True Connection (The Soul Mate Series) (18 page)

             
She catches it and throws it in the box with the CDs. “The stories I could tell you…”

She’s interrupted by Henry shouting that Mom’s finally arrived.

We make quick work of the introductions, so that Leland could give everyone a quick rundown of which vehicles will deliver what, and to where.

I can’t keep my giggle quiet when Leland uses his pep-talk-voice. Are we supposed to huddle up, slap hands and yell “
Go Team
!”?

Mom clears her throat to get my attention and shoots me a dirty look. I work on trying to hide my smile.

When Leland shoos us all away, Seth and Skeeter help me finish up my room.

The next room I’m to tackle today is Sophie’s room.

I scrub my palms over my eyes and swallow my growl. I really do
not
want to go in there.

Will the privacy agreement she made me sign when I was six still hold true? If I enter her room without her permission, will I turn into moldy cheese, with broccoli for legs, and spaghetti squash for hair? Will my Prince Charming want to kiss moldy cheese?

I peek from my hands to Seth, and see him flash me my favorite smile.

The image of him giving me a kiss flashes into my mind.

I guess those thoughts he heard. At least, that’s something I don’t have to explain.

             
Seth comes over and runs a hand up my arm, igniting the buzzing tingles along the way. “Coffee?” he asks and nods his head towards the kitchen.

I nod, and let him pull me to heaven-in-a-cup land.

He pours me a cup of coffee, and I add my cream and sugar.

             
“You’ll be fine,” he says, as he pours himself some Gatorade.

             
“I know.”

             
He looks at me sideways and smiles. “Did I ever tell you about my first concert?”

             
I shake my head. “Nope.”

             
“It was Alan Jackson, and the girl beside us was so excited when he came on stage that she wet her pants,” he laughs.

             
I almost choke on my coffee. “No way!” he nods. “Alan Jackson?” he nods again, and I laugh. “Did that really happen, or are you just trying to make me laugh?”

             
He grins. “It happened, but I did only tell you to get you to laugh,” he wraps an arm around my waist.

             
We finish our drinks and climb the stairs again. I reach Sophie’s door and freeze, with my hand on the knob. I half expect her to yank open the door and ask what I want. But I know that won’t happen, ever again.

I take a deep breath and glance to Henry, holding up the wall and looking as apprehensive as I feel. We lock eyes for a minute. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He reaches over, grabs my hand, and together we open the door.

I freeze just inside the doorway.

Pink.

My stomach rolls. And the coffee I just finished? Churns.

Sophie’s, very pink, room is pink and black animal print.

Dad used to say I hated pink because Soph loved it so much.

I don’t think she loved that color all the time. She probably just kept up with pink to keep me away from it.

I imagine my memories and emotions as clothes and knick-knacks, and mentally stuff everything into boxes.

I need to get through this room. Preferably, tear-free.

              I grab a box that says ‘
Leland’s
’ on it, and stuff in pictures and scrapbooks. Next, I toss the magazines and research notes in the trash, sort her jewelry box, and move to her night stand. Clearing it off is the easy part. I grab a sticky note, pre-marked ‘
Sell
’, and slap it on. Now, I have to sift through the junk in these drawers.

I slide over two empty boxes and the garbage bag. Who knows what I’ll find in these drawers. I open the top drawer and just before I grab the pink fuzzy item I see, I stop and actually look at it.

Gasping, I slam the drawer shut.

Of course, I just caught everyone’s attention, and now they’re waiting for an explanation.

              “What’s in there?” Henry asks when I don’t say anything.

             
“Nothing,” I squeak, and he rolls his eyes. He reaches for the drawer, and I stop him quickly. “It’s just… It’s not exactly what I was expecting,” this isn’t something he should know about! “It’s nothing really, just finish taking the boxes out, I’ll be fine.” I smile.

             
He crosses his arms defiantly. “Tell me what’s in the drawer,
Jasmine
.”

Aw shit, he never calls me Jasmine. I sigh. “Henry, please. Just trust me. You do
not
want to know,” I say, trying to put authority into my voice. Judging from the look on his face, I’m not very convincing.

Skeeter starts chuckling and sits on the bed, watching the two of us. I glance to Seth for help. His eyes are twinkling with amusement and he’s fighting a smile.

Gah!

             
Henry’s jaw ticks. He’s getting frustrated. “Just tell me,” he snaps. “It can’t be
that
bad, Jaz.”

             
“Henry, the items in that drawer… It’s something no sibling should ever find, especially a
brother
.”

I can only imagine the threats she would make, if she knew either of us found the things in that drawer.

