by Eve Langlais
“Morning,” he said.
“A good one, I’d wager, given whose room you came out of.” She arched a brow.
Heat rose in his cheeks. “Erm, yeah. Uh.”
She laughed. “Your expression is priceless. I’m not judging. I’m happy for you. Both of you.”
“I’m happy, too. I think she’s the one.” The woman to finally make this ’roo settle down.
Flip. A pancake went from raw dough to golden brown. “Why do you sound so glum about it?”
“Because she has no idea what I am.”
“Which was your first mistake. And a surprise. How the hell does she not know? Scent alone—”
He interrupted. “Don’t forget, we grew up with the knowledge of what we are. We’re taught how to recognize scent. She wasn’t. To her, we probably just all smell funny.”
“So tell her.”
He grimaced. “Tell her, she says. Exactly how do I explain that I am not just a man but a kangaroo, too? That the world she thought she knew is a lie? That shapeshifters exist.”
Maisy held the flipper in the air and wagged it at Jeb. “Not a lie, just bigger than she knew. Did it ever occur to you that maybe telling her about cryptids would help her accept what was done to her?”
“Except she’s not a cryptid. She’s human. Was human,” he corrected. “Now she’s an experiment. Something that has to be hidden from not only humankind but even our own people. You know what they’ll do to her.”
“You don’t know for sure they’d lock her away.”
“Don’t I?” He arched a brow. “If we can’t hide her wings, then those in authority won’t see another choice. If FUC catches her, they’ll put her in another prison. Sure, it will be a nicer one—they’re not complete bastards—but she won’t be free.”
“What can you do then?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.” An admission he hated to make, especially since he’d fallen in love with her and wanted to take her somewhere far away where no one would ever find her and try to hurt her.
Words he wished he’d said to her because, when he returned to the bedroom to announce breakfast was ready, he found the bed empty, the window open. Nev had flown the coop.
15
Nev knew what they said about eavesdropping. You never heard anything good, and yet, not long after Jeb slipped from bed, she couldn’t help herself. Especially once she heard the murmur of voices. She missed part of the conversation, but she heard enough to make her sad. Heard him say she was human. But the most important thing she heard?
I can’t be free. Deny it all he wanted to her face, he spoke the truth to Maisy.
It hurt to realize the night of passion was but a momentary blip. Yes, he was attracted to her. And her to him. The reality remained. She was a freak, and if she stuck around, someone would put her in a cage.
It seemed best if she left. Now. Before she dragged Jeb down with her. She’d seen enough conspiracy movies to know that anyone associated with her might end up locked up, too—or worse.
She took only long enough to throw on some clothes, ignoring the tingling of her body that still recalled—and craved—his touch. Since she couldn’t leave via the door, she heaved open the window, wincing at the creak. But the conversation outside the room continued.
She exited the window, silently cursing as her wings got caught on the edges. A bit of wiggling and she got out, but faced a new dilemma. Where to go?
Did it matter?
Anywhere. Away. She began marching, her pace quick.
Not quick enough to escape Jeb, who caught up and marched beside her.
“Going somewhere, Angel?”
She wouldn’t look at him. Wouldn’t let herself be swayed by his good looks. “Thanks for your help, but it’s time I took off and did things on my own.”
“Where are you going to go?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where you going to get money? Food? Clothes? Where will you shelter?”
With every question, her lips stretched until they were a thin line. “I don’t know,” she finally screeched. “But I have to do something.”
“Come back to the house with me.”
“Why?” she said, whirling to face him.
“Maisy went through her books—”
“I don’t give a damn about her books. Don’t you get it? I’m a freak. Drinking some potion, doing some witchy dance, all that old wives’ tale mumbo-jumbo won’t change the fact I have wings!”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t. Look at you.” She waved a hand in his direction. “Perfectly normal. You can go anywhere you like. No one will say shit to you. No one will try and lock you up.”
“I know a place—”
“To hide me?” She laughed, the sound discordant and bitter. “For how long? Eventually someone will see me. Or videotape the sideshow freak with wings.”
“Angel—” He probably meant to say more except there was a blaring of horns. They’d not actually made it far from the house, which meant, when they turned around, they could see the two vehicles that slammed to a halt by the house, dust momentarily covering them.
From one bounced that woman from before—the blonde one—except this time she’d brought a man with her. A big man who wore a sling on his chest for the baby he pulled out of the backseat. While he did that, the blonde marched over to the other vehicle and rapped on the window.
“What the hell is Miranda doing here?” Jeb muttered. “This won’t be good.”
“You told her I’d be here?”
“Nope. Only people who knew were my brothers. And before you say it, they wouldn’t have told.”
“So how did they find us?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest.
“I don’t know, but I aim to find out. Come on.”
“Are you insane? They’ll see my wings.”
“They already know about them.”
“What?”
He didn’t reply. His fingers laced through hers, tugging her back toward Maisy’s home and driveway.
As they neared, they could hear raised voices. Miranda harangued a man in the second vehicle while the big dude with the baby hung back.
“Who’s the guy with the baby?” she asked.
