Page 24 of Shifter and the Succubus (The Pack #1)

Jason was bone-tired. They had arrived at the rental house a few minutes ago, and after they’d carried in their bags and walked the house to scope out the rooms, Jason dropped down on the couch in the living room.

Probably a mistake, since he wasn’t sure he had enough energy to get back up again and head to bed.

Sabrina joined him in the living room and sat next to him. “How are you doing with all of this? It’s a lot.”

Jason chuckled. “You think? I didn’t know what they would say, but it wasn’t that my parents knew I was a shifter.”

“Are you angry with them?”

He thought for a moment and shook his head. “No.”

Sabrina’s eyebrows rose.

He sighed. “Honestly. They found out about supernaturals and spent their lives loving me and protecting me as their own even when I might turn into an animal. With what they knew, I would have done the same thing. Hell, when I found out about supes, I tried to wipe you all from the face of the earth. I can give them a pass.” He looked at her.

“Are you angry with them? Having a shotgun pointed at you isn’t what I expected to happen either. ”

She shrugged. “I’m fine. They were protecting you. They love you so much.”

He blinked, emotion coating his throat. “And I love them. I need to spend some time with them tomorrow for a while before we leave.”

“Of course. You have to show them that you love them.”

Jason rubbed his temples. “Why do you think my mother can sense supernaturals?”

“If I had to guess, I would say she has a demon or shifter ancestor. We see different minor powers crop up in humans from time to time.”

That made sense. If anything really made sense at a time like this.

“Your mom…both your moms wanted to keep you safe.”

Jason nodded. “I wanted to ask Mom more about Jessica, but with everything that we talked about today, I thought it was too much.”

“Lidia is a strong woman. She knows you love her, and I’m sure she would be willing to share stories about Jessica with you. It can help you both heal. Your parents have carried a lot of worry and guilt for what happened.”

“Because of me.”

“Bullshit.”

He blinked at her.

She narrowed her eyes. “You are not the cause of what happened, Jason. You were an innocent child lucky enough to have people who loved him and would do anything for him.”

“You’re right. That sounded whiny. Thanks for calling me out on it. I’m tired.”

The fire in her eyes softened. “I know. At least I didn’t have to sedate you earlier when your eyes turned.”

Yet another concern to add to the mix. “What do you think is triggering it?”

“I would say stress. It could be fight-or-flight kicking in that starts the transition. Maybe you stopped because you’re starting to get more of a handle on things.”

“Or maybe I knew my mom was bluffing.”

Sabrina shook her head. “Lidia wasn’t bluffing. If I had been a threat, I don’t doubt she would have done anything to protect you.”

“Well, damn.”

“That’s a mother’s love. Unless you’re going to tell me she’s not a good shot?”

“Oh no. She’s a better shot than my dad. We have coyotes and other animals that mess with the herd, especially the calves. She taught me how to shoot before I went into the military.”

“Well, there you go. Once your mom gives us the information she has on the attorney, Misha can start digging into it for us. If we can trace your biological family, we can get more information to help you.”

“Except Jessica is dead.”

“But we don’t know what happened to her family. We can ask your mother about that tomorrow as well.”

He should have thought of that himself, but his brain and nerves had been on overload. “And my father. What happened to him?”

“Maybe the attorney knows who he is.”

This was the Sabrina he loved—take-charge, confident.

He swallowed. “You being here today meant a lot to me.”

Her eyes flared. “I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.”

“I know you probably have questions about things… About the awkward conversation about Craig.”

Sabrina shook her head. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

Except he did want to. His emotions were frayed already so he might as well go for broke.

“Craig was my best friend. We grew up together.” Like his mom and Jessica.

His throat tightened. “Craig’s family was a mess growing up.

He spent more time at our farm than he did with his own family.

When we were younger we talked about working together to run the dairy farm.

Or looking back at it, maybe Craig talked about it and I didn’t disagree.

But as the years went by, I grew restless and knew that I didn’t want to stay on the farm.

I wanted to see the world. When I announced I’d joined the military, Craig was furious. ”

He stopped for a moment, and Sabrina sat quietly, waiting for him to continue.

“We had a huge blowup. Said things we couldn’t take back. Craig told me how lucky I was to have my family. To have a family business. And I was cocky and dismissive. When I left home, I lost my best friend.”

“Have you tried to talk to him?”

Jason shook his head. “I came home from boot camp and tried to talk to him, but he didn’t want anything to do with me.

Both of his parents are gone now, and Craig struggled with alcohol.

According to Mom, he’s been sober for years.

I just couldn’t get over the fact that maybe I could have helped him if I had stayed home like we talked about. ”

“I know what guilt can do to you. How it digs its fangs in and refuses to let you accept that not everything is under your control. I wish I could make it better for you.”

“Thank you.” He raised his hand to her face and ran his fingers along her cheek, her scent strengthening. “For everything.”

She leaned into his hand ever so slightly, and her eyes flared again. “I will always be here for you.”

She wrapped her arms around him, and he settled her against his chest, absorbing her warmth. They didn’t speak, just nestled together, taking comfort from each other. He had never held her in his arms like this before. It felt like two puzzle pieces snapping into place.

The irony was not lost on him that her just being here with him did make it better.