Chapter 13

• As Devin rowed them across the lake, Konner couldn’t help thinking back to eleven years ago when he’d found Olanna. He hadn’t been joking when he’d said it was better to not meet up with Terah the first time in the water. Olanna had tried to kill him, more than once when he’d found her. It had taken three days of him trying to get close enough to her, while out of the water so her could tell her he was there to help and not hurt her.
• He leaned down and let his hand drag through the water. It was so clean and cool, he really wanted to go for a swim. He thought of Olanna now, a mother of two children and Auburn’s mate. Her daughter Nakisa would be ten soon, if he remembered right. Soon she’d go through her first shift. It was a special time with his small clan when that happened. It renewed hope and that was in short supply lately. Each birth and age of the change also brought other emotions into play. Would they be the mate to one of those living with them now or would they be without that special companionship for many long years?
• Lifting his hand, he rubbed it over his face and closed his eyes, just letting the slight breeze move over him. Would Terah be a mate to one of those already found? There were only two adults, three if he included himself that were unmated. Reeves and Nolyn. With each change, everyone would take turns swimming with them to see if that fated connection was there. To outsiders, it would seem archaic to find your mate was only ten years old, but it was the only way to not give up completely. Knowing you had a mate was better than being left wondering for decades.