rogue shifter 06 - torn apart Read Free

walked into them, giggling again. I stoked his shoulder length light blonde hair and kissed his head as I hugged him close to me. "I'm fine, sweetheart. Perfect." He preferred to keep his hair long, because he wanted to look like Farrell and Liam, who'd both become heroes to the little guy. I tried to get him to tie it back, but he liked to have it flying out behind him when he ran around.
    Taking him by the shoulders, I held him at arms length to get a better view. "I think you grew overnight. Is that possible?" I looked at Farrell for answers.
    He nodded. "One day my shoes fit and the next day they were way too small." He patted Charlie on the head. "He'll be tall like his..." He stopped himself before he mentioned Kennet, wincing at me in apology.
    I shook my head and smiled so Farrell wouldn't feel badly. "Yes, tall and strong."
    Jay laughed and walked closer, Kyle having placed him on the ground. "Not as tall or strong as me. Dad's teaching me mortal arts now."
    "Martial arts," Kyle corrected him with a smile. "We're starting with Tai Chi." he explained, mussing Jay's hair in affectionate revenge.
    Jay was a single-minded kind of kid, paying no attention to his messy hair. "Aw c'mon, can't we do Kung Fu or something cool? This kind is like dancing really slow."
    "It helps with balance and strength and teaches you to focus, something you need to learn. I was taught Tai Chi by my father before any other discipline."
    "I want to do that kicking ninja stuff." He demonstrated by trying to kick Charlie, not out of malice, but just to show him what he meant. Unfortunately for Jay, my son saw it coming and moved to the side just in time to make Jay completely lose his balance and fall backwards. He winced when he hit the ground, wrinkling up his brow in pain. Kyle went to him instantly and examined the wrist that Jay seemed to have strained when he put out his hand as he hit the grass.
    Farrell tried to distract the boy who was looking more and more like he might cry. "That was very smart to put your hand out like you did. You could have hit your head if you hadn't stopped your fall. You'll make a good fighter. Fighters think on their feet."
    "Yeah. I'm gonna be—be awesome." He bit his lip and wrinkled his forehead, but the brave little guy didn't allow any tears to fall. Kyle looked pretty proud.
    Liam, Garrett's closest fae friend and personal bodyguard, came out of the house with a bag of ice, passing it to Farrell. "This will help keep the swelling down. Bring him inside and I'll..."
    "I'll do it, Uncle Liam." Charlie had moved to take Jay's injured hand in his, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath through his mouth. By the time he'd expelled it, Jason was laughing, relief etched across Charlie's features.
    "Cool. It doesn't hurt now." He looked at Liam. "Daddy always gives me ice, too, but this worked faster." He gave Charlie another grin. "You could be a hand doctor."
    Charlie shook his head. "I'm gonna be a guitar player and a pirate."
    Liam sent to me mentally, " Did you see his aura ?"
    I nodded, still too shocked to speak. His golden aura had turned emerald and orange as he'd healed his friend with his magic. Green was a healer's aura, a rare occurrence in the supernatural community. Liam and I were the only other known healers on the west coast, although there could be others we hadn't heard about. Sinlae had predicted before he was born that Charlie would become a healer when he came into his powers, but none of us imagined that it would happen at this incredibly young age. What other powers might show up early? I hid my worry behind a smile so I wouldn't upset him.
    "What did you do to take the pain away from Jay?" Liam had crouched next to him so they could be on eye level.
    He was beaming with pride, his lavender eyes sparkling with gold. "I ate the hurt. It went to my belly."
    "You took it inside yourself?" He nodded. "Did it hurt you when it was there?" He shook his head, starting to look