Verena's Whistle: Varangian Descendants Book I by K. Panikian (top android ebook reader txt) 📕

“Okay,” the wolf answered. He started jumping in place really high, then dropped to do push-ups. He sprang to his feet again and then did a handstand for a long moment. Show-off.

“Do you have stronger senses? Can you smell better? What about your hearing?”

Owen paused and let his eyes go distant. His ears swiveled again and he inhaled deeply through his nose.

He took a giant stride toward me, “You smell delicious,” he growled.

I jumped to my feet. “Like food?” I asked backing up a step.

“No, not like food,” he answered, still growling, but he stopped moving forward. He cocked his head and said, “I can hear really well too. Theo is snoring.”

“Okay, I think we’ve experimented enough for now,” I said and Owen instantly dropped his sword. He morphed back into a man in a blink and dropped to his knees in the snow, head bowed.

I hurried to his side and he waved me off. “Just give me a second.”

I waited nearby and after a few minutes, he stood again, shivering. He looked pale. I handed him his clothes and his boots and he slowly got dressed, staggering a couple of times. I pulled him up onto the deck and pushed him into a chair; he sat, tilted his head back in the sun, and closed his eyes.

His breathing evened out and he looked peaceful. I wasn’t sure if he was asleep or not, so I stayed quiet. We sat together for a while. I looked down into the snowy river valley and imagined what it would look like in the summer. I bet it would be breathtakingly green.

I turned to look at Owen and thought about what he’d be doing in the summer. Maybe getting ready for college, far away from me.

I stared at his handsome face for a long moment and his full lips curved into a smile. “See something you like?” he asked and opened his eyes.

I licked my lips and his eyes blazed in response. He pulled me out of my chair and into his arms. He skimmed those lush lips across my cheek and then kissed me. I parted my lips and dissolved into the sensation of his mouth on mine. He growled and crushed me to him, deepening the kiss. I curled my body into his and slipped my hand under his sweatshirt, running my fingers along his smooth skin and then gripping the muscles of his chest. I licked my way into his mouth and twisted my body, pulling him even closer.

He slipped his hand inside my shirt and rested it against my stomach, his thumb brushing the underside of my breasts. I gasped.

He broke the kiss, “That’s it.” He stood and hoisted me into his arms. He carried me into the house and down the hall. Theo’s door was, thankfully, still closed. He pushed open the door of my bedroom and dropped me into the middle of the bed. He stood there, breathing heavily, and said, “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” I said and he shut the door.

A little while later, as I traced patterns across the warm skin of his back with my fingertip, I asked, “What happens in battle if you get disarmed? You’ll transform back to a man and pass out.”

“Right,” he said. “Noted. Don’t get disarmed.” He rolled onto his back and ran his hand along my cheek to cradle the back of my head. “Does this thing ever shut off?”

“It was definitely off for a little while,” I answered with a smile and bent forward, kissing him lingeringly. My hands wandered lower and I started to slide down his lean and muscled body. His breath hitched.

I stopped when I heard a banging sounds from the kitchen and then, “What’s with the video cameras?”

“Looks like the gang’s all up,” I said and sighed. I sat up and stretched, the sheet falling to my waist. Owen groaned. His hands ran up my sides before he stopped himself and sat up too.

“You go ahead,” he said. “I’ll be along in a couple of minutes.”

I grinned at him and quickly got dressed, then leaned across for one more kiss, before leaving the room and shutting the door behind me. I ducked into the hall bathroom and brushed my hair before making my way to the kitchen.

Julian was holding one of the receivers and saying, “It’s definitely the crater.” He stopped when I came in and I nodded.

“Yeah, Owen and I set up two cameras at the crater and on the trail this morning.”

“And they’re working?” Theo called out from the living room.

“So far,” I answered. “Anyone want a sandwich?” I asked as I started pulling stuff from the fridge. I got no takers so started making one for me and two for Owen.

I updated Julian on what happened when Owen transformed again and my idea of the two of them sparring later. Julian agreed and then started peppering me with questions about the shifting process. I started to answer with what I’d observed, but then stopped when Owen came into the room. I’d let him respond.

I passed over his two sandwiches and he brushed his hand over mine. I left him to Julian’s interrogation and took my sandwich into the living room to update Theo.

Theo was laying back on the couch, phone in the air over his head. I shoved his feet aside to sit next to him and told him about the cameras and the berserker experiment while I ate.

“Where’s Zasha?” I asked when I was done

“She had to get back to her job. They’re doing experiments on the meteorites now at the university lab.”

“When are you going to see her again?”

Theo looked unhappy. “Probably not until the weekend. It’s a long train ride back and forth for her, and she knows I need to be here.”

“Maybe you could meet her for lunch or something before then,” I suggested and he brightened.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Julian and Owen came into the living room. “We’re ready to spar,” Julian said.

I