Page 32 of Misfit Monsters (Pack of Outcasts #1)

Jonah

M y foster mom leans over the map, her eyebrows drawing together in concentration. “And what exactly was funky about this rift?”

It’s strange seeing Sorsha take anything very seriously.

The phoenix shifter may be in the running as the most powerful shadowkind in existence—partly because she’s an incredibly rare hybrid with strengths from both her human and monstrous sides—but she manages to face everything the world throws at her with a lighthearted attitude.

As a kid, growing up under her watch, her breezy approach gave me an escape from the trauma of having my parents murdered in front of me. Which I guess she understood better than I realized at the time. I later found out that she went through a similar tragedy at around the same age.

As an adult, I appreciate how she mixes humor with compassion and determination. It often makes difficult situations less intimidating to tackle.

But it also means that when even she turns solemn, I know we’re in trouble.

“I couldn’t sense it the same way the shadowkind on my team could,” I admit, peering at the spot we’ve marked on the map.

“It was definitely closer to the ground than any rift I’ve encountered before, so I don’t know if the sensations I picked up on were because of proximity or something else.

But the energy it gave off felt kind of… twitchy, erratic.”

“Is that how your shadowkind teammates described it too?”

I nod. “Something like that. Like it was larger, more imposing, and more unsettling than they’d expect.

None of them were willing to step through it to see what would happen, even though they’ve all traveled back and forth between the realms plenty of times before.

It unnerved them enough that going inside felt like a significant risk. ”

Sorsha hums to herself, tucking a stray lock of bright red hair behind her ear.

“I’ve never come across a rift that shadowkind were repelled from.

The weird, morphing creatures that’ve come out of it—do you think the rift changed them into something odd, or does it connect to an odd part of the shadow realm we’re unaware of? ”

I spread my hands in a gesture of helplessness. “I have no idea. Have you heard of either of those things happening before?”

“No.” She sucks her lower lip under her teeth to nibble at it and then flashes a smile at me with her usual lively energy. “But the mysteries of this world are endless. It’ll be interesting seeing what comes of this one. At least the worst threat you’ve had to deal with is some minor sorcerer.”

I don’t know how “minor” the sorcerer who’s controlling some of the strange shadowkind creatures is, but it’s true that he hasn’t posed much of an obstacle to our investigations so far.

We can’t be sure whether he intended that one aggressive pack to attack us in particular or just anyone who crossed their path.

He might not even realize that anyone’s investigating him.

I rub my jaw. “The creatures are causing problems too. From the reports we’ve gotten and what we’ve seen, they don’t have the normal shadowkind instinct to be wary of humans.

Some of that is due to the sorcerer’s influence, but at least one of them wasn’t under any sorcery at all and was still frightening people. ”

Rollick’s voice carries through the doorway. “And that’s why we need to get a better understanding of this unusual rift.”

The demon strides into the small meeting room with an assured air—and Peri hurrying behind him. At the sight of her vibrant hair, my pulse hiccups. I can’t help tensing up in an effort to lock my emotions down.

I’ve been grappling with my attraction to her almost from the start, but it wasn’t always this hard.

I’m her teacher and the closest thing to an authority figure on our small team—she’s a student and dependent on my evaluation.

I know pursuing anything more than friendly with her would be one hundred percent wrong.

But when she fell into my arms the other day, when I gazed into her eyes and her bright scent flooded my lungs, all my better intentions flew out the window.

She makes me feel brighter, from the inside out. As if a light flicks on inside me when she’s around, when she smiles at me, when she makes one of her encouraging remarks.

I don’t know how to turn that light off. An increasingly large part of me doesn’t want to.

I’ve met a lot of shadowkind over the years, but never a being like her. Why did it have to be like this, in a position that threatens every shred of my integrity?

Rollick doesn’t appear to notice my reaction. He strolls over to the table to join us in studying the map. Sorsha, knowing me much better than he does, raises one eyebrow slightly but doesn’t comment.

I avoid looking at Peri, figuring I’m less likely to reveal more if I pretend she’s not here.

Sorsha taps the marked spot on the map. “I’d like to take an up-close look at this thing. It’d be good to bring Snap along and see what he can taste with his power. Omen might be willing to take a leap through it and see what’s on the other side.”

Her four partners—the men who acted as my sort-of dads—stopped by the academy with her today to offer guest talks on their specialty subjects. My spirits lift at the thought of having my makeshift family back together for our next road trip.

Rollick shakes his head. “There’ll be time for that later. My little team has been making good progress, but my colleagues aren’t prepared to let them rejoin the regular academy program yet. I’d like to give them more opportunity to prove themselves.”

