Page 36 of Shifter and the Succubus (The Pack #1)

How in the course of a day could everything change and yet remain the same?

Jason didn’t have time to get lost in his thoughts.

Not while being the center of attention.

They had returned from Michigan, and now Jason sat in Griffin’s office with Bea, Misha, Kyle, and Jean Luc.

Griffin was there as well, but he hadn’t been able to remain seated while Jason talked about his conversation with Fulton.

The more Jason relayed, the more agitated Griffin grew, pacing jerkily as energy pulsed from him, causing Jason to flinch at the power of it.

Griffin came to an abrupt stop. “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”

“I don’t know why he would lie. And I didn’t sense that he was being deceitful.”

“It’s horrible,” Bea choked out.

“That’s a fucking understatement. It shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have let it happen,” Griffin growled.

Kyle shook her head. “Griffin, this is not your fau—”

“Don’t finish that. It is my fault. Every shifter is my responsibility.

I swore I would take care of the packs after what my father and brother did to our people.

Instead, a secret network was created to save the very pack members I am responsible for!

How could I not have known about the rogue pack?

What they were doing to their own members? ”

“Because their members were bullied and oppressed and couldn’t ask for help,” Misha said.

“What about the people who were helping them escape? They risked their own lives because they didn’t trust that I would support them.” Griffin turned to Jason. “Your own mother died trying to save them. I am responsible for that,” he said, pounding a fist to his chest.

Bea stood up. “Seamus! Stop it! You aren’t God.”

“She is right,” Jean Luc said. “The BSR was in the dark as well. Our purpose is to help supernaturals and they were too scared to ask for our help. You cannot bear all the responsibility.”

Griffin let out a rough laugh. “No, but I bear the brunt of it. And I don’t know how I can make amends.” He wrenched open the door and left.

Kyle stood and Bea walked over and rested her hand on her arm. “Leave him alone for now. He needs time.”

Kyle frowned. “He always takes the blame.”

A roar rattled the windows.

Bea blinked back tears. “His animal will help calm him, and then we can figure out how to never let this happen again.”

“How are you holding up with all this?” Misha asked Jason.

Jason swallowed. “It’s a lot to process.

” He’d had the drive back home to think it through.

Jean Luc had taken one look at his face when he returned to the van and had announced that Jason didn’t have to tell them what happened until he felt ready.

Even Kyle didn’t fight him. So Jason replayed Fulton’s words over and over again in his head on the ride home.

“Maybe Fulton’s contact will be willing to speak with you,” Kyle said.

“If he actually tries to contact them, and if they haven’t gone underground.”

“I can tap his electronics,” Misha volunteered.

Jason shook his head. “No. I don’t want him treated like a criminal.”

“Where did Sabrina go?” Bea asked.

“She’s over at the hospital letting Lucas know we didn’t get any blood samples.”

Kyle scowled. “I still don’t trust him.”

“We don’t either,” Bea said.

“You have a look in your eye, Bea.” Kyle leaned forward. “You did something.”

“Griffin and I felt that keeping Lucas and Alexander close by would be advantageous so that we could find out more about them.”

“You planted bugs?” Misha asked.

“No, we were worried they would find them. When I showed Alexander and Lucas the bungalow, I mentioned that the previous resident had passed away and his beloved cat had gone missing. I asked them to keep an eye out for him.”

“You sent in Matthew!” Kyle exclaimed.

“Did someone call my name?” Matthew said as he walked into the office.

Kyle stood and pulled him in for a hug. “Tell us what happened. Did you get in the house?”

“Of course. Took less than an hour. No one can deny my cute kitty cat.”

“Ego much?” Misha said.

Jason shook his head. Misha had some convoluted history with Matthew that had evolved into a love/hate relationship.

Kyle chuckled. “You never cease to impress me. How did you get them to take you in?”

“So I might have rolled around in some dirt and limped a little bit when he saw me.”

“You’re good,” Kyle said.

“More like a little con artist,” Misha grumbled.

“Did Alexander take pity on you?” Jean Luc said.

“Nope. It was Lucas.”

Kyle gaped at him. “You’re sure? Lucas is the blond.”

“I can tell them apart. It was him. He talked to me like I was human, and I panicked thinking he knew I was a shifter, but then I realized he didn’t talk to my cat like most people do.

You know. That sing-song voice that humans use with their animals.

No wonder cats don’t listen to people. They sound ridiculous most of the time. ”

“Matthew, focus. What happened?” Kyle said.

