The older woman left her, after instructing her how to work the machine. Kataya decided not to go back to class. Not until her clothes were dry. It gave her time to think about the way Celia and Hiru acted with her. Alone with her thoughts, she realized Hiru wasn’t being as cruel as he normally was. She spoke softly to herself. “He acted like he was being considerate. But snakes can’t change their demeanor.”
She mulled over the way he acted a little longer before she got a headache. “Whatever goes through his mind, it isn’t my problem. It’s not like we’d be destined to be together.” A soft smile came to her face when she thought about who she wanted to be fated to: Ari King. He and Rei Kang were kind, but they were beginning to show their beast pairings. No one would want the shifterless to be involved with their clan.
Kataya put her head in her hands, wishing for the day to e
TRIGGER WARNING: CHILD ABUSE AND DEGRADATIONUpon her arrival at the temple, the priestess from before greeted her. Kataya raced to her with a slight smile on her face. “Greetings Priestess Jeremiah Lynn!”The woman turned around with a tiny smile of her own. “Greetings little one.”She launched into her question. “Why does the moon goddess only give you one mate, and if your mate leaves, you can never find another?”Jeremiah Lynn gaped at her question. “Huh?She asked again. “We were told you only get 1 fated mate and your mate can leave the community and reject you, but you never get another mate. Why did the moon goddess do that?”Words rapidly ran through her mind, but none came out. She, herself, will be one of the cursed ones, as the other priests and elders call them. Cursed to have a fated mate, but never to be with them. “Little shifters shouldn’t learn about this.”Kataya’s head lowered and her eyes turned down. “I’m sorry. I wanted to know if that was true.”Jeremiah Lynn p
TRIGGER WARNING: Child abuse, Lewd behavior with a minorKataya POVIt’s not something I wanted to do, but I had to. He’s the elder of the primates. Even though my dad is the king, he still has to submit when Elder Sanchez says so. I didn’t want my dad to have issues, especially with my mom so close to having the baby. We learned in school that chimps are a lot more ruthless than gorillas. They’re so bad they mutilate each other in a fight. No way would I want to see that sight. Dad is a gorilla and elder Sanchez is a chimp. We couldn’t have any problems. So, I did it.I touched him as he asked. It was a strange sensation under my palm. It felt small and wrinkly, but then it stretched and hardened. A disgusting smell scented the room. My cheeks bulged as my throat gagged. Whatever it was, I didn’t like it. This man was gross to me, but what could I, a shifterless child, do against him?
Kataya's POVI looked up at her. “Do any of them ever come back?”We reached the sidewalk in front of my house. The weight of her hand on my shoulder had stopped me. “Only one hasn’t come back and his mate is still waiting for him. She’s gone through a lot of pain, unfortunately.”I tilted my head. “Like what?”“Well, she wasn’t pure. She was pregnant. The priests believe she lost her baby because of her sins.”“But isn’t that something that can’t be anyone’s fault?”She nodded her head. “That’s right, but her baby died just minutes after it was born.” The streetlamps illuminated the area around us.“She must have been very sad. Mommy was sad when she lost my sister while in her belly.”Jeremiah Lynn nodded. “That’s right. Her baby was part hers and part her mat
Omniscient POV“Is this your way of helping them choose? You ignore them?”The ethereal beauty stood before him, her hair outstretched. The glow cast around her spiritual form lent to her charm. “It’s not that I ignore them. I don’t know what to say?”His steps radiated with heat. A lesser person would have been burned. She welcomed the warmth and light. It gave her power. “You lie! I can’t and won’t take another turning from me to be a damn shifter. Why don’t you stop them beasts from hurting her?”Her delicate shoulders shrugged. “Because we gave them all the freedom to do as they please. Just as the mortals commit atrocities, so do the shifters. What would you have me do? Condemn them all?”Gritting his teeth, the man ground out her name, “Onwa! You have already condemned them with this deal. We are on our third and two have chosen
Kataya’s POVThe next day, I woke up to do what was necessary. Only there was a small difference inside me. I was determined to be the best shifter, so the moon goddess would speak to me. It was uncertain how I would go about doing so, but I figured as long as I spoke with one of the priests, I would have some inkling. Instead of making my breakfast, I got dressed. I could hear my dad in his study snoring away.Memories of last night flitted through my mind. It wasn’t a bad dream; it was real. My parents weren’t my parents. My mother wanted to give me to the temple. Questions on her love arose to mind. “Did she even care about me? Was it just a lie?”“Was what a lie?”Startled by her voice, I jumped and squealed. “Ah”She walked towards me. Her hair tousled from sleep. She appeared to have been well rested to me. “What were you talking about?
