“My parents are still alive but I wouldn’t give a damn if they didn’t approve of a woman in my life. We don’t have a close relationship to begin with.”
“What’s wrong with your parents?” She was curious.
“My mother is old school. My father would say jump and she asked how high. She always sided with him until recently, regardless of whether she knew he was right or wrong. The jury is still out on how this new twist in their relationship will play out, but Mom finally stood up to him. They are together but I’m sure it’s tense. He’s an asshole, always has been and always will be.” He paused. “He was never the most supportive or loving of fathers. He used his sons to get whatever he wanted, regardless of what it cost us. Lorn and I had to stand against him, so we’re not even on speaking terms.”
“I’m sorry. That must be rough.”
“It’s kind of a relief. I don’t have to pretend to give a damn about what he wants anymore. As I said, he’s an asshole. He and my mother just moved to a new location. That’s the only down side. I love and miss her. She’s stuck with him.”
“I’m not really sure what that means.”
“They are linked on a very intimate level for life. She can see good in him where others can’t. She would have a near impossible time cutting those bonds, even though he’s massively flawed.”
“Is he good to her?”
“He usually is. I give him credit for that but he’s lacking a lot when it comes to being a father or a decent person as a whole.”
“Are you close to your brother? I always wanted a sibling. I imagined it would be terrific.”
“Lorn is my best friend. We never fought like most brothers do. I guess you could say we bonded so close since we had to support each other against our father. Dad was tough on us growing up. He’s got this strong belief that weakness of any kind is a flaw.”
“He does sound like an asshole.” She bit her lip. “Was he abusive?”
“He was harsher than most parents.”
She’d take that for a yes. It horrified her. “I’m so sorry.”
“We’re very loving as a people but my father lacked that trait when it came to his sons. It wasn’t as bad as you might imagine, but he treated us as if we were adults instead of children. His expectations were too high for our ages. Most of our men start their training at around ten years old. He had us sparring by the time we could walk.”
“Sparring?”
“Fighting.”
That stunned her.
“I’m not like you, Jadee. You’ve seen me shifted. We need to learn discipline and how to protect ourselves at a younger age than your children do. We don’t play in a safe environment as youths. Our backyard comes with predators.”
“Discipline?”
“Can you remember when you were about ten years old?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Ever fight with another child over something trivial?”
“Of course.”
“Now imagine if you’d had the ability to claw or bite into another child, and the kind of damage you could do, not really meaning to, in a fit of anger. Our children can’t fully shift until they hit puberty but we get some of our abilities earlier than that. Like extending our claws and fangs. We need to learn young to control our tempers and think before we act.”
She looked down at his hand. “Can you show me?”
He twisted his wrist until his palm was face up but didn’t do anything else.
She peered into his eyes. “The cut is gone. That was the hand you sliced open last night, wasn’t it?”
“I heal fast. Jadee…I don’t want to frighten you.”
“You won’t. I asked. Can I see your claws? I mean, can you do that?”
“Watch.”
She focused on his hand again. He moved it a few inches from hers and curled his fingers upward. His fingernails began to grow. They got longer, until they were about an inch in length. It amazed her. They had sharp-looking tips and were thick.
“You can touch them if you want but don’t cut yourself.”
She hesitantly used her fingertip to feel the side of one nail. It was smooth, almost like bone. She smiled and looked up at him. “Very cool.”
He smiled and retracted them. “Thank you.”
“What else can you do besides grow claws, fangs, and get your neon eyes on?”
He had a great laugh. She liked hearing it when he chuckled. “I shift. You saw that already.”
“Does it hurt when you do?”
“It’s painful at first but over time, it’s just what it is. It happens faster and you become accustomed to the shape of your body changing without discomfort.”
“Do you ever accidently shift? Like if you’re having a bad dream and then boom, you wake up with a tail?”
He laughed again. “I did that a few times when I first started shifting but then you learn to control it better. There are no accidental transformations now.”
She grew serious. “Thank you for saving me.”
He reached over and gently took her hand in his. “You’re welcome.” He let her go. “You should try to get some sleep. You probably aren’t used to staying up all night. I need to go out there and help with cleanup. Promise me that you won’t go outside. Stay inside where you’re safe. I’ll come back later and we’ll figure out what’s wrong with the vehicle to get you on your way home.”
“My father’s team said they thought the Vampires had torn out the oil pan.”
“That won’t be too difficult to fix.”
“Is your pack going to want to hurt me?”
“I won’t allow it to happen, Jadee. Lorn does owe me a debt. He won’t let me down. We are very close and he’ll know how important this is to me.”
“Thank you. I realize it would be so much easier to kill me, rather than risk your ass.”
“I think the world would be a much less interesting place without you in it.”
The way he looked at her in that moment left her reeling a little. She worked in bars. It was obvious when a man was interested in her—and that intense stare of his indicated he saw her as a woman he wanted.