              “Seriously, it’s Sophie! What could it possibly be?” he demands at a near shout.

             
I grumble out a curse. “Let’s just say that she was
safe
,” I hope he catches the innuendo. Please just leave it alone!

Skeeter snorts in her laughter.

Henry gives her a dirty look before focusing on me again. “Jasmine, what’s in the damn drawer?”

             
“Oh, for shit’s sake!” I shout. “Did you drink a cup of
stupid
this morning? Our sister has a drawer full of fuzzy handcuffs, lube, and some other “entertainment” items. Are you happy with that mental image I tried to spare you?!”

Henry’s face goes pale and his wide eyes fall to the floor. He clears his throat, stands and walks out silently. Seth smiles, but holds back his laughter.

              “You help out downstairs. I’ll bring these boxes down in a few!” Seth shouts after Henry, who mumbles something in return.

My heart squeezes. Right there, he had the opportunity to tease Henry, much like the other guys would do, but he didn’t.

He’s amazing.

             
‘
Poor Henry, I wouldn’t want that image of my sister, if I had one.
’

I smile at him, and refocus on the task at hand. I try to keep the memories at bay, but it’s tricky. I have to pause every few minutes to focus on my breathing. I ignore my surroundings, and sing in my head. Skeeter’s almost endless chatter helps, too.

Opening Sophie’s closet, seeing her clothes, shoes, and bags, the mental box decides to dump out all those memories I boxed up.

I remember her and Mom flitting around me, in this room, the night of my first dance in the seventh grade. Sophie was so excited, because I would never let her dress me up like a “girl.”

I remember sitting on her bed with her all cuddled up, the night Marcus Jones dumped her for her best friend, Sarah Wallace. I tried so hard to cheer her up. I was eleven then. So I didn’t really understand much, but she liked that I stayed with her until she fell asleep from an ice cream overdose.

             
We fought a lot. Usually over stupid things like, who had better taste in clothes, music, movies, or chores. One time, I think we even fought over birthmarks.

I wipe the tears from my face, and force myself to remove the clothes from the hangers.

As I box the last item, Mom yells for Henry and me. I hand the tape to Skeeter and let her tape up the last box, and head down the stairs.

             
“Guys, I have about an hour and a half until Leland takes me back. I’d like to start on the office, if y’ins are ready.”

We start walking towards Dad’s office, but I freeze just before the door and start backing away.

              “I’ll just…” I back up a few steps. “Grab a few boxes,” I say and slink back down the hallway into the living room, grabbing a few bags and boxes.

             
I make my way back to the office, slowly. Seth and Barry join me just before I reach the door. I put on a brave face just for them and push the door open.

             
The three of us freeze just inside the door.

Mom’s at the desk crying, and Henry is sitting on the floor, next to the desk with his head in his hands.

What the hell happened now?

The Halfling

“Mom? Henry?” I ask hesitantly.

Mom looks up and motions me to come over to her.

Holding my breath and squeezing my hands behind my back, I slowly walk to her.  I can feel myself coming undone at the sight of her tears. But before the tears can leak out, I concentrate on Seth, our bond, and feel the warm brush of calm wash over me.

My mom wipes her face and addresses the guys. “We need a family moment guys, Jazzy will come get you when we’re done,” she says.

Barry and Seth nod and leave. I feel like half of me walked out the door with them.

Hopefully, that half contains my tear ducts.

              “Sweetie, the reason for this is…,” she blows out a breath and grabs a tissue. “Wow, there’s really no easy way to say this, is there?” I raise my brow at her when she looks at me. “I showed… Well, I
gave
Henry the adoption papers, the letter from his birth mother, and any information on his parents that Dad could find,” she pauses, and scratches her head. “Henry, I know this is hard, but would you share all this with your sister?” I look away from my mother to Henry.

Henry finally stands up, after what felt like hours. He clears his throat a few times, but his gaze won’t meet my eyes. “Jaz, after Mom leaves, will you take a walk with me?” he asks.

I nod, but he doesn’t see me because he’s still looking to the floor. I get asked a question to go for a walk, in a little more than an hour. Not a, “Don’t be worried,” or an “Everything’s okay.” Pinching my arm, I squeak out a yes, and he turns to Mom. “We’ll hang out until you leave, Ma.”

             
Mom wipes her face. “Thank you,” she sighs. “I don’t know how to help you, Henry. I don’t understand it or what it means,” she frowns. “But I promise you, we will work through this, baby boy,” she places her hand on his cheek and reaches out to me. “I love you both more than words can say.”

We both hug her, and that’s when Henry locks eyes with me.