“Miranda’s hubby. And that’s their joey.”
“They brought their baby boy to capture me?” she asked, utterly confused.
“Girl. Name of Kelly, if I recall correctly.”
“So they brought their baby girl? Doesn’t make it any better,” she snapped.
“Means they didn’t expect any trouble. Chase is protective of the little mite.”
“Who’s the other guy?”
The fellow had stepped out of the vehicle finally. Tall, thin, the hair atop his balding pate but a few stubborn strands. He wore a suit, gray slacks and blazer over a white collared shirt, even a tie. He stared down his nose at Miranda, who shook her finger at him.
They got close enough to catch the words.
“…don’t appreciate going behind my back. We were handling this.”
“The only thing fuck should handle is four-legged furry things. Leave ass business alone.”
The foul language surprised Nev. Especially given the fellow looked rather uptight. Her head spun trying to keep up.
“We don’t know for sure it’s ass business.”
“She has wings.” Making it pretty clear why he was here. His hand swept in Nev’s direction for emphasis. Spotted.
“Is it too late to run?” she whispered.
“Don’t worry, Angel. Despite how it looks, these people won’t hurt you.” Jeb tried to reassure, but Nev had a bad feeling.
Miranda shook her head, and her blonde hair bounced. “Just because she’s got wings doesn’t automatically make her one of yours.”
“Council says she is,” the guy in the suit said smugly.
“You told the council about her?” screeched Miranda.
“Who’s the council?” Nev a
sked Jeb, whose fingers had tightened around hers.
“The people who govern ass, fuck, and everyone else.”
“There are people governing that?” she said, her eyes wide open.
“No. Not how you think. Shit.” He turned to her. “Listen, there’s things I haven’t told you. Things I had to keep secret.”
She stared at him, spotting the worry in his gaze. “Did you tell them I was here?”
“No. Of course not. But despite my efforts, they know about you. Apparently, they’ve found a way to track you.”
“I’m so confused.”
“I promise to explain everything. Just give me a chance.”
“No more chances for you. Step away from the woman.” The man in the suit approached, an annoyed-looking Miranda at his heels.
“You can’t just barge in on an active investigation,” Miranda harangued.
“Quiet, rabbit, or I’ll have you brought up on charges of obstruction, meddling—”
“Watch your tone, Mr. Boviary,” the baby daddy rumbled. “That’s my honey you’re threatening.”
While the big man didn’t do anything, Boviary blanched. “Tell your wife this is ass business.”
“But fuck—”
“Has no jurisdiction.”
Wide-eyed, Nev watched the exchange and finally blurted, “My ass belongs to me. You ain’t taking it and whoring it.”
Boviary blinked at her. “What are you talking about, woman?”
“My name is Nevaeh.”
“And I am Francois Boviary, ass agent.”
Jeb muttered, “Ass stands for Avian Soaring Security. Think of them as law enforcement and governing body for all aerial cryptids.”
“What’s a cryptid?” Nev asked.
“People who are not pure human.”
“Like me,” she said.
“Like all of us,” Boviary announced. “Of course, some of us are more evolved than others.” His words only confused the issue.
“He just insulted me, Chase,” Miranda growled as her husband held her back.
“I don’t understand,” Nev stated. “What’s he saying? What’s going on?”
“Does the woman not know?” Boviary asked with some surprise.
“No,” Jeb replied.
“What don’t I know?” Nev asked, unable to stop herself from sounding cross.
“Oh, for carrot’s sake. Someone needs to explain to the girl. Honey”—Miranda faced her—“we’re shapeshifters.”
“Hunh?” Because the claim made no sense.
Boviary sighed. “Who will demonstrate?”
“Demonstrate what?” Nev asked, understanding something was happening but unable to figure it out.
For some reason, Miranda peeled off her shirt then her pants. Nev felt her rage growing as the woman denuded herself in front of Jeb. Felt her fingers extend into claws. Knew her eyes must be glowing.
Then assumed she was losing her mind because, next thing she knew, Miranda wasn’t there anymore. But a giant bunny with great big fangs was!
“She’s— She’s—” Nev couldn’t quite spit it out.
“She’s a shapeshifter. And an agent for fuck which stands for Furry United Coalition,” Jeb explained.
“And he’s…” Nev pointed to Boviary.
“A bird.”
“Show me,” she said to the prim and proper man. Because, in spite of the bunny, she still didn’t quite believe.
Stripping and folding his clothes first, Boviary turned into a man-sized bird, all long legs, orange beak, and spotted plumage.
She blinked. “Who else is an animal here?”
Maisy, who’d been standing silently behind them this entire time said, “I’m a kitty.”
Again, Nev didn’t believe it until she saw it. A big black panther with vivid yellow eyes. Then there was the bear, who cradled the baby in his arms. A menagerie of animals. She looked at Jeb. Finally grasping the truth but wanting to see it with her own eyes.
“Show me.”
“I wanted to tell you,” he said, apology in his gaze.
“Show. Me.”
And he did. His body melted and reshaped into a kangaroo of all things.
