A Very Jaguar Christmas (10 page)

Everett smiled a little. Demetria wasn't like any Guardian he'd ever known, and he loved the way she handled the growly wolf.

“I don't know the boy. We don't know of any Arctic wolves or packs around here.” Devlyn's tone of voice was still gruff, but he didn't sound like he was ready to end the call so quickly now.

Everett noted the look of disappointment on everyone's faces. “We really need to find the boy's parents.”

“He looks to be about three and a half or four years of age. You should be able to ask him his name and who his parents are, maybe even his home address.”

“We didn't have a chance before he shifted.” Everett regretted that he hadn't. He hadn't expected the boy to shift and had been so shocked to learn of the existence of werewolves that he hadn't thought of asking anything.

“You're the guy who just called me?” Devlyn asked.

“Yeah. We're working blind here.”

“Wolf packs don't advertise their locations. You ought to know that. How
exactly
did you end up with the boy?” Devlyn sounded more curious now.

Everett realized they were getting further by just showing the video of the boy, even if the wolves might not like it. Everett and the others knew how dangerous it was to have proof that any of them could shift. But under the circumstances, they needed proof that they had a wolf shifter boy.

“He was dropped off at my mother's day care,” Everett said. “We couldn't determine the identity of the woman on the security tape, but we assume she stole the boy from a wolf pack, then decided she had made a mistake and left him off at the day care. She left no ID behind. Just a bag and a blanket.”

“She must have realized your place was a wolf day-care center. Which means she's one of us. Why else would she have dropped off a wolf child at your particular day-care center?”

Everett glanced at Demetria to see her take on it. He was afraid that as soon as he said it was a jaguar-shifter day care, Devlyn would hang up on him.

Demetria shook her head, which Everett took to mean that he shouldn't mention they were jaguars.

“My mother had never seen the child or the woman before. I still think it was dumb luck that the woman brought the boy there, since he shifted twice after he was dropped off. He hasn't shifted back yet. Was she afraid someone was going to find her with the kid and she'd be arrested? In any event, it's all still a mystery.”

“His mother must be a fairly newly turned mother, if she can't hold her form while her son is with a stranger. For her son's safety, she would have kept her human form otherwise.”

“Yeah, the full moon must be making her shift and then her young son is shifting at the same time as his mother.” Everett was trying to get confirmation that it worked that way with the wolf shifters, but he hoped he hadn't said anything that showed his ignorance.

“Sorry. Can't help you. We don't know any Arctic wolf shifters.”

“We're at a dead end here. Can you give us the name and location of another wolf pack that might know where the pup belongs?” Demetria asked.

“A couple. Not that they've ever mentioned anything about an Arctic wolf pack, and they live even farther away from your location. A distant cousin of mine married a SEAL wolf located on the Oregon coast.” Devlyn gave them her number. “No Arctic wolves that I know of in their pack either.”

The pup was snarling and growling while Maya tugged him back and forth all over the living room floor with the rope toy, keeping him preoccupied.

“You said there was another?” Demetria asked.

“Leidolf's red wolf pack is in Portland, Oregon.” Devlyn gave them his number too. “Oh, and a geneticist. He's been looking for wolf packs to test their blood concerning this longevity issue, if he hasn't located your pack already. Dr. Aidan Denali. I just have his card with his phone number on it. I don't know anything else about him. Still, he might have run across an Arctic pack while doing his research.”

“Thank you.” Everett felt somewhat relieved that they had a few more leads. But he sure wished someone knew of a wolf pack in Dallas.

“Thanks,” Demetria added.

“Let me know when you find the boy's home,” Devlyn said.

“Will do.” Then Everett ended the call and let out his breath.

“Ohmigod, I can't believe you pretended we were werewolves,” Maya said. “That was brilliant. And it worked!”

Everett smiled. “Who would have ever thought?”

“Agreed. We ought to call the geneticist first since he could be working with a ton of packs,” Demetria said. “Then he can tell us if he found a white wolf pack.”