I love my brother, and seeing the fear, confusion, and shock in his eyes makes me want to turn into a warrior, and defeat whatever is troubling him.

He’s my warrior, too. I’m not stupid enough that I never knew this, but I’ve been so wrapped up in my own stuff and grief, that I forgot. Henry is my warrior. He’s always been there.

I reach over and squeeze his hand. I want to tell him that we’ll get through this. That I’ll help him with whatever this is.

He closes his eyes as the corners of his mouth turn up into a slight smile.

I hope he knows I’m his warrior, too.

***

              Seth pours me a cup of coffee, and I turn down sugar and cream, grab my cup and hold it to my face.

             
“He said nothing?” Seth asks for the tenth time.

             
“Nothing,” I shrug. “Just asked me to take a walk after Mom leaves.”

             
“Are you okay with that?”

             
I laugh. “I have to be. There’s no other option,” I sigh. “The look on his face, just…,” I groan and inhale some coffee. “I can’t take it Seth. It’s driving me nuts!”

             
“We don’t know what the letters say, so it could be anything,” he says and rubs his hand up my arm.

             
“But it’s my brother. What bothers him, bothers me,” I counter.

             
He gives me a crooked smile. “Come on, let’s go box up some books.”

             
I chug the last bit of my coffee and set the cup on the counter, before following him back to the office.

             
“This whole, “distract Jazzy with work,” thing you’re trying? Better work,” I mumble, and he laughs.

             
Skeeter and I work on the massive bookshelves, half of which I’ve no clue what to do with. Dad’s personal collection of westerns and mythology related books are easy to sift and determine where they go, especially since Henry has laid claim to the mythology books. The others? That’s where I’m stumped. Architecture books, construction works, college books, and even some in other languages. I just look at them and my head screams.

             
“Maybe Kiron will know?” Skeeter shrugs. Kiron is an Amaranthine on Leland’s team, and helping move big items.

             
“It’s worth a shot,” I say and begin to turn for the door.

             
“Hey, Jazzy,” Mom says, and I freeze.

“Yea?” I respond.

“I’m gonna head out, okay?” she nods to Leland, who is standing in the doorway.

“Okay, Mom,” I hug her. “See you Tuesday.”

“Y’ins take care and behave!” Mom warns to us all after she hugs Henry.

Skeeter walks over next to me. “How about I go talk to Kiron?” she suggests, as she nods to Henry fidgeting near the door. I smile and nod to her, before walking to Henry.

“Ready for that walk?” he asks.

I chew my lip and nod. As I pass through the door to leave the office, I hear Henry yell for Barry to come with us.

Why does he want Barry to come along? I guess he’s got a reason. I shrug off my hurt and lead the way to the driveway.

             
Henry silently takes the lead at the end of the drive, and we begin to walk along the sidewalk.

After we pass a few houses, I feel like I’m going to burst. “Henry, what’s going on?”

              He clicks his tongue twice. “There was a lot of information in only a few pages,” he says quietly. “My biological father killed my biological mother, shortly after she signed the adoption papers.”

Barry’s mouth drops with a pop, and I stop walking.

              “He’s in jail then?” I ask, in my shock.

             
“Come on. Keep walking,” he holds out his hand for me, and I take it. “No, my father is not in jail,” I open my mouth to shout, but he silences me with a nudge. “Barry, I need to ask you some questions.”

“Okay…” Barry says slowly, drawing it out.

“Did those papers say who your dad was?” I ask.

             
“I’ll get to that,” he says. I huff in response.
“Barry, I’m not real sure if you’ll be able to answer or not, but what happens to the child when a shifter and a human procreate?”

             
Barry stumbles a bit, taken aback by the question. “I haven’t personally met a Halfling before. Sometimes they can shift, sometimes they can’t,” he says.

             
“Okay. And how would a Halfling know if they’re able to shift?”

How is that relevant to who his parents are?

              “That’s sorta tough for me to explain.” He scratches his head. “Halflings and Shifters are alike. It depends on the power from which they were created.” Henry and I both look at Barry dumbly. He sighs. “My father is a Royal Alpha, and my mother, his mate, also came from an alpha coupling as well. So, this led me to shift by the time I was eight. The wolf guides the body through the shift,” he shrugs. “It can happen because of an intense rage, usually around puberty.”

             
Henry walks us to the end if the street silently. “If you haven’t been able to feel your wolf, by say age eighteen, you’re not getting angry enough or you don’t have a wolf?”

             
Oh, my god!

I want to smack myself. He must come from a shifter family.

