Holly only nodded, splitting her focus between me and Michael.
“We’re not in any kind of mob or gang, though I can understand how it might look like that, from the outside.” I took a deep breath, uncomfortably aware that I was about to intentionally break one of our three most important laws. “We’re shape-shifters. Specifically, feline. We’re werecats. All of us.”
Holly blinked. Then she blinked again. Her mouth opened, then snapped shut. Then she turned to Michael, brows raised in question. “I’m seriously traumatized here, and she’s making jokes. This isn’t funny. Tell me what the hell is going on, or I’m out of here. For good, Michael.”
“She’s not joking. I know it sounds impossible. Crazy—” he began, but she cut him off.
“You think! I hope the men in those cars had a year’s supply of straitjackets and Thorazine, because you’re all insane. All of you. I’m leaving…” She tried to stand, and my hand closed over her wrist. Michael stood with her, moving smoothly between his wife and the front door.
“Let go of me!” She snatched her arm from my grip, and I let her go. Everyone was watching Holly now, except for Jace, who watched me expectantly.
“Michael…” I warned, hoping he could calm her without…extreme measures.
“Holly, you can’t go. It’s not safe—”
“The hell I can’t.” She tried to step around him, and he took her by both arms, pleading with her silently to cooperate.
I stood. “Look, I’d show you myself, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly at my best tonight.” And Dr. Carver had forbidden Shifting until morning, at least.
Jace stood and dropped his cards on the table. “I’ll show her.”
“No.” I wasn’t going to put anyone else at risk.
Jace rolled his eyes. “Cal wants me dead, anyway. What’s he gonna do, kill me twice?” He flashed another grin at having thrown my own words back at me, and I could only scowl. “Besides, you already told her. She’s fully disclosed. I’m just offering a demonstration.”
I thought for a moment, then finally nodded.
Jace stepped into the middle of the living room, already pulling his shirt over his head. His arms bulged in the light from the dusty fixture overhead.
“What is he doing?” Holly demanded, and she actually took a step back when he unbuttoned his pants. “Why is he taking off his clothes?” She glanced at Kaci, then at Michael, silently demanding that he put a stop to what must have seemed like absolute insanity, for the sake of the child, if for nothing else.
Kaci cleared her throat, drawing Holly’s attention as Jace stepped out of his jeans and underwear and dropped onto his hands and knees. “It’s weird at first. Especially all the nudity. I know, ’cause I used to be like you. But Shifting with clothes on just doesn’t make any sense. I tried it once. My shirt tore and I got all tangled up in my jeans.”
Holly only gaped at her until Michael took his wife’s hand. When she turned back to him, he gestured to where Jace was now on the floor on all fours, in the first phase of his Shift. His skin began to ripple, and Holly gasped. Her hands shook, the tremors so violent she nearly dropped her empty glass. When his wrists and ankles lengthened, she took a step back, ripping her hand from Michael’s grip. “No. No, this isn’t real. You…you put something in that drink. What did you do to me?”
Michael faced his wife and took her chin gently in both hands, forcing her to look at him. He leaned down so that their foreheads met and whispered to her, crooning almost like he would to a child. “It’s real, Holly. It’s all real. I’m sorry I never told you, and I’m even sorrier that I have to now. But you need to see this. This is who I am. This is who we all are, and if you can’t live with that after you truly understand it, then you can go. No one will stop you.”
Though that was up for debate. We couldn’t risk her telling anyone else, and frankly, that hadn’t truly seemed like a credible threat until that very moment.
“But first you have to see,” Michael finished. Then he stepped to the side, revealing Jace again.
Jace’s hands and feet had become paws, his digits already plumping into toe pads. His fingernails lengthened and hardened into claws, even as his head began to bulge and shift with the formation of his new muzzle.
Holly’s pulse raced. Each breath came faster than the last. She was hyperventilating, and based on her physiological signs of stress, she could have been the one Shifting.
“It’s okay…” Michael whispered, his arms around her waist for comfort, his chin resting on her shoulder. I’d rarely seen him like that, as the gentle, concerned husband, and even though she was clearly near total breakdown, she didn’t push him away. He could still comfort her, even when he was part of what she feared. It was achingly sweet, in the most surreal way imaginable.
In the middle of the floor, Jace looked like a giant, bald cat. His spine was a knobby ridge trailing over his back, ending in a long, flesh-colored tail. And as I watched, thick black fur began to sprout at his spine, spreading rapidly to cover his entire body.
Holly gasped again, but she now looked more awed than anything, though there were still clear lines of fear and disbelief around her eyes. Seconds later, the show was over. Jace stood tall on four legs, arching his spine dramatically as he stretched to get comfortable in his new form, like a giant Halloween cat. Then he stuck his rump in the air and waved his tail in greeting.
