Happy Friday! Note, this story is NOT polished. I will be posting a scene or chapter weekly. Expect an urban fantasy world. Romance and mystery. And magic, of course. Enjoy!
PART 14
The first night Lobo took me to Flott Forest, and I ran and ran until I fell asleep in the warmest little hole with the richest black earth you could imagine. The run kept me energized for days, and I even treated Mason to a smile at the restaurant.
That of course made him even more suspicious of me. He growled a few times during the breakfast service. I wisely let Chris take over his order and left him be.
Waitressing filled my days. Shifting and two stints of flying filled my nights. I didn’t tell Lobo about my other animal shapes, though the fox form hadn’t returned. Just Lobo knowing I was a mouse and a mage was enough.
Who would have thought I’d finally find acceptance with evos?
Like citizens, many evos disliked and distrusted those different from them. Mages were tolerated better than citizens, but most evos preferred their own kind of weird.
Since Lobo had accepted me, everyone who frequented Feeds pretty much did as well.
The neighbors were kind, asking after my supposed mother, Nessa, and sharing stories about Lobo.
My pseudo-uncle was beloved by the town. Not only did he look after evos, he protected those he considered part of his territory as well. Anyone who ate at Feeds, anyone who lived near him. No one messed with those in Lobo’s territory. Rumor had it his shifted form had made the last corrupt sheriff wet himself in fear before he’d transferred to Gresham.
I had yet to see Lobo’s were-form. Instead, I reveled in getting to run free. As a mouse mostly, and a few times as a hawk, I grew more comfortable running and flying, drifting on cool winds and racing on fleet feet through springy grass and dry, dark earth. The trees in Flott Forest would whisper their welcome, and then I’d lose myself in what it meant to be truly free.
I could almost ignore the pending full moon celebration as I grew into my true self. My mage abilities remained, though I kept that mostly a secret, now favoring my familiar senses over my mindmage talents. Mason seemed less inclined to snarl at me after I’d started running in my animal form, as if he could see my animal truth and accepted me for it.
To my relief, my odd display of elemental magic had yet to resurface. I still had no idea how I’d fried that lady. But I didn’t want to do it again. I accepted her death because she’d forced me to it. The guilt I should have felt didn’t exist. And if I had recurring dreams about electrocuting her and laughing maniacally while I did it, I’d keep that freaky tidbit to myself.
“There you are.”
“Eeeep!” I’d been scurrying as a mouse, looking for bits of berries and seeds during my nocturnal roaming. The large, furred hand that took me in its grip and lifted me way, way up had me frozen with terror.