by Hart, Alana
“Aria, you’re bleeding.” Gran said. Aria nodded, applying pressure as best she could to her injured lip.
“It’s not a big deal. Accidents happen.” Aria muttered past her hand.
“Let me get you an ice pack.” Gran suited action to words and in half a minute had passed her an ice pack wrapped in soft flannel cloth. The cool ice eased the pain and swelling. But the damage was already done.
Faith’s eyes were wide. Wide, and filled with quick-silver.
No way Gran’s going to miss that.
“Shhh, baby-girl. It’s okay. Momma’s alright baby,” Aria soothed. She ignored the pain talking caused and reached out to gently stroke the babe’s blond curls, hoping to sooth the beast that raged inside her child.
Please get it under control, baby, Aria begged wordlessly as she continued stroking Faith’s hair and making shushing sounds. But it didn’t seem like it was going to be enough, the quick-silver wasn’t fading like it should.
Then Gran intervened. She gently removed Aria’s hand from the distraught babe with a silent, but firm, shake of her head. Then she turned the high chair to face her until Gran and Faith were eye to eye, practically nose to nose. Aria couldn’t believe that Gran wasn’t startled by the change in her great-granddaughter. But Gran was pure focus. Her bright blue gaze locked onto Faith’s silver one, and then she made the strangest sound Aria had ever heard an adult human make. It sounded like a cross between a yip and a bark, and Faith’s reaction was instantaneous. Her curls bobbed as she tilted her head first to one side, then the other. Her little mouth pursed, almost like she was blowing kisses to Gran.
What the hell is going on? What is Gran doing, and why?Aria fought for calm, and tried to memorize every move Gran made. Whatever she was doing, it was working. The silver receded a sliver at a time from Faith’s gaze, until only the baby blue remained. Faith grinned a wide, cookie-filled grin.
“Sident,” Faith said softly. Then she looked over toward Aria and apologized. “Sorry, mama. Sident. Sorry,” she repeated.
Aria’s heart raced. “It’s okay, honey. You didn’t mean it.” She squeezed Faith tight in a quick one armed hug, still stunned. Aria had never been able to help Faith when she was on the verge of a change. The last time it happened in public, Aria had bundled Faith up in her baby blanket, made excuses to the day care lady and raced for the van. She’d struggled to hold the squirmy bundle of child and blanket, and thanked god the whole time that she’d had the foresight to buy a van with the darkest tint possible.
“Gran, how did-” Gran’s slicing motion stopped Aria’s question cold. The sharp glance that followed promised an explanation, and a long serious heart-to-heart to follow.
“Let’s get little miss Faith settled in her bed for nap time.” Gran ruffled Faith’s hair, then stood and grabbed a washcloth from the drawer. She wet the cloth in a sink and proceeded to clean up the chocolate covered toddler without further comment. Aria nodded in relief. She was surprised Faith didn’t fight Gran over washing up or nap time. But the child just held steady under Gran’s calm ministrations. Aria’s heart melted as Faith settled right into Gran’s arms. They headed upstairs for nap time. Blond curls bobbed with each step up the stairs, until Faith’s cheek rested solidly against Grans shoulder. Aria trailed after the pair, finally daring to hope for the future.
Maybe I’ll find the answers I need sooner than even I thought possible.
Gran’s lullaby trickled down the stairs after the pair, soothing the stress Aria had shouldered alone for so long. She couldn’t help but follow that siren song all the way into their room, and watched quietly from the doorway as Gran settled Faith into the play pen and kissed her forehead. Her girl’s eyes were heavy with sleep, and Aria was certain she’d be out like a light before she and Gran made it back down the stairs.
Gran’s tight smile and sharp gesture toward the kitchen suggested that Aria wasn’t going to like the answers Gran had. Aria sighed, resigned to accepting any answers, as she trudged back down to the dining room table. Gran’s feet barely made a whisper on the stairs as she followed close behind.
I just hope Gran’s answers are enough to get us by. But still, she worried that nothing would be enough to keep her Faith safe.
