Wild Shadow : A Sweet Paranormal Romance

by Martha Dunlop

  A cat raced across the road followed by a red cockapoo, barking furiously. A car’s brakes screeched. It swerved, narrowly missing the dog.

  Tabitha let out her breath in a rush. The dog was still racing around, agitated as it looked for the cat and its owner by turns. Tabitha crossed the street and then crouched down. ‘Come here, my lovely,’ she called. She made clicking noises with her tongue and found a cat treat in her coat pocket. ‘Here you are, beautiful, come to Tabitha.’ The dog hesitated for a moment, its head cocked on one side, and then it padded over and sat down in front of her, wagging its tail. Its tongue lolled out on one side as it panted, its big brown eyes fixed hopefully on Tabitha.

  She held out the treat and the dog took it gently with its lips, not touching her fingers with its teeth at all. ‘Aren’t you a lovely, gentle doggy.’ She caught hold of the lead that was trailing from its collar and started walking up the road in the direction it had come from.

  ‘Percy, come. Percy, where are you? Come back now, please …’ The voice was faint, but Tabitha followed it, breaking into a jog and watching with a smile as Percy’s enthusiasm mounted. Soon he was pulling at his lead and she really had to run to keep up.

  ‘Oh, thank goodness.’ A woman spied her and smiled, dropping into a crouch and holding her arms out as Percy ran into them. She clutched him to her chest. ‘He ran after that cat and pulled the lead right out of my hand. Where did you find him?’

  ‘Just further down the road. The stars were in his favour today. The car managed to swerve around him. He’s such a beautiful dog, so gentle and friendly.’

  ‘Thank you,’ the woman said, wiping a tear from her eye. ‘He’s normally so nervous around people. You must have a real knack with animals.’

  Tabitha smiled. ‘I’m pleased I was there for him. You go home and have a drink. You look like you could do with it. I suspect Percy could do with a big cuddle on the sofa too.’

  She waved and walked on, smiling as the woman called more thanks down the road after her. She reached back to Percy with her mind, but he was happy, focused on searching for food along the side of the road, completely unscarred by his near-death experience.

  The road up to the zoo was long and twisty, but Tabitha loved the young saplings that grew in the fields on either side and the long, yellow grass that surrounded them. The potential was so strong here that it never failed to warm her insides and remind her what a never-ending miracle life really was. A red kite wheeled overhead, and she wondered what little field animal might be hiding in the grass, trying not to become lunch.

  ‘Tabitha.’ The voice from behind her made her heart beat faster. She stopped, turning slowly. Dylan was running towards her, his dark-blond hair artfully mussed, his stubble a shade too long. He was dressed in the outfit she had seen him in at the cafe, a dark red shirt with indigo jeans and black boots. He looked ready for an evening drinks party, not the freezing, muddy conditions of the zoo.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, smiling.

  ‘I assumed you knew?’ he said, his grin widening. ‘It was that letter you brought me at the pub. I’m the new manager at the Playbarn.’

  A thrill of excitement shot through Tabitha. ‘You got the job?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘Will it still leave you time to work on your compositions?’

  Dylan stopped walking. He frowned. ‘How did you know I was composing again? Have the boys been shooting their mouths off?’

  Tabitha’s face flooded with warmth. She had been a tiger when she saw him composing. She wasn’t supposed to know. ‘Yes.’ She took the offered way out. ‘Linden was in my gallery earlier. He mentioned it.’

  ‘I hope he didn’t give you grief?’ Dylan said, his frown deepening.

  ‘Don’t worry. Just a lot of prancing and posturing.’

  ‘Sorry. I have no idea what his problem is at the moment.’

  ‘I can look after myself.’

  ‘I believe you, but everyone needs looking after sometimes, whether they can do it themselves or not. Does anyone look after you, Tabitha?’

  ‘Emily looks after me.’

  ‘Your cat?’ Dylan raised his eyebrows but didn’t smile.

