Page 197 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Can you give us a ride to the store?” I asked.

“Yeah, why not?” Porter said.

Five minutes later, Stormy and I sat in the back of the car while Porter drove us into town. The streets were quiet. Most of the people we saw out were those I recognized as shifters. Humans were few and far between, and the ones I did see hustled to and from their cars quickly.

“This is weird,” Stormy remarked.

“It’s the attack,” I said. “The mayor and chief said word had spread, as well as stupid rumors. People are believing a bite from a shifter could turn you into one. It’s fucking ridiculous.”

“You got that right,” Porter said. “If that were true, there’d be loads of shifters running around the world.”

“Why would that be?” Stormy asked.

“Uh…” Porter glanced over his shoulder, looking uncomfortable. “Because… well, you know. Right?”

“My friend, I’m not following.” Stormy stared at him in pure befuddlement.

“People, well, they like to bite sometimes. When things get—” he cleared his throat “—intense.”

Stormy still looked confused, and I giggled.

“What the hell are you laughing at?” she demanded.

“Sex, Stormy. He’s talking about rough sex. Spanking, hair pulling,biting. That stuff,” I said.

“Oh.Oh.” Stormy’s cheeks flamed. “Well, all right, then.”

“I always thought you were the sexually adventurous one,” I teased her.

“Okay, then, time to get out,” Porter said, looking panicked. “Enough dirty talk. Time to shop.”

The department store was basically packed with people, almost all of them humans. Porter waited at the entrance of the store, hiding out of sight in case any of Kyle’s men he recognized tried to sneak in. That was probably for the best.

As we shopped, I caught a few whispers.

“A shifter bit him, and he turned. That’s what David Roy said…”

“It was bound to happen eventually. With those animal instincts, it’s surprising this is the first attack we’ve ever…”

“One thing I know? You can’t trust an animal. If it bites once, it’ll bite again…”

Stormy nudged me as she put a box of diapers into her cart. “This is ridiculous. Everyone knows you can’t get turned into a shifter from a bite.”

“Yeah,” I said through gritted teeth. “But fear and panic make people believe strange shit.”

We rounded up most of the items we needed and got into the checkout line. In front of us, two middle-aged women were talking about some government conspiracy. I’d had enough.

“You’re being pretty bigoted, you know that, right?” I said, ending their conversation as they flinched and turned to look at me.

“Excuse me?” one of them said.

“You heard me.” I put my hands on my hips. “Shifters can’t change someone with a bite.”

“Maybe things have changed,” a voice said from behind us.

Turning, I found a familiar woman about my age looking at us with a cocked eyebrow.

“Tess?” Stormy said incredulously.

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