Shifter

by Jennifer Reynolds

  “But…” I can see he is hiding more from me, and by the look on Devan’s face, he can see it too.

  “Don’t try to understand or rationalize crazy. It won’t work. She is a deranged and disturbed individual.” Dimitri says.

  “How long do you have to stay here?” I ask, unsure of what I want. On one hand, I don’t want to be a part of any of this, and I don’t know how I feel about having a strange man in my home, even though he has technically been here for months. On the other, I can easily get used to waking up to his naked body pressed against me every morning. I feel my face flame brighter and quickly look away from him again, not before noticing the smile pushing up the corners of his mouth.

  “I don’t know. I’ve been human for a few hours now, but I could shift back into cat form any minute. I’ve tried to shift into my base form but can’t. I need to stay at least until I get all of my powers back, and I believe that will be once I am able to shift into a wolf again. That is unless we find a way to stop Mave. I’m not leaving you alone until then no matter what.”

  The sincerity in his voice makes my heart warm. I stare at him in awe. I want to argue. To tell him this is my house, and he stays only if I allow it, but I can’t. I will not risk his life because his presence inconveniences me.

  “What do we do now?” I ask, resigning myself to everything I’ve just learned.

  “We go to bed.”

  “Excuse me,” I reply shocked by his words. I’m not the only one either. Devan leapt to his feet to say something—When had he taken a seat?—but then freezes when he realizes that he can’t say anything. He has no claim over me. This isn’t his house.

  “I mean there is nothing we can do right now. We’ll have to go on about our lives the best we can. Take everything one day at a time. My family will have to go on pretending as if I am still missing, for no other reason than to keep Mave from finding out that the curse is wearing off. All the while, we have to search for a way to get rid of her or at least get her off me.”

  “And me, what do I do?” I ask.

  “You have to go on as if you know nothing about me or the supernatural world. Mave can’t suspect anything. There is no telling what she will do if she finds out you really are keeping me hidden in your house and...”

  “And?” I ask.

  “Nothing. I’m tired. It has been a long night, and we need to get some sleep. Devan, brother, thanks for coming, and thanks for looking for me.” The two men hug.

  “Mom and Dad are going to want to see you, you know,” Devan says.

  “Yeah. Abby, will it be all right if they come by tomorrow?”

  “Will you be human?”

  “Probably not, but I can talk to them telepathically when in animal form if they are nearby.”

  “That’ll be a sight. Sure. Can you make it around two or three tomorrow afternoon? I have a feeling I’m going to be sleeping in,” I say.

  “Sure,” Devan says. “I’ll call before we come. Oh, do you mind if we pop in, you know, literally?”

  “Do you have good aim?”

  He gives me a puzzled look, then laughs. “Yeah. We won’t break anything.”

  “Then I think it will be a good idea if you do that from here on out. I want that witch woman to think you and I have severed all connections. And you be sure that they don’t put Richards back on your case. I don’t want to see his face again, you understand? If your brother’s life weren’t on the line, I’d make the same request of you, but for now, I will tolerate you. And you’re not to bring your new girlfriend here ever.”

  “What do you have against Katie?” he asks, basking in what he thinks is my jealousy.

  “Nothing really, but no woman wants to see a man she has dated, no matter for how brief of a period of time, treating another woman better than he treated her.”

  He flinches, and I swear I think I see Dimitri smile. “All right. But I’m not sure I can do anything about Richards.”

  “Do what you can.”

  He nods and disappears.

  “You know my brother isn’t a bad guy,” Dimitri says.

  “I know, but I was in a very destructive relationship for a very long time, and I don’t trust anyone or give second chances.” I yawn, my eyes water, and for a second I nearly fall asleep where I’m standing.

  “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

  I let him lead me down the hall before realizing he intends to come to bed with me. At the hall closet, I stop, reach inside to pull out a fitted sheet, a regular sheet, and a comforter. “Put these on the sofa, and I’ll go get you a pillow.”

