Shifter

by Jennifer Reynolds

  I rack my brain to figure out how I shifted. I hadn’t felt the shift. Sudden realization hits me. I’m getting close to being my human self again. Excitement floods me. I shift slightly on the bed. A urge hits. The need to wake Abby and give her the good news is followed by the sadness that accompanies the understanding that my presence will only scare her.

  Of its own accord, one of my hands reaches out and lightly grazes her skin. She is so soft. So creamy. My body grows hard at the feel of her. This is the first time I have touched her in my human form. Letting my hormones override my commonsense, I flatten my hand on her side and slowly slide it over all the exposed skin I can. After a few seconds, I bend and place a kiss on her hip.

  Abby stirs at this and, without thinking, I shift from the bedroom to the bathroom. I stand in the dark listening for her. When I’m sure she isn’t going to wake, I softly shut the door and turn on the light to see myself. Before I can contemplate too much on my human form, the dull ache in my groin begs for my attention, and since my mind is full of images both real and imaginary of Abby, I take care of myself.

  Cleaning myself and pulling on Abby’s housecoat, I sit down on the toilet to think. I don’t know how long I am going to stay this way. The only thing I can think to do is call out to Devan. I hate his stupid ass at this moment, but he needs to know my situation and to be ready to help me.

  “Devan,” I mentally call, wondering too late if that part of my powers is working properly.

  “Dimitri? Is that really you?” Devan asks in a surprised tone.

  “Yeah, it is me. Don’t come for me though,” I shout in my head, knowing that is exactly what he is planning to do.

  “Why?” he asks.

  “Because I said not to.”

  “What? What the hell is going on? Where are you? Where have you been?”

  “One question at a time. First, that redheaded bitch that claimed to see me at Abby Sinclair’s is a witch. How you didn’t know that is beyond me. And how you didn’t recognize her from that morning in the hotel when you pulled me from the bed of an unknown woman is also beyond me. You are such an unobservant shit.”

  “How do you know…”

  “I know because I am at Abby’s,”

  “That bitch.”

  “Don’t you call her that. She doesn’t know it’s me. Mave, the redhead, cursed me into cat form. Abby adopted me from the pound that Mave dropped me at.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “This is only the second time I’ve been human since the night I went missing. The first time I wasn’t human long enough to contact you. I don’t know how long I’ll be human now. The curse seems to be waning but slowly. I can’t leave because this is the safest place I can be. An angel by the name of...well, I don’t actually know her first name, but her last is Smith gave me some protective charms to put around Abby’s house. Mave can’t get to me while I’m here surrounded by them.”

  “Let me come there.”

  “No. Abby doesn’t know anything. If you come here, we will have to explain, and I can’t shift at will yet. She will think you’re a psycho. As it is, she thinks you are an ass. We can’t afford to have her pressing charges against you.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “There is nothing we can do right now. I’ll have to wait until the curse is completely broken. I can’t shift into any form except my human one and the cat one. You might see if you can find a faster solution to my problem. Dr. Smith, the angel, says that the bigger and older my cat form gets, the quicker the curse will lift.” I didn’t tell him about the other part. The one where the stronger my feelings for Abby get, the stronger I become and less effective the curse becomes. I don’t know why I don’t tell him this. A part of me feels that if I do, he will try to win her back, which will in turn cause me to have to hurt him when I’m human again.

  “But…”

  “No buts. Keep doing what you’re doing; just leave Abby out of it. Pursue Mave. Find out what you can about her and the curse.” I have more to say but in that second, I feel the shift coming on.

  “Fuck.”

  “Dimitri, what’s wrong?”

  “I’m shifting back. I don’t think I can continue this conversation in cat form if you aren’t close to me. Just trust me. And leave Abby alone. She has been through enough because of me, and it’s only going to get worse.”

  “Dimitri, I can’t leave her out…the police…”

  That is all I hear before I hit the floor on four paws. Damn it. I can’t do anything about my situation and neither can Devan. I’m sure he was about to tell me that the police were about to do a house-to-house search in the neighborhood. I already knew this, of course. I had overheard Devan and Abby’s earlier conversation. If they do, and he accompanies them, I can talk to him then.

