Rogue Shifter [High-Country Shifters 3] by Melody Snow Monroe Page B

Anterra was sometimes able to get a satellite signal through that wormhole thingy, so maybe they picked up the tradition from that.
    “To the most wonderful woman.”
    “To one of the two most amazing men I’ve ever met.”
    They drank their wine. She’d picked up the bottle to pour them some more, when Malik jumped up and seemed to fly toward the water. A huge flash of light startled her, but it was the three blasts that followed that made her pulse soar.
    Before she could realize what had happened, four more flashes occurred, and Malik’s laugh filled the entire area.
    “Hey!” The protest came from one of the three wet boys in the pool of water.
    Malik crossed his arms. “You three need to learn how to sneak up on a person.”
    “You couldn’t have known,” Jeremy protested. “We were so quiet.”
    “You, my young cubs, have so much to learn.” After Malik stopped laughing, he swiped a finger under his eye. “It’s not fair that you were trying to jump me either.”
    “We really thought we could take you. Look at us.” All three stepped out of the water. “Now we’re all wet.”
    Amy loved Malik’s laugh. “You deserved the dunking.”
    Jeremy shrugged. “Tell us something else about fighting the wolves.”
    Malik paced as if he was trying to come up with something good. “I’ve shown you general things, but now I’ll show you something specific for wolves.”
    The three boys stepped over to one of the large boulders that rimmed the pool and sat down. The sight was adorable with the teacher standing at the front and the eager students waiting to learn something important.
    “Okay. Wolves are very strategic because they don’t have a size advantage. I’ve seen this tactic over and over again. They’ll send out a wolf to trigger your chase mechanism, but you won’t see him. All you’ll hear is some low keening sound that you’ll think is an injured animal.”
    “Yeah, yeah.” Jeremy was glued to Malik’s words.
    “You have to recognize that when this happens, you have to go on high alert. Climb the nearest tree and get a visual. I’ll bet anything you’ll see a bunch of wolves huddled around, waiting for the ambush.”
    “They can’t climb trees, so they won’t even be thinking about looking up I bet.” This came from one of Jeremy’s friends.
    “That’s right.”
    “Then what?” the friend said.
    “You have a couple of options. Personally, I wouldn’t take them on unless the ratio is good. If I’m confronted by four wolves, I know it will be a battle to the death. So far, when that’s happened, I’ve been the victor.”
    “Holy shit. You won against four wolves?”
    Even Amy still thought that was a ridiculous ratio even after she remembered that Cavon and Malik had taken on fourteen wolves. Yes, they had help from both sides, but they didn’t know that at first. Her men were true warriors.
    “Yes, but remember I’ve been in training since I was a young kitten. I’d say the best case scenario is one to one, worst case is two to one. If you are outnumbered, run. You’re faster and smarter. Climb a tree as a last resort.”
    “Cool.”
    Malik held up a finger. “If you are caught off guard and the wolves confront you, and if there are more than one of you, try to get around to their back side and surprise them. If you can box them in, you’ll win.”
    The boys looked at each other. “Is there some way we can practice this without actually having wolves around?”
    He searched his mind for the teaching techniques. “Yes. We used to have kids play the wolf parts. We’d be in our human form so it was easier for everyone to communicate.”
    Amy got up from where she’d been watching. “You know, I saw some new report that kind of relates to this.”
    Malik cocked a brow. “Inform us.” He sounded interested.
    “After Osama Bin Laden was killed, our government declassified the mockup of Bin Laden’s bunker. Apparently, the Navy Seals practiced for months on a