by Haley Weir
“Yeah, hey,” she greets him, taking a seat across the table.
“Do you want a coffee or anything?” Chris asks.
“I’m good, actually.Thanks for meeting me. I’m a huge fan of your work. It’s...fascinating. You’ve done a lot of research.”
“Thank you. Believe it or not, it’s a recent obsession. I never knew very much about shifters. Honestly I wasn’t sure if they were more than folklore for most of my life,” Chris says, taking a sip of coffee.
“Really? What convinced you?” Jenna inquired.
“Meeting them,” Chris responds matter-of-factly.
“You know other shifters?” Jenna asks, shocked. It’s what she’s been wanting so badly to hear.
“I do,” confirms Chris again. He lowers his voice to a whisper. “So, you’re one as well?”
“Yes,” nods Jenna. “I am.”
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it, for now,” says Chris.
“You don’t believe me?”
“I don’t NOT believe you. I just have to be a skeptic. All great researchers are. I don’t mean to doubt you, but I get a lot of emails that turn out to be bogus. No one has actually made the trip to come see me, which is why I want to trust you.”
“Want to?” Jenna’s heart pounds rapidly in her chest. Chris is her only hope right now, and he doesn’t even fully believe her. Shifting for him to prove a point is not something she’s willing to do. For one, it’s embarrassing. Two, what if he sees her more like a zoo animal or a circus attraction? There’s going to have to be a mutual build up of trust. He’ll just have to take her word for it.
“Yes, want to. We’ll get there,” Chris calmly replies. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Of course, you can ask me some as well.”
“Sure, go for it,” says Jenna. She has plenty of questions, but her main priority is finding out if he can connect her with other shifters.
“Okay, when did you first discover you were a shifter?”
“I always knew. I can’t think of what age, because I was born this way. I inherited it from my parents, who inherited it from their parents, and so on,” Jenna explains.
“That makes sense,” Chris says thoughtfully. He pulls out a notepad and scribbles on a page.
“What are you writing?”
“Well, if you are what you say you are, then this is important research. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, no. It’s fine. Your research helped me work through a lot of aspects about myself, and if you can help another young shifter like me, then yeah. Write down whatever. Record me. Go for it,” says Jenna enthusiastically. At least he believes her.
“Do you know any other shifters?”
“Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing,” Jenna replies.
“We’ll get to that,” says Chris. What does he mean by that? Is he going to withhold information from her until she proves herself? Jenna feels unsettled by the thought.
“Okay, sure,” she mumbles. Grandma Jean always reminded her that patience is a virtue. If Jenna wants it to work out with her new acquaintance, she’ll have to tread lightly and not overwhelm him with demands. “I don’t know any other shifters, no,” Jenna finally responds. “Except my parents and my grandmother, none of which are with us anymore.”
“So sorry to hear that,” Chris says.
“Thanks,” she answers. They sit in silence for a moment. Chris takes another sip of coffee. The door to the coffee shop swings open and Jenna sees that a tall redhead has walked, wearing an apron. She looks in the direction of their table. .
“Chris! Hey!” says the woman.
“Hey Ellen,” says Chris, waving to her. She walks over to the table, and looks at Jenna.
“Hi,” says Jenna, eager to meet a friend of Chris’s and find out if she is a shifter.
Chapter 3
“I have a few minutes before my shift officially starts, so I can hang for a minute. I’m not interrupting, am I?” she asks, looking between the two before taking a seat.
“No, not at all,” replies Jenna. “Hi, I’m Jenna. Nice to meet you,” she extends her arm for a handshake.
“Hey Jenna,” says Ellen, accepting her hand warmly. “I’m Ellen. Nice to meet you too! How do you two know each other?” Again, another question that Jenna would love to ask them as well.
“We met online,” explains Chris. “Remember, I told you about her?”
“Oh, right! The shifter! Awesome,” says Ellen. “So cool that you made it.”
