by Jessica Sims
So I spoke, extending a truce flag. "Lily."
"Hm?" He turned around, looking at me. His gaze flicked to my shirt, where I'd tucked the kittens in, but he only grinned.
I licked my dry lips. "My name is Lily. Lily Faust. Not Becky."
He nodded and put a pan on the stove. "Can I tell you something, Lily?"
"I...guess?"
"I knew Lily was your name all along. Marie told me. Was just kinda waiting to see when you wanted to talk to me and tell me yourself."
Was that so? "Sneak."
He shot me a boyish look over his shoulder. "Lily's a pretty name. Becky always makes me think of that song about big butts. But it was the only thing I could think of off the top of my head."
I snorted. Immediately, two kittens mewed and I soothed the lumps in my shirt with a touch. Guess they didn't like it when my chest jumped. I made a mental note - no sudden movements.
"I should warn you," Ellis said, pouring some water into the pan and then dropping a bottle in. "Kittens that young just poop wherever, and it's probably going to be a nice, watery poop. You might want to take them out of your shirt if you're afraid they'll make a mess on you."
"Nah," I said softly. Both kittens had settled back down to sleep and when I pulled my shirt up, they looked so peaceful and snuggled warm against my skin. "I'm thinking they've had a rough day, too. I'll just change if they poop." I had extra clothes. Every time Ellis showed up, he brought me more new clothing.
"All right. A little animal poop never bothered me, but you never know what others think," he said, leaning against the stove and grinning. He was all smiles now that I was talking. For some reason...it made me feel better.
And it made me feel like I could ask questions. "So...what's going to happen to me?"
"Happen?"
I tilted my head, studying him. "I heard you talking outside. Your leader doesn't want to let me go because I killed a vampire."
He glanced back at the pan on the stove, then shook his head, the lines settling on his face again. "It's...a long story."
"I'm not going anywhere."
His mouth twitched. "Good point. Okay. So...I guess we start with how much you know."
I thought for a moment, trying to make sense out of the shifting images in my mind from that last night at Andre's. "Well, I know there are vampires." I shuddered and glanced down at the marks on my arms, still healing and red. I was so covered in healing, needle-sized holes that if it weren't for the circular patterns, I'd look like a junkie. "And I know you can kill them with a stake." I looked over at him. "And I know that your people change into lions. But I don't know what you eat."
Hopefully not 'human girl'.
Ellis nodded. "I guess since you already know that much, there's no harm in filling in a few blanks. I'm a were-cougar. My brother Everett is a were-cougar. My older brother is Beau - he's the one that you heard talking earlier. He's a were-cougar too, and he's the leader of our group. Cougars are more solitary than a lot of animals, but it's human nature to want to have a leader, and, well, he's it." He crossed his arms over his chest and then crossed his feet at the ankles. It was such a casual, human pose that it made me relax a little more. "There's not just were-cougars out there. There are bears, and tigers, and otter, and snake, and of course, were-wolves."
"Of course," I murmured. We had Dracula. Why not the Wolfman, too?
"A lot of them live right here in this area. North Texas. Don't ask me why. I think it started that a lot of shifters just migrated southward as they came to the States because the land was more spread out. Now they just migrate to Texas because it's cheaper and more open than a lot of states." He shrugged. "Shifters need room to run. Hard to do in the city." He glanced at me. "And all of this is on the down-low, of course. Regular humans can't know about shifters or it gets ugly. People were burned at the stake during medieval times, so ever since then, we've hidden under the radar. As far as the world knows, supernatural things don't exist. You, of course, know differently."
I did. I had the bite-marks and the nightmares to prove it. I swallowed hard. "So...your leader--"
"Beau. His full name's Beauregard Russell."
I didn't care what his name was. "He won't let me go because I know you guys are...lion-people and I know about vampires? What if I promise not to tell?"
"It's cause and effect, Lily. You try to run every time we turn our backs, so no one trusts you not to go screaming to the world."
"You want to talk about cause and effect?" I retorted, keeping my voice low and even, muscles steady so I wouldn't disturb the kittens nestled against my chest. "You be held captive by a vampire for six months and see how you feel about supernatural things."
