Channeler's Choice by Heather McCorkle

agreed.
    Fane turned and led them back to the front door. “We’ll be back in a few hours,” he called back as he opened it and stepped out, pulling Caitlin with him.
    “ Have fun,” Alin called after them.
    They went through the backyard and straight into the forest on a well worn path. The sweet smell of sun-warmed spruce needles made Eren sigh. Much of the ground around the tree trunks was still covered with snow, but patches of earth dotted the forest floor where rays of sunlight seeped through. All the scents of the forest made her want to run through it with her energy raised so she could feel every bit of the life around her. When she turned and looked at Aiden, she saw the same longing in his eyes. The desire became so strong that no less than a half mile down the path she couldn’t take it anymore.
    “ You guys want to go for a run?” she asked.
    Before her channeler power had awakened Eren had enjoyed running but now she loved it. It made her feel closer to the earth, cleansed her body and soul.
    “ Sure,” Caitlin said.
    Tension pulled Eren’s shoulders tight as she watched Caitlin slip her shoes off. It occurred to Eren that maybe she should have thought that suggestion out a little more. What if she lost control of her power in front of them and ruined her clothes? The thought of them seeing her inexperience and thinking she was weak, made her start to shake. Hard as she tried to stop, she couldn’t. She cared too much what they thought and she sort of hated that. Getting close to people again scared the living hell out of her.
    Without hesitation, Fane pulled his jacket off and kicked out of his shoes. Eren’s heart raced, pulling her power along through her blood stream, making her dizzy. Fane looked up to her so much, what if she blew it?
    Wide-eyed, Eren turned to Aiden, but he’d already taken his jacket off too. Her eyes were drawn involuntarily down the muscles of his chest outlined by his t-shirt. She couldn’t look at him long because the impulse to touch him was too great. Her energy practically compelled her to, threatening to move her hands by its sheer will alone. Right now, her mind and body didn’t agree on that, so she closed her eyes. Focusing on the sounds and scents of the forest, she pretended she was alone and concentrated on controlling her power.
    Strangely, she didn’t have to look to know when Fane and Caitlin had raised their power; she felt it. It was like she was tuned in to them. Lately she’d been starting to notice this, almost like she was picking up on their frequency or something. But it felt more like a vibration than a sound—like something solid she could reach out and touch. Aiden’s frequency was the most intense. There was a magnetic pull to it. It was only in the three of them that she could feel it so intensely, other channelers, not so much.
    Fingers on the zipper of her jacket, she paused. She could almost feel Aiden’s smile as he watched her. His expectation weighed heavy upon her. After piling her jacket and shoes with everyone else’s beneath a tree, she raised her energy as easily as flipping a switch.
    The damp ground was cool beneath her bare feet and her toes sank into the pine needles. A breeze ruffled her hair and she lifted her face into it, enjoying the tingle of energy upon it. Fane and Caitlin stood to her left. Fane glowed with orange energy that felt like home and family. Caitlin’s earthy blue-green energy had a wild abandon to it that was invigorating to be near.
    Aiden walked up and ran his hand down Eren’s arm, shifting her focus. Knowing what the mischievous look in his hazel eyes meant, she gave him a hard glare. He had a habit of pouring his energy over her which always made her shudder, but in a very good way. Just not the kind of way she wanted to do in front of Fane and Caitlin. He hung his head and managed to look reprimanded, but the gleam remained.
    Before he could do anything to embarrass her in front of Fane and