serum? ‘Cause he seems kind of unbalanced too.” Bite me I mouthed in his direction.
    “No, he’s finished with that, now he’s here just working on his control, which occasionally is sorely lacking, “ Rob sighed and shook his head good naturedly as Ethan chomped at the air in response to my taunt. "Speaking of the serum, you’ll be getting another dose tomorrow morning so you need to get a good night’s sleep. You’ll be transitioning into your animal and that takes a lot of energy.”
    I slumped down in my chair and thought about what tomorrow would bring. I wondered what I would turn into. Certain animals were definitely more appealing than others. If I was a seagull I could fly off of this island and go home, but then I realized with a touch of sadness that there was no home for me to return to. Rob and Ethan seemed to think I was some kind of large cat. That would be cool I guess. I mean seagulls didn’t have sharp claws and I’d already shifted my hands. I was kind of hoping there were no