Ellis's face was grim. "Did he...hurt you?" His hands clenched into fists at his side.
I tried to smother the hysterical laugh that bubbled in my throat. "Hurt me? He drank from me so many times a day that I couldn't stand upright without getting dizzy. He stole me and kept me in a dark, dirty basement with a piss-bucket for months on end. And I was the lucky one."
He stilled, his gaze flashing with that unnatural green that made me shiver with fear. "What do you mean, you were the lucky one?"
"You think I was the only girl he brought down there? The only stupid idiot?" My bitter voice was waking the kittens, but now that I was talking, I couldn't seem to stop. "There were other girls. Maybe they weren't his favorite blood type or something, because they never stayed for long. He got rid of them."
"Where?" His face was a thundercloud of fury.
"I don't know. I was kept in the basement, chained like a dog, remember?"
Ellis's face was grim as he plucked the bottle out of the heating water and brought it to the bed. He handed it to me, and a dropper. "Feed them. I need to make a few calls."
I took the items from him wordlessly. What did calls matter? But I obligingly pulled a kitten out of my bra and dribbled milk into its mouth with the dropper. I'd get a few mouthfuls in, then switch to the other kitten. Their tiny mews for food and the sweet little milk mustaches on their mouths made my heart ache. Poor, helpless things. I knew how they felt, how terrifying it was to be weak and alone in a world that felt as if it was out to destroy you.
By the time both kittens drank the formula, my sweatpants were covered in milk dribbles, poo dribbles, and I'd tucked the kittens back into my bra so they could sleep. I toweled off my pants and stared at the door, waiting for Ellis to reappear, but he was still outside, so I carefully got to my feet, one arm propped under the sleeping kittens in my bra-cups, and slowly maneuvered out of my dirty sweatpants into a new pair. I just finished hauling them over my butt when he came back inside, a dark look on his face.
I flinched backward at the sight of him.
Ellis shook his head, raising a hand in apology and sat at the table. "Sorry. Not trying to scare you. My mood just went back in the shitter again."
"Why?" I asked.
His mouth twisted in a bitter smile. "The good news is that Beau's going back to the vampire clans with the news that their buddy Andre might have bitten off a lot more than they thought." His gaze flicked to me. "The bad news is that it doesn't help your case any. You're still with me."
I sat down gingerly on the bed, cradling the kittens in my shirt as they slept. "Are you going to kill me?"
"What? No!" He looked so shocked and appalled that I realized it was the truth.
They weren't going to kill me.
I burst into tears.
"Hey," Ellis said in a soft voice, getting to his feet. He came to my side and when I sagged against the bed, helped me sit back down. His arm went around my shoulders, and I wanted to push him away...but I didn't. I just felt weak and numb with relief. "Hey, Lily. It's okay, I promise. No one's going to hurt you. We're not going to kill you. We're not like the vampires. I promise."
Relief was so strong in my mind that I couldn't stop sobbing, though. "I h-h-heard someone say I knew t-t-too much," I bawled.
&n
bsp; He brushed at my tangled hair, smoothing it away from my face. "That's true," he told me in a soft voice, and I stiffened all over again. "Too much for us to just let you head back to the human world, according to Beau. If it was up to me, I'd take you home tonight."
I sniffed, trying to control my weeping. "Y-you would?"
"I would," he said gently. He held me closer, tucking me under his arm, and I let him pull me against his chest, both of us mindful of the kittens pressed to my breasts. His chin rested atop my head, and his hand stroked my tangled hair. "I know this is all really unfair, but I promise we're going to keep you safe, and I promise that I'm not going to let any harm come to you."
I nodded. It felt like a fifty pound weight had been pulled off my shoulders. I believed Ellis. He was either the world's best actor - which was not out of the realm of possibility, of course - or he was telling me the truth. Maybe I needed to hear the truth badly enough that I had to trust someone, but I did trust him. And I needed a friend.
