Chapter Twenty-Three – The female shifter

Talia wasn’t slow to leave her room after Adam had left. Picking a fight with the Alpha wasn’t typically a good idea, and not something most people did. But then again, Talia wasn’t most people. And she had to find Katlyn.

On the way down the stairs from the second floor she met Devan on his way up. “Devan! Where is Katlyn?” She asked with a smile. “In the kitchen – I wouldn’t get in between her and Monica’s infamous lasagna I were you” He said with a chuckle. “Thanks!” Talia ran down the stairs and into the kitchen.

The sigh that met her wasn’t what she had expected. A but naked female body seated on one of the chairs by the kitchen island, her head bent over a plate of food making her hair cover her entire face.

“Katlyn?” Talia asked carefully. The female whipped her head up, turning towards her with a face full of tomato sauce and wild eyes. Some would say crazy, Talia considered them more animalistic.

“What?” She turned her attention back to the plate, this time eating less vigorously. “You can’t have any of my lasagna” She continued, earning herself a small chuckle from Talia. She could see what Devan meant.

“I came to talk to you actually” She rounded the kitchen island, standing on the opposite side as Katlyn, watching her eat. “What… Do… You… Need?” Katlyn said between mouthfuls of lasagna and salad. “I don’t need anything exactly” Was it obvious that she hadn’t thought this trough? Probably.

“Then what?” Katlyn looked up, grabbing herself a napkin, and whipping her face clean of the sauce. “I just want to talk with a fellow female who isn’t wolf yet find herself surrounded by them” Talia said with a smile. “And ask if you might want some clothes?” Talia gestured to her naked body.

“Right – yes. I should probably have gotten dressed” Katlyn chuckled. “I was just so damn hungry. Can you imagine how hungry shifting makes you?” Talia shook her head, she honestly couldn’t. “Well – I was starving after that long flight” Katlyn confessed, letting out a rather loud burp. “Excuse me” She covered her mouth with her napkin, suppressing another oner. “I might have eaten too fast”

Katlyn was very different than most other females Talia had encountered. There weren’t many of them living in or around the pack house, and those she had met while traveling had mostly been pristine and worried about manners. Katlyn was a breath of fresh air, so to speak.

“I’d say so. So – do you have a room here or?” Talia couldn’t remember seeing Katlyn stay, just coming and going as she pleased. “No, if I stay the night I sleep with Devan. And borrow his clothes. Maybe I can borrow something from you this time?” Katlyn lit up. “Of course,” Talia answered. They were around the same size; she was sure they’d find something fitting for Katlyn. “And a bath?” Katlyn tried with a smile. “Follow me”
–
“Thank you” Katlyn sighed happily as she emerged from Talia’s bathroom. “This might be the only bathroom with an actual bath” She wrapped her towel tighter around herself as she used a second towel to squeeze out as much water as she could from her long, unruly hair.

“You’re welcome” Talia answered with a smile from the bed. She had let Ariel have her moment of peace and quiet in the bath, making time pass by reading in a book she found lying on her bedside table. “It feels nice to be around another female for a change” Talia added as she put the book down. It was a journal of some sort; she’d have to go back to it at a later time.

“I know. It can get a bit too much testosterone around here at times. Monica is great and all, but she’s like a mother. The person you seek when you need someone to kiss it better or a good homecooked meal” Talia nodded agreeing. Monica was the best, the closest thing she’d had to a motherly figure in the past years.

“But sometimes you just want to spend time around people your own age” Talia sighed, flopping to lay down on the bed as Katlyn started rummaging through her closet. “True” Katlyn agreed, pulling out different kinds of clothes, throwing some on the bed, other she put back in the closet.

“How old are you actually?” Talia asked. “22” Katlyn answered. “Close enough” Talia smiled, earning herself a brilliant smile in return from Katlyn.

A comfortable silence fell between the girls as Katlyn continued to look for clothes, avoiding the underwear drawer. Borrowing a shirt, dress, or pants from others that was all well and good. But she didn’t feel the need to borrow underwear from someone else. She’d rather go commando.

“Katlyn, can I ask you something?” Talia suddenly asked, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. “Always” Katlyn answered from the vanity table. She’d found herself a descent length dress that hid the fact that she wasn’t wearing any underwear well enough and was focused on putting her unruly hair into a long braid.

“What’s your relationship with Devan? The two of you seem almost inseparable. Are you his mate? Do he even have a mate?” Talia wondered. To begin with it had just been her and Adam, then all of a sudden, she came home from a trip there were more. And more had kept coming. Devan and his family were among them.

“Devan and I moved to town around the same time. He’s the same age as I, and we started in the same class in school. This was about eight years ago. We had both had a rough time, his family had to leave their pack because of their unruly, power-hungry alpha who threatened to dispose of anyone who disagreed with him. They came here, as far away from the old pack as possible, because they knew they would be safe and treated well” Katlyn told, her eyes focusing on the reflection in the mirror. Talia sat up half, leaning against her elbow. “I didn’t know” She whispered.

“I moved her with my aunt. My parents went missing one day, just vanished into thin air. I was six at the time, and then we moved around a lot, tried to find a place to settle. It’s not easy when you’re so different from the people around you” Katlyn continued, her eyes growing watery. “There’s not many of us shapeshifter left here. Most fled to other places, faraway places where they could live in peace, not depending on anyone. But me and my aunt wanted to stay here, close to our roots. And one day we heard about this place. This quiet place in the north were everyone blended in because everyone was different. And here we are now” Katlyn finished her braid and tightened it with a hairband she found on the vanity.

“That must have been though” Talia didn’t know what else she could say. “It was. But he and I found each other, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. As for being his mate, I am not. But we are – how do I put it?” Katlyn turned around to face Talia. “Friends who enjoy each other’s company and have sex on occasions” There was no need to be shy about it, yet her shameless words made Talia’s cheek blush with a tint of pink, it was adorable.

“As for Devan’s actual mate. I believe he found him back when we were in high school. He was madly in love with this boy Emil, sweet kid, very outgoing, quite the opposite of Devan in fact. They did everything together until we graduated. Emil moved away for college, and we never heard from him after that” Katlyn sighed. She felt bad for Devan.

“What happened?” Talia asked sitting up straight. Her curiosity was peeked. “I don’t really know. Devan never talked about it, and I didn’t ask. But we have a good thing going him and me. And we are not in any was exclusive. Whenever he finds himself a mate that loves him despise all his flaws then I’m taking a step back, if he wants me to”

“And if you find your soulmate or true love or whatever they call it?” Talia asked, earning herself a light laugh in response. “I’m not that kind of person. I like to believe in love, but I don’t believe in just loving one person at the time. It’s why the thing me and Devan have going is such a good thing. We both know we have each other, and that the other person is okay if one of us wants to be with someone else as well” Katlyn moved from the chair to sit on the bed in front of Talia.

“And now it’s my turn to ask questions” She smiled. “You’re Adam’s mate, right?” The question made Talia blush, and Katlyn grinned. “I take that as a yes. So, what is that like?” She continued.

Talia had to think about that – what was it like to be someone’s mate? Honestly, she had no idea. “I don’t really know the difference between being someone’s mate and being with someone. I remember I had a boyfriend once when I was a teenager. He was kind to me, treated me like a princess, made sure I felt loved. And with Adam it feels like pretty much the same. But I also feel safe and at home. Like this is where I belong. It gives me a sense of belonging” Talia said, and Katlyn nodded thoughtfully.

“That sounds nice – but now I wonder. Haven’t you been with anyone in ten years?”