“We’re not in any kind of mob or gang, though I can understand how it might look like that, from the outside.” I took a deep breath, uncomfortably aware that I was about to intentionally break one of our three most important laws. “We’re shape-shifters. Specifically, feline. We’re werecats. All of us.”
Holly blinked. Then she blinked again. Her mouth opened, then snapped shut. Then she turned to Michael, brows raised in question. “I’m seriously traumatized here, and she’s making jokes. This isn’t funny. Tell me what the hell is going on, or I’m out of here. For good, Michael.”
“She’s not joking. I know it sounds impossible. Crazy—” he began, but she cut him off.
“You think! I hope the men in those cars had a year’s supply of straitjackets and Thorazine, because you’re all insane. All of you. I’m leaving…” She tried to stand, and my hand closed over her wrist. Michael stood with her, moving smoothly between his wife and the front door.
“Let go of me!” She snatched her arm from my grip, and I let her go. Everyone was watching Holly now, except for Jace, who watched me expectantly.
“Michael…” I warned, hoping he could calm her without…extreme measures.
“Holly, you can’t go. It’s not safe—”
“The hell I can’t.” She tried to step around him, and he took her by both arms, pleading with her silently to cooperate.
I stood. “Look, I’d show you myself, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly at my best tonight.” And Dr. Carver had forbidden Shifting until morning, at least.
Jace stood and dropped his cards on the table. “I’ll show her.”
“No.” I wasn’t going to put anyone else at risk.
Jace rolled his eyes. “Cal wants me dead, anyway. What’s he gonna do, kill me twice?” He flashed another grin at having thrown my own words back at me, and I could only scowl. “Besides, you already told her. She’s fully disclosed. I’m just offering a demonstration.”
I thought for a moment, then finally nodded.
Jace stepped into the middle of the living room, already pulling his shirt over his head. His arms bulged in the light from the dusty fixture overhead.
“What is he doing?” Holly demanded, and she actually took a step back when he unbuttoned his pants. “Why is he taking off his clothes?” She glanced at Kaci, then at Michael, silently demanding that he put a stop to what must have seemed like absolute insanity, for the sake of the child, if for nothing else.
Kaci cleared her throat, drawing Holly’s attention as Jace stepped out of his jeans and underwear and dropped onto his hands and knees. “It’s weird at first. Especially all the nudity. I know, ’cause I used to be like you. But Shifting with clothes on just doesn’t make any sense. I tried it once. My shirt tore and I got all tangled up in my jeans.”
Holly only gaped at her until Michael took his wife’s hand. When she turned back to him, he gestured to where Jace was now on the floor on all fours, in the first phase of his Shift. His skin began to ripple, and Holly gasped. Her hands shook, the tremors so violent she nearly dropped her empty glass. When his wrists and ankles lengthened, she took a step back, ripping her hand from Michael’s grip. “No. No, this isn’t real. You…you put something in that drink. What did you do to me?”
Michael faced his wife and took her chin gently in both hands, forcing her to look at him. He leaned down so that their foreheads met and whispered to her, crooning almost like he would to a child. “It’s real, Holly. It’s all real. I’m sorry I never told you, and I’m even sorrier that I have to now. But you need to see this. This is who I am. This is who we all are, and if you can’t live with that after you truly understand it, then you can go. No one will stop you.”
Though that was up for debate. We couldn’t risk her telling anyone else, and frankly, that hadn’t truly seemed like a credible threat until that very moment.
“But first you have to see,” Michael finished. Then he stepped to the side, revealing Jace again.
Jace’s hands and feet had become paws, his digits already plumping into toe pads. His fingernails lengthened and hardened into claws, even as his head began to bulge and shift with the formation of his new muzzle.
Holly’s pulse raced. Each breath came faster than the last. She was hyperventilating, and based on her physiological signs of stress, she could have been the one Shifting.
“It’s okay…” Michael whispered, his arms around her waist for comfort, his chin resting on her shoulder. I’d rarely seen him like that, as the gentle, concerned husband, and even though she was clearly near total breakdown, she didn’t push him away. He could still comfort her, even when he was part of what she feared. It was achingly sweet, in the most surreal way imaginable.
In the middle of the floor, Jace looked like a giant, bald cat. His spine was a knobby ridge trailing over his back, ending in a long, flesh-colored tail. And as I watched, thick black fur began to sprout at his spine, spreading rapidly to cover his entire body.
Holly gasped again, but she now looked more awed than anything, though there were still clear lines of fear and disbelief around her eyes. Seconds later, the show was over. Jace stood tall on four legs, arching his spine dramatically as he stretched to get comfortable in his new form, like a giant Halloween cat. Then he stuck his rump in the air and waved his tail in greeting.
