“He’s a Great Pyrenees.”
Scouring his memory, Nathan had a dim recollection of the breed. “The large, shaggy white dogs from the Alpine regions?”
“That’s it,” she approved, grinning at him.
Nathan wished his brain would work. Everything seemed foggy, like trying to think through a murky cloud.
“I should have, like, gazillion questions,” he admitted. “But I can’t think of a thing.”
“Drink your coffee,” Katerina advised kindly. “You’ve had a bit of a shock. It’ll ease up in a bit.”
That sounded like good advice, and silence fell over the small room as everyone drank their coffee. Finally Nathan put his cup on the desk.
“Okay, so, shapeshifters. I’m guessing it’s nothing like the werewolves of horror flicks?”
“Not in the least,” Naomi hurried to reassure him. “Being a shapeshifter is genetic… one has to have at least one parent who’s a shifter, for the genes to pass on. We shift at will. Think of us as normal people, with something a bit extra.”
“I like to hang out on windowsills when the sun is just right,” Katerina winked merrily.
“Obviously, it’s a closely-kept secret,” Nathan observed. “So how come you let me in on the big secret? Well, obviously, the jackalope… wait!” He broke off, feeling the blood drain from his face. Again. “She’s not a….”
“No, no,” Katerina waved that away. “She’s not a shifter. And as for why she came to you…”
“Actually, I was wondering that, too,” Naomi ventured. “And I was kind of surprised that you Changed in front of him, too, Katerina.”
“It wasbecauseof the jackalope.” Katerina must have seen the puzzlement in Nathan’s face, because she smiled at him, and reached over to pat his arm. “She came to you, Nathan, when she was injured.”
Nathan thought that over. “Maybe I was the closest person around,” he suggested, but Katerina shook her head.
“No magical creature would go to just anyone, no matter how injured they were. Especially a wild one. Out of all the people whose house she could have shown up at, she chose the one person who didn’t instantly take pictures to post on social media, or call the local news network, or even go for a gun to shoot her to have mounted on the wall as a trophy. Instead, you hid her in a carrier, and brought her to a vet.”
“And not just any vet,” she continued, holding up one finger as he opened his mouth to speak. He closed it. “Of all the veterinary clinics in the county, you brought her to the one clinic where there are not only shifters, but humans aware of the magical. There is no coincidence that strong, my friend. And she trusts you, Nathan. When Troy took the top off that carrier, she hopped right to you, and you instinctively protected her, putting your hands around her before you handed her to Troy to examine.”
Naomi’s eyes widened. “I noticed that, too!”
Katerina smiled. “In fact, Nathan, you hesitated for just a minute. I watched you make the conscious decision to trust him, before you handed her over to him.”
“Wow.” Nathan sat back in his chair, his head spinning. “That’s… wow.”
The door opened, and another pretty young woman, this one a stunning redhead, peered in, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Mr. Burke, your jackalope… whoops, jillalope! …is ready to go home. I’m Tamera, by the way, and I’m thrilled to meet you.”
“Thrilled to meet his jillalope, more like,” Katerina teased her, and Tamera laughed.
“That, too! Come on,” she invited, holding the door open wider. “We’ll load you up with all kinds of instructions and stuff.”
“Don’t forget to give him our phone numbers,” Katerina said. “Nathan, you can call us any time if you have questions, or if something comes up, okay?”
Still somewhat dazed, Nathan allowed himself to be led from the room. In his wake, Katerina and Naomi collapsed in their chairs, laughing until tears ran.
“Oh, that poor man!” Naomi finally said, wiping tears from her face. “His life will never be the same.”
Katerina giggled. “Ohmigosh, did you see his face when I Changed? I thought he was going to pass right out.”
Liam entered the office just in time to hear this, and chuckled. “Troy’s still pretty shook up.”
Katerina sighed. “I really didn’t know. I should have, though. What I mean is, we shouldallknow about what magical creatures are out there. While I hate to reference popular fiction, I think the Harry Potter books had it right. We should have magical creatures on our education curriculum.”
Liam drew Naomi close, kissing her temple. “I agree. I’ll bring it up with Maroulla when I call her tonight. Which I’m going to have to do, to report this more-than-official sighting.”
