Shadowed Instincts Read Online Free PDF Page A

was subdued by some spectators and detained. As punishment for his
deceit, the alpha banished him. He had no choice but to leave the pack and
never come back. My mother was devastated by his dishonorable actions and chose
to stay, making him leave on his own without her. Without me.”
    “Okay,” Jeremy said after a brief pause. “What does this
have to do with me? Why does the pack want me dead?”
    “Even though your father was not the one banished,” Alicia
answered, “there was a stigma cast upon him and his mother. They were outcasts
within the compound. Barely anyone would even speak to them.”
    Her eyes turned toward Don and glassed over. He smiled at
her then turned back to Jeremy and continued the story.
    “Your mother followed her own set of rules. We became
friends in secret, and that friendship grew into more. When we found out she
was pregnant with you, we were overjoyed, but also worried. She had to tell her
father that not only was she pregnant, but that I was the father.
    “He didn’t react like we thought he would. He wasn’t angry.
He was actually happy. In his joy, he announced the good news to the pack, and
well, I guess you can imagine how they took it. They were outraged and called
for my death. The outcast son of a traitor had no business even associating
with the daughter of the alpha, much less fathering her child.”
    “But I don’t understand,” Jeremy said, confused. “What does
it matter? Is it really that big of a deal?”
    “Jeremy, think about it,” his father replied. “Only males
carry the title of alpha.”
    “So?”
    “So, who do you think is next in line for alpha?”
    “Me?” Jeremy asked, disbelief lacing his voice.
    “You,” Don said dejectedly. “The pack called for your
banishment. You weren’t even born yet. They wanted the alpha to decree that you
would be sent away as soon as your mother gave birth.”
    “We were devastated,” Alicia cut in. “I couldn’t believe
that these people I grew up with could be so cruel, just because of what your
grandfather had done. But they are a superstitious lot and thought the blood of
his family was tainted.”
    “So what happened? You guys just ran away?”
    “Not exactly. My father helped us. He gave us money and
contacts to get employment. He even secured us a place to live. We were happy
in New York.”
    The mention of New York brought his cousin Chris to mind.
“What about Chris? He’s older than me. Why wouldn’t he be alpha? Aunt Janine is
your sister.”
    “Honey, Aunt Janine is my half -sister. Our father had
an affair with her mother before he got married to my mom. Her mother was
human, and Aunt Janine did not inherit the shifter gene. She is human, as is
Chris. He can’t be the alpha.”
    “So it’s just me, then. And the pack wants to kill me.
Awesome.”
    “Jeremy,” Don said softly, “your grandfather died right
before we moved here. Someone else, we’re not sure who, took over the reigns as
alpha and it’s that person that wants you dead. He found us and we fled here to
hide. That’s why we were so scared when you said your girlfriend’s dad is an
alpha.”
    “Okay,” Jeremy said, taking a breath and releasing it on a
sigh.  “I’m going to need some time to digest all of this.”
    “Whatever you need, son.”
    “I’ll tell you what I need. I need to go with Melanie to
Kentucky for the summer.”
    “What?” they both exclaimed in unison.
    “Her dad is taking her and her mother back to his pack for
the summer. They said I could come if it’s okay with the both of you.”
    “I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” Don said. “We
don’t know these people and-”
    “Dad, please! I need this! Thanks to you, I know nothing, nothing about my ancestry. I could learn so much from them. Plus, I could be with
Melanie. I have to be. You have to understand that, right?”
    “Jeremy, listen to me. People are trying to kill you. It’s
too dangerous.”
    “You didn’t think it