“He started talking about me being dirty, and I was afraid I had overplayed my hand…or paw, and he wasn’t going to take me in.

But he did. He checked my leg and declared that it wasn’t broken.

And then he gave my cat a bath. I only scratched him once.

Okay, twice . But I had to play my part.

I mean, how many cats like a bath? Especially from some dude they just met? ”

Could he not get to the point already? “So what did you find out?” Jason asked.

“Lucas is super focused. He’s constantly working on his tablet mumbling to himself about chromosomes and genes and a whole bunch of other things I don’t understand. He stayed up most of the night going over test results.”

“What about Alexander?” Jason pushed.

“He didn’t come home until late. He’d been somewhere swapping energy if you get my drift.”

“We do,” Bea said. “Did they talk about anything interesting?”

“Alexander asked how things were going with Sabrina. Then he asked Lucas if he had told Sabrina what favor she would owe him in exchange for Lucas coming here to help Jason.”

Jason’s stomach twisted. What the hell? “What did he say?”

“Said he was still thinking about it, but he lied. Even my animal could smell he wasn’t telling the truth.”

“Do you think he’s already said something to Sabrina?” Misha asked.

Jason thought about the way she’d been acting during the trip to Michigan. “Yes. She knows something.”

Kyle nodded. “I agree. She’s been acting off.”

Jason shot to his feet. “Well, I’m not letting her do anything for that asshat. Especially not for me. I’ll go to the hospital and ask him what he wants.”

Bea held up her hand. “You can’t do that. If you go over there demanding answers about things you shouldn’t know about, Lucas will figure out about Matthew. We want to be able to send him back in again undercover if needed.”

“Yeah. I’d like to not be fried to death by a Succubus, thank you very much.”

“Lucas is technically an Incubus,” Misha said.

“Does that matter? I would be dead regardless,” Matthew said.

“Gentlemen, please stay on topic,” Jean Luc said. “Jason, I think it would be best for you to speak to Sabrina when you can get her alone.”

He nodded. “I’ll go see if I can get her away from him.” He didn’t want to wait. Whatever favor Lucas wanted wasn’t worth it. Jason would not be used as a bargaining chip. He would not let Sabrina do anything for the clan who abandoned her. For the brother who cut her out. “I’ll be back shortly.”

He made his way to the hospital and went inside and down the hall to the lab area Lucas had set up. When he walked into the room, Lucas and Sabrina turned to him.

“I understand your trip was unsuccessful,” Lucas said.

Not exactly the word Jason would have used, but leave it to Mr. Heartless to cut to the chase.

“I found that my mother died trying to save others who were in danger.” He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to respond to Lucas, but everything was too raw, too new.

Lucas expression remained blank. “I would like to conduct a full examination on you.”

Sabrina shook her head. “It’s been a long day, Lucas. We can have Jason come back tomorrow.”

“I would think we would want to move this along, correct?”

Maybe spending time with Lucas would give him a better idea of his agenda, especially if Sabrina refused to tell him what she agreed to. “We can do it now.”

Sabrina frowned. “Are you sure?”

He nodded and Lucas directed him to the examine room.

He sat down on the table and Lucas asked him to take off his shirt.

Lucas drew a couple vials of blood and then pushed an EKG machine over and began attaching electrodes to his chest, arms, and sides.

Then he pushed another machine over and attached more electrodes to his forehead.

Sabrina’s frown turned into a scowl as Lucas started the machines. “Is this all necessary tonight?”

“I need more data if I hope to come up with a solution. If I didn’t know any better, Sabrina. I would think you are trying to drag this out on purpose. Are you trying to postpone your deal?”

Well didn’t that just give him an opening Jason could drive a truck through. “What does he mean? What deal have you made?”

Sabrina took a step closer. “It’s not anything you need to worry about.”

Like hell it wasn’t. “If that’s the case, then it shouldn’t be a big deal to tell me.”

“Jason—”

He was done with her coddling him. “Tell me!”

“If Lucas came here to help, I agreed I would owe him a favor.”

He looked at the smug asshole before turning back to her. “And what did he ask you to do?”

She hesitated. “To move back to the clan.”

The clan in hiding. Away from him. “For how long?”

She didn’t answer and his chest tightened the longer she didn’t speak. His brain went fuzzy as buzzing filled his ears. He glared at Lucas. “You can leave now. She is not agreeing to this. Not for me.”

Sabrina took another step closer. “Jason. Please calm down. We can talk about this.”

“No!” he shouted as a rumble grew in his chest and erupted in a growl.