He catches my eye. “I have a few instruments I’d like you to bring along on your next venture. The readings they take will help us make a more objective assessment of what exactly is different about this rift.”

I lift my chin, ignoring the knot that’s formed in my gut. I’m going to be in charge again, wrangling the four very different shadowkind who sometimes seem more interested in harassing each other than finishing our mission.

We have made it through without anyone resorting to murder so far, though. Peri deserves a chance to prove herself even if I’m not sure about the others .

“Of course,” I say. “It shouldn’t take long now that we know where to go.”

“I’ll be sending equipment for trapping one of the morphing shadowkind as well, if you have the chance,” the demon adds. “But that’s a lower priority. I’d also like you to test if you can ‘convince’ the rift to shrink even a small amount with your sorcery. Its size and power concern me.”

That makes two of us. I swallow past the sudden dryness in my throat. “I’ll give it my best shot. I’ve never tried to use sorcery on a rift.”

He claps me on the shoulder. “There’s a first time for everything. You can have the rest of the day off—no teaching necessary. I’ll get the equipment loaded onto the jet for departure tomorrow morning.”

Sorsha folds her arms over her chest. “You really believe in throwing people into the deep end, don’t you, Rollick?”

He grins at her. “At least I don’t have any intention of burning the whole world down.

But they won’t be without backup. I was hoping you and your associates would show off the speeds that RV of yours is capable of and take me on a trip up the same way, so we’ll be nearby if the team needs additional assistance. ”

Knowing he’ll be close eases my nerves and appears to mollify Sorsha too. With a satisfied expression, she swipes her hands together. “There’s room in the Everymobile for one more. Or two or three, if your associates?—”

Rollick cuts her off with a raised hand. “We have other matters keeping us busy, or I’d have been more involved already. I’m hoping this will be a quick trip.”

Sorsha laughs as if accepting a challenge. “Omen will make sure of that.”

Rollick pats Peri on the shoulder. “You wanted to take another look at the map, so go ahead. Then you should get some rest too, shiny one. ”

As he ambles out of the room, my gaze follows him. I want to ask what other business has been keeping him and his colleagues busy, but I don’t think he’d tell me. The demon likes to keep his cards close to the chest.

Has Quinn had a lapse with her heart condition? Her health has always been shaky.

Sorsha lopes out after Rollick. My skin tingles with the awareness that I’m now alone with Peri.

I step to the side to put more distance between us. “I’ll get out of your way. If you notice anything new that you think might be useful, let the rest of us know.”

I’m planning on taking a casual stroll out of there, but Peri fixes me with her vivid blue gaze. My legs stall.

She hesitates before speaking. “Did I do something to upset you?”

My stomach drops. I haven’t been hiding my internal conflict well enough.

“Not at all,” I say as firmly as I can. “You’ve been great, Peri. I’m not sure we’d have gotten this far without you.”

She only looks more puzzled. “Something’s been making you uncomfortable around me in the past couple of days. You don’t have to talk about it, but if there’s anything I can do to fix what went wrong, I’d want you to tell me.”

I know she would. Fuck, what do I even say?

I grope for an answer. “It isn’t your fault. I’m just sorting out some things that are mine to deal with.”

She steps closer, making my pulse skip a beat. Then she touches my forearm as if trying to solidify a connection between us. “The one thing I’m good at is helping people sort through their feelings. If you’d ever want a hand with that, I’m right here.”

Heat blooms through my arm. I ease back as gently as I can so I’m out of reach. “Thank you for the offer. This is the kind of thing I should work out on my own. ”

Peri is watching me even more intently now. She takes another step toward me with an experimental air.

The wall stops me from retreating any farther. She lifts her hand to trace her fingers along my jaw, and a zing of desire shoots to my groin.

I’m about to yank myself away even knowing it’ll confuse her more when she pulls back instead. Her eyes widen.

Her voice comes out even softer. “Why does it bother you that you like being close to me? I wouldn’t expect anything from you or?—”

Shit. The cat’s out of the bag now.

I interrupt before she can spiral into anxiety. “Like I said, it isn’t your fault, Peri. It’s just not… appropriate, when I’m your teacher and evaluating your performance on the mission. We can’t control our feelings, but we control how we act on them. And I can’t act on those feelings at all.”

I’m afraid she might not understand the subtleties of those dynamics, but a ruddy orange sheen ripples over her hair as a blush crosses her cheeks. “Oh. Oh, I didn’t even think about— I wasn’t trying to be pushy.”

“I know.” I manage a small smile that’s genuine enough. “It’s all right. I’m just being careful to make sure I don’t do anything that wouldn’t be fair. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll leave you to the map.”

I duck out of the room without looking back, hoping my explanation will satisfy her… and regretting how much I’ve inadvertently revealed.