Chapter 25 #2
The bloody council. I’ve got less than twenty-four hours to get my act together and save myself.
Xander got them to agree to my meeting. I need that DNA evidence.
Why is nothing easy? I thought it was important to everyone to find out who my family is, where I come from, but it looks like that’s not part of the shifter council’s agenda.
That’s… concerning. Alarm bells go off like the clappers in my head.
What are they trying to hide?
Me. It’s all about me, and I have a sneaky suspicion that getting my DNA into that system to see if I have an ancestry match will mess with the council’s plans.
Call me a rogue or a rebel, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to do everything in my power to run those checks.
“You need permission?”
Dr Ross keeps his eyes on his tablet and doesn’t look up. He shrugs.
Okay, I guess it’s time to put my cards on the table.
I’m sure I’ve already mentioned it… Perhaps I have, perhaps I haven’t, but it seems a little bit obvious to me what with the multicoloured hair.
Shifters instinctively know what other people’s animal forms are—well, except me ’cause obviously the shifter inside me is broken.
I read human. I smell human. All everyone sees is a powerless human.
“I’m a unicorn shifter. You know how rare that is.” I drop my legs to the floor and tug at a piece of my hair to demonstrate my words, and then I point to my eyes. “The hair is all unicorn, and my amber eyes are a strange mix from my vampire side.”
“But we don’t know that for sure. It’s just your word and second-hand information,” Dr Ross whispers. For the first time since he came into the room, he looks at me.
“Yep.” I fiddle with the zip on my hoodie.
I bring it up to my lips and nibble on the plastic toggle.
I nervously wiggle in my seat—this next part is gonna be uncomfortable.
I pull the toggle away from my mouth, but I keep hold of it.
“About the markers in my blood? The shifting when I was little… I have this reoccurring bad dream.”
I take a shaky breath. Why is this so hard?
Probably because I’ve ignored the problem and buried it so deep into my subconscious.
Probably because I didn’t even tell my grandad or anyone else about it.
And probably because I’m frightened that this dream isn’t a dream but a memory.
“I have this bad dream of being forced to shift by a man, a really scary man, who uses a saw to cut off my horn.” I dip my head, my hand on the zip. It trembles.
Crikey, even thinking about it freaks me out. I drag my knees back to my chest.
“The horn is the source of the unicorn’s power.
Unlike other shifters, a unicorn’s horn contains all the shifter magic.
” Dr Ross gets up from his seat and paces.
“That’s the reason you’ve shown no shifter magic, but you have”—he points at my hair—“unicorn traits. I will have to speak with Xander as, from my understanding, without the source of your power, you will not be able to shift.”
“So the horn removal messed with my magic?”
He runs his hand through his hair and flaps his other hand with the tablet about.
“Yes. Although it’s a little bit more than that.
You’re a medical marvel. It’s a miracle that you’re alive, unless…
unless it’s the vampire side of you, the pureblood strength, and Xander’s blood, that’s holding you together.
Okay, let’s think this through. The fae confirmed your grandad’s magic got you through childhood.
I have to be blunt, kid. A shifter stuck in wolf form can last decades.
They might go slowly insane as the magic takes them over, but they can last decades.
On the other side of the coin, a shifter staying in human form has got years, two, three years at the most, and your clock has already been ticking. ”
He slumps back down on the chair and meets my gaze.
“The reason we’ve not seen any change to your health is that…
Well, there’s no easy way to say this, Tru, and it’s only a theory.
” He holds his hands up, his face a professional mask.
“It’s only a theory, as your unusual nature is impossible to predict, but I think if you can’t shift, no matter what steps we take, you’re going to die. ”
“Okay.” I dip my head inside my hoodie. I get what he’s saying, and I might die tomorrow, I might die next week. “Okay.” I puff out my cheeks and nod. “Back to the main issue. So if I got a higher-up to permit you access to the shifter database, would you be willing to run my DNA?”
For a moment the doctor’s eyes widen. I can see the shock on his face when I don’t freak out about my pending death.
Immortal creatures will die someday.
We all die. It’s just a matter of when. We just have to keep fighting till the very end. A wonderful man gave his life for me, and I won’t let him down. I bite my lip and rapidly blink. No, I won’t let my grandad down.
So this is me, fighting.
“If you got me permission… of course,” Dr Ross reluctantly agrees.
“Perfect.” I hold up a finger, and I grab my phone from the side of the chair, where I left it, quickly search for the contact number I need, and hit call.
“Hi, could I please speak to the General? My name is Tru Dennison, and I need his help.”