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Sighing, I repacked my medical kit, picked it up, and headed in the direction of home. “Let’s go see what’s going on.”
At the house, we found the cheetah I’d patched up yesterday, its leg broken, trying to leave, but Branson, a black bear form hybrid who’d been with me a couple months, blocked its path.
“What’s going on?” I called out sweetly.
Branson turned and huffed.“He freaked out when he woke up and was about to run off, straight towards the city. He won’t listen to me.”
I walked up next to Branson, slid my fingers into his thick fur, and faced the cheetah. “Easy, friend. You were brought to me, your leg broken, and I set and bandaged it for you. We mean you no harm here. My friend here was trying to keep you from heading into the city.” I jerked my head in the direction he had been trying to go. “They don’t like shifters nor hybrids very much there.”
The cheetah’s eyes widened and he took a hesitant step forward.“You can communicate telepathically with shifters?”
I nodded and smiled wide. “Ever since I was a child, but it’s not just shifters, but all animals.”
On cue, Winnie, an adorable pink teacup pig, trotted out of the barn and over to me, snorting and snuffling for attention.“Hungry!”
I patted her head and chuckled. “You’re always hungry, Winnie. Don’t worry, I’ll get your food soon. First, we have to convince our friend here, to join us.” Raising my head, I asked, “Will you share a meal with us before you leave at least?”
The cheetah’s body shuddered and shifted into a handsome man with high cheekbones, black hair, and piercing amber eyes. He was almost beautiful thanks to the high cheekbones and angular jaw, making me think he was likely a hybrid of elf, and either werewolf or dragon shifter. Bowing, he said, “I apologize for inconveniencing you and causing trouble.”
Stepping up to him, I patted his shoulder. “I’m sure it was concerning to wake up in an unfamiliar house with so many different animals’ smells. I’m Ember. What may I call you?”
He picked my hand up and kissed my knuckles. “I am Riddick.”
My heart fluttered and I felt my hand tingle where his lips had touched. That was new.
“Please, come inside and I’ll find you some clothes.” After rescuing more than a dozen animals that turned out to be hybrid shifters, I kept a variety of clothing available for them to take, and learned to keep my eyes chest level and above.
Branson bumped my back with his giant head.“I’m going to go investigate the bear Kieran told me about. I’ll return later.”
I turned and frowned at him. “Are you certain you should do that alone? You could wait for me to go with you.”
He stood on his hind legs, towering over me now at well over seven feet tall, and growled.“I’m not weak, Em.”
It took a lot of willpower to keep from smirking at the indignation in his voice, but I managed. “Just promise me you’ll be safe, okay? The momma bear was very scared of the bear that hurt her, more than Bruno. Investigate, but don’t engage for today, okay?”
Thumping back down to all four paws, he bobbed his head once.“Yes, ma’am.”
I watched him trot off into the forest and felt a twinge of fear in my chest. Branson was a very strong fighter, but he wasn’t at one hundred percent yet, and the way this new bear had beendescribed worried me. It felt like there was more going on than just a new bear in my territory.
Kieran patted my shoulder as he walked by me and up the steps into the cabin. “He’ll be fine. I can see you’re worried.”
“I always worry when you all go out to investigate alone,” I said and stepped through the door he held open for me.
“We have to do our part or we feel like a burden,” Kieran explained.
“A burden? How ridiculous.” Just having them with me was a gift. With them here, I wasn’t lonely, going insane slowly from only speaking to animals.
“Are you a mated couple?” Riddick asked as he looked at us.
“No,” Kieran said with no hesitation, answering as I opened my mouth.
I closed it and turned my head away to hide the hurt and rejection I felt. Kieran had been here for a full month, and though I could feel a spark of interest from him, in the way he watched me, he never moved beyond friendly.
Natalia, a beautiful raven with a permanently broken beak, flew from her perch to land on my shoulder and rubbed her head against my cheek.
“Good morning, Natalia. Are you going to explore the river again today?” She had a strong desire to find shiny items and bring them to me. Lately, she’d been exploring the riverbanks, bringing shiny, almost clear rocks I’d not seen before. They held a bit of magic in them, which was a little concerning.
Natalia nodded, cawed, and flew towards the window, waiting patiently for me to open it. As soon as I pushed it open, she flew out and up into the sky.