The man she’d slept with. The man she’d trusted.
A liar.
No wonder he’d never had a problem with her wings.
“You’re a freak, too,” she murmured, part shock, part wonderment. They all were.
“Not freaks. We are cryptids. Or, if you prefer the more modern term, shapeshifters.” Boviary had turned back into himself—his human self. “And you are one of us. We’ve been trying to find you since the institute burned down.”
“You knew about me?”
“Only recently. FUC was holding back information. It was only by chance that we learned of your existence. We immediately requested you be turned over.”
“So you could lock me up,” she hotly retorted.
Boviary didn’t feign his surprise. “Why would we do that?”
“Because I’m a freak.” She fluttered her wings.
“You are one of us.”
“You mean to say you’re okay with me running around with these puppies?” Again, she fluttered them.
“For safety reasons, we obviously can’t allow you to be seen by humans. However, we do have a place for you to go where you will be safe. Free. Where no one will think it odd you have wings. With others of your kind. The aerie can provide you a home. Something these people have neglected to tell you.” The man with the long, stork-like legs and beakish nose glared at the assembled motley group, undaunted by his nudity.
Meanwhile Nev wanted to sink into the ground. Maybe scream a little. Definitely wished for some towels or blankets to cover up all the folk when they returned to their less hairy selves. Except for Jeb. Jeb looked mighty fine naked.
For a liar.
“You’re a kangaroo,” she exclaimed, jabbing her finger at him.
“Yeah.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
He shifted, looking uncomfortable. “Wasn’t sure how.”
“Rules prevented him from saying anything,” Maisy interjected, earning a dark look from Nev.
“You lied, too. And while I don’t know the rest of you”—she shot a glare all around—“I’ll bet you all would have lied.”
“Our existence is not something to be shared with mere humans,” announced Boviary.
“But I’m not human, anymore,” Nev shouted, her wings lifting and spreading in agitation. “And you let me think I was an aberration.”
“I wanted to tell you—” Jeb exclaimed.
“But you didn’t. You didn’t tell me that there were others like me. That I had a place to go.”
“The aerie is a tightly guarded secret. I wasn’t sure they’d take you.”
“Did you ask?” she inquired, a tad too sweetly. “Did you call up anyone and say hey, got myself a bird lady. You guys got room for her?” Before he could reply, she yelled, “No, you didn’t. How could you?” Left unsaid were the words I trusted you.
Funny how his betrayal hurt worse than anything else that hurt her before.
16
Angel’s voice broke, and something inside Jeb broke with her.
He held out pleading hands. “I’m sorry. Angel—”
“Don’t you Angel me. You should have told me.”
“I was going to.”
“When? Before we had sex? Oh, that’s right. We already did that. So when, Jeb? When would you have told me I had a place to go? People who would accept me for who I am? A place where I didn’t have to hide?”
The words cut through him because, the truth was, he had been afraid. Afraid that if she knew there might be somewhere for her to go that she would leave.
Leave me.
And now, the nightmare was coming true. She was striding toward Boviary. “Take me to this aerie place. I’m tired of running and hiding.”
“At once.” Boviary shot him a look of triumph a
s he quickly dressed.
Jeb wasn’t about to let her go though, not without saying something.
He followed her to the van, catching her before she entered.
“Angel, please. Just listen. I’m sorry. I should have said something. But I was afraid for you. I didn’t want anyone taking you from me.”
“So this was about you?” She shot him a look. “What about me? About my needs?”
“I would have—”
“What? Found a bigger treehouse to stash me in? Paid me visits when you felt like it? Goodbye, Jebediah.”
She climbed into the van and slammed the door.
He could only stare at the mirrored glass and whisper, “But I love you.”
Loving Angel didn’t stop the van from leaving.
Maisy put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Not as sorry as he was. He couldn’t help sounding dejected when he said, “I just wanted to keep her safe.”
“I know. Once she stops being angry, I’m sure she’ll see it, too.”
“And then what?” he asked. “Do you really think she’ll want to leave a place where she doesn’t have to hide?” Why would she leave to be with him?
“The aerie is a nice place I’m sure, but there’s one thing it’s missing,” Maisy remarked. “You.”
Yeah, which was probably something Nev would appreciate, given the way he’d stalled on telling her the truth.
“If it’s any consolation, I was trying to get here before him,” Miranda noted, having gotten dressed. She now balanced the baby girl on her hip. “Somehow he got here ahead of me.”
“I appreciate it. Although you could have called.”
“Tried. No reception.”
Maisy shrugged. “The disadvantages of living in the boonies. Erratic signal.”
A warning would have only delayed the inevitable. “Guess I should head back home.” Deal with the ribbing from his brothers that he’d lost his angel. The backlash from FUC because ASS was sure to complain.
The ride home in his truck—after he dressed in some spare clothes he kept under the seat—was spent dejected.
Until his ’roo finally had enough and jumped into his skin long enough to bounce his face off the steering wheel. Jolted, he slammed the truck to a stop and glared at himself in the rearview mirror.