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She didn’t wait for an answer but jetted to the street and hailed a taxi. All the way to the school, scenarios ran through her mind. Simeon could not be shifting. He was too young, wasn’t he? Besides that, he was human. Even the hospital hadn’t detected any abnormalities in his blood at birth.
Her heart raced, and tears sprang to her eyes. No, this couldn’t be happening. His teacher was wrong, or stupid.
Sienna phoned Hawke several more times and got no answer. When she arrived at the school, she tossed the cabbie his money and bounded from the vehicle. Her heels beat a rapid staccato on the floor as she hurried toward her son’s classroom. As soon as she hit the door, she spotted him toward the back by himself. Why hadn’t they taken him to the nurse’s office, and why wasn’t his teacher at least comforting him. Simeon tugged at his ear, rocked, and whined. Tears flooded her eyes.
“Baby, Mommy’s here.” She opened her arms walking into the room, and Simeon ran to her. She hoisted him into her arms and covered his ear with her hand, but she had already seen it. Simeon had partly shifted into a lion cub.
She didn’t give an explanation or ask questions. They hopped into another taxi within minutes, Simeon on her lap.
When they were home, Sienna sat Simeon on his bed and knelt down in front of him. “Simi, honey, Mommy needs you to change back, okay?”
Her son looked at her with wide eyes, confusion obvious in his expression. “Change?”
She bit her lip, hesitant to come out and say what she now knew he was. To have thought he would turn out any different when both of his parents were shifters was just plain stupid. Sienna touched her baby’s ear, covered in soft fur. Just as his teacher said, it had changed positions, having moved a tad higher on his head. To think Ms. Gaby must have been in a near panic seeing it. Sienna could only hope the woman put it down to a weird reaction to something Simeon ate, which was unlikely, but their existence needed to remain hidden.
When Simeon started to whine again and tug at his ear, Sienna heaved him onto her hip and paced the small room.
What was she going to do? She had no power to make Simeon change back. Even if she did, she had no clue how to activate it.
“Mommy, I feel funny,” Simeon said with his head on her shoulder. Sienna looked down at her son, and spotting fat tears rolling down his cheeks, her decision was made.
“Everything will be okay, Simi. I promise.” She stabbed the buttons on her cell phone to dial Hawke one last time.
When his voicemail picked up, she left a clipped message.
“Hawke, I don’t know where you are at a time like this. I needed you, but…I’m sorry. I have to go. I am taking Simeon to see his father. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.”
For Toron's Pride
Chapter Seven
Toron detected the rustle of feathers and waited for his friend to come in through the window. When he did, Toron scratched a few more notes and then looked up. “When will you use the door like normal people, Hawke?”
His childhood buddy scratched the back of his head, a sheepish expression on his face. “Easier that way, and we’re not exactly normal people, are we?”
Toron shook his head and nodded toward the closet. “At least put some clothes on.”
Hawke made use of the change of clothes Toron always left for him.
“You’re early. Your report isn’t due for another two weeks.” Toron stood and walked around his desk. He leaned on the edge and folded his arms across his chest.
“I’ll admit I don’t mind hearing how she’s doing.” He started when a new thought occurred to him. “She is fine, isn’t she?”
Hawke’s movements stilled.
“Hawke!”
“She’s fine.”
Toron frowned. “Why the emphasis? What are you implying?”
“I haven’t…uh… She’s on her way here.”
“Come again?” Toron tightened his lips. On one hand it thrilled him to know Sienna was coming back, but there was much more Hawke hadn’t said, and that worried him.
“Explain yourself.”
Hawke pulled a T-shirt over his head tugged it to his waist. He wandered over to the window and stared out. No one knew more than Toron how much his friend loved the sky, and he should. After all , he was a bird shifter—a hawk to be exact. “There’s something I haven’t told you all these years you asked me to keep an eye on her.”
