Page 32 of Sobek’s Joy

Sobek set her down, and she scampered to Rudy, latching onto his leg and purred. Timothy chirped from the bed, struggling to crawl to the edge.

Sobek retrieved the hatchling before he could fall and carried him to Rudy. Timothy nuzzled against Rudy’s shoulder, making soft chirpy sounds of contentment.

“Okay.” Rudy held all three children, tears streaming down his face. “Okay. We’re okay. Everyone’s okay.”

“Rudy.” Sobek kept his voice gentle. “You need answers.”

“I need a drink, I think.” But Rudy managed a watery smile. “And maybe to sit down before I fall down.”

“Downstairs?”

“Yeah.” Rudy pressed a kiss to Jack’s furry head, then Rose’s curls, then Timothy’s scaled snout. “Downstairs. Where I apparently need to hear about how my children are shapeshifters, and you’re...” He looked at Sobek. “What exactly are you?”

The question hung in the air.

Sobek met his mate’s eyes. “I’ll tell you everything.”

“Good.” Rudy straightened his shoulders, as if he were ready to march into battle. “Because I have a lot of questions.”

They moved toward the stairs as a unit - Rudy carrying Timothy’s crocodile form, Jack and Rose flanking him with their shifter traits still visible, and Sobek bringing up the rear. He knows the hardest bit now, Sobek reasoned as he wondered what on earth he was going to say. It’s not like he’d ever had to explain himself to anyone before. But maybe…just maybe…Sobek could be one step closer to claiming his mate. All thanks to Tim and these two other amazing kids.

Chapter Twelve

The couch groaned as Rudy settled Timothy’s small crocodile form between Jack and Rose. The hatchling curled up, scales gleaming softly in the lamplight, and immediately began snoring. Jack pressed close on one side, his wolf ears twitching every few seconds. Rose draped herself over Timothy’s back, half purring, half snoring.

“I can’t believe they just fell asleep,” Rudy whispered.

“The shift would’ve exhausted Tim, and now they don’t have to hide their secret anymore, the other two can sleep peacefully, too.” Sobek stood in the doorway, hands clasped behind his back as if he was waiting to be ordered off the property.

Rudy straightened and walked past him into the kitchen. His legs felt disconnected from his body and his hands shook as he filled the kettle and set it on the stove. Tea. He needed tea…or whiskey. Actually, both sounded good.

“Tell me everything,” he said without turning around.

Sobek’s footsteps were slow as he entered the kitchen. “Where would you like me to start?”

“Start with what my children are.” Rudy gripped the counter. “And don’t sugarcoat it. I need the truth.”

“Jack is a wolf shifter. Rose is a panther shifter. Timothy is a crocodile shifter.”

The kettle began to hiss. Rudy pulled two mugs from the cabinet, his favorite cheerful yellow one with daisies, and the plain black mug he’d bought online the week before, thinking Sobek might use it. Damn it. I need my hands to stop shaking or there’ll be tea everywhere.

“Shifters,” he repeated. “So that’s people who can turn into animals.”

“Yes, although it’s more that each one of your children has a human spirit and an animal spirit, and sometimes the animal side can come through in physical form. It’s just something they can do, and as a rule they can shift between forms anytime, although the need to keep their secret stops them a lot of the time.”

What? So, no howling on the full moon needed? “And this is...” Rudy grabbed the box of chamomile tea bags. “Normal? Common?”

“It’s more common than you’d think. The paranormal world exists alongside the human world. As a human, you would never know about it unless you happened to see someone shift or use magic. Every paranormal is taught from a young age that they cannot tell anyone what they are, unless that person already knows about the paranormal world…and it’s not considered polite to ask species type among paranormals anyway.”

The kettle whistled. Rudy poured water over the tea bags, watching the steam rise. “How many kinds of shifters are there?”

“Hundreds. Virtually any animal type could also be a shifter, from dogs, cats, and fish, through to lizards, wolves, bears, big cats, birds of prey, and even crocodiles.” Sobek paused. “Although crocodile shifters are extremely rare. From what I could find out, Timothy’s family was the only clan left in North America, although there might be a few solitary types who stay well away from human eyes.”

Were. Past tense. Rudy’s throat tightened. He carried both mugs to the kitchen table and sat, gesturing for Sobek to join him.

Sobek sat across from him, hands folded on the table. His dark eyes watched Rudy with so much focus that it should have been unsettling, but somehow it wasn’t.

“Explain more about the...” Rudy waved vaguely toward the living room. “The shifting thing. Why now? Why did Timothy need to shift into a complete animal, and the others didn’t?”