“Well, I think we know who can help us,” Jackson pulled his gun from the holster and got out of the car cautiously. “I think Connor has some secrets and I think it’s time he gets serious with us.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Sebastian didn’t take a breath till he was in the house and staring down at Aeslyn’s unconscious body. He would have preferred she be awake but he’d accept her sleeping quietly for now.
Connor was sitting in a chair in the corner, his gun in one hand and a beer in the other. “She’s shifted a few more times but the bullet holes are closing. She lost a lot of blood, it’s going to take her a bit longer to heal herself.” Sebastian and Jackson stood staring at him waiting for him to continue on. “I guess it’s time for that chat now, let’s go get another drink, she’s going to be out for a while.”
Sebastian grabbed three beers from the fridge and sat at the kitchen table. For a minute no one spoke, no one really knew what to say next.
“Fine, I’ll say it first, Connor we’re your best friends and will always support you. Do you have something you want to tell us?” Jackson sat forward staring intently at Connor.
“Don’t make it sound so detrimental, I am still the same guy you served overseas with but yes I am also a shifter.” He stared back and forth between them, Sebastian could tell he was daring them to react badly.
“Why didn’t you tell us? I can see in the beginning keeping it to yourself but we’re a unit, we would die for one another, why did you think you needed to hide part of yourself?” Sebastian couldn’t hide the pain in his voice, he couldn’t fathom his best friend keeping such a huge secret from him.
“The military is one giant family as long as everyone turns a blind eye to anyone who is different. They’ve gone after gays in the military, then transgender soldiers, there is nothing to say shifters won’t be ousted next. I wasn’t willing to take that chance, I decided to live by the don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”
His words brought a new perspective to Sebastian, he personally had no issue with gay people or transgender people serving in the military but the policies never really affected him so he didn’t put too much thought into the consequences. Now seeing it through Connor’s eyes he understood why his friend kept his secret. “I get it, I do, I just wish you had trusted us enough to come out to us.”
“You don’t know how many times I started to tell you, it’s exhausting and sometimes polarizing to keep such an integral part of yourself a secret from your closest friends but I did what I thought I had to.” Connor took a large gulp of beer, Sebastian could see he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.
“I think you being a shifter is cool, I’m actually a little jealous and I can appreciate the gravity of the moment but come on, you have to tell us what kind of shifter you are.” Sebastian shook his head at Jackson, he was always trying to keep situations light, maybe that was a good thing.
Connor pursed his lips, indecision clear in his eyes. “Fine, I’ll tell you but remember I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it if you give me shit.” He stared them both down, glaring at Jackson longer than Sebastian. Once both men nodded he took another swig of beer to get his courage up. “I’m a chimpanzee.”
Sebastian’s mind was spinning with the announcement, he had so many thoughts and was trying to process the words. He could see Jackson was groping for the right response, he shouldn’t have been surprised at his friend for failing, “Dude, why would you think we would not support you. Cheeta from Tarzan was my favorite growing up, he was so freaking cute.”
Sebastian kicked him under the table.
“I’m not cute, I promise you I could kick your ass in a fight as a human or as a chimp.”
Jackson held his hands up defensively. “Really I think it’s cool, I was not trying to insult you. You know I’m an idiot and don’t properly filter my thoughts.”
“Did you know Aeslyn was a shifter when you met her earlier tonight?” Sebastian gave his friend a level stare, he wasn’t sure yet if he wanted to be pissed at him for keeping it a secret if so.
“Shifters have heightened senses, we always recognize another shifter. You’d be shocked to know how many are walking among you every day. Do you want to know why I make such a great wingman? I can smell lust, I can sense when a person is turned on. It makes it really easy to pick out the women who are into you.”
Sebastian could see the awe on Jackson’s face, “That is such a cool superpower to have. We need a name for you, you could hire yourself out as a wingman and help guys find the one. You know how much we hate walking up to random women hoping they won’t shoot us down. You can virtually guarantee success.”
“Maybe when I’m ready to retire from the Air Force I’ll consider it as a part-time gig.” Sebastian was relieved to see Connor smiling again.
“Don’t get mad when I ask this but I have to know, is it safe for the boys to be around Aeslyn when she is in her animal form? Are you guys aware of your human side?” Sebastian’s gut clenched waiting for the answer. As much as he was attracted to Aeslyn he would always put his kid's safety first. He just wasn’t sure he would be fun to be around if he had to walk away from her.
“I know you are new to all of this so no I’m not mad at your question. When we are in animal form we still think like a person, she is one hundred percent in control the entire time. If I thought you or the boys were in danger from her I would have said something back at the bar.” He stifled a yawn behind his hand. “Man, it has been a long, emotional night for all of us and I am ready for bed. Do you want us to stay here tonight in case your shooter comes back or you need help with Aeslyn again?”
“You guys have already done enough, honestly, I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t come over. You guys are tired so feel free to stay here or you can head home. Between the alarm system, my gun, and the giant cat in the other room I think we’re safe.” Sebastian grabbed the empty beer bottles and set them in the recycle bin.
