“Whatever cat was out there wasn’t just a normal cat,” I told her and rushed over toward a window in the kitchen to look outside. I frowned when I saw nothing. “I can’t believe Caden allowed Vanessa with them. She’ll take out half the forest including the cat if he can’t convince her otherwise.”
“What do you mean not a normal cat?” Xany climbed up on the kitchen counter to look out the higher window. “I can’t see them. Let’s go out and look.”
“It was a trespassing cat. I think it was a Changer by the way they all reacted.” I joined her in kneeling on the counter. “We can’t go out, Caden said to stay.”
“So? They might need our help!” Xany turned to me with wide, pleading eyes.
“Yes, that’s exactly what three Changers need.” I lifted a brow at her.
“What? It could be true.”
“We shouldn’t go out, Xee, Caden told us to stay here.” I shook my head at her.
“Oh, c’mon. If it’s just another Changer, nothing will happen to us.” She hopped off the counter, grabbed my wrist, and tugged me along with her. “C’mon!”
“Xany! We’ll get in trouble!” I jerked my arm away, but I had to agree. I was curious, not to mention concerned that Vanessa might cause a heap of trouble. There was a better chance she would listen to me anyway.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” Xany grinned in a mischievous fashion. “We’ll get a timeout? C’mon.”
Xany and I hurried outside, curving around the eastern side of the cabin where my room was and following the trail into the woods.
“We should have taken a flashlight, Xee.” I flailed around until she took my hand again. I was beginning to wonder why I always seemed to find myself in need of a flashlight lately.
“Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that. Which way do you think they went?” she asked, looking around through the darkness, the light from the cabin fading in the denseness of the trees.
“I dunno. Probably east since that’s the way my window faces and the wind was blowing in when Vanessa smelled it.”
“Which way is east?” Xany stopped and tilted her head back, as if the overcast sky would give her a clue.
I sighed. “I have no idea. We should go back—” I began to say when a loud roar echoed through the woods to our right. “This way!” I dashed toward the roar.
Xany ran with me, and we both skidded to a halt when the roars grew louder. A few yards ahead of us was a white mass crouched low to the ground, facing a pair of glowing eyes. We drew closer and could see Caden standing in human form a few steps behind Vanessa with Mal positioned at her hip.
Simultaneously, all four sets of eyes looked our way. Vanessa popped up from her crouch and growled at me, swatting the air in a “stay back” gesture. Mal chuffed, and Caden crossed his arms over his chest, looking stern. The small bobcat pulled back its upper lip and hissed. I gulped at the less-than-warm welcome. Xany, however, seemed oblivious to it.
“What’s going on?” she asked and waltzed right over to Caden.
He stepped somewhat in front of her, and Vanessa gave the bobcat a swat on the side of its head. It hissed. Mal trotted over to me and gently pushed me backward. I followed his urging, but he chuffed and whined at me regardless, reprimanding me like a cub. I bit my lip and knelt down beside him. He positioned himself in front of me. His tail swayed which made me think that he wasn’t all that unhappy about being so close to me. From the vibes that Caden was giving off, it seemed like he was being entertained by the cats.
“Caden, what’s going on?” Xany whined again. I shook my head at her.
“Shh, precious, just watch.” He nodded toward the cats.
Vanessa roared at the bobcat. It snarled and growled right back. Caden chuckled at the measly attempt by the bobcat to stand its ground against her. Vanessa gave the little cat another swat on the side of the head before bowing low. She rose slowly, snapping her head back and emitting a deafening roar. The bobcat made a wah-wah sound back at her and stood upright before turning and walking a few yards away. Vanessa’s claws dug into the ground before retracting and she, too, took a few steps backward, having said her peace in overpowering the little cat. The bobcat moved into the shadows, and a few seconds later, a human male emerged. He was naked except for a loincloth draped crossed his thighs, and he looked like a teenager. He frowned at us.
