Shifting Minds (Skull Shifters MC Book 2)

by Tricia Wagner

  I put on the cut over my comfy clothes and I make Jason take a picture of me. I send it to Mel and Kris, just so they can see and Jason laughs at me. “I just want them to know what they’re dealing with.” He laughs again and I smile at him, “J, you make me so happy.” He nods, “Soph, you have no idea. You make me the happiest man in the world. I love you.” That would never get old. I tell him I love him too as I get ready to face the day.

  With the lack of sleep, and the mood I was in because of my new cut, I didn’t know where to even start my day. I knew that I would eventually need to nap, because I am an eight hour a night kind of girl. When I get downstairs I get a few text messages from the girls. Mostly just excitement until my phone starts ringing. I answer it without thinking, “Hello?” Silence then, “Sophie?” Uh? “Who is this?” I hear a sigh and then, “It’s Falcon.” My eyes get a little big, “Did you need something?” I hear him lightly chuckle, “Yeah, something I was told I couldn’t have.” Insert eye roll here. Men. “Jason’s right. We’re very much together. I appreciate the compliment, but you should turn your sights elsewhere.” He laughs again, “See, I think that only makes me want you more.” Shit! “Falcon…” I barely got his name out before the phone was taken from my hand. “You’re gonna listen, and you’re gonna hear me. You’re here because of the man power. Brantley won’t stand for you tryin to move in on my Ol’ Lady. Do it again, and you won’t breathe near a Shifter. Got me?” Shit again! Jason hangs up before I think he even answered. “Sorry, I didn’t think before I answered it. Clients call and I don’t have their numbers. How did he get my number?” Jason shakes his head like he has no clue how he got my number, but he was going to find out. He puts his hand up and gets out his own phone.

  I hear him start a conversation with Brantley, but before he goes on, he heads to the office. So now, I couldn’t even spy on them. Darn. These motorcycle men were crazy! I grab a banana and sit down at his island trying to think about how to process all of this. By the time my banana was gone, I had come up with absolutely no answers. This was going to be a long day.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I wake with a start and realize I’m on the couch. Crap. Another dream, only this time I was fifteen. I get my breathing evened out and I get up to search for Jason. We had been watching a movie and obviously I fell asleep. I hear Jason from the office, so I start to walk back there when the doorbell rings. I turn and look at it, but I don’t feel comfortable answering the door. That’s so sad. I turn to see who is at the door and I hear Jason come out into the hallway. “Babe, hold up a minute.” I do as I’m told and I stop walking. He brushes his hand on my lower back as he passes to the door. He opens it and I see Brantley standing there. I let out a breath and walk back toward the kitchen. I grab some apple juice out of the fridge and sit down at his island. They guys come into the kitchen and Brantley says, “Hey Soph. How ya feelin?” I look to him and say, “I’m good.” Unfortunately, it didn’t come out very convincing. Apparently, stuff is written all over my face because Jason says, “You had a nightmare.” I look to him and give him a weird look because I have no idea how he could possibly know that. “I…How…?” I let out a frustrated sigh as Jason gets in my space. “I can see it in your eyes. Are you all right? I had just left you on the couch maybe ten minutes before you woke up.” I look to him and say, “Jason, I’m fine. It’s just a nightmare. It’s not real.” He nods, “You’re right it’s not real. It did happen though.” I close my eyes, “Yeah, this time I was fifteen though.” Now Brantley gets close, “Is it bringin up that shit?” I look to him and try to keep my voice even as I say, “Guys, I’m fine. I can handle it.” Brantley’s face is hard and not happy, so I look to Jason and all I see is concern. “Seriously, I don’t know what to say here to make you guys feel better. I’m good.” Jason shakes his head, “You don’t know what to say to make us feel better, but we’re worried about how to make this better for you. No one knows the pain and suffering that goes along with nightmare’s better than me or even Mel. Do you know since the night you and I talked about my time in Afghanistan, I haven’t had a single dream? You healed me. I don’t even know what it was that fixed it, but I know that I want to be that person for you.” My mouth dropped open. I cannot believe that I hadn’t noticed he hadn’t had a single dream. I helped him through that?