He let me cry against him until my eyes felt puffy and sore, and my chest shook with hiccups, which caused the kittens to mew in protest. Ellis smothered a chuckle. "Maybe we should put them in their box for now. I'll turn the heating pad on."
He got up from the bed and while his back was turned, I extracted each sleeping kitten from my bra. "So how is it," I asked between sniffles, "that a cabin has no running water, no toilet, but has electricity?"
"Well," Ellis said, kneeling down to plug the heating pad into a power strip. "My brother Beau originally bought this place because he wanted a vacation getaway to rough it. But he figured out that maybe he doesn't like to rough it so much. So he had a generator that runs off of solar panels attached to the roof. And then, of course, he decided he wanted a bigger cabin, so this one's mostly for...special occasions."
"Lucky me," I said softly.
He took the kittens from me, gently placing them in their box, and an uncomfortable silence fell between us again. Maybe it was just me, but I didn't like it when Ellis fell silent. It wasn't like him.
"So..." I said. "Beau is a lion-man too?"
"Shapeshifter," Ellis corrected, turning to look at me. "There's all kinds. My family is were-cougars. Or cougar shifters. Or, you know, cat people, I guess."
"What...do you eat?"
A smile tugged at Ellis's face and he came back to the bed, sitting next to me. Not too close - there were still two feet separating us. But it felt...friendly. "Well, I'm partial to a nice big juicy burger."
I flushed. "I mean...you know. Vampires--"
"I know," he told me. "But we're not like them. We're born with the ability to shift into a second form. Vampires are turned. They aren't born as vampires."
"What about all the other stuff? Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, ghosts?"
"I honestly have no idea. I mean, there might be some sort of supernatural influence behind that stuff, but if there is, I'm not aware of it."
"Well, that's no fun," I said, my tone light. "I kind of wanted to know if ghosts were real."
Ellis chuckled. "One monster at a time, I guess."
"So..." I fiddled with the blankets on the bed. "Can I see?"
"You want to see me change?"
I nodded.
To my surprise, a bit of red hit his cheeks and he rubbed an equally red ear. "Um. So that's kind of a personal question for a shifter."
"Oh, it is? I'm sorry--"
"No, no, it's okay. It's kind of like asking someone to, you know, relieve themselves in front of you."
This time, I blushed. "Got it. I was just curious."
"I don't mind showing you," he added quickly. "It's just that, well, when we shift, it's not like in the cartoons where there's sparkles and then boom, you're an animal. My bones and skin start to change and adjust, and, well, it's not a pretty sight."
I wrinkled my nose. "I see."
"But. I'll do it for you if you promise not to look until I'm done changing. I just don't want to panic you, and I think you've had enough to worry about lately."
I gave him a weak smile. "You don't have to."
"I know I don't," he said, and his voice was gentle. "But I figure it's the least I can do."
"All right," I said in a small voice. "So when do you--"
"Now's as good a time as any," he said, giving his red ear one more rub and then sliding to the edge of the bed. He stood up, took a few steps toward the center of the room, and then glanced back at me. "You might want to turn away now."
"I'll cover my eyes," I volunteered. I closed them and them put my hands obligingly over my eyes as double-protection.
I heard the sound of a belt-buckle, and I couldn't resist peeking. I opened my eyes - still behind my hands and watched through my fingers. I looked just in time to see Ellis's pants fall to his ankles. He...wasn't wearing underwear. A tan line ran straight across his lower back, and below that, his buttocks were glaringly white. Muscled and taut, but white. He kicked out of his shoes and pants, hauled his shirt over his head, and then he was naked. More tattoos dotted his skin, but I couldn't make out what they were from between my fingers. I'd need a closer inspection - not that I wanted one.
But then he hunched over and his back muscles rippled like water. His spine protruded sharply and then began to push out from between his buttocks. Alarmed, I squeezed my eyes shut again. That...might have been more than I wanted to see.
A cracking sound made me wince, but I didn't open my eyes again. I waited, my breath shallow with alarm in my throat. What if...what if he didn't realize he turned into a man-eater when he shifted forms? What if he lost his mind like in the movies and ate the closest human around? I had no defenses against him, against anyone, really. I was as weak and helpless as those poor kittens in the box.
