Chapter 55Brandon kept his breathing shallow, tried to listen only to his heart beat and the bodies in the room. He wanted to focus on Ezekiel, but he wasn't close enough, nor was he speaking. He was standing far back, standing rigidly like he were holding himself in place, but why Brandon didn't know.He found that he wished that the Shifter was speaking or moving so that he could focus on that instead of the girl. But he couldn't.So Brandon tried to focus on how cold he felt and the pain in his stomach.....anything to keep his thoughts off the pull within him.The flame, the energy waking up, clawing at him like a sickly puppy. Like a heavy drum beat it thumped against his soul, reaching out, sensing. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't control it. But he understood what it was reaching for.The Leopardess. Erin.She was a beautiful young girl, as tall as Ezekiel and as stunning to look at as Glen, but like the rest of Shifters that Brandon had encountered he sensed the beast in her.
Brandon stopped Erin with a soft question."Wait. Sacred Laws?" He questioned her, then he shared a look with Ezekiel. "What Laws are those exactly? And what Wars are we talking about?""Well they are the doctrine....or the codes by which all Shifter society function." Erin glossed over, not seeing the blank look on Brandon's face. "The Sacred Laws were created soon after The Great Loss and it is known throughout all seven of the Shifter Clans that these Laws were written by the Dragon Lords.""Whoa....wait!" Brandon cut in his mind buzzing with fresh questions suddenly. "Dragons...?" he asked her, not believing that he had heard her right. "There are Dragon Shifters?""What do you mean?" Erin giggled at him uncertainly. She looked at Ezekiel then back at Brandon, her hazel eyes clouding with confusion and surprise and skepticism. "Of course there are Dragons Brandon....." She laughed again, but this time the sound choked off as she turned her head and squinted at the blank expression
Life continued on in the mansion with the Leopards for Brandon, but he felt more like a plague victim instead of a guest as the days passed.After his incident with the stitches and his subsequent outburst Ezekiel gave him some space. And for that he was thankful. Brandon found that the longer he spent with the Shifter...the more he felt like he was losing sight of his priorities.And, even though he was mostly alone, the next two mornings went about the same for Brandon. Ezekiel woke him up, checked his injuries, and fed him. And then Ezekiel tried to ask him with a few questions. And for the most part Brandon ignored him until he gave up and went away.Then Brandon was right back in bed trying his hardest to heal slowly, to parcel out the energy that he could feel growing stronger inside him. Every minute it grew, the signal getting stronger.He didn't know how to stop it anymore. He could almost sense the monsters out there in the world. Hunting for him, waiting for him to slip. So
It was on once Brandon had walked outside into the air that he realized how early in the morning it really was.He quickly guess that it was no later than 6 am by the position of the sun in the sky and the soft dewy chill that glossed the grassy fields that stretch endlessly all before him. Far, far in the distance Brandon could make out the giant canopy of the pines that encircled the Leopards Land's and the mountains to the far north that boarded the other side of the land.He took it all in for a few seconds, then he stepped off the porch, ignoring the cool droplets that drenched the soles of his feet as he moved towards a wide gap in the far left of the mansion, where dim light poured out and the shadows of multiple people could be seen moving about.Slowly Brandon marched over to the opening and put his head into the light and glanced around.The space beyond the door was filled with various items for field work. Far too the left was a shelf filled with boots, and old clothing, a
It didn't take Ezekiel long to lead Brandon down to the farm. And the scenery wasn't much more the Brandon had expected to see. Three large white fences grounded in the shapes of squares sat in front of a relatively pristine looking farm that was painted bright red and white like pepper cane.Brandon took all of that in as they grew closer, only realizing once Ezekiel had led him to the front of the barn, that the entire farm was actually quite large. Nearly more than a few acres across and a good three fields wide, with all of the fences b giant vats of mud with bits of yellowed grass packed into it. Brandon quickly guessed that the yellow grass was hay that had been trampled beneath the farm animal's feet.But if he had expected to see any of these animals in person he didn't get the chance. The entirety of the farm seemed devoid of life at the moment of Ezekiels arrival.Confused Brandon turned and questioned him about the missing animals."Why aren't there any animals here?" Ezeki
Chapter 60The hay bales were much harder going. But as the next two hours trickled by Brandon was impressed to find that he and Ezekiel managed to burst open nearly twenty five bundles and spared them around nearly eighty percent of the farm. Ezekiel worked at a considerate pace, and saved most his breath so they worked in companionable silence.Soon enough the minutes had passed into another hour and the silence turned to thinking on Brandon's part. And to his surprise Brandon soon found that he was reminiscing back on his various and volatile interactions with the different members of Ezekiels family. Particularly the green eyed brother Lander and his more amenable interactions with Nate and Walter and even Erin and his parents.Brandon found that he wanted to avoid further confrontations until he moved on from the Leopards Clan....but he knew himself. He knew....that he had a bad habit of not backing down.....And he knew that if the green eyed Shifter came at him again...he was g
Ezekiel sat, with a hand full of wet clothing, staring at the stairs that Brandon had just fled up and disappeared from onto the second floor of the barn. Ezekiel didn't know what had prompted the mortal to run off, and since he was hardly in a position to chase after him, being mostly nude himself, Ezekiel resolved to leave Brandon to his own devices.He took his time washing out the slop from his clothes and Brandon's, before ringing them out and placing them in the grass beyond the Barn to dry in the sunlight.Soon enough the clothing were dry enough for him to redress himself. Then deciding that he had given Brandon sufficient time to hibernate Ezekiel made his way back inside of the barn, over to the stairs that lead to the second floor and called him down. It took a few more calls, but eventually Brandon appeared at the top of the stair case looking like he was dragging his feet. He also looked terribly self-conscious in the single long towel that he had wrapped around his hips.
After an awkward hour of more work and hay spreading the sun was in the middle of the sky and surprisingly most if not all of the strain between them had managed to melt away.Brandon was happy to let the silence wash away the confusion and embarrassment and the nervousness that he had felt during the shower and during his and Ezekiel's talk. And since neither one of them seemed determined to dwell on it, or even analyze what had happed or had been said Brandon soon found himself panting and taking a standing break next to Ezekiel.Ezekiel, who had plopped down on a bench in the shade created by the roof of the barn also seemed content to move on and settled back into the cool manner that seemed so natural for him. Exerted from work, both of them took their time cooling off and catching their breaths before Ezekiel disappeared off inside of the barn, only to reemerge a few minutes later with two plastic flasks, each frosted over on the bottom, suggesting that he had retrieved them fro