A New Player

Mina awoke three times that evening after Buck had brought him home with Del's scent in his nose and his hand between his legs. He forced himself to remove his hand and sit up, groaning as the discomfort in his groin grew.

What the heck is wrong with me? And of all the people to be panting over!

His lion didn't seem to mind, though, as it was clearly still excited and very much interested in him continuing where he'd left off.

You perverted midget. He grumbled as he glanced at his alarm clock as he got up.

Way too early in the morning. Awesome.

After grabbing a pair of clean pajama pants to change into, Mina made his way as quietly as possible to the bathroom. He tossed the pants on the counter and tugged off his current pair before turning the shower on as cold as it would go.

I hate you, you horny cat. He growled to it in his mind as he stepped beneath the spray and hissed.

Mina scrubbed his body red, making himself ignore the ache between his legs as he cooled down. Except, when he had finished cleaning himself completely, he was still fully, and uncomfortably, erect.

Just ignore it. You are not touching yourself to the image of that ass. He told himself as he yanked open the curtain, only to see Palace leaning against the shut bathroom door with a bored expression on his face, arms crossed over his chest.

"I want to kill you." He said in an unemotional tone.

Fidgeting awkwardly, Mina slowly tugged the lower half of the curtain closer in order to cover up his embarrassment, then replied in a quiet, squeaky tone.

"Please don't?"

Palace leaned forward, eventually taking a step closer. Followed soon after by another.

"Things would be so much easier on you if you weren't alive. I know what you're going through, and it only gets worse once someone terrible realizes what you are." He said. "You aren't strong enough to deal with it. It will destroy you."

Palace's words had Mina's already-erratic heartbeat jumping in his chest as his back pressed against the cold tile.

I know someone terrible already, but I'm not sure exactly what he's talking about.

"And that would be?" He asked as Palace stopped on the shower rug not a foot in front of him.

"You are a cross-shifter. Like a female, you have the necessary parts to give birth and you will go into heat like one, too."

I what?

Palace was about to speak again when the door behind him opened and Jamie walked in.

"Palace, I can feel your anxiety from our bedroom." He said as his hand paused where it was  scratching his exposed belly. One of his eyebrows rose at Mina.

"What exactly are you two doing in here?" He asked, frowning.

"I was just going to kill him, for his own benefit." Palace said without an ounce of hesitation.

Jamie closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, then grabbed Palace's shoulders from behind and turned him toward the door.

"Go back to bed, please Pal. I'll be there shortly." He said, his voice clearly showing how tired he was.

Palace hesitated for a few seconds, then scowled over his shoulder and stalked out of the room mumbling something about putting Mina out of his future misery.

Once he was gone, Jamie quietly slid the door shut, then turned back to Mina with a small smile.

"I'm sorry he's like that. He had a terrible life and doesn't understand that things can turn out differently for others." He said as he grabbed a clean towel and offered it to Mina.

"Once he understands that you don't need his version of saving, he will be one of your most trusted acquaintances."

So I just need to prove to him that I shouldn't die because my life might not be as horrible as his? Great.

Licking his dry lips, Mina took the towel and hugged it against himself, burying his face in the soft fabric before quickly running it along his damp body to dry it. When he had finished, he wrapped the towel tightly around his waist, then finally stepped out of the shower.

"Is what he said about me being some sort of cross-shifter true? I mean, my mother is a man, but I didn't think that it could just pass down to me like that... and it hasn't affected me until now." Mina whispered, seemingly afraid that if he said it out loud, it would make his words true.

Jamie ran a hand through his messy bed head and nodded.

"Yeah. I can smell the pheromones you're giving off, and while they won't affect everyone, especially not family, they will begin attracting people."

Shaking his head, Mina sat down on the closed toilet seat lid and grabbed his head with his hands as he leaned forward.

"I spoke to your mother and father about it as soon as you started to shift, and they actually sent me something for you." He said before opening the door.

"I'll be back in just a moment." He said before disappearing.

He returned a minute later with a small collar of some sort.

"This." He said as he held out the item to Mina. "Will block your pheromones from causing problems."

Mina eyed the collar doubtfully, but took it and carefully fastened it around his neck. If it would work, he'd deal with having the little cat-like bell and awkward leather collar against his skin.

"Now then, it will work for what I just explained, but it won't help how you feel." He said, drawing Mina's lips down into a tired pout.

"You'll learn to control yourself better, but I'm going to guess that the reason you were over at your old workplace earlier was because you find yourself inexplicably attracted to Del for some reason?"

Why can't you not make sense?

"I'll take that look as a yes. I doubt that you, yourself, are interested in him, but your mother mentioned that sometimes it was his shift that pushed him toward his love." He said, making Mina nearly gag.

"That man probably can't even spell that word, let alone speak it." He replied.

His words actually got a laugh out of Jamie as his uncle walked over and mussed up his damp hair.

"I understand. That's why I wanted to tell you that even if you might be able to fix your issue with your hand sometimes, you will likely need more intimate situations to really get rid of your heats." He said, making Mina's shoulders sag in defeat.