When Ellen casually calls Jenna a shifter, Jenna at first feels shocked, but a sense of calm and comfort rolls over her. Without hesitation, this woman accepted who, and what, Jenna truly is. Jenna’s lived so much of her life shrouded in secrecy. the other kids at school didn’t figure out what she is, and that habit definitely carried over into her adult life. Now, Jenna is in a new place with new people. She feels like a new person who can be honest and straightforward about her identity.
“Thanks,” Jenna says earnestly. “I am happy to be here. How do you guys know each other?”
“We’re best friends,” smiles Ellen.
“Aw, so nice of you to say,” Chris teases.
“We were roommates, and then I moved out. He ended up following me to where I live now, so we’re roommates again. I can’t get rid of him,” Ellen jokes.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I met my boyfriend a while back. His name is Douglas. And he and his brothers have a big house a few miles away on this huge property. It’s really cool how we all live together, even though that wasn’t the plan originally Douglas and I actually have our own place, but we decided to AirBnB it. We’d rather be surrounded by our loved ones. It never feels lonely. ”
Lonely is a word that describes so much of Jenna’s life, especially now without Grandma Jean. She imagines being surrounded by family, friends, maybe even a guy of her own, with no secrets and everyone open to be who and what they are. It sounds like a dream, but maybe one that isn't as far out of reach as she once thought.
“That’s incredible,” says Jenna.
“I’m pretty lucky,” Ellen admits.
“Ellen, do you know any shifters?” asks Jenna. “I’m so desperate to meet others like me,” she said with pleading eyes. Jenna catches Ellen glance nervously at Chris before speaking. They exchange a confirming glance, and Ellen’s face changes. She’s a bit more guarded than she was a moment ago.
“Well, you know,” is all Ellen manages to say. “Yaknow what? My shift is about to start. Do you need coffee or anything? Tea?”
“No, I’m okay, thanks.” Although, in fact, Jenna is not okay. She has so many questions. She’s certain Chris has shifter connections, and it seems like he might even live with them. Could Ellen herself be a shifter?
“Well,” continues Ellen, filling the uncomfortable silence. “If you’re around, you should come by the house. We’d love to have you for dinner since you’ve made the trip to visit Chris.”
Chris shoots Ellen a worried look, but when Jenna looks at Chris, a polite smile spreads across his face.
“Yeah, why don’t you come over tonight?” Chris asks Jenna.
“Really?” she replies, overjoyed.
“Yeah, there’s some people you’ll probably want to meet.”
“Like...who?”
“Like, Ellen’s boyfriend Douglas, his brothers, and their partners. Ethan and Avery are actually engaged. But I’m sure they’ll tell you all about it.”
Jenna has to stop herself from screeching with excitement. Could all of these new people be shifters? Could her journey have led her exactly where she needed to be? So many thoughts are running through her head, and she has to remind herself to calm down. Along with all of her grandmothers sage advice about seeking adventure, she needed to stay grounded in order to get her foot in the door.
“I’d love to meet everyone,” says Jenna.
“Well, they’d love to meet you, I’m sure!” says Ellen
.
Before Jenna can stop herself, the words slip off her tongue. “Ellen, are you...do you?”
“Oh, no. Not me,” Ellen laughs. “No, I just fell in love with one. A shifter. You mean shifter...right?” Jenna nods, her eyes shining. Suddenly, Ellen turns her attention over to Chris.
“Hey Chris, can you grab me some napkins from behind the counter?” Ellen asks.
“What, why me? You work here.”
“Chris, the napkins. Please,” Ellen demands sternly. He rolls his eyes and leaves the table.
“Listen, Jenna, it doesn’t make a difference to me if you’re a shifter or not,” Ellen quickly explains. “If you like Chris this much and traveled this far to be with him, well…”
Before Ellen can finish the thought, Jenna cuts her off.
“Wait, what?”
“Chris. You like him, don’t you?”
“I mean….we just met. omance isn’t really on my mind...and Chris isn’t really my type. No offense, or anything. He’s a cool guy but that’s just not what this is, or why I’m here. He’s the expert on shifters, and I’m looking for answers,” Jenna explains.