“What if he wants to test our blood?” Wade asked.

“Wouldn't he be surprised?” Everett straightened his back and called the doctor. “Hi, Dr. Denali? I'm Everett Anderson. Devlyn Greystoke gave me your name and number in case you know of any Arctic wolf packs because of the research you are doing. We're attempting to find the parents of an approximately four-year-old male Arctic wolf shifter, blond hair, amber eyes. He was dropped off at my mother's day care in Dallas, Texas, by a woman who didn't leave an ID. She took off before anyone could talk to her. So we're trying to locate his family.”

“The boy shifted? He didn't just smell like a wolf?” Dr. Denali sounded more than concerned. He sounded like he wanted to help too.

Everett was thrilled, yet his enthusiasm waned when he realized the doctor hadn't instantly said he knew of an Arctic wolf pack. “Yes. He's a wolf and he hasn't shifted back, so we can't ask who his parents are, what his name is, and if he knows where he lives.”

“The full moon is out. His mother must be a fairly newly turned wolf.”

“But he's about four years old.”

“Right. Even though she would gain control during the rest of the month, she might still be having trouble during the full moon.”

They could change
anytime
during the month?
Great
. Here Everett thought they'd have a reprieve after the moon waned enough.

“I haven't tested any Arctic wolves. I don't recall your name among the packs I've run blood tests on. Are you located in the same place as your mother's day care?”

“Uh, yeah. You haven't tested us.” Everett was thinking that a doctor, someone who would be more scientific minded, might believe what they were when others wouldn't without seeing them in person.

“Dallas…”

“Yeah, and that's where the boy was dropped off. So we don't know if his pack is close by or the kidnapper brought him here from somewhere else. Devlyn gave us his distant cousin's pack's location on the Oregon coast, and I'm checking with them next. Another is in Portland, Oregon. But if those don't pan out, do you know of any others that might give us another starting point? Any wolf packs in Dallas?” Everett figured if he mentioned the packs, the doctor or others would believe he and Demetria were on the up-and-up. Hopefully, that would make more of them feel free to share what they knew.

“Only yours in Dallas. I would think you'd know if any others tried to encroach on your territory. There's a wolf pack in Silver Town, Colorado. More of the SEAL wolf team of the Oregon coast lives in Montana. A gray wolf pack claimed the Seattle territory, but they refuse to allow me to test their blood. Another is in Amarillo, but there were significant issues with them and…they've moved on. No Arctic wolves were among any of the packs I've met. What about you? Do you have a pack that you would allow me to test?” The doctor seemed eager to know about this newly discovered pack, as if he'd forgotten why they had called him initially.

“What is the longevity issue that you're testing?” Everett asked, ignoring the doctor's question and hoping his own question didn't trigger some concern on the doctor's part.

The doctor was silent, and so was everyone in the room listening in on the conversation, even the pup who had curled up in Maya's lap and was sleeping as she leaned her back against the couch and Wade's legs corralled her.

“You…don't know?” Now Dr. Denali sounded suspicious.

“Well, we haven't had any problem with it.” Everett shrugged at the others, clueless about what was going on. They looked a little apprehensive.

“No changes in your longevity at all? I've got to test your blood. The larger the sample size, the better. I'm hoping I can determine why the change is occurring. But this is good news.”

Everett took a deep breath. He hated to give the doctor hope that his kind could resolve whatever their issue was, but he was certain their blood couldn't.

“Dr. Denali, you're a scientific man, right? You believe in all kinds of possibilities if you can test them and prove they're correct, right? I mean, you're open to any new theories. You're not close-minded. Correct?”

“I like to think so. What's this all about?”

“What if I told you my kind have always had the same longevity as humans?”

“Then I'd be disappointed, but I would still want to check your blood to learn why you're so different from the rest of us.”

“I can tell you why. But initially, I doubt you're going to believe me. We're shifters. Just not wolf shifters.”

Silence.