I don't want to sleep with him just because my underage alter-ego likes him!

"Your mother suggested that if you don't have anyone you like or trust enough for that kind of thing, to perhaps look into getting a significant other."

Mina felt his lion's anger flare in the back of his mind at the idea of anyone besides Del.

Oh shut it. All you've brought me so far has been problems, you little twerp. He growled at it, earning a grumble back in response.

When he was able to get his focus back, he noticed that Jamie had the door open and was smiling softly at him.

"Take care of yourself, Mina. If you need to talk about anything, Jared and I are here for you. Your parents also offered to help you if you'd like to call them."

Sighing, Mina nodded and stood up, glad that his body had finally relaxed a bit.

"I'll think about it." He said before stepping past Jamie and out of the room.

He hadn't talked to his parents in a very long time, but it wasn't really their fault. He'd always been a loner. Even staying with his uncles was bothering him.

Maybe  it's the cheetah half of me. I need to get out and clear my head... and teach my shift that he doesn't get to control my libido.

With that idea in mind, he walked back into the living room and tugged off his clean pajama pants, then went over to the sliding glass door leading to the back yard. He could hear Jamie stop behind him, but when the man didn't say anything, he slid the door open and let his lion take over.

It was more than eager to get moving through the yard. Mina thought that it might have trouble with the large privacy fence, but after a few humorous, failed attempts, it managed to wiggle its fuzzy butt over the top and drop unceremoniously down on the other side.

Darn it. You're a cat. Land on your feet!

His lion just flicked an ear and stood up, then began bounding toward the forest behind his uncle's property. It was no surprise seeing images of Del and the different landmarks on the way to his company his crazy shift had managed to memorize flash in his mind repeatedly as they ran.

He doesn't want you. Why can't you figure that out?

His paws stopped after he leaped up onto a fallen tree and his nose lifted into the air.

What are you looking for? No one is going to be out here so early in the morning. He told his lion, which decided to ignore him again, of course.

It jumped down after swishing its tail a few times, then continued on its journey to nowhere, as far as Mina was concerned. Unsurprisingly, when they finally managed to get out of the forest, Del's company was less than a block away.

You are a persistent little shit.

It purred in his mind as it started toward it, but Mina decided to finally try and get the darn brat to listen to him. With a lot more effort than he was used to putting into moving his own body, Mina forced the lion to walk the opposite way.

It wasn't happy, but he felt pretty smug until he found himself outside of a bustling bar. People were smoking leaning against the building while other groups chatted and drank. All eyes turned to him over the course of a minute, making him wonder if he really had gone the right way.

Before he could react, he was scooped up into a very drunk, very horrible-smelling woman's arms. Too tight. He thought as he squirmed, then was yanked from her grip and settled into a man's arms like a football after only a few seconds.

Let me go! He wanted to shout, but just managed to mew in frustration as he tried to bite the now-laughing man.

"Alright, guys. Let the poor kid go." A deep voice said as a new pair of hands gently took him from the unruly man.

He was lifted up in front of an older man somewhere around thirties and hissed, letting his cheetah's mohawk bristle.

"Interesting little hybrid. You are out way past your bed time though, kiddo. It's not safe." He said as he settled him comfortably against his chest before ducking inside the bar.

Too loud.

His sensitive ears weren't happy with the incredibly loud music and noise coming from the speakers and televisions around them and he quickly tucked his head closer against the man's firm chest as he was carried down a set of stairs and through a couple sets of doors.

"Better, kid?" He asked as he was finally set down on a chair cushion.

The base and volume had definitely lessened, though he could easily hear people jumping around on the tiny dance floor above them or stomping their feet to the sports games playing.

"Don't worry about that, we won't be open too late tonight." He said as he leaned over and gently grasped Mina's new collar between his fingers.

"No tag on such a young kid?"

Without really thinking, Mina dug his claws into the man's arms, inciting a strange roar-bark from the man in response. It echoed so deeply in the room that it vibrated through his body stronger than the base above them. Needless to say, Mina released the man, his eyes wide and ears pinned back with worry.

That didn't sound like a normal wolf. Or dog. Or anything I know of. Del's giant hybrid doesn't even sound like that.

The man closed his eyes for a moment and took a few calming breaths, then opened them again.

"I understand that you're really young and probably terrified, but please don't do that again. I don't have the best control over my other self." He said before turning and walking over to the one door leading out of the room.

"I still have work to do, but I'll be back soon. Stay here and try to calm down. If you can't shift back willingly yet, I'll get you scanned for a chip at the local emergency vet after my shift." He said as he ran one hand over his slightly bristled blackish-brown hair.

Mina slowly lowered himself down on the chair cushion, relaxing slightly when the man nodded, then left. He didn't want to wait for him to return, but he didn't see any clothing sitting around in the small room that he could use if he even managed to shift.

Guess I'm stuck for right now.

He was glad that he had at least not gone to Del, but he wasn't quite sure if his current situation was much better, though.