Page 17 of Shifter and the Succubus (The Pack #1)

Jason paced up one side of Griffin’s office and down the other.

He’d told Sabrina he would give her time, but he was already getting antsy.

He’d always been this way. Needing to be in the thick of things, be part of the solution.

Which is why he joined the military. And his drive got him into Special Forces.

That opened his eyes. Changed his wide-eyed, black-and-white, innocent view of the world and turned it into a lens of murky gray.

Jason learned things—hard things—to keep his team and country safe.

And he was good at his job. The Army wanted him to be a lifer, but after ten years of being in and out of war zones, he couldn’t re-up.

He finished the last couple months of his military time in random assignments, which was how he ended up guarding the dig site where he had his first up-close-and-personal with a demon and a vamp.

His murky gray view became tinged with red.

And now he had found a new team. One who had taken him in even when he had tried to destroy them. And somehow he’d found the ability to open himself up again. He vowed he would protect them, which was how he ended up gut shot in an alley.

Being on the BSR team made him feel whole again, but now he wondered if he had ever really been whole to begin with? He was part animal. An animal that he couldn’t control. What if his animal hurt his team, hurt Sabrina? After hurting them before, he wouldn’t survive if it happened again.

As if his thoughts took form, the office door opened and his BSR teammates, Misha, Kyle, Dalton, Jean Luc, and Sabrina walked in along with Griffin and Bea. They settled in the seating area for their meeting.

Jason was surprised to see Jean Luc. “Jean Luc. I hope you didn’t cut your Vegas trip short for this. You’re not missing Will’s wedding, are you?”

“No, Jason. There was a bit of excitement in Vegas. The wedding was called off. Talia decided to stay for a few days to spend time with Will, and I flew back to help with the case.”

“What happened?” Kyle asked.

“She left him at the altar,” Misha whispered loudly. Jason wasn’t sure why he was whispering. “I was also invited to the wedding but declined because of Callie and the baby. I feel awful for him.”

“Except you wish you had been there,” Kyle said.

“No! Well…yes. But I feel guilty for saying that. Being left at the altar only ever happens in movies or TV shows.” He turned to Jason. “How many weddings were cancelled on Dynasty or Dallas? Do you remember that fight where they ended up in the water fountain?”

Jason tried not to laugh. He wasn’t ashamed to say he watched TV shows from before he was born. That had been something he’d found in common with his demon teammate.

“Mish! We don’t have time to talk about Jason’s and your addiction to ’80s TV shows. Focus,” Kyle grumbled.

“Okay. You’re right. Let’s get down to business.” Misha flipped open his laptop. “I ran the partial prints we found on the box truck. Most were prints of previous drivers who’d rented the van.”

“Do I want to know how you have a list of previous drivers?” Dalton asked.

“Are you asking as Joe Dalton or FBI Agent Joe Dalton?” Misha asked with a grin.

Dalton shook his head. “Never mind.”

Misha continued. “So one of the fingerprints came back as a supe. Demon for hire by the name of Dean Baxter.” Misha turned his laptop so that everyone could see the picture of the guy.

“He’s got an interesting record, mostly as muscle for various bad guys.

Not sure how he fits into this smuggling ring. ”

“Do we have an address for him?” Jason asked.

“It’s fake,” Misha answered. “I’m running some searches in our database to see if Baxter has associates he normally works with. That might clue us in to who else is involved.”

“What about that blurry picture of the guy from the alley? Have you been able to track anything down on him?” Kyle asked.

Misha frowned. “It’s like he’s a ghost. I can’t find him in any database, supe or human.”

“What have you learned about the liquid?” Jean Luc asked Sabrina.

“I’m still trying to figure out what it is exactly, but I can tell you that it’s not the drug used on Griffin a couple years ago. That drug causes a shifter’s pheromones to trigger the shift and block conscious thoughts while in animal form.”

“Which would make any shifter vulnerable,” Kyle said, glancing at Griffin.

Sabrina nodded. “Right. Shifters under the drug’s influence would be no match against shifters who had control over their consciousness.”

“I’m glad to hear it isn’t the same drug,” Griffin said. “So we don’t know if this new stuff is dangerous?”

“Not yet,” Sabrina said. “And if it is, who is it going to be used against—shifters, demons, vampires?”

“Or humans,” Bea said.

“If we can find out what it does, that might help us figure out what these guys are up to,” Misha chimed in.

Griffin leaned forward and addressed Sabrina. “Do you need more resources?”

Sabrina shook her head. “Not yet. I’m going to run some more tests, and then I’ll let you know.”

Jason felt like jumping out of his own skin. “So what are the next steps?”

“We’re going to see about tracking down Baxter,” Misha said.

“Maybe we should talk to Doyle,” Kyle volunteered. “He may still have some old contacts who might know something.”

Doyle used to be a con-demon until he changed his ways and went legit. He helped with demon immigration now, setting up demons in transition housing once they came to earth.

At least they were doing something. Except him. He faced Sabrina. “I need to help. I can’t just sit around doing nothing. You said you might have an idea on how to get me back out into the field.”

“We do.” Sabrina opened the bag at her feet and pulled out a box, which she opened. She held up a small, thin plastic square with adhesive attached.

“Is that an insulin pump?” Jason asked.

“Yes, but Misha helped me modify it. Instead of insulin, it contains a sedative. If for some reason your animal tries to show up at an inopportune time, it can sedate you.”

“How does it work?”

Misha spoke up. “There is a trigger switch. Whoever is with you can carry it in case your animal takes over and you lose consciousness again.”

“I still think it makes sense for you to stay here at night for the time being,” Griffin said. “Until you can master the ability to shift.”

If he could, more like, but Jason wasn’t going to say that out loud. “Agreed. So let’s hook it up so I can help with this investigation.”

“We can put it several places, but I’m thinking either the back of your upper arm or your side above your waistband.”

“Arm is fine.” He pulled his shirt over his head, and Sabrina attached it to his arm.

“Done.”

Jason dressed again and turned to his teammates. “So who won?”

“Won what?” Misha asked.

“Who gets to carry the trigger switch today?”

“Jean Luc,” Misha and Kyle said simultaneously with matching sulky faces.

“It makes sense that it is me since I have the fastest reflexes. My vampire speed makes me the logical choice.”

“That and you cheat at rock, paper, scissors,” Misha mumbled.

Jean Luc’s eyebrows rose slightly. “How does one cheat at that game?”

“How does one always win at that game?” Kyle asked with a touch of snark.

“I understand how my teammates think.” Jean Luc smiled, showing a touch of fang.

Jason looked at Griffin and Bea who were both smirking at the conversation. He then looked at Sabrina and his breath caught. What was it about her eyes that made him weak in the knees? Dancing, sparking, concentrating, it didn’t matter what they expressed, he was a sucker for them.

“If you all keep this up, Jason won’t be the only one wearing a sedative pump,” Sabrina announced.

She was a woman after his own heart. What would Jason do without his teammates—his friends? Without Sabrina? He hoped to never find out.