Ky smiled. “We have to talk and this is about as private as it gets.”
“Huh? What’s wrong with Domicile? I’m sure Larry would let us use his office. Adam would, too.” Cole looked around and frowned. “Where’s Bull? I thought he wanted…” He waved the bone.
“Cole, sit down, please,” Ky replied, gesturing toward the sofa in the corner of the basement.
“Why? What’s going on? Oh, hell. Larry decided I can’t stay at Domicile.”
“Not at all,” Ky assured him. “This is about something else. Something you need to know.” He sighed, waiting for Cole to sit, then began pacing in front of him. “I’m not sure where to start.”
Cole smiled weakly. “What’s the saying? Start at the beginning?”
“I suppose that would be when your mother left at the sanctuary when you were less than a month old.”
“Mom did what? No way. What are you talking about?”
“Not the woman you called Mom. I mean your birth mother. I know this will come as a shock to you, since the Williamses never told you, but you were adopted by the couple you consider your parents.”
“You have to be shitting me.” Shocked, Cole glared at Ky. “And how would you know, anyway?”
“It’s my job to know.”
“If what you’re saying is true,” Cole said, trying to wrap his mind around what Ky was telling him, “who are you? Some private detective my…my real mother hired to fine me?”
“I wish it was that easy. I don’t know who you birth mother was. As I said, you’re a foundling who was left at the sanctuary. The man who runs it made the arrangements for you to be adopted by the Williamses.”
Cole stared down at the floor, shaking his head. “Maybe they didn’t tell me because they were afraid I wouldn’t love them if I knew?”
“Possible. It’s been known to happen, I’m afraid.”
“That’s stupid. Still, I guess that explains why they went off the deep end when I told them I was gay. While my father was ranting, he kept saying things like ‘You’re not my son. No son of mine would…’ I thought that he was disowning me. I didn’t know he was telling me I wasn’t his kid.” He sighed. “It had to be hard enough raising someone else’s bastard, then to find out I’m bent, too.” He looked up at Ky. “That’s one of the things he called me. Bent. Along with a lot of other…well, I guess you can figure that out for yourself.”
“Unfortunately, I can,” Ky replied.
There was a long silence, then Cole asked, “So, I was adopted, and you knew about it. That still doesn’t explain why you’re, I guess, involved with me in some way. Unless…” He frowned. “Are you, like, my brother or something? She kept you and dumped me and you set out to find me?”
“No. It’s not that simple.” Ky finally sat, at the far end of the sofa from Cole. “There is more to you than you know.”
“My real mother was rich and died and I’ve inherited her millions?” Cole said scathingly.
Ky chuckled. “The fairytale ending? Nope. Did you study Shakespeare when you were in high school?” When Cole nodded, Ky said, “There’s a line from Hamlet which you might recall. ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ In your case, this is the truth, although not in the way Hamlet meant it.”
“I’m eighteen. I’m not sure I have a philosophy yet,” Cole joked, wondering exactly where Ky was going with this.
“All right. Let me put it another way. I’m sure you’ve read stories, or seen movies, about people who are more than what they seem.”
Cole nodded. “People who act nice, but are really crooks, or killers, or…or haters like my parents?” His mouth tightened. “My adoptive parents, who didn’t bother to tell me they were.”
Ky gripped Cole’s shoulder, saying gently, “They had their reasons, I’m sure. As you said, they might have been afraid you’d reject them.”
“No,” Cole replied angrily. “I’d have loved them for loving me, even if I wasn’t their flesh and blood.” He sighed deeply. “Too late for that, now.”
“It is.” Ky released his hold on Cole, leaning back to look at him. “Those were not the kind of people I was talking about.” He smiled briefly. “I was going more for your basic horror movie. The ones where the guy seems human, but he’s really a creature out of myth.”
Cole snorted. “Vampires and werewolves and things that go bump in the night. I’ve seen some of those movies. They’re entertaining but so phony.”
“Are you sure?”