  I think back to that night, remembering everything that he told me, but not remembering everything I said to him. I had no idea that it had such an impact on him. I don’t get to keep pondering that because Jason continues with, “Then you went and brought Meredith and Jase into our lives. Nothing could mean more to me than to make you feel the way you’ve made me feel.” I shake my head at him, “J, I promise, I’ll get a handle on it.” He pulls me into his chest and says, “We’re all here for you. We just want to help. You don’t have to handle it on your own.” I sigh as he pulls me tight.

  Brantley cuts in with, “We gotta talk.” Jason look to him and nods as he looks back to me, “Soph, we’re gonna be in the office.” I shake my head, “Is it something to do with me?” Brantley looks to me and then the Jason. Jason shakes his head but says, “Yeah.” I start to get mad, but instead I say, “Am I allowed to know?” Jason gives a look to Brantley and Brantley gives him some kind of sign with his eyes. I didn’t see it, but apparently Jason knows. He looks back to me and says, “Yeah.” It doesn’t sound like he wants me to hear it all though. I had to ask, “Do I want to know?” Jason nods. Great. He looks back to Brantley and says, “We might as well just talk about it here. Do you want anything?” He shakes his head and then Brantley looks to me saying, “She doesn’t know all of the background.” Jason agrees and says, “She will.” Great. There’s more that I don’t know. I close my eyes and I feel Jason get close, “Baby, it’s like a Band-Aid right?” I nod as I open my eyes back up, “Okay, well I’ll fill you in on the parts I know. Brantley may have other information right now, that I’m unaware of.” I nod again because I just need him to start. “Okay, Marshall, obviously you know that he’s around. They want ground here again. You also know, that they were banned years ago, and advised they are not welcome here. They still do business with Crowley. Crowley you obviously know that he’s tryin to run drugs through our club. He’s got money. We’re talkin major drug money. We busted him, and we turned in a huge shipment of his. For obvious reasons, he’s pissed. He thinks it was Creed that turned him in. That’s when Crowley started looking at you. He thought you were with Creed and Creed didn’t do anything to protect you. He put you out there, knowing that Crowley would see the two of you together. Now, for obvious reasons, I’m not okay with that. If you’re gonna be with someone, be a man about it. Protect what you consider yours. Well, we just got word that Creed was trying to get Crowley out. Instead of calling us in on the play, he tried to do it on his own. Called out his feelings for you, saying that he hit his Ol’ Lady. Here Crowley thinks you’re in between guys, but doesn’t know which one you actually are with. Doesn’t care, as long as Creed cares about you. That’s why he came to you. When he had you he put out a ransom for you. Clearly, Creed knows your background, and wants to instantly come for you. We got there first. Now, Creed wants to see you. All of this aside, because I’m sure you’ve pieced most of this together, Falcon isn’t giving up. Says he wants to see you and you can tell him no in person. I am not comfortable with this, but that’s why Brantley is here. Or at least, I’m guessin.” I look to Brantley and he nods, “He said you’re it for him. He knows that he belongs with someone like you.” My mouth drops open, “I’ve spoken a handful of words to him. He had saved me from a much worse fate. I mean, I never professed my love for him or anything. That’s insane. J, do I have to see him?” He shakes his head as Brantley speaks, “It’d be easier if you just took the meet and let him know where you stand.” Great. More to worry about.

  “Do I have to see Marshall?” Brantley sighs as Jason says, “Not if you don’t want to.” I shake my head, “Brantley, what is the eas
iest move here. Jason is worried about my well-being, but what’s the best play here for the club?” He smirks at me, “I think you should take both meets. Issue is, Crowley still wants you. By now, he knows someone in his club is clean. He’s on a man hunt for whoever let you out. We don’t want one of our own guys getting killed because he risked it for us. We need to have his back, and that’s why we need to be careful of what we do. The guy who got you out is Falcon’s brother.” Shit! Why was this all so tangled. “Guys, why is my life a soap opera right now?” They both smirk at me. No help there. “So what do I say to these guys?” Jason stands up because I know he’s mad I’m agreeing to this. Especially with Falcon. “We’ll be there. They aren’t closed meets. Hear what they have to say, and you’ll know how to respond. I have no doubt that this will be quick and easy. As soon as it’s done, we feel that Creed can get your name off Crowley’s list. Especially now that I’m understanding you’re wearin colors?” I smile huge at that and nod really fast.

