One Plus Two Equals... - 51

"But I couldn't shift." Julyan protested as he sat, wrapping his arms around his knees. "I've been angry before in my life, and scared, and nothing like that happened."

"Anger and fear come in many forms. I would suspect you've never been in the position where you've felt the need to save someone you love and didn't have a clue how to."

"Well, no. I'm not a fighter and," Julyan smiled slightly, "I'm usually the one who needed protecting." He shuddered. "What was I? I felt like a predator. All I wanted to do was maim and kill those…those sons of bitches."

"You did a damned good job of it, too. And before you start feeling any kind of guilt, I'd say they deserved it," Duane said. "Not because of what they were doing to me but because of what they undoubtedly planned on doing to or with you."

"You still didn't answer my question. What was I?"

"A saber-toothed cat."

Julyan's eyes widened. "They're extinct."

"Somehow in the grand scheme of things, I don't think that matters. Shifters have been around since the beginning of time."

Nodding slowly, Julyan thought about what he'd said. "Does that mean I've been around since they were?" He shook his head. "No, that's not possible. I had a normal life growing up, parents who loved me. I told you that, and about my mom's getting sick and all. I was born just like any other human. Ask my mother, she's got baby pictures from day one, literally. I didn't…appear one day like…like a changeling dumped in a crib."

Duane chuckled at his description. "No, I doubt you were a changeling, or even that you've been reincarnated over and over. My best guess, and it's really more than a guess, you carry a gene which makes you a shifter, just as Auden and I do."

"Shifting is genetic?" Julyan looked as if he didn't believe it.

Duane chuckled. "Unless you're a god, according to those who should know."

Julyan must have been recovering at least some normalcy because he snickered. "If I am a god, you'd better start bowing down to me."

"Worshiping you, I can handle, but I draw the line at bowing."

"Well, damn." He leaned back against Duane when his lover moved closer, sighing deeply. "This is going to take a lot of getting used to."

"We're here to help you. The first thing you'll have to do is learn to control your shifting. It would cause real problems if you always reacted the way you did today, without a thought for the results."

"But, I didn't know…" Julyan shivered.

"I understand that, Juls. However, just because you now know you can shift, doesn't mean it won't happen again without warning if we don't show you how to master your cat. At least you were able to return to being you."

"Damn, that would have sucked if I hadn't been able to. I might be out there tearing up the sofas." He straightened suddenly, glancing toward the living room. "I have a hell of a mess to take care of."

"I'll call the boss and have him send a cleanup crew."

"Is that something he keeps on hand?"

Duane snorted. "You've never seen what's left when Auden gets done taking out one of the creatures he has to deal with."

"I hope it's less messy than what I…what the cat thing left behind."

"How about we give it a name. The 'cat thing' just doesn't have the proper ring to it."

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't, though that's what it is."

"How about Garfield?" Duane ducked fast when Julyan took a swipe at him. "Okay, scratch that. How about… Xander?"

"Xander?"

"It's a nickname for Alexander and means defender of mankind."

"I'm not certain that fits me, or him, I suppose."

"Juls, he was defending me and once you learn to harness him, I suspect he'll do the same for others, just as Auden does. It's in you to do that, and I mean you, Juls, as well as your cat."

"I hope so."

"I know so."