Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 43: A Change of Plans

This time, it was impossible to miss the exasperation in her voice.

I had a sudden urge to apologize for causing all this trouble, but she was gone before I could even think of the right words.

The room went still.  I kept staring at the doorway, afraid to make eye-contact with the anyone.  Worried that they were all mad at me as well.

"You know, Eve?" Reza said. "That was actually pretty cool."

"Rez, don't encourage her," Danielle said.  "This isn't good."

"She gave some puffed up jerk what he deserved," Jewel said.  "How is that bad?"

"You're not looking at the big picture, Jewel."

"Danielle, how many times are we going to have this argument?"

I tuned them out and threw myself onto the nearest bed, gazing blankly up at the ceiling.  The longer this whole fiasco played out, the more I began to regret my own rash decisions.

Had I really done the right thing?

The answer should have been easy.  On the surface, it all seemed perfectly simple.  There was someone in trouble, so I helped them.  What was so wrong or complicated about that?

But, underneath, I knew there were plenty of other factors at play.  What if Danielle was right?  What if the general population responded violently to us?  What if they declared an all-our war on our kind, and what if I ended up being the cause of all of it?

I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

On the other hand, how could I live with myself if I spent my entire life following these archaic laws that demanded I stand passively by and do nothing, no matter what the circumstances?

This was making my head hurt.

The seconds and minutes ticked slowly past while my thoughts whirled in pointless circles and my friends argued in the background.  Finally, I heard the click of the door unlocking from the outside.

I bolted upright, my palms breaking into a nervous sweat.

Deanna came in first, followed closely by Shane.  My stomach flipped over when I saw Isaac, looking as calm and attractive and intimidating as ever... then my eyebrows shot up in surprise when a forth person entered the room.

Right away, I knew exactly what type of shifter he was.  After spending so much time around Isaac, it was obvious.  He was tall and well-muscled, with smooth, unblemished skin and perfectly symmetrical features.  His complexion was darker than Isaacs—it had an olive tone very similar to my own.  He had a wide mouth and a broad nose that was slightly flattened at the end.  His eyes were a deep, arresting shade of amber.  His thick, artfully tousled hair was fiery reddish-gold.

This was a level three shifter if I had ever seen one.

"Good evening, Evelyn," Isaac said, seemingly oblivious to the fact my eyes were locked onto his unknown companion.  "Jewel, Danielle, Reza."

We all muttered hellos without looking away from the stranger.  I was mesmerized by his hair.  The colour was unusual in itself, but on top of that, it almost seemed to glow and shimmer like red-hot coals.

The man caught us all staring and smiled, revealing a chipped front tooth.  "Isaac, aren't you going to introduce me?"

Isaac cleared his throat.  "Everyone, this is Julian.  He's an old friend.  Julian, this is Evelyn..."  I didn't have the presence of mind to correct him just then... "Danielle, Jewel and Reza."