  He chuckles and says, “Shifters has a great group of Ol’ Ladies right now. We couldn’t ask for a better addition. We need to throw a party for that shit soon.” I nod again and add in, “A fire jumping party!” Both their faces fall as I start to laugh. This time Kris would have to be there to help us jump over the fire. My girls may be crazy, but we always had fun. I wonder if Brantley will allow Melanie to get drunk with us now that they have Connor. She’ll probably do it anyways. I smile to myself and let them get me setup with a plan.

  By the time Brantley leaves, I’m meeting with both of these guys in the next two days. First was Falcon. This was because Jason wanted to make Marshall wait longer. Jason was going to make Falcon wait, but with war possibly being the outcome with Marshall and Crowley, he wanted to get Falcon out of the way. Falcon. Sigh. I roll my eyes because it’s not like I would ever date the guy. I mean aside from the obvious that he’s good looking, I’m with Jason. I seriously never had any intention of ever being anything but a friend to him. He was there when I needed him and I would do the same for him, but he needed to understand that that was totally platonic on my end.

  When Brantley left Jason went into the office to “set shit up” while I went back to the couch. I needed to get out of this house, and I was glad for the meetings to do just that. I couldn’t be cooped up for much longer or I was going to start feeling like a prisoner to myself. When Jason came out he sat back down on the couch and I say, “I think I’m looking forward to getting out of the house. No offense. I think you’re probably getting sick of me.” He sighs, “I could never get sick of you. I want you to be comfortable here. Your house is in the process of being fixed up, but we should really discuss living arrangements.” I raise an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” He smiles, “I mean we should be living together. None of this back and forth shit. Really since all of this started, we have been living together, it’s just a matter of picking the place. Yours or mine, baby?” Is he for real? “Seriously, that’s how you’re going to ask me to move in with you.” He smiles again, “We already are moved in together, it’s just a formality.” I roll my eyes and instead of giving him sass I say, “I’ll have to think about it. I don’t know which place I like better.” To this he squeezes my side and I look to him as he says, “Seriously? That easy?” I nod, “That easy. I love you Jason. I’m not going anywhere.” He smiles at that and kisses me. Hard. I wasn’t needing to leave the house anytime soon after this kiss. Hopefully we wouldn’t have to leave for a while and he could back up this kiss with something more. Yum.

  Chapter Twenty

  I walk into the office of Brantley’s house and sit down like I was told. We were meeting on “our turf” and on “our terms”. At least according to Jason. Falcon was going to be here in fifteen minutes, and the four of us were going to meet in here. Four being Me, Jason, Falcon, and Brantley. Melanie wanted to be in here, but Brant shut her down. To say she was unhappy is an understatement. I had to hear about it for an hour yesterday. I tried to explain to her, that it just needed to be done and over with, and I was going to handle it in like five minutes, but she didn’t like that either. Finally, Brantley had to take measures into his own hands, and I personally, didn’t want to know what that meant. Either way, she was out and about today while this was happening.

  That’s why when Jason came around the corner and sat down next to me I started getting really nervous. What was he going to say? Was Jason going to overreact? What could it lead to? I saw Brantley walk in and sit down in the corner, followed by Falcon. I take in all of his features and I almost forget that we have an audience. His eyes are almost gold, and his hair is a light brown. I feel Jason hit my leg as I jump and clear my throat. Woops. Didn’t plan on that being something Jason ever saw. I mean, the man’s good looking. Shoot me! No, wait, please don’t.

