Page 22 of Me and My Christmas Familiar
Lachlan sat up. “What?” he asked, voice rough from sleep.
“I lived on a farm with my parents. I grew up there. No one else was two-formed. Just us,” Kit said. “We were both cat and human. We did not use the wordshifter. My parents told me to keep it secret. They said others would claim it to be the result of dark magic and witchcraft.”
Kit’s brows lowered. “As I grew up, I played with the kids from the village. I had friends. Then I had a lover. I was to marry him, a man named Peter.” Kit paused. “My parents warned me.” The muscles in Kit’s throat clenched. “But I trusted Peter. I loved him. So I told him the truth.” Tears spilled from his eyes.
“He called me cursed. He…he called me so many names. He ran away from me. Then that night, he returned with others from the village, friends and people I’d known my whole life.”
The tears streamed down his cheeks. “They burned down our farm and our fields.” His voice shook. “They hunted us with clubs and spikes. They killed my parents.” Kit choked. “They almost killed me, but I just got away.” He raised a hand to his half-missing ear.
Lachlan didn’t need their bond to know the grief Kit felt. It radiated off him.
Lachlan had heard rumours of human settlements in far-off places where they killed any who weren’t purely human or were human but practised magic.
“I ran and ran and ran. Through forests and along rivers. For days and nights and weeks and months. Then I was on a ship.” Kit kept speaking in that toneless, blank voice.
“Then I was back in a forest. The days grew colder, colder than it had ever been. For a while, I shifted back and forth.But I stayed a cat whenever I saw people.” He paused. “But the memories and pain were always so much stronger in my human form. So I stopped changing into my human form. I remained a cat.”
Kit sagged even further forward. He wrapped his arms around his stomach. “I didn’t remember before last night. I haven’t remembered any of this in years.”
“I’m so sorry.” Unable to remain still, Lachlan rose from the bed and stepped towards Kit. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m so sorry you have to remember all that.” He placed a hand on Kit’s arm.
Kit leaned into the touch. He let out a shuddering breath. Lachlan squeezed his arm.
When Kit didn’t say anything else, Lachlan asked, “Did you sleep at all?”
Kit shook his head. He hesitated. “I thought that maybe if I returned to being a cat, I could sleep with you.” Red-rimmed eyes gazed up at him.
But before Lachlan could answer, Kit made a noise. “But I couldn’t find my cat form. I couldn’t turn back. I tried and tried and tried. I don’t understand,” Kit whispered. “I can’t be a cat again.” Kit’s lip trembled.
“But you don’t love me if I’m not a cat,” Kit whispered, and more tears fell. “I have to be a cat again. I have to.”
Lachlan opened his mouth. His vision blurred as tears welled in his own eyes. He wanted to say something to take away Kit’s anguish and misery.
He wanted to tell Kit he could love him as a human.
But it wouldn’t be true. Lachlan didn’t know what he felt for this man. And he couldn’t lie to him, for both their sakes.
Lachlan closed his eyes and let out a breath. “I…” He couldn’t think of what to say. He didn’t know how to fix any of this. Hestood there for several moments, just trying to work out what to do.
Finally, he said, “We should get something to eat.” Then he released Kit’s shoulder. He turned and left the room before he broke down completely.
CHAPTER 13
Kit wiggled on the chair in the living area. A cup of cold, untouched tea sat on the table before him. His borrowed clothes itched. He couldn’t get comfy on the chair. Everyone kept trying to get him to eat and drink, offering him soups, baked goods, and more tea.
Graal, Cas, Briar, and Wulfric sat with him around the fireplace, staring at him as if they didn’t know him. But they’d stroked his fur and cooed over him. They’d patted their laps in invitation for him to come and snuggle with them.
“Did you want more tea?” Cas asked, his words so gentle. “Perhaps some blue mallow, spearmint, and lots of honey.”
Everyone treated Kit so differently now. He hated being treated like a stranger in his home.
When he had become Lachlan’s familiar, Lachlan’s siblings had felt like his family. They didn’t feel like that anymore.
“I’m fine,” Kit said tersely. “Where’s Lachlan? When will he be back?” He stared at the door leading out of the apartment.
“He’s helping Grady and the twins fix the chimney on the stove,” Briar said. “They think there might be a block. Lachlan is the most powerful hearth witch in the family. He connects sostrongly with the bakery and is best at diagnosing problems that occur there.”
Kit gritted his teeth. Briar spoke to him like Kit didn’t know Lachlan, his own witch. He knew Lachlan was the strongest hearth and kitchen witch in the family. Of course he did. What sort of familiar would he be if he didn’t?