Page 10 of Pretty Kitten

“That’s definitely my boy,” she said.

Zack had shifted. Instead of the adorable, smooth-skinned little human they’d all fawned over, there was a kitten in Clari’s arms. A tiny little thing with a sable coat marred with small black spots. Let’s face it; cats are cute. They needed to be, given the fact that they were absolute assholes. Being irresistible was part of their evolution, but never had Daunte seen a cat quite as pretty as this one. The big dark eyes, and his almost toothless grin, save for his two front teeth, growing right under his upper lip, made him the most enchanting creature to ever walk this earth.

No one had expected that; children didn’t shift - normally, it started around puberty, or perhaps a little earlier.

But he wasn’t a typical shifter; he was son of Ace, the hybrid born of a wild animal. She’d been born in her feline form. They shouldn’t have been astonished that her own child wouldn’t want to wait, either.

“Oh my god, look at him,” Clari cooed as the lucky little beast climbed up her shirt, his claws digging into her breast, then nestled in the crook of her neck.

Eventually, all of them reacted.

They were too late.

“No!” that came from Daunte, just as Rye screamed, “Careful!” and Ace yelled, “Pull him back!” Coveney, Ola, Ian, Jas, and Christine, were all singing the same tune.

But Zackary’s saberteeth had already pierced Clari’s skin.

“Ouch.”

They stared in silence. It wasn’t like they automatically had something to worry about. The odds were in their favor. Clari probably wouldn’t be affected at all; she’d just need a little band-aid, and that was that.

Right?

The chance was minimal. Only a tiny fraction of their kids were born with an infectious bite; perhaps a handful of children per decade. And they were taken care of before they got a chance to use their skills.

Shifters had a secret - a secret they couldn’t afford to divulge. Humans were concerned with vampires, with angels, demon-born, and other larger-than-life creatures; all things considered, shifters weren’t a threat to their existence. They generally kept to themselves, and when they didn’t, their authorities took care of the problem.

But they were at the bottom of the list of threats because the humans didn’t know that some amongst them were born with a sort of venom carrying their gene; a venom that could turn humans into shifters. Children were tested after their first shift - which generally meant after puberty - to check if they had it. They’d had zero reason to think Zack might have been a Turner.

“You wanna tell me why all of you are looking at me like I’m on my death bed? It’s just a little scratch,” Clari said, rolling her eyes, pulling the child back into her arms and rocking him.

“Hm.”

“Errr-”

“Erumph.”

No one wanted to break the news to her, it seemed, least of all the Alphas, who were probably feeling guilty for letting her close to Zack before doing their duty.

Well, it needed to be said.

“There’s a zero point zero, zero, zero one percent chance that his bite might be venomous.”

Clari stilled.

“So, what, I’m going to die if it is? There’s an antidote, right?”

He shook his head.

“No, it’s not lethal, per se.” A half truth. “And no, there’s no antidote.”

She frowned, clueless.

In for a penny…

“If he’s venomous, you’ll change into one of us. You’ll become a shifter.”

He didn’t think he’d ever felt as helpless as he did now, staring at the female. No, not female; woman. He wouldn’t think of her as a shifter. Not yet. Not ever, if he could help it.

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