“I don’t mind crashing on the couch…ouch.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Connor kick Jackson under the table. “You know what, that thing is lumpy and bothers my sciatica.”
Connor rolled his eyes, “Come on Tarzan, if you leave quietly I’ll shift for you.”
Jackson’s face lit up like a five-year-old on Christmas morning, “Really?”
“No, not really, now get your ass moving.”
Like Connor did before Sebastian stood guard with his gun in hand while the other two got into their cars and left. As he locked up and set the alarm he racked his brain to figure out why someone would want to hurt him. He really didn’t have a clue and that alarmed him even more, it’s tough to face an adversary when you don’t know who they are.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pain radiated from Aeslyn’s hip to her ribs. For a few minutes, she laid quietly trying to figure out where she was and what had happened. She could smell Sebastian so she knew he was close. Another spasm of pain jolted her memory, the gunshot, passing out, vague memories of Sebastian’s friends hovering over her.
Her eyes fluttered open, looking around she could see it was morning, the sunlight coming in through the window showed her she was in a bedroom. The man she was supposed to be protecting was asleep in a chair in the corner. His gun was laying loosely in his hand, his head slumped back and his mouth wide open. The poor guy was out cold, he must have taken care of her all-night long.
Realization suddenly dawned on her, he had to suspect something about her if she wasn’t in a hospital. She ripped the bandage off her stomach and found a ragged two-inch gash almost completely closed up. Silently, she went into the bathroom and ripped the bandage off her back. An identical wound was almost healed. The only way he wouldn’t have called an ambulance is if he knew she was a shifter.
She went back to the bed and laid down with the blanket over her. She didn’t know how late he had gone to sleep, she owed it to him to let him have his fill. The silence of the h
ouse penetrated the hundreds of thoughts swirling around in her brain. She remembered the boys had been asleep when everything happened last night. She grabbed the blanket from the bed, wrapped it around herself and went to check on them. Maybe if she got them breakfast she could entertain them long enough to let Sebastian sleep in, who knows the last time he was able to do that.
She was surprised to find their room was empty, after a quick search of the house she realized they were gone. He must have taken them somewhere while she was passed out. She prayed the boys hadn’t seen her bleeding on the floor, no matter how young you are you likely would remember something like that.
Her stomach growled, reminding her she had a very high metabolism and it had been hours since she had fed the beast and she didn’t mean the animal inside her, she meant her human self. She could be a serious bitch when she was hungry.
Shifters aren’t known for their modesty and that included Aeslyn, she set the blanket on the couch then went to make breakfast. She liked the idea of pampering him, she didn’t know when she became domesticated but she was quickly getting to like the idea of having a family. The closest she had come to taking care of another person was throwing frozen waffles at Ash when he had the flu.
She hoped Sebastian wouldn’t mind but she made herself at home. She had poured the last bit of pancake batter on the griddle when she heard Sebastian running down the hall.
He slid to a stop in the doorway, out of breath. “Jesus Aeslyn, you scared me. I wake up and you're gone. You realize someone was outside last night and shot at us. I thought you left again without waking me up.” He sat at the kitchen table and ran his hands through his hair. “You have a bad habit of doing that you know, it’s kind of rough on the confidence to wake up alone.” He gave her a sheepish smile before glancing down and seeing her stomach. The medic side of him kicked into gear, “Why the hell are you up anyways, you need to rest, at least until I can’t see your insides any longer.”
Seeing her insides was a bit of an exaggeration, the gashes were nearly closed. She shut off the griddle, grabbed the food that was done and sat down. She wasn’t sure what to say, or what he knew. “Thank you for taking care of me last night. If you are going to get shot, doing it in the arms of a medic is a smart place to do it.” For a few seconds neither spoke, it was obvious he was struggling with what to say too.
“Do you want me to get you some clothes, I can’t imagine that chair was very warm to sit on.”
“I’ll put something on if it will make you more comfortable, otherwise I’m content.” She paused to let him answer, he shrugged. “Maybe we should address the elephant in the room, well in my case the Liger.” He visibly relaxed, relieved that she brought it up first. She was surprised to see he didn’t really react to her announcement, apparently, he did know what she was. “When did you figure out what I was?”
“Honestly, it wasn’t till an eight-foot-long cat was laying in my entryway that I figured it out. I have seen a lot of crazy stuff out in the field but I admit I thought I was going to shit myself.” He laughed at his admission.
Aeslyn only knew mortification, if she had shifted while unconscious then she must have been bad off. It must have been worse than she first thought. “I am so sorry you had to find out that way. Thank you for still taking care of me though. It must have been serious if I was phasing in and out.”
“It looked like a Quentin Tarantino movie set in here. I knew how to take care of you as a woman but if it weren’t for Connor coming over I’m not sure I would have known how to treat you.”
“Right, Connor,” She paused, did he know what Connor was?
“You’re okay, I didn’t know he was a shifter but he told us last night after we questioned how he knew so much about treating you.”
This story was going from bad to worse, first she bled all over him, then she turned into a liger then she unintentionally outed his best friend. This was definitely going down as the worst second date in history.