  Chapter 16

  ~~~Abby~~~

  “I’m coming,” I scream at the front door, as the banging persists. This visit by the police comes two days after Devan’s warning; therefore, I knew they were coming, but the knock couldn’t have come at a worse time. I hate for people to see me like this. I was on the treadmill and had been for nearly an hour.

  Now, as I walk to the door, I’m trying desperately to wipe the sweat from my body. Normally I would have been embarrassed to answer the door, but if he is with them, I want him to see me this way. Want him to look at me the way other men do, with disgust. I can’t handle him looking at me with lust in his eyes. I want to hate him.

  “Sorry. I was on the treadmill with headphones on,” I say as I open the door, thanking God it is Officer Richards.

  “You’re fine, Miss Sinclair,” he says with a smile too bright for the situation. “I’m not sure if you know this, but we are doing a house-to-house search of your neighborhood. Witnesses have spotted Mr. Sullivan numerous times in this area. His brother is certain that he is being held in one of these houses.” Richards says this last bit as if Devan and the entire mess are annoying him.

  “He’s been sure of that for months now. I’m betting that if his brother is in the area, he’s hiding out. If I had an older brother like that, I think I would disappear as well,” I say to the officer, slinging my sweat-dampened towel onto my shoulder.

  Officer Richards laughs. “Do you mind if we come in and have a look around?”

  “If I say no, you’re just going to show me a piece of paper that says I don’t have a choice,” I say and step back to give the man access to my home.

  “True. I’m just trying to be polite. The Sullivan’s have put you through enough with this whole mess. I’ve done some investigating, and I haven’t found a connection between you or your family with them. None of this makes any sense.”

  “I’m right there with you. I can’t wait until it is all over. Do you think they will give it up now?” I ask.

  Officer Richards and I step further into the house to let his people enter and conduct their search.

  “Yeah,” a voice says from somewhere near the back of the gathered police officers. “This is the last search of your house, I promise.”

  “Damn it,” I say, glowering at my front door. “Did you have to bring him?” I ask Richards.

  “We didn’t bring him. He likes to show up, though, and get in the way. Mr. Sullivan, please go back to your car. Miss Sinclair, I have to dispatch my officer’s now.”

  “Go right ahead. Just don’t leave a mess. I’ve spent an hour on that machine, and I am not in the mood to clean up a large scale mess.”

  “You heard her, people. If you move it, you put it back.” A few officers grunt in agreement. The rest go on about their business as if they hadn’t heard him.

  “That cat is getting huge,” Richards says, eyeing my Dimitri laid out on the sofa.

  “He’s a Maine Coon; they are supposed to be large, but he has some kind of birth defect that is causing him to grow faster and larger than he is supposed to. That’s what has been causing his seizures.”

  “You ever walk
the neighborhood or anything?” Officer Richards asks, nodding his head toward my living room’s eyesore.

  “No. I’m only comfortable indoors, in private, on that thing. No one needs to see me huffing, puffing, and all sweaty. I would scare off the neighborhood kids.”

  “Nah, I bet their fathers would love to see you running down the street.” He looks to my breasts, the tops of which the sports bra and tank top I’m wearing have pushed up, and they are nearly spilling over.

  I don’t know how to answer. I know most men are breast men, but I didn’t realize that so many would be willing to look pass the roundness of the rest of my body. Before I can respond, Dimitri leaps from the back of the sofa and bounds toward me. Devan comes back into my line of sight a second later, looking a bit angry.

  His expression pisses me off. How dare he get jealous. He could have had me, if he had wanted me. But no, he had to act a fool. Glowering at Devan, I bend down and pick up Dimitri.

  “He’s a needy little guy, isn’t he,” Officer Richards says, petting Dimitri’s head.

  “Not usually. All of these people must freak him out. Normally he ignores me.”

  “So, um…” Richards starts, but is cut off by one of his officers.

  “She’s clean, sir. We’ve searched everywhere. There is no sign that a male is or has been here.”

  The man’s words cut deep into my ego, and I actually flinch at his words, though I think both Richards and Devan smile at them.

  “What about a dog? Devan claims that Dimitri might have disappeared with his dog,” the officer says.

  “No dog, sir. Only the two cats.”

  Yep, I’m turning to the cat lady. I can see it in the officer’s eyes.

  “Thank you. Pull out and get ready for the next house,” Richards orders.

  A minute later, when my house is clear, Officer Richards pauses in my doorway and looks from me to Devan, who seems determined to only leave when Richards does. “Miss Sinclair, can I speak to you in private please?” he asks when he realizes that Devan isn’t going anywhere.

  “Yes. Come on in and have a seat,” I say happily. I smile brightly at Devan and shut the door in his face.

  “Would you like anything to drink?” I ask, going to the fridge to retrieve a bottle of water.

  “No, thank you. This won’t take but a minute.” He fidgets with the papers in his hand for a second.

  “Is something wrong?” I ask worried by his behavior.

  “No, I was just wondering if you would have dinner with me sometime,” he asks in a low voice, though he does look at me when he asks.

  “Pardon me?” I ask in shock. Never in a million years had I expected that to come out of his mouth.

  “I know it’s a weird request and it will have to be in a few weeks because I will have to take myself off this case. But I would love it if you would have dinner with me and maybe a movie.”

  I want to say no, because a part of me is sure he is joking, but he doesn’t look as if he is joking. He smiles shyly at me and fiddles with the papers in his hand some more, twisting, turning, and even flipping through them even though he isn’t looking down at them.

  “Are you sure?” I ask unable to believe he is actually asking me out.

  “I am,” he says, seriously.

  “Um…okay.”

  “Really?” he asks, instantly perking up at my acceptance. I have to smile at the broad smile on his lips. He looks as if he is as child being told he is getting to go to Disney Land for the first time. I almost laugh at him.

  “Yes, I’ll go,” I say reassuringly.

  “Great. I have your number. I will call you soon. I promise,” he says as he goes to the door. When he opens it, two of his fellow officers are standing right at the entrance. They’ve obviously been listening in on our conversation. I blush in embarrassment, but Officer Richards gives them an angry look and orders them down the street.

  “Well, how about that. My sister is going to die when I tell her this,” I say in a low voice, closing the door on the men.

  Chapter 17

  ~~~Dimitri~~~

  While Abby talked to the police, Devan and I had our own conversation.

