The Skin She's In by Margo Collins (online e book reader .txt) 📕

when we came up with the idea.” He narrowed his eyes at me and tasted the sauce, then added something to it. “Janice thinks it’s the best option we have,” he added, knowing that the leader of the shifters’ Council had been tutoring me in all things shapeshifter recently and that her endorsement mattered to me.

“Yeah, but...” I trailed off, trying to find the words to explain what I was trying to say.

As usual, I didn’t have to find the exact phrase for Kade to understand. Or any words at all. “You’re worried that without a stable home-life, you won’t be able to give these children the same kind of emotional training that your parents gave you.”

I nodded and took a long drink.

“We can provide stability. Everyone wants this to work.”

“Not quite everyone,” I muttered darkly.

“Everyone who is directly involved wants this to work. You cannot be completely responsible for the entirety of the lamia race.”

“It’s more than that.” I considered what to say, how much to share of my own recent insights. “We will have plenty of other weres stepping in to help raise these kids, lots of people to teach them how to be solid shifter citizens. But until they’re grown, I will be the only adult lamia in their lives. I will be the only weresnake they can model themselves on. That feels like a lot more responsibility than simply being their counselor. In that sense, I am kind of responsible for the entire lamia race.”

“Your parents did fine with you, and they’re not shifters at all,” he pointed out.

“But they managed it by encouraging me to focus almost entirely on my human side. I would like to give these children even more.”

Turning down the heat under the sauce, Kade put the wooden spoon down and made his way around to my side of the counter, where he spun the seat of my barstool around until I faced him. Then he took my face in his hands and leaned his forehead against mine. “You’ll do a great job with them.”

Then he pressed his lips against my mouth.

As usual, his kiss almost took my breath away. We hadn’t been together long enough for the sense of wonder at his touch to fade. The sheer heat of our connection didn’t show any signs of abating, either. The brush of his tongue against mine sent sparks shooting through my veins to pool in the pit of my stomach. It wouldn’t take much to stoke that heat into a raging fire.

But if we did that, his lovely dinner would be ruined.

Not that I was sure I cared.

Breaking our kiss and pulling away just far enough so he could speak, Kade rested his forehead against mine. “You will be an amazing role model for these kids. I’m sure of it.”

I smiled and nodded, but I didn’t say anything.

The pool of heat in my belly had turned to cold lead at his words. And though I knew he meant his next words to be comforting, they didn’t help, either.

“We’re still searching for other lamia survivors.”

I couldn’t quite bring myself to say aloud how terrified I was at the prospect of becoming a not-quite-parent to what was looking like it was going to be an entire houseful of weresnakes.

Or that part of me wanted to be a real parent to them.

Chapter 2

THE NEXT DAY, I LEFT work early so Kade and I could attend a shifter Council meeting. I told my boss I had a doctor’s appointment. Eventually, I would have to come up with some other excuse, or Gloria would begin to wonder if I was seriously ill.

I refused to miss any Council meetings, though. As a new Shield, I was expected to learn everything I could about shifters and their cultures. Not that I wouldn’t have done that, anyway. But even more than wanting to learn about shifters, I wanted to be there to intervene in any discussion about the lamia babies.

Because these days, there always seemed to be someone who wanted to talk about them.

Usually, that someone was Hank Cleveland.

From the very first meeting I had attended, Hank had been a thorn in my side, arguing against the inclusion of any lamias in the shapeshifter community.

Hank was also a squirrel-shifter, prone to, as Kade said, “Chattering and scolding.”

I would have dismissed the squirrel, if not for the fact that he apparently had the werewolves backing him up on this.

The wolf pack was fairly large, and I was worried that they might put together a voting bloc to keep the babies from being treated as full shifter citizens.

“Don’t worry.” Janice, the Council leader, patted me on the shoulder as she ushered me into her living room, where most meetings took place. “Half the wolves, including their alpha, are headed out to Georgia soon. Something about a territory dispute with the hyenas.”

“They have hyena-shifters in Georgia?” I asked, startled.

“No. That’s just where the wolves and hyenas are meeting. The territory is right outside of Fort Worth.” Janice’s blue eyes sparkled behind her schoolteacher-style glasses. I knew that when she was close to shifting, particularly under stress, her eyes turned brown. I always took her eyes being blue as a sign that she truly had everything under control. “I might have suggested a few months ago that the Houston hyena clan look into relocating up here,” she continued with a grin.

I blinked. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“I told you werebadgers are badass,” Kade said, having caught my last comment. He stood up from his spot on the sofa to greet me with a kiss. “What has our fearless leader done now?”

“I’ll tell you later,” I said.

From across the room, Hank sneered at me.

I had to admit, my fear of his influence had lessened considerably when I discovered his other form was a squirrel. I had to remind myself that he had more intimidating allies.

As usual, Hank jumped into the discussion almost as soon as Janice opened the floor