Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
It’s almost midmorning by the time we all gather again in the lucifer’s office.
We were supposed to be there earlier, but there was another kidnapping overnight—a couple we knew nothing about, which is better than it being one of the ones we were trying to protect, but still.
While everyone else chased down those details and checked on their other cases, I had the pleasure of a medical exam.
The doctor Percy called in is nice, but a full checkup, including blood and semen samples, is not my favorite way to spend a morning.
“You’ve been a good sport,” Dr. Sims says to me at last, packing away the equipment she brought with her.
We’re in Percy’s office, where we can be guaranteed privacy.
“And without lab results, I can tell you that you appear to be human in every way. We’ll see what the lab says about that.
I’m keen to get a look at those results. ”
“You’re not the only one,” I mutter, pulling my pants back on.
“Are you concerned, Sam?” she asks gently. “I want to remind you that you don’t have to do anything.”
“I know.” I sigh. “Thank you. I’m a bit… nervous, but I do want to move forward. I don’t think it will help anything to leave things as they are. It’s just going to weigh on my mind.”
She nods. “All right, then. I’ll let everyone know we’re ready.” She slips out, closing the door behind her as I finish buttoning my shirt.
Barely a moment later, there’s a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I call, bending over to lace up my shoes.
I hear the door open and close, but nobody speaks, and I straighten to see a man I’ve never met before studying me.
He’s a shifter, I can tell that, but I’m not sure about species.
Based on his height—only a few inches taller than me—his slim build, and the fact that he’s come in here, I’m going to guess felid.
I’m further going to guess that this is the alpha Percy asked to sit in.
I can’t wait until I have shifter senses and will be able to know all these things with a sniff instead of having to guess.
“Hi? I’m Sam.”
He tips his head to the side, still examining me.
“I know. You really do smell human. If it was anyone but Percy, I’d think they were fucking with me.
” He extends a hand. “I’m Aidan.” Only the faintest hint of an Irish accent is apparent, but it still gives his words an almost musical cadence.
That, combined with the name, tells me exactly who he is.
He’s not just an alpha felid, he’s the shifter species leader.
Like the role of lucifer—and god—the roles of species leaders are assigned by the magic.
Aidan has been shifter leader for only fifteen years, and all shifters—felid and hellhound—answer to him.
I shake his hand, a little nervous now. This man has flown a long way to be here, and he’s going to have a lot of influence on my life soon. If he decides I’m not really shifter material… I don’t actually know what will happen, because there has never, ever been a situation like this.
Huh. I’m a freaking history maker.
“It’s good to meet you,” I manage, and he grins suddenly.
“Relax, man. Well, if you can. This is a helluva situation.” He wanders over to sit in one of the armchairs, and after a second’s hesitation, I follow and take up last night’s post on the couch. Was that only twelve hours ago? “I thought you might have some questions for me.”
I shrug. “About a million,” I admit. “But I can’t remember most of them right now, and the ones I can, I don’t think you can answer. Mostly, I’m worried about what will happen right after they… do it.”
He leans back. “You’re right, I can’t answer that. Not definitely. We’ve no idea what will happen. I’ve had a think and decided the best option is to prepare for you to react like a hormonal teenager. Percy tells me you’re at about the age to be entering your fertile cycle?”
“Yeah. To be honest, though, I don’t really know what that means.” Am I still a child in shifter terms? That’s kind of creepy, since I’ve experienced some very adult activities as a human.
“It’s a bit different for us than for humans, from what I understand.
We basically undergo two periods of, let’s call it puberty—one is related to brain chemistry and physical growth and takes place during the teen years.
Our young develop the ability to shift when they’re toddlers but are mostly unable to control it.
Their parents and other, stronger adult shifters restrain that ability on their behalf.
This is partly to prevent them from exposing us to humans, but mostly it’s to protect them.
Spontaneous, emotion-driven shifting takes a lot of energy and can be very wearing on the body, leaving it susceptible to ailments and diseases.
Our childhood mortality rates dropped an incredible amount once we instituted this practice. ”
“How long ago was that?” I ask, fascinated.