  “Devan, can you hear me?” I ask, when he made himself known.

  “Yeah, little brother, I can hear you,” he answers, not looking in my direction. He sounds tired.

  “Oh man, thank God. I’ve tried talking to you every single time you’ve showed up here.”

  “Why haven’t I been able to hear you?”

  “I don’t know. It has something to do with the spell. Have you found Mave yet?”

  “No. Hey, hold on a second all right. I need to get out of ear shot of Abby and Richards.”

  Devan was trying to talk to me and listen to them at the same time and it apparently wasn’t working.

  “That cat is getting huge,” Richards says, nodding his head to me as I try to maneuver my large body into the window that faces the front yard. Devan has stepped back down the drive way and this is the easiest place for me to see him. Unfortunately, I’m a bit too large to fit on the windowsill comfortably.

  “Man, she is beyond pissed at you,” I say when I get myself positioned comfortably. We are no longer face-to-face, but I can see him through the window. None of this effects how well we can hear each other. As long as he stays relatively close to me, we can speak perfectly telepathically.

  “Can you blame her?” he asks.

  “Oh no. You really screwed the pooch on this one.” There is a tad too much glee in my voice when I say this. He takes it as a jab at him, which is great. He would never forgive me if he knew I am planning to make a move on her when I am human again.

  “I know. I could have handled the entire thing better, but how was I supposed to know what had happened to you?”

  He paces back and forth in front of the window as we speak, giving the rest the impression that he is ashamed of his actions.

  “You should have been able to tell that Abby isn’t a witch. She doesn’t even have a hint of witch blood in her. Hell, her blood is pure. There is no supernatural blood of any kind in her. Her kind is rare.”

  “Sorry. We were jumping with every bit of information we could get our hands on,” he says with a sigh. That hint of exhaustion in his voice becoming a little more pronounced.

  “Is something wrong with the pack?”

  “No. No. The weres have been acting up a little too much, and we could have used a helping hand. Darius was scared that they had gotten to you. They’ve been sneaking onto our land. They aren’t happy about having to find another place to roam.”

  “Anyone hurt?”

  “Nothing major. Man, are you sure you don’t want me to take you home?”

  “Yeah. For now, I’m safer here.”

  “He’s hitting on her,” Devan says distractedly, causing me to turn my attention back to Abby. Devan walks back to the front door, and I leap off the windowsill and go back to her side.

  “I’ll kill him,” I say, forgetting that Devan can hear me.

  “Why are you angry?”

  I don’t answer. I can’t without giving myself away. I’m sure he can figure it out though. Devan’s face reddens at this, which seems to piss her off even more and to confuse the hell out of her. I dig in her mind, and I hear her thinking, How psycho is he that he is jealous over a cat? I seriously dodged the bullet with him. I bet he’d be one of those men who got jealous over his own damned kids because his wife is spending too much time with them.

  “You’re a dumbass,” I tell my brother, shifting the subject back to my predicament as Richards tells Abby that my dog is also missing.

  “What?” Devan asks, cutting his gaze down to me in confusion.

  “It didn’t cross your mind once that I might be in a form other than a wolf or dog?”

  “No. You never shift into anything else, and especially not a cat as cute as you. She should have named you Mittens or Fluffy.”

  “Got to hell.”
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  “Why are you a cat anyway?”

  “I told you. I think Mave thought this would be funny.”

  “It is a little funny,” Devan says, chuckling.

  “Shut up. Anyway, she cursed me into this form. It has nothing to with my shifting abilities.”

  “Damn, you must have pissed the witch off good.”

  “I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t deleted her number. Hell, if you had been sober like you were supposed to be, I would have avoided her all together and none of this would have happened.”

  “Seriously?” Devan looks away from me, guilt making him uneasy.

  “Yes, asshole. Helping your fellow pack members avoid fertile humans and unwanted supernaturals is what the sober member is supposed to do.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. You going to report me?”

  “I don’t know. It depends on how all of this plays out. Have you told our parents or the pact where I am and what has happened to me?”

  “For the most part, yeah. Pop agrees that you should stay. Mom’s worried, but wanted to know if the woman is a looker and if she has any shifter blood in her. I told her yes on the first one and no on the second, but she still thinks I should try to make up with her. I don’t think it’s going to happen. It looks like she has eyes for the man with the badge now.”

  “I can tell.” However, I’m relieved to see a bit of a frown on her face as one of the officers continues to point out the lack of testosterone in the house. The flood of officers leaving her house pushes Devan back down the driveway for a minute.

  Tell him to go to hell, Abby, I shout in her head.

  “What’s going on?” Devan asks.

  Damn. He must still be close enough to hear me. How far down the drive is he? “Have you been drinking?” I ask. That is the only way he wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation.