Chapter 13 #2
He wore tailored black slacks and a white sweater that stopped right above a polished silver buckle.
The sweater clung to his wide shoulders, only giving a hint of the defined muscle beneath.
He tucked his fingertips into the front pockets of his slacks and leaned against the doorway, blocking the only way out.
He carried himself with confidence and caution, as if he knew his size and presence were enough to terrify most people.
His gaze landed on my badge. “SED?” His voice was rich and accented, as if he came from Europe somewhere—and, likely, money.
“I’m not here officially,” I said. “I just wanted to check on my brother.”
Voices passed us in the hall, my mother’s briefly as she was ushered past the door, but I couldn’t see beyond the man to know if they were cops, a unit of SED, or someone else. Ivan cowered behind me, pressing himself to my back.
“It’s rare to have variant siblings. Especially cross variant.”
“I’ve been told I’m all kinds of rare,” I said. Who was this guy? “I don’t even know why the cops are here. Ivan’s tiny in his shifted form. Harmless.”
“Is that so?” The man asked. He raised a silver brow, and Ivan latched his tiny teeth into the back of my arm, making me grunt. “Harmless?”
Ivan growled, and I wanted to scoop him up and comfort him.
“Look, Mr…” I said, not even knowing where to start with this guy.
“Call me Xavier,” he said. “I run a rescue, if you will.” He pulled a card out of his pocket and held it out to me. “A variant rescue. Shifters, for the most part.”
“You can’t have him,” I said, refusing the card. “My folks kicked me out decades ago, and they don’t want him now? Why? ‘Cause he’s variant? I’ll take him home with me. Keep him safe.”
“Can you, though?” Xavier asked. He tucked the card away.
Was that a challenge?
“What do you know about shifters?” he asked. “A necromancer is not the best place for a shifter to find refuge.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “Ivan is my brother. I’ll figure it out.”
“And what if he needs to be kept safe from you?”
I leapt to my feet, rage making me stupid as I faced him and realized he towered a foot over me, but I wasn’t going to back down.
“Everyone says shifters hate necromancers. I didn’t pick this, and I don’t think he did either.
I don’t know what happened in the past between shifters and us, or about whatever the other people with my power did.
I don’t even know what the fuck my power is.
But I will take care of Ivan.” Like no one was willing to take care of me, I finished without actually saying the words.
Xavier sighed and held the card out again. “Take it,” he commanded.
I growled—though it sounded even less threatening than tiny Ivan’s little growls—and snapped the card out of his hand, stuffing it into my pocket.
“They won’t let him out of here without an escort,” Xavier said. He put his hand to his chest. “I will take the two of you home.” He stood up straight and took a step back, to ease out of the doorway.
I stared at him a moment longer, only catching a momentary blur as Ivan launched himself at the man, leaping off the ground and propelling himself with an added boost off my shoulder toward the man’s face.
Xavier caught him, holding him by the scruff of his neck.
Ivan hissed and swiped, lashing out but unable to strike.
“Yes, kitten,” Xavier said. “I hear your woes. You have two choices. Go with your brother, or me. That’s it.”
Ivan stilled, huge eyes glaring at Xavier.
“My, what sharp claws you have.” He stared at Ivan, expression neutral as the cat caught a claw in his forearm and left a bloody trail.
He sighed, and Ivan licked the blood, then stilled.
Xavier nodded slightly and held Ivan toward me.
I opened my arms, expecting to receive a flailing cat with snarling claws.
But Ivan dropped into my arms and crawled up to wrap himself around my neck, nose tucked beneath my chin, breathing hard and shivering. What the fuck was this guy?
Xavier turned toward the hall. Two men stood near the opposite door, a large suitcase at their feet.
The pair could have been twins from some Chinese Danmei, one with white-blond hair, the other with blood-red hair, long but clipped up away from their faces.
Both were dressed much the same as Xavier, high-end neutral.
“We packed everything we could find that we thought would be useful,” the blond said.
“Can he change back and pack for himself?”
“High emotions in the young impede the change. He will likely be this way for hours. If you can’t handle it…” Xavier began, holding out a hand to take Ivan back.
“It’s fine,” I said, reaching for the suitcase. “I’ll buy him whatever he might need.”
The redhead snatched the bag from me. “I’ll bring it down.”
Who were these people?
