Shifter In Ascent (Louisiana Shifters) Read Free

school her expression.
“I’m not even sure if family means anything to your kind,” the man said, almost conversationally.
Tessa’s brow pulled into a deep frown before she could stop herself. She bit her tongue hard to keep from responding.
“If you try to interfere in any way, or double cross us, we’ll kill your sister,” he said, his icy gaze chilling Tessa to the bone, “Do you understand?”
Tessa nodded stiffly, her stomach roiling.
“And then we’ll just find another demon to do as we ask. Your resistance would be futile,” he said stoically.
Tessa glanced over to James, who gave a brief nod of agreement.
Tessa dropped her gaze down to where her hands lay in her lap. That little bit of hope she’d found was flagging and fading by the minute. The older man seemed satisfied, turning to speak with the younger one.
“You will come to me after the demon has been released,” he ordered.
“Of course, Monsignor,” James said, bowing his head deferentially.
The older man gave Tessa final once over, and then let himself out of the room. Tessa let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, letting her body relax slightly.
“He’s awful ,” she said simply.
James eyed Tessa sharply, disapproving.
“Don’t speak of what you don’t understand,” he said, coming over and drawing up a chair across from Tessa’s. He produced a fat white folder labeled “Louisiana”, handing it over to Tessa. She opened it and flipped through the pages, finding copies of news articles, glossy photos, and printed reports all stacked neatly inside.
Jameson leaned close, gesturing to the documents.
“I know I haven’t explained to you exactly what we do here, Tessa. You probably don’t even realize yet that you’re different from other people, but you are. You and I are aberrations. Our bloodlines have been tainted somehow, mixed with something unnatural,” he said.
Tessa opened her mouth, unsure how to begin her answer.
“You can’t be serious about this demon stuff,” she finally said, for lack of a better argument.
“The Legion believes that anything supernatural is of demonic origin,” James said, sounding as if he were reciting scripture.
“Who the hell is the Legion?” Tessa asked, now hopelessly confused.
“The Legion is a group dedicated to the continued health and survival of human kind. We believe that all supernatural species pose a distinct threat to humans, and must be eliminated,” James explained slowly.
“You think you’re the friggin’ Ghostbusters?” Tessa asked, a hysterical giggle threatening to break free. If these people were really crazy enough to think there were demons walking around, Tessa and Camilla were in even more danger than she thought.
“This is very serious, Tessa,” Jameson rebuked softly.
“And I’m supposed to be- let me guess. A witch? A fairy?” she asked, trying to play along.
“You’re a werewolf, as am I,” Jameson said seriously.
“Oh of course ! A werewolf, yes. How fitting. Now I can finally put my journalism degree to real use. ‘Reporter Discovers Werewolves; Apparently She Is One’. Hah!” Tessa couldn’t keep the derision out of her tone.
“You’ll see for yourself soon enough,” James said mysteriously. Tessa cocked an eyebrow and shrugged, having no response to that.
“The Legion has identified a group of werewolves living in Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. We need to find out more about them. How many there are, their living habits, and their social structure, things like that,” Jameson explained.
“Uh… uh huh,” Tessa muttered. Nothing she said seemed to faze James, so she might as well just agree and get out of this horrible place. Once she got out, she could work out a plan to free Camilla.
“The folder contains all the information we have on werewolves. It’s yours to keep and study, but you must get rid of it before you make contact with the New Orleans werewolves.”
Tessa’s head snapped up