“That’s what you get for being nosy, cat.” Caden spoke to the werecat and stepped toward him. Vanessa stood her ground beside him.
“I was just seeing what all the movement was about. This land has been empty forever and now suddenly reeks of dog. Where the hell did you get a tiger?” the young man said.
“We have our allies. This is pack territory, which I’m sure you know by now,” Caden said.
“Yeah, yeah…” the man grumbled. “I get the point.”
“You’re lucky she let you keep your throat,” Caden chastised. “I’d be cautious if I were you, sneaking around like that.”
“Sorry,” he said, begrudgingly.
“Go back to your pride,” Caden instructed as he gestured at the woods behind the werecat.
“How do you know I have a pride?” He sounded offended.
“I can smell it on you. Get going.” Caden nodded toward the woods.
The young man grumbled, shifted back to his bobcat form, and hissed at Vanessa once more before darting off into the woods. She swatted after him and gave a growl of warning before padding over to Mal and me.
“Well, that wasn’t all that exciting.” Xany crossed her arms and thrust her bottom lip out as she pouted.
“Well now, it could have been had you two gotten lost out here or met up with the bobcat first. You both are going to be a handful, aren’t you?” Caden said.
Xany grinned and bounced on her tiptoes beside him “Yep.”
Caden chuckled, slid his hand around her waist, and led the way back to the cabin. Vanessa nudged Mal out of the way and bumped her head right into my hip.
“Hey,” I protested as I stumbled, looking down at her. She hissed and yowled, twitching her eyebrows then her whiskers at me.
“I am not a bad kit.” I frowned and huffed like Xany would.
Mal gruffed at Vanessa for bumping him and took a few steps aside before shifting back to his human form. With Vanessa in between us, he stood up wearing absolutely nothing, not even a loincloth. His lean, muscular body rippled in the light of the moon. He was confident and comfortable with his nudity, as most werecreatures eventually became. I went instantly red and kept my eyes on Vanessa, only glancing at him when necessary. Vanessa’s purring grew affectionately louder when she saw the naked man, her eyes lingering momentarily on his maleness.
“You speak cat too?” Mal asked.
“A bit.” I whined when Vanessa bumped me again. “Stop that.”
“You’re in trouble now.” Mal laughed, and we walked back toward the cabin.
Vanessa followed in stride beside me, her paws thumping lightly on the ground. She curled her tail around my leg, not letting me stray far from her. She twitched her nose after eyeing Mal’s ass, looking up at me and making a chattering sound with her teeth.
“Don’t you dare,” I whispered.
She mewed.
Once inside, Caden sat in the armchair by the hearth, and Xany joined him by sitting in his lap. He grunted which made Xany giggle. Mal took a seat on the sofa after picking up his shorts from the floor and redressing. Not all Changers had clothing when they shifted in and out of form. Some were able to choose one item of clothing that would travel with them through their transformation, and a loincloth was the most common. Our ancestors had made those things easier to take. I wondered why Mal didn’t have anything travel with him like the young bobcat did. Vanessa, however, had to be different; her green velvet dress went with her when she shifted. She liked to stand out and show off her powerful magics. I sat down on the sofa, only for a moment though because Vanessa took my jacket into her massive jaws and tugged me t
o the floor.
“Vanessa!” I shouted, landing with a thud and making everyone laugh.
“Told you that you were in trouble.” Mal grinned.
Vanessa tugged me onto the carpet and began licking my hands and face. I squirmed when her sandpapery tongue tickled in certain spots. She put her paw firmly on my stomach to hold me in place. This gesture was a form of “discipline” that many breeds of cats used to tame their kits when they were naughty.
“What the heck is she doing?” Xany laughed as she watched us.
“Putting her in her place for disobeying Caden.” Mal continued to grin.
“Huh?” Xany glanced at Mal before looking back at us.
“It’s like when a mother wolf holds her cubs in her mouth when they’re getting too rowdy,” Mal explained.
“Oh… That seems more normal.”