“Oh, man, I’m really sorry I said anything. I totally misread the situation. So you really are a shifter?” Jenna nods.
“Well, in that case, you’re definitely going to want to meet the other guys,” says Ellen. She smiles warmly at Jenna as Chris returns to the table.
“Your napkins,” he says to Ellen, throwing some napkins down on the table.
“Thanks, Chris. Nice meeting you, Jenna. My shifts starting now. I’ll see you both tonight for dinner at the house?”
“I’ll be there,” Jenna smiles.
Chapter 4
Later that night, Jenna arrives at the address that Chris scribbled down on a napkin for her before they parted ways. She’s immediately dazzled by the structure. The home is made of wood like a log cabin, but is the size of a mansion. Jenna knocks on the door lightly.
“Coming,” says a man’s voice. Jenna doesn’t recognize the low voice, so she knows it’s not Chris. Is it possible she’s about to meet another shifter?
Then the door flings open and Jenna’s eyes meet with a tall, handsome man with a defined jawline and stunning, focused eyes. Jenna is immediately taken aback by his good looks. Now, this guy is certainly her type.
“Hi,” answers the man. “You just be Jenna. Come with me.”
“Hi,” Jenna says. He leads through the house to the backyard without another word. She wonders why this man is all business, not even introducing himself.
“Jenna!” Chris exclaims as he sees them enter the backyard. “I see you’ve met Xander.”
“Kind of,” Jenna mumbles. “I’m Jenna, but I guess you knew that,” she reaches out a hand to give Xander a formal greeting.
“Xander,” he responds curtly. Jenna feels like somehow, in the 90 seconds she’s known him, she’s pissed him off.
“Jenna, this is everyone else. From left to right,” Chris begins, pointing out the others. “Ethan, Mikayla, Blake, Avery, Douglas, and you’ve met Ellen already.”.
“Hi!” exclaims a bubbly Avery, eager to welcome a new guest.
“Hey there,” Mikayla says. The men all wave and flash a smile. Jenna notices they’re all incredibly good-looking. She begins to feel a little overwhelmed, because she’sused to meeting this many people at once. She takes deep breaths in and out, reminding herself to stay calm.
“We’re sure you have a lot to ask us,” Chris says, practically reading Jenna’s mind. “And there’s going to be time for that.”
“Is there?” Xander chimes in.
“She can stay as long as she needs to,” confirms Avery. “Right, Blake?”
“Of course,” breezes Blake. “I mean, as long as she’s not a poacher or anything,” he adds.
“What?” Jenna says, caught off guard.
“He’s joking,” says Avery, shooting Blake a look.
“Mostly,” Blake agrees.
“I mean, we can’t be too careful,” Xander adds. “She’s a stranger.”
“That’s really rude, Xander. She’s here, we know her. She’s spoken with Chris at length. She’s our friend now,” Ellen adds.
Jenna wonders who this Xander character is, and if he’s going to be an obstacle for her. She desperately wants to connect with these other shifters, and the last thing she needs is Xander’s skepticism negatively influencing the others.
“No, I get it. He’s right. I mean, I did kind of come out of nowhere. He’s smart to be cautious,” says Jenna, hoping to get on Xander’s good side.
“And because we’re being precautious,” Xander continues, steamrolling over Jenna’s complimentary words, “she’s going to stay at the Headquarters.”
“We have plenty of spare bedrooms,” Mikayla protests. “I like having other women here. Why do you have to ruin the fun?”
“I think it makes sense,” Douglas chimes in. “This is exactly why we have the Headquarters, right? To give shelter to those in need.”
“He’s got a point,” Ethan tags on.
Jenna starts to sweat as the group discusses her fate in front of her. The last thing she wants is to become a point of contention for the friend group she’s infiltrating. She wants to be as agreeable as possible and gain their trust.
“I’ll sleep wherever,” Jenna speaks up. “I just appreciate the chance to meet all of you. There’s so much I want to learn.”
“There’s plenty of time for that,” Avery assures her. “You’ll be super comfortable at the Headquarters. It’s nicer than a hotel.”