Rolling his eyes, Cole replied, “Come on, Ky. No one can change from a man to a werewolf. Or look human but live on someone’s blood.”
Ky stood, his gaze locked on Cole. “I think I can change your mind about that.” Then he shifted and was Bull.
Cole froze, biting back a scream of horror. Then he scrambled off the sofa, heading for the stairs.
Before he reached them, Ky shifted again and caught his arm to stop him. “I’m no danger to you. Neither is Bull. We…I, am here to protect you, and teach you.”
Cole couldn’t stop shaking as he tried to pull away. When he couldn’t, he lashed out at Ky with his free hand, hitting him as hard as he could. Fear, panic, and anger warred for ascendency. Suddenly, he doubled over, feeling as if his body was being torn apart. Somehow, through the mist of pain, he heard Ky say, “It’s going to be all right. The first time is the worst.”
Then everything faded, only to come back, Cole didn’t know how long afterward. The first thing he was aware of was that what he was seeing had no color. The basement, Ky—it was all black and white and shades of gray. He shook his head and tried to rub his hand over his eyes. Instead of a hand, he saw a paw. His gaze followed it down to a leg, then what he could see of his body—and he let out a panicked yelp.
::It’s okay:: a calm voice said, and Cole realized he was hearing it in his mind, not aurally. Then the words were repeated aloud. “It’s all right, Cole. You’re all right. You’ve just been through your first shift.”
This isn’t real, Cole thought, shivering.
::It’s very real. Like me, you’re a Bullmastiff shifter::
He’s reading my mind? Cole panicked again, backing away until his hindquarters hit the sofa.
::I am. Although in reality, whether you believe it or not, we’re mind-speaking. Or rather, at this moment, I’m mind-speaking to you.::
Cole realized Ky had moved to stand in front of him. He slowly looked up, and up, until he saw Ky’s face a few feet above him. Ky’s expression was kind and concerned as he knelt, rubbing Cole’s head.
::I don’t understand. This isn’t possible. But…I guess it happened, unless I’ve gone totally around the bend:: Cole said. Suddenly he realized that Ky could have been reading his thoughts all along. If he caught the ones about…the erotic ones…He ducked his head, embarrassed.
Ky chuckled. ::I caught a bit of them. Don’t worry, I took it in stride:: Then he smiled. ::I know it feels like you’ve gone crazy right now. You’re perfectly sane, and can shift back to your human half if you just think it.::
Cole closed his eyes and concentrated. He wanted nothing more than to be himself. The him he’d been for eighteen years. Again, there was pain, but not as intense as the first time. Or the second time? Was that what happened when I was attacked? Not a Taser, but trying to shift, only I passed out before I could?
Suddenly, Cole was human again. Aching, scared out of his mind, but human—Cole Williams human. And buck naked. He turned away from Ky, his hands covering his crotch.
“Think it,” Ky said. “Don’t question it. Think of what you were wearing.”
Cole did, and he was clothed. “Whew,” he whispered, staggering backwards to fall onto the sofa. Ky was beside him seconds later, holding him tightly, much to Cole’s relief—and dismay. Being held by Ky brought up images of the two of them together in a way he was certain would never happen, as much as he wanted it too. He pushed them away, praying Ky hadn’t been read
ing his mind right then. He had more immediate things to worry about.
“You’re fine.” Ky smiled wryly. “Well, physically, anyway. Not so sure about up here.” He tapped Cole’s forehead.
Cole licked his lips and looked around. “At least there’s color, now.”
Ky laughed. “There is.”
“Why…why me?”
“Because your real parents were Bullmastiff shifters.”
“Who were they? Do you know?”
“Unfortunately not. There’s a man, a shifter named Marsham, who thinks he’s your father, but there’s no proof that he is. That’s not stopping him from trying to get his hands on you.”
Cole thought about that, since it was easier than trying to incorporate everything that had just happened into his mind right now. “Is he the reason those men attacked me?”
“Yes. He sent them to capture you.”
