Page 79 of Forbidden Moon
Dominic finished an early supper and decided to scan for activity at the Preserve—something he’d been avoiding lately. With the new windows and facade installed, the annoying scaffolding disappeared—improving his view considerably. His first glance revealed several unexpected changes.
Along the entire stretch of coastline, new guards appeared. Not only that, the grim-faced men werearmedand using satellite phones. A dirt bike also came into view as the rider stopped to speak to another guard before zipping away. Overhead, he spotted a hovering drone which eventually disappeared behind the treetops. What thehellwas going on? Dominic lowered the binoculars to think.
It must be,it could only be, the now-deleted message from YooperTrooper. Did this mean the shapeshifters saw his blog? That they’d responded to the threatening message? No, no, no; this wasn’t supposed to happen, but those people wouldn’t have made so many drastic changes unless they believed they were in danger. His bloghadto have caused it.
Shit! If he hadn’t stuck his nose in where it didn’t belong, the Preserve wouldn’t be in any danger. What should he do? Whatcouldhe do? Waltz right over there and tell them? Tell them what? He didn’t know who YooperTrooper was! Besides, they’d probably rip him to shreds for endangering them in the first place. Dominic shuddered and put the binoculars down on the side table.
There was no one he could talk to about this. No one. The shapeshifters would probably kill him, and going to the cops led to the psych ward or prison for sure! Suppose he said nothing and those poor people were harmed? He’d have to live with guilt for the rest of his miserable life. He’d never meant for any of this to happen, never understood the consequences of his actions. What a stupid fool he’d been!
Warm tears dripped onto his shirt as the life he’d tried rebuilding began to crumble, and there was no one to blame but himself.
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WALTER HARDLY NOTICEDbeing the only human around the table. Good food and pleasant company were universally recognized, despite their differences. The conversation naturally revolved around the little ones, and he found the speedy growth of shifter children fascinating. Although Noel and Holly were born merely six months ago, they were already walking, talking, and learning to shift on their own.
When William rose to fetch dessert, he asked Jack about it.
“Why do you suppose your children are so quick to mature? Is it a reflection of wolf physiology?”
Jack nodded, lifting Kiah onto his lap for the last part of the meal.
“Indeed. Survival in the wild requires faster maturation rates. This accelerated growth affects shifter offspring as well, though the process levels out after two years. At that point, our children have the maturity and appearance of a five-year-old human.”
Walter marveled, chuckling at the consequences.
“How do you keep up with them? I have six grandchildren, all growing like weeds. Your people must fly through clothing and shoes at an alarming rate!”
Katrine laughed and spoke for both sets of parents.
“It’s true! We’re constantly sharing with other parents, and once children learn to shift like our girls are doing, they don’t wear much unless we’re out in public.”
Another question came to Walter’s mind.
“How do you keep it hidden? I mean, anyone who knows when the children were born is sure to notice the abnormal growth. How do you prevent unwanted questions?”
Mandy decided to tackle this one.
“Katrine and I are facing this with our realtor. For the most part, we keep our kids on packlands for the first two years and then home-school them. There are too many risks otherwise. If they’re seen in public, we try to avoid humans who know us well enough to notice. Not a perfect system, but it’s the best we can do.”
After dessert, they relocated to the living room to converse and watch the children play. Before long, Holly, now in wolf form, scurried up into Walter’s lap to scent him. She leaned into his hand as he stroked her soft fur, eliciting high-pitched yips and tiny growls. Soon, her jealous sister wanted in on the action, demanding the same treatment.
Walter seemed to take it all in stride, jumping right back into the conversation when the girls decided to get down and play “stalk-the-babies”. Marie and Kiah loved this game, filling the room with laughter and excited babbling. Eventually, Walter brought up the topic of Katrine’s art and the reason behind his visit.
“Is everything ready for tomorrow? I heard from the rest of my team, and they made it as far as Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the night. They expect to arrive at the shop around ten tomorrow morning.”
Katrine turned to Mandy, as she’d been the one to organize and prepare the artwork for transfer.
“As far as I know, we’re all set. We hope both you and the museum will be pleased.”
Walter leaned forward with a large smile.
“I shared the thumbnail images you sent with the staff and directors, and they are even more thrilled than I am. You may not know the Navajo Nation Museum owns an enormous collection of over forty thousand vintage photographs.
“When William sent us the restored image of Gray Feather, the response nearly overwhelmed us. As a people, we never knew what our famous ancestor looked like until Jack positively identified him. When they see the work you’ve done, Katrine, I expect the gift shop to sell thousands of art posters of the painting. We’ve created a new gallery exclusively about the life of Gray Feather, and the centerpiece will be your beautiful portrait.”
Wide-eyed and somewhat embarrassed, Katrine didn’t know what to say. Mandy patted her hand and answered for both of them.
“She outdid herself, Walter. We can’t wait for you to see it. Please let us know when the gallery opens. We’d like to know what people think.”