  He stares at me uncomprehendingly.

  “I know the sofa isn’t long enough for you, but it will have to do until you get your brother to bring you an air mattress or you can conjure up one of your own.”

  Finally, he smiles, realizing what I’m saying, and turns back to the living room.

  I stand inside of my bedroom door for a long time. My head spinning with exhaustion and all the information it has yet to process.

  “Abby?” he calls from outside my door as he knocks lightly.

  This shakes me, and I remember why I have come in here. “Yeah, hold on.” I snatch a pillow off the bed and go back to the door. He isn’t out there. I go down the hall to the living room. He is sitting with his legs spread, elbows on his knees, and his face in his hands. Pity rushes through me, and I almost ask him to come to bed with me. After all he has been through, it seems cruel to make me sleep on my sofa. But that would be opening myself up to a world of emotions I really don’t want to have to deal with.

  “Here’s your pillow,” I say, holding it out to him. He looks up at my words, but doesn’t take the pillow. The look of sadness, of despair, of resignation in his eyes hurts me.

  “I’m sorry for all of this,” he says. “I never meant for this to happen. I didn’t know she was a witch. I shouldn’t have slept with her. I...”

  I sit down beside him, laying the pillow down beside me. “Don’t do this to yourself. Things happen. We all make mistakes.”

  “Yeah, but most people’s mistakes don’t cost others their lives.”

  “No one has lost their life. Granted, you aren’t completely what you used to be, but right now, you’re human. You’re safe. I won’t let her take you.”

  “It’s not me I’m worried about. Abby...”

  “Don’t worry about me. Once you are fully human again and not hiding out in my house, she’ll forget all about me.”

  “I don’t think it will be that easy,” he says, looking intently at me, and all of a sudden, I realize I didn’t either. I will help him, no matter what. I don’t know what a human like me can do up against a witch, but I’m going to do whatever it takes to help save him from her.

  Our eyes stay locked, and it isn’t until he has fully turned to face me and is lifting his hand toward my face that I break away. “Get some sleep. If you’re still human in the morning, we’ll talk.” His hand falls to the spot on the sofa I have just vacated.

  “Night, Abby,” he says as I leave the room.

