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Chapter Twelve
Jasper
Hermouthopenedtomine like the door opening to the rest of my life.Her surprise was blown away by the same gust of sensation that was sweeping across me.Our tongues touched, tangled.The softness of her body molded against me like she was designed to fit there.I felt a surge of energy pulse through my heartstone.Yellow light flared so bright I saw it through my closed eyelids.My body was filled with a golden, sparkling lava, and I poured it into Edie until we were both aflame.
She pushed back, her hands braced on my waist for balance.Then she glanced over at the other people in the room, all of whom were staring at us in various states of shock.I turned her face back to mine and stared into the dark pools of her eyes.“Still want to know the truth?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
“Don’t be scared,” I said.Then I gave into the call of my heartstone and let myself transform.
Everything was brighter in wolf form.Louder, too, as I could hear the shouts of my family over Edie’s shocked cry.And everything was easier, clearer.My wolf didn’t worry about secrecy or politics or what ifs.All my wolf wanted was this woman, and here she was.
I’d wracked my brain for another solution.If we pushed her out, she’d just keep investigating.The quest might end up destroying her life, the way it had her father’s.Or she’d actually end up finding some evidence that brought more scrutiny to our communities.Either way, she knew too much to let it go.
A different Alpha might have had her killed.I wondered if she realized how much danger she’d put herself in, walking into our den.The previous Alpha, Victoria, wouldn’t have hesitated to tear her into so many pieces that no one would ever find her body.That’s probably the option Flint would have preferred.But my mother was a different kind of Alpha, and she’d vowed never to hurt a human unless she had no other choice.And there was another choice.
We could bring her in.
Edie was gaping at me, her hands hanging limply at her side.I padded over to her and nosed against her palm, nudging her into stroking down my body.“You’re real,” she whimpered, her fingers tangling in my fur.“You’re really real.”
Her laughter made my tail lift.It was loud enough and long enough to silence the other voices in the room.“You’re all real,” she said, looking at each person in turn.“You can all do…this?”
Everyone stared back, then Micah shrugged.“Mom, are you going to yell at Jasper about transforming inside?”
“I’m going to yell at him for a variety of reasons,” my mother said in a terrifyingly polite tone.
I changed back before the situation got too far ahead of me.When I was a man again, I took Edie’s hands in mine.She was the one I needed to convince first.“You weren’t wrong when you asked about my mom’s condition.She’s been sick.Our doctor has been treating her, but he can’t figure out what is wrong.”
Her eyes kindled with interest.“You have a doctor?Are they also one of you?Did they get professional training?Does your biology align with human standards?No, of course it doesn’t, because how could your body do that if it did?Does it hurt?Is it--”
“So much for shutting her up,” Flint muttered.
“I’m not trying to shut her up, I’m trying to shut you up,” I snapped at him.“We can trust her.I’m sure of it.”
I rubbed my thumbs over Edie’s knuckles to bring her attention back to me.And because it felt so, so good to touch her.“I want to offer you a deal.I will answer all your questions, anything you want to know about us.Even better than that, I’ll give you a subject to study in detail.You can run any sort of tests you want.”
“Jasper--”
“Mom--”
“Don’t ‘Mom’ me--”
The door opened and Dylan slipped in.He nodded at Dominic, then leaned against the wall by the door.“Don’t let me interrupt,” he rumbled.
“I feel like Bilbo Baggins,” Edie muttered.
“This cabin would not fit thirteen of us,” Micah muttered back.
“Jasper’s got something to say,” Dominic said, bringing a steaming cup of tea for Mom.“We might as well let him lay it all out before we start arguing with him.Dr.Matthews, how do you like your coffee?”
“Ah…cream, no sugar, please,” she said.“I can help.”
“Don’t be silly, you’re a guest here at Twisted Pines.Flint can help.”
Flint threw up his hands and said “Flint can help” in a whiny sing-song voice.Then he went to help.
“It’s not a complicated plan,” I said.Something about the business of coffee got us all sitting down in a circle in the living room of the cabin.“We have a sick shifter.We have a doctor who wants to know more about shifters.It seems like a match made in heaven to me.”
