Chapter 27- Half-shift

Some things to note for this chapter. It's going on at the same time that Angel's chapter happened. Also, there's a guest POV.

Okay, I bet no one will guess who's the POV for this chapter. Ever. Never ever ever never ever. (Try saying that out loud. It sounds funny.)

Did you do that? Okay, now try saying it five times fast.

It's soooo entertaining to me for some reason.

Go review and try to figure out who it is. No cheating. I'll tell you who it is next chapter. You can also use past chapters to figure out who this is.

Okay, on with the chapter.

?

I tied my hair up and sighed. That was the fourteenth guy that whistled at me today. I rolled my shoulders back, clenching my fists to keep from killing him, the hair on the back of my neck bristling. I left the other three to do their own thing. It's really stifling being part of such a large pack. I love them, I really do. I care about them a lot but I'm not used to traveling with so many people. Back home, the largest group I ever traveled with is my mother and my two brothers. They're gone now.

Wandering the streets of New York looking for a clue is probably the worst idea I've ever had. I don't know what I'm looking for, and I don't know what to do if I actually found anything.

Itex. Max pointed the symbol out to us before when we were with Sam. After I started noticing it, it was everywhere.

That's how I ended up loitering around pharmacies and bus stops, in actually pretty shifty places, trying to find someone or something that could point me in the right direction.

And it was tiring.

It's more tiring than getting to Graywing Village. It's more tiring than putting up with JJ and her stupid leery boyfriend.

I shoved my hands in my pockets again, wishing for my shifter skin. I understand that it's too dangerous to shift but it's getting colder with the night falling.

I walk into a café bearing the Itex symbol next to its name- Autumnal Star. I clench my fist to make sure the couple bills I took from JJ were still there. It turns out that Double Caramel Macchiato are pretty addicting.

I relaxed as I walked in, an instant burst of hot air warming me. New York's great, but I preferred my warm savannahs better. Then I think that my warm savannahs were actually near or in New York. "Small Double Caramel Macchiato, please," I murmur to the barista, handing her a five.

I snuggle in the plushy booth by the window, staring outside at the bustling traffic. How can humans stand to travel that way? It's so slow.

"Small Double Caramel Macchiato," said a too-cheery voice, setting the Styrofoam cup down in front of me on a napkin. I say a quick thank you as she leaves.

Raising the cup up to my lips, I inhale deeply, eyes closed, trying to calm myself. It's devastating really how your whole world could be fake. How your entire ancestry and history could be fake. I smell the soft sweetness of the caramel and the slightly bitterness of the coffee. And then I smell something else. It smells like… a shifter. And it's really close. Maybe in this café? In the booth next to mine?

My eyes snap open. There's a large man sitting in front of me, a raspberry muffin in front of him. He has really pale hair and blue eyes, he's muscular and his skin is tanned, contrasting with his hair. The way he sits is kind of timid which is hilarious because he's probably ten times the size of me.

"Hi," he says, smiling.

"Who are you?" I ask. The shifter smell is coming from him.

"I never expected to see another shifter after I left the Realm," he scratches his neck. I'm almost surprised he doesn't scratch his neck with his leg.

"What are you?" I rephrase my question.

"Snow hare," he replies, "You?"

"Tiger," I said, baring my teeth. A/N I tried avoiding this, but it couldn't be avoided and now I gave it away.

He chuckles, "It shows."

"What's your name?"

"Robert. What's your name?"

I ignore him, "How did you get here?"

"The tunnel, same as you," he replies, watching me intently, then picking up his muffin and taking small bites. It's almost comical. He's a big man nibbling on a muffin daintily. Everything about him is contradictory.

My eyes flash, "How did you know that?"

"I was walking in Central Park with my girlfriend. I passed by the bridge and there was a faint smell of shifters. A lot of them. I picked out yours the most because there aren't many tigers in Central Park."

"There's not many starfish either," I say flatly.

"No," he sets his muffin down, barely a bite sized mark on it, "But I'm a snow hare, you're a tiger. You're a carnivore and I pick out carnivorous scents easier. I followed you here."

"Why?"

"Because you're going to struggle like I did."

"Is there anymore of us here?"

"I don't know. You're the only other one I've ever met in person. I've heard of people who had shifter-like abilities but I've never met any of them."

I pick up my coffee, now cooling, and finish it in three gulps, "You might want to meet the rest of the pack."

I watch Robert's reaction. His jaw is wide open. I admit we're a mish-mash group; three hawks (one Cardinal), two humans, a monkey, an antelope, a tiger, a starfish and an eagle.

"There's ten of you?" he asks incredulously.

"Yep," Max says, and I can hear the undertone of her voice again, coming through. I would think that hawks would sound more like Angel and Valencia, but it must be the Cardinal in her that changes her voice. It's louder and more commanding and compelling as if it forced you to listen to her. Robert hears it too and a part of him wants to bow instinctively. I see the subtle bend of his spine.

Max stiffens, "I understand that I'm the Cardinal but people just stop treating me different!"

Again, the tone of her voice almost forces Robert to straighten and toss her a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry, Your Grace."

"Max," she corrects, still a little flustered. She turns to me, "Angel found the list of names of Itex's leaders. We can track them down and find out more."

"Itex?" Robert asks.

"It turns out the pharmaceutical slash entertainment slash marketing slash law offices and etc. super-corporation of the human world is what made our 'Realm'," Max growls, kicking a stone.

"Is that even possible?"

"Think about it," Max says conscendingly.

"What do you plan to do?" the hare scratches behind his ears again.

"We have to go back to the Realm to collect Fang's sisters and the survivors there and shut it down. It's too cruel what the Queen's doing to the shifters there. She'll realize that she hasn't killed them all and she'll just go at it again."

Fang just looks ashamed at Max's words. Max turns around, as if she could read his mind and murmurs a quick apology.

There's something going on between those two.

Robert looks delighted, "There's something that you'll need then," he claps his hands together.

Then he starts jumping up and down.

"What are you doing?" I ask, looking at him strangely.

"Just watch," he insists, continuing to jump. He motions to Fang and Iggy, "Jump."

Fang gives him a funny look and Iggy shrugs before jumping up and down.

"Notice the three of us jump at around the same height while I'm in human form," Robert says, as if teaching a class.

We nod, unsure of what's going on.

"Now if I do this," he closes his eyes and his legs almost seem to elongate and grow a little bit thicker. He suddenly jumps up to Fang's shoulders and Iggy's head height.

"Woah," Gazzy says, marveling. There's a murmur of agreement going around the circle. Fang and Iggy stop jumping and Robert does too.

"I'm a snow hare and that was a half-shift," he explains, "It comes in handy, especially since I play basketball for a living."

"What's that?" Holden asks.

Robert gives him a wide-eyed look but then realizes that we've only been here about two weeks, "It's a sport where you have an orange ball and teams and you try to throw the ball into a net."

"Oh, that's what everyone's obsessing over," Iggy grins, slapping a hand to his forehead, "Of course."

"Right. So this is half-shifting. It's discreet and you can still use most of your powers. Like the birds, you might get wings. Star might run faster, Holden can probably survive chopping off of several limbs, stuff like that. It also conserves your energy."

"So how does it work?" I ask.

"That, my dear, takes practice."

"Are you sure you don't want to join us?" I ask as he stands to leave.

"Nah, I have to get back to my apartment. My girlfriend'll go batshit on me. I haven't been home in two days," he explains, grinning.

"Okay. And thanks again."

"No problem," he winks and leaves.