              “Even if a Halfling hasn’t felt their wolf yet, they have one,” he says, with a bounce in his step. “The wolves are felt in intense situations. If the Halfling is able to shift, when they feel their wolf for the first time, they shift automatically like a shifter would. If the Halfling can’t shift, the wolf guides them through whatever the issue is. Dad says when it happens, and the Halfling can’t shift, it’s said it feels like an out of body experience. They aren’t in control, their wolf is. Why?”

             
“I’ll explain I promise,” he says.

             
I take a deep breath and swallow my knee-jerk reaction to yell at him and make him tell me what the flip is going on. I can already guess part of it, but I want more details.

What made Mom cry? Why couldn’t he talk about it right away?

We stop walking, and Henry leans against the telephone pole. “What happens to a shifter when a devux changes them?” he asks quietly.

I take a seat on the curb and wait for Barry to answer. Depending on his response, I might need the seat anyway. I have a devux after me, and shifters are protecting me.

I look up to Barry, who is scratching the paint off the pole of a speed limit sign. “When a devux bites its human prey, they do it for one of two reasons,” he says, without taking his eyes from the pole. “The most common reason is that it’s faster to feed on the prey’s soul when the victim is bled out,” he winces and glances at me before continuing. “The other reason is to force another soul in, changing them into a soul-eating demon. Vampires, Elves, and Amaranthine can’t be killed that way, but they can be changed,” he pauses, and I suck in a breath. I stare at him until he continues. “We’re told the stories at young ages. How dangerous our world can be, and how demons endanger it more. The story I remember enough to retell, is about a turned alpha,” he sighs. “When his mate was threatened by the devuxen, who wanted her and their first born, he did all he could to protect his family and pack. Devuxen attacked the pack. There were so many, that the devux took the pack down with little problem. Alpha went nuts at the thought of his mate and son in the hands of demons, so he gave himself over. The pack grieved and continued on, for one month exactly. At the exact same time their alpha left, he showed up again. When he saw his mate in the yard, he called to her. She knew immediately he was different, but she was happy to see him. He got closer, and her delight turned to fright as she saw his eyes. The devuxen had changed him. His human form and wolf form remained intact, though he was feral,” my fingernails bite into the sidewalk. “Only the quick and lucky got away from him. His human form was a serial killing psychopath, with the accuracy of a well-trained assassin, and his wolf form was an uncontrollable, rabid beast. It’s said
that he murdered all but four members of his original pack. Of those four members were one of his children, his Beta, and two younger pack members,” he sits down next to me. “I’ve heard other stories about that sort of thing, but that one always stuck with me for some reason,” he leans down and draws designs in the road dust with his finger. “He murdered his wife, two of his kids, and most of his pack. I don’t think I’d ever have it in me to kill an innocent,” he shrugs, and I shiver.

That could happen to any one of them. They could be turned and never be the same. I really hope there’s little to no truth to that.

              “I can tell you right now, Barry, that story has a lot of truth to it,” Henry says, as if he could hear my thoughts.

I
need
to talk to Seth and Athan. The shifters need protection, or we need to make them leave town!

             
I take a deep breath as Barry stares at the gravel. “How do you know that?” I need to keep calm mostly, or Seth will likely come running. I breathe deep while Henry leans back and fishes in his pocket. He holds a torn cream envelope in his hands and taps it on his knee before opening it.

             
“That’s the letter,” he says, as I delicately unfold the paper inside.

             
My Sweet Baby,

             
I hope you are well, healthy, happy, and strong. I never wanted any of this to happen. I know I made the right choice by offering you a place to grow up, but it breaks my heart to lose my baby.

             
I love you so much and want nothing more for you, than to live. I know you will not be given that chance if I kept you with me. I found a lovely couple with a beautiful little girl to care for you. With them, you will have a wonderful, healthy life.

It was my dream to watch you grow from a beautiful child, to handsome man. That dream is just what it is, a dream. I’m so very sorry, but I promise you, your brothers and I will watch you from the heavens. My world is far too dangerous now, and I know I will not survive. I don’t know what kind of life you will have with the human family, but I know that it will be better than anything I can offer.

              This might come as a shock to you, but you are not human. You’re a Halfling. I am human, and your father is a shifter.

             
When I met your father, he was a handsome, strong, and caring man. We fell in love, and after he told me he was a shifter and I accepted him, we got married. He was Alpha of our pack in Virginia. Everything was fine, we were happy. I have learned since then, that those peaceful years were just the calm before the storm.

One day, while I was out shopping for baby items for your older brother, I was attacked. I did not know that it was a devux, but I knew enough self-defense to surprise him, and get away. I never went alone anywhere after that and it’s been six years.