“I do have a question though, you said Liger, what is that?” He chewed a piece of pancake waiting for her to respond.
“My father is a lion; my mother is a tiger so that makes me a liger. Yes, it’s as unique as it sounds. I’ve only ever met one other liger and a couple of tigons,” she could see she confused him further, “that’s when the mother is the lion and the father is the tiger.”
“I suddenly feel the need to binge Jack Hanna or Jeff Corwin all day. I’ve never heard of ligers or tigons.” She could see his mind wander for a second then he chuckled, she waited for him to share his inside joke, “I was just thinking how trippy it would be for them to redo the Wizard of Oz and change their chant to ligers and tigons and bears, oh my. That would kind of work, we need something else in place of bear.”
Aeslyn was never surprised by how easily men’s minds can wander, but she was used to it from living with Ash for so long. “Well there are pizzly’s and grolar’s which are combinations of polar bears and grizzly bears but neither of those would flow really well.”
“I’m pretty sure this is the coolest and weirdest breakfast conversation I’ve ever had.” He winked before digging into the rest of his food.
They fell into a comfortable silence finishing their meal. Once their plates were empty he grabbed them from the table and started to wash them. “We did a good job of cleaning you up but honestly you have a lot of blood in your hair. Why don’t you shower while I clean up? I’ll put some sweats on the bed while you are in there.”
The idea of a hot shower sounded heavenly, she was hiding it well but she was still in a lot of pain. “That would be awesome, thanks.”
She made her way to the bathroom and hummed quietly while she waited for the water to warm up. She replayed their conversation in her head, it went so much better than she expected, she was relieved he seemed to be taking the news of her being part animal really well.
A thunderous roar echoed through the house, the mirror shook from the vibration.
“Shit.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
One minute you are rinsing plates and the next a giant fucking lion was standing in your kitchen. Of course, Sebastian’s gun was on the table which happened to be closer to the pissed off beast than to him.
Now that he knew about shifters he had to assume this was a friend of Aeslyn’s, Connor said they were human still in animal form so he held his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat.
The creature shimmied and shifted into a very large, naked man who had veins popping out of his neck. “Where is she? What did you do to her?”
“I assume you mean Aeslyn? She’s fine…”
“I can smell her blood all over this place, I’m going to rip your throat out.” The creature shifted back and braced to lunge at Sebastian.
“Ash No!” Aeslyn still naked as the day she was born ran into the kitchen and put herself in front of Sebastian. “I’m fine, I promise, calm down.”
The lion shifted back and grabbed Aeslyn away from him, he crushed her against his chest and held on. Sebastian could see the man was fighting back tears, it was obvious he was in love with her.
To recap, this naked behemoth was plastered against his naked girlfriend, he loved her and he could kill Sebastian with one bite. Yeah, that pretty much summed up how screwed he was. A thought popped into his head, “Wait, did you say Ash? As in the cat, you were looking for in the woods behind my house? You said he was white and fluffy but you neglected to mention how large he was. I definitely think we would have seen him in the trees easily.”
She pulled out of the intruder's arms and turned around sheepishly, “I’m sorry, I needed an excuse to talk to you, it’s the best I could come up with.”
Gigantor grabbed her arm and spun her back around, his finger wagging in her face. “This is the second day in a row you forgot to check-in. I pinged your GPS and you are completely off the grid. I drove all night to get here, from the sidewalk I could smell your blood, you are standing naked in front of
the guy you are supposed to be guarding and you have been hurt, what the fuck is going on.”
Sebastian’s manhood dictated he not move or react but inside he was slightly terrified. Even though the other man was in human form he managed a ferocious roar while yelling at her.
She wasn’t fazed in the least, she reached up, rested her hand on his chest to comfort him. “I’ve kind of been unconscious since yesterday so it’s not really my fault I didn’t check in. I don’t even know where my phone is, or my clothes for that matter and Gerri will be thrilled to know she was right to send us down here.”
“Maybe we should all step back from each other's embrace, maybe put some clothes on then we can talk about how you are here to guard me. I was in the Air Force you know, I’m not a weakling.” The asshole had the audacity to chuckle and roll his eyes, “Hey Sylvester, I didn’t invite you in here. You can leave and I’ll talk to Aeslyn on my own.”
“If I’m Sylvester that makes you Tweety and I’m going to enjoy eating you.” He tried to push past Aeslyn to charge Sebastian but she shoved him back.
“Did you watch the cartoon, Tweety always won, so good luck with that.” Sebastian was having the most ridiculous argument of his life but he was defending his claim to Aeslyn and had to roll with it.
“If either of you fuckers calls me Granny, I’m going to rip your balls off.” Aeslyn turned back to look at Sebastian. “While I am impressed and honestly a little turned on that you stood up to Ash, he has a right to be pissed at me. So here’s what we’re going to do, Ash goes to the hotel and gets me some clothes, I’m going to shower then when we’re all dressed and settled down we can go over the events of the last few days. Agreed?”
Paranormal Dating Agency: My Oath To You (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 6