by CC Solomon
I dropped my spoon. “I’m sorry, should we have known that before we went to him? Maybe we would have convinced him a little harder.”
“You’ve said all that you needed to say to him. I only had this vision last night, so don’t be upset with me.”
“Well, I don’t think our talk helped anything.”
“You never know. And his feelings for Lisa are stronger than we may understand. Don’t give up hope there. I’ll also talk to Lisa. You don’t worry about that part. You have a whole team with you, and it is possible to dole out some responsibilities. Don’t underestimate the power your friends have to help you and even do things without you there. You aren’t a one-woman fighting machine.”
I snorted. “Oh, I know. If that was the case, we’d be doomed.”
“Amina,” Mae began in a scolding tone. “You need to think better of yourself. If the soulmates sense doubt, they will pounce on it.”
She was right, I knew it, but I was having the biggest case of imposter syndrome right now. How could I be as powerful as anyone believed? I still felt like regular old Amina, who lived at home with mom and dad while trying not to flunk out of law school.
Bill nodded, putting down his cup of water he’d drained. “Everything’s happened for a reason. Sometimes we don’t know what we can handle until we’re given it.”
I sighed and tilted my head and looked between him and Mae. “Okay, what are you about to tell me?” Mae didn’t waste time talking if she didn’t have something on her mind, and Bill spoke even less. She was building me up for something and it wasn’t just to fight the first soulmates.
Mae gave me wide eyes. “Why would you think I was setting you up for some big announcement?”
I didn’t say anything but instead raised an eyebrow.
She chuckled lightly. “Fine. There’s a child you need to protect. He’ll be good for you. It’ll be a step towards the right path.”
I scratched my head. “Okay. So, if I don’t help this child, that could push me farther from defeating the soulmates?”
“More likely than not.”
I shook my head and smiled. “So now I’m adding babysitting to the mix. I’m going to be a jack of all trades by the end of this. So, tell me, who’s the kid?”
The full moon shindig was held in an old concert space near the edge of the magical steel wall that surrounded town. The space wasn’t anything fancy. Just dark walls with pictures of former famous artists and black concrete floors surrounding a stage opposite the entry-way. A rainbow of lights illuminated the space, and music and chatter filled the air.
I walked in, standing around the perimeter like a wallflower. Erik had already arrived, having to take care of “pack business” before things started.
I had no real idea of what to expect.
Erik had told me it was informal for the most part. They’d start with a few beverages, not eating so they could reserve their hunger for the hunt. By nine, the pack leaders welcomed in any new members or children who were of changing age, and then it was off to shifting into their various animal forms.
They’d be larger and scarier than their regular counterparts in nature but still in control of their minds. They hunted outside of the wards of the town where there would be plenty of wildlife to hunt and other creatures.
They didn’t always hunt for food. Sometimes it was to run free in their other form. Erik explained that it felt liberating in a way he’d never felt in his human skin. When he first shifted, he almost didn’t want to return to his former self.
I’d seen Erik in his warrior were form, which was more humanoid, and his basic animal form. Both gave me nightmares. The last thing I wanted to do was to be surrounded by a bunch of weres when they all shifted. It felt a bit suicidal. What if one of them bit me by accident? Would I turn too? I didn’t have the pain threshold to shift.
“Hey, Amina,” said a redhead with large green eyes. Brittney, one of Seth’s five unfortunate concubines. She leaned forward and gave me a hug.
I returned the embrace, feeling slightly awkward and looked around the room. She’d been the only were to come speak to me in the past fifteen minutes. Was she breaking the rules?
She pulled away and gave me a genuine smile. She was dressed in a sports bra and track pants. Most of the weres in the area were wearing the same thing. The men had either a T-shirt with their bottoms or went bare chested. I assumed because this was easier for shifting purposes. “I’m so happy you could be here.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?” I asked, not quite believing her.
