THE NEXT MORNING, I went into work and spoke with the Dean as soon as he came in. I told him I had some personal issues come up and I would really appreciate it if I could take the week off. Since we had nothing important planned for the week and he didn’t need me there anyway, he let me have the time. I warned him that depending on how things went, I might need the next week as well. He said I had the vacation time available, I might as well use it during the summer while he needed me less. 

With the time off arranged, I headed over to Bill’s house. I pulled into the large circular driveway and parked my car next to Bill’s pickup. As I approached the door and reached to knock, it opened beneath my hand, startling me. I gasped and jumped before noticing Bill standing in front of me, grinning. 

“Come on in,” he said, turning to lead me deeper into the house. “I heard your car in the driveway on my way to the kitchen.” 

I grinned at his upbeat mood and followed him. “What do you have in mind for me today?” 

“We already know your strength and hearing are coming in. Have you shifted again? On purpose this time?” 

“Yeah,” I told him about shifting the day before. “OH! That’s something I was supposed to tell you about. While I was in wolf form, I could think my responses to Brandon and have him hear them. He said I’m telepathic and to make sure I told you about it.” 

“Well, it means you have the ability to do at least one-way communication. Have you heard any strange thoughts from others?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“You might not notice it at first, or you might not realize what it is at first. Sometimes you hear just random things, a sentence here and there, and with your hearing still coming and going you might think you were actually hearing someone say it.”

“I did have that happen. I was out shopping on Saturday, with Izzy. I thought the sales girl was just being rude, but it’s possible... Then it happened again, later at the club.” I thought back over the things I had heard in the club that night.

“Wait, did you say you went to a club on Saturday?” he blinked in astonishment.

“Izzy and I had been planning it for weeks.” I knew it was a weak excuse but I was going to use it anyway.

“How did that work out for you?” His tone was suspicious. 

“Sometimes it wasn’t too bad. Sometimes it was like I’d climbed inside one of the speakers and was going to be bounced across the room at any moment. By the time I gave up, I had a massive headache.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t walk in and turn around and walk right back out. Those places are hell on normal hearing, much less our sensitive ears.”

“I know that now, but I didn’t think about it when I went, and I didn’t want to back out on Izzy again,” I said. 

“Instead of letting down a girlfriend, who would probably understand if you had just told her you didn’t feel good, you tortured yourself. Sometimes, girl, I wonder about you.”

“Yeah, I know. So does everyone else.” I grinned.

“You were saying before I interrupted that you were hearing things at the club Saturday night?” “Yeah, and now that I think about it, most of it were things most people wouldn’t say out loud. One girl didn’t like her date and couldn’t wait to escape. Another was determined to get revenge on her cheating partner. I just thought the noise was wreaking havoc with my hearing. But it happened again last night at dinner.”

“Sundays are family dinners, right?”

“Yes, sir,” I reverted to the habits my parents and grandparents had made sure all of us learned as children. I don’t always use the term of respect with my friends, but I do with anyone not my age. 

“Only you, Nickie,” Bill shook his head as he rolled his eyes skyward. “Only you. Anyway, yes, you’re showing signs of being able to use telepathy in both directions. To both plant your thoughts into someone’s mind, and to pull thoughts from their minds as well. I’ll work with you myself on learning to use those gifts, but I’ll have Karen work with you on shielding so others with the same talents can’t use them against you, unless you let them. Telepathy can be very useful in some situations, but also a nuisance if you’re not prepared to deal with it.” 

He offered to fix me some breakfast along with his own but I had already eaten, just in case I ended up not getting the time off work. I wasn’t hungry but I did accept a cup of coffee and sat with him while he finished cooking and ate. 

“I did have something I wanted to ask, if you don’t mind,” I said.

“What is it?” 

“Well, you know Raine as well as you know me, right? I mean, not that I think he’s Kindred or anything. But in the fact that he’s my brother and one of Dad’s kids. Maybe in a you’ve been around him and are familiar with him’, kind of way.”

“Yes, of course. What about Raine?” 

