Page 18 of Me and My Christmas Familiar
“Grady!” Lachlan screamed.
Kit flinched.
“Grady!” Then Lachlan fled the room.
Kit heard voices.
He knelt on the bed, uncertainty and worry circling in his gut.
Footsteps pounded outside the door, mixed with urgent whispers.
Kit wrung his hands. Grady appeared in his undershorts in the doorway. His mouth dropped. Lachlan followed. Then came Uzoth. Everyone else seemed to crowd behind them. Everyone stared at Kit.
Kit shrank in on himself. He looked to Lachlan, but Lachlan didn’t look back. A whine escaped him.
Grady went to a cupboard and opened the door. He pulled out a robe and handed it to Kit. “Here, put this on.”
Swallowing, Kit pulled the robe on. But he had trouble using his fingers. They moved clumsily. He’d forgotten how to use them.
Kit sat back on his and Lachlan’s bed. Grady sat opposite him on Jack’s. Lachlan hadn’t moved since he entered. He still hadn’t looked at Kit.
“Lachlan,” Kit whispered.
Finally, Lachlan looked to him.
“Please, sit.” Kit patted the spot next to him. If Lachlan would just sit next to him, then maybe he’d relax.
Lachlan’s uncertainty bled through the bond.
“Please,” Kit whispered.
After a moment’s hesitation, Lachlan sat. But he remained as far from Kit as possible on the bed.
Kit bit his lip.
“What is going on?” Grady asked Kit.
Reluctantly, Kit turned his gaze to Grady. Kit didn’t know what to say to him.
“Are you a shifter?” Wulfric asked from outside the room.
“A shifter?” Words felt so weird in Kit’s mouth.
“Are you a cat shifter?” Briar stepped forward, Wulfric behind him.
What is a shifter?“I’m Lachlan’s familiar.” Kit turned to Lachlan and gave him a tight smile.
Lachlan’s brows furrowed. He looked away. Kit could feel his unease.
Kit scooted up next to him and leaned towards him. He tried to touch Lachlan, tried to comfort him like he always did. His touch always soothed his witch. But Lachlan’s eyes widened. He almost fell off the bed, trying to get away from Kit.
Kit froze. He dropped his hand, eyes stinging.
“What’s your name?” Grady asked after several moments of silence.
He blinked rapidly. “Kit.” He gripped his knees tightly, hands trembling. “You know my name.”
Why do they all stare at me like I am a stranger? Why is Lachlan afraid of me?