“And you stopped them.” Cole looked hard at him. “As Ky, or Bull?”
“As me. Ky. It’s easier to defend against weapons being wielded by humans when I’m in my human form, because I can use weapons, too. When I know the enemy is a shifter, I prefer a tranquilizer gun with a heavy load. Less bloody and noisy.”
“What if I had completed my shift when we were attacked? I could have fought them, with you.”
“Do you really think so? You’d have reacted the way you just did, with fear and disbelief, making you an easy target, and a distraction to me while I was trying to stop them.”
Cole thought about that, and nodded. “So, I passed out and…How did you get me back here? You could hardly have carried me down the street. People…Well I hope they’d have stopped you, or something.”
“Using one of the perks of being a shifter. I teleported you back.”
Cole swallowed hard. “That’s really possible?”
“Yep. I’ll teach you how, but not right now. I think you’ve been through enough for the moment.”
“Are there a lot of us? I mean shifters?”
“More than the average human would think, although not enough to take over the world,” Ky replied, smiling.
“Another question. Why didn’t I know all along that I’m one?”
“Shifters don’t come into their abilities until after they’ve turned eighteen. Normally, they grow up with their real parents, who tell them what they are and then help them through their first shift.”
“But since the Williamses weren’t…Did they know?”
“No. They were just a couple who wanted to adopt. The man who runs the sanctuary keeps track of people like them, and if a child is left with him, he tries to find family who will give him, or her, a loving home. Then, when the kid is about to turn eighteen, he notifies us and we step in, make friends with the parents and the kid and take it from there. Unfortunately, I was too late. You’d already left.”
“Not by choice,” Cole muttered darkly.
“I know. It was dumb luck that you ended up here at The Haven so soon afterward. Otherwise, you could have faced a situation, say defending yourself on the streets, that would have pushed all the right buttons, so to speak, and you’d have sifted to fight back.”
“That would have scared the hell out of…Wait a minute. That happened with those punks, down by the creek, and I didn’t shift.”
“Because I got there first and took care of them.”
“How did you find me?”
“Through Adam. As soon as you showed up at The Haven, he knew who and what you were and alerted me. I followed you, to keep you safe. I wasn’t about to step in and—” Ky chuckled, “—reveal all, until you trusted me. Adam was going to introduce us, but those punks showed up first and I became Bull, as you tagged me, to stop them.”
“Is Adam a shifter too?”
“Yes. A leopard.”
Cole almost laughed. “So Paula’s going to have a kitten, not a…a human baby?”
“Nope. We’re all born human, then, as I said, we come into our abilities after we’ve turned eighteen. There’s another perk, by the way. Once that happens, we age much slower than pure humans.”
“Shit. I’m going to look eighteen until I’m thirty, or something.”
“Not quite that bad, but close. I look in my mid-twenties, but I’ve been around for sixty years.”
“O-o-kay. Damn. Umm, have I met any other shifters?”
“Yes. Larry, who’s a wolf.”
“Is that why Adam wanted to get me into Domicile?”
“One reason, although not the major one. He, we, wanted you in a safe place, off the streets. After all, if some punks came after you again, before I had this chance to talk to you, that could have precipitated you shifting.”
“At which point, I’d have been too scared about what had happened to even think about fighting back.”
“Exactly. Of course it would have scared the shit out of them, as well. After they regrouped, probably blocks away, who knows? They might have blabbed about what had happened, and someone might even have believed them. We’d rather not let humans know we exist.”
“Makes sense to me. I’d rather not have someone coming after me with a gun loaded with silver bullets.”
“Yeah, that’s not a good thing. They might not kill you, unless they hit your heart or brain, or sever an artery, or what have you, but the shit burns like hell, which is a bit distracting, to say the least.”
Cole leaned back, saying with a small smile, “So the myth that silver is deadly is only half true.”
“Yes. But when it comes down to it, any bullets can kill us, if they hit the right spot, just as with pure humans.” Ky chuckled. “So can severing our head from our body, and it doesn’t take a silver sword the accomplish that.”