“Great,” Jenna replies. “Thank you. I’ll grab my things and use the bathroom if you don’t mind.”
“Sure, follow me,” Ellen says, jumping up to guide Jenna through the house. When Jenna’s out of earshot, Xander speaks to the rest of the group.
“Chris, maybe because you’re not a shifter you don’t understand the danger, but the rest of you should. Jenna is a complete stranger. She found you online. It’s one thing if you want to meet with her, but it’s another to bring her into our home. It’s my job to protect you all.”
“So, what? She’s like 5 feet tall. What do you think she’s going to do?” Chris retorts.
“Anything. Expose us. Expose the Headquarters. Hunt us and take our skins back to wherever she came from, a prize to prove herself,” Xander says.
“So we’ll keep our guard up,” Ethan reasons. “She seems harmless to me.”
“And that’s why you guys keep me around. To judge what’s harmless and what’s not. I know for a while we were going with that whole ‘butler’ thing, but we all know that I’m in charge here.”
“Hey, this is my house,” protests Blake.
“Yeah, and this is my pack,” Xander says. “I’m more in control than the rest of you. Please try to remember that.”
Xander is a shifter himself, and lived with the Collins men as a “butler” and protector for almost their entire lives. He once lived with Blake in his NYC home. He tied Blake up to keep him safe and in control every night before there was Avery. He also keeps the Headquarters running, making sure runaway shifters have food on the table and resources to survive in the world.
“Hey, just because you can control when you do or don’t shift doesn’t make you better than us,” Douglas retorts, crossing his arms across his chest like an angry child.
“It kind of does,” says Ethan. Mikayla laughs.
“Well, I like Jenna. Hey Xander, maybe you should spend some time getting to know her. You can make sure she is who she says she is. Plus, she’s cute. Maybe she’ll help you learn how to relax,” suggests Mikayla.
“So you want me to babysit?” Xander asks incredulously.
“Essentially,” nods Ethan. “Seems like a good plan to me.”
“Fine,” huffs Xander. “I’ll handle it, like I handle everything. Oh, and if it’s not too late, don’t tell her that I’m a shifter. The less she knows, the better.”
>
Chapter 5
Jenna walks outside holding her belongings, eager to see where she’s headed next. She wants to stay with the group and ask them all about their lives, but she follows instructions to go with Xander to the Headquarters. She can’t quite get a read on Xander yet, but she can feel how tense he is.
“I’m sorry if I’m making you nervous,” she tells him. They’re slowly walking from the backyard, beyond the patio and towards the mountains.
“Oh, I’m not nervous,” Xander replies. “I’m just doing my job.”
“What exactly is that?” Jenna asks.
“A bit of everything, really,” says Xander.
“Like?”
“Like watching over newcomers, making sure my family here doesn’t get into trouble, making sure no one else causes any trouble…”
“Your family? Are you a brother, too?”
“In a way, yes,” starts Xander. “Their parents aren’t my parents, but I’ve been with them most of my life so it feels like family.”
“That’s sweet,” says Jenna. “‘I’m jealous. I want a family.”
“You don’t have a family?” Xander asks as they step into the dense forest. He leads them down a dirt path that leads to the Headquarters.
“I did,” begins Jenna. “I do. I mean. Family is always with you, even if they’re not physically here, you know? I lost my parents in an accident when I was little. I lived with my grandma for my whole life, until a few months ago when she lost her battle with cancer.”
The only sound now is the buzzing of forest creatures. They walk in silence.
“Sorry to hear that,” Xander finally answers, breaking the silence.
“She fought hard,” asserts Jenna. “And she’s kind of the reason I’m here. She told me not to give up, and to keep searching for what I’m looking for.”
“And what is that?”
“A family. Or at least something like it. Other shifters who accept me for me. I’m sick of hiding who I am.”
For a moment, Xander feels like he wants to tell her everything about himself, especially that he’s a shifter. Her gentle warmth and vulnerability makes him want to trust her so badly. But his duty is to protect the others, and revealing himself could be dangerous if she’s not who she says.