  ‘My cat. I know she seems soft as anything, but she can be pretty edgy when she doesn’t like someone and she’s a shrewd judge of character. The owls outside the cottage keep an eye on me too. They guard my threshold.’

  He laughed. ‘You have it all worked out, I see, but it doesn’t sound like you have much human companionship.’

  ‘Are you after the job?’

  ‘If I said yes, would that make me like Max?’

  Tabitha smiled. ‘I don’t think you’ll ever be like Max.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  She gestured up the hill to the entrance. ‘Are you ready for your new job?’

  Dylan grimaced. ‘My new boss is pretty fierce.’

  ‘Sophie? She’s not really. She’s an animal person and doesn’t have much patience with people, so don’t expect any new-boy favours, but she’s kind and loyal. I like her. She’ll never treat you unfairly or be underhand.’

  ‘You’re a good person, Tabitha. So many people judge and pigeon-hole everyone they meet. You don’t do that.’

  Tabitha shrugged. ‘I don’t see the point. I’ve been judged enough in my life to know it’s a load of rubbish. People see me and they think …’ She tailed off. Her forehead creased into a frown; her lips pursed.’

  ‘They think what?’

  ‘They think I’m weird, mad, a witch, whatever their particular fear is. They see differentness and think it’s a problem, not an opportunity.’

  ‘What about me? Do you see my differentness?’

  She smiled. ‘I do. Right now you are change. You have so many beautiful colours around you, and some scared sludgy ones too. You are standing at a crossroads and I don’t think either of us know which way you will go. That’s exciting. Make the most of it.’

  Dylan swallowed. ‘Where did you learn to do that?’

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘Read people.’

  Tabitha shrugged and shoved her hands in her pockets. ‘I didn’t. This is just the way I am.’

  ‘You said people think you’re a witch. Are you?’

  ‘Would it matter if I was?’

  ‘Everything about you matters, Tabitha. I want to know it all.’

  Tabitha was silent for a moment. They were approaching the gate to the zoo so she slowed to a stop near a huge oak tree and leaned on the trunk, flattening her palms against the rough surface. ‘I honestly have no idea. I am who I am and I don’t need a label. I follow my own truth, listen to my own conscience and always try to be the best version of myself I can. I have a close connection with animals, particularly tigers and my cat, Emily. I have owls nesting in the tree outside my house wherever I live, and I love being in nature. I am always authentic, and I live in my own power. Does that make me a witch?’

  Dylan grinned. ‘I like that. I’ve lived with labels for so long I think I’d forgotten they were optional.’

  Tabitha stared at him for a moment, and then her face broke into a smile wider than he’d ever seen it. ‘Well then, maybe I am doing some good in Wildley Forest Village. I was beginning to think this move was a mistake. Come on, let’s get inside. I have some sketching to do. I have a waiting list as long as my arm for paintings, and more than one of my customers are getting impatient.’

  23

  Dylan

  Tabitha was waved into the zoo before she’d even got her membership card from her purse, but the man looked at Dylan with raised eyebrows. ‘If you want a ticket, the desks are over there.’

  ‘Thanks, but I’m the new Playbarn Manager.’

  At that moment, Sophie strode through the shop and straight to the reception desk. ‘Are you ready to begin?’ she asked.

  A thrill of excitement shot through Dylan. ‘Yep. As ready as I’ll ever be.’ He undid the buttons on his cuffs and rolled up his
sleeves. ‘Show me where you need me.’

  ‘Here,’ Sophie handed him a pile of clothes. ‘The toilets are over there. Go and change into your uniform and I’ll take you over.’

  Dylan came back out, straightening his bright blue polo shirt. The uniform was different to the one he had seen Max wearing, and the staff on reception and in the shop had yet another variation.

  Sophie kept up a steady stream of information as they walked across the grass to the Playbarn. The zoo had just opened and there were only a few visitors clutching coffee cups.

  ‘The Playbarn opens an hour later than the zoo,’ Sophie said, ‘so you’ll have a chance to meet your staff and look around.’

  He pulled his shoulders back and plastered a big smile on his face as he walked through the door.

