A/N: From here on in, the italics may get confusing. I did try to write them so that they made sense, meaning that the conversations go in logical order, but feel free to ask if you don't understand!

Despite the warning glares from his brothers, Tyler opened his mouth to reply, but Kai beat him to it. "That you were stalkers? That you felt the need to threaten me?" Her voice remained level and at its usual quiet volume, but it trembled a little. "I don't care about your inane, ridiculous little games. Just leave me out of it. If you come near me again," her bright, angry eyes swept around the room with contempt, "I shall report you to the Provost." Lifting her head regally, she seared them all with one last, scornful glare, then stalked gracefully out of the room, shutting the door with the softest click behind her.

There was total silence in the room after she left, which she listened to with satisfaction. And that she thought with a mental purr of contentment is the end of that.

During the next two weeks, the Sons all became accustomed to feeling the tiny ripples of not-quite-Power which disturbed the nights. They met more and more frequently, trying to figure out what it was that caused them. For some reason, Reid seemed to feel them more acutely; sometimes he would be the only one to wake, and it began to feel comfortable, almost familiar, to him. There was something almost pleasant in waking to that thrilling tingle dancing through his body. The feeling touched him more deeply than even Caleb, who, as the Ascended one, should have been the most sensitive to it.

It began to acquire the flavor of a game to him. The source of those gentle pulses of energy occupied his mind more and more; as his boredom began to take a back seat in his mind, his need to Use to enjoy himself began to abate. It was only two months until his own Ascension, and Caleb was quietly grateful to whatever it was that had taken Reid's mind from his own Power; the danger of addiction had seemed too close to the blonde for comfort. However, the soft waves of foreign Power troubled him, and he discreetly tried to hunt it down. He found, as Reid had quickly done, that his own Power couldn't pin down the other; it was such a quick flash of it each time, it slipped easily from his magical grip.

Ironically, it was Pogue, the least interested of the Sons, who found Kai out first. He had been woken by his own nightmare, in which Caleb hadn't been able to defeat Chase in time, and Kate had succumbed to the spiders' poison. Going to the window, he had caught sight of a dark shape gliding towards the building. Without thinking, he threw himself into the night, Using just enough to land safely before he took off, heading for the figure which was clearly visible on a night when the moon was almost full. It wasn't until he was only a few strides away that what he was seeing dawned on him, and he slid to a halt, eyes wide in shock and the first inkling of fear.

Kai had heard his rapid approach and turned to see who followed her. Recognizing Pogue by his unique scent, carried to her on the gentle breeze, she sat back on her haunches and waited, tail wrapped around her paws. When he slid to a halt in front of her, she gave the feline equivalent of a smirk, her whiskers twitching. When she rose to all four feet, her shoulder was level with his waist; even for a jungle cat, she was enormous. Deciding to have some fun, she let her lips wrinkle to bare her teeth, a playful growl rumbling in her chest.

To Pogue, it was like a scene out of a nightmare. The gigantic panther stood not six feet away, its long, sharp teeth much in evidence. He reacted without thinking, his eyes bleeding to black before a ball of energy shot towards the creature. Kai froze in surprise for a second that almost proved fatal. At the last moment she twisted with incredible agility, arching her spine and throwing herself aside. Her claws dug in to the soft earth as she slid sideways in a crouch, now snarling with a distinct note of menace. Taking the time between the first shot dissipating and the next forming, she flung herself at Pogue, sheathing her claws in midair.

She hit his chest with an impact that drove the breath from his lungs as he landed flat on his back. Looking up into green eyes, he waited in horror for the sting of teeth that would end his life. It never came. It took him a moment to realize that the beast was no longer snarling, and that the deadly claws were tucked safely away from his flesh. Puzzled, hardly daring to move, he waited for whatever was holding the cat back to vanish. Instead he watched the savage face relax as it descended towards him. He let out a muffled squeak as the cat rubbed the side of its face against his cheek, but it was the deep, rumbling purr it emitted that made him finally realize that it wasn't threatening him.