Marquelle’s POVWhile I was in the classroom getting the lesson prepared for the day, my mind drifted to the conversation I had with my students in the previous class. Scrubbing my face, embarrassment welled inside me that soon was replaced by sadness. “I practically broadcasted my mate left me.”An enormous sigh left my lips. Shaking my head, I wanted to dismiss the thoughts. And yet that faithful night when he left came to mind. The clouds opened, blocking out the sun. “Quelle, I’m sorry. I can’t stay here. Our community is… it’s not right.”The warmth from my hands seeped into his skin. His shoulders slumped from revealing his decision. “I know. I know there’s … problems, but I need you here.”“I want to be with you. Why can’t you come with me? We can start fresh elsewhere.”His back was to me. My hand went to my stomach. “Wha
Kataya’s POVWe all turned around when someone cleared their voice. I faintly thought I heard Ms. Tanis curse, but when I looked at her, she had a tight smile on her face. The assistant principal reached out to touch Rei Kang’s shoulder. “I hear your little ones are talking about things children shouldn’t involve themselves in.”A child popped out from behind him. It was one of Celia’s friends. She stuck her tongue out at me. Ms. Tanis moved to the side, getting Celia away from her leg. “Exactly right, hence why I was about to get them into the classroom and explain why this shouldn’t be a topic of discussion.”I watched and paid attention to the way they acted with each other. When assistant principal Dickerson spoke, I detected a strange tone. “Is that right? Then we should all go to the classroom so you can show ME how you handle unruly students.”Ms. Tanis stiffened. &l
Ari King’s POVI followed Rei out of the classroom, mostly to check on Ms. Tanis. When he hit her, the impact reverberated through the common area. The fact that Hiru followed us was surprising. Rei and I found Ms. Tanis leaning against the wall. “Ms. Tanis? Are you alright?”She looked up to see the three of us. Her left cheek was considerably swollen. “What are you three doing outside of the class?”Hiru looked down when he saw her face, but whispered. “He put that dumb lion out for calling him out on hitting you. Ari left and then so did I.”It was ironic to me that Hiru followed us. I had heard him threaten the slime with his father’s intervention. “And that sneaky snake said he would tell his father. So, he left.” Rei shoved his thumb in Hiru’s direction.She looked at us with tears welling in her eyes. “You should still be in class.”
Ari King’s POVRei Kang and I had been dropped off by aunt Lavender for school that morning. “You boys have a good day. I don’t want any calls from this principal about you being terrible.”Rei glanced over his shoulder. “We aren’t terrible. We just don’t let bullies do whatever they want.”“Yeah, it was you and Uncle Monty who taught us what it means to be fierce cats.”She sighed. “And I’m regretting that.”I smiled while patting her shoulder. “Well, we have pride in our shifting form. And if the goddess chooses either of us to lead the kinsmanship, it’ll undergo a significant change. For the better.”Aunt Lavender touched my hand. There were unspoken words she wished to express but gave my head a ruffle. “Get to class.”The two of us exited the car. Rei was the first to notice Kataya’s car in the parking lot. “I bet I can beat you to her.”“Whatever! Tigers are faster than lions.”“Nuh, uh! Lions are much faster.”Even though we shared everything, we were both challenging each othe
Melius’ POVIt made little sense how anyone could be cruel to a child. Hell, I didn’t understand how Lina could just stop loving her. She, above everyone, knows how it feels to be treated with disdain. There wasn’t much I could say to Kataya about other people. Only what I could do as her father. “Listen kitten, you are special.Other people will try to make you feel less than you are. Besides, you have me and Linus. We love you just as you are.”There was silence for the rest of the car ride. Kat said nothing until we pulled into the school parking lot. She faced me with glistening eyes. “Thanks, Dad. I know I’m special, but sometimes I wished I wasn’t.”Pulling her in for a hug, I rested my cheek on the top of her head. “It will get better. Well, it may get worse. You’re in junior high now. That’s a battlefield in itself.”She chuckled. “Yeah, I know. I miss having Ms. Tanis as a teacher. I wished she would be at this school.” Kataya pulled away from the hug. “Thanks again, Dad.”Pa
Kataya’s POVLinus had been awake in his bed, kicking his legs and arms. His cries were louder the closer I got to him. I can only imagine he didn’t recognize me when he saw me, so he cried harder. A part of me wanted to panic, hell I flailed from the situation. Just when I freaked out, he calmed down. It was bizarre.The cries quieted, and he stared at me. Reaching for him, I waited for him to cry again. When he didn’t, I picked him up. “Hi Linus! I’m your big sis.” I bounced him the way I caught Lina doing it from time to time.He shoved his fist in his mouth. The action caused me to smile. I held him awkwardly as we went back to the kitchen. Dad had set my food down in my seat. When he glanced up, his brows furrowed. Dad laughed. “Girl, how are you holding your brother?”It was my turn to furrow my brows. “What do you mean?” To be honest, I held one foot across my body. Linus was leaning into my arm. Yeah, somehow I held him the wrong way.“That’s not how you hold him, Kat. Here, l
