Page 34 of Shifter and the Succubus (The Pack #1)

Jason set his fork down and sighed. “That was some of the best French toast I’ve ever had.”

Bea smiled at him before offering him more food, which he declined.

Griffin sipped his coffee. “What do you think of our new guests?”

Jason looked over his shoulder to make sure no one else was around. “Are they staying in the house?”

Bea shook her head. “They wanted to be in their own space, so I offered one of the bungalows we have on the property.”

“Bungalows?”

“Yes. Down the path behind the hospital, we have a row of small houses that members of our pack can use if needed. Alexander and Lucas are staying in the last house.”

Jason nodded. “Thank you for letting them come here. I appreciate it.”

Griffin looked at him for a long moment. “But?”

“But I don’t know if we should trust them.”

Griffin exchanged a glance with his sister before replying. “I never said I trusted them. But if they’re close by, we can keep an eye on them. What do you think of them, Bea?”

She took a sip of coffee before responding. “Alexander is a shameless flirt. But I think he’s much more than his winks and propositions.”

Griffin scowled. “What?”

Bea rolled her eyes. “Don’t get all worked up. He’s flirting with everyone, not just me.”

“And Lucas?” Jason asked.

She thought for a moment before responding. “Lucas is dismissive and closed off. It could be due to the very large stick stuffed up his rear.”

Griffin choked on his coffee.

Bea patted him on his back. “I can’t believe he’s Sabrina’s brother. I imagine there is some history that explains things.”

Yes, but Jason wasn’t going to tell Sabrina’s story. He was honored that she’d been comfortable enough to tell him about her past. A past that she was conditioned to keep a secret.

When he didn’t respond, Bea continued. “I hope he can find something to help with your animal.”

The front doorbell chimed. “Millie will get that,” Bea said.

A few minutes later Misha and Kyle walked into the room.

Jason shook his head. “Did you smell the French toast all the way from your house?”

Misha’s eyes lit up. “No. But it looks amazing. Do I smell cinnamon?”

Kyle sighed. “Focus, Mish!”

“Sorry. We came to tell you that we found him,” Misha said as he took the plate that Bea handed him.

The stakeout of the smugglers had finally paid off. “You got Dean Baxter?”

Misha poured syrup on his toast. “No. The adoption attorney, Rowling. Although he doesn’t go by that name any longer.”

Jason’s heart sped up. “How?”

“The picture. I was able to find him through facial recognition. At first I couldn’t locate him and then I did an age progression and found a hit. He goes by Brian Fulton now, but it has to be him.”

Jason tapped his fingers on the table. “Which means he’s human. Where is he?”

“Small town in Michigan. South of Detroit. About a two-hour drive from here.” Misha took a bite of the French toast and groaned.

Kyle rubbed her hands together. “Road trip. We can see if Talia or Jean Luc want to tag along.”

Misha nodded. “I’ll stay here and work on the case. Is there almond extract in this, Bea?”

“Possibly,” Bea said with a grin.

Griffin leaned forward. “I hope you get the answers you’re looking for, Jason. And I would like to understand what happened to your family that made them hide you away.”

Jason wanted to understand too. “I think we should give Sabrina a heads-up on what we’re doing.”

“Of course you do,” Misha said in a singsong voice.

“Sabrina’s car is parked at the hospital,” Kyle said. “She’s probably dealing with jerk face.”

“He’s her brother,” Jason reminded her.

“Doesn’t make him less of a jerk face.”

“Bea. Is there vanilla in this too?” Misha asked.

“She doesn’t want to reveal her recipe, Mish!” Kyle admonished.

Give him strength. He loved his team, and more than likely they were putting on a bit of show to distract him, but they needed a referee at times.

That was one of the reasons why he had been attracted to Sabrina—she was a calm to his storm.

Reason to his self-doubt. She understood him.

And he was so grateful that she was willing to give their relationship a chance.

They had to figure out his animal, and then they could be together. Finally.

Sabrina made her way into the large room that only yesterday had been full of wood crates and now looked like a state-of-the-art lab.

Lucas sat at a table reading something on a tablet.

She walked over to him and waited for him to finish whatever he was reviewing.

Interrupting him would only start their conversation off on the wrong foot.

After another minute he set down his tablet and looked up at her. “Sabrina.”

“Lucas. You wanted to see me?”