  Chapter 20

  ~~~Dimitri~~~

  The next morning, she walks, half asleep, to the bathroom to do her morning business. After that, she heads to the kitchen for a glass of 2% milk and a yogurt. She glances my way out of the corner of her eye and screams at the sight of me rising from the sofa.

  “Abby. Abby. It’s okay. It’s me,” I say, rushing to catch her falling yogurt cup.

  “You scared the shit out of me. I forgot all about you being here,” she says, clutching her chest and breathing hard.

  “Obviously. Let’s hope none of your neighbors heard your scream.”

  “So do I,” she says, recovering from her shock. I hand her the cup, and we both walk to the tiny kitchen where she takes a seat at the small, round, wooden table that only seats four on a good day. “Did you sleep well?” she asks and begins eating while I rummage around in the refrigerator for some breakfast.

 
Before I can answer, Sebastian walks into the room and rubs himself on her leg, then leaps into the chair next to her. Out of habit she looks around the corner for her other cat. I smile at the confused then sheepish look she gives me when she realizes that I am in the room. She’ll never admit to it, but I heard her roaming the house last night silently calling for her cat. Despite the fact that she appeared to believe my story, a part her had to check, had to discover the truth for herself.

  “I did. I think I shifted back in the night though,” I say not commenting on her expression.

  “What makes you think that?” she asks, scraping the bottom of the cup for the last little bit of yogurt.

  “I woke naked. It’s a good thing you detoured to the bathroom or you would have had a shock this morning,” I say, cutting a playful look her way as I pull a few items out and sit them on the counter. “Besides, I slept a little too comfortable on the sofa to have been human the entire night.”

  She can’t stop her eyes from roaming down my chest to my crotch when I mention being naked. I feel an erection coming on, but before I can respond, someone knocks on the front door. She and I give each other quizzical looks.

  “Who is it?” I whisper.

  She shrugs her shoulders. No one either of us knows would be here this early. We had originally planned to sleep in, but we hadn’t. Still, most people didn’t start calling her house until after noon, and no one came over during the week unless they planned the visit.

  “Anyone you might know?” she asks, I guess assuming I might do my telepathic thing to read the person, but since I can’t get a read on the person, I shake my head.

  I am sure whoever is on the other side of the door is mostly human with only a bit of supernatural blood in their veins even though they are blocking their thoughts, probably unconsciously. She told my brother to simply appear in the house, so it wouldn’t be anyone for me. As she passes me to go the door, her close proximity makes me acutely aware of how bare my upper body is as her bare arm moves against me. The heat from her body sears me, and it is all I can do to breathe normally.

  “I’m coming,” she calls as the knock comes again.

  I wish, I think. My body continues to burn from the feel of her. At the door, she peers through the peephole

  “Hey, Jack, everything all right?” she asks, opening the door enough for Jack, her next-door neighbor, to see me. Something must be wrong because Jack barely leaves his house, let alone comes to her door.

  “That is what I wanted to know. I thought I heard a few screams in the night, and I heard another one a few minutes ago while I was getting the paper.”

  “She’s a screamer,” I say from behind her clear enough for Jack to hear me. Her face turns beet red, and she turns to glare at me, not that this phases me.

  Jack jerks his head in my direction. The range of emotions that pass across his face offends me. I can tell he never thought he would see a man in her home. There hasn’t been one here since she moved in the house, I knew.

  “Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company,” Jack says, turning. “As long as you’re all right, I’ll go back home and mind my own business.”

  “She’s fine. I’m taking real good care of her,” I say, stepping into the living room. Jack looks from me to her and back again. Anger rises in me at the confused and doubtful look Jack is giving her.

  “You sure?” Jack asks, looking at her with an expression I understand well. His look says that I’m only playing her. That I’m not the type to stay tied down to any woman.

  “I’m fine, thank you,” she says in a soft voice.

  Jack nods, and his nod says, ‘You’ve been warned. I will not interfere anymore,’ and walks back to his house. She turns to scold me for my comments. Instead of finding a man in her kitchen, she finds my big, fluffy cat form. My anger at Jack causes me to shift.

  “Wow,” she says to me, and I nod. “Great. You know you should probably keep yourself hidden while in human form when people other than your family come over. All of my neighbors have seen your picture dozens of times these last few months. If they see you, one of them is bound to call the cops. As a matter of fact,” she says and looks back at the door. “Nah, Jack is too caught in his own depression to have paid any attention to your face plastered all over the neighborhood.”

  I nod in agreement again, and she continues. “I was hoping you would be human for your parents.”

  Again, I nod my head, annoyed that that is all I can do in this form.

  “I wonder what triggers your shifts,” she mumbles as she opens the fridge to put away my uneaten breakfast.