CHAPTER TWO
“We need to have a serious heart to heart, Aria.” Gran’s voice was tight with tension. All Aria could do was nod and hope. Hope for help, for answers. If nothing else, hope for a shoulder to cry on. “Sit,” Gran said. She pointed Aria towards an antique rocking chair in the living room. The dark wood gleamed in the afternoon sunlight streaming through Gran’s open front door. Aria sat. She rocked absently as she tried to gather her nerves and her thoughts.
“So, she’s a shifter.” Gran never had been one to waste time when important matters were on the line.
“Depends what you mean by shifter,” Aria shrugged.
“Magic creature, changes shape at will.”
Aria nodded, trying to keep tears from welling up. Her hands trembled when she reached out to take the tall, cool glass of iced tea Gran passed to her. The weight of the cool glass grounded her in the moment. Aria took a small sip, relishing the simple pleasure of having someone understand. Her eyes followed Gran as she settled into the rocking chair beside hers. From the intricate design of the carvings, Gramps had made that one especially for her. The swirls and whorls etched into the wood matched the trim in the living room.
“Well, spit it out, then. What kind is she? And who’s her daddy?” Gran’s gaze was sharp, almost fierce when it met Aria’s. That fierce protectiveness was enough to divert Aria’s tears for now.
“Bear of some sort. Cute, fluffy white ball of fur.” Aria took another sip of tea to ease the tightness of her throat. Damn, this is harder than I thought. Maybe just having someone else know isn’t going to be enough to convince me I can keep Faith safe in this world. Then again, Gran had managed to avert a shift in progress. That was a first.
“Hmm. White bear, huh? Like albino white?”
Aria shrugged. She didn’t know enough about bears to say one way or the other.
“Is her nose pink? Or dark?”
“Dark. So are her ha-paws. And her claws.” Aria struggled with the terminology. She’d gotten so used to hiding the truth this past six months. It felt strange to be able to speak openly about her baby’s secret.
“Not albino. Huh.” Gran took a long sip of tea, and rocked steadily for a few moments while she studied the mantle above the rock fireplace. “Don’t know any bear shifters around these parts.”
“You’re one up on me, Gran.” Aria felt her smile waver. “I didn’t know there were shifters. Until Faith.”
Gran’s nod and soft gaze seemed to acknowledge the pain Aria felt. The gentle clasp of Gran’s hand around Arias felt like a silent apology, an acknowledgment that she shouldn’t have faced that panic and fear alone.
“We should have told you. I’m so sorry we didn’t.”
“We?”
“Me, your mom and dad. Hell, the only one who fought for your right to know was gramps.” Aria felt her eyes widen. Gramps had fought for her? She’d always loved him, but never felt as close to him as she did to Gran. It was good to know the old man had loved her enough to argue with Gran. Nobody argued with her normally.
“So everybody in my family is a shifter but me?” How the hell could I have missed something like that? Aria knew her observational skills weren’t the best, but she wasn’t a damn brick either when it came to things that just didn’t seem right.
Gran’s vehement head shake transferred itself to the glass she held. Iced tea rose up the sides of the cup before Gran froze for a second, only to gently place the cup on the end table that sat between their chairs. “No, babe. We hoped, how Grandpa and I hoped that would be the case.”
“Okay. So who, then? Someone must be a shifter for you to recognize the signs and know how to help Faith.”
Gran shrugged, then gestured towards her own chest wi
th an outstretched thumb.
“You? You shift? Into what? Have you been shifting since you were Faith’s age?” Of course Gran knows the signs if she’s a shifter, too. Part of Aria wanted to jump for joy, because there was no way Gran would let kin of hers face trouble without being right there beside them, come hell or high water. The bigger part of her just felt betrayed and lonely. This wasn’t the Gran she knew, was it?
“No, Faith is unusual. Shifters–normal shifters– don’t shift until their human side is fully mature. That includes the brain.” Gran tapped gently on her forehead.
“The brain?”
“Shifter genes make the human brain ‘grow up’ a bit faster, but not that much faster.” Gran’s glance toward the staircase convinced Aria she was right to be concerned for Faith’s health.
