shouldn’t , crack and he wasn’t covered in post-puberty zits.
“Start at the beginning,” Cassie said, as if she knew the reason for his hesitation.
The beginning… okay. When he first saw her? No. His childhood. No, that wouldn’t do. His parents? Yep. Aren’t parental issues always a good place to start explaining why life got a little fucked up? And he still had the whole “I turn into a wolf” thing to talk about, too.
“My mom wanted to raise us like a normal family,” he began. “A normal human family. Some shifters live in colonies, hidden in the woods like this place. They can be freer with their lives, not live in so much secrecy.
“My mom and dad met in a colony called Great Moon where they grew up together and stayed after they mated to raise a family. But Agents, sadistic humans and vampires who hunt our kind, found the colony…” Jace drifted off, old memories threatening to take over – distant screams, his mom calling for his dad… “They almost destroyed it. But they didn’t. The wolves were too strong for them, but we lost a lot of our own, including my dad and brother. He was older than me, Keve. He’d been through his first transition so he could fight. Mom hid me and Mage, my little sister, and defended the house. I was nine, Mage was four.”
Jace dropped his head and his gaze hit the floor. He thought he had worked through his past during his years behind bars. He sure had a hell of a lot of thinking time. But talking about it again came dangerously close to reliving it. He could feel Cassie looking at him, no longer glaring at the wall.
“After that,” he continued, “Mom wanted to integrate with humans as much as possible. She did all she could to blend: adopted a mainstream surname, got a job, put us in public school. We were completely cut off from everything about our heritage. My first transition was something I endured. It was the only time we went to the woods, and then pretended it never happened.
“We lived in a bad part of town. Some colonies are pretty progressive, have a lot of tech and investments. Not Great Moon. We left with next to nothing and stayed that way. I protected Maggie, watched out for her at school and when she started working at a diner. One day, I was waiting in the parking lot for her to get off work when I noticed this guy hanging around. I’d noticed him before. His vibe was creepy, man. I mean, creepy . I think they coined the term just for him. He was older and the way he looked at Maggie… I knew he was bad news. I tried to dissuade him from ever being interested in her.” And he had, but even Jace’s special power of influence did nothing to lessen the obsession the stranger had for his sister.
“He was there every day, waiting for Maggie. Sometimes he’d talk with her, sit in her section so she had to serve him. She was only fifteen. He was in his forties. Even when I couldn’t see him, I could feel him there.
“One day, my bike got a flat and I was late to pick her up. She closed the diner that night and when she locked up there was nowhere to go. He got her.” By now, Cassie had turned in her chair facing him, hands folded on her lap, their knees an inch apart. He wanted to haul her to him, nuzzle into her neck, and forget the past and present.
“I pulled up in time to see his car drive off. The diner was dark and Maggie was nowhere. Nowhere . I tried to follow him but he was gone.
“I knew where he lived, though. Maggie got the information for me off of his credit card one time when he paid, and I got everything I could on him. I went to his house in this fancy little part of Freemont. His car was in the drive so I broke in. But he didn’t hear me. He was in the basement with Maggie.” Jace stopped. Explaining the shifter bit wasn’t nearly as difficult as what was coming up.
“She was unconscious. He had tied her to a four-poster bed and was undressing her. I don’t know how I managed to stay human when I beat
“Start at the beginning,” Cassie said, as if she knew the reason for his hesitation.
The beginning… okay. When he first saw her? No. His childhood. No, that wouldn’t do. His parents? Yep. Aren’t parental issues always a good place to start explaining why life got a little fucked up? And he still had the whole “I turn into a wolf” thing to talk about, too.
“My mom wanted to raise us like a normal family,” he began. “A normal human family. Some shifters live in colonies, hidden in the woods like this place. They can be freer with their lives, not live in so much secrecy.
“My mom and dad met in a colony called Great Moon where they grew up together and stayed after they mated to raise a family. But Agents, sadistic humans and vampires who hunt our kind, found the colony…” Jace drifted off, old memories threatening to take over – distant screams, his mom calling for his dad… “They almost destroyed it. But they didn’t. The wolves were too strong for them, but we lost a lot of our own, including my dad and brother. He was older than me, Keve. He’d been through his first transition so he could fight. Mom hid me and Mage, my little sister, and defended the house. I was nine, Mage was four.”
Jace dropped his head and his gaze hit the floor. He thought he had worked through his past during his years behind bars. He sure had a hell of a lot of thinking time. But talking about it again came dangerously close to reliving it. He could feel Cassie looking at him, no longer glaring at the wall.
“After that,” he continued, “Mom wanted to integrate with humans as much as possible. She did all she could to blend: adopted a mainstream surname, got a job, put us in public school. We were completely cut off from everything about our heritage. My first transition was something I endured. It was the only time we went to the woods, and then pretended it never happened.
“We lived in a bad part of town. Some colonies are pretty progressive, have a lot of tech and investments. Not Great Moon. We left with next to nothing and stayed that way. I protected Maggie, watched out for her at school and when she started working at a diner. One day, I was waiting in the parking lot for her to get off work when I noticed this guy hanging around. I’d noticed him before. His vibe was creepy, man. I mean, creepy . I think they coined the term just for him. He was older and the way he looked at Maggie… I knew he was bad news. I tried to dissuade him from ever being interested in her.” And he had, but even Jace’s special power of influence did nothing to lessen the obsession the stranger had for his sister.
“He was there every day, waiting for Maggie. Sometimes he’d talk with her, sit in her section so she had to serve him. She was only fifteen. He was in his forties. Even when I couldn’t see him, I could feel him there.
“One day, my bike got a flat and I was late to pick her up. She closed the diner that night and when she locked up there was nowhere to go. He got her.” By now, Cassie had turned in her chair facing him, hands folded on her lap, their knees an inch apart. He wanted to haul her to him, nuzzle into her neck, and forget the past and present.
“I pulled up in time to see his car drive off. The diner was dark and Maggie was nowhere. Nowhere . I tried to follow him but he was gone.
“I knew where he lived, though. Maggie got the information for me off of his credit card one time when he paid, and I got everything I could on him. I went to his house in this fancy little part of Freemont. His car was in the drive so I broke in. But he didn’t hear me. He was in the basement with Maggie.” Jace stopped. Explaining the shifter bit wasn’t nearly as difficult as what was coming up.
“She was unconscious. He had tied her to a four-poster bed and was undressing her. I don’t know how I managed to stay human when I beat
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