“Six or so thousand years ago,” he answers so matter-of-factly that it takes me a moment to realize he didn’t say sixty, or even six hundred.
“Once they become physically stronger and their psychological development allows it, usually at around age fourteen, we remove that restraint and let them learn to control their own shift. It’s a highly volatile time as brain chemistry adjusts to switching back and forth between humanoid and animal forms. Dominance begins to emerge, and a lot of social connections form and disappear.
It’s a difficult time in any shifter’s life. ”
“Exactly like a human’s teenage years.”
Aidan nods. “Pretty much. Some biologists theorize that’s why we don’t have sexual puberty until later, after we’re fully adults.
Dealing with being a shifter is difficult enough.
It would be even harder if we were still doing it ‘the natural way’ and not restraining children’s shifts.
The first fifteen or so years of their lives would be a fight for survival between the two sides of their selves.
” There’s a note of disgust in his voice.
“That sounds like there are people who want to go back to the old way,” I venture.
His sigh is frustrated. “Of course there are. People who think they know better than thousands of years of research and insist on risking their children.”
“Like human anti-vaxxers,” I mutter. I guess some things, like stupidity, cross the species barrier.
“Anyway, whatever the reason is, we don’t experience sexual puberty until we’re in our late thirties, early forties. Since our brains are fully adult by then, we’re mostly better equipped to deal with the hormonal surges.”
I think about that and compare what I’ve been feeling lately to what I felt as a teenager. He’s not wrong. The arousal and urges are the same, but the constant insecurity isn’t there.
“I, uh, I don’t know what Percy told you,” I start hesitantly, “but I seem to be going through sexual puberty now. The thing is, I already had it when I was a teenager.” I spread my hands. “I don’t know what any of this means.”
“I wish I could give you an answer,” he says. “The best I can come up with is that the human cells hiding your shifter side gave you the same growth experiences that any human would have had, but now that they’re starting to break down, you’re getting the shifter ones.”
I bite my lip. “So… since I won’t have learned to control my shift or gone through all the dominance development and stuff… I’m basically going to have two puberties at once?”
He winces. “I don’t know. I hope not, for your sake, but on the flip side, I don’t want you to be denied your shift.”
I rub my hands over my face. “I guess we won’t know if we don’t try.”
Leaning forward, Aidan reaches out and takes my hand. “I’m prepared for you to be the most volatile, aggressive shifter possible when they lift the magic. I can help you control yourself. That’s why Percy called me instead of someone closer. No matter what happens, I will help you.”
I nod, swallowing down my trepidation. “Okay. Okay. Thank you.”
He studies me for a moment longer, then says, “I’ve also started the investigation into who your parents might be.
There’s not a lot we can do until the DNA results come back, but we’re tracking down all reports of lost or stolen cat children from around the time you were born until you were about three or four.
” He shrugs. “It may be that your parents are involved in the cults and willingly took part in this… whatever it is they’re doing, but we shifters tend to be very possessive and protective of our children, and I think it’s far more likely they ‘volunteered’ other people’s rather than use their own. ”
Something inside me perks up. “So you think it’s possible I might have a real family?” Who would actually give a shit about me? Because that might be nice.
“I can’t promise,” he warns. “But even if it turns out your parents are cultists, we’ll be able to trace your family line. You might gain some grandparents or aunts or cousins.”
I lean back against the couch and tip my head back to study the ceiling. “At the very least, I’ll be able to fill in the part of the form at the doctor’s office that says ‘family history.’”
He snorts. “Sam, I hate to break it to you, but your doctor is probably going to be government assigned for a few hundred years. They’ll have your history, believe me.”
I shiver a little, but in a good way. “A few hundred years,” I marvel.
The reality hits. “Except we don’t know if I’ll actually live that long or just end up with a human lifespan.
” Man, this whole being the subject of genetic manipulation thing sucks.
“I guess we should get on with it.” There’s only one way to find out what will happen, and that’s to live through it.
“Before we do,” Aidan says, “I want to make sure you know that we’re glad you’re here.”