He nodded. “Yes. I’ve got some preliminary findings I wanted to talk to you about. I reviewed the original test results you sent as well as the tests I ran on the blood you gave me a few days ago.

“As you know, chromosome pair 24 has a mutation. It could be due to him being part human, or it could be something that he inherited from his shifter mother. Without her genetic material or medical history, I can’t make a definitive conclusion on that.

” He picked up his tablet again. “You had notes you sent me about his failed transitions, but I want to hear about it in your own words.”

She nodded.

“How many times has it occurred.”

“Three times.”

He picked up a stylus and started writing on his tablet. “Tell me the timing of the blood samples versus his transitions.”

“The first blood work I took was after his injury when he healed quickly. I ran the DNA testing from that and discovered the anomaly. He hadn’t transitioned at that point.

The second set of tests I ran was after he transitioned for the second time.

The blood work I sent you the other day was after he transitioned for the third time. ”

Lucas frowned. “Describe to me what happens to him.”

“His eyes glow, which is normal when a shifter transitions, and his mannerisms change. Like he’s an animal who is confused and cornered. He doesn’t respond to Griffin’s alpha commands. He seems to somewhat understand words, but he doesn’t always respond to them.”

“And how do you handle him if he doesn’t listen?”

“Sedation.”

“If the issue was only what you described, it is problematic, but worst-case it would be manageable.”

“You said ‘if’?”

“It’s more serious than that.”

Sabrina’s nerves jangled. “I noticed that the second set of blood work had changed. His white cell count is off.”

“It appears as if his body is attacking itself. Or more precisely, his human side is fighting against his shifter DNA. In the past his additional chromosome pairs were taking the back seat to his human characteristics except for some minor things like his sense of smell.

“I think him receiving shifter blood was the catalyst. I tested the blood samples that Griffin and Bea gave me and didn’t see anything abnormal.

But Griffin’s very powerful blood flooded Jason’s system, and while it wouldn’t have necessarily done anything to his chromosomes, it somehow got them to start impacting his shifter traits. ”

“What did the newest set of blood work show?”

Lucas frowned. “That it’s getting worse.”

Sabrina tried to keep her expression neutral even as her heart rattled in her chest. “Do you have any suggestions for treatment?”

“In an ideal world, some sort of gene therapy. But that course of action is a long game.”

And even though he didn’t say it, she knew Lucas wasn’t sure they had time to do that if things progressed. “Do you think his blood counts might stabilize if he stops turning?”

“It’s too soon to raise that hypothesis. While it initially looks like his partial shifts could be playing a part in this, it could also be a natural progression after the blood transfusion. We need to do more tests.”

Jason was going to love that. Before she could respond, her phone chimed and she read the text that popped up. “Testing is going to have to wait. We have a possible lead on Jason’s family. He’s heading to Michigan to talk to them.”

“You should go too.”

Sabrina looked at him for a moment. Why was he suggesting that? Was he testing how she would respond? Was he trying to figure out her relationship with Jason? “Why?”

“Because you know what questions to ask and you can get some samples if you do run into biological relatives. Get me some blood.”

“You sound like a vampire,” she quipped before stopping herself. They had always teased each other in the past.

The sides of his mouth turned up slightly and then he seemed to catch himself. “Hopefully we can get some more information to help your friend.”

She took a breath. “Why did you agree to help, Lucas?”

He stared past her for a moment, and she thought he planned to ignore the question until he finally spoke. “You agreed to do anything I ask.”

“I won’t hurt anyone.”

He scowled. “You’ve made that point clear already.”

She might as well find out what he wanted. Yank the dressing off the wound. “What do you want me to do? You can’t tell me you don’t already know.”

He gave her a long look. “You will come back to the clan. To work with me to find the cure.” His eyes narrowed. “And so that we are clear. There are no half-measures. You will give all your skill and attention to our clan’s health, and you will live with the clan.”

Her lungs felt like they were full of water, and she couldn’t draw a breath.

“I understand,” she choked out. Did she?

On the one hand she was shocked he wanted her anywhere near him and the clan again.

But on the other hand, his sole reason for breathing was to eliminate the Fade and save those who were left.

She didn’t blame him for his request. And she ached to see her clan again. But she had finally taken the step toward Jason and letting herself feel—letting herself love.

Sabrina knew she would have to sacrifice something to save Jason; she just hadn’t realized it would be the heart that had just started beating for the first time.