  I shake my head, then jump onto the counter, grab the pack of bacon with my teeth before she can put it away, and drag it over to the stove.

  “What, you don’t like Fancy Feast?” She laughs at my scowl. “You know this might hurt your cat stomach.” I shake my head in denial, so she fries me some bacon.

  “You know, when other humans are here you can’t react as if you can hear them,” she tells me as I lap a glass of coffee and nibble the food.

  Really, like I hadn’t known that. What did she think I had been doing all these months?

  “And I would appreciate it if you didn’t jump on my kitchen counters. You’ll get hair all over the place,” she says.

  I roll my eyes at her, and a second later, my hair begins to recede into my body. She stares, shocked by the sight for a long moment, then the thought that the look isn’t a very flattering one for me crosses her mind, and I growl. She laughs at me and says. “No, keep it long. You look funny. Just stay off my counters and my kitchen table. I don’t mind you roaming on the rest of the furniture, but it feels unsanitary for you to be in the kitchen.”

  I give her the cat equivalent of a snort, but nod my head. Unsanitary, my ass.

  She cleans up the kitchen and living room, bathes, and works for a little while, waiting for Devan’s call, which doesn’t come until four in the afternoon. I hear her tell Devan that his family is more than welcome to come, but they wouldn’t get to actually see me because I’ve shifted back. In the background, I hear my mother say she doesn’t care, and five minutes later, they appear in the living room.

  My parents are very young looking. Both look as if they are no more than about forty years old. Abby looks at them for a long time, then looks at Devan and I. I can see that she is thinking that my brother and I look very young for our ages. We are supposed to be in our thirties, but if we cleaned up right, we could pass for barely over twenty. Both of our parents are tall, with dark hair and eyes. We most definitely got our looks from them.

  Despite the fact that she has been expecting them, she jumped two feet in the air when they appear out of nowhere in her living room. She was in the kitchen trying to decide if she should have cooked something or at least set out something to drink.

  “What do you give rich people to drink?” I heard her mumble at one point. I also hear her fretting over the state of her tiny modest home. “I bet it looks like a shantytown home compared to their home.”

  Luckily for her sanity, they don’t seem to even notice her when they first arrive. Mom goes straight to me. She doesn’t pick me up to cuddle me or shower me with kisses, to my disappointment. I know I should be too old for such things, but I could use her comfort. No, she simply sits down beside me on the sofa, which I’ll have to reassure Abby that she doesn’t seem to notice or find lacking, and rubs my cheek lightly for a second. She does this because she doesn’t want to make a scene in a stranger’s home.

  “My poor boy,” she says telepathically so only I can hear her.

  “Thank you for taking care of my son,” I hear my father say.

  “I haven’t done much. I promise,” Abby says, wishing they would forget she was there.

  “He says you’ve been really good to him. We are very grateful,” my mother says, getting up and going over to shake her hand.

  “You’re welcome,” Abby replies, looking completely confused by her state
ment.

  Devan laughs lightly and says, “We can communicate telepathically, remember?”

  “Oh, sorry, it was late last night, and I was real upset,” she says pointedly to Devan. Our parents catch her look but don’t ask. “There was so much to take in. I wish I were able to do that with him. Our conversations have been one-sided today, it’s annoying.”

  “You can’t hear him or talk to him?” my mother asks.

  “Nope,” Abby answers, confused by her question. “Should I be able to talk to him?”

  “I told you, Mom, my powers are all messed up,” I tell my mother. “I can do the telepathy thing with supernaturals now, but not humans, especially not pure blood humans like her.”

  Mom turns to look at me when I say this, and Abby nods her head realizing what is happening. I can tell she feels left out, but she says nothing. For the first time, the fact that she can’t hear me really hurts me, and I have this overwhelming need for her to be a part of the family.

  Letting us talk amongst ourselves, she takes a seat in a chair out of the way. She seems to be doing her best to stay out of our conversation, which is easy considering that we rarely speak, and I don’t much like it. She is completely lost in her own thoughts when I jump onto the arm of her chair and head-butt her arm, causing her to scream out in surprise.

  “He wants to know what is wrong,” Dad says.

  She looks up at the man, then to the rest of us to see that my mother and brother are sitting on the sofa talking quietly to one another.

  “Oh, uh, nothing. I was thinking about work,” she lies.

  “No, she wasn’t. Something is wrong. Ask her again,” I say to my dad.

  She looks from my dad to me over to Devan and my mother. Suspecting what she is thinking, my father says, “They are discussing Mave and Sam. Sam is trying to contact a coven she had been a part of in Missouri before she came to Tennessee. She hasn’t been able to figure out what kind of curse Mave used, and wants to come by sometime soon to talk to the two of you. Also, Dimitri wants to know if you are sure there is nothing wrong,” my father asks again.