He suddenly slid out of his seat. “I have to get to work. Sleep. I’ll be back later.”
“What’s wrong with your parents?” She was curious.
“My mother is old school. My father would say jump and she asked how high. She always sided with him until recently, regardless of whether she knew he was right or wrong. The jury is still out on how this new twist in their relationship will play out, but Mom finally stood up to him. They are together but I’m sure it’s tense. He’s an asshole, always has been and always will be.” He paused. “He was never the most supportive or loving of fathers. He used his sons to get whatever he wanted, regardless of what it cost us. Lorn and I had to stand against him, so we’re not even on speaking terms.”
“I’m sorry. That must be rough.”
“It’s kind of a relief. I don’t have to pretend to give a damn about what he wants anymore. As I said, he’s an asshole. He and my mother just moved to a new location. That’s the only down side. I love and miss her. She’s stuck with him.”
“I’m not really sure what that means.”
“They are linked on a very intimate level for life. She can see good in him where others can’t. She would have a near impossible time cutting those bonds, even though he’s massively flawed.”
“Is he good to her?”
“He usually is. I give him credit for that but he’s lacking a lot when it comes to being a father or a decent person as a whole.”
“Are you close to your brother? I always wanted a sibling. I imagined it would be terrific.”
“Lorn is my best friend. We never fought like most brothers do. I guess you could say we bonded so close since we had to support each other against our father. Dad was tough on us growing up. He’s got this strong belief that weakness of any kind is a flaw.”
“He does sound like an asshole.” She bit her lip. “Was he abusive?”
“He was harsher than most parents.”
She’d take that for a yes. It horrified her. “I’m so sorry.”
“We’re very loving as a people but my father lacked that trait when it came to his sons. It wasn’t as bad as you might imagine, but he treated us as if we were adults instead of children. His expectations were too high for our ages. Most of our men start their training at around ten years old. He had us sparring by the time we could walk.”
“Sparring?”
“Fighting.”
That stunned her.
“I’m not like you, Jadee. You’ve seen me shifted. We need to learn discipline and how to protect ourselves at a younger age than your children do. We don’t play in a safe environment as youths. Our backyard comes with predators.”
“Discipline?”
“Can you remember when you were about ten years old?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Ever fight with another child over something trivial?”
“Of course.”
“Now imagine if you’d had the ability to claw or bite into another child, and the kind of damage you could do, not really meaning to, in a fit of anger. Our children can’t fully shift until they hit puberty but we get some of our abilities earlier than that. Like extending our claws and fangs. We need to learn young to control our tempers and think before we act.”
She looked down at his hand. “Can you show me?”
He twisted his wrist until his palm was face up but didn’t do anything else.
She peered into his eyes. “The cut is gone. That was the hand you sliced open last night, wasn’t it?”
“I heal fast. Jadee…I don’t want to frighten you.”
“You won’t. I asked. Can I see your claws? I mean, can you do that?”
“Watch.”
She focused on his hand again. He moved it a few inches from hers and curled his fingers upward. His fingernails began to grow. They got longer, until they were about an inch in length. It amazed her. They had sharp-looking tips and were thick.
“You can touch them if you want but don’t cut yourself.”
She hesitantly used her fingertip to feel the side of one nail. It was smooth, almost like bone. She smiled and looked up at him. “Very cool.”
He smiled and retracted them. “Thank you.”
“What else can you do besides grow claws, fangs, and get your neon eyes on?”
He had a great laugh. She liked hearing it when he chuckled. “I shift. You saw that already.”
“Does it hurt when you do?”
“It’s painful at first but over time, it’s just what it is. It happens faster and you become accustomed to the shape of your body changing without discomfort.”
“Do you ever accidently shift? Like if you’re having a bad dream and then boom, you wake up with a tail?”
He laughed again. “I did that a few times when I first started shifting but then you learn to control it better. There are no accidental transformations now.”
She grew serious. “Thank you for saving me.”
He reached over and gently took her hand in his. “You’re welcome.” He let her go. “You should try to get some sleep. You probably aren’t used to staying up all night. I need to go out there and help with cleanup. Promise me that you won’t go outside. Stay inside where you’re safe. I’ll come back later and we’ll figure out what’s wrong with the vehicle to get you on your way home.”
“My father’s team said they thought the Vampires had torn out the oil pan.”
“That won’t be too difficult to fix.”
“Is your pack going to want to hurt me?”
“I won’t allow it to happen, Jadee. Lorn does owe me a debt. He won’t let me down. We are very close and he’ll know how important this is to me.”
“Thank you. I realize it would be so much easier to kill me, rather than risk your ass.”
“I think the world would be a much less interesting place without you in it.”
The way he looked at her in that moment left her reeling a little. She worked in bars. It was obvious when a man was interested in her—and that intense stare of his indicated he saw her as a woman he wanted.
He suddenly slid out of his seat. “I have to get to work. Sleep. I’ll be back later.”
