(MxM) Tales Of A Shifter (P1) - The Meeting

Chapter 28 - Uneasy

She took a deep breath and reached down into her soul. She calmed the Leopard in her, wrapped it in her will, refocused the beast inside, pulled in the heat on her skin, and then sensed Mantilo's energy.

It was a potent mixture of anger and frustration, but it was driven by an anxious and wound-up mind. Now that Glen wasn't bogged down in her own emotions, she could sense the tension in him. His soul...his beast was terribly unbalanced, and so was he.

"Mantilo, listen to me...." She began this time with all the calm that she could muster. But Mantilo cut her off.

"Wait!" Mantilo barked at her. And with a sigh, she leaned back on the rail beside her. Mantilo hissed and bent to the side so that he could look behind her at their sons. "This conversation is not a show. Leave us alone to talk." He demanded softly. "You all have work to get done....so go do it."

All of their sons shifted on the steps behind Glen and hesitantly moved to obey. She knew they were all curious where this situation would end up once they left, but Glen was glad of the chance to speak without them there to witness any arguing.

Lander softly moved to Glen's side and kissed her on the cheek.

"Be safe out there." She told them as she returned it, then he walked down the rest of the steps, past his father, and towards the front door. Nate kissed her as well and hurried to follow him. Walter brushed past his mother and his father and joined his siblings, but before Lander could get the door fully open, Mantilo hissed at them. "Walters in charge for right now. I'll be busy with other things in the Northern Fields. So, let Walter assign you your patrols for the afternoon. And if you see Ezekiel, tell him he'll be sleeping in the garage if he oversteps again."

Lander and Nate exchanged bemused smiles. But none of their sons made any sounds or objections to his orders, so Mantilo waved them on, and they disappeared out of the doorway. A few seconds of silence rained before Mantilo turned back to her, his entire presence brimming with anger.....and an unwillingness to continue the argument.

"Glen....we aren't gonna keep fighting about this." He said, walking right up to her as she straightened up from the banister.

"Ok....we don't have to fight. I don't wanna yell at you anymore. "She said to him, coming down the steps to stand directly in front of him. "But.....your behavior upsets me my heart," Glen told him softly. "I can sense the storm in your mind about all of this. Tell me, what is wrong?"

Glen watched him as he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. The action was so similar to Ezekiel's movements that she would have smiled at it any other time. "Must there be something wrong with me? Is it not enough that I want the Mortal gone because I don't like him?" Mantilo grumped at her.

"No, there is something wrong. In your heart. I can tell." Glen said to him softly. She reached out and touched his chest with the palm of her right hand. "We both share this heart...so of course I can tell. Talk to me."

Mantilo paused and looked away. Then he said, "I feel this heaviness in my stomach. There is something strange on the wind ever since the Mortal showed up. Something whispering to me that he shouldn't have come here." He explained to her.

Mantilo...and all the people in her Clan believed in ill omens and trusted their instincts to guide them in times of crisis. In the past, a feeling or change in the air signaled danger. A superstition that had guided her people soundly away from many disasters, and it was something that many Clan Chiefs in the past, like Mantilo, felt compelled to heed. So when something felt bad, they listened to that feeling above all else.

Glen tried to laugh away his somber tone.

"Mantilo.....everything outside of this village is not trying to kill us...or hurt us." She pointed out to him with a soft smile. But Mantilo just glared at her. "I am not afraid of him, woman. I simply want him gone."