Page 5 of Brazen

“I think you scared your mom, though.” I lightly rested my hand on his back, so I could easily grab the back of his shirt if he slid off.

I glanced down at Clio and winked although she still looked freaked.

“How are you going to get him down?” Clio wailed, glancing around as if a trapeze net might magically appear. “Should I call the fire department?”

I glanced at my new little man. “We don’t need the fire department, do we, JT?”

He shook his head.

“All good. We’ll be down in a minute,” I called to her.

“What is it with you and high places, JT?” she moaned.

“Has this happened before?” I asked him.

“I fell out of a tree,” JT explained to me before he looked down at his mom. “I can jump down, Mommy.”

“No!” She waved her arms in the air. “No, you can’t.”

Something my wolf had been trying to tell me finally registered.

The boy wasn’t human.

I picked up a bit of a wolf scent. It was there, but it was soft.

Holy shit.

JT was part shifter.

I looked down at Clio, trying to wrap my head around what I was smelling. She was human. She was definitely human. I got a nose full of her delicious scent when I shook her hand. It still coated my palm and made my wolf happy. I also got it when I got close to her in the office. When she touched my chest.

She was human, and she was my mate.

But it seemed like another wolf had found her before me because her son was definitely part shifter. No wonder he got up here so easily, and that’s why he wasn’t afraid and offered to jump down.

JT moved to stand up on the beam, and I held onto his t-shirt.

“Actually, he can jump,” I decided, telling Clio. My initial concern evaporated.

If the kid was part wolf, he’d probably be okay no matter how he got down. I’d drop first and catch him to make sure he didn’t get hurt, but this wasn’t a life or death emergency like it might have been if he was a full human.

“No, he can’t!” Clio sounded pissed.

I ignored her momentarily and looked at JT, who, standing, was eye level with me. “Wait until I get back down there, bud, and I’ll catch you, okay?”

“No. It’s not okay!” Clio seemed frantic now. I had to get the kid down quick, so my mate didn’t continue to be upset and worried.

I swung my legs around to hang from my fingertips then dropped to the concrete below. I probably shouldn’t have shown my shifter abilities, but considering she had a kid with the same perks, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal. Plus, I was pretty tall, and the drop wasn’t all that far.

“Okay, bud.” I looked up at the boy. “Just drop down, and I’ll catch you.”

Clio didn’t take her eyes off her kid. “Are you nuts?”

“I won’t let him fall,” I vowed.

“You’re telling him to fall!”

I shook my head. “I told him to jump. Not fall. I’m gonna catch him, Clio.” I made a beckoning motion with my fingers. “Come on, bud. Let’s go.”