Brittney nodded her head vigorously before leaning in again. “You’re not afraid of anyone. We, well the other wives, wish we could be like you. We don’t have the power. We’re too comfortable, maybe.” She looked around. “We have a lovely place to stay. Don’t even have to work. In the Pre-World, I was a waitress going nowhere.”
“But being a concubine?”
Brittney shrugged. “It could be worse.”
I wanted to say I didn’t think so but thought better of it. If she was being open and kind to me, I didn’t want to ruffle her feathers by making her feel bad.
“I feel like a lot of people here don’t feel the same way about me that you do.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and leaned against the wall.
“No, but it just takes some time for people to warm up is all. You became pack and then almost immediately disappeared. And it’s just harder for non-weres in the pack. They have to prove their loyalty and worth a little more than everyone else.”
“I see,” I murmured.
“You’re also super strong. Like scary powerful.”
I thought about that. I could hurt Seth. Erik could too, especially with our help. However, surely not everyone loved the way Seth ruled. It was a cutthroat way of thinking and not something I was sure I could do, but it was worth the consideration. Seth was our biggest threat in the town now, well, if you didn’t count Blake if she was the other soulmate. If we got rid of Seth, we could pull the town together to prepare for the original soulmates and their army.
I looked over to Seth, surrounded by a small group. He threw his head back, laughing. His eyes crinkled, and his lips parted in a toothy smile. His dark blond hair was still short, but he had stubble growing on his face, perhaps attempting to grow out a beard. Sometimes I wondered if he ever suffered in this new world. Who had he lost? We’d all lost people to the Sickness or some supernatural predator or even each other as we fought lawlessness and depravity. Was he always this cocky bastard?
“You also are mated to the hottest guy in the pack,” Brittney continued, interrupting my thoughts. “Don’t get me wrong, Seth is gorgeous but…” she trailed off. “Sorry, don’t mean to be inappropriate.”
I shook my head, smiling. “It’s okay. Erik’s a good-looking guy. And I know a lot of women had their hopes up when I was gone. And the longer I was gone, the higher their hopes. Then I come back to mess up all their plans. If I were them, I’d hate me too.”
Brittney cackled. “Well, that’s a good-natured way of looking at it. Don’t worry, you’ll win them over. They’ll have to get over it and focus on the other men in the pack.”
“It’s not as if there is a short supply of good-looking guys around,” I observed.
Brittney leaned into me, looking around. “And don’t worry about Raya.”
I glanced over to Brittney. What was she talking about? “Am I supposed to be worried?”
Brittney gave me a nervous smile. “Well, she was going around putting her claim on Erik while you were … away. Any woman she caught even batting an eyelash at him would face her wrath. No one messes with Raya.”
“Did Erik know this?”
Brittney shrugged. “I’m not sure. He never mentioned it, at least not around me.” Brittney gave me a pat on the shoulder. “But you’re back now, so it doesn’t matter anymore.”
I sure was. However, I wondered if Raya was still going around staking her claim.
> Seth clapped his hands, and the music and chatter died down.
“All right folks, let’s get started. Tonight, we want to welcome our youngest member, Brandon Williams,” Seth rose his voice above the crowd.
A boy, no more than seven or eight, with curly black hair, stood beside Seth with a scared look on his face.
I got an urge to run and scoop him up. Where were his parents?
“Brandon is going to change to a werehyena tonight. I know it,” Seth continued. “And with all of us here, with our power, this child will survive.”
Brandon began to sniffle. What child wanted to even consider they were entering something painful and possibly deadly? Of course, he’d be crying. A woman who looked very much like him squatted near him, petting his back with worried eyes. She didn’t look so good herself with severe dark circles under bloodshot eyes
“Is she his mother?” I whispered to Brittney.
Brittney nodded her head, giving me a solemn look. “Yeah. She’s not doing so great. His dad lost in a challenge over a year ago to our current fifth in command. His mother’s pretty much a walking ghost nowadays. She’s an empath.”