  The people inside looked exhausted. They turned slowly, saw Sophie and every one of them straightened.

  ‘Dylan is your new manager,’ Sophie said without cracking a smile. ‘Please will you show him the ropes.’ She turned to Dylan. ‘They’ll get you started. If you have any questions, my direct line is here.’ She handed him a business card, nodded and left.

  TABITHA

  ‘Good luck!’ Tabitha called out to Dylan, waving. He smiled and held up a hand, but he looked nervous and she chuckled as she strode out to the tiger enclosure.

  With his new job, Dylan was walking deeper into her life. She couldn’t help smiling when she thought about bumping into him at the zoo, but she would have to work harder to protect her anonymity. If he found out her other identity, her story would eat into her normal life. And she had worked hard to avoid that.

  At the top of the hill above the tiger enclosure she looked around. There was nobody in sight and she smiled, filling her lungs with fresh, clean air. Spreading out her waterproof picnic blanket, she sat down and took out her sketchbook. She lined up the book and pencils on the rug in front of her, closing her eyes and feeling into the space around her. There was the hum and chaos of human interaction. Shouts and giggles threatened to break through her trance, but she distanced herself from them, looking for something deeper. Underneath the day trip wrapping, she found the normal, daily life of the zoo. She felt the keepers. They were focused on the animals in their care, distracted by home concerns. She felt the heady mix of excitement, happiness, exhaustion and turmoil coming from every corner of the zoo. Below that was the constant hum of the animals. She felt the tigers in the enclosure below her. They were frustrated and pent up and their aggression poured out of the enclosure. She wondered whether they were locked in their sleeping area again. Putting her pencil to the sketch pad in front of her, she allowed her awareness to snake through the trees and towards the night quarters. She felt her tiger-self manifest more strongly as she walked through the enclosure towards the door, sensing the other cats’ frustration build to a boil.

  The door to the sleeping quarters slid up and the first tiger charged out. Its ears were back, its body low to the ground. Why was it so riled? It could only be Max.

  Her white-tiger-self dropped into a defensive crouch and met the aggression of the male head-on. Her human-self drew while the white tiger roared, rearing up high and showing her massive bulk to warn the cat off. She snarled, her long teeth bared and then swiped at the male. He yowled and recoiled. Up on her hind legs, she swiped at the cat again as it pounced, fighting for dominance.

  ‘What is that tiger doing? It’s fighting with itself!’

  Tabitha heard the child’s voice as though it were travelling through water, but it served to pull her back to her body and she felt herself ground, felt the hard earth beneath her. She opened her eyes.

  The tiger was looking around, growling and sniffing the grass by its feet.

  ‘Look at it now, Mummy,’ the voice said, breaking into giggles. ‘Isn’t it strange? Do tigers always do that?’

  Tabitha tuned out the chatter and focused on watching the cats from a distance. She forced her tiger form to recede so the cats could no longer see it. She had no idea why she was a tiger when she astral travelled, but even as a young child her parents had seen a white-striped kitten running around the house when she was drawing. She was almost positive they had never worked out it was her.

  She felt Max’s energy before she saw him, and slammed her sketchbook shut as he sat on the blanket next to her. ‘Don’t you have to feed the cats? Or put enrichment activities in their cage?’ she said, turning to look at him. This was her time; sacred space where she only had to think about drawing and connecting with the cats. This was her power time, her renewal. All Max did was drain her with his insecurity and creepy attempts to win her over.

  ‘I wanted to see you.’

  Tabitha sighed. ‘That’s flattering, thank you, but I need to concentrate on my commission right now.’

  ‘A commission?’ Max’s forehead creased. ‘What kind of commission?’

  ‘A painting of the tigers.’

  ‘My tigers?’

  Tabitha gritted her teeth. She had humoured Max day after day in an attempt to make things easy when she visited, but he was monopolising more and more of her time and she was falling behind. ‘They are not your tigers. You are their keeper.’

  ‘A little tetchy today, aren’t we?’