“Course it does.” He laughed at his sister. “You’re not a cat.”
I squirmed under Vanessa but didn’t necessarily mind her feline attentions. I ran my fingers through the snowy fur she always kept pristinely white. Her stripes made sensual designs across her coat, and her eye color had changed back to the casual light blue that often went along with a relaxed white tiger. After a few more licks along my neck, she thumped down on the floor beside me and purred, resting her head on my stomach. I petted her ears gently and listened to the others talk.
“She’s huge,” Xany said. “And a little scary.”
“You think she’s huge now, wait until you see her beast,” Caden said. “Weretigers are notorious giants in beast form. She’ll tower at least two feet over Mal and I.”
“That’s scarier.” Xany shuddered as she continued to stare at Vanessa. “No wonder she’s confident.”
Vanessa looked at the others, lifted her upper lip, blinked both eyes, and twitched her nose.
“What did she say, Nee?” Mal asked.
“She said ‘thank you.’” My lips curled into a smile.
“You’re welcome. Did you have fun?” Caden asked while laughing.
Vanessa nodding her big head before using her nose to nudge my shirt up and began licking my stomach, which of course made me laugh.
“Tla. Stop.”
Vanessa gave me a toothy grin and placed her paw on my stomach, doing that gentle kneading type thing that cats often do. Mal smiled at me when he heard me say “tla” instead of “no.” Every so often I could feel her claws pinch my skin, but I didn’t mind.
“So what do you say I whip up some fried chicken for dinner and Mal makes some of his famous potato salad?” Caden suggested.
“That sounds yum. Can I help?” Xany asked.
“Of course.” Caden grinned and patted her hip for her to stand.
“I have a famous potato salad?” Mal asked, his expression lost.
“Well, no. But you’re making potato salad.” Caden grinned.
Mal laughed and joined him and Xany in the kitchen while Vanessa and I lay by the fire. After a few moments of listening to her purring, she shifted back to her human form, her green velvet dress melting back into place. She smiled at me and pulled me closer to her. I was calm and at ease with the atmosphere in the cabin. Vanessa’s presence was no longer a source of anxiety for the wolves, and she obviously didn’t feel threatened by them. I wondered if the calm would continue. Maybe Vanessa would be able to visit like this more often, out in public with me instead of hidden away at night in my room.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Time seemed to pass more quickly than I remembered. An entire month had gone by since I left Wyoming. The spring thaw came earlier in Utah, though it was subtle. My laptop was stowed away in my trunk. I plopped down on the floor in my room to unearth it from the depths of my cluttered belongings. Not only had it been a month since I moved, but it had also been a month since I checked my e-mail or thought about work. Vanessa thought I should take more time off. I was not sure how I felt about that. I mean, I still had plenty of money, and Caden had finally let me contribute to the household expenses. I didn’t necessarily need to work right now, but work is what I did, wasn’t it? I was a doctor—the more time away from work I spent, the less people I helped. Not that I was helping that many people during the times I was in the lab being a minion for Doctor Reynolds.
That jerk. My anger surprised me. I placed my laptop on the bed and dug around for the charger.
Now that everyone had settled in, Caden worked a few days a week at Hank’s contracting company. I thought he did it to keep busy rather than for the money. Mal would join Caden occasionally though he seemed content being around the cabin and completing projects. He made a lot of handmade items for Hank’s wife to sell down at her shop. The last thing I saw him make was a dagger created completely from the bones of the elk he hunted. It was impressive.
It seemed that Xany and Caden were sort of an item, as if that wasn’t bound to happen, and Xany was looking into taking courses at the state school nearby. She was talking about taking some culinary classes to expand her menu beyond breakfast foods.
In a way, I was the stagnant one. Caden had driven me past the local hospital a few times, but I had yet to send my resume or make any contact with the administrators. It was like I couldn’t move forward and couldn’t go back. I was stuck in place.