Xavier headed to the top of the stairs. “There are still police downstairs. I’ll escort you out.”
The last thing I wanted was for Ivan to have the police shoving more guns in his face. “What about his parents?” I asked.
“They have already forfeited their parental rights,” Xavier said. “For variants, it’s a matter of signing a few pieces of paper.”
I reached up to rest a hand on Ivan and stroke his soft fur. “But they are still downstairs? Will he have to see them?” Would he have to witness their rejection again? I hated to come face-to-face with them myself, and I’d had more than a decade of burying the pain.
Red took off his blazer and draped it around my shoulders, buttoning the top two and hiding Ivan beneath my coat. He glanced back at Xavier. “This one smells like another shifter.”
“I work for SED,” I said, in case he’d missed the badge on my belt. “My partner is a shifter.”
“Sadly,” the blond said, “that doesn’t mean much these days.” His gaze went to Xavier. “We’ll follow you back to his place.”
“Huh?” I asked.
“I will ensure you get the kitten home safely,” Xavier said.
“Do you think I’m going to dump him on the side of the road or something?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Red said as he hefted the suitcase and made his way downstairs. The blond followed. Xavier motioned for me to walk ahead of him, and he took up the back.
I heard arguing before we made it to the bottom.
“You can’t take anything,” my father shouted.
Red ignored him, walking out the front door with the suitcase. The blond had a backpack too, which I hadn’t noticed at first. More of Ivan’s stuff, I hoped.
I met my father’s gaze as I headed toward the door, hoping it was the last time I ever had to visit this house.
He glared at me, eyes flicking down to see the glow beneath the blazer shining through.
My variant. Maybe not a fluke, since both Ivan and I had them.
My mother refused to look at any of us, staring out the distant window instead while an EMT spoke to her.
Maybe Ivan had bitten her. I found I no longer cared.
Xavier kept moving and I did too, unwilling to give these people more of our lives. There was something terrible about being hated for existing that really tore me up inside, but I couldn’t change them any more than I could change what they hated in me.
“You’re safe now,” I whispered to Ivan. “You have me and Grandpa. I know it’s not much, but we’ll make it work. Oh, and Peanut Butter. You liked Peanut Butter, right? I know he loved snuggling with you.”
The duo loaded up a van, which was parked behind my car. I turned to Xavier, hoping to thank him and get rid of him. That heavy, otherworldly presence of his made it hard to breathe with him this close. He glared at my car.
“What? It’s safe. Well maintained.” I didn’t have a car seat or carrier, or anything to put Ivan in to keep him safe. Maybe that’s what the irritation was for.
“I’ll ride with you.”
“What?”
He leaned down to stare me straight in the eyes, an act that made my heart race. “I will ride with you. Ensure your space is safe for the kitten.”
“I’m a cop, you know,” I said weakly.
“And I am well aware that forty percent of police officers perpetuate violence on family members. Hiss and spit all you want. If you want what is best for your brother, you’ll let me ride along.”
I hated that stat, but knew for myself just how terrible some cops could be. “Fine.” I waved at my car. “Might be a squeeze. You’re probably the tallest person I’ve ever met.” The lock beeped under my thumb, and I made my way to the driver’s side.
Xavier folded himself into the passenger side, shoving the seat back as far as it would go, but was still forced to slouch and shove his knees against the dash. “I don’t have a carrier in here for Ivan,” I admitted. “Should we figure out how to belt him in or something?”
“He’ll be fine,” Xavier said, clipping his belt into place.
Ivan dug his claws in, and I knew I was bleeding, but as long as he was safe, I’d deal.
“Sylas and Keanan will follow.”
“The creepy twins,” I muttered as I steered the car away from the scene and toward home.
“What makes you say that?” Xavier asked.
“What? That they are creepy?”
“Most find them beautiful.”
“Well, sure, like a lot of deadly plant species,” I said. “But that sort of pretty comes with baggage, right? Met plenty of pretty men in my life. First time meeting ethereal ones. My nope meter is screaming big nope.”
“Nope meter…” Xavier repeated. “What does your nope meter say about me?”
“Stay the fuck away,” I said. I wished my car had a bigger center console like a lot of newer cars because his energy hissed and spat where our magics were forced to mingle.
“You might be a good fit for the kitten after all,” Xavier said after a long stretch of silence.
Neither of us spoke for the rest of the drive.