As soon as he relaxed, it lifted its head and daintily stepped down from him chest, allowing him to draw in a deep, much-needed breath. He sat up, eying the great creature, which was now lying contentedly beside him, still vibrating with soft purrs. Hardly believing the evidence of his unmarred hide, he reached out a trembling hand and tentatively touched it to the sleek, black fur. The purring grew louder as he began to stroke the satin-soft coat, feeling the muscles beneath it as hard as iron. Pogue let out a shaky breath, moving his fingers up to scratch at the delicate ears; he didn't dare stop, now that the creature was contentedly leaning into his petting.

The fingers slowly moved to the base of her other ear, only lightly grazing the skin beneath her coat, and Kai pushed her head upwards in an effort to increase the pressure; it felt damn good to have someone scratching those irritating itches she never seemed able to get rid of herself. His hand jerked, though it didn't quite leave her skin, and a wicked idea suddenly formed in her mind.

Pogue was finally relaxing, enjoying the incredible experience. There was a panther, the biggest panther he'd ever seen or heard of, lying at his side. He was surprised by how soft its hair was; somehow, he had thought that it would be coarser. He began to press a little harder with his fingers, studying the creature with fascination. It reminded him, a little, of his bike. The outside was sleek, smooth, built along powerful contours that flowed into one another as naturally as he breathed. Inside was the roar, the lurking power that was untamable and raw and so achingly, exquisitely seductive.

Deep in his thoughts as he was, the voice, when it came, was a terrible shock. 'A little harder, please, Pogue.'

Yelping, he scrambled on his hands and knees backwards, staring bug-eyed at the panther. The great cat tilted its head, as though asking a question, and slowly came to its feet. Pogue saw, in detail, every tooth in its mouth as it yawned widely before padding over to him where he sat frozen on the grass. The long, thick tail whipped around to rest gently against his hand as it sat again at his side. The purring had stopped, but there was nothing threatening in its manner. Then the strangely familiar voice came again.

'I am sorry for frightening you, but you made the itch worsen. If you please?' And the rounded skull lowered to present the ear he had been scratching again.

Numb, he obeyed the command. It took a moment for it to click, but that husky, almost-but-not-quite-human voice was something he'd heard before, despite the savage growling note that, bizarrely, fitted the huge predator but didn't make it sound deliberately menacing. Then, "Kai?!"

The cat turned to him, its liquid eyes serene. 'Yes?'

"Holy shit!" He looked around wildly, as though she would be in view. "Where are you?"

The cat began to purr again, softly this time, and with the sound a wave of calm swept over him. 'I am here, Pogue. You don't have to speak out loud,' she added, 'I can hear you, as long as you direct the thought at me.'

Pogue looked down into the expectant stare, fingers still mindlessly moving against the firm base of her ear. Kai's ear. He was stroking Kai's ear. This is so freaky.

The reply made him jump. 'Says he who recently attempted to obliterate me. That was very ungenerous of you.'

He gulped. "Sorry." I mean, sorry.

'You are forgiven.' After a moment of uneasy silence on Pogue's part - though Kai felt perfectly comfortable - he began to ask a question then hesitated. She took pity on him. 'You would like to know how I came to be a Somamorph.' At his questioning glance, she explained. 'A shape-changer.'

Nodding gratefully, Pogue listened in mute awe to her story. By the time she had finished, the stars seemed to have dimmed in the sky, and the moon looked as though it was wilting. Kai rose to her paws, stretching with languid ease. When he moved, the boy had to stifle a groan at the fierce ache in his cold muscles. He was still struggling to rise when a warm, heavy body pressed against his legs. The pain instantly eased as soft heat enveloped him. Looking down into the eyes of his friend, gleaming with feral intensity in the moonlight, he raised a brow. He was too tired to be shocked any more.

The tip of her tail touched his ankle as she turned away. 'A woman has to have some secrets, Pogue.'

Before he could answer, she had melted away into the night with the innate ability of felines the world over. Shrugging, he headed for the dorms himself, looking back only once when the terrible, dying scream of a rabbit shattered the night. Swallowing hard, he continued on his way. That is one hell of a secret.