Page 43 of Shifter and the Succubus (The Pack #1)

Sabrina drank from her travel mug of coffee as Jason drove them back to Griffin’s house.

Lucas had reached out and wanted her to come to the hospital for some more tests first thing this morning.

She would need to speak to him about her plans to continue to work at the Shamat hospital.

She had already missed working over the past few days with everything that had been happening with Jason, and needed to have a sense of normalcy, especially now.

She looked over at the man next to her. He loved her and she finally admitted to loving him.

Something she had been so scared to say and yet it was the most important thing of all.

Especially now. And hadn’t he called her out on not pushing him away before she could even suggest it.

He knew her better than anyone. That was both comforting and scary at the same time.

He pulled though the large gates of Griffin’s estate and parked by the house.

“I’m supposed to meet Lucas at the lab.”

“You have time. Come in for a minute.”

They walked into the house, and Jason led her to Griffin’s office—to a full room.

Griffin, Bea, Jean Luc, Talia, Kyle, Dalton, Will, and Misha were there.

And Misha’s father, Boris, and grandmother, Irina, were also in attendance.

Lucas and Alexander were standing in the corner taking in the proceedings as well.

She looked at all the serious faces. “Why is everyone here?”

“They’re here for you.”

Her chest tightened. “What did you tell them?”

“That you need help. And they came running.”

Her vision blurred until she blinked away the tears.

Jason grabbed her hand and stood in front of their family and friends. “Thank you for coming. Sabrina needs your help. No. We need your help.”

Her heart melted for the dear, sweet man beside her.

She had wasted too much time pushing him away, thinking it was for his own good.

She’d been wrong. Over a thousand years on the earth and she still could learn a lot from the man standing beside her.

The man who nodded at her to speak, because he wouldn’t take away her autonomy.

“I have just found out that I have a disease that attacks our clan. We don’t know what triggers its appearance. Lucas and I have worked for centuries trying to find a cure, but we haven’t succeeded up to this point. It will slowly debilitate me, and it is fatal.”

Jason squeezed her hand, and she looked out at all her friends and found family. Shock, fear, and sadness rippled from them in waves and spikes of energy.

“We need a plan,” Jean Luc announced and others agreed.

Lucas narrowed his eyes. “I’m working on it as we speak. We have more to work with now than ever before regarding medical advancements.”

“That’s good. But you don’t have to do this alone,” Misha said.

Griffin chimed in. “Correct. You can have any medical resources the pack has, and we can work on getting anything else you may need.”

Boris nodded. “You of course have the Shamat hospital at your disposal. And I can speak for all the hospital staff and tell you they are also here to help.”

“And what about Lela?” Irina said. “We should have her come examine you.”

“Lela?” Lucas asked.

“She is a high-powered realm demon who can see energy signatures in people. She often is able to diagnose issues by observing someone,” Sabrina explained.

Lucas’s eyes widened. “If we can get her to come here, that would be invaluable.”

Alexander took a step forward. “I can help manage the resources and moving parts of what you think we will need.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Sabrina said as their energy enveloped her.

“You don’t have to say anything, Sabrina,” Kyle said as Dalton nodded before wrapping his arm around his mate’s shoulder. “You have saved the lives of most of the people in this room, myself included. You are family and we will do anything for you because we love you.”

They surrounded her and the hugging commenced. And she was truly blessed.

It had been ten days since the impromptu meeting at Griffin’s, and Sabrina had settled into a new normal.

Lucas was constantly poking and prodding her, but she had put her foot down and told him she would continue working at the Shamat hospital.

He simply shrugged and followed her there when additional tests were needed.

Lela had also become a part of her treatment plan. Lucas consulted her and had Lela read Sabrina’s energy almost daily, which worked since Lela lived a few streets away from the hospital.

Jason was a constant source of support. He knew not to crowd her at work, but he was with her the moment her workday ended.

He and Lucas had both recommended she keep a truncated schedule so she didn’t tax herself too much.

Recommended because if they had insisted, she would have fought them on it.

And her circumstances had Jason and Lucas forming an alliance.

Something she never thought would be possible.

Even Kyle had stopped calling him Dr. Know-it-All, or Dr. Stick-Up-His-Butt, which she thought Lucas appreciated.

She was worried about Lucas, that he was obsessed with finding a cure. If they weren’t able to, she didn’t know if he would recover from it. He had already tried a drug he’d been working on, and it hadn’t changed anything for her. But it was early days, as she kept telling him.

And then there was Jason. He had brought a duffel bag and moved in with her without much fanfare.

They talked about all sorts of things—really talked.

She told him bits and pieces about her childhood and the centuries she had experienced.

Of course he knew she’d been alive for a while, but he’d been more than a little surprised when she mentioned she was older than Irina.

And when she told him about her sword-wielding days, he’d hugged her tight and told her how in awe he was.

He brought her flowers every couple of days.

They were shades of lavender, purple, violet.

He told her he wanted to surround her with beauty in her favorite color.

She had a bouquet in her office at work and in almost every room of her house.

When she told him they were running out of rooms, he shrugged and said they might need a bigger house. Silly, sweet man.

She fell asleep every night in his arms. And she loved it.

She had never spent time in bed with someone that didn’t lead to sex.

Other than snuggles and brief kissing, he hadn’t asked for more.

She wasn’t sure if he was worried about trying anything sexual with her because of her illness.

It was true that one of the symptoms of the Fade was reduced sexual impulses, but she wanted to be with Jason.

And she would be sharing that tidbit with him very soon.

Sabrina walked out of her office and down the hall leading to front reception. The hospital doors swished open, and Irina walked in with her arm around a hunched-over Callie.

“No false labor this time. Her water just broke,” Irina announced.

Sabrina grabbed the wheelchair next to the entrance and had Callie sit as the receptionist called the nurses’ station to get a room ready for delivery. “How are you feeling?”

“Like this baby is overripe and needs to come out.”

Sabrina grinned. “Agreed. Does Misha know?”

Irina nodded. “I called Jean Luc. Hopefully he can control my grandson until he gets here.”

Sabrina doubted that, and Callie must have agreed because she giggled before letting out a small groan.

“Okay, Mama, let’s get you to your room.”

Sabrina needed to get her settled first before Misha got there and she had to calm him down.

For a two-hundred-plus-year-old demon who had delivered at least two babies that Sabrina knew about, he became a different person when it came to Callie.

Of course, she was his heart, and Sabrina understood that even more now that she had Jason.