Page 86 of Shifter for Brains

"He was my accomplice,” Hodge yelled at Temple. “He helped me escape!”

“Uh, is that true?” I wondered. “He’s a traitor?”

Chase shrugged. “We can trust him. I had a brilliant epiphany and tracked him down.”

"You sent me a text that said I know where to go, trust me, and I found you."

"He’s on our side?" Then what was the point of Hodge using such an obvious lie—

“Not exactly,” Chase said. “He’s not on our side, he’s onyours.”

“Hey, I’m Lysander Temple,” the man spoke up, telling me what I already knew. “I’m your brother.”

Oh, that part was new.

While surprised, the power waiting in me emerged and I shifted. I turned into a fox and didn’t even get to enjoy it. Because there was still so much power. Everything went black.

28.Shifter to Shifter

Lucas

Bright flashes of light, red and blue. Footsteps falling in thunderous surround sound. And voices, so many voices. Not to mention all the smells. I lost myself in the strange new senses I awoke with, barely aware as medical professionals checked me over and people processed the crime scene.

Eventually I realized focusing on one point and letting it ground me was easier than trying to register every little detail. What hit me strongest was an impulse, the desire to return to my own apartment and sleep in my own bed.

No one exactly gave me permission to leave, but nobody ordered me to stay put either, so…I slipped away.

I returned home. All the voices and sounds of others in my apartment building didn’t scare me this time. I knew what they were. There werea lotof them. But they weren’t scary. I even thought I handled the flood of sound and smell pretty well.

Untilboom, boom, boomsounded at my door, and I nearly jumped high enough to hit the ceiling.The knock wasn’t even very forceful, but it still echoed in my ears like gunfire.

"Come on, open the door." Chase spoke from the other side.

No. I stayed put and said nothing.

"Who even told you that you were free to waltz off?"

"Don’t need your permission," I grumbled.

"This may come as a surprise but investigators don’t love the answer ‘oh, I’m sure he’s around here somewhere’ when responding to an abduction. We gotta document you’ve been found."

"Here I am.” I opened the door a crack so he could see me. “Now go away."

I slammed the door shut once more.

"You opened the door just to tell me goodbye?" Chase wondered. I didn’t respond. He sighed. "You shouldn’t be alone right now."

“I’m basically Superman right now, so I’m fine."

While not instantly snapping back to brand new, every time I inspected a bump or bruise, I found the hurt lessening instead of growing. I felt invincible.

"What happens when you crash?" Chase wondered. That wasn’t a good question. He wouldn’t rain on my invincible parade.

“You’re not invincible, you know. We may be more resilient than humans but shifters still have limits. We are very much… vincible.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

… I waited, but no footsteps signaled his exit. If I concentrated, all the other noise dimmed until his heartbeat became the only sound worth listening to. It was too easy to memorize. That and his damn addicting scent.