Page 55 of Bruised MC Bear

Natural born shifter children did not turn until they made it to their eighteenth birthdays.

Yet here were Asher and Annalee—a bear and a panther.

“How do you think this happened?” Nancy asked, eyes fixed on the one spot.

“Hell if I know,” Axe answered.

Kade and Mr. Jackson came to their sides, and also froze.

“I reckon we have our answer to what happened to Natalie and me all those years ago,” Mr. Jackson said.

Nancy turned to him. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I’ve never seen kid shifters take on their animal forms before age eighteen. Look, Nancy. I’m awful sorry I never told you and Kade what I knew. After the doctor told our parents that our bloodwork was completely normal, I just assumed things were fine. Then years later, Tilly and I had Kade, and he was fine. Natalie had the two of you with no issues. I just put it all to rest. But looking at these kids now, well, think about it. They have Natalie’s genes from you, and mine from Kade here. It has to be the only viable explanation.”

“But why now?” Kade chimed in. “Why today? They’ve never…turned before.”

“I can’t even hazard a guess.” Mr. Jackson turned back to his wife, who was still standing on the porch. “Tilly, did anything unusual happen?”

“Honey, you’re asking me if anything unusual happened?” Mrs. Jackson shouted. “Of course something unusual happened! Those kids turned! That’s not unusual enough for you?”

Mr. Jackson shook his head. “No, I mean before they turned.”

“No…well, maybe. We were in the kitchen. You know how the kettle makes that loud popping sound sometimes? That sound startled them, and they just bolted out of their chairs and turned right here on the porch.” She pointed to a spot near the door. “See, those are the clothes they were wearing. It’s all torn up now. They haven’t moved from that spot under the tree since.”

Axe had heard just about enough. “Nancy, stay with the kids. Maybe Vincent will have some answers. Angel and I are going back to the clubhouse, and I’ll make a stop at Vincent’s on the way. If he doesn’t have any details, we’ll go down the list until we know the truth. Oh, and I’m borrowing your car to get back to your place.”

“No need,” Kade told him. “We still have that meeting. Let’s go talk to some people first.”