Page 15 of Axes & Nos
Chapter Eight
Myra
I won’t lie, finding out Alia was a raccoon and not a lioness was kind of disappointing. She would have made a badass lioness. Finding out that the guys are in fact tigers, not just any kind of tigers, but white tigers, is both exciting and scary all at the same time. Like there is a part of me that wants to ask them to change so I can pet them. Yep, I’m pretty sure I would die by tiger shifter if I did that, but what a way to go.
“I’m sure you have questions, but let’s finish unloading the truck first. We can all sit down at lunch, and you can ask all the questions you want.” Alia soothingly suggests. The nosey nelly inside me wants to ask all the questions now, but the organizational nut inside me wins out instead.
“Okay, truck unloading first, then questions.” I declare as I grab my clip board and march toward the truck.
It takes about thirty minutes to finish unloading the truck. Then, thanks to my premium packing, we get the whole office set up in less than an hour after that. Even Dax and Chase are impressed with how organized and smooth everything goes.
“Damn woman you should be a professional organizer or something. You know, like that Marie whatcha call it does. You know who I’m talking about, Alia. Where she goes into people’shomes and helps them organize all their shit. You would be perfect for that.” Chase gushes excitedly.
“I keep telling her that, but she doesn’t listen to me.” Alia argues back.
“And I keep telling you I’m happy being your assistant. If I started my own business, we couldn’t hang out every day anymore. Besides, what would you do without me keeping you organized?” I accuse with a laugh. I know she could handle things if I wasn’t there, but I love working for my best friend.
“She has a point. I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached to me. Myra keeps me so organized I usually don’t even have to ask for something, she already has it ready for me. Sometimes I think she’s a witch, but she doesn’t smell like one so we’re safe.” Alia says it so casually at first, I don’t catch it.
“Wait, are witches real too?” I ask suddenly, looking around like one will jump out of the closet or something.
“Oh, they’re real, they just tend to stick to themselves. And, no they are not these urban witches that pop up like a Starbucks on the corner of a busy street. We’re talking real witches that are powerful but keep themselves unless someone rattles their cages. They don’t like attention.” Dax says matter-of-factly and I’m left wondering if I’ve entered the Twilight Zone.
“Okay, before we start the millions of questions, I know she’s going to ask, and we melt her brain with all the answers let’s go to lunch. I’m craving barbecue. Myra, meet us at Mike’s over on South Street. They have the best barbeque stuffed baked potatoes. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.” My stomach rumbles in response and we both giggle.
“Myra can ride with me.” Dax offers and I roll my eyes at him.
“You had me at barbeque woman, let’s go!” Ignoring his offer, I yell as I jump into my truck and peel out, not giving him a chance to jump in the truck with me.
The drive over I start to mull over everything that has happened in the last few hours. Even though I feel as though Alia should have trusted me more, I get why she couldn’t. Learning that not only are there tiger and raccoon shifters but that there are also witches in this world has my mind blown. What else is out there that I do not know about? How many different shifters are there? Do unicorns, mermaids, or dragons exist? By the time I pull into the restaurant I am filled with even more questions than I had this morning. Alia was right to have me wait until I had time to mull everything over before asking any questions. I’m so caught up in my own mind that I jump when Alia knocks on my window to get my attention. Looking over her, I give her a reassuring smile, it must not be very convincing because she winces back at me.
“Food first then questions.” Alia declares as she opens my door. She places her arm in mine, and we walk into the restaurant together, while the guys are left to trail behind.
As soon as we walk through the doors my mouth starts to water at the delicious smell permeating the space. You can’t live in Texas and not love barbeque; it would be considered sacrilegious. I’ve never been considered a particularly religious person, but when it comes to barbeque, I worship at its altar regularly. The subtle scents of mesquite wood and smoke brings joy to my heart.
“You have to try the super stuffed baked potato, they pile it high with butter, sour cream, chipped barbeque, cheese, bacon, and chives. It’s like the perfect combination of meat and potatoes, the way food is meant to be eaten.” Alia gushes as we walk up to the counter. Smacking my lips I nod in agreement as she orders for each of us one. Then my eyeballs practically bug out when I listen to the guys place their orders. My shock must be evident on my face.
“One thing you’ll learn is we eat a lot more than humans.” Alia whispers as she leads me to a table at the far end of the restaurant. Far enough away from anyone else to give us some semblance of privacy to talk. The boys stay at the counter to wait for our food to be ready.
“So, it’s normal for them to order enough food to feed ten people? Gotcha.” I nod like it totally makes sense. Rule number one of being around shifters, they eat like they are feeding an army. Thinking back, there were several times that Alia ate a lot more than I thought was normal, but I dismissed it as she didn’t eat breakfast or lunch depending on what time of day it was. Now that she tells me shifters eat more than humans it makes more sense.
I’m about to ask her more questions when I get distracted by my food being placed in front of me. My eyes probably grow three sizes looking at the potato sitting in front of me. It’s like if meat and potatoes had a baby. It’s perfection on a plate and I smack my lips in anticipation of how delicious it will be.
“I’m feeling jealous of that potato right about now.” Dax jokes as I pick up my fork. Looking up at him I raise my eyebrow questioningly and he smirks back at me.
“Dax.” Chase says with a warning, lacing his voice. Dax just looks at his brother and sighs in response to the warning. I look back and forth between them trying to decipher whatever is being said between them without it actually being said. Giving up I dive into my potato with gusto, ignoring everything else around me.
“A woman after my own heart.” Dax says as he dives into his own plate that is piled high with every meat imaginable.
When my stomach finally says it’s full enough I take a sip of my sweet tea and clear my throat. Everyone’s eyes go to me in anticipation of what I’m going to say. How does one start this kind of conversation though? Is there an etiquette to askingshifters questions? If there is, I've never heard of it, or maybe it’s just secret like everything else surrounding shifters seems to be.
“Do you have to change often? Is it like a full moon thing or can you control it? You don’t feel like changing now do you? I mean that would probably bring attention you don’t want since we are right in the middle of downtown.” I word vomit, looking over at Chase and Dax I can tell they are trying, and failing, to hold in their laughter. I’m so glad they find this shit funny.
“Relax Myra, they won’t change here. Like Dax said, you're safe with us. We’ll explain everything to you, I promise.” Alia smiles reassuringly and some of the manic feelings I have ease a little. She’s been my best friend for a hot minute. I know I can trust her even if she’s been hiding this part of her from me.
She obviously had her reasons for keeping it from me. I imagine if humans in general found out about people who shift into animals, they would never know peace. The government would try to use them for their own purposes. Scientists would try to study or dissect them, with God only knowing what. Not to mention those humans who would grab their pitch forks and torches like they were Frankenstein's monster. Just thinking about what could happen to them makes me cringe inside.
“It’s not a full moon thing. Yes, typically we can control when we change. I don’t change as often as I’d like because I have what Chase calls responsibilities as an adult. My tiger is a badass and frankly deserves to roam when he wants. Chase is just boring if you ask me.” Dax says with such ease like he’s told a thousand people these things before. Like they aren’t secrets he’s kept close to keep himself safe. Maybe he has, probably all women I think, narrowing my eyes at him.