He's Definitely Not Padington Bear

Thank you Smurf! I love it!

The whole group was all standing together, surrounding Tyler with their love as he slept peacefully in his father’s arms a few feet away from me.

I stood alone, taking in everything that I’ve learned about these new people. The dark haired leopard was the Lord, Adrian and the confident woman beside him his wife, Carmella. The blonde by her was the Lord’s younger sister, Lily, and the man who hovered protectively by her side was her husband, Jakal.

Thanos stood between Jakal and Adrian, completing the circle. Taking my eyes from Thanos I study the little boy sleeping on his father’s shoulders.

I’ve never seen him sleep so deeply, not even when exhaustion forced him to rest back in our cage.

“Carmella, you can’t just walk in there and kill everyone.”

Bringing myself back from the past I pay more attention to what was going on in front of me.

“Why not?”

Adrian shook his head at his wife and laughed softly, “Leave the dirty work for Jakal and Thanos. Right now we need to make sure Tyler’s okay and settled.”

I watched as Carmella’s green eyes softened as she looked at her sleeping son, “Alright, but just this once.”

It was almost a perfect picture. The loving family gathered to support each other through hard and easy times.

I felt anxiety spread through my body as I realized I would never have something like this.

The only home I’ve ever known was Jay Jay’s place.

The only parental figures I had were Jay Jay himself and his hunch men.

Quietly sighing, I back up into the forest.

They don’t need me to dirty their picture.

~*~

Carmella reached out and lightly ran her fingers through Tyler’s hair.

It saddened her to see that her boy’s once blonde locks now had a mixture of dark orange and black in them.

A person’s hair only matched the colors of their animal’s coat after they’ve shifted for the first time.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she imagined the pain her little boy must have gone through with a forced shifting.

She couldn’t help but to feel like she failed as a mother.

Carmella looked up see Adrian talking with Thanos and Jakal.

And as a wife.

She felt a soothing hand press against her shoulder and looked over to see Lily smiling at her.

“Don’t blame yourself, you’re not at fault here.”

Carmella sighed, “I couldn’t find him, Lily. Not like I was able to find you all those years ago.”

Carmella turned back to Tyler and ran her hands through his hair again, “I couldn’t find his scent. The shift has changed it enough that he no longer smells the same.”

She shook her head as a tear falls across her cheek, “He was in trouble, hurting and alone, and I couldn’t do anything to help him.”

Carmella pressed a hand against her mouth to hold back a sob, “I wasn’t there for him.”

Carmella found herself pressed against Adrian’s chest, his free arm holding her tightly against him.

Adrian pressed her closer to him, his fingers delving into her hair to comfort her, “It’s not your fault, love. We’ll get the guys who did this to our boy.”

Taking comfort from Adrian, Carmella looked up to Thanos, “Where was he? Who did this?”

“The guy’s name is Jasper Jenkins. He owns a warehouse at the edge of town. He’s got the place stuffed full of caged shifters on display for the right price. Lixue was-”

Thanos turned to look at Lixue, but she wasn’t in the clearing.

Stepping back from the group he looked around, even walked to glance behind some of the trees, but she wasn’t anywhere close.

Thanos growled.

Now he’s going to have to chase her down again.

She’s going to make him miss his hockey game!