“When we shift, we become jaguars.”

Silence.

“That's why it's imperative that we find the boy's parents. Besides the fact that they must be frantically searching for him, if they are dead, raising a wolf shifter among jaguar shifters might be a bit of a challenge for us and for him.”

“I'm sorry. I thought you had a legitimate situation you were calling about. I really don't have time for—”

“Wait, Dr. Denali. I thought you said you were open-minded. Do you have a secure cloud-based service?” Everett asked if the doctor used the same one he did.

“I do.”

“Okay, I'll send you a video of the boy shifting into a wolf, and I'll send one of me shifting as a jaguar so you know we're for real and not on drugs or something.” Everett sent the video of the boy to the doctor. Then he said, “I'll have someone take the video of me, and we'll send it to you so you'll know this is legitimate. It'll take just a few minutes.”

The doctor didn't say anything.

Demetria said, “I'll video record Everett shifting to include Maya, Everett's half sister, with the wolf pup so you can see we're all here. She's been playing tug-of-war with him and wore him out.”

Everett quickly stripped out of his clothes. They didn't video record someone shifting ever in case the tape got into the wrong hands, so he felt a little like a stripper while Demetria recorded it. Then he shifted, his muscles and bones heating and reshaping until he was standing before Demetria as a golden jaguar.

He couldn't help but notice the way she was smiling at him as if she was impressed and interested.

The pup had woken and was staring at Everett as if he'd suddenly turned into a giant-sized version of the jaguar cubs who had been clawing and hissing at him at the day care. Everett moved slowly toward him, trying to put the pup at ease and let the boy smell him, forgetting for the moment that his actions could have been videotaped for the wolf doctor. All that mattered was that Everett made sure that the pup knew it was just him and he was safe. And then the pup wagged his tail and began play-biting Everett. He hadn't expected that and lay down on his side so he could let the pup nip at him.

Everyone in the room laughed.

After that, Demetria said, “Okay, everybody ready?”

Everett thought Demetria had ended the video right after he shifted. He wondered just how much she had caught of his interaction with the pup.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Wade said, rubbing Maya's back.

Everett nodded his jaguar head.

Demetria said, “Sending it now.”

She waited until it went through. “Okay, as you can see, Everett shifted into a golden jaguar. The boy is perfectly safe with us and will be well-loved, played with, and fed, but we still need to find his family.”

The doctor still didn't respond.

“Dr. Denali, are you still there?” Demetria asked.

Everett thought maybe the call had been dropped. He couldn't imagine the doctor had passed out or anything that drastic. He was just speechless, Everett guessed. He had to remind himself how he had felt when he first saw the boy shift and then shift again.

“How…how long have you known we exist?” The doctor sounded a little shaken up.

“As soon as the boy was dropped off at Everett's mother's day care and shifted this morning. Believe me, it was a shock for all of us. None of us believed it. If Everett hadn't caught the boy shifting on video, I'm sure none of us would believe it.”

“I have to learn everything there is to know about you. This is just unbelievable. And incredibly wonderful.” Dr. Denali sounded ecstatic.

Everett swore the man was smiling when he said it. Like he'd made the biological discovery of the century. Still, Everett suspected not all wolf shifters would be so pleased with the situation. The jaguars lived among humans. The wolves must too. Would a wolf pack feel threatened by jaguar shifters in their territory if they knew about them? Cat and dog fights? He could just see it.

“I'd still like to test your blood and learn more about you.” Dr. Denali sounded eager.

“You can. But we still need to find the boy's family,” Demetria said, emphasizing the importance of
their
mission. “Do you have a wolf police force that can look into it?”

“No. Packs police their own people or those crossing into their territory. I'll let everyone know about it. My brother hires private investigators for his business, completely discreet because of our secret wolf status. He'll have them search for the parents too.”

“All right. When the boy shifts, we can learn his name and parents' names, and hopefully his address. We'll share the information with you in case that might help too,” Demetria said.