“I noticed it last night. There’s something different about Raine. I couldn’t place it. I still can’t figure out what it was. But it’s like I sensed something different from him all of a sudden. I couldn’t see anything and he insisted nothing’s changed, not even his soap. But I don’t think I’m imagining it. After a few minutes, it dawned on me, it wasn’t that something had changed with him, but with me. I realized I was probably sensing something that had always been there. I told him I must have imagined it, but I’m certain I didn’t.”

“I doubt you’re imagining it, but let me ask a few people and see what I can find out. It may be that he has some strength or talent that you’re sensing. I would guess from just looking at him, he has some Native American blood. There may be some talent or power he inherited and that’s what you’re sensing.”

“Let me know if you find anything?” 

“If I find anything to explain it, I’ll be sure to let you know,” he said.

“Thanks.”

Bill picked up his dishes from breakfast and rinsed them in the sink before loading them into the dishwasher next to it. We moved into his office to start what he called my lesson for the morning.

We worked on picking thoughts from each other’s minds on purpose and projecting only the thoughts we wanted another to hear into the others for several hours before Bill called a break and left me sitting limp and exhausted on his living room couch while he went to fix lunch. 

A few minutes later, he called me in to eat and handed me one of the sandwiches he’d made. 

“I have some people I’d like you to meet, but they aren’t available until Wednesday. Could you come to dinner here Wednesday and meet them?” He watched me eat.

“I don’t have any other plans. I’d be happy to meet whomever you want me to.” 

“It’s our Lysandros and Harmonia, the couple who are second-in-command to the pack. They’re the other numbers on the emergency card I gave you the other day. I think it would be a good idea for you to meet them and get to know them a bit.” 

“Sure,” I said as Karen walked in.

“Hello, Nickie, how has your morning gone?” she asked me.

“Good, but exhausting.”

“She’s got the basics down. The rest will improve with practice. She’s a quick learner,” Bill said. 

“That’s good to hear. Did he totally exhaust you, or you going to be up for more this afternoon?” she asked. 

“More of the same?”

“Not quite the same, but just as much work. It’s different, but still something you’ll need.” 

“Well, I was pretty worn out before, but between a bite to eat and a bit of rest, I am feeling better.”

“The faster metabolism and needing to eat more will take some getting used to. You’re probably still eating like you did before. Aren’t you?” She gave me a knowing look.

“Well, yeah. No one told me I would need to eat differently; they just keep feeding me anytime I shift. No one said anything about needing more all the time. I’ve been thinking something is wrong with me because, suddenly, I’m always starving.”

“Of course you’re always starving. You burn a lot more calories now, even if you aren’t shifting. Leave it to the men to forget that detail. They never worry about eating too much and just eat whenever they are hungry anyway. It wouldn’t occur to them to tell you, now would it?” Karen shot a teasing grin at her husband. 

“Sorry, I should have told you, Nickie, it just never occurred to me,” Bill said apologetically. “Is that sandwich enough or do you want something more?”

I looked down at the almost finished sandwich in front of me. “Honestly, I’m still hungry.” My face heated as I made the admission. 

Karen went to the refrigerator behind her, opened the door, and looked inside for a moment. She pulled out half of an apple pie. “How about some pie?”

“That would be wonderful!” My mouth watered at the rich cinnamon scent coming from the dish.

“Do you want it cold like this, or warmed? I think I may even have some ice cream we could put on the side, if you’d like?” she asked. 

“Warm with ice cream would be wonderful.”

“No problem, let me just pop this in the microwave for a few seconds and I’ll check for the ice cream,” she said as she cut two large slices. She looked over at Bill, where he was hovering on the edge of the room as if reluctant to leave us alone. “There’s no need to hang around and keep us company if you have something to do. We’re going to have us some pie and ice cream, if you’ve left any ice cream. Then we’ll go work on shielding basics. You go do whatever you need to do, we’ll be fine.” She finished dishing the pie onto a pair of plates and set them in the microwave. 

“I haven’t touched the ice cream, you should have plenty for your pie,” he replied as Karen turned back to the remaining pie and re-covered it before setting it back in the refrigerator. “But since the two of you are set here without me, I have some things I need to get done. I’ll see you later. Nickie, come by Wednesday morning for more practice, eight thirty or nine will be fine.”

“Yes, sir,” I watched Karen move around the kitchen as she fixed our treat.