Brandon’s father didn’t have to die. This pointless rule that to fight for a ranking in the pack you had to battle to the death was the first thing we’d get rid of when Erik got control.
“Let’s begin the change, folks.” Seth stooped to Brandon’s level and held his shoulders. “We will be with you all the way. I’ve put Erik in charge of you, so he’ll be by your side. Nothing to fear, little man.” He patted Brandon on the head and for a moment, Seth looked like a decent person. Just a millisecond.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Brittney walked away.
The crowd began to exit the building and I paused, waiting for Erik. He walked over to me with Brandon by his side, holding his tiny hand.
“We’re going to shift just outside the perimeter. Normally I would tell you to go home but with Brandon here,” he looked down at the boy and smiled, “I think I need you by my side.”
I gave a shrug, trying to give an air of confidence. I was scared almost as much as Brandon. “I’m your mate, whatever you need. Hi Brandon, I’m Amina. I’m very happy to meet you.” Perhaps I shouldn’t have, but I did let a slight air of magic slip through my voice. I wanted to soothe the boy and give him confidence. Mind over matter.
If Brandon feared the change, he might not shift fully. I couldn’t have that and Erik wouldn’t be able to either; not on his watch. He’d already lost his own daughter when she was unable to shift. To lose another child under his protection would be cruel.
“You’re going to be just fine, okay?” Mae told me to watch out for a child, and she said the child would be a male were. Brandon seemed to fit that bill. So, at the very least, I was going to help make sure he would shift safely tonight.
Brandon gave me a shy smile and then nodded.
I looked up and winked at Erik.
Erik mouthed the words ‘I love you’, and we began to walk, leaving the building and going beyond the ward to keep out the scaries, at least the ones not part of the town.
We passed the towering steel wall surrounding the community. As the city grew, the wall would expand outwards to accommodate the growing need for space. I could not explain how a wall would move on its own, but some heavy magic was laced within the structure that would allow it to shift when required. Although I hated the sight of the structure, presently, it was sorely needed.
Once beyond the ward and the steel wall, I was reminded once again, this world was not what it used to be. Farther up from the community on my right. I could see crumbled, littered, war-torn streets and dilapidated houses covered in supernatural plant-life that might try to kill you if you got too close. To my left, there was a wooded area where the carnivorous weres and locals hunted frequently.
Since the world changed, the animal population had grown. There was no animal control, no hunting for sport, less hit and runs. Animals that were going extinct were slowly coming back. And new animals we’d only heard about in myths were coming out of hiding and propagating. To find out there was a creature the size of a large dinosaur in the bottom of a lake was old news now. It did, however, make swimming in anything not a pool a bit more … adventurous.
The wooded area had grown past its previous maintained space, and there was no longer a clear demarcation between the housing and the forest. Erik stopped a few feet away from the other weres, who were already beginning to change. I had no idea how many forms of were the pack contained, but seeing them all gathered and shifting, I couldn’t help but think it looked like someone had left the gates open to a zoo.
A very scary zoo with animals well over their natural size with teeth and paws that looked like they could rip my head off in one blink. My heart quickened. There were a few birds: a mix of eagles, crows, owls, and swans. There were tigers, leopards, hyenas, wolves, foxes, rats, mountain lions, bears, coyotes...
“And we’re sure they all know the difference between animal prey and friendly neighborhood humans?” I asked Erik. “I know you do but I’m out here with were creatures that aren’t as smart as you, and some don’t like me very much. I could see an ‘accident’ happening.”
“Yes, just stand with the other humans. No one will hurt you,” Erik tilted his head to a small collection of non-were pack mates standing a few feet away. Carter, the shapeshifting second in command, stood with them. “Brandon and I are going to join the others. When it’s time for Brandon to change, we’ll focus all our magic on him. Once he shifts, you and the non weres can go home. I don’t want you out here beyond the ward any longer than you have to be. Go straight home.”