“So, when then? Fifteen, sixteen?”
“Honey, the human brain isn’t fully mature until around twenty five years old. Before then, the decision making process is a bit faulty to say the least. Imagine a human with a no impulse control running around as a full grown bear. You want to meet him in the dark one night?”
“Oh, that would be bad. So you’ve been shifting since your mid-twenties?”
Gran shook her head then sighed deeply. “I shifted right on time, as far as things like that go. My twenty-first birthday.”
Aria froze, stunned. Twenty-first birthday? But that’s the day Ben vanished. She couldn’t voice the question that raced through her mind, but her mouth moved silently, savoring the feel of her first love’s name, the name she didn’t dare give voice to.
“So Benjamin Torben really is her daddy.” Gran’s voice was soft, but she sounded pretty certain of herself considering Aria hadn’t ever mentioned who fathered her child.
Aria nodded sadly.
“Wonder how we missed him?” Gran muttered to herself. Her lithe hands tapped lightly on the end table and her gaze went distant for a moment, as though she was looking into the past.
Aria recognized Gran’s thinking look from her childhood visits. It took a brave soul and a hell of an emergency to interrupt her when she wore that look. Aria contented herself with another few sips of tea and gently rocked her chair while she waited for Gran to come back to the here and now. It was hard not to ask the question that was haunting her.
Finally Gran’s gaze sharpened. Aria pounced, unable to contain herself any longer.
“Is something wrong with Faith?” Her heart pounded with worry. She dreaded Gran’s answer, but she had to know.
Gran’s serious look didn’t ease her fears. Neither did her measured answer. “I honestly don’t know. On one hand, it’s very rare for shifter kits, and cubs, to change before their human half is mature. On the other hand, our Faith has stunning control of her shifter abilities for someone with only six months practice. Never mind the fact she’s still a babe.”
Aria gasped, clamped her hand over her mouth to stop the sobs trying to escape. Her baby might be broken, and in danger all because of some stupid genes Aria didn’t even know existed until a year ago. “Can you help her?” Aria whispered.
Gran’s strong hands gathered Aria’s trembling ones in their grasp. That strength was echoed in the determined answer that followed. “I’m sure as hell going to try, babe. Nobody messes with my kits, be they human or bear.” The word bear ended in a half chuckle, as if Gran couldn’t fathom the thought of having a bear as a great grand-baby.
The determined, fierce protectiveness that Gran exuded eased some of Arias worry. “Hey, Gran, what do you shift into?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Gran’s answering grin was sly and quick.
Aria shook her head slowly. At this point in her life, she figured there was no such thing as obvious.
“The answer’s in the name we share.” Gran giggled and finished off her tea in one big gulp.
“Fox? You’re a fox?” Aria giggled as the numerous meanings of that question hit home.
“In more ways than one, child. More ways than one.” Gran’s sage nod was ruined by the mischievous twinkle in her bright eyes.
“You sly old bat you,” Aria teased. She stood up and wrapped her gran in a tight hug. It was so good to be home, to feel safe, loved and cherished. Good to have somebody who knew what she and Faith might face in the future.
“Don’t you mean vixen?” Gran replied with a chuckle.
Aria returned to her seat, not willing to end their conversation just yet. She needed as much information as she could finagle out of gran to keep Faith safe and sound. “What did you mean when you asked how we missed him, Gran? Who is we, and what exactly is missed?”
Gran’s shoulders slumped. “We is me and your Grandpa. We used to scout the territory claimed by the shifter clans. Look for unidentified shifters, try to help them when their time came for first shift.”
“But you said Gramps wasn’t a shifter?”
“He wasn’t. But he was a guardian.”
“Guardian?”
“Yep. Half-human assigned to protect the local territory, the local shifters and the humans who occupy that territory.”
“Half human?” Aria’s voice rose almost to a screech. “But you said he wasn’t a shifter, so what the hell was the other half?” There’s more out there than shifters? What, vampires, goblins, trolls oh my? Panic welled up in aria’s chest. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath and clenched the antique rocking chair arms. If that chair had survived seventy-plus years of this crap, Aria could surely handle things one day at a time.