Something cool and dry touched my hand. I opened my eyes and flinched backward. A massive cougar hovered near the bed, his nose brushing against my skin. I was shocked to see how big he was. I'd known that cougars were large cats, but his head was the size of a basketball, whiskers protruding down each side of his mouth. His eyes were slits of glowing green color, unnaturally bright in his tawny face. He studied me for a moment, and then gave a catlike yawn.
Despite the display of fangs and gaping mouth, that yawn made me relax a bit. It was so very...house-cat like. "Can I...can I touch you?" I whispered.
His nose pushed at my hand, inviting my touch.
Hesitant, I stroked my fingers over the line of short fur down his forehead. It was surprisingly soft, like a mink. I let my fingers trail to the back of his neck and noticed that the fur grew thicker and got coarser on his back. Interesting. I returned to his face and continued to stroke my fingers over his brow. To my surprise, a rumbling purr started low in his throat.
"That...means you're not going to eat me, right?" I asked, the joke sounding more nervous than I would have liked.
The large cat gave me such a look of human disgust that a small giggle escaped my throat again. Then, he lifted a paw and placed it on my leg, his head pushing forward so I could pet it some more.
He was really like the kittens in that aspect, I thought with a faint smile. Just much, much bigger.
"All right," I murmured. "You've convinced me."
I reached out to pet him again but this time he took my hand between his teeth. A flare of panic shot through me, quickly quelled. It was obvious that he was trying to communicate something, and his teeth were very careful not to hurt me despite their large size. When he pushed my hand awkwardly toward my face, I guessed. "You want me to cover my eyes again?"
His head dipped in something like a nod.
"All right," I said, and obliged him. When I covered my eyes, I felt his big furry form move away, and heard the rustling on the far side of the room. Then that awful crack of bones, and nothing but rustling for a long moment. When I heard the shuffle of fabric, I peeked between my fingers again, just in time to see those tight white buttocks disappear back into his jeans. I watched him dress for a momen
t more, then squeezed my fingers shut so he wouldn't be aware that I was watching him.
A moment later, Ellis spoke. "All clear."
I dropped my hands from my face and made a big show of blinking.
"So, there you go," Ellis said, tucking his shirt in to the waist of his jeans. "We're pretty harmless. We just happen to be people that shift into cats and can't resist a good scratching post." He winked at me.
I snorted. "Harmless."
That mischievous smile returned to his face. "What, you don't think I am?"
I studied him, that roguish smile on his face, the tousled hair now falling over his forehead. He was trying to play it all innocent-like, but the tattoos and tight shirt stretched across his muscular arms weren't exactly selling that story. "I thought Andre was harmless, too," I pointed out. "You'll forgive me if I don't trust my own judgment for a while."
Immediately, Ellis sobered. He came and sat next to me on the bed. Not close, but facing me. "Lily, I just want you to know that I'm nothing like Andre, all right? I want you to trust me."
His expression was so sincere that I wanted to believe him, but I still hesitated. "Why are you trying so hard to be my friend?"
The smile he gave me was wide. "I kinda figured you needed one."
I did. I wasn't sure if he was the best person for the job, but right now he was all that I had.
"We should get some sleep," Ellis told me, heading back toward the bed where I sat. "The kittens are going to need to be fed every two hours, and that's going to make it a long night."
I nodded and laid down in the bed, pulling the blankets up to my chin. I still had questions, but I didn't want to push my luck. As with every night, Ellis got into bed next to me, put his arm over my shoulders, and dragged me close, imprisoning me against him so I couldn't escape. And as with every night, I remained stiff and unresponsive against him until I finally fell asleep.
It seemed I'd barely drifted off before Ellis was nudging me awake, his watch beeping an alarm. "Time to feed the children."
Blearily, I sat up and watched as he sprang toward the stove, putting on water and measuring out more formula. The kittens were mewing in their box, so I went to it and held them against me until the formula was ready. I was still half asleep as we fed them, rubbed tummies to burp them, cleaned up the inevitable kitten poo, and then put them back into their bed.
