Page 23 of Shifter and the Succubus (The Pack #1)

Jason turned when he heard his mother come back into the room. His father grabbed his arm to hold him on the couch as his mother pointed a gun at Sabrina. “What are you?”

Jason wrenched himself free and stood as a buzz filled his brain. “What the hell are you doing, Mom?”

“Finding out the truth,” she said without taking her eyes off Sabrina. “You aren’t human. Are you a shifter?”

Holy shit. Jason’s stomach bottomed out at her question. They knew about supernaturals. Did they know he was part shifter? And how did his mom know Sabrina wasn’t human?

Sabrina sat calmly on the couch. Or maybe just sat still since a gun was trained on her. If she put up an energy shield, could it stop a bullet?

“I’m not a shifter.”

Lidia nodded. “Didn’t think so, but your energy is off the charts so I’m not putting this gun down until I understand why you’re here with my son just when he’s asking about his adoption.”

How could his mother be reading anyone’s energy right now? Jason took a step toward her and sucked in a shaky breath. “Mom, Sabrina’s not the enemy here. She’s here to help me.” Was his voice deeper?

She still wouldn’t look at him, keeping her eyes trained on Sabrina. “Please don’t make me ask again.”

“I’m a demon,” Sabrina said quietly.

He had to hand it to his mother; she didn’t flinch at the news. “And why would a demon be helping my son?”

“You know he’s a shifter, correct?”

His mother nodded as the buzzing increased in his brain.

“I ran some tests on Jason, and we discovered he has some shifter DNA. He’s been having some trouble shifting, and we thought it might help to learn more about his biological parents.”

“Is that true, Jason?” His mom looked over at him and gasped. “Your eyes!”

He knew what that meant. “Sedate me, Sabrina.”

Sabrina shook her head. “Not yet. You’re still cognizant of what’s going on.” She looked back at his mother. “Can you put the gun down? It’s scaring Jason’s animal.”

His mom looked at Jason and then his father.

“I am not going to hurt your family,” Sabrina said.

“Yeah, Mom. She’s here to help. Put the gun down.” Yeah, his voice was definitely deeper.

His mom lowered the gun.

Sabrina stood and held up her hands in front of her. They were trembling slightly, so she wasn’t as calm as he’d thought. “Jason, everything is okay now. There is nothing to worry about. Take some deep breaths.”

Jason closed his eyes and took some breaths as the buzzing slowly went away. When he opened his eyes again, everyone relaxed.

His father took the gun from his mom and walked out of the room, returning with a bottle of scotch and four glasses, which he set on the coffee table.

“What’s wrong with Jason?” his dad asked.

“His animal is only partly transitioning. When it does, it takes over his consciousness. We’re trying to train it so that the shift happens correctly. Until then, we have to be careful when it tries to take over.”

His mother shook her head. “How can he be turning now? He didn’t transition when he was twelve.”

Jason kept deep breathing so that the buzzing didn’t come back. What were his parents so scared of that they would pull a gun on Sabrina? And how had his mom known that she wasn’t human? “Are you shifters?”

“No,” his mom said, her eyes softening.

His dad took his mom’s hand and led her back to the couch and helped her sit. Jason sat next to Sabrina, who once again had shifted back into zen mode, but she was normally the epitome of calm in a crisis.

“Tell me about my childhood and how you know about supernaturals.”

His dad reached for the bottle and poured the liquor into glasses, handing one to his mother, who took a sip and then another. He gestured to the other glasses, and Jason shook his head.

She set the glass down carefully. “I’m going to need to start from the beginning, Jason, so that you have some context. Let me get through the story and then we’ll answer your questions, okay?”

Jason nodded at his mom. Better if she did the talking right now since he was more than a little shaky. Sabrina reached over and rested her hand on his arm.

His mom looked at Sabrina’s hand before raising her gaze to Jason.

“When I was in first grade, a woman and her daughter, Jessica, moved to town. We became best friends. We did everything together. We would stay outside for hours running through the fields and playing make-believe. There was something special about Jessica. I always felt energy like static electricity whenever she was near. I thought it just meant that we were close friends, but her mom felt that way too.”

How was that possible? But he promised not to interrupt.

“Our birthdays were both in July, and we would celebrate them together. We were birthday buddies. Except for the year we turned twelve. Jessica’s mom took her away on a trip that year.

I was so upset that we didn’t get to celebrate together.

When they returned from their trip, something was different about her.

We were still friends, but there were times when she would go off on her own.

And the static I felt from her had strengthened.