Gran’s steady gaze and slow nod helped Aria anchor herself in the present the final bit she needed. She took a deep breath, held it, then released slowly until her lungs felt empty.
Gran’s voice echoed in the empty spaces inside her.
“Gramps was a demi-god. Half god and half human. There’s a hint of shifter a few generations back on his human side.” Gran’s voice was even, matter of fact. She spoke as calmly as though they were discussing the weather.
“All that, huh?” Damn, I knew Gramps was special, but isn’t that a bit much even for the old man? A sudden thought struck and Aria had to ask. “So what am I? Why don’t I have shifter powers or guardian powers or something cool like that?”
“You’re perfectly mundane, perfectly human, and a perfectly competent mom, granddaughter-mine.” Love, strength and possessiveness dripped off every word of that reply.
“Oh.” Somehow, in this moment being human was enough. Thanks to Gran, the sly old fox. Aria knew, bone deep that she was Victoria Rae Fox’s granddaughter, and she could handle anything life threw her way.
Anything, as long as she had Gran for back up.
CHAPTER THREE
Faith’s startled wail sent Aria and Gran rocketing out of their twin chairs and up the stairs at top speed. Aria was torn between shock and mirth when she realized that Gran was quite a bit faster than her. Must be the shifter in her. She didn’t dare consider just how fast, or how strong her tiny Faith would become.
Aria pounded up the stairs into her and Faith’s bedroom just a few strides behind Gran. But Gran must have poured on the speed because she’d already scooped the sobbing baby up out of the play pen and cuddled her close. Gran swayed where she stood, making a soothing sound that Aria would have called a purr if it had come from a cat. Is she alright? Aria mouthed the question, hoping not to disturb the pair. Gran’s sharp eyes had a hint of shifter in them when her gaze met Arias. Green eyes, odd for a fox. Aria couldn’t help thinking. But even as she watched, Gran got her wild nature under control until the green tint flowed away and brilliant blue stood stark compliment to her steely gray hair. Grans solid nod eased Aria’s fear a bit. But she still trembled from adrenaline.
From the sound of that wail she’d have sworn that Faith was hurt, or worse. Determined to find whatever had disturbed the tot’s nap, Aria tiptoed softly around the room inspecting every nook and cranny. She even paused to peek out the window, looking for something, anything that could have made eno
ugh noise to startle her awake.
The window overlooked a peaceful, fenced backyard garden brimming with blossoms. A weeping willow tree stood sentinel in the furthest corner of the garden, its branches almost touching a small pond nestled below it. Aria paused a moment to study the gorgeous tree. Almost anything could hide under that foliage, but she didn’t see any signs that the tree or the ground around it had been disturbed. How Gran manages to grow that thing this far north is beyond me.
Aria turned from the window and her fruitless search. She needed to be sure all was still right in Faith’s world. It must have been, since the babe was zonked out with her pudgy cheek pillowed on Gran’s shoulder.
“Does she usually have bad dreams?” Grans whisper was so soft Aria barely heard it. Even still, it was loud enough to make Faith stir a bit.
Aria considered Gran’s question a moment, then shook her head slowly. If the babe dreamed, her normal sleep patterns and activity hadn’t ever been disturbed enough for Aria to realize she was dreaming. She shook her head even harder as that thought hit home.
“I think we’d best bring her down. Grab the play pen, and set it up in front of the fireplace.”
Aria moved as slowly and gently as she could, trying not to damage the lace-painted walls or the bed. By the time she managed to wrangle the playpen down the stairs and get it situated Gran was settled in the rocking chair with Faith snuggled in her lap.
“What’s wrong with our room? Or do you think she just heard something that startled her?” Aria struggled to staunch the flow of questions.
Gran rocked methodically and hummed a melody to the sleeping baby. The tune was just familiar enough that Aria felt like she should know the lyrics. They both watched as Faith stretched out in Gran’s lap and sighed sweetly before relaxing into a deeper sleep. Aria was just grateful that her girl looked perfectly healthy. And perfectly human.