After emptying out half the trunk onto the carpet, I sighed and abandoned my quest for the laptop charger. I began putting papers and notebooks back into the trunk, clumsily dropping some of my loose drawings on the floor. Xany stopped short when she burst into my room, nearly stepping on them.
“Whoa, what a mess. Whatcha up to?” She bounced over and knelt down beside me.
“Just looking for the computer charger thing…” I gathered the scattered artwork as fast as I could.
“It’s on the table there.” Xany waved at the small writing table in the corner and picked up one of my drawings off the floor. “Did you draw this?”
I frowned at the charger for eluding me, then snatched the sketch out of Xany’s hand. “Yes.”
“Hey!” She pouted and sifted through a few more of the drawings, most of which were sketches of wolves, Vanessa, or little children.
“They’re really good, Nee, I didn’t know you could draw.”
“Yeah, well… I can.” I flinched when I heard the snark in my own voice. I didn’t want to come across mean, but I was getting tired of Xany invading my privacy. I snatched those away too.
“Why are you being rude again? I was just saying that you’re a good artist.” She huffed and quickly grabbed up another sketch that was farther away from me. Her expression fell.
I got up, tossed the sketches back into the trunk, and stalked over to Xany. “Give me that, it’s not for you to see.”
“What are these?” She jerked away from me so I couldn’t grab the last two in her hand. “Is that you?”
“Xany! Give me those now!” I nearly knocked her down when I went to grab them again.
She moved away from me. “No, Nee. What is this?” She asked and turned the pictures toward me so I could see them.
One of the pictures was a self-portrait that I had drawn of myself looking like a decaying zombie and the other…the other was the one that upset me the most. I hated seeing the drawing of myself, tied up in a tree with coyotes nipping at my heels. My father’s darkened image laughing in the doorway of the trailer. Blood covered my arms and legs where I’d been bitten. I was ten. Something rose up inside me and over my shoulders like a hot burning volcanic wave, and I lunged for her. Xany emitted a surprised “oof” when I tackled her. I shouted and wrestled with her, trying to grab the sketches away. The rage engulfed me. Everything seemed red and black.
“Shawnee!” she shouted, the sketches lying forgotten on the floor.
I struggled against her grip. She held my wrists so that I couldn’t swing at her. Her legs wrapped around mine, and she flipped me so that I was now on the floor. I screamed and continued to struggle, fighting and kicking at her, at Vaness
a, at the floor, at the world, at my father, at everything. Rage seemed to erupt inside me like a pressure cooker left on too long. I’d never been so angry before in my life. I hated everything and everyone, and I wanted to scream, which of course I did. Again Xany manipulated my body. She kept a hold on my wrists, except now I was sitting up against her, and my arms were pinned across my torso.
“Shawnee, calm down…it’s okay.” She spoke quietly in my ear.
I jerked left and right to get away from her, clipping my knee on the metal corner of the trunk. A sobering pain shot up my thigh, and I started to cry. The royal red rage slipped away and left me in a different type of haze filled with guilt and self-loathing. Xany cautiously let go of my wrists but kept her arms around me until I stopped moving altogether and sobbed.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have looked at your pictures,” she said against my cheek.
When she apologized, I hugged her arms. “Scared,” was all I was able to say to her.
“I know you’re scared, and I bet your knee hurts too.” She was talking to me like I was a five-year-old, and I knew I’d been acting like one. I sniffled and looked down at my knee that was bleeding through a small tear in my jeans.
“Yes.”
She kissed my cheek and began rubbing my arms. “My ass hurts, too, thanks.” She giggled, but it sounded forced.
“I didn’t mean to push you. I’m sorry too.” The guilt was consuming, engulfing me like a black hole deep inside my soul.
Some helper you are. All you do is hurt everyone around you by causing them pain and distress. You deserve to be hurt… You deserve…deserve…
“Hello? Where’d you go, Nee?” Xany interrupted the painful echoes.
“Huh? Oh, sorry.” I winced at the pain in my knee when she helped me up.
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