Shifting Selves by Mia Marshall Read Free Book Online Page B

was as erratic and unpredictable as any flame.
    “How the hell did you end up relatively normal?” I muttered to my best friend.
    She smiled at me. It was quick, a simple, open smile, but it was answer enough. She’d survived being raised by Josiah because, somehow, Sera had always known exactly who she was.
    “I trust her, father.” The words were quiet, the barest whisper, but it was the first time I’d ever seen Sera openly defy her father. Everyone else, sure. She barreled through life, doing exactly as she pleased and demanding the rest of the world conform to her specifications. While her father might have seen her angry, even angry at him, she’d never before refused him.
    “Serafina,” he cajoled, confident she would change her mind. She only shook her head and held his gaze, a little nervous but still determined.
    “Aidan,” my mother said, “come home. There’s no reason for you to remain here, and I’m sure I can convince the aunts not to shun you for telling the FBI about us. You really had no choice, thanks to Josiah and his pet.” Her glare was icy, more anger than one usually saw in a water. I really did have a way of bringing out her best.
    It didn’t matter what she said. It didn’t even matter how much anger I felt for my parents. None of that had anything to do with my decision. There was one fact of which I was certain, and that made my choice easy. “I am home, mother.”
    My mother offered no reply, once again as calm and placid as any water. Her face was the funhouse mirror version of my own. We were so much alike we could pass for sisters among humans, but she was pure water, fluid and adaptable, whereas I was stubborn and focused.
    Even so, I wasn’t fooled. She was calm now because she believed I could still be convinced, and she was already considering each argument I offered and devising counter-strategies. Smiling serenely, she nodded her head and strode to the door, leaving without another word.
    Josiah started to follow, then stopped abruptly. “I can’t just ignore this situation and watch you go utterly mad. You are still my daughter.”
    I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter how often you say it. It doesn’t make it true. You provided some genetic material, but you’ve never been my father.” I didn’t wait to hear his response or see how my words might wound. I walked quickly up the staircase, leaving him behind.
    Even so, I heard his final words to Sera. “Please. Try to talk some sense into her.”
    There was a low murmur, words I was unable to pick out, but her final reply was unmistakable. “Leave, father. Leave while you still have one daughter left.” The door shut quietly behind him.
    The next morning, I awoke to a silent house. I crept downstairs and fixed myself a cup of tea. It was one ritual I’d reclaimed from my days of solitude. I’d wake with the sunrise and sit at the breakfast bar with my mug and journal and see what my subconscious felt like writing about that day. It was still the best therapy I knew.
    Some days, Vivian would join me before catching a ride to the university for her graduate classes. A week prior, she’d officially given up her apartment on campus, choosing to move into the cabin permanently and bringing along a small mountain of computer equipment. She gave no reason for her choice, but I thought I understood. After everything that happened, it would be a long time before any of us really felt safe alone.
    Today, it was just me at the breakfast bar. I wrote for a long time, attempting to sort through my various parental angst. When my personal life remained an unsolvable mess, I outlined what little we knew about the missing shifter boy, looking for connections we overlooked the day before. I knew the agents would want me to update them, but that didn’t sound nearly as interesting as figuring it out myself. Besides, it wasn’t even eight o’clock. They wouldn’t be in the office yet. I was only being helpful by taking