Page 43 of Searching for Thanksgiving

She looked around. Her brow furrowed when she noticed the thin line of smoke coming from the chimney and a light glowing through the window.

“It might be Christoff,” she said.

He sniffed the air and shook his head.

“No, there are multiple scents and they are different from the one on your cloak.” He turned to his symbiot. “Eliminate them.”

“No! You can’t just eliminate someone without knowing who it is,” she hissed.

“I smell dragon and cat.”

“I don’t care if you smelled a Heffalump! You don’t kill things first then ask for forgiveness,” she retorted.

The muscle in his jaw ticked as he fought against his need to protect her, his desire to please her, and the darkness inside him. He curled his fingers into her long coat.

See who is inside. Do not harm them, he reluctantly ordered.

His symbiot shimmered and almost disappeared as it blended in with the darkness.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“My symbiot will assess the danger. I have instructed it not to harm those inside. I should take you to Christoff and your grandmother.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” she muttered.

There was a catch in her voice that struck him as odd.

“Why do you not want to go there?”

She pursed her lips before responding. “My parents are there. I’m… I’m not ready to face them yet.”

“Why?”

She glared up at him. “I really don’t think now is the time to discuss this. Let’s find out who is in my house first.”

“Then you will tell me?”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. His lips twitched even as he focused on what his symbiot was seeing as it slipped inside. The interior was warm and cozy. His symbiot padded on silent feet, exploring the kitchen. It rose onto its hindquarters and sniffed the counter before lowering itself back to the floor. His symbiot was passing the table when it was suddenly attacked from multiple directions.

“Stay here,” he ordered with a low snarl.

He released her and sprinted towards the hut. Bursting through the door, he skidded to a stop when he saw three small symbiots clinging to different parts of his symbiot. One was attached to its tail, one to its leg, and the other dangled from its ear. They were each in different shapes. The symbiot clinging to his symbiot’s tail was in the shape of a werecat. The other two were in the shapes of creatures he had never seen before. The one clinging to his symbiot’s ear had long front teeth and big ears that almost dragged on the ground. The one on its back was smaller, with rounded ears and a big, long fluffy tail.

“Buttercups, lets him go,” a very young, but stern voice ordered.

“Oh! I’ve never seen a symbiot that color. It’s so pretty,” another voice exclaimed.

Devon watched with confusion as three Sarafin cubs, one a blue-black panther and the other two identical tawny-colored leopards with black spots peered over the back of the couch. His confusion deepened when he saw one had its nails painted a bright pink with tiny flowers on them.

“What is… they’re kids!”

He wanted to release a snarl of admonishment to Crystal for not listening to him but the words died on his tongue when a small black and gold dragon bounded up to sniff him. The boy shifted and looked up at him before turning to stare at Crystal.

“Hey! I think we found her!” James exclaimed with excitement.

“Is it Thanksgiving?” the pink and flower nailed little girl asked.

One-by-one, the children who had been in their four-legged forms shifted. His symbiot had given up trying to get the three golden forms off itself and had laid down at the feet of the first little girl with hair the color of midnight. Devon’s eyes widened when he noticed the faint, but powerful dusting of gold surrounding her.

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