“Can I touch silver?”
“Sure. Just don’t cut yourself. It’s the contact of silver with our blood that’s extremely painful.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” Cole was still feeling overwhelmed, which he figured was why he was suddenly exhausted. My brain telling me to shut down until it gets a grip on all this.
“Exactly,” Ky replied. “Yes, I read your thoughts. You’re going to have to learn to shield them, just in case there are other shifters around.”
Cole frowned. “Then I couldn’t mind-speak to you.”
“That’s different. Mind-speaking is one-on-one, intentional communication. You focus on me, or Larry, or Adam, and think what you want to tell us, rather than verbalizing it. Only you and the person, or persons, you’re talking to can hear each other.” Ky gave Cole’s shoulder a squeeze. “You’ll get the hang of all this eventually. Right now, we should get you back to Domicile.”
“I brought my bike,” Cole reminded him. “In case you were thinking about doing the teleporting thing.”
“Yeah. I forgot. And I came with you as Bull, so I’d better shift so we can get out of here without the guys wondering where I am.”
“Can we talk when you’re Bull?”
“Yep.” Ky shifted. ::See?::
“Whew,” Cole muttered as he got up. “Does Adam know why we spent so much time down here?”
::Yes. It was his suggestion. I’ll let him know we’re ready to leave::
“He locked the door?”
::Of course. We didn’t want any of the kids deciding to come down here. Wiping minds is not one of our abilities.::
As they went up the stairs, Cole heard a key in the lock, then the door opened.
“Everything go okay?” Adam asked with a worried look at Cole.
“I didn’t kill him, when I found out.” Cole glanced around then said under his breath, “Shifting didn’t kill me, though it sure felt like it as going to.”
“It’ll get better each time, as your body acclimates to what’s happening. Pretty soon it won’t hurt at all.”
Cole held up crossed fingers as he went outside to get his bike. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised Adam. “And tell Paula, congratulations.”
Adam beamed. “I will.”
As he rode away, Cole grumbled under his breath, “I couldn’t have been a leopard, or a wolf. Jeez.”
::Nothing wrong with being a dog,:: Bull replied. ::At least you can be out in public when you are.::
Cole smiled. “I guess there is that.”
Chapter 8
For the next couple of days, Ky worked with Cole on honing his abilities. He taught him how to shield his thoughts, watched over him while he practiced shifting in his room at Domicile, and gave his lessons on how to teleport. The last was done late Tuesday and Wednesday nights, from Cole’s room to Larry’s office at first, then farther afield.
“You have to remember,” Ky cautioned Wednesday night, “if you haven’t previously seen your destination, you can’t get to it.”
“So I can’t visit Disneyland?” Cole replied, feigning a pout.
Ky laughed. “That depends. You could go to parts of it you’ve seen in photos. You need an image but it doesn’t have to be somewhere you’ve personally visited. For instance, if I wanted you to teleport to my place, I could mentally give you a picture of my living room and bam, you could get there.”
“You have an apartment, or house?” Cole asked, then felt foolish. Of course he does. He shielded his thought, just as he did any of them now that he knew how. Some of his thoughts about Ky were too personal and he didn’t want Ky, or any shifter, hearing them—especially since he knew Ky had picked up on a few of them, long before Cole had learned that Ky’s reading his mind was possible.
“I have a house.” Ky smirked. “A real one, not a dog house.”
“Here in Denver?”
“Yes. I’ve also got apartments in other cities, but Denver’s my home base.”
Cole looked at him in surprise. “You must be rich.”
“Not rich, but comfortably well-off. I own an investment firm. As a result, I made some investments of my own, back in the day, which have earned me enough that I don’t have to worry about where my next meal is coming from.”
“That must be nice,” Cole replied, feeling a bit envious. His job at the restaurant brought in what he needed to pay his rent at Domicile and have food and clothes, but that was about it.
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