Page 14 of Jared
“Chang. Lives in some fancy building with a doorman and everything.”
“Holy fuck, dude. You have no idea what you have gotten into, do you?”
Jared looked into Desmond's bright blue eyes. “Well, I'm actually still trying to wrap my head around the whole werewolf thing. And now you're telling me that soul mate thing is real, and oh, that you can turn into a dog. Meanwhile, I've spent all day at work waiting to see if aliens invade New York or the Men in Black come for me. Or some guys with butterfly nets.”
Desmond stood up “Come on. We need somewhere more private to talk. You, my friend, need me to explain quite a lot. Also uh, werewolves are a different thing, and imaginary. It's not considered polite to call us weres. We're shifters.”
Jared got up to follow. “Sorry, I didn't know. Just do me a favor. If vampires, zombies, Godzilla, or anything like that is also real, don't tell me. Though I've always rather liked unicorns. Nah, better not tell me about unicorns either. Or pixies.”
Desmond reached over and patted Jared's forearm in reassurance. “It's gonna be okay, dude. I promise you. Let's go to my place. We can talk and I'll order pizza for us later.”
“Okay.” Hell, at least I can maybe learn the rules of this new reality, right? And have a real friend to help guide me. And if Desmond says it's all real, and he can actually turn into a husky, then I've not lost my marbles. Not entirely, anyway. Yet.
5
Well, his apartment looks normal enough, I suppose. But then so did Steve's. Jared looked around with undisguised curiosity, looking for clues that identified the home as belonging to a shifter. What did you expect? To find chew toys and a doggie bed? Wait, there... he must shed a lot in his animal form.
“Sorry about the cat hair on the couch,” Desmond said, following Jared's gaze. “Sakura sheds a lot.”
“You have a cat?”
“Yes, I have a cat. What, you think I can't like cats because I shift into a dog?” Desmond looked amused. “I happen to like cats and he's great company when I'm home alone and doesn't need to be taken out for lots of walks and stuff.” As if right on cue, a silver point Himalayan came regally into the room, stopping to stretch as came through the open bedroom door.
“He's gorgeous!” Jared said.
“And she knows it.”
“Sorry, I didn't mean to call you a boy,” Jared told the cat. He received a disdainful look in reply.
“I best feed her,” Desmond said, moving towards the kitchen. He opened the fridge, where Jared was surprised to see him remove what appeared to be small containers of raw meat. “I feed her a raw diet,” he explained. “She has food allergies and this takes out the guesswork. Plus, it's more natural.”
Jared nodded. Makes sense, he thought. In the wild, cats don't eat their prey turned into a kibble like casserole. He giggled at the thought as an image of a feral cat dressed as a chef using a metal garbage can as an impromptu stove appeared in his mind unbidden.
“What's so funny?” Desmond asked.
Jared shook his head. “No-nothing,” he giggled. “Just imagined a feral cat making supermarket cat food from a mouse.”
“O-kay,” Desmond said slowly. “You're kinda weird, you know that? But I like it.”
“I'm weird? I don't go all furry!”
“That's not weird. Just different,” Desmond huffed. “Just means you aren't one of us cool kids.”
They both laughed. “Cool kids, huh?” Jared sputtered. “I don't remember the kennel section of the lunch room.”
Desmond snorted. “You seem to be taking this remarkably well.”
“What else can I do? Run for the hills with the screaming Mimis?”
Desmond placed Sakura's bowl on her mat, then washed his hands. “Actually, a lot of times, people finding out goes quite badly. They react with superstition and fear. There are actually hunters out there. Some hunt us because they think we're abominations. Others for trophies.”
“Trophies? What the hell! In your shifted form?”
“Usually, but there are hunters who pride themselves in killing us while we are still shifting.”
Jared looked even more horrified. “So that you can see the human features mixed in?”
Desmond nodded.