  When I look back to Falcon he’s smirking as if he knows what I was just thinking about. Shit. I look to Jason’s piercing green eyes and unfortunately, they aren’t looking at me. If eyes could throw daggers I think his were, and they were aimed for Falcon’s face. Falcon sits down and I turn my attention back to him, “You wanted to meet?” He smiles, “Yeah, I just didn’t realize there would be an entourage.” I shake my head, “Whether they were here or not, the answers would be the same.” He nods, “I see you’re wearin colors now. Glad that pushed him to get serious about his claim.” My mouth dropped a little, “You don’t know anything about our history, or mine for that matter. He had this made before I ever even met you.” He shrugs, as if that’s all the same to him, “A woman like you should never have wound up where you did. I can be sure that doesn’t ever happen again.” Jason started to speak but I beat him to it with, “So a relationship with you would be based off of protection? Not, love or devotion, or the other’s well-being?” I can feel Jason look at me as if he thinks I’m thinking about this proposal. Is he nuts? “Falcon, I can tell you this right now, Jason has done everything in his power to make sure there is no blowback. My situation is caused by Creed and Crowley. They’re the ones to blame. I love Jason. Trust and love are what our relationship is built off of. You think that you can come in here and guarantee my safety, and I’ll fall all over you wanting a relationship with you? What kind of partnership is that?” Wrong word. “Bein an Ol’ Lady isn’t a partnership. So, you’re right, I could never give you that. If you think that you have that with him you’re nuts. He doesn’t look to you as a partner. He looks to you as an Ol’ Lady. Someone who needs to build him up all the time. There is no compromise and there is no foundation. In the MC, you’re supposed to be able to offer things like protection. He can’t even do that, so yeah, I would base it off of protection. At the end of the day at least I could guarantee that you’re alive to see tomorrow.” Did Jason look down on me now that I’m his Ol’ Lady? I mean, I know with things in the MC there is no compromise. He always gets his way. Outside of that, don’t I have a choice? Falcon stands, “I can see your wheels are turnin. I just want a chance to prove my case. Without these guys around, I could show you what life with me could be like.” That’s never what I wanted though. I just want Jason. That’s it.

  I was just about to tell him this when Jason stands up and says, “One day. You have one day.” My mouth drops, was he crazy? I snap my eyes to him and then I look to Brantley. I give Brantley the help signal with my eyes, but he was watching Jason. My Old Man just offered me up for twenty-four hours. “Um…excuse me? Is this your decision to make?” Jason makes a motion and Falcon heads out the door with Brantley. I look to him and I want to cry. “You don’t want me?” He shakes his head, “I want you to be sure. I saw the way you looked at him when he walked in here.” No. “Jason, that’s not what that was. I mean obviously he’s good looking, but I don’t want him like that. I want you! You seriously just offered me up for twenty-four hours…” He cuts me off, “No, an afternoon. You go with him and come home to me. That way you know for sure, I’m who you want.” I shake my head, “I already am sure.” He nods, “The
n this won’t be a problem and we get him off our back.” I start to shake a little, “But I don’t know him. How do we know he’ll bring me back?” He smiles, “He’ll bring you back. Baby, get this outta your system and when you come back I have a surprise for you. I need him to go away, and I need your head to be clear.” I shake my head. I didn’t want to go.

  Honestly, if Jason wants me to go I know that I have to. I needed to be clear, “If you make me do this then I don’t know if I’ll be able to be with you afterwards.” His face gets tight, “Why?” I almost cry, but I refuse, “If you send me with him, that means that you aren’t trusting me to make a decision with the information I have now. The knowledge that I have now, is that I’m in love with you. If you think that can just go away in the blink of a pair of golden eyes, then you don’t know me very well. I know how this MC stuff works, and unfortunately if you pushed it I would do it. What I cannot guarantee is how I’ll feel about you afterwards. Not because of him making me feel differently, but because you put me in the position you’re about to put me in. How fair is that? When I thought you might have feelings with Meredith, did I leave you with her for an afternoon to sort out your feelings? No! I asked you and believed you when you said you didn’t have those feelings for her. So, should I not believe you?” His face isn’t giving anything away.

  He stands up and walks out of the office leaving me sitting there by myself. I had no idea if what I had said made any sense to him at all, but I know that I had to be honest with him. He was crazy if he thought one afternoon with Mr. Golden eyes would do anything for me. Jason comes back in, and he has a half smirk on his face, “You’re not goin. He’s insisting that if he can’t have the afternoon, that he speaks to you alone, now. If you don’t want to I’ll put my foot down and this will be over right now. If you are okay with hearin him out, then let’s do it because he’ll go away faster.” I nod, “I can handle that. J, I’m not sure how I feel about you, even though you’re not making me go. I mean, it was your idea for me to go in the first place.” He nods, “I know, we’ll discuss us later. Right now, get this done. Soph…end it.” I nod, because I had no intention of making it worse. He half nods and pulls me in for a kiss. When he’s done I’m breathless and I hear him mutter “Beautiful” before he leaves the room.