The summer we turned sixteen, I followed her one day and saw her running through a field.

She stopped at the end of it and looked around.

I was standing near a tree, and she must have missed me because she pulled her sundress off and changed before my eyes into a mountain lion.

“I had never been so scared in my life. I screamed, and it turned and looked at me. I ran in the other direction and slipped, twisting my ankle. I sat on the ground crying, and a few minutes later Jessica found me. She sat next to me. I’ll never forget the look on her face and the sunflower sundress she wore.

She made me promise that I wouldn’t tell anyone what I saw.

People wouldn’t understand, and they might hurt her and her mom.

I gave her my word. I loved her. I didn’t want anyone to hurt her.

“A few days later they left town, and no one knew where they’d gone. I knew it was my fault. Jessica must have told her mom what happened and they left before I told their secret. I was devastated. She disappeared just like that.”

His dad wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side.

“I didn’t hear anything from her until ten years later.

I had married your father by then and was out in the back field helping him look for a stray calf.

I saw a mountain lion on the hill watching me.

I stood staring back at that animal, and I wasn’t scared.

Silly, I know, but I wanted that cougar to be Jessica.

Hoped it was her since cougars are rare in Wisconsin.

After a few minutes it limped toward me, and I could tell that it was hurt.

And still I stood there. I knew an injured cougar was even more dangerous, but I couldn’t get myself to leave.

“It walked up to me and turned into Jessica in front of my eyes. I took her back to the house and helped her heal. She refused to go to the hospital even though she was pregnant.” His mom blinked back tears.

Jason took a breath to stop himself from jumping up to pace. He needed to hear this and not lose control right now.

“She stayed on our farm while she recuperated. And she told me what shifters were and about other supernaturals. She wouldn’t tell me about your father, only that he was human and there were people who, if they ever found out you were alive, would come for you and hurt you.

Jessica left you with us, promising that she would come back for you.

But she made me swear that if something happened to her, I would never tell you the truth unless you shifted on the eve of your twelfth birthday.

I held my breath for months before your twelfth birthday and through that entire year, praying that your animal would never emerge.

Because if you were human, no one would track you down and try to hurt you. ”

Jason swallowed. “What happened to Jessica?”

“A week after your second birthday, we received notice from an attorney that Jessica had died, and he arranged for us to legally adopt you. He also told me that if you shifted, to reach out to him.”

Sabrina squeezed his hand, and he realized their fingers were now intertwined.

“She loved you so much, Jason. There is no way she wouldn’t have come back for you if she could.

She left because she said there were others she needed to help, others like her.

We weren’t supposed to trust anyone. And when she died, we took her warnings to heart.

I used my ability to watch for anyone who might feel like Jessica and her mom did.

I’ve met one or two people over the years who felt different, but they didn’t prove to be a threat to you.

“And you show up today with a woman who pulses with energy, and I’m panicking inside trying to figure out why. And then you start asking about your adoption.”

“And you thought I was here to hurt him,” Sabrina said.

“We would do anything to keep you safe, Jason.” She looked at his dad before continuing. “We’re sorry we lied to you.”

His ears filled with the whoosh, whoosh sound of his thumping heart.

“I’m sorry you carried that on your shoulders all these years.

I understand what it’s like to find out the world isn’t what you think it is.

I struggled with it when I realized that supernaturals exist.” He swallowed back his own guilt.

“Do you still have the contact information for the lawyer who helped you with the adoption paperwork?” He held his breath, waiting for an answer.

His mom nodded. “I do, but I don’t think he’s in business any longer. I tried to reach out to him several times after you turned twelve and got no response back from him.”

“I’d still like the information. We can track his whereabouts.”

She tensed. “What if someone comes after you?”

“Then we’ll deal with it,” Jason said with confidence to try and alleviate his mom’s fears.

His father leaned forward. “Your detective agency job is more complicated than you let on, isn’t it?”

He looked at Sabrina, who nodded. “Yes. I work with a team of supernaturals. We solve cases and hide the existence of supernaturals from humans.”

“So you know other shifters?” his mom asked.

He nodded. “Yes. They’re helping me learn what it means to be pack.”

His mom blinked back tears. “I was so scared someone was going to hurt you. When you didn’t shift, I didn’t think you needed to know the truth. That was wrong of me.”

“You weren’t the only one who made the decision, Lidia,” his dad said.

“You did what you thought was best. What Jessica told you to do. You were protecting me, and you taught me to do anything for the people we love.”

Jason understood that more than ever before as his fingers wrapped just a bit tighter around Sabrina’s.