I closed my eyes for a moment, my heart aching for my son. When I opened them again, I couldn't keep the tears from filling them. I wrapped an arm around Tommy's shoulders, feeling them shake.
I was so concentrated on Tommy, I didn't know Stalker had moved until he squatted down next to Tommy's chair.
"Hey, Tommy?"
Tommy pressed closer to me as he turned to look at Stalker.
He didn't say anything.
"You're a fox shifter, right?" Stalker asked.
Tommy nodded.
"Do you know what a panther shifter is?"
Tommy shook his head.
"Panther shifters are big and ferocious. Watch." Stalker held up his hand then slowly shifted just his hand into a large black paw with razor-sharp claws. "We are very lethal."
My breath caught when Tommy reached out to touch the tip of one of Stalker's claws. I knew Stalker wouldn't hurt Tommy, but those claws were still pretty damn sharp. Before I could say anything, Stalker shifted his hand back to that of a human.
"Your father is very important to me, and that means you are very important to me. And I will not let Roger or anyone else hurt you or your father again. You're safe here, okay?"
Tommy nodded, but I wasn't sure he understood what Stalker was saying. He was only three after all. He understood fear and, hopefully, if he experienced it long enough, he'd understand safety, as well.
"My friends here"—Stalker waved his hand around to encompass the others at the table—"they'll help keep you and your father safe, just like I will."
"Are they panthers, too?" Tommy asked.
"Most of them, but Bob is a human, Henry is a wolf, Frankie is a coyote, and Sinclair is a hyena."
I gasped as my eyes shot to Sinclair.
Hyenas were hated by just about every shifter species out there. They had a reputation for betraying everyone, including their own. They were the thugs of the shifter world, the dregs of their society. Hyenas are by nature loners. They didn't even answer to a council. Everyone knew that.
"No, no." Stalker grabbed my hand. "It's okay. I swear."
"But—"
"I know why you're scared, Jojo, but you don't have to be. I promise. I would never expose you or Tommy to anyone I didn't trust explicitly."
"Stalker."
"No, listen to me. I know hyenas have a bad reputation, but that's simply because they are loners until they meet their mates. Once they are claimed, they start a pride with their mates. They only have a bad reputation because they run alone until they meet their mates, and so few do."
I frowned as I glanced across at Sinclair again. Could Stalker be telling the truth?
"Sinclair is not only a mated hyena, he is the panther elder and alpha of the pride here."
My head snapped around. "Sinclair is your alpha?"
The man was in a wheelchair. How did that work?
Stalker shrugged. "He's the strongest of us all."
Huh.
"But, even though I live here," Stalker continued, "I haven't joined the pride. I needed to be able to move about when you did so I could keep an eye on you."