I smiled. “Okay, dad.”
He grinned at me and leaned in to give me a kiss.
“Eww,” Brandon said in a quiet voice.
I pulled away, laughing.
“Okay, Brandon, let’s get ready to have some fun,” Erik told the kid. He gave me a wink and turned to the group.
I walked over to Carter. “You do this every month with them?”
The dark skinned man raised his shoulders. “Nah, only when a child is set to shift. Sometimes I come and shift into an animal just for the camaraderie.”
“How do you know when it’s time for a child to shift?” I jumped slightly, hearing the various calls of the weres.
Carter rubbed his clean-shaven head. “A child will start to show signs as the full moon approaches. Their eyes will change, they’ll become a little more aggressive, or their behavior will change in some way. Brandon got in a fight in school, and his eyes went hyena.”
“He’s what, in second grade? What kind of fight did he get into?”
Carter frowned. “It involved biting.”
I looked back over to the weres. They had all shifted now and positioned themselves in a large circle. I stood on my toes and saw little Brandon inside the circle, standing in shorts with just a wool blanket wrapped over his shoulders. It was freezing outside, and I hoped he changed soon. The temperature had to be below freezing. This weather was no good for his little human body, and I couldn’t imagine how the cold was affecting his concentration.
His hands were in fists, and his eyes were closed, face in a scowl as he willed his body to change. The weres encouraged him with animal noises, and Brandon dropped to his knees, his fingers dug into the dirt. I covered my mouth, scared for him. I wanted to run over to the child and scoop him into my arms. He just seemed too young to go through such challenges.
“Come on, you can do it,” I said under my breath, balling my fist.
“Maybe it’s just not his ti—” Carter began and then stopped.
Brandon was changing. The first change, I was told, was always the most painful. After though, the shift was as quick as a blink.
Brandon let out a heartbreaking cry as his bones broke and reshaped. I heard his mother gasp from nearby, and I was sure her heart was breaking seeing her son in such pain.
His ha
ir grew long and dark and sprouted all over his body. His joints moved and facial structure shifted until we saw a perfect hyena cub.
I sighed in relief. He was adorable. But he was not happy. He growled and swiped his paw out at the crowd of animals. A huge jackal the size of a large regular bear moved towards the cub, and my breath caught. Erik. He was the only jackal in the pack. Brandon howled the eerie cackle of the hyena, and the hairs on my arms stood up.
“Something’s wrong,” Carter said in a low voice.
Brandon arched his back before pouncing onto Erik and biting one of his legs. Erik shook the cub off his leg, and Brandon fell before turning and running towards the collection of werebirds who flew off the ground before the cub could get to them. Brandon ran towards a panther cub and swiped his paw at the animal. This set the other weres off even more, and there was a jumble of animal cries.
The people in my group looked around in confusion.
Carter turned to them. “Go home, everyone. It’ll be okay. You did your part.”
They reluctantly backed away, heading to the safety of the walls. I didn’t move, instead, I continued to stare as Brandon snapped at the weres around him. He looked almost demonic now.
Carter put a hand on my shoulder. “Mina, it’ll be fine.”
“He’s going loupe,” Brandon’s mother cried before falling to her knees. Some others in my group surrounded her in an effort to appease her worry.
Carter shrugged. “I don’t know if he’s going loupe, but if he is, it’s not safe for us to be near him.”
“What will happen if he is loupe? Will you put down a seven-year-old?” I looked up at Carter, my heart racing.
Mae said I had to protect the child. This couldn’t happen.
The shapeshifter frowned and looked away. “I’ve never seen a loupe were child that could come back.”
“But it’s not impossible.”
I walked towards the were crowd. Several animals, including what I assumed was Seth in his imposing weretiger form, were chasing after the tiny cub, but he was escaping their clutches. Instead, he ran between the legs of a giant Kodiak bear and straight towards me.