Kataya’s POVAfter Dad left, I slept. It was the best sleep I had in a long time. I still wished I had the meal; he had my mouth watering over, but anything is better than nothing. Right? When we talked about the ritual, he gave me hope mom would let me near Linus. He is my baby brother. I wanted to bond with him, too.Morning came before I knew it. I wasn’t awakened by my alarm, but by something — well, someone else. “Little one. You should arise now.” I stirred. Mumbling in my sleep.The voice came again. “Little sun, you should learn to rise when I rise.”My eyes shot open. The Sun God had spoken to me again. I checked my window. The sky appeared dark still, with a hint of orange on the horizon. I grumbled. “You’re not even up. I’m a growing child. I should get more sleep.”The voice died down. I tried to drift back to sleep before my alarm went off, but another sound disturbed me. Walking to my door, I listened. M
It's with a heavy mind that Chasing Shifters will be going to a 2x a wk updating. Life has gotten much busier for me and as of now, and I can only do updates 2 days a wk. so look out for new episodes on Weds and Sats. This change will go into effect this wk. I truly hope you are enjoying the story. I know it's a slower pace but the build-up is important to the story. not everything will be included from the past but there will be flashbacks as Kat gets older. Please leave me comments or gems to keep me going. I am enjoying writing this novel and hope that you'll continue to join me on this wild ride. It's the first time I'll be including dark themes and traumatic experiences in any of my works. There will always be a trigger warning on chs that wont be easy to digest. thanks again for the support. enjoy the novel.
Melius’ POVThe first time I left Kat’s room, Lina had been waiting for me. Our son had been sleeping wrapped in the swaddle around her body. I gave her a chaste kiss. Then kissed my son on the forehead. Lina smiled at me. “What are you doing?”I knew she hated it when I called her our daughter. The hope that it was just a part of postpartum kept me going. It was dumb to think that. “I was just with Kat.”The moment I mentioned her name, Lina scoffed. Her face contorted with anger. I knew she would bellow something which would wake Linus. I cut her off before she could say anything. “We should talk in our room. Why not put Linus down in his crib?”She narrowed her eyes. “Fine. But if he wakes up, the conversation is over.”Lina went into the nursery and I into our bedroom. Plopping down on the bed, I scrubbed my face. This wasn’t the woman I married. After Kataya was born, she wasn’t like this. I wanted to rationalize why she’d been acting this way. I needed to rationalize it. We’d be
Kataya POVIt took Dad a while to come back. I was just falling asleep when he came with the food he promised me. Only it wasn’t what I was expecting. I assumed it would be the grilled cheese and tomato soup. Instead, it was a bowl of cereal.My heart plummeted. Maybe I was getting used to being the odd one out, or perhaps I still held out hope that I would be important to him, but seeing a bowl of cereal made me sad. I tried not to sigh, but it came out anyway. Dad heard it and gave a sheepish grin. “Sorry kiddo, we’re out of a lot of things. So, this will have to do for now.”That couldn’t have been true. I was sure there was food in the fridge and cupboards. Guess that was a lie. “Oh, I get it, daddy. If that’s all we have, that’s fine. I know the stores are all closed now.”That didn’t explain why it took so long. Cereal takes a maximum of 3 minutes to make. And it includes g
Kataya’s POVHiru had been acting strange since the hospital. I don’t know what exactly happened, but I know it was terrible. Taerin had driven me home. The driver was put on suspension. It wasn’t his fault. I wanted to tell the snake king, but it wasn’t my place. Plus, few adults listen to me.He made sure I got home safely. Even waited until I got inside. When I reached the door, I turned and waved. He waved back, then pulled away from the curb. Turning my key in the lock, I went inside. My mom was in the kitchen. Her off-key singing told me where she was. I hadn’t heard her sing in months. Or maybe longer.The lullaby she was singing had my brother giggling. I leaned against the wall, listening to her. She hadn’t talked to me since before my brother was born. It hurt. It truly hurt. She used to talk to me a lot. We used to talk about a lot of things. Reminiscing about the past would only hurt. I tried to shake away the thoughts.Headin
Elder Solomon POVGleefully, I headed to my office to make a call. I needed to speak with the feline elder. No doubt that feline would notice my change in favor of the sun’s child. But who am I to follow others like a wee lamb? Closing the door to my office, I made the call.A gruff voice answered. “Hello?”“Monty? Why do you sound like that?”He cleared his throat. “Like what? I was just taking a catnap.”The pun wasn’t lost on me. “Har, har. You really should learn to keep the cat puns to a minimum.”“That would be a cat-tastrophe. I don’t know how I could ever go on.” His snickers resonated through the phone.“I don’t know if I should dislike you more or respect your tenacious side. But either way, I come bearing news.”On his side, I heard shifting and papers shuffling. “What is it?”“It’s about the little one, Kataya.”“Oh? Has something happened?”I cleared my throat. “N