Sophia read through the papers, and a wave of nausea hit Sam. Her nerves made the anxiety inside her grow into a sick churning.
“I see.”
“Well?”
“Do you know if there’s anything with the name of the drug? That would’ve really helped.”
Sam thought back, but all she’d left behind was an invoice from the hospital. She didn’t recall seeing a drug named there, but maybe she’d missed it. “I’ll check again. So you can’t tell from this if this was what caused me to be this way?”
Sophia gave a soft shake of her head. “No, Sam. I’m sorry. I want to tell you it was caused by whatever they gave your mother, but the reality is, it could just be a mutated gene. For all we know your body rejected the gene that allowed the change, and that’s why you’re not a shifter. I’m not sure, but I will find out for you.”
Sam’s spirits plummeted. She’d hoped Sophia would be able to put her concerns to sleep.
“Let me get another sample of your blood, and I’ll look into different drugs I know can cause these kinds of effects OK?”
She nodded and guarded the children while Sophia brought the items necessary to obtain a blood sample.
“Don’t worry, Sam. I will figure this out.”
“Thank you. I really want to know what caused that difference in me versus everyone else.”
She strolled to the front of the house and waved at Sophia. Her mind was so involved in finding answers she almost missed the man that marched out of a truck in front of her.
“Well if it isn’t my little cuz,” Juan Junior spat.
Oh, great. Just what she needed. “What are you doing here, Junior? This isn’t your type of neighborhood. You know the people in this area are all shifters. The Black Meadows Pack doesn’t like people that refer to them as ‘animals.’”
Juan Junior snarled like the very animals he hated. His gaze moved to the door Sam had just left. Sam turned to see Sophia watching him. Sophia had her phone by her ear. Juan’s face was blotchy and his eyes red-rimmed almost as if he’d been drinking all night. He exuded the disgusting smell of sweat, vomit, and liquor.
“So now you’re consorting with animals just like that whore mother of yours, I see.”
Anger bubbled up inside her. His words were meant to hurt, and they’d done the job. She wanted to hit him. She growled and moved, not realizing she’d done it until he was only a foot away from her. “Don’t you dare speak of my mother! She never did anything to any of you.”
“She was a filthy whore that liked to get fucked by animals. You don’t think that bothered us? It made us all look like depraved fools.” Juan yelled at her as if she were a piece of trash in his way.
Her temper snapped. “My father wasn’t an animal, you asshole!” Her voice rose with her temper. “They were in love. She was his mate, and he was hers. Do you even know what love is you self-serving no good son of a bitch!” By the end of her speech she was screaming the words at the top of her lungs at Juan.
Juan’s face reddened to a deep burgundy, and his eyes narrowed with hate. “You little bitch. You think you can talk to me like that and keep my money? That’s my inheritance Ginny put in your name.”
“Yeah? Well guess what primo,” she drawled in the same hillbilly whine Juan used, “I’m giving it all away to charity. Every single cent is going to the poor and the needy.” She smirked at his outraged features. “Yeah. Every…single…penny.” She punctuated each word to drive the point home. He wouldn’t get a single dime if she had to burn it all. She was beyond caring. Juan had gone too far by speaking ill of her parents. “Te lo prometo. I swear I will make sure nothing, not one cent, goes to your greedy fat hands. I hope you rot in hell without a pot to piss in, you bastard.”
She didn’t see the danger until it was too late. He jerked a meaty hand toward her face, shoving her backwards with a loud slap. She fell, landing on her ass from the force of the hit. Pain lanced through her face and made her eyes water. She groaned and lifted a hand to block off other attacks, but be grabbed her by her T-shirt and slapped her across the face again. Needles of torture shot through her cheek and jaw. The taste of metal filled her mouth, and she knew she bled. She tried to get loose from him, but his grip was tight, and he was huge compared to her. She kicked and punched to no avail.
A loud, angry growl filled the air. Juan’s fist stopped mid-air, and they both turned their faces to see multiple wolves surround them. She recognized Riel’s animal instantly. The big brown wolf stepped closer to them until he was only a few feet away. This close, he was huge. He bared his teeth and growled low and deep. His tail and head lowered to an attack position.