Kataya’s POV
Since that weird day at the hospital, everything has been objectively normal. My mom and little brother were home. I started going to the reptile temple. The reason it’s sort of normal is that Hiru has been spending time with me while I go there. We ride from the school to the temple together. It is awkward, honestly.
It’s only been a few days since that incident and I haven’t told a soul. Who would believe me about any of it? It’s not something I could tell anyone. So I haven’t. my parents haven’t been ignoring me well my mom hasn’t been, but now it seems like she’s relying on me a little too much. Which If the words are spoken aloud could be said she’s abusing me. That’s if someone else said it. I’m just glad she’s finding me useful.
Ms. Tanis called upon me towards the end of class. “Kataya? Before you head out, I&rs
Kataya’s POVThe first week with Hiru was annoying, but it was tolerable. The reptiles were a lot nicer than I was led to believe. We’re not taught that they are dangerous, but it’s ingrained in us that the reptiles or ferocious and you have to be careful when, sadly majority of the primates are the most vicious.Elder Solomon wasn’t a bad guy, per se, but he studied me far more than I would have liked. All the priests in the temple were varied compared to the primates. There I believe it was more chimps and gorillas than it was any other primate. Jeremiah Lynn was more of an orangutan, which was ok.Elder Solomon had me sit in on seminars from different priests in order to see if I would resonate with any one animal. When I hadn’t, after a few days, he took me to a small room. My alarm bells sounded. He sat me down in a chair next to the desk. “Little one, how did you know I was a Komodo?”He still hadn’t forgotten about that. Shrugging,
Kataya’s POVElder Solomon continued with his story. I sat there, enraptured by his tail.“My brother was a pretty cool person. I don’t say this because he was my brother. I say it because it was true.” His eyes misted. “He would take me to the lake hidden in the mountains and we would go swimming. Keep in mind he’s a good decade older than me. He taught me how to swim, how to fish. I loved spending time with him.The day before it was going to be his coming of age ceremony. I got his necklace, and we went into the mountains one final time. We swam, but this time it was different. I hadn’t told him that the Sun God visited me in my dreams.”My ears perked. “Really? Like you saw his face, or it was more like you heard his voice? You were sleeping, right?”He held up his hand. “One question at a time, little one. Yes, I did. He was something else. His hair flowed down to his ankles. And the strands were gold. Not gold that we associate with metals, but a pure, untouched gold. It was blin
Hiru’s POVElder Solomon was being quite weird. He never acted like that with anyone else in the kinsmanship. What was so special about her? She’s just a shifterless. He made it seem like she was going to be this grand person. I hated the way they acted.When lionel came to get us, he went directly to her first. It’s annoying how he ignored me. It couldn’t have been because of earlier. Lionel spotted me in the pew laying down. “Young master, we have to go. The little miss is already in the car.”Sitting up, my eyes narrowed. I couldn’t help the disdain showing on my face. “Of course. You get the little shifterless brat first.” I was sulking. I wasn’t trying to show my emotions, but it was hard.Lionel came to where I was sitting. I turned away. He cleared his throat. “Young master, you realize Miss Kataya is a guest in our kinsmanship? She has to be home soon.
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
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
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
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
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.