  ‘Do I need to remind you to keep a respectful distance, Max?’

  ‘Wow.’ He got to his feet. ‘I was just being nice.’

  She picked up her sketch book and pencils, and folded up her blanket. ‘I’m going to say this one last time. Leave me alone.’ She walked away without turning back. She felt his gaze on her back but didn’t care.

  Desperate for some quiet, she wandered the paths looking for a place to settle. The lion enclosure was heaving with families and the meerkats nearby were also mobbed. It was only at the rhino enclosure, at the far side of the zoo, that she was able to find any peace. With its wide sweep and exposed windy space, it was largely empty except for an occasional car driving past.

  Tabitha’s pencil flew over the sketch pad, creating the images she saw in her mind. Two men fighting in sheet rain with a dark, stormy sky overhead. A tree, fallen against the side of the tiger enclosure. A tiger walking up the fallen tree branch. A tiger on the wrong side of the fence. The images flew so fast through her mind and she filled the book with sketches, dotting back and forth between them as the images shifted and morphed. An hour later, she slammed her sketchbook shut. ‘No,’ she muttered from between gritted teeth. ‘No more.’ She had no reason to believe these images were anything to worry about and she certainly couldn’t take them to Max or the zoo authorities. She formed a wall in her mind and pushed the pictures to the other side, blocking their intrusion. Tucking the sketchbook under her coat, she headed for the exit.

  24

  Dylan

  By the end of the day, Dylan was frazzled and exhausted. The noise and chaos in the Playbarn had exceeded his expectations so drastically he was starting to wonder what he had let himself in for and how quickly he could transfer into some other position. He regularly managed packed pubs full of drunk fans storming the stage, but the revolving door of shouting and screaming children had done him in. They had three children with minor cuts and bruises and one mum who put in a complaint after her child was hit in the face by a toddler.

  The light was fading when Dylan finally locked the door. The visitors had gone and there wasn’t a keeper to be seen. He wandered over to the tigers, allowing the fresh air to flow through his system, easing his headache. He looked automatically up to the hill behind the enclosure, but Tabitha wasn’t there.

  A voice froze him in his tracks.

  ‘Come on, you’re a predator for God’s sake. Show me your teeth. Or do I have to come in there and make you?’ Max was standing in the exclusion zone between the public area and the tiger’s enclosure. Two massive cats were pacing on the other side of the fence. He poked his fingers through the boundary, pushing them into a thickly furred flank. The tiger leapt away and then dropped into a cr
ouch, snarling, its long teeth bared.

  ‘That’s better.’

  Dylan stepped back, putting a leafy, green bush between him and Max. Taking out his phone, he pulled up a search engine. A battery alert flashed up. He closed it, and then typed ‘Tiger Keepers’ into the search bar.

  ‘We never enter the enclosure with the cats …’ the first interview said. ‘In a good zoo, no keepers are ever allowed into enclosures with large predators,’ said another. He looked up Wildley Forest Zoo and scoured the website for details. He typed ‘tiger keeper in enclosure’ into the search bar, but there were no results. He tried again with lion and one heading came up.

  INQUIRY LAUNCHED INTO LION KEEPER ACCIDENT

  Yesterday our lion keeper, Samantha Cooper, was injured whilst setting up enrichment activities in the lions’ enclosure. We are relieved to report that Samantha is stable and will make a full recovery. Samantha is an experienced keeper who has looked after large predators for many years. It is currently unclear how the lions were able to enter the enclosure with her. The zoo policy is to keep a secure barrier between predators and keepers at all times and Samantha was expert at maintaining protocol. A full inquiry is being held into what happened, and the zoo will take all appropriate action to ensure that it is never repeated.

  He looked up at Max who was now leaning against the fence, his shoulder eye-wateringly close to the enormous predators. One of the tigers growled, but Max just laughed.

  Dylan opened the camera on his phone. The battery light flashed up again, and then the phone went dead. ‘Damn,’ he muttered to himself. He pressed the on button again. Nothing.