Page 57 of Brazen

“He’s sure got a fast wolf in him,” Sam told me with a wink.

JT looked up at Sam and set a hand on his bare tummy. “I gotta wolf in me?”

“Yup. Just like me.” Sam patted his broad chest. “It makes me run fast, and I can hear all kinds of stuff.”

“I can do that, too!” JT’s face lit up. For once, someone he could relate to. “Mommy, I got a wolf in me. Did I eat it for dinner? Is that why? You say if I eat my veggies, I get big and strong. Did I eat a wolf?”

I glanced to Sam where he was biting his lip, trying not to smile. He knew this was serious stuff.

“No, you didn’t eat a wolf. You are one. That’s what makes you special.”

“Mommy, are you a wolf, too?”

“Nope,” I said. “Just you.”

“I don’t have to pretend to be slow with him,” JT added, as if this wasn’t a big deal. He was told he had a wolf in him, and that was it.

I flicked my gaze at Sam, and he winked again.

“We’re pretty special, buddy. But we still have to make others not feel bad that they aren’t as cool as us.”

“And Mommy isn’t cool like us?”

I tried not to smile. JT was being earnest.

“I can’t run or jump or climb the monkey bars like you can,” I told him. “But I’m good at other things.”

“Yeah, you can change a tire as fast as Sam can run.”

I laughed. “I guess I can.”

“Your mommy is human. Smell me and then smell her. Can you tell the difference?” Sam coached him.

JT lifted his nose in the air and sniffed in both of our directions. “I don’t know.” He shrugged, losing interest. “Maybe.”

“Could you tell how Remy’s dad smelled different than her stepmom?”

Light seemed to dawn on JT’s face. “Ohhhh. Yeah. So Remy has a wolf in her like me?”

“Yeah.” Sam had subtly led us over to a large boulder, and the three of us climbed up on it and sat. “So if someone smells like a wolf, it’s okay to show your abilities. And if they smell like a human, then you keep them a secret. Does that make sense? You don’t show them at school because most kids are human, even though Remy’s in your class.”

“Okay,” JT said.

“When you have a wolf inside you, you can tell a lot about people with your nose. When they’re scared. When they’re lying. And someday, you might scent a female who will smell so good that you’ll know she’s your mate.”

JT nodded, his big eyes wide and serious. “Yeah. I think that’s Remy because she smells like yummy cookies.”

Sam shot me a surprised look. It was clear that was a new one for him. I rolled my lips together to keep from smiling. He and Remy were friends, but a crush at five? Oh boy. “You want Remy to be your mate?”

“Does that mean I keep her?” he asked Sam.

He nodded.

JT giggled. “No, I can’t keep Remy ‘cause her dad makes her eat all her peas, and I don’t like peas. I’m five!”

Sam and I both laughed, our glances tangling above JT’s head. Warmth filled my chest at the shared moment.

“Right. You don’t like peas.”